Pasta that packs a punch

Sometimes only pasta will do the trick, and you can tinker with these recipes to suit your mood, writes DOMINI KEMP

THE ORIGIN OF pasta continues to remain the subject of speculation and gastronomic legend, and after a flick through the book Pasta: The Story of a Universal Food by Silvano Serventi and Françoise Sabban, it’s clear just how complex its history is. If you want to be able to swat down any dodgy claims about pasta’s provenance, this is the book is for you. I was surprised to read that the “Marco Polo brought pasta from China” theory is utterly false, and is, in fact, a (very successful) PR spin that came from the Macaroni Journal, published with the goal of promoting the use of pasta in the US in the 1920s.

A little more recently, during the Atkins years, pasta became very unfashionable, as did most carbs. People have since come to the conclusion that healthy, balanced diets are best; pasta has a low glycemic index, is a good source of healthy carbohydrates, and is not necessarily the devil-food that Atkins followers would have claimed. But, if you are keen to increase the amount of wholegrains you consume, then look to switching to a wholewheat brand of pasta. Although these require a little more work to ensure they are just as tasty as your normal penne or spaghetti, eating more wholegrain is definitely better for you.

I really like this vegetarian pasta recipe below as you can tweak the amount of cream in it and make it more like a broth rather than a creamy affair, depending on whether it’s a mid-week supper or a bit of a treat. And because it contains peas and lettuce, it’s like having a complete dinner in a bowl, so you won’t find my usual suggestion – “serve with a green salad” – following the methodology.

The other recipe is for when you want a very “green” supper, full of goodness. It is a delicious kind of soupy purée that you can leave a bit thicker (and serve with some roast chicken) or else let it down further with vegetable stock and enjoy it as a tasty soup. I refrigerated the leftovers, and when tasting it cold the next day, I realised it would make a delicious filling for a vegetarian lasagne. A delicious cheese sauce, maybe a layer of sautéed mushrooms, or thick tomato sauce between layers of lasagne would be gorgeous.

Either way, both recipes are good, wholesome midweek treats and you can spruce them up with a splash of cream or crème fraiche and a good sprinkling of grated cheese when you need a bit more flavour and luxury.

PEA AND LETTUCE TAGLIATELLE

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 onion, peeled and very finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced

Knob of butter

1 tbsp olive oil

200g-300g frozen peas

2 Little Gem lettuces, finely sliced

400ml vegetable stock

1 tub crème fraiche (200ml, optional)

Bunch of fresh tarragon, very finely chopped

Squeeze of lemon juice

Grated Parmesan

Method

Sweat the onion and garlic in the butter and olive oil, but don’t allow it to colour. Add the peas, lettuce, stock and crème fraiche. Bring up to a simmer, and cook it gently for a couple of minutes. Chuck in the tarragon, lemon juice, and season with plenty of black pepper and set aside. Cook the pasta in plenty of boiling salted water, drain, give it a brief rinse, season well and toss with the sauce. Taste, season, top with some cheese, and serve in a big bowl.

GREEN LENTIL AND SPINACH SMASH

Serves six generously

A very green affair. Feel free to keep it thick and serve it instead of spuds, or let it down and serve as a soup. Ginger or cumin or any favourite spice would work well.

Ingredients

Splash of olive oil

1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped

1 head of garlic, peeled and chopped

500g green lentils, rinsed

About 1.5 litres of vegetable stock

1.2kg of spinach

Few scrapes of nutmeg

Salt and pepper

1 tub of crème fraiche (200 ml, optional)

Method

Heat up the olive oil, sweat the onion and garlic. Add the lentils and enough stock to cover them generously (which will be about a litre). Simmer gently for 15 to 20 minutes, until they are soft. This will give you time to remove the stalks from the spinach and roughly chop or tear the leaves. When the lentils are soft, stir in the spinach, in batches. It will wilt quickly. Then purée (in batches) the lentils and spinach in a food processor, adding the remaining 500ml of stock to help it on its way. Put it back in the saucepan, add the nutmeg, season with salt and pepper, and add more stock or crème fraiche, depending on how loose you want it to end up. I could happily eat a bowl of this on its own, with a good goats’ cheese sprinkled on top. dkemp@irishtimes.com See also itsa.ie

TOP TIP I picked up a bunch of smoked garlic in Superquinn and have been tormenting the family with it since. Smokey, savoury and tasty, it’s delicious in roast chicken, soups and stews