Zucchini Puttanesca

I was completely inspired by Escopazzo in Miami. Chef Giancarla Bodoni is doing some of the most exciting food I have ever tasted.

I came home inspired and have been playing in my kitchen.

I was never a part of the raw food craze, I eat salads and vegies and things like that raw, but the raw food restaurants I have been to failed to excite me. Escopazzo has a raw section on the menu and my host highly recommended a raw zucchini pasta with sun dried tomato sauce. The idea did nothing for me, but the dish, was amazing. I may beg Chef Giancarla to share it. It was not the only dish I tasted, every bite of every food I put in my mouth impressed me more than the bite before. I had a nice chat with GianCarla who was a very generous and delightful woman.

On another night I dined on a very refined Puttanesca at Osteria del Teatro,
it was the most refined ladylike Puttanesca I had ever tasted. It was the call girl of Puttanescas, the recipe I share is more of a streetwalker. It is intense with flavor, and thanks to Chef Giancarla, a raw food. It can be served as part of the antipasta or pile it on a bed of greens and it's dinner. 2 large of 4 small servings. Recipe can be doubled.

1 large zucchini
2 ripe Roma tomatoes
4 cloves of garlic
12 anchovies (reserve 6 whole ones)
2 teaspoons of capers
3/4 cup of pitted olives (reserve half)
Roughly 1/4 cup of olive oil
2 wedges of lemon

Grate the zucchini with a cheese grater into shred and set aside in a bowl.

Put the tomatoes, garlic, half the anchovies, half the olives and the olive oil into the food processor and pulse into a puree, a few bits of texture are fine. Stir in the capers and the rest of the olives and the zucchini and toss together. Place the mixture in little molded mounds on plates and give each pile a squeeze of lemon and garnish with the reserved anchovy.

Not a bad weekend, I got to taste other's food and I only had to cook one brunch. American Airlines even eventually got me my luggage.