Slutty Spaghetti

This was the first dish I ever cooked for my partner. Yes, as the title suggests I thought I was being very clever. Little did I know, my partner hates anchovy and I was to find this out several months after the fact.
This particular pasta sauce is known in Italian as “puttanesca”, and translates as “in the style of the whore”. These Italian whores must be pretty classy. All the Aussie whores I know (and I know plenty) wouldn’t know what their kitchen looked like, let alone the inside of a food store. Lets just say, cooking food is not a priority in their lives…..
Anyway, I must have done something right the night I cooked this for my beloved, because he is still here, by my side. And I would also like to mention that he doesn’t mind anchovies every now and then. Well actually, I just disguise them. Out of sight, out of mind.

Ingredients
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
16 marinated anchovy fillets
4-5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (from the marinated anchovy)
1 dried red chili
400g tin Italian tomatoes, chopped and mashed with a fork
1 tsp dried greek oregano
1 tbsp herb infused red wine vinegar
1 tsp sugar
12 black olives, cut into slithers
1 tbsp salted capers, rinsed of their preserving salt
Freshly chopped parsley

Method
Place the garlic, oil, and anchovy into a saucepan.and, over a low heat, cook for about 10 minutes until the anchovy has melted into a paste and emulsified into the oil. Do not allow the garlic to brown.
Add the chili and oregano and fry for a few seconds.
Add the tomatoes, red wine vinegar, and sugar. Cook over a low heat, until well reduced (about 15 minutes).
Finish with the olives and capers.
The flavours of this sauce are strong, almost aggressive (like a street whore, I guess).
Toss through 200g of freshly boiled al dente spaghetti. You may need to add a few drops of extra virgin olive oil, to help lubricate the pasta.
Lots of fresh parsley added at the last minute will lift the flavour. And please, no cheese with this dish-it doesn’t work.
Serves 2 (food) sluts.

Note- I have stipulated my marinated anchovy in the list of ingredients. However plain anchovy in oil are fine to use in this sauce.

Roast Squab Pigeons with Spinach, Olive and Lemon Sauce

There are moments when I experience severe technical difficulties. Some times they occur in the kitchen (overcooked meat, burnt vegetables etc). But other times (like now) the problem seems to be mainly in my brain. And to make matters worse, I am the one to blame. I do not need to explain the universal law (or effects) of excessive partying, so for the next few weeks of this festive season, do not expect much from me in terms of eloquence. I mean, the food will still be good- when I finally stumble into the kitchen…

Ingredients per person

1 squab pigeon, spatchcocked (keep the heads and backbones for stock)
1 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 tsp of brandy
A generous pinch of ground cardamom
Fresh black pepper
Sea salt

Method

Combine the oil, garlic, brandy, cardamom and seasonings.
Pour the marinade over the pigeons and massage into the skin.
Cover, refrigerate and marinade for at least 24 hours
Bring back to room temperature, before roasting.
Preheat the oven to 230c. Roast the birds skin side up for 8 minutes. Turn them over and roast for another 8 minutes. They are perfect when cooked to the medium stage.
Cover the birds and allow to rest, for 10 minutes.
Serve each bird on individual plates, drizzled over with any juices from the roasting dish.

Spinach, Green olive and Lemon Sauce

Ingredients

70g baby spinach leaves
10 large green olives, pitted and very finely chopped
1 garlic clove, very finely chopped
1 tsp finely chopped lemon zest
1 tsp finely chopped rosemary
Juice from half a lemon, or to taste
Extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt
Fresh black pepper

Wilt the spinach leaves in a saucepan. Add a few drops of water to prevent scorching.
Drain the spinach over a sieve until the liquid has drained away and the spinach is cool. Finely chop the spinach by hand.
Mix in a bowl with the olives, garlic, lemon zest, rosemary, salt and pepper.
Add enough olive oil to create a fluid consistency. Allow to sit at this stage, until ready to serve.
At the last moment, stir in the lemon juice to taste and check for salt and pepper.
Serve immediately with the roast pigeons. This will make enough sauce for 4 pigeons

Time for a Quickie?

This is a dish for those days when you just do not have the time to spend in the kitchen. Very quick and very tasty (and inexpensive too).

Blue Grenadier with Olives and Thyme

Ingredients.
1 whole side fillet of Blue Grenadier
Fresh thyme
Sea salt
Fresh black pepper
About 50ml white wine
Extra virgin olive oil
200g black and green marinated olives
Lemon wedges, to serve

Method
Preheat your oven to 220c.
Lay out the fillet on a baking dish skin side up. Strew over thyme branches. Season with salt and pepper. Leave it to come to room temperature-about 15minutes.
Splash over the white wine and drizzle generously with olive oil. A chef friend once told me that roast fish needs a lot of oil or butter to keep moist and I heed to his advice.
Scatter the olives around the fish and roast for about 10 minutes. Blue Grenadier is a delicate fleshed fish, so careful to not overcook. It is better to have underdone fish, than overdone fish. It is ready as soon a you can just flake the flesh with a spoon.
Serve with lemon wedges and a dish of braised silverbeet with tomatoes (if you like). Serves 2-3 people.

Black Olive Sauce

This is a versatile sauce. Use it to accompany grilled fish. Or have it with bread. Or toss it through pasta with flaked salmon as I did for my lunch today. I haven’t tried it but I would imagine it would marry well with chicken, lamb and rabbit. This sauce was part of lasts nights dinner- grilled salmon with roast asparagus and roast artichokes.

Ingredients
20g slivered almonds, lightly roasted
1 garlic clove
200g Kalamata olives
1 dried red chilli
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp dried greek oregano
1 tsp fresh chopped thyme
Fresh black pepper
Freshly squeezed lemon juice (about ½ a lemon)
Extra virgin olive oil

Method
Finely chop the slivered almonds with a sharp knife. Place them into a mixing bowl.
Pitt the olives. This is done easily enough with one of those gadgets. If you don’t own one, then go and buy one. It will make life a lot easier in the kitchen.
Now you can chop your olives. Do this by hand just as you have done the almonds. Don’t chop them too fine. This sauce is good with a bit of texture.
Add the chopped olives to the mixing bowl.
Lightly crush the garlic clove keeping it whole and peel it. Add to the bowl also with the chilli, cumin, herbs and pepper.
Add to it as much olive oil as you desire- I added about ¼ of a cup. Keep it at room temperature until you are ready to eat.
Discard the garlic clove.
Add as much lemon juice as you like and serve.
Leftovers can be refridgerated for another meal.(and see above for suggestions)