Pantry Pasta

We all have those nights don't we? The day's been long, it's already dark outside and the fridge has little else in it other than milk, mustard and jam. My solution? Pantry pasta! I love coming up with quick mealtime solutions with what I happen to have on hand -- and it doesn't become much easier than this concotion!

The dish is made using sweet shallots (but you could use onions instead), marinated artichokes and a crumbly breadcrumb topping. Easy weeknight dinners don't get tastier than this!

Caprese Salad

I get a little giddy every time tomato season hits. During most of the year, tomatoes still remain a staple of my everyday cooking but I look at them with less of a loving eye. They don't come close to what what they taste like at this time of year and often feel bland and uninteresting. Plump, heirloom tomatoes at their peak are a whole different story - they can happily be enjoyed .with a simple drizzle of good olive oil, some fleur de sel and a few speckles of cracked black pepper only, and I often just snack on them with a few speckles of salt.

During the wintertime, produce has to be cajoled a little more to be turned into a warm, comforting meal - but we have it easy when tomatoes taste this good. They are the undeniable star of the show. This simple salad - my all-time favourite - is made nestling milky buffalo mozarella with thin, meaty tomato slices. These gorgeous, uneven gems were purchased from the farmers' market a Liberty Village and surely didn't disappoint. I added some fresh basil leaves (picked from our very own urban garden/balcony!) and a few salty, cured olives. I really can't think of a better summer lunch and I know I will be eying this photo with envy in a few weeks from now.

Have you ever had a puffball?

This weekend, as I was strolling through the St Lawrence Market for some seasonal produce my eyes landed on this unusual specimen: a puffball! These large, rounded cream-coloured gems - part of the mushroom family - were my market-find of the day. I had never seen these anywhere before (have you?), but after a little research I knew exactly how I would be serving them.

Puffballs can be cooked much in the same way as regular cremini or button mushroom, although they have more of a soft, spongy, marshmallow-like texture. They reduce a lot when cooked and are best enjoyed warm. Even though I stocked up on heirloom tomatoes, golden beets and wild blueberries for the week, I was most excited about these over-sized cartoon-worthy goodies.With a little white wine, herbs and garlic, they make a perfect side dish. They soak up flavour with ease and plump up when cooked with wine.

Shallot and Goat Cheese Tarte Tatin

Little beats the perfection of a classic Tarte Tatin. Serve it warm with a generous scoop of vanilla bean ice cream and I'm sold. The culinary technique behind this staple dessert can be applied to many different types of fruit but also works wonders with savory flavours. As long as your filling has a sticky, caramelized consistency and that you top the tart with flaky puff pastry you can't really go wrong.

The only tricky part is to invert the dish once it's cooked. The beauty of a Tarte Tatin comes from the way it is cooked - with the puff pastry tightly nestled on top of the dish- the filling will bubble away while the dough can slowly crisp up without getting soggy. My best advice is not to over-think it when times comes time to invert the dish- simply run a pairing knife around the edges of the tart, top the tart with your platter (or a cutting board) and flip it over in one confident go. If a few sticky filling pieces stay lodged in your cooking vessel, gently free them and arrange on top of your dish.

Quick Halloumi Salad

This weekend was in large spent getting our balcony ready for the summer months. Being lucky enough to have a pretty sizable outdoor space (by no means a terrace, but a pretty big balcony for Toronto standards!) we are growing tomatoes, and an array of herbs (chives, oregano and thyme are happily blossoming as we speak). Living in a crowded urban centre and working indoors most of the time, it's nice to set up a space that will help you spend as much time as possible outdoors. With a glass of fresh watermelon juice and a book (I'm currently reading Alyssa Shelasky's Apron Anxiety) we enjoyed our first real spring day of the year.

With less time to dedicate to the kitchen this weekend - shocking I know! - this halloumi salad was the quickest and most delicious substitute to a full-fledged meal. The salty, golden-brown halloumi mixed with an oozy egg and some peppery greens was exactly the dish that this newly discovered gardener was in the mood for!

Quick Halloumi Salad
Serves 2

6 1/4 inch thick slices of halloumi cheese
3 cups arugula
2 eggs
1 tsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Add slices of halloumi cheese to a warm non-stick pan on medium heat (with no added fat). Cook the halloumi for about 2 minutes on each side, or until golden brown. Set aside. Add vegetable oil to pan and crack the two eggs into the pan. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper.

In the meantime divide the arugula between two plates. In a small bowl whisk olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Drizzle over arugula and top with halloumi cheese and sunny-side-up egg.