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For a recent weeknight dinner, I decided to make a colorful dinner with a bag of gourmet Arcobaleno pasta I picked up at Cost Plus World Market recently. I set a pretty table outside – my boyfriend and I dine outdoors whenever possible.
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Arcobaleno means “rainbow” in Italian, and is used to describe colorful pasta made with vegetable dyes (and squid ink, for the black pieces).
Such a simple dish to prepare – boil the pasta, heat some jarred pasta sauce, and sprinkle grated Parmesan on top.
The Casa de Milo version of arcobaleno uses leaf shaped die cutters to cut out the pasta. I like to serve this in autumn especially.
I made a salad of Romaine lettuce, cucumbers and tomatoes from our garden, hard boiled eggs, carrots, and a sprinkling of Italian cheeses on top.
I split three hard boiled eggs between our two salads, for some extra protein, since the rest of the meal was meatless.
My boyfriend and I like to eat our salad after the main course, like French and Italian people do.
Our pasta dinner wouldn’t be complete without Italian bread, olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
I have been saving a bottle of Cascade Cliffs Nebbiolo for a few months, eager to taste this wine again but wanting to enjoy it with an Italian meal. (You can read more about Nebbiolo here).
My boyfriend usually drinks beer with dinner, but I poured him a glass of the Nebbiolo so he could try it too. I wouldn’t complain if I had to finish his glass for him if it wasn’t to his liking!
You can find Nebbiolo here in Woodinville at Adrice Wines, Beaumont Cellars, Cascade Cliffs, Martedi Winery, and Wilridge Winery as well as a few other wineries.
-Carrie
