The First Fast Food
This is the time of the year when uninvited guests turn up and invited guests stay longer than anticipated, either way they will want feeding. With a few pantry staples you can throw together a spontaneous feast with minimum fuss and nothing is faster than pasta. Here is a selection of speedy sauces that are ready in moments. I have dispensed with quantities, just use as much as you think, of what you have available.
There is nothing wrong with using dried pasta, in fact in northern Italy no one eats fresh pasta, so it is a case of when not in Rome do as the Romans do. We have some wonderful dried pasta available locally, I asked local deli owners to select their favourites, a few of which are listed at the end of this article.
Pasta with olive oil and garlic is the simplest of all. Cook Spaghetti in the usual way. In a separate pan gently heat some olive oil, stir in chopped garlic and heat. Do not allow that garlic to burn or the oil to smoke. Overheated olive oil loses all its healthy attributes and actually becomes dangerous. Drain the pasta and pour into the pan with the heated oil and garlic. Toss and serve with black pepper and shredded flat leaf parsley.
Another favourite and simple dish is pasta with tuna and rocket; again Spaghetti is a good pasta to use. You need a good quality tinned tuna in olive oil, which you should flake in a bowl. Pour in the cooked pasta, pour over the juice of a lemon, add some dried crushed chilli if you fancy, mix well and serve into bowls topped with lots of rocket.
Pasta with walnut sauce is best served with Rigatoni or Penne. In a pan heat some cream, stir in broken up walnuts, add your cooked pasta, grind over lots of black pepper and hey presto! There is nothing nicer than the cream and black pepper. Combination. You can make the same without walnut but with lemon zest for a really zingy Amalfi flavour, delicious with a little rosemary or stay with the walnut and melt some Gorgonzola into the mix. Season with a little ripped thyme.
I am a fervent fan of the humble pea. Boil your pasta (Cappello works well as the little hats catch the peas), strain and set aside. Retain a little of the water and cook through some frozen peas until they float. Drain them and return to the pan with a few knobs of butter. Stir in the pasta and meat eaters can add some lardoons (or crumbled smoked bacon), which you have gently fried off with a little diced onion. Yummy.
My personal favourite is fried courgette and chopped garlic in olive oil into with you stir your pasta. I like to use Farfalle served with lots of black pepper heap with lots and lots of Parmigiano.
For the quickest tomato sauce known to this man cut some plump plum tomatoes in half and roast in the oven with some olive oil with a few leaves of basil. Blitz in a blender, pour into a bowl, stir in your pasta and season with lots of salt and pepper. Some people suggest pushing through a sieve to remove the seeds at they might make it a bit bitter. You can add a dash of sugar if you think it needs it to save time. I don’t bother. Either way, open the vino and Roberto’s your uncle!
Ivano, owner of La Gastronomia, stocks over 40 shapes of De Cecco pasta, the brand his family uses at home because it maintains its consistency, at his shop on Park Hall Road, SE21. Prices start at £1.75.
Tony Zoccola, owner of the East Dulwich Deli on Lordship Lane SE22, cooks with Rustichella D'Abruzzo as it keeps its shape and retains some "bite" after cooking. His shop stocks 20 shapes and prices start at £2.
Sergio Cirillo, owner of Panino d'Oro Deli, in Dulwich Village SE21, favours Dececco pasta (from £1.45) which he has been eating since he was a boy in Italy. His Mama agrees with him!
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