By March 2022. The crawfish are back. Rémy boiled alone again — second year of solo boils. Carl appeared. Tee-Claude appeared. The neighborhood appeared. Twenty people. The cycle: spring, crawfish, community, cayenne, the table covered in newspaper, the shells piled high, the beer cold, the day warm. The same. Always the same. And the sameness is the grace. The sameness is the thing that holds when nothing else does. The crawfish don't know about hurricanes. The roux doesn't know about insomnia. The boil doesn't know about pandemics. The food just is. The food just was. The food just will be. And that's enough. That's always been enough.
Five years done. Two hundred and sixty weeks. The pot is on the stove. The spoon is in the pot. The boy is at the burner. The father is in the driveway. The mother is in the yellow cottage. The wife is at the table. The door is open. Come in, cher. Come eat. There's always enough. There has always been enough. C'est bon.
Twenty people showed up that March day, and Rémy fed every one of them — because that’s what the table does in Louisiana, it just expands. When I think about what to cook on the weeks between the big boils, when the crawfish aren’t ready but the hunger for something that tastes like New Orleans still is, I come back to this Muffuletta Pasta. It’s got that same briny, generous, come-as-you-are spirit as the Central Grocery counter on Decatur — olives and cured meat and something that asks nothing of you except that you sit down and eat. C’est bon, cher. C’est toujours bon.
Muffuletta Pasta
Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 20 min | Total Time: 35 min | Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 1 lb rotini or penne pasta
- 1 cup pimento-stuffed green olives, sliced
- 1/2 cup kalamata olives, pitted and halved
- 1/4 cup pepperoncini peppers, sliced
- 4 oz Genoa salami, diced
- 4 oz ham, diced
- 4 oz provolone cheese, cubed
- 1/2 cup roasted red peppers, chopped
- 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- Fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish
Instructions
- Cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package directions until al dente. Drain and rinse briefly with cold water to stop cooking. Transfer to a large mixing bowl.
- Make the dressing. In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, red wine vinegar, oregano, and garlic powder. Season with salt and black pepper.
- Combine the mix-ins. Add the green olives, kalamata olives, pepperoncini, salami, ham, provolone, and roasted red peppers to the bowl with the pasta.
- Dress and toss. Pour the dressing over the pasta mixture and toss thoroughly to coat everything evenly.
- Rest and serve. Let the pasta sit for at least 10 minutes so the flavors meld. Garnish with fresh parsley and serve at room temperature or slightly chilled.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 520 | Protein: 22g | Fat: 26g | Carbs: 48g | Fiber: 3g | Sodium: 1140mg