Cacio e Pepe Orzo with Chicken

Ingredients

Serves: 2
Time: 25 minutes

50g (2oz) butter
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
300g (10oz orzo pasta
700ml (3 cups) chickenstock
2 chicken breasts
Olive oil
1 garlic clove
A few sprigs of rosemary
150g (5oz) pecorino romano

Method

1. 1. First get 25g (1oz) butter into a saucepan and place over a medium heat. Add about 1 tablespoon of freshly ground black pepper and theorzo pasta. Allow the pasta to toast in the butter for a few minutes, then add the stock and let it bubble away for 8–10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

• 2. While the orzo cooks, slice each chicken breast in half lengthways. Get the remaining butter into a frying pan, along with a drizzle of olive oil,and add the chicken. Season with salt and pepper and add the garlic clove in its skin, and a few rosemary sprigs. Cook for a few minutes,basting, until golden, then flip and cook on the other side until cooked through.

3. 3. Blitz the pecorino in a mini-food processor or grate on a fine grater,and when the orzo is tender, stir through most of the cheese, mixing until melted.
5. 4. Serve the orzo on a platter, sprinkled with the remaining pecorino and a little more freshly ground black pepper, then slice the chicken and serve on top, spooning over any pan juices.

Magic Cod & Tomato Confit

Ingredients

Serves: 4
Time: 30 minutes

250g (9oz) cherry tomatoes
125ml (½ cup) extra-virgin olive oil
50g (2oz) butter
½ tsp smoked paprika
A pinch of chilli flakes
4 large sprigs of rosemary
6 garlic cloves
Peeled zest of 1 lemon
4 x 150g (5oz) pieces of cod loin
For the sourdough toasts
½ a sourdough baguette
For the fennel slaw
1 fennel bulb
1 lemon
For the aïoli
200g (7oz) mayonnaise

Method

1. 1. Place the tomatoes, olive oil, butter, smoked paprika, chilli flakes and rosemary in an ovenproof pot with a lid. Finely slice 4 of the garlic cloves and add to the pot, then peel in the zest of 1 lemon and simmer over a low heat for 10 minutes, until the tomatoes are beginning to soften.
3. 2. Meanwhile, slice the bread into thin slices and drizzle with a little olive oil, rubbing it into the bread to coat. Place a griddle pan over a medium heat and cook the bread for a few minutes on each side until charred. Rub with 1 of the remaining garlic cloves and season with a little salt, then set aside

Crispy Gnocchi, Minty Peas & Mascarpone

Ingredients

Serves: 4
Time: 30 minutes

50g (2oz) butter
350g (12oz) gnocchi
2 garlic cloves
A pinch of chilli flakes
100ml (scant ½ cup)white wine
200g (7oz) frozen peas
A large handful of mintleaves
200g (7oz) mascarpone
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 lemon
75g (3oz) Parmesan,plus extra to serve

Method

1. 1. Get a frying pan and set over a medium heat. Add the butter and allow to melt, then add the gnocchi and pan-fry for 5–6 minutes on each side, until crisp and golden. While the gnocchi cooks, finely chop the garlic. Remove the gnocchi from the pan and set aside.
3. 2. Now add the garlic to the pan and allow to sizzle for a few minutes,then add the chilli flakes and the white wine. Bubble away for a few minutes, allowing the wine to reduce slightly, then add the frozen peas and cook for 3–4 minutes.
5. 3. Chop the mint leaves and stir half of them through the mascarpone along with a pinch of salt and pepper. Grate in the zest of ½ a lemon and 75g (3oz) of Parmesan, then divide between four bowls.
7. 4. Place the gnocchi on top of the mascarpone, then spoon the peas and sauce over. Grate over some lemon zest and a little extra Parmesan,then add the remaining mint leaves and a good grind of black pepper.

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Spicy N’Duja Carbonara

Ingredients

Serves: 4
Time: 20 minutes

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion
1 garlic clove
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
450g lasagne sheets
100g ’nduja
2 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
100g pecorino cheese

Method

1. 1. First heat the oil in a large heavy-based sauté pan.
3. 2. Finely chop the onion, then add to the pan and sweat for 5–6 minutes,until softened.
5. 3. Meanwhile, finely slice the garlic and get a pot of water on to boil. Season the water with salt, then snap the lasagne sheets into rough pieces and drop them into the water. Cook according to the packet instructions.
7. 4. Add the sliced garlic to the pan of onions and cook for a few minutes,then add the ’nduja and cook for another few minutes.
9. 5. While the ’nduja melts, put the eggs and egg yolks into a large bowland grate in the pecorino. Season with black pepper and mix to combine, then set aside.
11. 6. When the pasta is cooked, transfer it to the pan of onions and ’nduja,using a pair of tongs, and toss it all together. Now add it all to the bowl of egg and cheese and quickly begin to stir everything together – the hot pasta will cook the eggs and melt the cheese. If you feel the sauce is too thick, loosen it by adding some of the pasta cooking water and stirring until you achieve a silky smooth, fiery red sauce.
13. 7. Serve the pasta in bowls, with a little more pecorino grated over the top.

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Smashed Sausage Pasta

Ingredients

Serves: 4
Time: 30 minutes

Olive oil
6 good-quality sausages
3 red onions
4 garlic cloves
2 anchovies
2 sprigs of rosemary
50g (2oz) butter
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
350g (12oz) bucatini
A pinch of chilli flakes
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
150ml (5fl oz) chickenstock
10 sage leaves

Method

1. 1. First set a deep-sided frying pan over a medium heat and drizzle in a little olive oil. Squeeze the meat out of the sausages straight into the pan, forming little sausage meatballs, and cook for 5–6 inutes, turning occasionally, until golden. Remove from the pan and set aside.
3. 2. Meanwhile, thinly slice the red onions and garlic, roughly chop the anchovies and strip the leaves from the rosemary.
5. 3. Add the butter to the pan you cooked the sausages in, then add the red onions and rosemary leaves, season with salt and cook for 7–8 minutes,until softened.
7. 4. Get a pot of water to boil. Season the water and cook the pasta according to the packet instructions.
9. 5. Back to the onions, begin to turn the heat up underneath them so they start to go golden and caramelised, then add the anchovies, garlic and chilli flakes to the pan and cook, stirring, for a few minutes until the anchovy has melted and the garlic is fragrant. Add the balsamic vinegar and stock, then return the sausages to the pan and bring everything to a simmer for 5-6 minutes, to cook the sausages through.
11. 6. Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a small frying pan for a few minutes. Fry the sage leaves for a minute, or until fragrant and a deep green, then remove to kitchen paper to drain.
13. 7. Add the cooked pasta to the sauce using tongs, stirring the panconstantly to coat the pasta in all that lovely sauce.
15. 8. Serve in bowls, with the fried sage leaves scattered on top.