You are inspiring me to become a much better cook and to fully explore the wonderful produce that is available at this time of year.

(I’ve been reading back through the archives and love the stories about your Asian cooking influences – that is my favorite food to eat, but like most home cooks, I’ve had trouble duplicating my favorites. One of the meals I still dream about was a noodle dish that I had at wagamama in London – it was so subtle and complex that I’ve never been able to even come close. I’ve had to settle for my own tolerable interpretation of Pad Thai!!)

That leaves, what, the basil?

Anyway, this post inspired me to find some Rossi pasta in Columbus. I finally found some at Hill’s Market. In a couple of days, I’ll cook some up and see how it tastes.

I am glad that I am inspiring you to cook with more of the pretties that are available in the summer. That is the best part of summer, for me–all the beautiful fresh produce.

Brian–it also leaves garlic. And really, in my pesto, the garlic and the basil are the important, and most prevalent parts–I use way more of them by weight than I use of anything else. The olive oil becomes a carrier of flavor, the cheese is just a bit of salty tang, and the pine nuts add a bit of a browned nutty flavor and a velvety texture. What hits the diner full force in my pesto is the full blown knock-down drag out bouquet of basil, with the garlic coming in as the second half of the one-two punch.

My pesto is not subtle.

Glad you got some Rasta Posse, I mean, Rossi Pasta. It is good stuff–just be very careful not to overcook it. Once you put it in the water, do not walk away from it.

BTW, the plain noodles are a pretty good substitute for Chinese egg noodles, as I used them for my za jiang mein this evening.

Good luck with the pasta–let me know how you like it–once you get used to cooking it, it becomes quite a handy thing to have around.

No worries about the pasta. I always use a timer, and I’ve cooked fresh pasta before, which this seems closer to than your average Barilla.

Yes–it acts like fresh pasta–so if you have cooked that, you will do fine.

I also discovered that the plain unflavored Rossi Pasta does really well as a substitute for Chinese egg noodles, but more about that later….