richard Mealtimes have changed here at Yumblog Towers. Top scientists have proved there is now a 99.74% certainty that as soon as we plate up, pull the cork and sit down to enjoy our evening meal, Yumblog Junior will wake from her slumber/get bored with whatever devious distraction we have devised for her, and demand our total and unconditional attention. As a result dinners are usually eaten late, cold, in shifts, one-handed or a combination of all four. In an attempt to accommodate our beloved nipper and avoid too many tears (mine), we are tending towards tasty meals which can be prepared quickly and with the minimum amount of faff – such as this Paccheri with Roasted Peppers.
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Skill level: easy
Serves: 2
Ingredients
- Paccheri – 200g
- 1 red pepper – seeds removed – thickly sliced
- 1 yellow pepper – seeds removed – thickly sliced
- Kalamata olives – pitted and crushed – 40g
- 2 cloves of garlic – crushed
- fresh marjoram or oregano leaves – 1tbsp
- capers – 1tbsp
- red wine vinegar – 1½ tbsp
- olive oil – 50ml
- s&p
- plus shaved Parmesan to serve
Preheat oven to as hot as it will go.
Put the peppers, olives, oil, garlic, marjoram/oregano, capers and vinegar in a roasting pan, toss to combine and season to taste.
Roast, stirring occasionally, until the peppers are tender and starting to caramelise (20-25 minutes).
Meanwhile, cook pasta in a large saucepan of boiling water until al dente (10-12 minutes).
Drain and add to the pepper mixture. Combine everything together.
Serve immediately with shavings of Parmesan.
Verdict: A delicious sweet and piquant sauce which perfectly compliments this particular brand of pasta. There is something about Paccheri which sets it above other pasta shapes… I suspect it would be tasty even if served topped with a steaming coil of doggy doo… however, that’s a theory I’ve yet put to the test, so until then best stick to the roasted peppers.
Drink: Micro bottles of (sp)Asda* French beer
Entertainment: Celebrity MasterChef. Imagine our delight when Gregg said he loved “the BIG flavours of Dick“.
* Sorry, but (sp)Asda were doing a special on Pampers – it seems our anti-Walmart principles are as throw-away as the disposable nappies we now shamefully use.
