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Posts Tagged ‘spaghetti’

  1. spaghetti aglio, olio e peperoncino

    May 16, 2012 by potatoface

    spaghetti aglio, olio e peperoncino

    spaghetti aglio, olio e peperoncino

    As it happens, sometimes one goes to Brighton to support Boyfriend and his band, comes back knackered and needs something to eat pronto.

    Well, as usual, Italians come to the rescue (forgeet abowt eet)…Have you ever heard of spaghetti aglio, olio e peperoncino? It’s the easiest thing you can make in 7 minutes and tastes freaking delicious. Especially after you spend over an hour on the train with sad looking people in suits.

    Anyway, Brighton…I like it. I know it feels like a poor version of San Francisco with their own weirdos, retired hippies, colourful youngsters and music scene booming, but hey. Everyone gets the San Francisco they deserve and I like the one I can afford.

    So I was having a romantic afternoon with Boyfriend walking the streets and the Pier, holding hands, having dinner and wine, etc. Then I had the pleasure of going to Boyfriend’s band’s gig. If you’ve never heard of them, you should check them out this instant or die instantly! They are amazing. I remember the first time listening to them and being shocked that they were actually so good. And I wasn’t even going out with their drummer…yet. The band is called The October Game.

    Anyway, I got distracted here thinking of Boyfriend looking sexy drumming, when there is a pasta dish to be discussed.

    So, you come home, you are hungry, you want something warm and comforting.

     Spaghetti Aglio Olio e Peperoncino (or basically in plain words easy spaghetti with garlic, olive oil and other cheap bits)

     Ingredients

     spaghetti

    3 table spoons of virgin olive oil

    2-3 cloves of garlic

    few red chilli flakes

    handful of chopped parsley

    handful of chopped walnuts

    grated parmesan

     1. Boil lightly salted water for pasta.

    2. When the water is boiling turn the heat down a bit and start cooking spaghetti.

    3. Warm olive oil in a pan. Add crushed garlic and chilli flakes. Take off the heat when it’s done. Add chopped parsley.

    4. In the meantime chop walnuts and roast them in a dry pan over medium heat. Add them to the olive oil and garlic pan.

    5. Drain pasta, add to olive oil. Sprinkle with nuts and grated parmesan.

    6. Serve with a sigh and red wine. You deserve it.

    Category dinner | Tags: ,,,,,,,, | No Comments

  2. Veggi spaghetti bolognese

    February 24, 2012 by potatoface

    spaghetti bolognese

    spaghetti bolognese

     There are always dishes in everyone’s repertoire which are idiot proof. To me one of them is spaghetti bolognese veggi style. You can’t go wrong, people love it and it takes just a few minutes to make.

    spaghetti bolognese

    spaghetti bolognese

     

    Ingredients:

    spaghetti

    2-3 spoons of olive oil

    mince quorn

    1-2 shallots

    2-3 cloves of garlic

    tin of chopped tomatoes

    olives

    fresh basil

    half a glass of red wine

    black olives

    freshly ground pepper

    pinch of sea salt

    1. Boil water for pasta

    2. Chop shallots and garlic. Pour olive oil into a pan and add the shallots and garlic, stir, fry till they are translucent. Add quorn mince. Mix and fry for 30 seconds and then add chopped tomatoes.

    3. Wait until sauce thickens. Season with salt and pepper, add wine.

    4. In the meantime boil pasta.

    5. Wait until alcohol evaporates. Add a handful of black pitted olives and chopped basil.

    6. Drain pasta and add to the sauce. Serve with parmesan sprinkled on top. Buon appetito!

    Category dinner | Tags: ,,,,,,,,,,, | No Comments

  3. simple spinach pasta – how to cheat your way

    June 23, 2011 by potatoface

    spinach pasta

    Have you ever been in a situation when you had only 10 to 15 minutes to make something for lunch or dinner, something to fill you up, comforting and warm? Well, I’ve quite often been in that situation. There is no need to panic, you can keep your socks on, there is always pasta with spinach. It’s so easy that a 6 year old could make it, it’s also very nice. If you serve garlic bread or focaccia, salad and wine with it, you can even offer it to people coming for dinner. To make it look more like an effort and dinner party dish, you can give it some fancy name, like ‘pasta fresca’, ‘spaghetti aglio olio e spinaci’ or something like that. Trust me, not many people speak Italian or have a clue what they are eating, and a fancy name for a dish never fails, people always assume it must be something sophisticated if it’s got an Italian sounding name. Warning! As Woody Allen said ‘never bluff the bluffer’. If you are cooking for someone who knows something about cooking, just admit you are making something simple, because simplicity in the kitchen is as ‘in’ as neon is the new black in fashion.

     

    Simple spinach pasta

     

    This is the simplest and quickest way of making pasta.

     

    2-3 spoons of olive oil

    spinach

    100 grams of pine nuts

    3 cloves of garlic

    salt and pepper

    fresh basil

    parmesan

    spaghetti (or any pasta you like)

     

    1. Boil salted water for pasta.

    2. Warm olive oil in a pot, add crushed garlic and fry for a while. Don’t burn the garlic, so keep on a low heat with lots of stirring.

    3. Add spinach, cover the pot.

    4. In the meantime boil pasta.

    5. Add some salt and pepper to spinach.

    6. Roast pine nuts and add them to your pot of spinach.

    7. Drain pasta, add it to the spinach. You can sprinkle it with some more olive oil and chopped basil.

    8. Serve with parmesan.

     

    Category dinner, lunch | Tags: ,,,,,,,, | No Comments

  4. Quick green pasta – energy efficient

    June 15, 2011 by potatoface

     

    quick green pastaIf you don’t have a lot of time to cook but you still want to eat something fresh and home made, there is a solution. It is called pasta. I have a few life savers which are quick, easy and mouth watering, you only need about 10 – 15 minutes to make them.

    One of them is green pasta. It’s not green because it’s so ecological, but because you put green stuff into it. Or maybe it is ecological if you think about how quickly it is made and how little energy you use to cook it.

    (more…)

    Category dinner, lunch | Tags: ,,,,,,,,,,, | No Comments