Week 89: Linguine with Lemon, Garlic and Thyme Mushrooms

So I had a bit of a panic the other night and had to find the quickest thing I could possibly cook after work, and my go-to book on occasions like this is Nigella Express.

To make this for four you will need: 225g chestnut mushrooms, 80ml extra virgin olive oil, 1tbs Maldonado salt, 1 small clove of garlic, juice and zest 1 lemon, 1tsp fresh thyme leaves, 500g linguine, fresh parsley, 2-3 tbs freshly grated Parmesan, and pepper.  As usual I halved the ingredients because I was just cooking for the two of us.

The method for this is simplicity itself.  Mix the oil, salt, garlic, lemon zest and juice, and thyme in a large bowl.  Finely slice the mushrooms and mix them up in the solution and leave to steep for a bit.

Cook the linguine like it says on the packet, drain it but retain some of the cooking water and put the pasta and water in with the mushrooms.  When I got to this stage I wished I’d used a bigger bowl, so I lobbed mine all back in the pan to toss around.

Toss everything together, add the parsley, Parmesan and grind in some pepper and serve.

I really wanted to like this, but I just didn’t.  Firstly I went slightly wrong, I completely forgot the lemon and left everything steeping in salty thyme-ey oil for 10 minutes until I remembered and added it.  The main problem was that it was just far too salty.  Crazily salty.  My lover could only finish half of his and that half went straight through him, I finished it but I didn’t feel to good after.

I wanted to try it again with even less salt, but my lover has banned me from making it again! Can’t win em all…

Nigella Express, by Nigella Lawson (Chatto & Windus 2007 ISBN 9780701181840)

Week 87: Bloody Mary Linguine

Just when you thought I had stirred everything possible into a pan of linguine I bought a new book and found that Gordon Ramsey has mixed dinner with breakfast in a most delightful way.  When I saw it I immediately thought of my friend in the country who drinks in the morning.

Week 86: Naan Pizza

A really quick recipe, but I don’t know how I’ve managed without a it all my life.  I like pizza, my favourites are from pizza express, but buying ones to cook at home are a bit hit and miss, and I’ve always shied away from making my own… Until now!

Week 85: Chicken with Katsu Sauce

I might have mentioned it once or twice, I am a man with a very small kitchen. Sometimes I come across recipes that I just don’t have the space to make (for example, everything from Jamie’s 15 minute meals), without a bit of planning this is one such recipe.  Lisa Faulkner’s ‘Recipes from my Mother for my Daughter’ is my lovers go to book, mostly for cake and staring, but this is the first time I’ve used it.  I was intrigued about Katsu sauce, I’d never heard of it before and it sounded tasty.

Week 84: Courgette Frittatas

Ladies and Gentlemen, my first frittata! Well actually it’s not. I thought it would be until I got further down the instructions and found that this recipe is seemingly for a load of mini frittatas. This recipe is from the good granny cookbook, so there are no pictures to aim at – but I’d seen one once in the staff canteen so I knew I should be aiming for a sort of greenish wobbly discus.  Can you tell I let my lover choose this weeks recipe?

Week 83: Egg Stuffed Tomatoes

I genuinely love the book, right from the moment I first found it in TK Maxx in 2012. It’s so well presented, and inventive, and all the dishes look delicious. Other than an unsuccessful batch of scones I’ve never actually cooked anything, until now.

Week 82: Corned Beef & Onion Pie

I have been threatening to make a pie for years, long before I started teaching myself to cook on this blog.  Not counting that quiche or the flan I threw together last year – or my world famous indestructible mince pies – this is my first ever proper pie.  My pie-ginity.

Week 81: African Drumsticks

The eagle-eyed amoungst you will notice that rather than drumsticks, these are actually thighs… lest we forget that my lover has a perculiar aversion to eating meat off the bone, so here we are with thighs! There’s quite a bizarre reason for making this.  Every time I make Nigella’s teriyaki I can never find the recipe, so I call over to my lover to ask what page it is and he always says ’46’. It’s not on page 46, African drumsticks are, so I thought I’d give it a try.

Week 80: Rib-Sticking Stir-Fry

Wham! And the dinners cooked! It’s been a while since I stir-fried anything, despite getting my wok out all the time.  We went off to a wedding at the weekend, and needed to have one last healthy meal so I could button my jacket! And no carbs so I was bound to loose 9 stone over night.  The pictures are a bit blurry this time, I was a tiny bit drunk when I got round to cooking…

Week 79: Greek Salad

Like the swallows returning and the leaves turning brown there are events in my kitchen that Mark the changing turning of the seasons… The first stew, first quiche, and the first salad. This week I made the first salad of the year. In London spring has sprung.