The Preacher's Pasta

I’m not going to lie. In a world rent with poverty, hunger, violence, and a lack of opportunity, food blogging can feel like a hollow, if not an offensive, answer. I took three years off from food blogging for a few reasons, but during that time, I questioned the meaning in it. However open-handed I tried to be, I felt called to continue this seemingly superficial thing I do. Cook, experiment, photograph, and write. I kept coming back to this idea that we are each created to create. And as I look around, I see the people in my world creating, each in their own gifted way. 

In my life, I have family and friends who are the doctors, artists, teachers, lawyers, performing artists, hosts, wine makers, support staff, leaders, chefs, and many without a typical professional “title” who give each day to creating a home and supporting the people in their lives to do their best work. These people all create with different mediums: knowledge, words, strategies, oil paints, dance, chemistry, atmosphere and care. 

So, I finally found peace in the fact that some of what I create is in the kitchen. Even if that seems shallow, hedonistic, and first world, I am made to cook, and it is more meaningful to cook for others and share what I learn in the kitchen. Hopefully it inspires more people to care for themselves and others through cooking.

More than ever, when the world feels uncertain, there is a comfort and simple pleasure in cooking.

A few weeks ago, my friend Josh called asking me to help illustrate his teaching online. He’s the lead teaching pastor at our church, Woodmen Valley Chapel. Interestingly, during the summer of 2019, he created a schedule for the year ahead and chose to teach the book of Ecclesiastes in the spring of 2020, or what we now will forever remember as the “COVID-19 quarantine.” You’d recognize some words from this book: “to every thing there is a season…a time to be born, a time to die.” Yep. Whether you believe in God or not, don’t tell me this isn’t ironic timing. A whole book written by an ancient king of Israel, referred to in the book as “The Preacher,” about the meaning of life under the sun. Just some light reading and meditation during a worldwide pandemic. Ahem. The illustration, though, was concerning the verses of Ecclesiastes 2:24-25. “There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God, for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment.” To paraphrase the king, people seeking self-indulgence, practicing living wisely, and working hard all still arrive at death. And it’s all vapor under the sun. So, he recommends taking pleasure in the simple things, with ultimate joy being rooted in God.

That said, Josh asked me to cook something simple and not too expensive that anyone could make to illustrate the beauty and enjoyment in that process. Because it doesn’t have to be fancy or expensive to be amazing. Shout out to the real foodies in the world, are you with me?

So, I created a simple recipe with normal ingredients and a method that is easy to follow. It tastes delicious, and yes, I named it “The Preacher’s Pasta.” For me, the sound of the tomatoes sizzling in the hot pan, stinging tears falling as I chop the onion, the aroma of fresh garlic starting to develop with heat, and the bright fragrance of fresh picked basil leaves all remind me of a life meant to be lived and savored. Make this your weeknight pasta, or a leisurely weekend dinner with friends and a good bottle of wine.

Watch “An American Nightmare” (for real, what a title!) to see my cooking woven throughout the sermon. Not your ordinary church service - I think you'd love it.

The Preacher’s Pasta

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Recipe by Stephanie Kunstle

Note: Serves 4-6 people. This sauce is made of fresh ingredients, so the higher quality, the better the flavor.

Ingredients:

• Extra virgin olive oil (about ⅓ cup)

• 2.5 - 3 lbs cherry tomatoes, rinsed

• Coarse sea salt

• 3-4 cloves fresh garlic, minced

• 1-2 Fresno chile peppers (optional) to taste, seeded and minced 

• 1 lb. Italian sausage - pork or chicken, uncased or removed from casings (sweet, spicy, or mixed)

• ½ medium yellow onion, small dice

• 1 lb. fettuccine, linguine, or spaghetti

• Large handful of fresh basil leaves

• Parmesan cheese (Parmigiano-Reggiano highly recommended)

Preparation:

1. Heat a large pot, dutch oven or sauté pan (something with tall sides recommended) over medium high heat for a minute or two. Add olive oil, let it heat for a minute, then add the tomatoes. Add a generous sprinkling of salt. Be careful -- the oil will pop if any water remains on the tomatoes!

2. Let the tomatoes cook, stirring them every few minutes to prevent sticking to the bottom. They are full of water and are hard to burn, plus a little char adds flavor. They will burst, and cook down into a fresh sauce. Approximately 15-20 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to boil over high heat with lid on.

4. Chop the onion, and mince the garlic and chiles.

5. Heat a large sauté pan over medium-low heat, add about 1 Tbsp. olive oil and sauté onions, stirring frequently. You don’t want to brown them, just soften them, so keep your eye on them as they cook and become translucent -- cook roughly five to ten minutes. Add the sausage, turn the heat up to medium, and cook stirring constantly, breaking it into small pieces. Your goal is to brown the pieces on all sides.

6. Add salt generously to the boiling water (about  1-2 Tbsp), add pasta and stir occasionally to prevent sticking. Cook until “al dente” -- just slightly firm in the center. Do not drain!

7. Keep an eye on those tomatoes. They should be cooking down nicely into a slightly thicker sauce. Use the back of a spoon to press down on any that are still whole. Turn the heat off if the sauce is ready.

8. Add the garlic and chiles to the onion/sausage mixture, reduce heat to medium-low, and sauté, stirring constantly for 3-5 minutes until softened and fragrant. Add this mixture to your tomato sauce. Taste and add a bit more salt, if needed. 

9. Using tongs or a pasta server, remove pasta from water and drop directly into tomato sauce. The pasta water has starch which adds a silkiness to the sauce, so it’s actually a good thing if some ends up in the sauce. Add about half of the fresh basil leaves.

10. Stir pasta well to incorporate sauce, which should lightly coat the pasta. If the sauce isn’t totally silky, add some of the pasta water (a half cup to a cup). Stir well. 

Serve hot and top with the remaining fresh basil leaves and freshly grated Parmesan. Bon appétit!  Or as the Preacher would say:   בון תיאבון!