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Posts Tagged ‘Linguine’

Pasta with Mackerel, Marsala & Pine Nuts

Posted in Fish, Food, Pasta, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on 14 May 2023| Leave a Comment »

A Nigella creation that is in no way authentic and makes no apologies. Anything with mackerel goes in this house.

Wine Suggestion: Quite an exceptional wine was chosen to match with this: Sartarelli’s Balciana. From a low-yielding vineyard Verdicchio in the Marche, this is hand harvested picking only the grapes of utmost ripeness at the very end of the season. This means the picking team goes out many times picking individual grapes and bunches that meet the required levels of ripeness. It makes quite an extraordinary dry wine that has a richness of almost a sweet wine, alongside textured layers of savoury nuttiness and salty minerality. Named best white wine in Italy many times, and we understand why. We chose this as the combinations of sweet, savoury, fresh and sour flavours in the dish need a wine with substance and depth.

Pasta with mackerel, Marsala and pine nuts – serves 2

  • 50g golden sultanas
  • 200g linguine
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 long shallot, finely chopped
  • 60ml Marsala
  • 2 smoked makerel fillets, skinned and flaked
  • 2 tbsp drained capers
  • a few drops of red wine vinegar
  • a handful of dill, torn into fronds
  • 25g toasted pine nuts

Bring a large pan of water to the boil for the pasta. Put the sultanas into a small bowl and cover with hot water from a boiled kettle.

Add lots of salt to the boiling water, then cook the linguine until al dente.

Warm the olive oil in a frying pan and cook the shallot for a couple of minutes until softened.

Add the Marsala and let it bubble, then add the mackerel, sultanas (squeeze the water out of them with your hands first), the capers and a few drops of vinegar. Remove from the heat once the mackerel is warm. There should be barely any liquid left.

Reserve a cupful of pasta cooking water before draining. Return the pasta to the pan, then tip in the mackerel, half the dill and half the pine nuts and a tbsp of pasta water. Toss gently to combine, then taste and add another few drops of vinegar if you like.

Divide between warm bowls and finish with the remaining dill and pine nuts.

(Original recipe from Nigellissima, Chatto & Windus, 2012.)

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Linguine with White Clam Sauce

Posted in Food, Pasta, Shellfish, tagged , , , , , , , , on 8 January 2021| 3 Comments »

This is an Anthony Bourdain recipe. It’s a bit full on, like the man himself was, with obscene amounts of garlic, but it all works a treat. We made this with cockles tonight as our local fish shop didn’t have clams and it was equally delicious. If you decide to follow our lead with cockles be careful as they cook more quickly than clams.

Wine Suggestion: A seafood friendly wine, the Dominio de Tares “La Sonrisa” Godello from Bierzo in Spain. La Sonrisa means smile and well named indeed

Linguine with white clam sauce – serves 4

  • 5 dozen clams, soaked in lots of fresh water for an hour or so before cooking
  • 4 tbsp top quality olive oil
  • 12 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
  • 1 tsp red pepper flakes, we used chilli flakes, reduce the quantity if you don’t like it too hot
  • 125ml dry white wine
  • 450g linguine
  • 3 tbsp butter, cut into a few pieces
  • a large handful of coarsely chopped parsley leaves

Put 2-3cm of water into a large, heavy saucepan, season generously with salt and bring to the boil. Gently transfer 4 dozen of the 5 dozen clams into the pot, cover and steam until the clams open, about 5 minutes. Move them around occasionally with a spoon and remove to a bowl as they open. Don’t throw away the cooking liquid.

When the clams are cool enough to handle, remove them from the shell, collecting as much of the liquor from the shells as possible. Strain the cooking liquid through a fine-mesh sieve or a sieve lined with a cloth into a small bowl.

Cook the pasta in a large pot of very salty water.

Warm the oil in a large, heavy sauté pan, then add the garlic and chilli flakes. Cook over a medium-low heat, until softened but not browned. Add the wine, turn up the heat and reduce by half. Add the reserved liquor from the clam shells and a good splash of the cooking liquid, then the remaining uncooked clams. Cover and cook until the clams have opened. Remove to a warm bowl as they open.

Add the reserved cooked clams to the sauté pan and season with salt and pepper. Add the butter, some of the parsley, and toss until everything is hot.

Drain the pasta, but keep a little cooking water in case you need to loosen the sauce. Immediately add the pasta to the clam pan and toss over the heat for 1 minutes, adding a little of the reserved pasta water if needed. Divide the pasta between warmed bowls and garnish with the parsley and clams in their shells.

(Original recipe from Appetites: A Cookbook by Anthony Bourdain, Bloomsbury Publishing, 2016.)

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Pork & Beef Polpette with Tomato Sauce

Posted in Food, Italian, Pasta, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on 28 March 2019| Leave a Comment »

Pork & Beef Polpette with Tomato Sauce

This is a great tomato sauce and of course can be made without meatballs and used in all sorts of things. We like to make the entire recipe and freeze the leftover meatballs in the sauce for tasty meals for kids or when we don’t have time to cook. They’re good served with linguine –  toss the pasta with the meatballs and sauce before serving with some grated Parmesan.

Wine Suggestion: with the higher proportion of pork in the meatballs we think a medium bodied red works better than richer, fuller-bodied wines with this. We went with a Chateau Manoir du Gravoux from Castillon in Bordeaux. A Merlot, Cabernet Franc blend with a lovely freshness and pure, mineral character made a good match.

Pork & Beef Polpette with Tomato Sauce – makes about 40 meatballs and 1.5 litres of sauce

FOR THE TOMATO SAUCE:

  • 100ml extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 onion, finely sliced
  • 1 garlic clove, chopped
  • scant ½ tbsp fine salt
  • ¾ tsp black pepper
  • small pinch of chilli flakes
  • 750g fresh tomatoes, quartered
  • 3 x 400g tins of chopped tomatoes
  • 1 small handful of oregano, chopped
  • caster sugar, if needed

FOR THE POLPETTE:

  • 1kg minced pork
  • 500g minced beef
  • 3 medium eggs
  • scant ½ tbsp fine salt
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 150g breadcrumbs
  • small pinch of dried chilli flakes
  • 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • ½ handful of flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped
  • cooked linguine pasta and grated Parmesan cheese, to serve

Heat half the oil in a saucepan on a medium-low heat and sweat the onion, garlic, salt, pepper and chilli for 15 minutes. Add the fresh tomatoes and the rest of the oil and cook gently for another 15 minutes.

Add the tinned tomatoes and simmer on a very low heat for an hour.

Remove the pan from the heat and add the oregano. Season with a little sugar if needed, then whizz using a hand-blender or food processor for a few minutes.

Preheat the oven to 220°C/Gas 7.

Combine all of the meatball ingredients and mix together well with your hands, then roll into golf ball sized meatballs. They should weigh about 45g each. Place on a large greased baking tray and roast for 10 minutes, turning once, until starting to brown.

Add the meatballs to the hot sauce and poach for 10 minutes with the lid on.

Serve with linguine and grated Parmesan.

(Original recipe from Polpo by Russell Norman, Bloomsbury, 2012.)

 

 

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Crab Linguine with Chilli & Parsley

Posted in Food, Pasta, Shellfish, tagged , , , , , on 9 January 2019| Leave a Comment »

Crab linguine with chilli & parsley

A fresh tasting seafood pasta dish.

Wine Suggestion: We’re not huge fans of Prosecco generally as there’s an awful lot of very ordinary stuff being sold. However, if you have a good one to hand, like the Nino Franco Rustico, then you’ve found your crab linguine match.

Crab Linguine with Chilli & Parsley – serves 4

  • 400g linguine
  • 4 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 red chilli, deseeded and chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
  • 1 whole cooked crab, picked, or about 100g brown crabmeat and 200g fresh white crabmeat
  • 5 tbsp white wine
  • a small squeeze of lemon
  •  a large handful parsley leaves, very finely chopped

Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil and cook the linguine for a minute less than indicated on the pack.

Meanwhile, gently heat 3 tbsp of olive oil with the chilli and garlic in a large wide pan. Cook the chilli and garlic very gently until they start to sizzle, then turn up the heat and add the white wine. Simmer until the wine and olive oil come together. Then take off the heat and add the brown crabmeat, using a wooden spoon to mash it up to make a thick sauce.

When the pasta is ready, turn off the heat. Place the crab sauce over a very low heat and use a pair of kitchen tongs to lift the pasta from the water into the sauce.

Remove the pan from the the heat and add the white crabmeat and parsley to the pasta with a sprinkling of sea salt. Stir everything together, adding a drop of pasta water if needed to loosen. Taste for seasoning and add a small squeeze of lemon. Serve immediately drizzled with the remaining oil.

(Original recipe from BBC Good Food)

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Linguine with Tuna

Posted in Food, Pasta, tagged , , , , , , , on 22 November 2018| Leave a Comment »

Linguine with Tuna

Please buy fancy tins or jars of tuna in olive oil for this. We often go for Ortiz but recently we’ve been buying Shines Wild Irish Tuna – who knew we had such fabulous fish in Irish waters. Italians will complain about serving Parmesan with this but we can do what we like 🙂

Wine Suggestion: a textural white like Vermentino is our pick. From the Tuscan coast is the delightful Poggio ai Ginepri which is worth seeking out and shows great promise from a very youthful vineyard. Looking further afield you could go for a Vermentino, or Rolle as it is also known as, from France

Linguine with Tuna – serves 4

  • 400g linguine
  • 150-200g tin or jar of tuna in olive oil (drained weight)
  • 50g capers
  • 50g green pitted olives, sliced
  • zest of 1 lemon
  • 2 tbsp grated Parmesan
  • 2 tbsp finely chopped flatleaf parsley
  • pinch of chilli flakes
  • 1 tbsp olive oil

TO SERVE:

  • 1 tbsp finely chopped parsley
  • 1-2 tbsp grated Parmesan

Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil and add salt. Add the pasta and cook until al dente.

Meanwhile, put the tuna into a large bowl and break gently into flakes. Add the capers, olives, lemon zest, Parmesan, parsley and chilli flakes and stir slightly.

Reserve a ladleful of the pasta cooking water, then drain the pasta. Add the pasta to the bowl and drizzle over the olive oil. Add about 100ml of the cooking water and mix to combine.

Season with salt & pepper, then serve immediately, sprinkled with extra parsley and cheese.

(Original recipe from The Hairy Bikers’ Mediterranean Adventure by Si King & Dave Myers, Seven Dials, 2017.)

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Lemon & Basil Linguine

Posted in Food, Italian, Pasta, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , , , on 24 May 2018| Leave a Comment »

Lemon & basil linguine

Sometimes the simplest of ideas turn out the best.

Wine Suggestion: we had a glass of the Adi Badenhorst Secateurs Chenin Blanc which he’s now experimenting with a little bit of skin contact. We don’t disagree, it adds a touch of extra texture and complexity to such a great value wine.

Lemon & basil linguine – serves 2

  • 200g linguine
  • 1 large lemon, juiced
  • 75ml good olive oil
  • 75g Parmesan
  • a large handful of basil leaves

Put a large pan of water on to boil, add loads of salt and cook the pasta according to the time suggested on the packet.

Put the lemon juice, olive oil and Parmesan into a large warmed bowl and beat with a small whisk to combine and thicken. Tear the basil leaves into the bowl and add plenty of black pepper.

Drain the pasta and toss with the mixture in the bowl.

(Original recipe from The Kitchen Diaries  by Nigel Slater, Fourth Estate, 2005.)

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Linguine with Fresh Tuna

Posted in Fish, Food, Italian, Pasta, tagged , , , , , , on 7 September 2015| Leave a Comment »

Fresh tuna spaghetti

We’ve made this recipe before using good-quality tinned tuna, which was delicious, but this time we’ve used fresh tuna and it really sings.

Wine Suggestion: Classic Italian matches for tuna depend on the region. If you are in Sicily a great match is their native Grillo grape, a textural, slightly salty and mineral wine with good body but not weighty. For this dish though we drank a Vermentino, made by Morisfarms, from the Tuscan coast. It has a great vinous texture and savoury character which combined with fresh fruit and minerality matches this Tuscan combination of tuna, tomatoes and olives.

Linguine with Fresh Tuna – serves 4-6

  • 2 tins top quality plum tomatoes (the Italian brands are good)
  • 500g fresh yellowfin tuna
  • 4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus a bit extra
  • 2 sprigs rosemary
  • a pinch of chilli flakes
  • 80ml white wine
  • 30g salted capers, soaked and drained
  • 100g pitted black olives (Gaeta or Kalamata)
  • 500g linguine
  • chopped fresh parsley to serve

Drain the tinned tomatoes and cut into strips.

Cut the tuna into 2cm cubes. Heat the oil in a pan and sauté with 1 sprig of rosemary and the chilli flakes.

Add the wine and simmer until it evaporates, then add the capers.

Add the olives and tomatoes and cook over a high heat for 15 minutes.

Cook the linguine until al dente, then drain and add to the pan of tuna sauce. Toss gently.

Sprinkle on the parsley, drizzle with some more olive oil, and garnish with the remaining rosemary.

(Original recipe from Obicà: Mozzerella Bar, Pizza e Cucina, Rizzoli, 2014.)

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Prawn & Clam Linguine

Posted in Food, Pasta, Prawns, Shellfish, tagged , , , , , , , , on 2 March 2015| 5 Comments »

Prawn & clam linguine

 

We recently got a new cookbook by Lorraine Pascale and have been impressed by the recipes so far. This one we made for Valentines Day, just the two of us with a bottle of vintage Champagne from the cellar. A very nice evening.

Linguine with prawns, clams, garlic & chilli – serves 4

  • 350g dried linguine
  • 3tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 large banana shallots, finely diced
  • 3 garlic cloves, very finely chopped
  • 2 red chillies, finely chopped
  • 400g raw peeled tiger prawns, de-veined
  • 400g clams, washed (soak in cold water for an hour to get rid of any sand then discard any that stay open when sharply tapped)
  • 150-200ml white wine
  • 3 tbsp roughly chopped parsley
  • 70g rocket
  • 1 small lemon, cut into wedges

Cook the pasta according to the packet until al dente.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large saucepan, with a tight-fitting lid, over a medium heat. Add the shallots and sweat for about 10 minutes or until softened. Add the garlic and chilli and cook for another couple of minutes.

Add the prawns and cook for 1 minutes, stirring. Then add the clams and white wine, bring to the boil and cover with the lid. Cook for 4-5 minutes or until all the clam shells have opened (discard any that don’t) and the prawns have turned pink.

Drain the pasta well and tip onto the cooked shellfish and toss together. Add the chopped parsley and season.

Pile into bowls, drizzle with your best extra-virgin olive oil, scatter with rocket and serve with a lemon wedge.

(Original recipe from How to be a Better Cook by Lorraine Pascale, HarperCollins, 2014.)

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Crab Linguine

Posted in Food, Pasta, Shellfish, tagged , , , , , , , on 16 February 2015| Leave a Comment »

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Crab with fennel & chilli is a winning combination. Another perfect pasta dish by Ruth & Rose of the River Café.

Wine Suggestion: We find a great match for crab is a top quality Garganega and we highly recommend the Pra Soave “Staforte” which is made from low-yielding, 100% Garganega, old vines. Utterly pure and delicious.

Crab linguine – serves 4

  • 1 fennel bulb
  • 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
  • 1 tbsp fennel seeds, crushed
  • 2 dried hot chillies, crumbled
  • 1 lemon, grate the zest and squeeze out the juice
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • 400g crabmeat
  • 320g linguine

Remove the tough outer part and stem from the fennel. Slice the bulb across the grain very finely (use a mandolin if you have one). Reserve the green tops.

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a heavy-based pan, add the garlic, fennel seeds, and chilli and cook to soften. Add the crab, lemon zest, and juice, then season. Stir just to heat the crab through.

Cook the linguine in boiling water for 5 minutes, then add the fennel slices and cook together until al dente. Reserve a little of the cooking water when you drain the pasta.

Add the drained pasta to the crab mixture and toss together until well combined. You can add a little of the reserved cooking water at this stage to loosen if necessary.

Serve with your best olive oil.

(Original recipe from Italian Two Easy by Rose Gray & Ruth Rogers, Clarkson Potter, 2006.)

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Linguine with Yellowfin Tuna

Posted in Fish, Food, Italian, Pasta, tagged , , , , , , , , on 16 December 2014| Leave a Comment »

Obica: Linguine with Yellowfin Tuna

A simple but delicious dish from a cool restaurant called Obicà that we found on our last trip to Florence. They insist that it’s best made with fresh tuna (and they’re probably right) but we made it with top quality tinned tuna and it worked for us.

Wine Suggestion: Classic Italian matches for tuna depend on the region. If you are in Sicily a great match is their native Grillo grape, a textural, slightly salty and mineral wine with good body but not weighty. For this dish though we drank a Vermentino, made by Morisfarms, from the Tuscan coast. It has a great vinous texture and savoury character which combined with fresh fruit and minerality matches this Tuscan combination of tuna, tomatoes and olives.

Linguine with Yellowfish Tuna – serves 4-6

  • 2 tins top quality plum tomatoes (the Italian brands are good)
  • 500g yellowfin tuna
  • 4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus a bit extra
  • 2 sprigs rosemary
  • a pinch of chilli flakes
  • 80ml white wine
  • 30g salted capers, soaked and drained
  • 100g pitted black olives (Gaeta or Kalamata)
  • 500g linguine
  • chopped fresh parsley to serve

Drain the tinned tomatoes and cut into strips.

Cut the tuna into 2cm cubes. Heat the oil in a pan and sauté with 1 sprig of rosemary and the chilli flakes.

Add the wine and simmer until it evaporates, then add the capers.

Add the olives and tomatoes and cook over a high heat for 15 minutes.

Cook the linguine until al dente, then drain and add to the pan of tuna sauce. Toss gently.

Sprinkle on the parsley, drizzle with some more olive oil, and garnish with the remaining rosemary.

(Original recipe from Obicà: Mozzerella Bar, Pizza e Cucina, Rizzoli, 2014.)

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Creamy Linguine with Prawns – another low-fat version!

Posted in Food, Healthy, Pasta, Shellfish, tagged , , , , , , , on 11 November 2011| 3 Comments »

Creamy linguine and low-fat don’t usually go in the same sentence but in this case they work. Generally we’re not keen on low-fat substitutes, preferring to have a bit less of the real thing, but reduced-fat crème fraîche is an exception. We really enjoyed this and it feels quite indulgent despite being both low-fat and good for you.

Creamy linguine with prawns – to serve 2

  • 175g linguine
  • 2 tsp olive oil
  • 1 garlic clove, finely sliced
  • 100ml white wine
  • 2 tbsp reduced-fat crème fraîche
  • juice 1/2 lemon
  • 150g raw peeled prawns
  • small bunch chives, finely chopped

Cook the pasta. Meanwhile, heat the oil and gently fry the garlic for 2 minutes. Tip in the wine and bubble over a high heat for 1 minute, then lower the heat and sitr in the crème fraîche and lemon juice. Season with salt and lots of black pepper. Simmer for 1 minute to reduce a little, then add the prawns and simmer in the sauce until they turn pink.

Drain the pasta and tip into the sauce with half the chives. Mix it all together, divide between two dishes and sprinkle with the rest of the chives.

Wine Suggestion: Have a glass of whatever you used in the sauce. Picpoul de Pinet works well and Tesco Finest do a fairly decent one at a very reasonable price. It’s light but has nice fruit and a good crisp acidity – perfect for shellfish plus enough acidity to cut through the creamy sauce in this dish.

(Original recipe from BBC Good Food)

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Easy Prawn & Curly Kale Linguine

Posted in Fish, Food, Healthy, Pasta, tagged , , , , , , , on 3 March 2011| Leave a Comment »

We debated whether this could actually be called a recipe as it is so simple; it’s more of an assembly job.

To serve 2:

  • 200g linguine
  • 200g curly kale or spring greens
  • olive oil
  • 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
  • 1 red chilli, finely sliced
  • 200g raw prawns

Cook the linguine following the instructions on the pack and add your greens for the last 3 minutes.

Heat a little olive oil in a small frying pan and gently fry the garlic and chilli until soft.

Add the prawns and stir around until they are pink and then season well.

Put the linguine and greens in some bowls and serve the prawns etc over the top.

Drizzle a bit of oil over and you’re done.

Wine suggestion: something light and white and a little aromatic like a Cote de Gascogne. We had a Marsanne/Viognier blend from the Languedoc which was also good.

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Sausage Carbonara

Posted in Food, Pasta, tagged , , , , , on 7 December 2010| 4 Comments »

A mid-week treat that tastes creamy, silky and flavoursome. The kick of lemon in this gives it a light touch too. Plus it is quick to make 🙂

Serve with a glass of Nebbiolo.

Enough to feed 4 people:

  • 4 Italian sausages
  • olive oil
  • 4 slices thick cut pancetta, chopped
  • 500g dried linguine
  • 4 large egg yolks
  • 100ml double cream
  • 100g grated Parmesan cheese
  • zest of 1 lemon
  • sprig of flat-leaf parsley, chopped
  • extra-virgin olive oil

1. Slit the sausages and pull out the meat. Roll it into little meatballs with wet hands.

2. Put a big pan of salted water on to boil for your linguine and cook for as long as it says on the packet.

3. Heat a glug of olive oil in a big frying pan and fry your meatballs gently until they are nice and brown. Add the pancetta and cook for another couple of minutes until it’s golden too.

4. Get a big bowl and put the egg yolks, cream, half the Parmesan, lemon zest & parsley in it and stir together.

5. When the pasta is done drain it but keep a little bit of the cooking water. Throw it back in the pot and stir in the creamy mixture right away. Add the sausage mixture and toss together. The sauce should be smooth and silky – if it starts to clag a bit just add some of your reserved pasta cooking water.

6. Sprinkle over the rest of the Parmesan and drizzle with a bit of extra virgin. Add a bit of pepper if you like.

Original recipe from Jamie’s Italy.

 

 

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