Quick, Elegant Spring Dinner
My mom has always copped to having a very active imagination. As a girl growing up in the center of a bowl (that’s what the night sky looked like in South Williamstown, MA), she had to have imagination to deal with the isolation of growing up on a farm, the oldest girl, and too smart for her own good. Not unlike one of Pink of Perfection’s patron saint heroines, Anne Shirley, I might add. Perhaps it is not so surprising then that her daughter should have an overactive imagination, too. In fact, it was probably encouraged.
One of my favorite ways of indulging this day-dreamy nature is drawing up blueprints for different ways of living: what a day could look like (a spring day, a week day, a day in Paris), what a house could look like (if I lived in Denmark, if I lived in the woods, if I somehow snatched up a brownstone with crown molding), what my ideal life might be. And again and again, in all of these imaginings, there are familiar tropes: pops of color, cheery fabrics, vintage bicycles, strong coffee, and meals eaten with friends.
But people don’t really pop over for dinner much round these parts. There are dinner parties, which are lovely in their own ways, but then there is just the humble supper: a bowl of soup, a knot of bread, and a friend or two. Those meals make me happiest if only for their sheer simplicity, for the total lack of expectations on the part of either cook or guest. And lack of expectations, in my experience, often leads to something very, very good.
That is why whenever my sister calls to say she will be getting her haircut in my neighborhood and can she come up for dinner, I am overjoyed. It’s not because she never fails to bring Lillet and paté, though those are nice perks — I just wish she ate dinner at my table more often. Katy, consider this, if you didn’t already know you had one, a standing invitation.
And while we are on the subject of my big sister, she said I absolutely had to tell you about the article I co-wrote and researched for the May issue Bon Appétit. I’m loathe to sound braggy, but, well, there it is. My first magazine feature.
Spring Onion Soup
adapted from Martha Stewart Living
Serves 2
Sebastian’s description of this soup slayed me. He said it reminded him of visiting a fancy Japanese tea house and ordering a cup of sencha. The flavor, he said, was like drinking earth. When he says things like this I get moony, but also think maybe he just isn’t eating enough vegetables.
1 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1 pound spring onions (or yellow onions), trimmed and thinly sliced
2 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
1 cup homemade or low-sodium store-bought chicken stock
1 cup water
Pasta with White Beans, Spinach and Golden Raisins
from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian
Serves 4-6
1 pound cleaned, trimmed spinach
1/2 pound pasta (preferably, according to Mark, cavatelli, conchiglie, or orecchiette
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil or butter
1 large or 2 medium leeks, including some green parts, washed and thinly sliced (about 2 cups)
1 stalk celery, chopped
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1/4 cup dry white wine (optional)
1 cup vegetable stock (I used chicken stock since it’s what I had)
3 cups cooked or canned cannellini beans, drained
Freshly ground black pepper
a handful of golden raisins
Freshly grated Parmesan or pecorino Romano cheese for garnish
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but firm, 7 minutes or so, then drain.
Meanwhile, put the oil or butter in a large skillet over medium heat. When the oil is hot or the butter is melted, add the leeks and celery and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in spinach. Add the thyme, and the wine if you’re using it, and cook for another minute, until almost dry. Add the stock and beans. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook until the flavors blend and everything is well heated, about 5 minutes.
Combine the bean mixture and the pasta in the large pot and stir gently. Stir in raisins. Taste and adjust the seasoning, sprinkle with Parmesan, and serve.
The Dishwasher: ohhhhhh! congrats on the article! I’ve bookmarked it for bedtime reading!2 years ago
Lisa (dinner party): Congrats on your story! Can’t wait to read it.
And yes, on meals with no expectations. I love dinner parties (duh) but my favorite dining-at-home experiences are when someone pops in, a meal is thrown together, and it all feels very effortless.2 years ago
Thanks y’all!
Lisa, why are dinners like that so hard to come by? I’m convinced it’s a New York thing. What do you think? And for those who live everywhere else, do people pop in? Like your friendly neighbors?2 years ago
Betsy: Kudos! I’m still looking forward to your book, clever girl!2 years ago
Oh Betsy. You have no idea how perfectly timed your words of encouragement are.2 years ago
Kristina: Sarah! How did I overlook the byline in my latest copy of BA? Jeez, congratulations! Great job.2 years ago
anonymous fan: congratulations from a long time fan!2 years ago
Lisa (dinner party): Hmm…I don’t know why. You’d think people within walking distance of each other would pop in from time to time. But no. I think it’s mainly because we’re all so busy. And I don’t know about you, but being surrounded by mobs of people all day long makes me very protective of my privacy. Which, I think is a very New York thing.
Sometimes my friends and I will make casual dinner plans to go to each other’s houses after work and cook but other than that, things are usually planned pretty well in advance. Which feels so restrictive, somehow.2 years ago
Ashley: I always love the beautiful pictures you have with your posts, and have searched through your blog many times for something great to make (my favs were the lentil soup and the rosemary nuts). Thanks so much!2 years ago
Kristina, It was little and not drenched in the pink-ness of this site and therefore easy to miss.
anonymous, thank you, thank you, thank you.
Lisa, You are so right. I was thinking about it more after I posed those questions and have to say — there are probably only a handful of people I would want to “drop by.” I am very into cocooning, and I’m sure it has everything to do with the mobs of people — that or I am becoming a homebody, which is also distinctly possible.
I bet if we got in the habit of asking people more to do things the week of we’d probably meet with a fair number of rejections but would still be doing the important work of bucking New York tradition. One of my friends has the ONE friend who will call her and say, “wanna see a movie tonight?” and she loves it, probably in part because NO ONE else does that.
Ashley, I was very proud of that lentil soup photo! I thought the parsley looked entirely too lovely. So thank YOU!2 years ago
ann: Congratulations, Sarah! I’m so happy for you!!2 years ago
Kaycie: I totally read that article when my magazine came in the mail, but I did not connect it with you! Did you personally do any of the Oklahoma research?2 years ago
Thanks, Ann!
Kaycie, I think I might have picked the goat cheese for Oklahoma (always a fan of small creameries), but I don’t totally remember Pure Prarie Creamery, so the co-writer Andrew might have picked that, along with the what to eat or what to drink.2 years ago
Leafy Green: Sarah, I am such a big fan of your blog (although I don’t comment much) and I am so happy to see your first article in print. Here’s hoping it is the first of many more! If I had a mag I would give you a regular column
PS that sure is a controversial topic you wrote about! Lots of comments = lots of site traffic, right?!2 years ago
zoe: Great article! Pasta and soup look yummy!2 years ago
Vanessa: Oh wow, I was only able to flip through the issue of BA but that settles it, I’m going to devour it later. Magazine reading too often gets pushed aside….sigh.
And I LOVE Anne Shirley =)2 years ago
Sara Rose: That’s my favorite noodle shape! Tee hee!2 years ago
ann: Mazel tov on the article! I love that pasta recipe, not sure where I saw it before and made it, but boy oh boy is it good. Enjoy the warm spring weekend!2 years ago
Karen Chaffee: The meal sounds and looks yummy. Congratulations on the magazine article : ))2 years ago
tina winkle: Looks yummy!! Congrats on the mag article,too!!!
tina2 years ago