Favourite Pasta Forever

I suspect that like aubergines, this pasta dish has many names, depending on where you're from.

The main ingredients are so simple that it could be any number of dishes with tomatoes, pork, onions and chilli as their base + whatever else is seasonal ( rosemary, thyme, red wine, basil, aubergines and so on). I make it once a week, usually on a Sunday. It's simple, but do not be deceived by it's simplicity, it changes a little bit all the time..just like us.

Ingredients:

250g streaky bacon/prosciutto/parma ham/black forest ham + any other pork, you could use other red meat too, like lamb, ostrich, rabbit, beef..

1 normal tin tomato puree/juice/ Pomi etc

1 normal tin whole peeled/chopped tomatoes
you can use 500ml of both too
1/2 dried chillies
1 medium onion - as finely chopped as possible

500g penne rigate -try to get a decent Italian or equivalent, else rigatoni, else macaroni..

Method:

Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a medium to large pan. Cut your streaky bacon, proscuitto etc into approximately 1 cm size pieces. Put them in the pan on medium heat, you want the fat to sort of melt away and the bacon to be half soft and half crisp. Add your chilli to the pan. Cut your onion as finely as you can. Add to pan. Your onion needs to go translucent, but not browned. Once you are sure they're very soft, add the tins of tomato and tomato juice. Use a masher to mash up your whole peeled tomatoes a bit.

Allow to come to the boil and then turn down to a gentle "plop plop" simmer. Take out the chillies now if you want only a little bite. Simmer for a good 10 minutes, or until there's good ratio of sauce and tomato pieces.

Serve with very al dente Penne preferably ( err on the side of dente-ness), else other short pasta of a similiar shape. Also make quite sure you have lots of Parmesan (or similiar) cheese on hand, and for colour - a few torn basil leaves. After all, I only make this delicious pasta as excuse to eat Parmesan!

Aubergine brinjal eggplant melanzane snacks

This one is Bel's recipe. I don't know where she got it from, but she's been making these since the beginning of time ( since I was born), and I like them a lot. I have also found the perfect accompaniment in the form of a coriander atchar relish pesto made by the famous ladies at the Ondersteun Handelaars at the Salt River Market (they are also usually at the Biscuit Mill on Saturdays). They're really cool to serve with drinks and they leave a lovely tingling tasty taste in your mouth just before your next sip of delicious pinot noir...

Batter:

1 egg

150ml milk

200ml flour

salt and pepper

2 medium or equivalent aubergines

Method:

Beat egg in bowl, then add milk and then flour. Mix with a whisk, it makes everything smoother quicker. Add big pinch salt and pepper. you should have a medium heavy batter.

Slice your aubergines about 1/2 cm thick.

In a pan, heat 1/2 cm of oil, dip one slice aubergine in the batter and gently plop it into the pan. Your heat needs to be about medium, enough to slowly crisp the batter and cook the aubergine inside. They should be nice and golden to brown. Drain on some kitchen towel.

Test by eating one. Try and get hold of some of the Coriander Atchar it is the business.

Prost!

Peace oop

Despite the looooverly weather we've been having in Cape Town, it's officially cool to make soup till its coming out of your ears. Although I have already made a medley of el classicos - minestrone, fish soup, and leek & potato soup, I am digging the pea soup I made over the weekend the most. I am eating it as I write this...

PEA SOUP

INGREDIENTS:
500g split peas ( you can buy ones that you don't have to soak overnight)
200-250g pork ie bacon, kassler, eisbein etc or lamb/beef bones
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 big stalks Celery with leaves, roughly chopped
3 leeks, white part only, roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic , roughly chopped
3 bay leaves
1 dried chilli
2L water + 1 chicken stock cube OR 2L real chicken stock
1 knob butter



METHOD:

In a large pot with a little! oil, brown your bones or cook you bacon a bit.

Add onions, celery, leeks, garlic, bay leaves, chilli and knob of butter.


Allow them to come together - as John Lennon requested - that's to say, don't let them colour, just soften, the flavours need to release a little. Add the split peas, stir and leave for about 3 minutes. Either add your stock cube now and mix in a little, then add 2 L cold water and allow soup to come to the boil, or just add your 2L chicken stock and allow to come to the boil, then turn down to a good simmer.

Simmer until the peas are quite soft ( if you squish one on your tongue then it goes soft with a little bite left).

At this stage I like to take the hand blender, and whiz about 60 % of the soup, so just a little chunk/texture is left.

Serve with fresh parsley and a drizzle of olive oil and some toasted chunky bread.


Tastes even better 3 days later.

*Remember when refrigerating liquids like soups and stocks to be quick to cool them and get them in the fridge when not using them. You essentially have 4 hours between the temperatures 5 - 65C, and the last of those four hours should be for cooling or re-heating to above 65C.