'Willpower & sheer idiocy combine in harmony'
IT'S cheap, easy and cooks in 10 minutes - who could be without pasta? Another great virtue is that it makes the best use of even the smallest of crops.
Pasta brings out the best in home-grown vegetables
Kale & garlic pasta: Italian style
Blanching & freezing kale
PREPARING kale is tedious. The ribs are tough - you need to strip the bubbly leaves off them.
Make a small rip either side of the rib, then hold it firmly in one hand, while running the other hand up to the top. This keeps the edible part of the leaf in one piece.
After thoroughly washing the leaves, blanch them in boiling water until they go limp, then plunge them into a sink full of iced water to stop the cooking process.
When cool, drain off excess water, tightly pack into containers and freeze.
USE your blanched kale in this quick, Italian-style recipe:
In a tablespoonful of olive oil, gently fry 2-4 sliced garlic cloves, 25g pine kernels (I added a few sliced runner beans as I'd picked them too) and cook until tender. Add blanched kale and heat through.
A good accompaniment to strong meats, or as a pasta sauce with added Parmesan.
Cold weather pasta with smoky bacon
HARDY standbys, black kale (Cavolo nero) and chard, form the bulk of the autumn/winter crop - and they start to sprout again in spring.
Kale has a strong flavour, and is partnered best with equally robust ingredients. As ever, if you don't have the right amounts, use what you have - broccoli or dark cabbage wouldn't go amiss here.
1 teaspoon olive oil or butter
8 rashers lean smoky bacon, chopped
6 cloves garlic, roasted whole then crushed
200g/8oz button mushrooms, sliced
2 bunches kale, stems removed, leaves sliced or torn into pieces
1 bunch chard
Black pepper
75g pasta per person
Sauté the bacon in the oil/butter gently until almost crisp, then add garlic and mushrooms and cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring often, until their moisture is released and they're lightly browned.
Prepare chard by removing the leaves from the stems, chopping the stems into bite-sized pieces.
Add your pasta to a pan of boiling water and cook as per packet instructions.
Add the kale, chard stems and pepper to the bacon pan, and sauté for about 8 minutes. Add splashes of water, or stock, if the pan seems dry.
Lastly, add the chard leaves and cook until wilted (less than a couple of minutes). By this time, the kale should be tender.
Drain the pasta and add the bacon/veg sauce to the pasta pan, mix well and serve.
Pasta with salmon, artichokes & pea shoots
Smoked salmon (leftovers or offcuts)
Sour cream and chive dip (or any similar party leftover; Caesar salad dressing works well)
1 jar grilled antipasti artichokes in olive oil, drained
1 seed tray of 3"-4" high pea shoots, freshly cut (or 4oz cooked frozen peas)
Pinch black pepper and lemon pepper
Pasta
Prepare the sauce ingredients: cut the salmon and artichokes into bite-sized pieces.
Meanwhile, boil water for the pasta and when boiling, cook as per packet instructions - less two minutes.
When the pasta is ready, drain it and put it back into the pan. Then add the other ingredients, except the pea shoots.
On a low heat, warm the dish through until the sauce is hot and the salmon just pink. Make sure the pasta is cooked to your liking (al dente is best). Finally, add the pea shoots just before serving and stir through.
Rocket pesto without a food processer
MY 1970s food processor bit the dust, leaving me with a sackful of rocket. Who said pesto had to be smooth?
Rocket, leaves only
1 bag pine nuts
Olive oil
Garlic, either crushed raw, or chopped and pre-roasted
Fresh Parmesan, Gran Padano or Pecorino Romano cheese, grated
Sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
In an electric mixer, place a thick layer of washed leaves, grated cheese and pine nuts. Add a slug of olive oil and mix on high. The leaves will be bashed, the cheese creamy and pine nuts probably untouched!
Keep adding other layers until the main ingredients are incorporated. The oil amount is critical. Too much and it will be greasy, too little and it will stick together in a clump.
Once a good consistency, add the garlic and sun-dried tomatoes to taste. (I used about 6 cloves and 4 tomatoes, but I like them strong.)