On Monday I really, really didn’t feel like going anywhere, including the grocery store. I rummaged through the refrigerator, then tossed a tweet out asking for suggestions based on my main available ingredients: macaroni noodles, fresh tomatoes, feta and salami. Cook Local (as well as my cousin Katherine) came through with an improvised pasta idea – thanks! I decided to add arugula at the last moment, partly to add color but mostly because a friend gave us a bag of arugula that still needed to be finished off – I had forgotten to list it among my assets.

The truffled salami here was in my IFBC goody bag. It was extremely fragrant – when I cut into it the smell of truffles infused the entire house and lingered for hours and hours. I used half of it in this pasta and we ate the other half last night, sliced thinly and tucked into hot gougères alongside Negroni cocktails. To quote James Oseland, Oh my god that was so good.

The main thing I learned here is that feta is a great thing to add to pasta. I’ve recently started buying an Israeli sheep feta that is gloriously soft and salty, and it vanishes into hot macaroni like butter. I had thought about making an actual white sauce for more of a mac-and-cheese effect, but it really wasn’t necessary. Yum.

Truffled Salami Macaroni

A highly improvised recipe. Serves two with lots of leftovers.

• half a truffled salami, finely diced
• two handfuls fresh ripe tomatoes, halved or quartered
• one handful arugula, roughly chopped
• half a pound macaroni noodles, cooked and drained (reserve a cup of the cooking water)
• random quantity feta cheese (maybe a cup?), crumbled

Saute the salami in a little olive oil, then add the tomatoes. Once they are heated through, toss in the arugula to wilt, then stir in the macaroni. Sprinkle the feta over the top and gently stir it all together until the cheese is melted. Add leftover pasta water if the sauce needs loosening. Serve immediately.