Rigatoni Hasegawa

I know, pasta again. Listen. That other half can of crushed tomato, half bag of baby arugula, leftover section of field roast, and partial block of aged goat cheese -- drying and hardening in its wax paper bag in the fridge -- weren't going to eat themselves. At least, based on my observations over the past week, they weren't.

Now don't get the wrong idea. I didn't make this just because I felt sorry for the ingredients. This isn't a pity pasta. No, it has many delights in store for the casual eater.

1. Add a few tablespoons of olive oil to a heated pan. Put in chili flakes and 2-3 cloves of garlic.

2. Before the garlic gets too brown, add the tomato sauce and a pinch of salt.

3. Add the shishito pepper, sliced long, and the field roast, cubed, as shown.

4. Simmer for 10 or 15 minutes, adding splashes of water as needed. 

5. Compulsively check the rigatoni. When it's within edible range, for i = 30 until i < 1, say the value of i out loud and then decrement i. Drain the rigatoni.

6. Chop 5 or 6 shiso leaves and add to the sauce. (it's an experiment!)

7. Stir the sauce for a few seconds, then pour it over the pasta.

8. Take a handful of arugula that you cleverly washed beforehand, and put on top like so:

9. Sprinkle some cheese on top of that, preferably the aged goat cheese that you bought at the farmer's market a week ago and that now looks and feels like parmesan.

I think the shiso was a success. Next time I make tomato sauce, if I have some shiso withering in the back of the fridge, I'll add even more. It sort of fills the role of basil, but it's more interesting and pungent.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go have another shiso hemp milk cordial.