Richmond loves a good Kickstarter campaign, especially when the rewards are edible. Pizza Tonight, Dollop, Proper Pie, and most recently Tim Bereika of Secco Wine Bar have all successfully backed their delicious projects on the crowd-funding website.
Tim’s project, A Fresh Look at Pasta in RVA, aimed to “elevate the beauty and diversity of fresh pasta to the forefront of the Richmond dining community,” and I can think of no one better to do so than Tim and the Secco team.
My faith in Tim’s talents was renewed this evening when I took my half pound of Chestnut Paccheri Pasta home to mingle with my own ingredients. Tim gave me a few pointers: Butter sauces will pair better than a tomato sauce. Think root vegetables and earthy flavors. And the rest was up to me.
What I came up with was Chestnut Paccheri with Roasted Parsnips and Mushrooms and plenty of butter with a hearty pinch of thyme and sage, finished off with a dollop of an herby ricotta. Sidled up next to a roasted chicken and an arugula salad, it was a way, way satisfying meal. The texture of the fresh pasta was amazing. There was a pleasant springiness, and the giant tubes became happy hiding places for little bits of parsnip and mushroom. The ricotta was a last minute inclusion, an effort to use up my last bit of the homemade cheese, mixed with thyme, chives, rosemary, and sage.
onioncloute 
Your style is very unique compared to other folks I’ve read stuff from. I appreciate you for posting when you have the opportunity, Guess I’ll just book mark this
page.
Thanks for the kind words! It inspires me to make find more time to post!