...and finally a recipe, my ambivalent relationship with pasta meets my love of smoked eel

I groan when I read pasta recipes. And not in a good way.

Pasta is my junk food. It’s the meal of least resistance, code for – I’m tired and I want something to fill me up and in my tummy in 15 minutes.

When I was an accidental vegetarian (I’d stopped eating meat but couldn’t afford fish), too often the unimaginative and nutritionally negligent spaghetti Napoli was the only menu item on offer. I grew resentful of pasta and the arrogant chefs who made it their only vegetarian item.

But I digress. The following dish is neither boring nor vegetarian. It is deliciousness personified and has earned it’s place as one of the few pasta recipes on this blog.


Leek and smoked eel pasta
(Serves 2)

Pasta spirals

Olive oil
1 large leek, sliced in 2-3cm lengths
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1-2 tsp lemon zest
1 tab capers
8 cornichons (that’s mini gherkins to you Bridget Jones), roughly sliced
Large handful parsley, roughly chopped
1/2 a smoked eel, sliced into bite sized chunks
lemon juice
black pepper



In a large pan on low heat, slow cook the leeks in olive oil until soft. Ideally, cover a heavy fry pan and cook on a heat diffuser mat for about 30 minutes. While that gets underway prepare your eel. When the leeks are half cooked, add the garlic. Now put on the pasta (gluten-free of course). In the time it takes to prepare the pasta, turn your attention back to the pan. Add the cornichons, capers, parsley and lemon zest to the leeks. Cook for a couple of minutes and then stir in the eel. Add a squeeze of lemon juice and a few grounds of black pepper, then stir though the cooked pasta.

The leek and eel combination is loose enough to moisten the pasta. Hold your horses with the salt, the smoked eel negates the need to add any. All up, this is a delicious, fragrant pasta dish, that boots the ubiquitous Napoli back into the sea.

wikileeks?

Right now I've got a bad case of end of year fatigue causing me to triage my social life severely. Sheesh it's tough being a grown up sometimes.

While there's a great recipe posts brewing (the best vegan curry ever!) all I'm up for right now is to pour a long, cool glass of mineral water, have a lie down and share some vego-political humour spied today at Garden Organics.

baked eggs

It’s time for lunch
It’s after two
What on earth am I going to do?

Baked eggs are not the best “I need to eat now” kind of food. But boy do they ever hit just the right spot.

I’ve been playing with this recipe for a while. It is simple, flexible and once you understand the basics, the combinations are endless.

Although it’s not dairy-free due to the luscious inclusion of butter, olive oil is an ok substitute as my recipe contains no cream or cheese. If you have a good feel for flavour combining, just use your imagine. If you're after some ideas, pick an ingredient, grab Stephanie Alexander’s The Cook's Companion and consult the notes on what it goes well with. She’ll guide you through the right companions.

I’ve been given a lot of sage lately and checked with Stephanie as to what non-meaty things it goes with. Leeks! Butter! Eggs! Oh yes…baked eggs with leeks and sage here I come…but first some basics.




Baked egg basics

• This is such a flexible recipe – just as easy for one as it is for six.
• Use two eggs per person (unless you are very hungry).
• Choose an ovenproof dish that will snugly hold the number of eggs you want to cook. They want to nestle next to each other.
• Use an even smaller dish if you are doing plain eggs, just butter the dish, dot the eggs with butter and sprinkle with salt, pepper and herbs if desired.
• If using a base e.g. chilli beans or a thick tomato sauce, create a well with the back of a spoon for the eggs to sit in separately.
• Cook in a bain maire, an oven dish filled with water to go half way up the dish you are baking the eggs in – the eggs seem softer and fluffier when cooked this way.
• Eggs like to be cooked low and slow. Be patient.
• Remember to pre-heat the oven to 180c (175c fan-forced).
• Cooking times vary depending on how you like your yolks. 10 minutes is very runny, 15 in between, 20 softly set (ideal for pregnant women and those with a compromised immune system).

Baked eggs with leeks and sage
(Serves 1)

1/2 –1 leek, sliced about 2-3 cm wide
Oil/butter
4-6 fresh sage leaves
2 organic eggs
“Greek fasting fetta” (dairy-free cheese) – about 1 tablespoon, crumbled
Salt and pepper.

Melt some butter in a small frying pan. Use olive oil if you’d prefer it or half and half oil and butter. Cook the leeks on low, covered with a lid for 5-10 minutes til soft.

Grease your ovenproof dish. Spread the cooked leeks in an even layer in the bottom of the dish. Rip up a couple of sage leaves and scatter over the leeks. Carefully break your eggs one at a time and place on top. Now sprinkle on the crumbled fetta, more sage and salt and pepper if desired.

Cook at 180c for 15-20 minutes.


Fresh out of the oven. I like my eggs just set


Baked eggs also go well with arepas.