Simple enough to have on the table in fifteen minutes, fancy enough to serve to guests – spaghetti al limone is a great recipe to have up your sleeve.
Like most dishes with few ingredients, quality makes a difference here – use the good olive oil, and a nice piece of Parmesan.
Having made spaghetti al limone regularly for twenty years now, my version has evolved somewhat from the original River Café recipe, and uses considerably less olive oil and cheese.
With its croutons and shavings of Parmesan, this simple salad is reminiscent of a Caesar, but the fennel takes it somewhere new.
It’s a much fresher affair, and one of my favourite lunches when I’m working from home.
I keep the dressing to a minimum so as not to overwhelm the tender salad leaves. Continue reading
Root vegetable crumble is one of my favourite things to make in the winter. While both girls are affronted by the very concept of a savoury crumble, I love it.
When divided into six ramekins, portions are definitely on the starter/lunch size. When I make root vegetable crumble for dinner, I serve it with lots of steamed vegetables or a big green salad. I’ve also made it in a shallow casserole dish. Continue reading
This is the light version of the Caesar salad I grew up eating. I’ve swapped Greek yogurt for the raw egg and much of the olive oil.
The better the ingredients, the better the salad. Good oil, good Parmesan, and good bread to make the croutons rather than buying a packet.
We were introduced to pasta alle zucchini by our lovely Roman friend Mariella. She was a bit dismissive when she served it for dinner one evening, describing it as simple family fare, but we found zucchini and egg to be a winning combination. Continue reading
Lentils and smoked salmon make this a most satisfying main course salad. Easy to pull together on a weeknight, especially if you happen to have cooked lentils hanging about, as we often do. Continue reading
Orecchiete means “little ears” in Italian, which gave Lyra a bit of a scare. “Are they really made from ears?” she asked – knowing it’s just about possible I would serve her a bowl of ears in the interest of reproducing some authentic regional dish.
I could see her trying to work out which poor animal’s ears they could possibly be before I set her mind at ease. Continue reading
Spaghetti with meatballs is one of the girls’ favourite suppers. It’s a bit time-consuming for a weekday meal, so it doesn’t feature as often as they would like.
After trying various recipes, I’ve pretty much settled on the one in Nigella Eats. I like the simplicity of the tomato sauce, and cooking the meatballs directly in the sauce means one less pan to wash up afterwards.
Ten More Bites 