Tuesday, January 18, 2011

slut's spaghetti & pina colada ice cream




As I mentioned in my 2010 recap post, I went to a Nigella Lawson book signing in November and *SQUEEEEE OMG Holy eff*...met Nigella. As you can see from the bright ruby hue of my face in the photo, I was a teensy bit excited to meet her. She's amazingly gorgeous, and I love her cooking/food style. She doesn't claim to be a chef, she simply claims to be a home cook. A woman who loves food and all it's sensuality. I have a huge lady-crush on her.



The book she was signing was her newest, Nigella Kitchen. It's got a wide variety of recipes in it. Classics, quick meals, dinner party ideas, desserts, munchies. It's an all-around celebration of home cooking. Once I got over the photos (they make her look really awkward in most of them... like the photographer was a total creeper or something... it's crazy because she is so pretty and friendly... who picked these photos?!?), I delved in and selected a couple fun recipes.

Slut's Spaghetti. Yeah, that caught my eye. It's a Pasta alla puttenesca recipe. One translation of Puttenesca is "Whore's pasta," the book explains. It's made with all ingredients you would find in your pantry... jarred and canned items for people who cannot be bothered to leave their quarters every day to buy fresh ingredients. You know. Cuz they have to stay in the bedroom :)

Besides the dish's fun name, the fact that it had both capers and anchovies in it are what sealed my decision. Two of my favorite ingredients, adding to what Nigella calls "the fiery tang and robust saltiness" of the dish. Sexy stuff, no? It was so simple... I was afraid that it wouldn't have a very interesting or rich flavor... But it really did! The anchovies really added depth to the whole dish.


Slut's Spaghetti
adapted from Nigella Kitchen by Nigella Lawson

3 Tablespoons olive oil
8 anchovy fillets, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, grated
1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes
1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 1/4 cup pitted black olives, sliced
3 Tablespoons capers, drained and rinsed
1 lb. spaghetti

Start the water to boil the pasta. Cook the anchovies in the oil, smashing and smooshing with a wooden spoon until the anchovies are "melted." Add the garlic and crushed red pepper, and cook about a minute or so. Add the tomatoes, olives and capers, and cook for about 10 minutes until slightly thickened. Meanwhile, the pasta should be cooking. Right before the pasta is done, scoop out some of the pasta water. Drain pasta, add to sauce and toss, adding pasta water if needed to thin out sauce. and, as Nigella says "Serve in slatternly style, preferably unfiltered cigarette clamped between crimson-painted lips." ;)


Being that there are more snow forecasts this week, the Pina Colada ice cream also caught my eye... I want it to be warm again. This no-churn ice cream sounded just like summer in a bowl. And it was. Pass me a beach towel.


No-churn Pina Colada Ice Cream
adapted from Nigella Kitchen by Nigella Lawson

1/2 cup pineapple juice
1/2 cup Malibu coconut rum
generous few drops of coconut flavoring
2 teaspoons lime juice
1 cup powdered sugar
2 cups heavy whipping cream
sweetened coconut, toasted, to serve

Combine the pineapple juice, rum, flavoring & lime juice in a bowl. Add sugar and whisk to dissolve. In a separate bowl, whisk cream until it forms soft peaks. Slowly pour the juice mixture into the whipped cream, whisking until combined. Spread in a container with a lid, freeze. Serve with toasted coconut sprinkled on top.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Holy crap, the ice cream sounds ridiculously tasty and EASY too! Like, maybe I could manage it, even. And it definitely sounds worth it for some summery flavors right now!

charlie said...

dude...Nigella is totally my super-top-sekrit-girlfriend.

shhhh...don't tell anybody.

also, slut's spaghetti? totally making that for many different reasons. let your imagination run wild.

Anonymous said...

The olives look like the insipid, canned type that kids adorn their fingers with on the holidays-very 70's. I think you will get a better result with oil cured or any of the olives available in bulk. They last forever in the frig so there's really no excuse to not have them on hand.