I'm sure everyone here has their own favourite savoury things they cook, so let's hear what they are and how you have made them your own. When we have enough we can maybe start our own Diasfora Cookbook that can be printed at home - so we may need pictures in the future.
I'll start with one of my favourite pasta dishes that is easy to cook and fairly quick (quicker if you have some of the stuff premade).
It is
Tagliatelle ai porcini e pomodorini but I also use courgettes to add a couple of different colours and another texture.
Ingredients:
* 3 cloves of Garlic
* Dried Porcini (30gm at least but I like to add 10gm per serving)
* Courgettes (one large per 4 servings)
* Chopped/skinned tomatoes or passata (about 6 good ones or a tin of ready chopped)
* 80gm of Tagliatelle per serving
* small glass of good White wine
* Pomodorini or cherry tomatoes
* Olive oil
* Parmigiano
Preparation:
Add the Porcini to warm water (enough to cover) and leave them to steep.
Add the chopped and skinned tomatoes to a pan then bring to the boil and then leave to simmer. This is going to take about 30 minutes to be right so leave them for 10 minutes before starting the next bit. You can chop or press some garling and cut the courgettes into thing strips whikle you wait
Bring pasta water to a boil, lightly salt it but don't add the pasta just yet.
Add the garlic to some hot olive oil (not too hot or you'll burn it) and cook for a few seconds. Add the pomodorini and the courgettes and make sure it is all coated with oil and cook for about 2 minutes. When the skin of the tomatoes is starting to split, bring the heat up, add the wine and tilt into the flame to flamb?e everything. You should season at this point and I sometimes add some dried oregano but it is not entirely necessary. Now add the mushrooms and add the water they were steeped in.
Put the Tagliatelle on now and you are aiming to cook it for about 90 seconds less than the lower recommended cooking time.
Take the tomato reduction off the heat now and add to the sauce. You may need a little stock here to thin your sauce and I usually have some around or use a good quality instant veg bouillon that I can make to order.
Your pasta should be about there by now so take it off and drain and then quickly add to the sauce cook for the last minute or so.
Serve immediately with a drizzle of olive oil and a generous heap of parmigiana, and as I'm British, I usually have some warm bread with it as I can't get enough carbs
This is basically something I have made my own from another recipe I was taught and I'm sorry if there are any Italians that read this and are offended (they are so touchy about their food), however, I promise it tastes magnifico!
