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Do you ever go out to a restaurant, order something that looks good, like it so much you want to make it at home and realize you already have everything you need? It’s as if your body must have really needed those nutrients to have been attracted to them in both places. Oh, that doesn’t happen to you?
Me neither.
Or not exactly.

A while back I ordered a lentil and kabocha salad and liked it so much that I wanted to make it again. The squash was spiced and roasted and I loved the lentils in a salad – they were almost al dente, so they created a nice contrast to the soft squash and even their normal soft(er) presentation.
But what had me really coming back for more was the ricotta salata.
In the summers I love to make a zucchini and summer squash spaghetti with lots of lemon, mint and basil and top it with a mound of ricotta salata, but I don’t use it too much in the winter. I think that may have been what sealed the deal for me on this dish, as (at least in my head) it made the whole salad a perfect representation of the departing winter and upcoming warmth.

Back at home, I did have lentils and a squash on hand, so it was basically meant to be, and we can just ignore the fact that I always have lentils and squash is pretty common around here during the fall and winter. I even had the mint – which is not a given in months with an “r.”
The only thing I needed to run out for was the ricotta salata.
So this counts for my threory, right?




