Spaghetti with Crab, Tomatoes, Chilli, Garlic, Lem...

Spaghetti with Crab, Tomatoes, Chilli, Garlic, Lemon and Basil

O.K let’s get straight to the point. I have been remiss in my blogging duties. To be fair I was battling chicken pox amongst other various lurgies. Thankfully I am better and have been cooking up a storm in the kitchen as well as organizing my garden – I just haven’t been writing about it. On my desk sits a very precarious looking stack of notebooks and important bits of paper. My SD card is full of images of baked treats, wholesome meals and new additions to the garden. There is much work to be done.

Whilst languishing on the couch in full pox delirium I decided to have a rummage through one of my old recipe binders. Tucked in between a Jamie Oliver recipe for Beautiful Zucchini Carbonara and a Nigel Slater recipe for Pasta with Spicy Sausage, Basil and Mustard, I found what I was looking for. Lovingly titled ‘pasta w/crab’, the recipe was handwritten on the back of an envelope.

Unfortunately there is no reference as to where this recipe came from, but I do remember making it a few years ago and thinking it was rather yummy. This dish didn’t disappoint the second time around and it will grace our table again. Next time, however, I will use fresh crab (a visit to the Whitsable Fish Market will be in order) and also add a Tablespoon of capers (because they make everything taste just that little bit more fantastic). In any case this is easy to make, perfect for lunch or dinner and goes very well with glass or two of wine.

Luna Raye’s Spaghetti with Crab, Tomatoes, Chilli, Garlic, Lemon and Basil (serves 2)

Ingredients

Spaghetti (or any other type of long-strand pasta such as Linguine, Angel Hair or the fabulous Fusilli Lunghi)

1 good sized glug of olive oil

12-14 Cherry tomatoes quartered (you can always add more if you wish)

1- 3 cloves of garlic (I love garlic and have no social life so I happily used 3 cloves)

2 fresh chillies (if you want it really hot – keep the seeds!)

1 unwaxed lemon (all you need is the peel so use a peeler to create lovely long strands)

1 tin of crab meat – 170g with drained weight of 121g (next time I will use fresh)

Salt and pepper to taste

A handful of fresh basil leaves roughly torn

Directions

Cook the pasta according to the package directions

Add the olive oil and quartered tomatoes to a pan and cook over moderate heat

When the tomatoes begin to soften (after about 3-4 minutes) add the garlic, chillies, salt and pepper

Give everything a good stir and add the lemon peel

Leave the peel to soften for 1-2 minutes then add the drained tinned crab (or fresh crab)

Stir every so often until it’s heated through (approximately 5-7 minutes)

I added about 3-4 Tablespoons of the pasta cooking water during this time as the mixture was looking a bit dry

Add the cooked and drained pasta to the pan and toss everything together

Just before serving add the basil leaves and give it all one final toss

Enjoy!

Note: My husband isn’t overly enthusiastic about tomato skins. This didn’t put him off his dinner but he suggested that it might be worthwhile exploring recipes that do NOT include tomato skins. The thing is – tomatoes are great for you and it is recommended to use the whole tomato whenever possible in cooking. Here is a very interesting website on the many health benefits of tomatoes and a quote from their website.

Whenever possible, try to develop recipes that make use of the whole tomato. We’ve seen research showing higher lycopene content in whole tomato products. For example, when the skins of tomatoes are included in the making of the tomato paste, the lycopene and beta-carotene content of the paste is significant higher according to research studies. – courtesy of www.whfoods.com

Sorry Hubby – the tomato skins stay!

Smoked Salmon Pasta...

Last night my mum made her famous smoked salmon pasta. She put us all to work in the kitchen and the result was a delicious meal with plenty of laughs and stories along the way.

I did make a version of this dish awhile back but I used inferior smoked salmon which resulted in an unpleasant fishy mush. So if you do decide to make this dish it is worth getting organic ethically sourced salmon.

The original recipe is from Simply Recipes and is for two people. We just doubled everything and there was plenty for the four of us.

Here is the original recipe for two people.

Ingredients

8 ounces spaghetti or linguine

Salt

1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted

2 Tbsp olive oil

1/3 cup chopped shallots

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/3 cup dry white wine (can substitute pasta cooking water with Tbsp of lemon juice)

1/4 cup cream (mum uses low fat sour cream)

1 Tbsp lemon juice

2 Tbsp lemon zest ( divided into 2 separate servings)

2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley or dill

4 ounces smoked salmon cut into bite sized pieces

Fresh ground black pepper

Optional 1/2 cup lightly steamed broccoli cut into small pieces

Directions

Heat to boiling a large pot of salted water.

While water is heating lightly toast pine nuts in a single layer in a large skillet.

Once pine nuts are lightly browned remove from heat and set aside.

Once water is boiling add the pasta according to package directions and cook till pasta is al dente.

While the pasta is cooking prepare the sauce. In a large skillet heat olive oil and add the shallots and garlic. Cook these over a medium heat for approximately 2 minutes or until softened.

Then gradually add white wine, lemon juice and 1 Tbsp of the lemon zest.

Increase the hear and let it boil down by half.

Then, for a slightly creamier sauce, add the cream and let it boil for a further minute.

The sauce should be done at the same time as the pasta. If not simply remove it from the heat.

Once the pasta is cooked remove a cup of the cooking water before draining it.

Drain pasta and add it to the skillet with the sauce. If it’s dry then just add a little bit of the reserved pasta water.

Add the smoked salmon, toasted pine nuts, parsley and the remaining 1 Tbsp of lemon zest.

If using broccoli you can add it at this point.

Season with freshly ground black pepper.

Enjoy!

Spaghetti with Tomato Sauce and Caramelized Onions...

Cooking really changed for me when I finally mastered the fine art of caramelizing onions. Although it may seem like a simple thing to do I usually ended up with charred bits of onion stuck to a heavily smoking pan and lots of little burns on my hands and arms. I think the main culprit in this was my love of cooking everything in butter (and lots of it!). Apparently the dairy solids in butter have a tendency to burn which I didn’t realize. You can use clarified butter but using olive oil seemed a much simpler (and healthier) solution. So I made the switch and the rest is history.

My onion of choice is the large yellow Spanish onion which has a beautifully sweet flavour when cooked. However I personally like to add a sprinkling of brown sugar or for a special treat, a drizzle of maple syrup, which gives the onions a deep rich colour and really brings out the smoky sweetness in flavour. By cutting the onion cross wise in large round slices you get lovely long strands of onion which look quite elegant. To caramelize them add to a pan with some olive oil and a sprinkling of brown sugar or maple syrup. Cook over a moderate heat until soft. It’s as easy as that!

I am very proud of the fact that I can now easily whip up this tasty delight adding a whole new dimension to a variety of dishes. No more charred onions or smoking pans for me, although I still burn my hands from time to time, but then again I can be a real klutz (I am an Aries after all)!

Caramelized onions are a fantastic condiment and can be added to:
• Burgers
• Hot Dogs
• Sausages
• Steaks
• Sandwiches (grilled cheese is especially good)
• Salads (they work really well with hummus or goats cheese)
• Mashed, Scalloped or Jacket Potatoes
• Salsas, chutneys and gravies

You can also add them to:
• Pasta sauces. (my favourites are tomato or carbonara)
• Quiches or vegetable tarts.
• Omelettes.
• Soups.

Here is my recipe for Spaghetti with Tomato Sauce and Caramelized Onions.

Ingredients
1 large yellow Spanish onion, cut crosswise in large round slices.
1-2 cloves of garlic, minced.
2-3 Tablespoons of olive oil.
1 (28 ounce) can Italian-style diced tomatoes.
2 teaspoons of dark brown sugar or pure maple syrup.
3-4 Tablespoons of freshly grated Parmesan or Romano cheese.

Directions
1. Add olive oil and chopped onions to a large skillet and stir to coat onions in the oil. Sprinkle the brown sugar or drizzle some maple syrup over the onions and continue to cook over a medium heat until the onions become soft.

2. Once the onions have been cooked set them aside on a plate. Don’t wash the skillet!

3. Add the tomatoes and minced garlic to the unwashed skillet (there will still be some lovely flavours from the onions lurking there). Cook over a low heat stirring occasionally so it doesn’t stick.

4. While the tomatoes and garlic are cooking get a pan of salted water on the boil for the pasta. You can use any kind of pasta but I love using spaghetti or linguine for this dish.

5. Once the water is boiling and the pasta is cooking, add the caramelized onions back into the skillet with the tomatoes and garlic. Gently stir to mix the onions, garlic and tomatoes together.

6. When pasta is al dente, drain it and add it to bowls.

7. Generously spoon the sauce and top and grate some Parmesan or Romano cheese on top.

8. Serve on its own or with garlic bread and enjoy!

Spaghetti with Tomato Sauce and Caramelized Onions

Caramelizing Onions

Kitchen Tools: A Main Ingredients Hand Grater....

It’s important to purchase good quality kitchen tools. Not only can they make your life easier in the kitchen but they can also help introduce you to new techniques and cooking methods.

I recently purchased a large Prestige Main Ingredients Hand Grater which is the perfect tool for zesting lemons, limes and oranges. It is also wonderful for finely grating garlic and ginger and for putting those extra special touches of parmesan cheese on pasta dishes, salads and soups.

For ages the only grater I had was a box grater. It is perfect for grating large blocks of cheese but I found it hard to use when I needed things finely grated or zested. The hand grater is a great and inexpensive kitchen tool and I would recommend one of these for anyone who is serious about cooking.

One of the first recipes I used the grater for was Nigella Lawson’s, Linguine with lemon, garlic and thyme mushrooms. In fact, I bought it so I could make this very dish, and it was absolutely worth it!

Give this recipe a try. It is simple, elegant and delicious and while you’re at it, why not treat yourself to some new tools for your kitchen!