After a long week of 8am and midnight work calls, the man was determined to cook to unwind. I was in the mood for a robust salty pasta aglio e olio. Haven't had that for some time. The halloumi with anchovies I had at ODP yesterday was rather miserly. The cubes of fried cheese were fine. However, the onions were sparse and there were just TWO sad pieces of cured anchovy fillets on the plate, way less than what I had a couple of months back. So there was an insane craving for anchovies.
I needed to unknot this tight pent-up ball of anger from the morning activities. Was rather snarky to the man, the bff and everyone else online or in person. Went off to jump, then to pilates and a swim. Hot hot day. Sweating it out felt good. Exercising alone is always the preferred form. When I came back, the smells from the kitchen put me in a better mood. There were lots of exciting things going on in the cooking space.
We've tins of aged anchovy fillets at home. From Waitrose and Ortiz. The latter is pricier, and it's rich briny tang is meant to be savored on toast or in salads. The tins from Waitrose are suited to be whipped into a sauce. That was what the man did. A sauce of aged anchovies and garlic was meshed together. Juicy scallops and prawns were separately, and then tossed together. A dry pasta. Hit all the right notes and filled up all our carb quota. The friends' eyes widened and merrily tucked into the food. There was absolute silence at the table as we munched.
The man has been trying out pasta with the sauce of anchovies and garlic, but has never quite gotten the saltiness and texture right aglio e olio. It's been a while since he's done this. Love pasta. Since I had lost the calories in the afternoon, I put them all back at dinner. Tonight, this version is the best one yet from the man.
5 comments:
impressive pan of fire. :D
a perfect way to end an awful morning episode. some little humans are dangerous. i have closed my door to both grown and growing ones these days. ;)
-misti
misti: heh. for that touch of brandy to the seafood.
Hope this week goes better. The scallops and prawns look so good. Anchovies are something I have only just started to appreciate in cooking.
I can't comment on your post on Salt Tapas & Bar, but is the food yay or nay? I'm a big fan of stuffed zucchini flowers and not many places do it well, or even serve it at all. I see from your photos they even serve Ortiz anchovies!
tomi: this week will, thank you! anchovies are surprisingly versatile in sauces. or simply as anchovies on toast. :)
ice: sorry! i disabled comments for older posts. the food is yay for a brainless business lunch, fairly impressive for such a small bistro, but not totally Spanish. i wouldn't go out of my way to eat there, but it's a convenient spot, and it's the only place i'd eat around the area for the now. their stuffed zucchini flowers ain't shabby at all.
Post a Comment