Day 121: lemony uplift
Nothing comforts my soul better than a bowl of long pasta. Spaghetti Bolognese was always the meal I requested on the first night coming home from school at the weekends, or after long trips away from home. It was the nourishment and nurture that I sunk into the sofa with. My sauce to pasta ratio would probably have offended many Italians though, not to mention the amount of parmesan I applied. However, I’m unapologetic here. It’s what I liked, so it’s what I ate. Of course, I don’t mean to offend, you understand, I just believe we’re all entitled to guilt-free enjoyment and comfort in the food we love; served how we like it. As long as we don’t claim any false authenticities, of course.
Six months into this cookalong, however, and learning the ways of pasta in its simplest forms from a culinary queen that has such a huge passion for Italy and its food, has made me realise that this comfort came from the pasta - and not so much the lavish amounts of sauce and parmesan. It’s all about seasoning and cooking it right; I’d be in heaven now with a bowl of spaghetti cooked and seasoned proper, with (salted!) butter or extra virgin olive oil, cracked black pepper, parsley, and parmesan, applied to the freshly drained, still-steaming tangles and tossed through gladly. It’s that love and smile you make the effort to apply when mixing that makes for happy eating.
Another flavour I’m becoming increasingly fond of throughout this cookalong - to the point there’s always an abundance of them in the house - is lemon. We always had a couple floating about the fridge, as hubby has a slice in his tea instead of milk (I’m still not ready to talk about this), but now I have a fruit bowl out in the kitchen dedicated just to housing my lemons. They’re also gorgeous to look at. So uplifting. Like oblong orbs radiating gentle doses of continual indoor sunshine. My dream is to walk through a lemon grove in a cute town along the Amalfi coast. To complete that cliche for you; I’d wear white linen and probably a hat, too.
When Nigella put her Lemon Linguine, from How To Eat, up as her Recipe of the Day last week, it was the first to go on the list for the next line-up of the cookalong.
Nigella’s Lemon Linguine
The creamy lemony sauce - uncooked - is drinkable alone, if truth be told, and I am surprised much made it into the pasta at all. But it did, and that’s what’s important. With the hopes of a leftover portion, I halved the recipe to make it for three. No such luck! We split the third portion for our second helpings, and hubby even got a slice of bread to mop up the creamy lemoniness from the pot in which it was created.
Flavour musings
Citrusy, silky, and elegantly comforting. Day 121 is Nigella’s Lemon Linguine. When that sauce hits the hot pasta, a cloud of lemony steam gently billows into the air; lifting spirits and banishing the grumps. This is one of the most wonderful bowls of food I’ve ever eaten, and I devoured the lemony tangle in perfect contentment.
