Spring pasta

Every now and then we get a day that reminds us spring is imminent and on those days I like to eat as if it were already here. Pasta & salad make a lovely spring meal and as well we are getting back into dinner salads. There will be plenty of those over the coming weeks.Ribbon egg pasta with a light sauce of fish or vegetables is the ultimate spring dinner for me. Try tagliolini with peas & prosciutto. Boil the water for the pasta. Gently heat about 50g butter in a pan, gently saute 1/2 dozen spring onions, thinly sliced, about 1 minute. Add 1 cup frozen peas - I only use fresh when I have them in the garden - with a splash of water and simmer a minute or so, then add 75g roughly sliced prosciutto and cook another minute or so. Put the pasta on at about the same time as the peas and cook for 2 minutes. Drain leaving a little of the cooking liquid. Put into the pan with the pasta & reserved cooking liquid, add 50g grated Parmesan & salt & pepper to taste. Serve with a salad.
Or try a variation on an old spaghetti favourite in our house. Everyone liked this when they were younger and fussier and they all still do. The basic idea is spaghetti with fried breadcrumbs. Apparently, the crumbs, known as pangrattato, historically were used as a substitute for Parmesan by people who couldn't afford cheese. Process 1/2 cup fresh white breadcrumbs and bake in the oven at 200 for 8-10 minutes. Season with salt & pepper. Cook your spaghetti according to the packet and try these alternatives. Heat olive oil & garlic until the garlic begins to colour, then add a good handful of chopped flat-leaf parsley with 1/2 tsp each of chopped rosemary & thyme. Cook about 30 seconds. When you have drained the pasta, add it to the herbs in the pan & toss with about 1 tsp chopped basil and the baked crumbs. This was how we started but have now discovered this works beautifully with the addition of fish, or prawns or chorizo or salami. Try this version from Cuisine. We recently did a lemony version with gurnard which was really delicious. Make the breadcrumbs as above. Cook the spaghetti according to the packet. Heat some olive oil in a largish pan, add 400g well seasoned gurnard fillets and fry 2-3 minutes each side. Add chopped flat-leaf parsley and zest of a lemon, season with sea salt, pepper & toss well, breaking up the fish. Drain the pasta & add to the fish. Always reserve a couple of tablespoons of the pasta water when you drain and add to the sauce. I don't know why but it works. Sprinkle with the crumbs. The plain herb version is good for a vegan.
And lastly another family favourite. Spaghetti with chilli prawns & fresh tomato. Leave out the prawns if you don't eat them. Our vegetarian loves this sans prawns, although with prawns was probably the very last non-vegetarian meal from which she weaned herself. First get your tomatoes ready. Take about 500g good quality, well ripened tomatoes. Score a cross across the core, place in a bowl, pour over boiling water & let sit a couple of minutes. Drain, cool slightly unless you have asbestos fingers like my grandma. Then peel off the skin, it should come away easily. Don't leave it in the water for too long or it will start to cook the tomato. Quarter the tomatoes and with the point of a knife flick out as many seeds as you can. Chop out any hard bits of core, then chop the flesh into small pieces. The original recipe said leave to drain for an hour but we are impatient so 10 minutes is enough while you're getting everything else ready. You may be thinking this all sounds a bit fiddly for me & you're right. This is a Peter recipe & I suggest that you hand over the tomato preparation to a man in your household who is sure to have more patience for it than I do. E, this is a job for you.Cook spaghetti according to packet. Chop 2 tbsp parsley & mix in a bowl with 2 tbsp small basil leaves, 1/2 tsp chilli flakes (I've long given up chopping fresh chillis), a clove of crushed garlic, a dozen pitted black olives (the recipe suggested chopped but they're more easily avoided by non olive lovers left whole). Add 3 tbsp best extra virgin olive oil you can afford then add the chopped tomatoes. Heat a little more oil in a frying pan over a medium heat and cook prawn cutlets (that's skinned but with tails on, and 1/2 dozen per diner) for a couple of minutes until starting to pink up. Turn them over and crumble over a generous pinch of saffron and a little more crushed chilli. When it's cooked add tomato oil mix and quickly incorporate the prawny residue. Add the drained pasta, add a little more olive oil if you like.
For all these meals choose spaghetti, spaghettini, or linguine - whichever you prefer. And I like to serve followed by a green or garden salad.
You may be wondering two things. What have I been doing the last couple of weeks? Banned from the study due to exams... And what keeps me cheerful when I am in here blogging...?