Trying Something New

I celebrated Try a New Food Day a day early, trying a Nigella recipe that I was oh so skeptical of. I mean, raisins in a savory dish are not usually my cuppa. However, everything was super-delicious. I did pappardelle with zucchini, sultanas and pine nuts accompanied by a couple different kinds of flatbread & a spring mix salad topped with raspberry vinaigrette. The pasta recipe can be found at http://www.cookstr.com/recipes/pappardelle-with-zucchini-sultanas-and-pine-nuts or in Nigella's Forever Summer cookbook, which I highly recommend buying. I got it for Christmas and couldn't be more thrilled with it. Not only are her recipes stellar, but her writing is wonderful and funny! As for the flatbreads, I nipped up to the Olive Tree Middle Eastern market in North Olmsted to pick up some halloumi and some Jasmine's pitas, as well as a packet of sesame candy for a surprise for J. While the zucchini was cooking & the sultanas were soaking, I mixed 1 tbsp. each of za'atar and olive oil and smeared it on one pita. Then, I chopped up a few tomatoes, sliced some halloumi and put them on another pita, which I then sprinkled with dried mint & drizzled with olive oil per Nigella's instructions. Those got tossed in a 450 degree oven for a few minutes and served with dinner. I think the halloumi flatbread was what pushed the dinner from a 9 to a 10 in J's book.