Green-lipped mussels

Dinner of linguine with green-lipped mussels from the Mersea Island Company Shed. Steamed for a few minutes in some butter, garlic, chilli flakes and white wine. Perfectly paired with a lovely summer evening. Windows open, salty breeze, mouthfuls of sea. Mmmmm.

roasted beets and ricotta pasta

roast some new beets in a little package made from aluminium foil, put in some olive oil and thyme.

Nigel’s bolognese

The initial batch of Nigel’s bolognese was – dare I say it? – a wee bit disappointing. (And I had such high hopes.) I think the vegetables-to-sauce ratio was a bit off, and the cooking was slightly rushed. I cooked up the “leftovers” (still enough to feed a small family) a few days later with more passata, and that was rather good. It’s probably a sauce that ages well, anyway. Here’s what Anne had to say about it, plus a recipe.

Pesto (with spaghetti, runner beans, and courgettes)

Going home was the perfect excuse to turn my Greek basil plant into a big batch of fresh pesto. Delicious with spaghetti and the rest of the runner beans and courgettes, although the courgette had gone soft and very bitter. Any remedies for that (except eating it earlier)?

a big basil plant

some lightly toasted pine nuts

a handful of freshly grated parmesan or pecorino

a small clove of garlic

olive oil, not too strong

Pick the leaves off the basil, and blend all the ingredients either by hand in a pestle and mortar, or with a food processor or handheld blender. Season with a small pinch of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Taste and adjust until the flavour and consistency are as you like them.

Pasta with Portobello mushrooms, tomatoes, spinach and chick peas

Just a simple vegetable medley. I stirred some smoked aubergine pesto through the pasta, which rounded things off quite nicely. Celery and carrots in the new box, so the last two Portobello’s will be going into Nigel’s bolognese. Can’t wait!

King prawn linguine with cherry tomatoes and rocket

I eat king prawns very rarely, but when I do, this is one of my favourite recipes. This really does have bags of flavour, as the stale Masterchef saying goes, but in a completely cohesive way.

king prawns

linguine

a pack of cherry tomatoes

a good handful of rocket

garlic, chopped

chilli flakes

a splash of dry white wine or vermouth

Boil the linguine (this is one of the rare occasions where I would use “white”, not wholewheat). When the pasta is five minutes from done, gently fry the garlic in a good amount of olive oil without browning it. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half and add to the pan cut side down. Season with pepper, sea salt and some chilli flakes. After a few minutes, add the king prawns and a splash of white wine or vermouth and give everything a good swirl in the pan. The olive oil, wine and tomato juices should come together to form a thick saucy coating for the prawns. Drain the linguine and add to the pan, coating the strands with the sauce. Transfer to plate(s), top with the rocket, and serve with a cold white beer or a glass of white wine.