Well, this one was a real unexpected surprise. I wasn't supposed to be cooking this recipe at all and in fact, can't remember why I wasn't cooking the intended one. Whatever the reasons were - and it could be any number of them! - I decided to go for this because it looked simple and sounded like it could be rather good.
Yes, it's certainly simple - both in number of ingredients, cooking process and method - and as for "rather good", well that's a bit of an understatement. It turned out to be very good indeed.
The recipe originates with the BBC Good Food website and I could just direct you straight there, however, it occurred to me that if we ever lost that site, I'd lose a very useful and tasty recipe. So here it is, with thanks to BBC Good Food for the original.
There is only one Cook's Tip for this recipe - and that is, if you are using cooked King prawns (or Tiger prawns), then literally just heat them up in the pan. Don't cook them, as they are already cooked and will become tough and hard if heated for too long. They just need to be brought up to a good temperature so as to avoid any risk of encouraging bacteria by half-hearted warming and that's all.
This dish certainly doesn't have big, bold flavours. However, if you're into garlic butter, lemon and prawns, then you will love it. The spaghetti gives it that comfort food thing and the lemon prevents the butter from becoming too rich. I'd have it again tomorrow, I liked it that much!
SIMPLE GARLIC BUTTER PRAWN SPAGHETTI (serves 2)
Ingredients :
250g dried spaghetti
sea salt
20g salted butter
2 cloves of garlic, chopped finely
a pinch of ground black pepper
250g cooked King prawns
zest of 1 lemon
15g fresh parsley, chopped.
Method :
Firstly, bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Add the dried spaghetti and cook to manufacturer's recommendation.
In the meanwhile, melt the butter in a frying pan over a gentle heat and add the chopped garlic. Sweat, as opposed to fry, the garlic ever so ever so gently until the pieces are softened, adding the black pepper along the way. Then, add the prawns, the lemon zest and the parsley and increase the temperature just slightly, sufficient to heat the prawns through without cooking them and without frying the pan's contents.
Drain the pasta and add to the prawn & garlic pan. Toss the pasta in the garlicky butter and serve into warmed bowls, sharing the prawns out evenly.
Printable version
This recipe is one of those that I didn't have a lot of faith in - but how wrong was I?
It was born when hubby and I were contemplating what was left over in the fridge from previous meals, that needed using up. I had two cooking chorizo that had been sitting waiting for something to do for, probably two weeks or more - and they were getting a little downhearted. So, it was time to find something for them.
The Turkey & Fennel meatball dish has, so far, spawned a couple of meatball recipes that I've been quite happy with. Plus, turkey mince is just so easy to convert to meatballs. Taken directly from the fridge, it doesn't require any breadcrumbs, or egg, to hold it together - I've never yet had a turkey meatball collapse on me. I've included chargrilled peppers with the turkey mince for meatballs, which were very decent - and this time, I included my two chorizo sausages, chopped finely.
I also added a half a teaspoon of finely ground black pepper and a pinch of chilli flakes (plus a little salt) for seasoning - which turkey definitely requires. Neither the pepper nor the chilli made a discernible impact upon the meatballs, but I can imagine that they would have been fairly bland, without them.
As the meatballs cook, they release the lovely paprika flavoured oil from the chorizo, which lends colour (as well as flavour) to the turkey mince. I will admit that I did slightly overdo the colouration on the meatballs, but I was aware that the chorizo was fairly elderly and wasn't prepared to take any chances. Not with hubby having just got over a nasty tummy conniption - didn't want any action replays of that!
To accompany the meatballs, I made a lovely pan of spaghetti which I then tossed in a red pesto. Gorgeous.
Now I really love spaghetti. I think, over all the pastas, it's my favourite type - with linguine a close second. I love, at the beginning of a meal, twirling my fork in the pasta strands and the challenge of eating it without getting it all down my front. (Which isn't easy - as my front has a magnetic effect, where food is concerned). Then, as the meal progresses, I change from demurely twiddling to grabbing a spoon and chopping off great spoonfuls of spaghetti. I know that's not how you're supposed to eat the stuff, but it works for me - and there's something so comforting about munching your way through hot spaghetti that's coated in a lovely tomato sauce or a pesto. Happy days!
If you think about how much this dish has cost, it really was one of the most economical recipes I've cooked, recently. It probably only cost around £1.50 per portion - and if you've already got spaghetti in your store cupboard (and pepper, chilli flakes & olive oil), then it's probably even less.
With a liberal sprinkling (actually, something of a deluge) of finely grated Parmesan, this was a supremely easy dinner - that everyone really liked the flavours of. Not everyone in our family enjoys spaghetti, but it was very nice to have it for a change. I'll definitely be making those meatballs again.
TURKEY & CHORIZO MEATBALLS ON PESTO SPAGHETTI (Serves 3)
Ingredients :
500g turkey mince
100g cooking chorizo sausages
½ a tsp of finely ground black pepper
a large pinch of dried red chilli flakes
2 tbsp olive oil
300g or thereabouts, of dried spaghetti
200g jar of red pesto
finely grated Parmesan, to serve.
Method :
1. Take the chorizo sausage and chop into tiny dice, as finely as you can achieve. Place into a large bowl with the turkey mince, pepper and chilli flakes and give a good mix and squish with your hands, to make sure the chorizo and seasoning is evenly spread.
2. Take a pinch of the mixture and roll in your hands (it helps to keep your hands wet) to form a walnut-sized (or slightly smaller) ball. Don't make the meatballs too big, or they take for ever to cook. These quantities should make 12-13.
3. Next, place a large pan of salted water on to boil for the spaghetti and heat the oil in a frying pan.
4. When the oil is really quite hot, gently introduce the meatballs to the frying pan and cook - reducing the heat if necessary - until the oil from the chorizo has finished running from them and they have a good caramelisation, without being burnt!
5. When the water boils, cook the spaghetti according to the packet instructions, then drain and add the pesto. Toss the spaghetti to coat each strand in pesto.
6. Serve onto warmed plates, placing the meatballs on top of the spaghetti and with finely grated Parmesan for sprinkling over.
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You may be wondering why the addition of "at last!" in the title there.
Well, you see, I was beginning to think that I'd never get the chance of making this 'ere pasta dish. The last THREE times it has appeared on the menu list, it has been bumped off for one reason or another. I was beginning to think it was cursed - or that hubby and son viewed its inclusion on the list with such trepidation that they were going to all kinds of lengths to avoid having it.
However, it turns out it was just unfortunate circumstance that brought about its loss from the menu lists and we successfully ate it for dinner a few nights ago.
Now you may also wonder about the addition of tuna to the recipe, as I know that a strict pasta puttanesca is largely vegetarian (if you forget about the anchovies). The trouble is, that my boys (both large and small) are committed carnivores. If the meal doesn't include meat of some kind - and fish is included under the heading of "meat" for this purpose - then it's not "dinner".
So, having come across Delia Smith's recipe for straight Pasta Puttanesca and liking the look of it very much, I immediately began to consider what meat I could include and how it would go. Should it be included in the recipe, or the recipe used as a side dish to the meat? I considered bacon, but we've already got a number of successful pasta dishes that use bacon and I'd rather use something else. Then, the anchovies raised their delicious little heads, which got me to thinking tuna. Having re-read the method, it seemed entirely logical to include a tin of tuna right at the end when the sauce is pretty much made. That way, the tuna wouldn't be broken up too badly.
I have to admit that I tinkered around with Saint Delia's recipe something awful (shallot, red pepper, wine, fish sauce, ketchup .. the list goes on) - but then considering the scrumptious dish that resulted, I'm not of a mind to apologise for doing so! I think I can safely say that this is the first dish I've made, that I've been actively aware of the Umami (the fifth taste sensation) involved.
PASTA PUTTANESCA WITH TUNA (feeds 3)
Ingredients :
350g spaghetti or linguine (more, if you are hungry!)
3 drops olive oil
1 pinch sea salt
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 shallot, chopped fine
1 red pepper, seeds removed and sliced small
2 cloves garlic, grated
2 tsp fresh basil, chopped
150ml red wine
50g anchovy fillets, drained
1 tsp fish sauce
1 tbsp tomato ketchup
50g pitted black olives
1 tbsp capers, drained
400g tin cherry tomatoes
1 tsp sugar
tin of tuna in spring water, drained
pinch black pepper.
Method :
1. To make the sauce, heat the oil gently in a medium saucepan then add the shallot and red pepper and cook them slowly until softened.
2. Add the garlic and basil and cook for 1-2 minutes. Then add the red wine and allow it to bubble until reduced by approximately half. This should only take a few minutes.
3. Add the anchovies, fish sauce, ketchup, olives, capers and tomatoes and season with black pepper. Do not use salt, as you've already got salt in the form of the anchovies and fish sauce.
4. Turn the heat down to low and let the sauce simmer uncovered for some 40 minutes, stirring from time to time, by which time it will have reduced to a lovely thick mass with very little liquid left. Taste for seasoning and add the sugar if the acidity is too much.
6. Add the tuna and a little extra basil to the tomato sauce and stir gently to combine. Allow it a minute or two to heat through sufficiently.
5. While the sauce is reducing, cook the spaghetti or linguine to manufacturer's instructions, except adding the three drops of olive oil and making sure the water is salted. Drain the pasta when there is still a little bite left in it and return it to the pan. Aim to have the pasta ready when the sauce is finished.
6. Serve on warmed plates with plenty of grated parmesan cheese and garlic bread.
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The recipe originates with the BBC Good Food website and I could just direct you straight there, however, it occurred to me that if we ever lost that site, I'd lose a very useful and tasty recipe. So here it is, with thanks to BBC Good Food for the original.
