pasta

pink date night pasta

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What to serve at Valentine’s dinner for your darling that is homemade and original… Pale pink pasta, made with beetroot juice for the colour and with fresh eggs for the taste. Team this up with any of my crab linguine, truffle carbonara, midnight spaghetti recipes and you have the perfect romantic dinner. The pasta, when cooked, goes the most beautiful shade of pale rose pink and looks pretty and tastes sublime with a fab texture. This recipe is perfect if you want to spoil your squeeze…or guests. Buon appetito.

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midnight spaghetti

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You can never have enough pasta in your life. When I was very young my father used to take me to a smart Italian restaurant in Chelsea called The Meridiana owned by his friend Enzo Apicella.  Enzo sometimes sat with us while we ate and we would discuss our love of pasta. This is a simple recipe, which is incredibly delicious. It’s also called Aglio E Olio in Italian. There are a lot of versions of it, and you can customise it with whatever you have in the cupboard. It’s called midnight spaghetti because it’s a recipe used by tired, busy chefs after they come home late after long day at work. It’s also called ‘after the party’, so you get the drift…it’s quick, easy and very tasty, particularly after one too many drinks and you are ravenous. Check out midnight spaghetti 2 on here, if you fancy trying another version. It would also be a perfect for a vegetarian dinner party with a salad if you wanted to cook something that is economical and very doable.

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midnight spaghetti 2

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This is my second midnight spaghetti (sometimes called spaghetti di mezzanotte) only I use linguine, but you can use spaghetti if you prefer. I got this version from The New York Times and because of its simplicity and because it’s not only a great store-cupboard standby, it’s also perfect when you can’t be bothered to cook yet another massive meal at Christmas or any time and fancy something easy, delicious and quick. It’s the chefs choice because they arrive home tired and want something easy to cook after a day of cooking, and the reason it’s really tasty is because it’s flavour bombed with a combo of anchovies, garlic, chilli and capers. I love it with Parmesan or without. It’s also perfect served with a crunchy green salad with my vinaigrette or as a midnight feast in a candle lit kitchen à deux after a party.
Recipe 
Serves 2 (you can double or triple the quantities).
Ingredients:
250g of linguine or spaghetti
3-4 tablespoons of olive oil
4 anchovy fillets chopped
3 garlic cloves peeled and very thinly sliced
1 tablespoon of small capers chopped
¼-1/2 teaspoon of chilli flakes
A small bunch of parsley, finely chopped
Grated Parmesan (optional)
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crab linguine

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This is my 100th recipe on the blog. I’m really proud and grateful, thank you for subscribing, and as Julia Child used to say Bon Appétit!

I have had the crab linguine lots of times at Polpo restaurant in Nottinghill Gate with my friend Emily, we always order it and we are obsessed with it as it’s so good. I really wanted the recipe, however it isn’t in their cookbooks or online, so I have had to guess what it is. It took me six attempts before I got it right, that’s a lot of linguine and I’m now booking in to a health farm so I can do my jeans up again, however it was worth it. I really think Polpo have nailed it, and I hope you think I have too. The beauty of it is it only takes about twelve minutes to make and you can keep the ingredients in the store cupboard. Perfect for a stress free dinner party or just dinner for two. Ralph has just cooked and tasted it and he thinks that it is so easy and beyond amazing and you should definitely try it and everyone that has cooked this recipe has said it’s the best crab linguine they have ever had. Give it a try…

Recipe

Serves 2 (double or triple the quantities for more people).

Ingredients:
200g of linguine or spaghetti
170g tin of crab meat (drained which becomes 100g) or 100g of fresh white and/or brown crab meat
½ teaspoon of finely chopped red chilli or a pinch of dried chilli flakes
8 cherry tomatoes halved
A sprig of parsley finely chopped
2 tablespoons of fresh grated Parmesan
1 small clove of garlic minced
2-3 tablespoons of butter
Juice of half a lemon
Salt and pepper to taste

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black truffle carbonara

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This spaghetti is rather glamorous and it’s what I imagine James Bond would knock up in two seconds if you went round for dinner chez 007. Yes truffles are a luxury, they are not called the diamonds of the kitchen for no reason, but you only need a small amount of them and they are perfect as an ingredient for a special occasion vegetarian supper or romantic dinner for two, and anyway, a bit of what you fancy does you good. One little jar of truffles goes a long way, mine were £9.50 for 50g from a supermarket, but I also found them for £7.30 in an Italian deli.  Spaghetti  is really inexpensive so it balances out. However, my friend Jenny makes this recipe with sautéed mushrooms instead, and that makes it really inexpensive. This recipe only takes about 10 minutes to make and is perfect for a date night or dinner party..and anyway there is nothing better than spaghetti….nothing.
My music suggestion is Parlami d’amore Mariù by Achille Togliani.

Serves 2-3 people.

Ingredients:
100g freshly grated Parmesan
3 eggs
350g of spaghetti
2 cloves of minced garlic
2 tablespoons of truffle oil available in supermarkets and Italian delis (about £4.00 a bottle which lasts for ages)
2 tablespoons of olive oil
30g butter
A sprig of parsley very finely chopped
Truffles (you can get a small jar in most supermarkets) or sautéed mushrooms if you prefer
Salt and pepper

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sugo

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Sugo is a great classic Italian sauce made with slowly simmered tomatoes to have simply on pasta, with some Parmesan and fresh basil, as a base to a bolognese or lasagna, on pizza or in soup. You can also freeze it. It is a hundred times better than any thing you can buy in a shop. It is also perfect with pasta for a vegetarian dinner party with my avocado bruschetta as a starter.

Enough for 2-3 as a pasta sauce.

Ingredients:
4 tablespoons of olive oil
2 x 400g cans of chopped tomatoes
1 onion finely chopped
2 minced garlic cloves
2 teaspoons of maple syrup or sugar to taste
1/3 cup of chopped basil leaves
½ teaspoon of dried oregano
½ to one red chilli (not chopped)
Salt and pepper to taste

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gremolata

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This genius Italian condiment of parsley, lemon zest and garlic is sprinkled on meat, traditionally Osso Buco, fish and vegetables after they have been cooked. It can turn even bland food into a thing of wonder. You can even scatter it over pasta, with olive oil and Parmesan or chuck it over a salad. Great if you are cutting back on salt too.

Makes half a cup.

Ingredients:
1 small bunch of flat leaf parsley, washed and dried
Zest of 2 lemons
1-2 cloves of garlic

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spaghetti with mussels and vermouth

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This is a really easy recipe,  the ingredients can be bought a few days in advance and cooked within 20 minutes. Great for a dinner party. Adjust the quantities accordingly.

Serves 4.

Ingredients:
pre-cooked mussels in sauce (supermarket fish counter)
1 lemon, zested and sliced into wedges
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
half a cup of vermouth  (optional)
1 garlic clove
bunch of basil
bunch of Parsley
500g spaghetti
salt and pepper

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