Wednesday 24 June 2015

What's Not Cookin'?

Spaghetti con Sugo Crudo di Pomodorini & Peperone con Pistacchi & Maggiorano
Spaghetti with Raw Cherry Tomato & Red Pepper Sauce, with PIstachio & Marjoram

 

Everybody loves spaghetti with sauce, but not everybody loves to wait for a sauce to simmer, reduce down and become delicious- and guess what? In the summer months... you don't have to!

Here is another, super quick, healthy and delicious idea for you, that is sure to brighten up any day - even a grey one like we had here again in Frankfurt! Although it had been miserable all day, toward the end of the afternoon, the temperatures began to rise and although it wasn't really sunny, it was hot and a refreshing meal was the order of the day... Or night!


 
 
 If you've got a food mixer, or immersion blender, you can have an amazingly refreshing and flavorful sauce ready in just one minute! And if you haven't... Well, you will have to sit this one out and look on in envy! Muahahaha! Sorry about that, but it just happens to be the plain truth of the matter!

So if you haven't got one... Get one! lol!


 

Here are the ingredients I needed to make enough sauce for 2 nice servings of pasta: 1 sweet red pepper, 8 cherry tomatoes, 1 small spring onion, 1 handful of basil, a little parsley, fresh marjoram, ground pistachios, Parmesan or Grana cheese, salt, pepper and olive oil. And maybe 10 minutes of your time from the point that your water comes up to the boil to cook your pasta!

 

You'll be surprised just how wonderfully rich the flavor of this sauce is and what makes it better still is the added nutty flavor of the pistachios and the aromatic marjoram that get added at the end... It really is a pretty awesome summer meal! And so easy you won't believe it!


Do you already have your spaghetti boiling away in well sorted water? Oh good! I knew I could trust you to take care of that part of preparing this by yourselves!

Whilst that happens, you can also roughly chop the tomatoes, pepper and onion and pop them into your blender, or a tall container if you are going to use an immersion mixer, and add the basil and parsley, a good pinch of salt and pepper, and a good drizzle of olive oil. Not loads, this is not going to be a pesto, but it should be at least 3-4 tablespoons to make the sauce taste smooth and delicious.


 

See that beautiful color? Isn't it wonderful? And the best thing about it is that the flavor is as wonderful too! Or at least it should be! haha!

But seriously, one thing that CAN happen on occasion, with fresh tomatoes, is that they sometimes may have a slightly sour or bitter note to their flavor... But should this be the case, as with a cooked tomato sauce, a little pinch of sugar will put that to rights for you! And indeed, this is the time to check the seasoning and add salt or pepper as necessary, or even a little more olive oil if need be... Because otherwise... All of your work is done and as soon as you drain that spaghetti, you are ready to serve!


 

Give the spaghetti a generous sprinkle of pistachios before placing them on your serving dish...

 

Then add your sauce and grate with Parmesan or Grana and sprinkle with plenty of fresh marjoram! And who could possibly resist that gorgeous looking plate of food now?!?!

 
  
Don't you think you should give this a try next time you feel like a plate of pasta during the warmer, summer months?


Stir it all together, the hot pasta and the cold sauce... And enjoy what I consider to be a perfect summer pasta dish... Then let me know how you liked it!

No comments:

Post a Comment