Chilled raw tomatoes with fresh herbs and Parmigiano Reggiano Stravecchio over Mezzi Rigatoni, a perfect dinner and of course with a perfect wine, Villa Donoratico Bolgheri.
I made this recipe with delicious tomatoes we picked up at the Montclair Farmers Market...
The herbs; basil, parsley and oregano came from our deck pots and our very good friend Gail Wagner's garden in Mendham.
It was a perfect meal in so many ways. The dish I adapted from a recipe I found in the NY Times a while back. I make it every summer, as soon as the real Jersey tomatoes are in the market.
The Parmigiano Reggiano Stravecchio came from Costco, very good and you can't beat the price. The pasta Mezzi Rigatoni is a great shape from Barilla of course. On sale at Kings at the time. Olive oil was from Trader Joe's, their Santini Extra Virgin is quite good.
This is an easy recipe to make. Fresh tomatoes chopped well, olive oil and fresh herbs to taste, good sea salt, fresh ground pepper, a few splashes of white balsamic vinegar and fresh garlic through a press complete the dish. Let it all soak for some time in the fridge. Cook your pasta and serve. The hot a cold make a nice contrast.
I put some Olivia's greens in the bowl under the pasta to add some texture.
I opened a 2005 Villa Donoratico Bolgheri, a wonderful red wine from Tuscany. There is a moment in every wine's life when it is just perfect and for this bottle it was tonight. We have talked about this wine in other posts Bordeaux Meets Tuscany it is very good, but tonight it was utterly sublime.
