The Cooking Thread

[AHPP]

1 hour ago, peds said:

Ah shite, sorry skip. I have no idea about the authenticity of this, but authenticity often stands in the way of a good meal anyway. 

 

For putanesca I put a pan on to boil for the pasta first and a frying pan or another saucepan second. While waiting for the water, the oil from the anchovies goes into the frying pan at medium-high heat, followed shortly after by a minced clove of garlic per person, plus one more for the pan. A minute later, a pinch of red pepper flakes and black pepper, and the anchovies themselves, which are crushed apart with the wooden spoon in the pan. This is all fried together with occasional agitation until the anchovies have essentially disappeared, and in the meantime, I have been pressing the stones from the olives, if necessary, and if not, I will start slicing up a couple of tomatoes, or a handful of cherry tomatoes. Once the anchovies are gone-ish, I add the olives, wait a minute, add some capers, wait another minute, add some chopped parsley and wait yet another minute, then finally add the tomatoes, which are crushed down and simmered for 60 seconds. I use fresh tomatoes instead of a tin because I don't think this is a pasta-in-sauce dish, it should instead be things-stuck-to-pasta. You could get the same effect by using just a third of a tin or so.

 

By now the pasta is about three-quarters on the way to being done, so it gets drained and a mug full of the cooking water is retained (anyone with the counterspace available in their kitchen might like to use a ladle of the hot water to preheat the bowls they'll be eating from, which may or may not be necessary depending on the time of year and how warm your house is). The pasta is tossed into the sauce along with some of the reserved cooking water, stirred and simmered with more water as needed until the pasta is cooked, then a squirt of the good olive oil is tossed through at the last possible second, emulsifying the sauce and giving it a glossy sheen. A knob of butter does the same thing. 

 

Slop into your (hot?) bowls, add any finishes you want (parmesan or pecorino, chopped herbs or rocket, fresh chopped chilli or dry chilli flakes, garlic-toasted pangrattato, etc.).

 

Sometimes I grate a bit of lemon zest into it somewhere along the line if there's one lying around on the counter.

 

Minimalist. No onion! 

Have lemon. Dog ate the butter overnight, the bastard. 

[AHPP]

5 hours ago, peds said:

Ah shite, sorry skip. I have no idea about the authenticity of this, but authenticity often stands in the way of a good meal anyway. 

 

For putanesca I put a pan on to boil for the pasta first and a frying pan or another saucepan second. While waiting for the water, the oil from the anchovies goes into the frying pan at medium-high heat, followed shortly after by a minced clove of garlic per person, plus one more for the pan. A minute later, a pinch of red pepper flakes and black pepper, and the anchovies themselves, which are crushed apart with the wooden spoon in the pan. This is all fried together with occasional agitation until the anchovies have essentially disappeared, and in the meantime, I have been pressing the stones from the olives, if necessary, and if not, I will start slicing up a couple of tomatoes, or a handful of cherry tomatoes. Once the anchovies are gone-ish, I add the olives, wait a minute, add some capers, wait another minute, add some chopped parsley and wait yet another minute, then finally add the tomatoes, which are crushed down and simmered for 60 seconds. I use fresh tomatoes instead of a tin because I don't think this is a pasta-in-sauce dish, it should instead be things-stuck-to-pasta. You could get the same effect by using just a third of a tin or so.

 

By now the pasta is about three-quarters on the way to being done, so it gets drained and a mug full of the cooking water is retained (anyone with the counterspace available in their kitchen might like to use a ladle of the hot water to preheat the bowls they'll be eating from, which may or may not be necessary depending on the time of year and how warm your house is). The pasta is tossed into the sauce along with some of the reserved cooking water, stirred and simmered with more water as needed until the pasta is cooked, then a squirt of the good olive oil is tossed through at the last possible second, emulsifying the sauce and giving it a glossy sheen. A knob of butter does the same thing. 

 

Slop into your (hot?) bowls, add any finishes you want (parmesan or pecorino, chopped herbs or rocket, fresh chopped chilli or dry chilli flakes, garlic-toasted pangrattato, etc.).

 

Sometimes I grate a bit of lemon zest into it somewhere along the line if there's one lying around on the counter.

 

We horsed it right up. It wasn't going to be enough so I started shoehorning other stuff in. Mission creep took hold quickly. Then Josh overcooked the pasta. Perfectly edible but not what you described by some margin. Still have some capers and olives left. Attempt two when I've got another tin of anchovies.

[sime42]

Olives, capers and anchovies makes me think Tapenade. Worth a go if you like a big umami hit. Just a few more ingredients and a blitz up in a blender.

 

 

[AHPP]

3 minutes ago, sime42 said:

Olives, capers and anchovies makes me think Tapenade. Worth a go if you like a big umami hit. Just a few more ingredients and a blitz up in a blender.

 

 

 

Had a jar for years. Never found much to do with it. 

[sime42]

27 minutes ago, AHPP said:

 

Had a jar for years. Never found much to do with it. 

 

Toast. Very moreish.

[AHPP]

Anchovies are a win. The leftovers of this pasta approximation have picked up some quality fishiness overnight. 

[AHPP]

 

Spaghetti alla peds. Got excited and put too much water and oil in at the end. Would have tried to cook it out but the pasta was already dangerously close to being cooked. No parsely. Lashed a bit of dried mixed herbs in. Wish I hadn't bothered. Frankly I wish I hadn't bothered buying them but they were cheap. Anyway, getting better. 

[peds]

Looks great, I'd eat it. Crust of bread to mop up the juice at the end, or a handful of salad leaves and a squeeze of lemon juice.

Easy to accidentally add too much cooking water, what I like to do sometimes is add a ladle of pasta water to the sauce and boil hard to reduce. The starch in the cooking water helps to bind the sauce to the pasta itself.

I spent a few years working in a pizza and pasta joint, the starchy water technique works best with water used from dozens of portions of pasta, but it's handy at home too. 

 

 

 

Edited April 1 by peds

[AHPP]

Yes, chef!

 

I try to use the smallest amount of water possible so it's as starchy as possible. Hit and miss whether I get the really sticky quality. Often achieve it with something beige like a carbonara or cacio e pepe but less luck this time. The olives were quite oily before I added the Exxon Valdez of Filippo Berio.

Edited April 1 by AHPP

[Stephen Blair]

Has anyone else went down the Air fryer Ninja route?  It’s changed my life!

I’ve had it for about 6 months but it was almost getting used like a microwave.  Now I’ve got the hang of it’s all I use, apart from soup.  Microwave still does the can of soup in 2 minutes!

today I had scrambled egg with mushrooms, 10 mins chucked it all in and came out like an omelette.

 For tea tonight I’d forgotten to take steaks out of the freezer.

chucked in a frozen Rib eye, frozen scallops and a hand full of frozen chips.  10 mins!  Job done!  Best medium rare steak I’ve had in years!