Sundried Tomato & Herbed Garlic Spaghetti Aglio e Olio

Moving into a new house for the first time is daunting. In my first two months, I have lost my keys, gotten locked inside my own bedroom (faulty lock), had 3 power trips, locked my car and house keys in my car, watched scary movies I probably shouldn't have... but the one thing I've had so much fun doing is cooking my own meals! Granted, I've also had a very busy period at work, which means I haven't really had time for home cooked meals but when I have had the chance, I've been trying out quite a few different recipes. 

I tried a really great pasta dish in the past few weeks, as part of a meal I cooked for Le Boyfriend's 30th birthday dinner. It's so easy, so delicious, and I've been craving it ever since! It's one of those dishes you can whip up for a weeknight dinner, without having to stop at the grocery shop for ingredients (if you don't want to). Without further ado... 

Sun-dried Tomato Spaghettini

Serves 2

• 2 servings worth of spaghettini (made fresh or from instant), cooked al dente
• 4-5 cloves garlic, sliced thinly
• 1/4 cup sliced sun-dried tomatoes
• 1/4 cup sliced streaky beef strips (or bacon for those who can)
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp chili flakes
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• Salt and pepper to season
• A handful (or more if you want a salad) of fresh rocket leaves
• Grated parmesan 

1. Boil the pasta as per instructions, remove from heat, strain and pour some cold water over it to keep it from cooking any further; set aside
2. In a medium/large saute pan, heat a few tablespoons of olive oil. When hot, lower the flame and toss in the garlic, sundried tomatoes, streaky beef strips, paprika, chili flakes and thyme. Allow the flavours to infuse into the oil until the garlic reaches a beautiful shade of brown without getting burnt and crispy. 
3. Add the pasta to the pan and toss to coat in the oil and goodness in the pan. Season to taste and remove to a large bowl to stir in the fresh rocket and grated parmesan
4. Serve hot and enjoy :) 

This can be a meal on it's own (large portion), or a smaller meal (around 60-70g per serving) to accompany a protein and some veg (for R's birthday dinner, I served it with garlic roasted asparagus and thyme grilled lamb cutlets). I'll share the recipes for those dishes soon (wait til I try them again and get some pictures before they go). 

Cooking with Papa - Seafood Spaghetti Aglio Olio

Yesterday I finally got my father to agree to sign up for my first ever cooking lesson! Imagine this... a man who has managed to avoid cooking an entire meal from scratch (there was a period of 2 months when he had to reheat mum's pre-cooked meals in Gabon while she went home to Malaysia to give birth to Mark) for over 50 years... saying he wants to learn to cook. How could I not totally jump on it?

So earlier this afternoon, just before it started pouring down with rain, I dragged him to the grocery store to pick up ingredients (we have enough supplies, but I figured he should learn the entire process for the first time). I was going to teach him to make a vegetable tian and easy roast chicken, but on the way there, he said "I love spaghetti aglio olio... is that easy to make?"

Heck yeah. The easiest.

Before I continue to gush overmuch about how proud I am, let's just get on with the recipe.

Seafood Spaghetti Aglio Olio

• 500g spaghetti
• 100g breadcrumbs
• Fresh Italian parsley
• 1/2 cup (or thereabouts) extra virgin olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, diced
• 3 dried chili peppers, crushed
• 5 sundried tomatoes, chopped
• 6 medium sized fresh squid, cleaned and sliced across (I made him clean them)
• 500g fresh prawns, peeled and deveined (hahah he hated that part)
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Salt to season

1. Cook the pasta in a pot full of boiling salted water until just before al dente, remove from heat, drain and toss in a knob of butter (optional), then set aside in serving dish while you prepare the dressing

2. Toast the breadcrumbs and finely chopped parsley in a preheated oven for about 5-8 minutes, remove and set aside for the last step

3. Drizzle some olive oil in a heated open frypan, then add the diced garlic, chili, and sundried tomatoes and toss until softened and the aroma starts to fill the kitchen.

4. Add the prepped squid and prawns and cook until just done. Season with salt to taste. There should be a lot of liquid in the pan from the squid and prawns. 

5. Pour the mixture over the pasta and toss to mix thoroughly. Drizzle more olive oil and squeeze the juice of 1 lemon over to toss in as well. 

6. Add the breadcrumbs and parsley garnish and add more salt if needed
7. Serve immediately! 

Well, it was an easy dish to begin with, he's got it saved on his phone for future reference. I really hope this won't be the first and ONLY time we cook together. It was so much fun, and from the sounds of it, he's really looking forward to making another dish next week. Maybe we'll try that vegetable tian and some milk roasted chicken. Mmmm

I'm not cool

Hey you,

Let me tell you a little something about me: I'm a loner; I'm not popular, but I have a solid group of really good people I call friends. I love reading and writing fiction, and sometimes... I may have issues distinguishing between fantasy and reality. I like dorky things like my talking, prophetic Yoda doll (I call it doll, it's probably called an action figure or whatever), my Mr Potatohead, the handmade Ron Weasley amigurumi that I got from Jan, working for hours on ridiculous photomanipulation projects for my friends on SnitchSeeker, HA! Snitchseeker, and only I know how much longer that list goes on.

My idea of a well spent weekend involves sitting in my various super comfortable pajamas, reading great fantasy/sci-fi novels, watching episode after episode of whatever I may have stored on my hard-drive, and sitting next to the pool/beach/large body of water for hours on end with a glass of ice-cold Malibu/pineapple.

I don't do too well in loud, dark, crowded spaces. I never know where to put my hands, and that said, I get all light-headed when I stand for too long. When going out, I'm always more comfortable in pub-style settings, where they play good, familiar music, decent steady lighting fixtures, and I can have decent conversations with my friends that I'll remember fondly on Tuesday morning as something that may have profoundly altered the way I look at things.

I've only ever been in two proper romantic relationships in my life, both of them in my early 20s, and within 3 years. Before that I was too shy to talk to people, and since them I've been too afraid. So here I am now, a baker, a writer, a reader, a collector of nonsensical information, and a blogger. It has taken me 2 years to finally like myself again, and now that I'm actually quite happy and comfortable with myself... with knowing who I am, what I like, and what I want, I've been told it's time to drop the wall and just be happy.

Here's how I define myself: I'm comfort food.

Very much like this recipe! HAHA see what I did there?!

Quick Lemon Spaghetti 

• A normal sized pack of dried spaghetti
• 4-5 cloves of garlic, chopped/crushed
• 1/4 - 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 tbsp butter
• A cup of chopped fresh parsley
• 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• The zest of 1 lemon
• Optional: Chopped chicken breast fillets for some protein
• Salt and pepper 

1. Prepare the spaghetti noodles as per instructions, when it's ready, drain the water and set aside in a small amount of leftover water (my friend Jessica told me to drop butter into the still hot pasta and let it ooze through) 
2. Heat the olive oil and butter in a saucepan until the butter has melted, then toss in the chopped/crushed garlic and cook until the delicious aroma of garlic fills the air
3. Pour the olive oil/garlic mixture over the pasta and toss with all remaining ingredients 
4. Optional chicken: You can either grill the chicken separately (season with salt and pepper, squeeze some lemon juice over it and grill on high heat), or fry the chicken in the olive oil when the garlic has softened and infused the oil

I'm starting to really have an issue with my camera, lighting, and setting area. There's a spare room in the back of the house that we use for storage, but after this recent failed attempt at taking pictures of my foodscapades I'm seriously considering turning the room into a working studio area.

First things first: Make space. Which I'll do... this weekend... maybe. Knowing my ridiculous procrastinating ways, that may take a while. Then I need to find some decent light fixtures to replace my old ones (I still mourn those lights...), an umbrella stand, new tripod cos my old one broke into three pieces, and maybe read my camera manual! LOL

Anyway, please don't let that horrible picture put you off the recipe. It really is amazing, hope you give it a shot on one of these busy weekdays. x Nabs