The family are piling up in the kitchen screaming with hunger, you have just came back home after spending ages in traffic jams or on crowded tube train, all you dream off is sitting with your legs up and a glass of wine or a cuppa... but food is needed. Is it to be a another take away? Or a (shudder!) ready made meal containing more E numbers and cardboard than food?
But cooking from scratch doesn't have to be time consuming. In fact, there are plenty of meals that can be prepared in less time that it takes for an average take away to deliver.
Pasta is a mother of all quick and easy dishes. It takes just a few minutes to cook (pre-boil the water using the kettle, it will be faster) and while it's cooking you get ready the stuff that goes on top. Choose quick-cooking meat or go vegetarian for super-fast dinner. My favourite ones are:
= = = Quick bacon pasta = = =
1.Cook pasta of your choice, I think tagliatelle, fettucine and linguine (or even plain old spaghetti) work best.
2.Heat some olive oil (or any other oil) in a large frying pan or wok.
3.Cut a few smoked bacon rashers (I think about 2 to 3 per person) into thinnish strips, pop into the pan and fry until crisp. If you are fat-avoider, you can dry-fry them or just use oil sparingly.
4.Cut a large onion into half-slices, add to bacon, fry until softened.
5.Then add all or selection of following to the pan and stir fry briskly:
6.A courgette (zucchinni) sliced into half-circles.
7.A bell pepper (red or yellow) sliced into strips.
8.Sliced mushrooms (1 medium sized per person).
9.A few florets of broccoli (small, so they cook quickly).
10.A clove or two of garlic, sliced.
11.When the pasta is just about ready, chop up tomatoes (1 per 2 persons) and add to the bacon and vegetables, cook until hot.
12.Drain pasta, drizzle with olive oil or butter, top with the bacon and veg.
You can also skip the bacon if you want a vegetarian option.
= = = Carbonara = = =
Not a choice for dieters, but a very quick and tasty dinner, ready in a blink of an eye! This recipe will feed 4 hungry people or 6 if there is a desert.
400g/14oz dried spaghetti
200g/8oz smoked pancetta (or smoked normal bacon), or a packet of ready-cut lardons (Aldi do them for 99p!)
olive oil
3 garlic cloves, chopped
handful parsley leaves, finely chopped
3 eggs, beaten
50g/2oz cheese (pecorino is the proper choice, but any flavoursome but not too hard cheese will do)
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1.Cook spaghetti
2.Meanwhile, cut the bacon into short little strips (skip if you have ready-cut pancetta).
3.Heat a large, deep frying pan over a medium-high heat, add the oil and the pancetta and fry until lightly golden.
4.Add the garlic and parsley and cook for a few seconds, then remove from the heat and set aside.
5.Tip the cooked pasta into the frying pan with the pancetta, garlic and parsley, add the beaten eggs and half the grated cheese and mix well.
6.Season to taste with a little salt and black pepper.
7.The heat from the spaghetti will be sufficient to partly cook the egg, but still leave it moist and creamy.
8.Serve sprinkled with the rest of the cheese.
= = = Winter pasta with sausage = = =
This is my adaptation of Nigel Slater's recipe, and it is great for winter!
450g/1lb pasta, penne, shells or thicker ribbons work well.
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
About 600g/1.5lb sausage, cooked but not browned, sliced. Nigel uses a hot Italian sausage, but any quality sausage can be substituted.
0.5 cup dry white wine
1 cup cream (double will give a richer sauce)
3 tbsp grainy mustard
Pinch of crushed chilli (cayenne) pepper
1 cup thinly sliced basil
1.Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente; drain.
2.Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large, deep frying pan.
3.Add the sliced sausage and brown over moderately high heat, about 5 minutes.
4.Add the wine and simmer, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom, until reduced by half.
5.Add the cream, mustard and crushed red pepper and simmer for 2 minutes.
6.Remove the pan from the heat, add the pasta and basil and toss to coat.
You can substitute flat parsley for basil if needed, but some herb is important
= = = Cheesy Walnut Pasta = = =
And finally, a super quick vegetarian option, inspired by Nigel Slater's and Nigella Lawson's recipes.
450g/1lb penne or other smallish shaped pasta
450g/1lb Gorgonzola or, if you don't like string cheeses, just normal cream cheese will do
100g/4oz walnuts
2 tbsp butter and 2 tbsp of hot water (you can use cooking water)
a few sage leaves, 6 to 10 is optimum
1.Cook and drain the pasta.
2.Heat the butter gently in a pan, add the of boiling water reserved from pasta.
3.Add the cheese and stir till the cheese starts to melt.
4.Season with salt and pepper.
5.Add the pasta back into the pan, mix to coat with melted cheese.
6.Add the walnuts and sage leaves, then serve on warmed plates.
Serve a zingy, sharp salad with this. You can add a few fried strips of bacon or a mushroom or two at step 2, but then you do definitely need a bit of butter to fry them.