Thick and tender tagliatelle. A sweet and creamy sauce of aromatic tomato, with the comfort of garlic and the depth of basil. A good plate of pasta makes my heart jump – and fills me up like nothing else. This special little sauce is done in 10 minutes, which makes it the perfect summer lunch. Just sit outside, with a glass of wine and enjoy your day. Or, even better, eat with friends. It is summer after all.
After hours upon hours of feasting. Of roasts and stews, cakes and cookies, of chocolate and sweets, our bodies can take a break. Something light and uplifting, refreshing and nourishing. My carrot noodles with cottage cheese are exactly what a spring lunch should look like. Vegetable pasta, some cottage cheese, that’s all I want to start a year of good resolutions with.
When the days are cold and dark like today, nothing beats coming home to a bowl of steaming pasta, immersed in a creamy sauce. Take off your shoes, throw your coat on the floor and let go. However stressful your day. When comfort is over due, I rely on a trusty old friend to nourish my heart and mind. Pesto. The green sauce of crushed basil, mashed pine nuts and soft cheese, enriched with a good olive oil and the lightness of lemon juice, has its special kind of magic. While I like my pesto vibrant and strong on a hot summer’s day, my winter pesto takes on more subtle notes. Creamy and soft, mild and rich, my creamy green pesto with tagliatelle is done in a spell. Take the extra minute or two, to make this most comforting of all sauces. You are finally home.
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With summer slowly approaching, my culinary heart starts beating a tiny bit faster. While spring is the time of fresh sprouting, of shy greens and light and subtle aromas, summer is much less modest. With bold flavours and the luscious sweetness of fresh produce, it is the time for living life to the fullest and enjoying every second of it, without much modesty. My re-interpretation of a tomato lasagna might look a bit decadent or complicated, but it really is one of the most simple dishes you can make. It uses only few ingredients and no shenanigans and its greatness comes from the subtle balance of strong flavours. The ripe sweetness of luscious tomatoes is accentuated by the caramel smokiness that grilling them adds, a bit of basil will make these red jewels shine and the balsamico reduction, infused with subtle notes of garlic is countered beautifully by the milky creaminess of the ricotta. And entangled in it all is pasta the way I like it, soft, with a bit of a chew, providing enough texture to make my re-interpretation of a tomato lasagna a dish worth trying.
It seems that I was overly enthusiastic when I claimed that spring had arrived. If anything it feels like winter is coming or at least, as if a rather unmerciful autumn was approaching. But whatever the season, as long as there is food to match it no change in weather can really bother me. On grey days like this, with the promise of rain in the skies and people hasting by with their hands buried deep in their pocket I crave for a hearty meal. For something to comforting while I watch a show on TV. There is something about pasta that creates instant happiness in me. So what else would I eat today but my creamed tagliatelle with braised Portobello mushrooms. The mushrooms are soaked full with the creamy goodness of the sauce they were braised in, scatter with a bit of chopped parsley and tossed with soft pasta, this is all I need to be happy, no matter the season.
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I like hearty meals. Soups that warm your soul and body on a cold winter’s day. I like to drown braised leeks in thick butter sauces while the snow falls outside my window. And I love myself a warm chocolate cake any day. But with winter fading away and the first sunlight warming my face, I can’t help but crave for something with a bit more freshness. To me spring is the season of light salads. The tomatoes on the market booths and on the shelves of supermarkets have not bathed enough in the sunlight yet, they lack the sweetness and body required for a good summer salad, but with the first fresh radishes popping up and the trusty old iceberg salad (which is rather good all year through) my light pasta and bread spring salad will be just the right thing to welcome the season.
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It’s almost spring here in Groningen. The days are becoming longer (mainly because of clocks being set forward) and my hopes are growing higher. This time spring is just around the corner, I can feel it in my bones. Unfortunately the sun, the birds and the croci (I assume that this is the plural of crocus) is joined by a hord of exams. So time is as scarce as ever. But every now and then you’ve got to take a break and even if it is only for a bite. Because all work and no chow really makes one a dull boy. Whenever I lack time, pasta is my go-to staple. It’s cheap, it’s fast and it is nourishing. And when it tastes like my creamy acini di pepe with parsley, lemon and butter, who’s to say no?
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Chicken soup is the Aspirin of foods. People believe it to be able to cure anything and everything. We think that it will combat any cold and that it will make you feel all warm and strong. And unlike Aspirin I would actually use this panacea (I’m not a big Aspirin hater, just a soup-lover). But next to apparent medical-superpowers this -my favourite soup – (and I am actually not kidding, chicken soup definitely is my favourite classic soup) fights away more than just one cold. I don’t know about the rest of the world, but autumn surely has arrived in Groningen and it looks like it’s only going to be a short stay until winter finally arrives. I remember how, just about a year ago, when I started to settle down in this crazy town, the days got shorter and the nights somewhat darker and I would have felt lonely if it wasn’t for the friends I made. There I sat, after a day in the cold, on the floor of one of my friend’s houseboat, sharing laughter and soup with a group of very special people. This was the first time I really felt like I belonged. Chicken soup might be a classic family dish, but luckily family extends far beyond our flesh and bones. Read the rest of this entry »
Summer is fading away, slowly but surely. Autumn has us in his hard, cold and wet grip. I’ve got to say that as much as I like the stormy company of a revelling autumn evening, this very season would surely make for a very bad lover. In a time, where all things slowly start to come to a halt, where days become darker and it starts to get so cold that your hands get so stiff from riding your bike, that you can’t hold your pen (which is a major drawback if you have exams right coming up and need a functioning hand), a little extra-comfort will make all the difference. Comfort-food has something about it, that makes me feel all warm inside. And this warmth extends far beyond any physical attribute. It’s more than the texture. It’s more than the ease of making it. More than the flavour. It’s the sum of all of them. It’s the fact that you allow yourself to take some time. The act of allowing yourself some comfort. And really, I couldn’t think of anything more comforting than my pasta with zucchini-butter sauce. Read the rest of this entry »
It’s time for your weekly-sunday-food-update. And surprise, surprise it’s going to be pasta again. In today’s recipe China meets Italy and then both of them meet France – I serve you nifty fake home-made Italian Udon with cheat beurre blanc. Now that sounds fancy. So it’s basically thick chewy pasta with a roasted onion-sauce. Which sounds a lot more do-able, I suppose. And really it is do-able and cheap and fast. While this post might seem like a lot of coherent information, making this shouldn’t take you longer than half an hour, and that is if you do everything by hand and for the first time. Oh, I almost forgot: You will be making your own pasta for this one and it will be incredibly easy. So brace yourself for some fun. Read the rest of this entry »
cookingbrains 