Fatty Friday Update: Best. Damn. Pasta. Ever.

Oh dear reader! I missed you while I was away. The tap of the keys. The dry sound of the four or so eyeballs of my readers brushing against their lids as they peruse my musings. The smell of...my desk. Yessirree, it's good to be back.

And I've come back to a yummy time of year. It's the time of year when fruit is ripening, and everybody is in a good mood. Well, we would be in a good mood if New York city would finish up its lengthy spring and jump into summer already. Thanks again, Mother Nature! Another bird flipped at our fair city!

But, it's OK. Despite the weather, we can still eat like it's summer. For instance, today I made the best pasta of my life. Seriously. That's a grand statement, but I'm comfortable with my claim.

What made this pasta so special, I think, was the amount of fresh, good-quality stuff in it: salty cheese and cured meat from Dave and Tony's, bright, glistening greens and other veggies from the bustling markets on 30th Ave, plus old, reliable dried pasta.

So stop wallowing about the rain and go fix yourself some yummy comfort grub. Try this one on for size:
four or five stalks broccoli rabe, washed and diced
half a small Italian eggplant, cubed
half a jersey tomato, washed and diced
1/4 of a dried sopressata, cubed
one medium chunk of fresh mozzarella, cubed
a handful of fresh pasta
olive oil
three or four cloves of garlic, casually chopped

Begin by sauteeing the garlic in the olive oil. Add the eggplant and salt heavily so that it sweats. Add the tomato, broccoli rabe and soppressata and cook on low heat until caramelized.
Meanwhile, boil the water. Add salt to speed it up and for flavor. Once the boil is rolling, add the pasta and some oilve oil. Leave to cook on low for about 8 minutes or so. Drain, but leave a little bit of water. Add the veggies, soppressata and mozzarella and toss. Enjoy! You're stomach will love you forever!