curried peas + potatoes
When I moved away for university, my mom gave me a stack of cookbooks. I left them in the box, tucked them in the corner and didn't pay any attention to them because I wasn't planning on doing very much cooking at all. I was living in a big city and there was so much to see and do. I got a job as a waitress at a trendy café and became friends with the chef that worked there, a wonderful woman named Julia. When it wasn't busy, I'd tuck away into the back and watch her cook while she told me about her life back home in Columbia. I always thought she should write a book because her story was so tragic and yet uplifting at the same time. Every once in a while she'd scribble down a few recipes and stuff them into my purse and in no time, it was filled with crumpled up post-it notes with hand-written little gems. One day, I came into the café and she had prepared my favorite dish for lunch- penne sorentino (a tuna and black olive pasta dish.) I watched as she continued to dance around the kitchen, singing and asking me about my studies and I realized at that moment that she reminded me of someone I knew. My mother.
In the months that followed, we spent an hour everyday cooking together. I chopped and washed and took detailed notes because I loved her dishes and I wanted to re-create them at home. In fact, I couldn't wait. I’d find myself dashing home, digging out the cookbooks my mother had given me and frantically searching for recipes that caught my eye. Why had I never looked at them before? They were full of colorful photographs and detailed recipes and I couldn't wait to start replicating them. I opened one of the books one night and saw an inscription.
"I know you're going to love cooking. Have fun. Love mom."
I started asking my mother for the recipes of some of my favorite meals. "No need for measuring cups and spoons," she'd say, " just add what you think you'll like " and so, I started doing just that. I stopped measuring every little thing and simply adjusted the ingredients to suit my taste. Sometimes, the dishes didn't turn out very well, but other times, I imagined they tasted better than the original. From that point on, cookbooks became a basic guideline or just a source of inspiration for me.
I came into the cafe one day, eagerly wanting to share a recipe with Julia, but she hadn’t come into work. I never saw her again. I don't know what happened or where she went but I think of her every now and then. I look at the little post-it note with her hand written words: penne sorentino, and I smile. It's still one of my favorite dishes to prepare and also one of the few that I don’t modify at all. I don't omit or substitute anything. Not one thing.
This was the recipe I wanted to share with her that day. It was the first time I remember devising a recipe from scratch-an entire meal that I had based on my own specific tastes using fresh and accessible ingredients. Of course you should adjust it too. Start with a touch of spice and add more if you like. It's an easy and hearty one-pot meal. I think Julia would have liked it.
nicholetta
Reader Comments (8)
Love that curried peas and potatoes recipe. Very tasty..
Continue the great work and keep the post coming!
I love your blog Nicholetta! I love your writing, I love your photography and I know I will love the tastes that you have created!! You are so incredibly talented!
what a great (and sad) story! love the pictures, as always. I have to try this recipe now too :)
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