Asparagus and walnut tagliatelle

You know that feeling when you could chew off your own arm, you're that hungry? When you worry you might faint if your chosen recipe takes longer than five minutes to cook... It really is a small miracle when at a time like this you create a dish that's actually worthy of a blog, yet this is what happened today...

I cooked some fresh pasta, you know the sort that takes about 3min to cook, and threw the chopped asparagus tips into the boiling, salted water for the final minute. In the meantime, I fried some lovely, French garlic and fresh chilli in olive oil, and crushed walnuts with the back of a knife. Threw them in, grated some lemon zest and fried it all for a further 2min. I drained the tagliatelle and asparagus and added these to the frying pan, squeezed in the lemon juice, and immediately started grating Parmesan into the mix. Season with plenty of celery salt and black pepper before serving. My neighbour tried to speak to me as I was carrying this into the garden to eat. I said "hello" in such a way that he immediately understood that I was very, very hungry

Polish wild mushroom soup with crunchy macaroni

I love the smell of dried, wild mushrooms so much that when I open the box, I can barely tear them away from my nose. Recently, my mum asked my auntie whether she'd taken any of her wild mushrooms that were standing in the kitchen, to which my aunt's response was "No, I was just smelling them", so I guess this fascination is common. The smell is pungent, musky and sweet all at the same time, almost sexual in a dark, unexplained way

So I used these mushrooms to make a very simple, clear, wild mushroom soup. As it contains macaroni, it is quite substantial so you can have it for dinner, however, I also used some of the vegetables from the stock to make a Russian salad too, for starters

First, wash and rehydrate the mushrooms, rinse and cover in boiling water twice. Make the second bowl quite large, and keep them in there for a good few hours, then keep this brown, flavoursome water. To make the vegetable stock, cook a large peeled carrot, a parsnip, an onion, a potato (if you are making the salad, otherwise, forget it) and some celery in a massive pan of salted water. Remove the carrot, parsnip and potato after 30min if you are making the salad. Continue cooking the other stuff for another half an hour. Combine the two stocks: the mushroom and the vegetable, season well with salt and pepper, and bring it back to the boil. Chop the mushrooms and add them to the pan. Cook for another 20min, and meanwhile make the macaroni. Once it is ready, drain and then fry it in some butter until crunchy. Serve the two together

Spaghetti with breadcrumbs

You know how I love simplicity. In food and in life, though the "in life" bit doesn't always come as easily. In the kitchen I am in control, whereas in life there are many conflicting forces at work, people who think and feel differently to me, with desires that don't necessary match mine, I tend to veer into strange corners. When I talk about simplicity in the kitchen, what I am really talking about is soul food - those homely recipes that make you feel warm and cosy on the inside and take hardly any effort, or ingredients, to make. When my semi-Italian lover (for want of a better definition at this moment in time) reminisced about spaghetti with breadcrumbs in Tuscany, I  immediately had to try and recreate it - even though it was 4am - instinctively knowing that this had the potential to be one of those special dishes

Yet I was sceptical throughout the entire cooking time, modifying and elaborating the dish with whatever I had lying around the cupboards and fridge, trying to make it edible. It ended up being much more than that. In fact, I recreated again the next day for lunch too. And I think I may well recreate it many more times in my lifetime. I used wholewheat spaghetti for this, which I cooked in salted water until it was al dente. While this is cooking, fry the breadcrumbs in the mixture of olive oil and butter (mainly olive oil). Once they have turned golden (after 3-4min), add the garlic salt, pepper and dried thyme, then cook for a further 2min. Turn the heat off and add the lemon juice. When the spaghetti is done, drain it and add it to the pan with the breadcrumbs. Put the stove back on and toss it all  together while heating for a couple of minutes - ideally you would use a very large frying pan for this. Finish off with plenty of freshly grated parmesan cheese. Do not eat at 4am if you care about your waistline

Summer spaghetti with cherry tomatoes, basil and crayfish

Life is full of unsung heroes - invisible people that make your life better in small ways and don't ask for anything in return. And food is the same. Normally, I don't blog about every little thing that crosses my lips, every ordinary pasta dish or pedestrian pasty, but sometimes you eat something so simple, so ordinary and it's just so bloody perfect that it would be a massive shame to forget about it. Perhaps it's the moment more than the actual dish: waking up after a nap on a hot Summer's evening, starving, still mildly euphoric from a beautiful, intense Saturday night spent getting to know someone new and quite special, having no idea what to eat or how to acquire that food in your dazed and sleepy state, then remembering a conversation from the previous night about simple pasta dishes, and realizing that this is exactly what you need. Then, making the said pasta dish, with love and care, creating something that fulfills all the unspoken needs and desires of that particular day... this is it

It's wholewheat spaghetti, cooked al dente. The sauce is garlic and good cherry tomatoes fried in olive oil, with fresh basil and ground, smoked crayfish, which I buy from the Wholefoods section at Tesco or in a Caribbean shop. Obviously, you need to season the sauce with salt and pepper, and I also added some Caribbean hot sauce at this point and squeezed in half a lemon. Finally, I transferred the spaghetti to the pan with the sauce and fried it all together for a few minutes, making sure all of the pasta was coated, before adding a bit more freshly ground black pepper. Super easy

Ingredients

Wholewheat spaghetti
Cherry tomatoes
Garlic clove
Big handful fresh basil, chopped
Handful ground crayfish
Half a lemon
Caribbean hot sauce
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Sunny Springtime bento plane lunch

As I've been on the road recently I haven't been cooking much, but I would like to show off this bento I made for my mum (and myself) for our plane journey to Gdańsk. When I was a child I used to love plane food. Probably the fact that I came from a communist country where shops often only had vinegar helped. But also aesthetically - I liked all the small compartments full of different kinds of food - and the spirit of adventure that accompanied it. You don't get these on shorthaul flights anymore, so rather than buying some soggy, half-arsed sandwich, it's more fun to eat a meal that brings back that sense of something special about to happen

So please meet my Sunny Springtime bento! For the main dish I sautèd some kale with garlic in a mixture of olive and pumpkin seed oil, grated some nutmeg over the top and added the cooked pasta.The salad on the side is a mixture of chickpeas, cherry tomatoes, chilli, coriander, lime juice and olive oil. So it's all really simple, healthy stuff and super easy to make. It's only about the fifth bento that I've made in my entire life, but I can really see myself getting into this

Wintery pasta - trottole with kale pesto and parsnips

When it's cold out, I love to play mad scientist in the kitchen. So this pasta is a kind of a Frankenstein's monster that's actually turned out damn tasty. Though still green, of course - my metaphor is perfect!

I used spinach trottole, that's why it's so very green, although the kale was (obviously) green too. For the kale pesto blend all the top ingredients until mushy, adding the olive oil slowly as they blend. The parsnips need to be chopped finely, not quite julienned, but not far from it - grill them with some olive oil, salt, pepper and nutmeg for about 10 minutes, or until crispy. Fry the pesto for a few minutes, stirring constantly, before adding the cooked pasta. My friend recently explained to me why we should never add oil when cooking pasta - it's because it makes the surface slippery so that the sauce doesn't stick. So make sure you just use loads of salted water instead when cooking the trottole, if that's the pasta you choose to use (I'd recommend it). Add the sizzling parsnips at the end and grate more cheese on top before serving. That down there makes about 3 servings

Ingredients

100g curly kale

4-5 tablespoons mild olive oil

100g pumpkin seeds

2 garlic cloves, chopped

100d Pecorino or grana padano cheese, grated

Salt and pepper

400g Spinach trottole pasta

Parsnips

Nutmeg, grated

Fusilli with baby vegetables

The thing about me and pasta is that it's my go-to food when I don't have time or can't be bothered. Theo Randall's book (Pasta) has got me thinking about it in a different way. With more care perhaps. I had fusilli in the cupboard and he suggests fusilli with cuttlefish (sadly, this seems to be the only fusilli recipe), as they curl around the pasta so nicely. It reminded me of the time my friend's boyfriend cooked for us in Treviso, using massive pasta shells to complement tiny little sea creatures perfectly - the little things all got stuck in the shells, so that each mouthful was full of sea flavour and there was no need to chase anything around the plate. That's the Italian way of choosing pasta - the shape depends entirely on the sauce. However, as today I have an early spring clean on my hands, thanks to the lovely Coco and some critters she's picked up, I really didn't have time to go on a mission to find cuttlefish. A few years ago, I would definitely have done that and got incredibly stressed out in the process, but now I am older and wiser, without the inclination to complicate my life

So I decided that I was going to use stuff that I already had in, and that shallots were going to have to do the job of the cuttlefish in Theo's recipe - of curling round the fusilli, I mean. It turned out to be something worth writing about, so here we are. I fried some shallots in olive oil, added some baby mushrooms chopped in half and finely sliced baby aubergines, and continued to fry throughout the whole time that the fusilli was cooking - so about 20min - stirring occasionally. Half way through, I seasoned with sea salt and some pepper. Then, I added a splash of this amazing balsamic vinegar. I had to, I add it to everything now. I'm sure you've heard this before but if you like your food, then it's really worth spending at least a tenner on good quality balsamic. That was followed by some tomato passata, and a handful of thyme. Allow to simmer for 5min. Finally, add the drained fusilli and stir everything together really well, no rushing. Finally, finish off with parmesan shavings, black pepper and more fresh thyme. Here are the ingredients

Fusilli

Olive oil

Shallots

Baby closed cup mushrooms

Baby aubergines

Passata

Good quality balsamic

Fresh Thyme

Parmesan

Salt and pepper

Fisherman's spaghetti with courgettes and mussels

I once read somewhere, that in a certain part of Italy the fishermen eat spaghetti with courgettes, olive oil and garlic on days when they have no fish. For some reason, I have remembered this little fact for years. This will surprise anyone who knows me and my inability to remember facts, peoples' names, even songs I love. But with food it's different and the image of these fishermen, tired from a day's hard work and salty air, worn out from the sun, the toil, but somehow essentially content from living a life so close to nature... has always stayed with me. And I have made this dish many times, with many variations, and always with a thought for the fishermen. This one was the best I've made so far. Since they are fishermen, I reasoned, it therefore follows that this kind of dish would be especially good with something that comes from the sea. I imagined a fisherman's wife casually throwing in a handful of fresh seafood into the pan. Just like the mussels that I had left over from the paella we made the other night. As you can see if you clicked on that link, the paella really couldn't handle any more of them

I felt really mean waking up the mussels by splashing cold water on them until they closed their shells, then boiling them alive, but what can you do... I boiled them in fish stock with saffron. At the same time I also boiled the spaghetti in salt water, until it was al dente. In the massive frying pan, I fried small, fine, almost translucent chunks of courgette and garlic in plenty of olive oil, and some sea salt. Finally, I added both the spaghetti and the mussels to the pan, along with a splash of the saffron stock. I cooked this for a while longer, adding more stock to make sure it didn't burn, and squeezed some lemon in right at the end. I served it with ground black pepper and some cold beer. I love to imagine that by eating this some little part of me is right there with the fishermen, in a cosy kitchen somewhere in Italy

My avoiding -the-riots spaghetti

As I am writing this, a helicopter is hovering right over my flat (at least it sounds like it) and gangs of youths are heading towards the main drag, while normal people are heading away. Being very close to Mare Street in Hackney is a bit disconcerting at a time like this, but I am eating such a delicious pasta dish, that I had to share it. I made up this sauce right now, so you could say that it's been inspired by the riots. Everyone needs a recipe like this for times of stress. And sadness too perhaps. I think it could help

I had some fish in the fridge from Eastbourne that I was meant to eat for dinner tonight, but who wants to eat fish during a riot? No, it had to be comforting spaghetti. And there's something so satisfying about the crunchiness of the seeds and green pepper in this sauce... Then the tabasco kick just to add an element of danger (but not really). I grilled the chopped green pepper and pumpkin seeds while the pasta was cooking, and warmed the tomato passata on the stove with the torn basil, garlic salt and pepper, then added the two together. Finally, I tossed the al dente spaghetti in it and finished off with some tabasco

Ingredients

Spaghetti
Tomato passata
Fresh basil
Pumpkin seeds
Green pepper
Olive oil
Garlic salt
Black pepper
Tabasco

Pasta e fagioli - Pasta and bean soup

I have an easygoing cooking style, improvising on the ingredients and/or techniques more often than not. I keep in mind the millions of people that have made a particular dish throughout history and all the hundreds of people that are probably cooking it right at this very moment - each one, their own version. So when Mr. Carluccio told me there are as many pasta e fagioli as there are political parties in Italy (regrettably not in person, but through his cook book "Vegetables"), I recognized immediately my type of dish: relaxed and fuss free. They don't have borlotti beans in Tesco? No problem, replace them with cannellini beans, for pasta e fagioli southern-style. So I improvised quite a lot with this one, and the recipe below can now only really claim to be inspired by Mr. Carluccio's



Ingredients (serves 2)

2 x 400g tins cannellini beans

100g tubatini or lumache pasta

Garlic clove

Red chilli

100g cherry tomatoes

1 Tblsp tomato puree

Handful finely chopped fresh onion

Garlic salt

Black pepper

Puree half the beans, while frying the chilli and garlic in some olive oil, followed by the tomatoes along with the tomato puree. After a few minutes, add the bean puree and the whole beans, drained. Cover with about a pint of hot water (just over half a litre). Add the garlic salt and pepper and bring to the boil, then chuck the pasta in and cook for a further 10 minutes. Allow to rest for 5 minutes, then serve with some fresh onion on top (or hot pepper sauce)

I won't rant and rave too much about this dish, even though I really want to - lets just say that I have made a friend for life, and like the people I love, it's warm, comforting and generous (and no effort at all, of course). The only thing I did question is whether it could have been even better had I used tubatini pasta as Mr. Carluccio had suggested. Of course, I couldn't find it and used lumache instead. They were, perhaps, just that little bit too big. In terms of shape, however, they were ideal, because they caught all the juices and even whole beans at times, transforming them into delicious little morsels

More berry recipes

I am almost satiated with seasonal berries. I have been eating them in different forms almost every day - I miss them so much throughout the year, that I have to get my fill in the summer months. And I'm so nearly there... but before that happens here's a couple of berry recipes from this week, starting with another pasta one. I realize that  people can't quite get used to the idea of sweet pasta (here's an earlier blueberry pasta recipe) but just look at rice pudding - it's a very similar concept. Except this doesn't have to be eaten as a pudding... Anyway, it's an incredibly simple recipe - you just cook the berries with the sugar and vanilla essence for about 5min, until they turn into a sauce consistency. Cook the pasta separately, in plenty of salty water. Combine the creme fraiche with the berry mixture, and warm gently. And finally combine the two!

Berry pasta - ingredients

Pasta shapes

Strawberries

Blackberries

Creme fraiche

Vanilla essence

Caster sugar

And this is a berry breakfast, which is just natural yoghurt, blended with raspberries, honey, a little vanilla essence,  then mixed with oats (soaked in juice or milk before to make it even better) and some toasted almonds

I made a few of these, so I could have breakfasts waiting for me in the fridge in the mornings, and not have to worry about whether we have milk, or tea, or bread in the flat... we're not very well supplied. However, when I move into my new flat, sometime very soon (I hope), it will be a completely different story. I am seeing masses of various sizes of pots and pans, sharp knives, a clean, non leaky, well-stocked fridge and an ice-cream maker...

Blueberry pasta - not at all weird

I know, I know, it sounds weird. But in Poland we often eat pasta in sweet dishes. And it is so delicious, and so easy to make that I had to write about it. At this time of year, blueberries are in abundance, so we use them. As you can see down there, they are not exactly like the blueberries that we get in the UK, they are smaller and harder, and taste a bit different too. But I expect that you can replace the blueberries with a different variety quite easily, because, well, why not? You can also use a different berry altogether if you so choose, I think blackberries would work well for instance

Ingredients

Pasta

Blueberries

Sugar

Sour cream

You simply cook the pasta as normal, in salted water. In a separate pan, you cook the blueberries, along with the sugar. Add the sugar according to your own taste. Then combine the two, and stick a dollop of cream on top. Didn't I say it was easy?

Bucatini with courgette/zucchini

I discovered this dish when reading an article about various local dishes in different parts of Europe - it is the only part of the article that stuck with me for some reason. Apparently, it is a very common dish for fisherman in a certain part of southern Italy (presumably on days when they don't have fresh fish). I don't know what pasta they use, but I do know that it works well with both bucatini (which I am slightly obsessed with at the moment) and ordinary spaghetti

Ingredients

Bucatini pasta (aprox 100g per person)

Courgette (1 per person) - thinly sliced

Garlic clove

Juice of half a lemon (per person)

Some garlic salt

Olive oil

Black pepper

Sometimes, you don't want to spend ages in the kitchen - you need to do some work, or the cleaning, or whatever, and need something simple, tasty and light. This is the dish for those kind of moments. You cook the pasta in plenty of water, and on a frying pan fry the courgette slices until they get slightly burnt. Then add the garlic, and squeeze the lemon in. Finally, add the pasta to the frying pan and mix together really well, adding garlic salt and black pepper. I am off to Poland tomorrow, therefore have lots of loose ends to tie up, and no time to cook. Whilst there I will cook as many summery Polish dishes I can - I get annoyed about how Polish restaurants always serve pierogi and bigos in the summer, because I don't know anyone in Poland who would eat that kind of food at this time of year - and report back next week

And here's another courgette recipe