Day 27: i’ve got a crush

You know you’re onto a winner when you can’t stop re-assessing a recipe every twenty minutes, bursting at the seams with excitement. As a consequence of this uncontainable anticipation, you become even more passionate about the approaching mealtime. Nerves develop, excitement snowballs at an alarming rate, the bottle of wine you opened for dinner suddenly becomes the aperitif and then when you do finally do sit down to eat (with another bottle of wine) and take that first bite, an overwhelming blanket of emotions settles over every fibre of your being. And that’s when it happens: a feeling inside that you can't quite explain, your eyebrows raise (as if in disbelief), and your head shakes every so slightly in astonishment - followed, perhaps, by a small tear of happiness.

Okay, so I’m back down to Earth now, but that is exactly how I feel about Nigella’s Spaghetti with Chard, Chillies and Anchovies, and I am so happy to now have it in my life.

Nigella’s Spaghetti with Chard, Chillies and Anchovies

I have cooked with chard only once before, I think. I recall doing some kind of creamed chard, much like you would make with spinach, but for some reason was not something I ever repeated. I never even made the effort to taste it raw, which I did here, and was impressed with its fresh, salty taste and crisp, juicy texture. I imagine it being quite nice in salads, in fact - dare I say - even in place of spinach. Anyway, I know little about this vegetable but am very happy to get to know it better.

Anchovies. I’ve wittered on about these long enough in the past to bore you all to tears, but just know this: I adore them more and more each time I cook with them and am confident that I will someday soon earn my stripes for junior admission to the Anchovy Appreciation Association.

Extra virgin olive oil, believe it or not, is a bit of a new one for me. I’ve always had it in the cupboard, but never particularly liked cooking with it. I cannot stand the smell of frying in extra virgin olive oil, nor am I all that keen on its taste in salad dressings either. But, there comes a point when you have to stop being so stubborn and embrace recommendation, which - so far - is proving successful. Each time I do, I fall in love with something I never thought possible. I cheerfully trotted to the table with a bottle of extra virgin olive oil in one hand and a bowl of this pasta in the other; dousing the spaghetti with generous quantities of both oil and parmesan as I continued to fall in love, obsessively, with each new mouthful.

The excitement I share with you, both when cooking and recounting here, I believe demonstrates only too well the joy I get from this 365-day Nigella cookalong. This is a joy I want to share with you, but also a joy I want you to share with me. I find cooking, eating, and then talking about it, to be the best therapy I’ve perhaps ever undertaken for my anxiety - and I believe this is a journey so many of us can share together. Anxiety doesn’t just affect those of us diagnosed with it, it is a natural response inside us all. And, for all of us, it can at times become equally unmanageable.

Flavour musings

Everything that goes in this recipe is packed with flavour, and once assembled, deliver an exquisite experience to the tastebuds. I’m still knocked back at the realisation that two out of my top-five-favourite-bowls-of-comfort-inducing-sustenance contain anchovies, and I gladly announce that these are both Nigella recipes.

You really have to try this one for yourself, and I am sure you will nod in recognition at the passion in my introduction, and perhaps not roll your eyes in a here-he-goes-again, somebody-please-take-the-keyboard-away-from-this-guy kind of way, that you might be doing right now.