Spaghetti with lobster in a creamy tomato sauce

Spaghetti with lobster in a creamy tomato sauce

Truth be told, I did not want to use any recipes from a certain foul mouthed chef, however, my son told me that his restaurants have more Michelin Stars than Heston Blumenthal's restaurants have.

 

 So here is Gordon Ramsay's recipe of spaghetti with lobster in a creamy tomato sauce.  Oh dear, it is definitely a recipe to use again. This feeds 4.

 

 

 Ingredients:

 

1 freshly cooked lobster (I used 4 small tails) about 1 kg

600g cherry tomatoes, quartered

1 onion finely diced

1 chilli, deseeded and chopped (optional)

1 clove garlic

50 g butter

salt, pepper

1 glass dry white wine

500 g spaghetti

1 tbsp olive oil

100 ml double cream

handful of basil leaves, chopped

freshly shaved Parmesan to serve

olive oil to serve

Method:

 

1. To extract the lobster meat, cut through the body shell and take out the meat in one piece, pulling out the dirt sac from the third disc.  Cut up the meat into bite-sized pieces and set aside.
2. 
   Put the cherry tomatoes, onions, chilli, garlic and butter in a heavy based pan and cook over a medium heat until soft but not coloured.  Season with pepper, add the wine and cook until it has evaporated.
3. 
   Add the spaghetti to a large pot of boiling salted water with the olive oil and cook until al dente (tender but firm to the bite).
4. Meantime, add the lobster to the sauce and stir in the cream and chopped basil.  Warm through gently for a couple of minutes.
5. Drain the pasta and toss with the lobster sauce.  Divide between warm plates, scatter the Parmesan over and drizzle with a little olive oil.  Serve immediately.
6. Enjoy!

Heston Blumenthal's Carbonara

Carbonara

I really enjoy Heston Blumenthal's recipes especially from his book Heston Blumenthal at home.  You don't have to use the full amounts of oil, but we don't really eat this way all the time.  We indulged.  Onions, chilli and peas were added for flavour, colour and texture.

Ingredients:

40 g salt

75 g olive oil

2 medium onions, peeled and finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped

1 red chilli, deveined, deseeded and finely chopped

250 g lean bacon

400 g spaghetti or pasta

6 medium egg yolks

100 g parmesan cheese, grated, plus extra for serving

250 g frozen peas

black pepper

Fill a large saucepan with 4 kg cold tap water and add the salt.  Cover with a lid and place over a medium-high heat to bring to the boil.

In the meantime, put the olive oil, onions, garlic and chilli into a large frying pan and place it over a medium-low heat for 5 minutes before adding the bacon.  Cook for a further 5 minutes or until the onion has lightly caramelized.

Once the water comes to the boil, add the spaghetti/pasta and stir it every few minutes to prevent it from sticking together.  

After approximately 7 minutes, whisk the egg yolks and parmesan together in a bowl and add a ladle of the pasta water.

 
A minute or so before the spaghetti/pasta is cooked, take the bacon and onions off the heat and add the frozen peas.

Drain the pasta and return it to the pan.  Add the contents of the frying pan along with the egg and cheese mixture, and mix together.  Allow to sit for 2 minutes.  Season with freshly ground pepper to taste.

Stir thoroughly to incorporate everything, then serve with more parmesan sprinkled on top.

Yum!

Enjoy!

Bolognese sauce

Bolognese Sauce

Spaghetti Bolognese is one of Australia's comfort food.  Anything that resembles noodles entices my salivary glands.  This recipe from Ferran Adria's (from the legendary elBulli restaurant)  'The Family Meal' is my favourite.  It has a great depth of flavours.  Absolutely triple yum!  Howevever, I forgot to take a photo of the finished product. 

Ingredients
225 g butter
1.2 kg minced beef
350 g pork sausage meat
500 g onions
150 g celery
400 g carrots
150 ml extra virgin olive oil
12 g tomato puree
1.6 g chopped tomatoes
1 pinch sugar


Method:

Put a large pan over a medium high heat, then add the butter and let it melt.  Add the beef mince, fry until it has changed colour, then add the sausage meat.

Cook for a few more minutes, season with salt and pepper, then cook for 15 minutes longer, stirring frequently, until dark golden brown.

In the meanwhile, finely chop the onions and celery.  Finely chop the carrots.  Or if you have a thermomix, throw them together on speed 8, 30 seconds.

I had a big harvest of yellow bell tomatoes, so I processed them in the thermomix speed 8, 30 seconds.

Put another pan over a low heat, then pour in the olive oil.  Fry the vegetables gently until softened, about 12 minutes.

Add the meat to the vegetables and mix everything together well.

Add the chopped tomatoes with the tomato puree.  Season with salt, pepper and sugar.  Simmer the sauce for 1 1/2 hours until the meat is very tender.

This bolognese sauce will go well with spaghetti or lasagna.

Do try this.  It is very delicious!

Spaghetti with steak and baby spinach

Spaghetti with steak and baby spinach

 I had left over steak, so how was I going to reinvent a meal with it? Spaghetti! Our favourite! We are Chinese, so we love anything that looks like noodles!

Ingredients

 1 packet Spaghetti

1 teaspoon garlic, diced

1 brown onion, diced

1 can crushed tomatoes

1 tablespoon tomato paste

3 handfuls of baby spinach

100 g left over steak, sliced

salt and pepper to taste

oil 

Method

 Cook spaghetti.

While spaghetti is cooking, start on the sauce.  

Heat oil in a frypan, brown garlic and onions.

Add crushed tomatoes and tomato paste.  Simmer over very low heat.

When spaghetti is cooked to al dente, place it into the sauce, adding some of the water that the spaghetti is cooked in, if you think that there is not enough sauce/liquid.  Stir in baby spinach and slices of steak.

Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Enjoy!