Saturday 15 June 2013

Go Ahead & Be an Angel

Capelli degli Angeli con Menta, Piselli & Peperoncino
Angel Hair Pasta with Mint, Peas and Chili


There's a bit of a funny story behind this bowl of delicious pasta, as I was chatting with a friend online this morning and he asked me what I was going to cook for supper this evening. I told him I didn't know and would have a look and see what I would find at the market hall- and when I asked what he would like, he came up with the reply of "either pea soup, or spaghetti al' arrabiata"- which seemed a little bit strange at the time!

So what I decided to do was to cook something that would give him the best of both worlds and make for a great supper for myself... although not necessarily in that order! ;-) I love the combination of mint and peas and picked up both, nice and fresh today- and made a pasta dish "to die for" this evening! 

This was ridiculously quick and easy to make- how could it not be, with the vermicelli done in a cooking time of just 2 minutes? I would say that including any chopping and frying of ingredients and herbs, that it took 10 minutes at the very most... that is almost close to being a record- it must be!

To make this, I took a handful of "mange tout" peas per portion, snipped off the ends and then cut them into thin slices lengthways. Next came 1 Spring onion cut first down the middle lengthways and then into fine slices, a little finely chopped garlic, a handful each of mint and parsley and a nice, generous pinch of chili flakes. 

I started the water for the vermicelli boiling at the same time that I got busy with sautéing the peas and onions- it's all about timing as you know, then heated a little olive oil up in a frying pan and added the onion, garlic and peas first. Once the onion became transparent- which didn't take long with it so finely chopped, I added the chili flakes and the chopped herbs... and at the same time popped the pasta into the pan to boil!


2 minutes later after gently sautéing the ingredients together and getting all of the flavors to infuse into the oil, I drained the pasta and switched it straight from the colander to the pan. I added a little extra oil, a pinch of saffron powder and a tiny squeeze of lemon juice at the end, tossed it all together nicely and served it with a light dusting of grated Parmesan cheese. You couldn't get much easier or even that much tastier for a quick Summer meal! Try it and see- I'm sure that you'll agree!

2 comments:

  1. What a pretty bowl of pasta! Looks almost Asian, a bit like Singapore noodles, don't you think? Now how did your friend like it?

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  2. You know- I haven't had a comment yet... maybe because he only got to see the pictures, but didn't get to taste it ;-) Such is the nature of the internet Frank! I am sure he would have approved though... and more to the point- I am glad that you do! Saluti da Francoforte! Francesco

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