Peaches and Pasta!

A friend and I met at Nam Dae Mun Farmers Market
in Smyrna, Ga.
I love multi-cultural farmers markets, I find them to be so inspiring and yes,
invigorating!
There is something about the fresh produce, the variety, the beauty and color…
It speaks to my creativity, kind of a salute to Mother Nature.

The peaches were
gorgeous, fragrant, juicy and delicious! So, I brought home peaches, and
that inspired the title of the second edition of
The Painted Artichoke!
Beaches, Peaches and Pasta!
Sounds like fun, doesn’t it?

Imagining a Peachy Pasta Salad, I went to work!

The basic recipe:
3 peaches diced
about 1/4 English cucumber, thinly sliced
1/2 ball of fresh mozzarella, broken into small pieces
a cup of pasta

I thought I had orzo in the pantry ~
I did not.
I didn’t have couscous either.
I had quinoa, so quinoa it is!

I have never prepared quinoa and for some reason I thought it was quite labor intensive. It’s not!
I prepared the quinoa as I would rice.
2 parts water to one part pasta.
Easy Peasy!

For the dressing:
A couple of tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
about a tablespoon of white vinegar
a bit of minced garlic
drizzle of honey
and salt and pepper to taste

Placing a couple of leaves of Romaine lettuce on the plate
I layered the quinoa, peach mixture, chopped walnuts, fresh basil
and dressing. Voila!
A Perfect Peachy Pasta Salad

The following day, I had the salad again
this time adding dried cranberries and feta cheese.
Perfect! Just enough!

If you have weekend guests, this could easily
be served twice, with a simple adjustment

For the next peach and pasta challenge, I wanted to make a lovely, fresh entree.
Envisioning a lunch or brunch, I thought about
homemade peach, basil ricotta ravioli.
Wonderful plan, however, I ran out of time to make the
homemade ravioli. I’ll plan on a homemade pasta edition
in the future.

I picked up Farfalloni Pasta. It’s a little bit different,
and kind of fun!

Bear in mind, I had planned on making peach ravioli, and had already
gone to the market for those ingredients. It was time to get creative in the kitchen!

The basic recipe:
Cook the pasta in salted water
Cut peaches into slices, I cut in 1/4
heat thoroughly in skillet with extra virgin olive oil
once cooled, peel the peaches
Pulse in food processor or blender quickly,
leaving it a bit chunky

combine 6 ounces of ricotta,
1 egg, basil and
about 1/4 cup of shredded Parmesan cheese.
Bake the cheese mixture until
cooked through. (Not jiggly)

Plate the pasta, top with the cheese mixture, peaches, fresh basil, a bit more Parmesan cheese,
and salt a pepper.
I have a savory palate, so I added thinly sliced, fried and salted
eggplant.
Bacon or Prosciutto would be an excellent choice as a topping
if you aren’t a vegetarian, like I am.

This presented beautifully, tasted fabulous!
I would definitely serve this for a luncheon, or brunch.

Both peach and pasta combinations worked! They were not as originally planned,
but they were delicious!
Thinking outside of the expected, being a little bit creative - whether it be orzo or quinoa…
or freshly made ravioli.
It worked!

Maybe it’s in the most simple unexpected thing….

Please send photos if you prepare any of the recipes, and/or provide us
with another Peaches and Pasta duo!

Please email:
thepaintedartichoke@gmail.com