Tapenade

Such an easy thing to make, and SOOO expensive to buy ready-made, so if you are fond of this spread, make it yourself, and it tastes much better too.  The only consideration is whether to 'anchovy' or not.  I'm not a huge fan of the little fish, myself, so I leave it out, but add a well-drained fillet or two if you like it.  I take a jar of pitted black olives in brine, about 120g drained weight, rinsed well under a running tap.  Bung into a food processor along with a tablespoon of well-rinsed salted capers, half a clove of garlic, 2 tablespoons chopped parsley and a spritz of lemon juice.  Grind in lots of black pepper, but no salt, then pour in 3 or 4 tablespoons of good olive oil.  Zazz in the processor for 30 seconds, then scrape the sides of the bowl, add another spoonful or two of oil and zazz for another 30 seconds.  Spoon and scrape into a bowl, pour over another tablespoon of oil, and keep covered, in the fridge.  This lasts well for a couple of weeks in the fridge, and is lovely spread on toasted ciabatta, or spread on a chunky piece of fish before grilling, or as a dip for baby new potatoes, so many things.  A great supper, by the way, is a pouch of Merchant Gourmet ready-cooked Puy Lentils, piled on salad, topped with a soft-boiled or poached egg, and toasted sourdough with tapenade spread on.  I could happily live on this!  In the meantime, on toast for us tonight, to accompany a Dry Martini.  Cin cin!

Spaghetti Puttanesca

Now, this is a challenge.  Puttanesca needs oil and olives and cheese and plenty of pasta.  Something's gotta give!  I decided that we needed the carbs and have been good all week, so it is the full 100g portion each of pasta for us tonight, not the measly 75g that most books say - my hubby could put 150g away in one serving.  I also used a full tablespoon of oil - this seems quite a shocking amount now, even after just a week.  So, 1 tablespoon of oil in which you saute some sliced onion and a couple of cloves of garlic - keeping the lid on during this process creates steam and helps the cooking process.  I also added some fresh fennel bulb, very finely sliced, the remains of a tin of tomatoes from last night's chilli, some fresh cherry tomatoes, about 10 olives and some rinsed salted nonpareilles capers.  I don't use anchovy in my puttanesca, as I think it makes it smell like cat sick.  Simmer until all the veg are tender and the sauce has reduced a little, add some fresh oregano if you have it, and serve up with the pasta and just a little grated parmesan.  Dunno how many calories, but this isn't a diet, rather it is a healthy eating regime!

Mozzarella with Grilled Fennel [#153]

Hmmm......how to describe this dish? "Meh", might the sound I'd make, followed by a yawn? The chargrilled fennel itself was very nice and I would have preferred this on its own with perhaps a balsamic vinaigrette to moisten it. The addition of mozzarella did nothing to the dish other than add protein, otherwise sitting like a lump of flaccid, tepid rubber atop the cooked veg. It doesn't matter how buffola your Mozzarella is, serving it slightly warm does nothing to flatter it. To be honest, we much preferred the Mushrooms with Tarragon and Mustard that we made again, and my own version of baked beans (a tin of cannellini beans baked in the oven with fresh tomato, oregano, chilli and garlic with a touch of sugar to sweeten). Still, you can't have everything, and this is one of just a small handful of Nigel's recipes that haven't worked for me.