Cycle 3 – Item 147

31 (Thu) May 2012

Spaghetti Popeye

3.5

by me

at home

-Oksu, Seongdong, Seoul, Republic of Korea-

with W and DJ

Though disappointed by the outcome of the pasta farrago a few days ago (see 3.144 Linguine con Spinaci with Shrimp & Spinach in Tomato-Parmesan Sauce), I was confident that simplifying the concept could make it work.  This time, I separated the spinach, blanching-squeezing-sautéeing the leaves à la Julia Child as before, while stir-frying the stems in olive oil and white wine with garlic and herbs scampi style.  By coincidence, on yesterday’s trip to E-Mart, I’d discovered a new product line from the store’s private label: packaged fresh spaghetti, including regular, squid ink, and this spinach variety.  With three distinct tastes and textures of spinach, plus the final drops of dark juice squeezed from the leaves, and no shrimp or tomatoes or olives to get in the way, the dish was focused and intense.

One problem was that it was a bit dry, which I may correct next time by making a light sauce out of spinach stock (e.g., the juice squeezed from the leaves).

Also, it now occurs to me that I should’ve started with the leaves on the bottom, followed by the pasta, and topped with the stems to better show the separate layers.

(See also FOOD GLOSSARY)

(See also MASTERING THE ART OF FRENCH COOKING)

(See also RESTAURANTS IN KOREA)