lemon linguine

method

When I was on honeymoon, some years ago now, I came across these fantastic Sicilian lemons. Their skin is really fragrant in cooking and they are very juicy too. You can use them roasted with fish, sliced very thinly in salads, and halved and put inside chicken. When roasted they go all jammy. This pasta recipe is great to use them in too, so try and find some – if you can’t find any, use normal lemons instead.

Cook the linguine in a generous amount of boiling, salted water for about 12 minutes, then drain thoroughly and return to the saucepan. Meanwhile, beat the lemon juice and zest with the olive oil, then stir in the Parmesan – it’ll go thick and creamy. Season and add more lemon juice if needed. Add the lemon sauce to the linguine and shake the pan to coat each strand of pasta with the sauce (the Parmesan will melt when mixed with the pasta). Finish by stirring in the chopped basil and the rocket.

ingredients

• 500g dried linguine pasta
• juice of 3 Sicilian lemons and zest of 1
• 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 125g Parmesan cheese, grated
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• a large bunch of fresh basil, leaves picked and finely chopped
• a handful of rocket

Dragon Well Tea Shrimp Recipe (龙井虾仁)

RECIPE: LONG JING XIA REN (龙井虾仁) / DRAGON WELL TEA SHRIMP
INGREDIENTS:

1/2 lb raw, peeled & frozen baby shrimp
1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
1/8 teaspoon salt or to taste
2 teaspoons oil
1 heaped tablespoon Longjing tea leaves
1/4 cup hot water
Some chopped scallion
1 tablespoon egg white
1 teaspoon corn starch

METHOD:
Defrost the frozen shrimp, rinse well, and pat dry with paper towels. Add corn starch and egg white to the shrimp and marinate for 15 minutes. Prepare the tea in a small tea pot by adding 1/4 cup hot water to the tea leaves. Set aside for 5 minutes and then filter the tea and set aside for the stir-fry.

Heat up 1 teaspoon cooking oil in a wok and toss in the shrimp. Do a few quick stir until the shrimp is 50% cooked, dish out and set aside. Wash the wok and heat it up again with the remaining 1 teaspoon cooking oil. Add the shrimp back into the wok, and quickly follow by the tea, Shaoxing wine, salt, and chopped scallion. Do a quick stir over high heat until the shrimp is cooked, dish out and serve immediately.

quick sausage meatballs with a tomato and basil sauce, spaghetti and sweet raw peas

method

This is a fantastic recipe that completely celebrates everything I love about peas. Even though they only make an appearance right at the end, it’s a star performance. I like to serve a pile of unpodded peas in the middle of the table so that everyone gets to pod some over their own plate. It’s also an incredibly fast recipe – you can be sitting down to eat within a minute of the pasta being done. The key to getting it right, though, is to buy really good-quality sausage.

Heat a large saucepan and add a few glugs of olive oil. Snip the sausages apart, then squeeze and pinch the meat out of the skins so that you get little meatball shapes – don’t make them too big or they will take too long to cook. Try to get at least three balls out of each sausage. Don’t worry about rolling them into perfect balls and making them look all fancy – rough and rustic is good! Put them into your pan. Keep frying and turning the meatballs until they’re golden brown and cooked through.

Meanwhile, put the spaghetti into a large pan of salted boiling water and cook according to the packet instructions until al dente.

To make your tomato sauce, heat a separate pan and pour in some olive oil. Add the garlic and the chopped basil stalks and move them around the pan for a couple of minutes. Put some small basil leaves to one side for later, and sprinkle the rest into the pan. Add the tomatoes and season carefully to taste. Bring to a simmer, break up your tomatoes a bit more with a spoon and add a swig of balsamic vinegar – it’s lovely for adding sweetness to the sauce.

Add the herbs to the pan of sausage meatballs, tossing everything in all the lovely flavours. Cook for around 30 seconds. When your spaghetti is cooked, drain it and divide the pasta and meatballs between four bowls. Spoon over the tomato sauce. Sprinkle over the reserved basil leaves and serve with a handful of fresh peas per person in the middle of the table, so that everyone can have a go at podding their own, and a little Parmesan for grating and shaving over the top.



• from Jamie at Home

ingredients

• olive oil
• 8 good-quality pork sausages
• 500g spaghetti
sea salt
• 300g fresh peas, in their pods
• a block of Parmesan cheese, to serve
• a few sprigs of fresh marjoram, thyme or rosemary, leave picked

for the tomato sauce
olive oil
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely sliced
• a small bunch of fresh basil, leaves picked, stalks finely chopped
• 2 x 400g tins of good-quality plum tomatoes
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• good-quality balsamic vinegar.

meatballs and pasta

method

Meatballs are fantastic! They’re perfect like this, with a one-minute homemade tomato sauce and spaghetti, but you could also try polenta or simple chunks of fresh crust bread. I like to make meatballs with a mixture of beef and pork, as I think it gives a really wonderful flavour and texture.

To make your meatballs
• Pick the rosemary leaves off the woody stalks and finely chop them
• Wrap the crackers in a tea towel and smash up until fine, breaking up any big bits with your hands
• Add to a mixing bowl with the mustard, minced meat, chopped rosemary and oregano
• Crack in the egg and add a good pinch of salt and pepper
• With clean hands scrunch and mix up well
• Divide into 4 large balls
• With wet hands, divide each ball into 6 and roll into little meatballs – you should end up with 24
• Drizzle them with olive oil and jiggle them about so they all get coated
• Put them on a plate, cover and place in the fridge until needed

To cook your pasta, meatballs and sauce
• Pick the basil leaves, keeping any smaller ones to one side for later
• Peel and finely chop the onion and the garlic
• Finely slice the chilli
• Put a large pan of salted water on to boil
• Next, heat a large frying pan on a medium heat and add 2 lugs of olive oil
• Add your onion to the frying pan and stir for around 7 minutes or until softened and lightly golden
• Then add your garlic and chilli, and as soon as they start to get some colour add the large basil leaves
• Add the tomatoes and the balsamic vinegar
• Bring to the boil and season to taste
• Meanwhile, heat another large frying pan and add a lug of olive oil and your meatballs
• Stir them around and cook for 8–10 minutes until golden (check they’re cooked by opening one up – there should be no sign of pink)
• Add the meatballs to the sauce and simmer until the pasta is ready, then remove from the heat
• Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook according to the packet instructions

To serve your meatballs
• Saving some of the cooking water, drain the pasta in a colander
• Return the pasta to the pan
• Spoon half the tomato sauce into the pasta, adding a little splash of your reserved water to loosen
• Serve on a large platter, or in separate bowls, with the rest of the sauce and meatballs on top
• Sprinkle over the small basil leaves and some grated Parmesan


• from Jamie's Ministry of Food

ingredients

• 4 sprigs of fresh rosemary
• 12 Jacob’s cream crackers
• 2 heaped teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 500g good-quality minced beef, pork, or a mixture of the two
• 1 heaped tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 large egg, preferably free-range or organic
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• olive oil
• a bunch of fresh basil
• 1 medium onion
• 2 cloves of garlic
• ½ a fresh or dried red chilli
• 2 x 400g tins of chopped tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 400g dried spaghetti or penne
• Parmesan cheese, for grating