Spaghetti alla Puttanesca

According to the powers that be (ie: Wikipedia), spaghetti alla puttanesca is literally called "whore's spaghetti". Charming. I don't know why it's called whore's spaghetti, possibly because it's a little tangy and salty.

This pasta dish is pantry cooking at its finest. I always tend to have pasta and a tin of tomatoes in the pantry, a three-quarters-used jar of olives in the fridge and a lemon that's looking a bit worse for wear in the fruit bowl. This meal is very quick and easy to cook which makes it the perfect mid-week dinner.

But please note, you don't have to be an Italian whore to enjoy this!



Spaghetti alla Puttanesca
(Serves 4-6)

350g dried spaghetti
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tbsp capers
1 red chilli, finely chopped (take out the seeds if you don't like much heat)
1/4 cup olives, sliced (green, black, stuffed, pitted, whatever you have you can use!)
Pinch of ground cinnamon
Pinch of dried oregano
2 tins of chopped tomatoes
2 130g tins of "no drain" tuna (optional)
A small handful of fresh parsley or basil, roughly chopped (optional)
Lemon juice

Put the spaghetti in a large pot of boiling water and cook according to the packet instructions.

In a large pan (I use a heavy-based frying pan), heat the olive oil over a medium heat and add the garlic, capers and chilli. Fry for a minute to release all those aromas and flavours.

Then add the olives, cinnamon, oregano, tomatoes and (if using) the tuna. Cook for a couple of minutes until the sauce has thickened a little and then season it generously with salt and pepper.

When it's cooked, drain the spaghetti and add it to the sauce. Stir well, add the fresh parsley or basil and squeeze over a bit of lemon juice, then serve with a green salad, some fresh crusty bread and a glass of chilled white wine.

The Best Meatballs Ever

These meatballs have been evolving for as long as I've been cooking. Originally they were basic meat-garlic-egg-breadcrumb meatballs but they've slowly morphed into Italian pork meatballs that are packed with flavour.



The Best Meatballs Ever
Serves 4

1/4 cup olive oil
1 onion, finely diced
80g pine nuts
4 large garlic cloves, crushed
500g pork mince
1 egg
65g breadcrumbs
5g basil leaves, roughly chopped
30g parsley, roughly chopped
1 1/2 tspn fennel seeds, ground
200g ricotta
1 lemon, zested
1 quantity of fairly plain pasta sauce (either from a jar or homemade)
350g pasta

In a small saucepan, heat the olive oil and gently fry the onion and pine nuts until the onion has turned translucent. Add the garlic and cook for a further minute, then remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

Combine the pork mince, egg, breadcrumbs, basil, parsley, fennel, ricotta and zest in a large bowl with the onion mixture and a decent amount of salt and pepper.

Roll two tablespoons of the mixture into a ball and flatten it slightly (to make it easier to cook!) Do this for the rest of the mixture.

Heat some olive oil in a large non-stick fry pan and fry the meatballs until they are golden on the outside and cooked all the way through.

Cook the pasta until al dente and tip the pasta sauce over the meatballs to warm up.

Serve the pasta with the saucey meatballs on top and enjoy the best meatballs ever.

Kitchen Basics - Basil Pesto

Basil pesto is easy. Really, really easy. You don't have to cook it, just throw everything into a small food processor and blitz it - it's easy to increase the amount (if you're having a dinner party) or make a very small amount of you're cooking for just yourself.



Basil Pesto
Serves 2

1 garlic clove
40g pine nuts
50g basil leaves
3 tbsp parmesan, grated
1/4 cup olive oil
1-2 tbsp lemon juice

Literally just put all these ingredients in a food processor and turn it on. You can blitz it until it's completely smooth, or leave it slightly chunky - it's entirely up to you.

Spoon the pesto over 200g of cooked pasta and mix it in well then serve with a big glass of chilled white wine (or a ginger ale if wine isn't your thing. ;p )

Penne with a Spicy Sausage and Tomato Sauce

WANTED: A simple child-friendly mid-week meal that doesn't involve toast soldiers.

Consider it delivered!



Penne with a Spicy Sausage and Tomato Sauce
(Serves 4)

Olive oil
1 onion, finely diced
3 garlic cloves, crushed
2 x 400g tins of crushed tomatoes
1/4 cup of white or red wine (if you feel like it!)
3/4 cup chicken stock
6-8 Italian sausages, skins removed
1-2 tbsp chopped basil
350g penne

Heat a small amount of olive oil in a large pan and gently saute the onion until it is soft. Add the garlic and let it cook for a minute.

Add the tomatoes, wine and stock and bring to the boil. Break the sausages into small chunks as you add them to the pan. Cover and leave the mixture to simmer over a medium heat for 20 minutes, stirring often.

Meanwhile, boil the penne until it is al dente. Drain, then add to the sauce and stir well. Season with salt and pepper, mix in the basil then serve straight away with a little parmesan sprinkled on top.

Prosciutto, pea and lemon pasta

It's spring here in Australia and the weather is well and truly warming up after a (not particularly) cold and (definitely not!) rainy winter!

This is a simple pasta dish to make with only a handful of ingredients that reflects the return to warmer weather.



Prosciutto, pea and lemon pasta
(Serves 4)

Olive oil
1/2 onion, finely chopped
8 slices of prosciutto, chopped
3/4 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup frozen peas (add more or less depending on how much you love peas!)
1 lemon, zested and juiced
400g tagliatelle
75g grated gruyere cheese
2-3 tablespoons of chopped fresh parsley

Heat some olive oil in a saucepan and saute the onion and prosciutto (you want the prosciutto to get a bit crispy around the edges!)

Add the chicken stock, frozen peas, lemon zest and juice and simmer for a couple of minutes until the peas are tender and the stock has reduced.

Meanwhile, cook the tagliatelle until al dente then drain well and add to the sauce with the gruyere cheese, the fresh parsley and plenty of cracked black pepper. Stir well then serve and devour!

Fettuccine in a Creamy Mushroom Sauce

This is a simple mid-week meal I created when I had next to nothing in the house except for a few mushrooms. It was simple to cook and very yummy to eat!

You can use any mushrooms you like (or have loitering in the vegetable crisper) for this recipe. I used button mushrooms. You'll also notice that the sauce is not purely cream - I find using a mix of cream and stock reduces the richness and makes the meal a lot lighter.

Fettuccine in a Creamy Mushroom Sauce

(Serves 4)

400g fettuccine

50g butter

1 garlic clove, crushed

1/2 onion, finely chopped

350g mushrooms, sliced

1/2 cup cream

1/2 cup chicken or vegetable stock

Chopped parsley

In a large saucepan of boiling water, cook the pasta until al dente.

At the same time, melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat and saute the garlic, onion and mushrooms until they have all softened (about 3-5 minutes - the onions will look slightly translucent). Add the cream and stock and simmer gently until the sauce has reduced a little.

Toss through the cooked pasta and parsley.