, by Five Points chef-owner Marc Meyer and Peter Meehan. Brunch at Five Points might be New York's best, and that's saying something, considering brunch was practically invented in the Big Apple. The dessert I've included here, a simple Minted Fruit Salad that is the perfect light finishing note to a glorious meal, comes from the 25th anniversary edition of the Silver Palate Cookbook, which is one of my favorite cookbooks. Pasta Cake
serves 6
Adapted from Brunch: 100 Recipes from Five Points Restaurant.
Ingredients
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 pound penne or similar pasta
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup olive oil
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
2 bunches spinach (about 1 ½ pounds), washed and stemmed
½ cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1 cup cubed mozzarella (about ½ pound)
6 large eggs, beaten
1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Smear the inside of an 8-inch springform pan with butter and set it aside.
2. Cook the penne in the boiling water until it's cooked through-past al dente, but not yet mushy. Drain the pasta, toss it in a large mixing bowl with salt, pepper, and a tablespoon of the olive oil. Set aside.
3. Heat the remaining oil in a skillet over medium heat and, when the oil shimmers, add the garlic. When the garlic is fragrant and golden, add the spinach and reduce the heat to medium. Add a pinch of salt and a few turns of freshly ground black pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the spinach is wilted, about 3 minutes. Remove the spinach to a cutting board, chop it coarsely, and add it to the mixing bowl with the pasta.
4. Toss the pasta and spinach together, then add the cheeses and beaten eggs. Fold the mixture over on itself until it looks uniformly dressed, then turn it out into the prepared springform pan. Bake for 45 minutes, until the top is deeply golden and firm to the touch.
5. Let it cool for 5 to 10 minutes, then unmold the pasta cake. Serve it warm or at room temperature.
Lemon Ricotta Pancakes
serves 4
These pancakes, also adapted from Brunch: 100 Recipes, are the lightest pancakes you can imagine
Ingredients
2 cups ricotta (about 1 pound)
4 large eggs, separated
Grated zest of 1 lemon
Pinch of salt
Dash of pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted, plus additional butter as necessary to cook the pancakes
Maple syrup, warmed
1. Set an overproof platter or a baking sheet with a cooling rack on top of it into the oven and turn oven to 200 degrees.
2. Beat the ricotta and egg yolks together in a large mixing bowl with the lemon zest, salt, vanilla, and sugar. Stir in the flour and 7 tablespoons of the melted butter, working the batter just until homogenous and smooth.
3. Whip the egg whites with a whisk or handheld mixer until they hold a stiff peak. With a rubber spatula, gingerly fold half of the whites into the batter, then fold in the remaining half. Don't worry if the resulting batter is lightly striped with whipped whites-they keep the pancakes light and airy.
4. Heat a largecast-iron or nonstick skillet or griddle over medium-low heat for a minute or 2, then grease the pan with a teaspoon or more of the remaining butter. When the butter starts to sizzle, turn the heat up a touch and ladle in 3 ½-to 4-inch pancakes.
5. After a couple of minutes, when the bottoms of the pancakes are somewhere between mottled and uniformly brown, flip them and cook another 2 minutes on the second side. Transfer finished pancakes to the platter in the oven and repeat with the remaining batter.
6. Serve the pancakes on plates with warmed maple syrup on the side.
Minted Fruit Salad
makes 12 servings
Adapted from the Silver Palate Cookbook.
Ingredients
1 pint strawberries
3 kiwis
1 medium-size ripe cantaloupe
1 medium-size honeydew melon
Handful of fresh mint leaves
½ cup fresh orange juice
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons sugar
1. Wash, drain, and hull the strawberries.
2. Peel the kiwis and slice thin, reserving 1 sliced kiwi for garnish
3. With a melon-baller cut balls from the cantaloupe and honeydew melons.
4. Mix all the fruits together except for the reserved kiwi.
5. Chop the mint leaves and tender stems very fine and sprinkle on the side.
6. Mix the orange and lemon juices with the sugar and pour over all. Toss the sald gently and thoroughly.
7. Arrange the reserved kiwi slices on top and garnish with a fresh mint leaf. Chill for 2 to 3 hours and serve cold.
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