Pasta with tomatoes and roasted vegetables

Many people I know, myself included a while ago, approach the entire concept of pasta as one recipe, namely Spaghetti Bolognese.

"How exactly do you make tagliatelle"? asked a work colleague once and, I, not knowing much better at that time, lamented that maybe chicken and mushrooms with a creamy sauce may be a good option. 

Of course tagliatelle is the name of the pasta, the particular shape, not the actual dish itself, which has limitless possibilities. I once saw biryani on a pub menu in the UK and questioning the server was told I could have it with rice or naan bread. This is all perfectly natural when countries adopt the foods of other cultures and muck about with it, either through a lack of understanding or a desire to fuse it with whatever's available locally and that's fine.

To return to my original comment, pasta can be anything you want it to be, some type of sauce, (or not even that), on a food stuff made out of flour, water and egg. 

roasted peppers and sausage pasta

I've always been intrigued by the Italian dish 'sausage and peppers', especially immortalised in the scene in Goodfellas, when they're trying to exhume a body quickly, anticipating Tommy's ma's peppers and sausage dinner for supper. I always assumed it would be served with pasta, but a quick Google search seems to reveal it's more likely to be a soft bread roll filling. Mine, therefore, is just plain wrong. Only kidding. Do what you want, adapt and be inspired, I say, no-one is judging you, (hopefully).

Cranberry beans with sweet leeks and pasta

I first came across these pale, pink speckled beans at a farmers' market. 

    "Bet you've never seen those before", said the farmer.

He wasn't right, but I didn't say so. I used to see them in a supermarket called Sainsbury's in the UK, a wondrous place full of exotic and unusual things. It was certainly true that I had never bought or cooked them before, so my little white lie wasn't so bad. I bought a brown paper bag full of them that day, along with a recipe he gave me on a small piece of paper which I followed a few days later and then promptly lost not long after that. I vaguely remember that I thought it seemed a strange recipe. How could beans be described as creamy? The technique involved fragrancing the cooking water with aromatics such as bay leaves and whole garlic cloves and gently simmering the beans for as long as an hour. I was dubious as to whether it would work, but of course it did and the beans were the creamiest I have ever tasted. When I saw these beans for sale again at a different farm market, I snapped them up, hoping to recreate the magic alchemy from before.

The best lobster pasta ever!

I have just finished eating what is probably the best pasta dish I have ever eaten and definitely the most decadent. It came about through Neil having a soccer game scheduled for a Saturday night, which I made no attempt to hide the fact that I think is LUDICROUS!

I think Saturday nights are not for running around fields in the dark and pouring rain getting muddy with other guys (hmm?), they are for eating good food and drinking good beverages, hopefully in the company of good friends. But such is Neil's devotion to his team and the beautiful game itself, I was left alone tonight, and decided to make myself something very nice to eat as compensation. 

Having had a disappointing steak and lobster meal at a restaurant last night, (great steak, rubbery, chewy lobster), I decided to use the small lobster tail I bought yesterday and make myself some pasta. 

What transpired was a dream of a dish containing lobster and prawns with a sherry cream sauce. If this wasn't luxurious enough, I decided to add some very expensive truffle cream paste that I bought from a food festival and then top it all with some extra white truffle butter. The sweetness of the lobster and prawns was perfect with the alcoholic wine-y-ness of the sherry with its slight bitterness. This was all complemented with the creaminess of the butter and cream and the truffle sauce which added that unique mushroom-y, earthy, floral taste. I added some capers to give it a little ping and take the edge off the richness and some paprika sprinkled over at the end to add an element of spice. 

This recipe is not for anyone on a low fat diet, lactose intolerant, trying to eat healthily, or easily embarrassed by sheer, unadulterated decadence. (In my defense, the pasta was low carb, so shellfish, cream and butter is OK for me and permitted on my diet). Ha!

Linguine with lobster and prawns in a sherry, cream and  truffle sauce. (Doesn't exactly roll off the tongue)!

(A long ingredient list but so worth it!)

1 shallot, peeled and finely chopped

1 clove garlic, peeled and finely chopped

1 tsp oil

1 tsp butter

1/2 cup sherry (I used Marsala, something dry is good)

1 tsp truffle and Pecorino cream (optional, obviously)

1/4 cup whipping cream

1/2 tsp chicken stock paste or 2 tbsp chicken stock

4 broccolini heads, boiled for 2 minutes in the microwave

3 pieces asparagus, sliced finely and boiled for 2 minutes in the microwave.

1/2 tsp capers

1 small lobster tail, removed from shell and cut into small pieces

4 raw large prawns, removed from shells and cut in half

1/2 tsp white truffle butter or 1/8 tsp white truffle oil

freshly ground black pepper

paprika

linguine for one (yes, this is for one, two if you're not alone on a Saturday night)!

Heat the oil and butter in a frying pan and saute the shallot and garlic over low heat for about 5 minutes until softened.

Add the sherry and boil gently for about 5 minutes to start reducing and lessening the bitter alcohol taste.

Add the cream, stock and truffle cream (if using) and reduce heat to quite low and let cook away to reduce.

Start boiling your water for the linguine in a large saucepan, remembering to salt the water well.

While the water is heating, add the asparagus, broccolini and capers to the sauce and stir and continue to cook gently. Taste the sauce. The sherry should be sweetening and reducing to a syrupy consistency. Keep on very low heat.

Start cooking the spaghetti while you finish the sauce.

Add the lobster and prawns and stir for a few minutes to cook through. You may need to turn the heat up slightly. Make sure the shellfish is cooked and turns pink.

Drain your pasta and add to the pan with the sauce, stir well over medium heat for about 30 seconds and pile into a bowl, (warmed would be excellent).

Add the truffle butter, a few twists of black pepper and a sprinkling of paprika and enjoy. 

You may find, like I did, that you want to shout out to the street how wonderful this is, luckily for me, I have a blog.