After an invigorating swim, we came up to delicious smells streaming out of the kitchen.
It was pasta day at home for dinner! The maid cooked a simple aglio olio with garlic, onions and chilli padi. She did it so well! Everyone was really impressed. The man wasn't in the mood for spice. So he decided to do another version of the aglio olio.
The man casually whipped up this version with brocolli, cherry tomatoes and pine nuts. He did two separate batches. The first batch was great because he tossed it straight into the pan with a huge dollop of oil. For the second batch, I thought it a little dry. Perhaps there was too little oil or because this batch was rinsed in the cold water. Bad move. Because when the angel hair was slid back into the pan with minimal oil, it became a little stiff and wiry. Still appetizing though.
Later in the night, the man dissected his two batches of pasta to compare the differences in taste. I fell asleep half-way through his musings on whether to stir the pasta vigorously in boiling water or rinse it 2 minutes shorter in cold water.
So I say, making good pasta and sauce isn't the easiest thing in the world. Recipes are just recipes. It's always the chef's interpretation and personal touch that define the fine lines between good and out-of-this-world.
The girlfriend and I finished a large portion of it.
Oh dear. Usually after our swim, we cut out carbs completely. Too late in the evening to tank up on unnecessary carbs. But when faced with pasta, our resolve wasted away. We definitely plied on all the calories burnt off earlier.
Luckily the maid also cut fresh lettuce, cold tomatoes and eggs at the side for us. Finishing
that and a big plate of fruit made us feel more balanced. Heh.