Meal for under $20 bids summer season a delicious adieu

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Toast. Eggs. Cereal. While all delicious in their own right, I still cringe when people declare their culinary proficiency to end with these dishes.

As Vassar students, either seniors living in apartments or underclassmen dreaming of the day their personal space will be larger than a 10 foot by 10 foot cave, all of us should have the ability to prepare a satisfying meal for the people we care about. My hope is that this column will inspire students to experiment in the kitchen, teach everyone a few things about food, and give everyone the necessary tools to feel confident when it's his turn to cook.

The premise is simple—I arrive at Adams Fairacre Farms on Rt. 44 with a twenty dollar bill in my pocket and leave the store with a delicious arsenal of ingredients with which to prepare a seasonal, delicious, healthy meal for my housemates. This week I went with a perfect end-of-summer meal: bucatini with bacon, mushrooms and spinach, served with a tomato, watermelon and feta cheese salad. Since we're on the cusp of a seasonal transition, the earthy autumn tones in the pasta look ahead to crisp October afternoons, while the bright salad reminds us of 80-degree summer days.

The shopping at Adams was simple this week. I actually left the store with a few dollars in change, giving me confidence that I'll be able to stretch 20 bucks in some pretty delectable ways in the future. Perhaps surprisingly, I've found that the produce at Adams is relatively inexpensive compared to other markets in the area. The watermelon and tomato seasons are nearly through, which means that they're reasonably priced. Adams sells mushrooms loose so you can get the exact amount you need, and they grow their own herbs and offer them in bunches for only a dollar or two.

To anyone who is a bit skeptical about the salad combination: Let me assure you that the sweetness of the watermelon and the saltiness of the feta work beautifully together and balance nicely with the acidity of the tomatoes. Fresh basil provides some color and the requisite brightness to complement the heartiness of the pasta dish.

I selected bucatini for the pasta because it's sort of the neglected cousin in the long-pasta family. It looks like thick spaghetti, but it's hollow inside, which I find to be an unexpected treat. The pasta dish is successful because of the layered flavors the recipe creates. Bacon and onions provide a rich background to flavor the mushrooms, and the spinach is added at the last second to freshen it all up.

If you're a vegetarian, you can skip the bacon, and if you don't like mushrooms, you can leave them out. It is certainly a very adaptable dish, but I would say that anyone averse to mushrooms should treat this dish as the training wheels for your taste buds.

Flavoring them with bacon is so good, it's almost cheating.

Grocery List

New York Feta Cheese = $1.70
Crimini Mushrooms = $1.12
Shitake Mushrooms = $0.40
Fresh Basil = $1.99
Baby Spinach = $2.99
Bucatini = $1.99
Boar's Head Smoked Bacon = $2.99
Watermelon = $1.94
Tomatoes = $1.42
Vegetable Stock = $0.99
Yellow Onion = $0.22

Total = $17.75
 

Bucatini with Bacon, Mushrooms and Spinach

1 lb. bucatini
10 slices of bacon, cut into small strips
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, chopped
1 cup sliced mushrooms (feel free to use a variety – I used crimini and shitake, but use whatever you like)
1 cup vegetable stock
4 cups baby spinach
Salt and pepper, to taste

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil.

2. Place the bacon in a pan on medium heat and cook until crispy. You'll want to keep an eye on the bacon and stir it frequently to ensure even cooking.

3. When the bacon has reached your desired level of crispiness, remove from the pan and set aside. Drain off the bacon grease, leaving about a teaspoon or so in the pan.

4. Deglaze the pan with 1/2 of the vegetable stock. (Deglazing is a fancy word for adding liquid to a hot pan to loosen the cooked-on brown bits from the bottom of the pan and incorporate them into the sauce.)

5. Add the onions, garlic and mushrooms to the pan, and cook on medium-low heat for 10-15 minutes or until the onions are translucent and the mushrooms have softened. A couple of minutes after you add these ingredients, place the bucatini into the salted water and allow it to cook as indicated on the box (usually 8-10 minutes).

6. After the mushrooms and onions have cooked, add the spinach at the last moment–the objective is to gently wilt the leaves, not to cook them significantly. Add the remaining stock.

7. Drain the pasta and return it to the original pot. Pour the sauce over the pasta and mix well.

8. Divide onto five plates and top with the bacon. Add a sprinkle of parmesan cheese, if you like.

Enjoy.

A note on salting: In my opinion, the largest difference between restaurant cooking and home cooking is the way salt is used. Salt should be added liberally to each step of the cooking process to help develop the flavor of each ingredient.
A pinch of salt – roughly 1/8 teaspoon – should be added to the pan when you add the onions and mushrooms, and again when you add the spinach. Tasting your food consistently throughout cooking will help you determine the level of salt necessary.

Also, pasta water should be salted with about a tablespoon of salt to help the pasta develop a more complex flavor.

Lastly, please be sure to use kosher salt—the one with slightly larger
crystals—for everything you make.

Watermelon, Tomato and Feta Salad

1/4 of a watermelon, rind removed, diced into 1/2 inch pieces
5 medium tomatoes, cored (top area where the stem was, removed) and diced into 1/2 inch pieces
1/2 pound feta cheese (Adam's sells local New York feta for only a few dollars per a pound), diced into 1/4  inch pieces
1/4 c. chopped fresh basil (or cut chiffonade, into small ribbons)

Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl.  Odds are that salt will not be necessary because of the saltiness of the feta, but you can adjust the seasoning as you like.

Serve alongside the pasta.