A cheap, convenient ingredient that can be turned into a delicious meal in under 20 minutes.
Who doesn’t like a great big bowl of steaming pasta? I certainly do – pasta dishes have been a staple in my food repertoire for years. When I was a design student, it was a cheap and convenient meal. Tins of tuna combined with sweet-corn and pesto were considered a meal worthy of serving to my fellow student guests. In all its shapes and sizes, I pretty much cook pasta on a weekly basis. I now use it in all kinds of recipes.
Long gone are the days when we as students would attempt to cook pasta in an electric kettle or fling spaghetti strands in the kitchen wall to see if it was cooked. Yes, that was a tip I was told many years ago; if the pasta sticks to a wall, then it’s cooked. As design students, our pasta art installations were part of our daily creative lives.
‘In all its shapes and sizes, I pretty much cook pasta on a weekly basis. I now use it in all kinds of recipes. Long gone are the days when we as students would attempt to cook pasta in an electric kettle‘
I now prefer a more refined pasta bowl; nothing is better than homemade pesto spaghetti topped with crisp rocket leaves, shaved Parmesan and toasted pine nuts. It’s a dish I love to prepare for friends. By all means, store-bought pesto is excellent and convenient, but it’s so easy to make fresh.
Here’s how; Just place two tbsp of pine nuts, with a bunch of basil, three tbsp of olive oil, two tbsp of grated Parmesan, a chopped garlic clove, a pinch of salt and zest of half a lemon into a food processor. Then blitz for a minute. You can store fresh pesto in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three months. Follow my pasta cooking tips and try two of my favourite dishes, one that includes freshly prepared pesto.
Tips for perfect pasta
Always add salt to the water before cooking. A low-sodium diet as we all know is far healthier; however, the pasta doesn’t soak up that much salt during the cooking process. Salt also helps keep the texture of the pasta rough and not slimy, so the sauce sticks when served.
Cook the pasta in a deep pan with plenty of water. When the pasta expands, it may boil over. If the water becomes too low, adding cold water brings down the temperature, increasing the cooking time, which will make the pasta soggy.
Don’t add the pasta to the water too soon; the water should be gently boiling. Adding pasta to hot, but not boiling, water will make it sticky and gloopy.
Do stir that pasta. Give it a minute after adding it to water, then stir to break it up. This ensures all the pasta is exposed to the heat from the water.
Store the pasta in the original packaging, it may look great displayed in storage jars on the counter but cooking times vary from brand to brand.
Don’t mix pasta; they all have different cooking times.
TIP: Pasta fans will be very familiar with the spaghetti spoons, which usually have a hole in the middle. That hole does help with draining, but it’s also a measuring guide for the perfect spaghetti portion for one. Fill the hole and you’re good to go.
Smoked hamour with fresh pesto linguine & capers
Serves 2
prep time 20 minutes
Cooking time 15 minutes
INGREDIENTS
250g linguini
150g smoked Hamour fish (or any smoked white fish)
3 tbsp pesto
A handful of capers
Juice of ½ a lemon
10 basil leaves, thinly sliced
Olive oil to drizzle
Fresh black pepper
METHOD
Cook the linguini as per pack instructions.
Once the linguini is cooked, drain and place in a mixing bowl.
Add the pesto and mix thoroughly.
Next, serve in two pasta bowls, flake over the smoked fish and add the capers.
Add a drizzle of olive oil, a squeeze of lemon juice, and black pepper and top with fresh basil.
Mackerel, mushroom & corn creamy pasta
Serves 4
prep time 10 mins
Cooking time 15–20 mins
300g spaghetti
1 red onion, diced
10 mushrooms, thinly sliced
8 mini sweetcorn
1 vegetable stock cube
1 tsp smoked paprika
½ tsp cayenne pepper
1 cup of single cream
Salt & pepper
2 smoked mackerel fillets, skin removed
Basil leaves to serve
METHOD
Cook the spaghetti as per pack instructions.
In a shallow pan, add some oil and sauté the sliced mushrooms and onion.
Add the cream, sweetcorn, stock cube, paprika, and cayenne pepper and season.
Reduce the heat and simmer for ten minutes.
Remove the spaghetti from the heat and set it to one side.
Add the spaghetti to the pan and mix it into the cream sauce.
Break the mackerel fillets over the spaghetti, cover, and simmer for three minutes.
Finally, remove from the heat and serve topped with sliced basil leaves.