Recipes

Serves 4

My favourite Sunday afternoon cooking activity: time-consuming, easy, fun, and tasty. You’re left with wine to drink and something easy to watch or listen to—TV, a podcast—while it bubbles away.

Notes:

To make this dish halal:

• Use halal meat.

• Swap the parmesan for a dairy-free alternative or a hard cheese that doesn’t use animal rennet.

• Replace the wine with one cup of weak coffee. (It’ll taste different, but still nice.)

Add-ins: mushrooms, spinach, red bell peppers—whatever veg you like. Add them after the onions, carrot, and celery have softened, but before the meat.

If using Quorn mince, add a little more salt and pepper, and simmer for at least 1.5 hours in total.

Ingredients:

500g beef, pork, or a beef/pork mince mix (I usually go for the mix)
2 medium onions, diced
1 large carrot, diced
2 celery sticks, diced
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
Red wine
Milk
2 tbsp tomato purée, dissolved into 1 cup chicken stock
Olive oil
Rosemary, finely chopped
Basil, torn
Parmesan, for grating
500g rigatoni or pappardelle
Salt and pepper

Method:

Sauté the onions, carrot, and celery in olive oil in a heavy-bottomed non-stick pan over medium heat for 15–20 minutes.
Season with pepper.

Meanwhile, break up the mince in the packet with a fork.
Turn the heat to medium-high and sear the meat in the pan, breaking it up with a spoon or spatula until it's in tiny pieces.
Season with pepper.

Turn the heat to high. Add rosemary and garlic; stir-fry for 30 seconds.

Deglaze with red wine, stir, and let it cook off at high heat.

Pour in the tomato-stock mixture and let it bubble for 30 seconds. Add milk, bring it to a boil, then reduce to a low simmer.

Taste and season with salt and pepper.

Leave the ragu to simmer for at least 1.5 hours, stirring occasionally.
If it gets too thick, add more milk, wine, water, or stock. You want a rich, thick sauce—this isn’t a watery one.

Taste, adjust seasoning, and stir in the basil.

Simmer for at least another 30 minutes. The longer it simmers, the better it tastes.

Cook the pasta until al dente. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water.

Drain the pasta. Turn up the heat on the ragu and stir in the pasta. Stir-fry for one minute, adding a splash of pasta water if needed to loosen the sauce.

Serve with grated parmesan. (Sometimes I add finely chopped rosemary for a bit of extra punch.)

Spinach, Mushroom, and Feta Curry
Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

400g mushrooms (whole)
Butter
1 large or 2 medium onions (or 5 shallots for a more delicate flavor), diced
Garlic (to taste), finely chopped
1 small red chili, finely chopped
A big piece of ginger, finely chopped
750g spinach
125g basmati rice
1 pack feta cheese, cubed
10-15 cardamom pods
Allspice
Turmeric
Cumin
Ground coriander

Method:

Remove the seeds from the cardamom pods and grind them with a pestle and mortar. Combine the ground cardamom with the allspice, turmeric, cumin, and ground coriander. Set aside.

Melt a generous amount of butter in a large saucepan. Add the mushrooms and sauté until browned and softened. Ensure the mushrooms are well-coated in butter.

Once cooked, remove the mushrooms from the pan and set aside. If the pan has excess liquid, drain some off.

While the mushrooms are cooking, blanch the spinach in boiling water for about 3 minutes. Retain ½ cup of the blanching water, then drain and rinse the spinach with cold water.

Mix the retained water with the prepared spice blend.

Add 1 tablespoon (or more) of olive oil to the same pan used for the mushrooms. Sauté the onions (or shallots) over medium heat until softened and browned, about 10 minutes. Stir in the garlic, ginger, and chili, cooking for no more than 1 minute. Pour the spice mixture into the pan, stirring to coat the aromatics. Return the mushrooms and spinach to the pan.

Simmer gently for about 20 minutes, allowing the flavors to meld. Taste and season with table salt as needed.

Cook the basmati rice according to package instructions.

Once cooked, add the rice to the curry and stir. Let it cook together for an additional 2 minutes.

Remove the curry from the heat and gently fold in the feta cubes. Taste the curry again and adjust the seasoning if necessary.

Serve warm and enjoy!

Traditional(ish), I’ve Had a Bad Day, Romantic Dinner

The quintessential pasta dish that people love to argue about on the internet. A staple in my family home growing up, a fantastic dinner for two, and the perfect weeknight comfort dish. My favourite thing to cook.

A couple of things up top:
Use pancetta as a general rule. The traditional guanciale is amazing, but if you cook this as often as I do, it can be a bit much as a staple.
Garlic, for me, is non-negotiable.
Don’t use cream—you shouldn’t need it, and it’s fundamentally a different pasta dish.
Use a lot of black pepper.
Feel free to ignore any of this—the best carbonara is the one you like!

If you want to lighten the Traditional(ish) or Romantic Dinner version, add some chopped parsley or the zest of half a lemon. I’ve Had a Bad Day should not be light—it’s there to make you feel better.

Traditional(ish)

Serves Two

Ingredients:

• Olive oil
  3 cloves of garlic, finely minced
  125g pancetta, cubed
  250g dried spaghetti
  2 eggs, beaten
  75–100g parmesan, grated
  Freshly ground black pepper

Method:

1. Heat the oil in a large frying pan. Add the pancetta and cook until crisp. While the pancetta is cooking, grind a large amount of black pepper into the pan.

2. Add the garlic and stir-fry for about 30 seconds. Remove from heat and set aside.

3. Meanwhile, bring a large pan of water to the boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente. Reserve some pasta water in case you need to loosen the sauce.

4. Drain the pasta and immediately add it to the pancetta, oil, and garlic.

5. Add the beaten eggs and mix well. Add the parmesan and mix again.

6. Serve with more ground black pepper on top.

I’ve Had a Bad Day

Serves One

Ingredients:

• Olive oil
  3 cloves of garlic, finely minced
  100g pancetta, cubed
  140g dried rigatoni
  2 eggs, beaten
  50g parmesan, grated
  50g cheddar, grated
  Freshly ground black pepper

Method:

1. Heat the oil in a large frying pan. Add the pancetta and cook until crisp. While the pancetta is cooking, grind a large amount of black pepper into the pan.

2. Add the garlic and stir-fry for about 30 seconds. Remove from heat and set aside.

3. Meanwhile, bring a large pan of water to the boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente. Reserve some pasta water if needed.

4. Drain the pasta and immediately add it to the pancetta, oil, and garlic.

5. Add the beaten eggs and mix well. Add the parmesan and cheddar, then mix again.

6. Serve immediately.

Romantic Dinner

Serves Two

Ingredients:

• Olive oil
  3 cloves of garlic, finely minced
  1 glass of white wine
  70g pancetta, cubed
  1 pack of prosciutto, cut into strips
  250g dried linguine
  3 egg yolks, beaten
  75–100g parmesan, grated
  Freshly ground black pepper

Method:

1. Heat the oil in a large frying pan. Add the pancetta and cook until crisp. While the pancetta is cooking, grind a large amount of black pepper into the pan.

2. Once the pancetta is nearly cooked, add the prosciutto.

3. When the prosciutto is crisp, add the garlic and stir-fry for about 30 seconds.

4. Pour in the white wine and let it simmer until the alcohol cooks off. Remove from heat and set aside.

5. Light a candle.

6. Meanwhile, bring a large pan of water to the boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente. Reserve some pasta water if needed.

7. Drain the pasta and immediately add it to the pancetta, oil, and garlic.

8. Add the egg yolks and mix well. Add the parmesan and mix again.

9. Serve with more ground black pepper