IT’S summertime and the livin’ is easy, or so the song goes, and now that the holidays are in full swing, we open the curtains every morning in the hope of blue skies and blazing sunshine.
Of course, that doesn’t always happen – thanks to typically Irish weather – so sometimes we have to make do with transporting ourselves to sunnier climes through the food we eat and the yummy smells and tastes we can create in the kitchen.
Italy is one of my favourite places in the world, not only for the culture, people and scenery but obviously for the delicious food as well. Mediterranean food as a whole is so simple and moreish, with fantastic use of fish, meat, vegetables and lashings of olive oil.
It also helps that it is super easy to recreate at home so this week’s recipes are two that can be run up fairly quickly and easily for a mid-week evening treat.
Putting good food on the table never should be taxing or stressful, especially not during summer when we should be outside soaking up those rays, or sprinting to bring in the washing when it starts to rain. Either way, hope you enjoy.
SPAGHETTI WITH CLAMS
(Serves 4)
1kg clams
100ml olive oil
5 sprigs flat leaf parsley, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
5 tomatoes, peeled, deseeded and chopped
salt
pepper
100g fresh peas
40g pine nuts
400g spaghetti, cooked
To start, clean the clams under running water. To cook the clams, place in a saucepan with a little water in the bottom of the pot. Place the lid on and cook on a high heat for about three minutes; once they start to open remove from the heat. Strain the liquid into a bowl and put any unopened clams into the bin.
Once the clams have cooled off take half of them out of the shells and place in the cooking liquer which you have set aside.
To cook the sauce, pour the olive oil into the clam cooking pan and place over a medium heat. Add the parsley and garlic and stir for a minute or two. Add the tomatoes and season with the salt and pepper to taste. You want this sauce to reduce by half before adding the clam cooking liquer and the clams you have already taken out of the shells. Add the peas to warm through.
In a separate pot add water to cook the pasta, bring the water to the boil on high heat and add in the dried spaghetti. Cook for about six minutes. Remove and strain.
Mix in the tomato sauce mix and the clams into the spaghetti and serve with a sprinkling of toasted pine nuts
LAMB CHOPS WITH ANCHOVY SALSA
(Serves 4)
8 lamb cutlets
500g new potatoes
olive oil
salt and pepper
For the salsa
10 anchovies, finely chopped
2 red chillis, chopped and deseeded
4 pickles, finely chopped
2 spring onions, finely chopped
3 sprigs flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
½ lemon, juiced
4 tblsp olive oil
This recipe is extremely quick and the best place to start is by cooking off the potatoes in a pot of boiling water until tender. Then remove them from the water and strain.
Next make the salsa. I find this is best achieved by mixing the ingredients together in a bowl as I like the consistency of the crunch but if you prefer it smoother you can blend the ingredients.
Place a large frying pan on the heat and drizzle and massage your lamb with a little of the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Cook on either side for about four minutes until brown; allow to rest for a minute or two then place on the plate with the anchovy salsa and the new potatoes. Enjoy.
