Wednesday 29 August 2012

A very quick recipe


Just got home from the gym and need something quick and simple for dinner? I picked up a great recipe the other day that was suggested to Chris Addison by Rebecca Front and repeated during an interview on the BBC Radio 4 programme Chain Reaction. It's very simple, and should only take about ten minutes (depending on how well done you want the pasta)

Ingredients
Spaghetti
Olive oil
Lemon
Cracked black pepper
Fresh basil
Parmesan (optional)

Method
Cook the spaghetti
While the spaghetti is cooking, juice the lemon.
Mix the lemon juice with olive oil in roughly the quantities used for a vinaigrette (three parts oil to one part lemon) using a hand whisk or a food mixer if you have one
Once the pasta is cooked, drain it, then pop it back in the pan and pour the lemon and oil mix onto it. Stir it a little and then drain it again.
Put the pasta on a plate, and sprinkle with the roughly chopped basil
Crack some black pepper over the top and, optionally, throw a handful of Parmesan on there.

Additional Tips
To get more juice out of the lemon, roll it under hand on the kitchen counter. Put enough pressure on it to slightly squeeze it, but not break the skin. Pop it in the microwave for around ten to fifteen seconds. Roll it on the counter again and then juice it (courtesy of my girlfriend)

When cooking spaghetti, add some oil to the water and then, when adding the spaghetti, put it through the oil. This will stop the spaghetti becoming too sticky

Have you tried this recipe? Have any more great ideas for quick meals? Let me know in the comments section below