The Hungry Student's Pasta

I practically lived on this dish for more than months when I was writing my thesis last spring/summer. 14 weeks of spending 10-15 hours in the library (yes, it's open that long), 7 days a week. My whole organism ran solely on coffee, adrenalin (I have a tendency to stress the brain out of myself during exams, term papers and thesises) and this stuff: I like to call it the Hungry Student's pasta because it's very cheap, quite healthy, has a preparation time of 12 minutes at the most and all the ingredient are staples I always have on hand. Plus: you only need a knife, a chopping board, a teaspoon, a pot and a sieve, so there's little washing up to do.

Roasted tomato soup

Phew. It's been quite some time since my last post. Sorry. Work, Easter and the beginning of summer term have been keeping me quite busy.

But now for the new stuff. Actually, it isn't new stuff but very old: Roasted tomato soup. One of my staple recipes. 

 (No, that's not soup. I know.)

Lemon chili prawn pasta

You know those dishes that can transport you to a completely different place, a completely different time, a completely different feeling? This simple pasta dish is one of them. It tastes of summer in an intense way that very few other dishes do. It's reminiscent of warm summer nights in Italian cities, of lunch at beach restaurants with your skin and your hair still salty and sticky from the sea, of azure skies, rocky beaches, and weeks of walking barefoot. Of wine drunk from water glasses, of hot, dry air heavy with the smells of rosemary, thyme, and oregano, of glowing sunsets, sandy flipflops, and loud and colourful saturday markets. Sunny, summery freedom in a nutshell pasta bowl.

It's one of my favourite and certainly one of my most-cooked recipes from Sophie Dahl's first cookbook, and it is absolutely made for those times when you think that you can't possibly walk around another day wrapped in jumpers, scarves, hats, coats, and warm boots. With a dish like that, summer can't possibly be that far away.

Make yourself a bowl of this stuff and enjoy your 4-months-early trip to warmer, sunnier places. And it will cost you much less than a round-trip ticket to Rome. Nice for impressing guests, too.

Tortano

About two weeks ago when it was still freezing outside, I bought a basil plant. If you think about it, it's a bit perverted to buy a fragile Mediterranean summer plant when it's -15° C outside and the world looks like Marshmallow Country. But it was just standing there in the supermarket, all green and spring-y and lovely, and I really couldn't resist. And then all the way back from the supermarket, there was this lovely basil smell wafting from my grocery bag, and suddenly everything seemed a bit cheerier. Mmmmmmh ...  A bit of summer in the middle of Winter Wonderland.

I am absolutely infatuated with basil. If I could only use one herb for the rest of my life, I'd choose basil. Sadly, my plants never have a really a long lifespan because I just keep eating the leaves all day long, and after a week or two (at the most!), there's nothing left but a few sad withered stems...

But I'll try very hard this time. Promise.
So with this basil plant, the first signs of spring and summer had sneaked into the flat. And what better to greet them with than Italian food?

I finally decided on tortano which I found a recipe for in One more slice. On what? Tortano. No, I hadn't heard of it before either. It is similar to calzone only with a delicious bread dough instead of the pizza dough. It is supposed to be round with a hole in the middle, kinda like an uber-large stuffed ciabatta bagel but when I took mine out of the oven, a lot of the filling had oozed out, the hole was filled with molten mozzarella and it didn't look very pretty... So you only get a picture of the last quarter that was left over the next day. And I must say, that last quarter was the very best. Tortano taste nice when it's still warm but loads better when it's cold. So be patient and let it cool completely before digging in. I know it's hard but you'll be rewarded.

I used a mozzarella tomato turkey basil stuffing but you can basically stuff tortano with whatever you like. Maybe sweet stuffings wouldn't be the very best idea, but as for the savoury stuff: anything goes. Next time maybe some walnuts, honey and goat's cheese? Or quattro formaggi? Or veggies? Or spinach and feta? Mmmh, looking forward to it. A lot.

Tortano
(Basic recipe by Leila Lindholm)

15 g yeast
300 ml/1.2 cups lukewarm water
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp honey
1.5 Tbsp salt
375 g/3.5 cups flour

1 mozzarella cheese
250 g/1.5 cups thinly sliced turkey ham
2 tomatoes
2 Tbsp crema di balsamico
A handful of basil leaves 

In a large bowl, mix water olive oil, honey, and salt. Add the yeast and stir to dissolve. Little by little, mix in the flour, and knead until you have a smooth, elastic dough. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and leave to rise in a warm, non-draughty place for 40-60 minutes. The slightly preheated oven or the pantry would be good choices here. 

Meanwhile, dice the tomatoes and the mozzarella, chop the turkey and the basil leaves. Combine tomatoes, mozzarella, turkey, and basil in a bowl, add the crema di balsamio and season to taste.

On a well-floured surface, press the dough into a rectangular plate (about 1 cm /0.5 in thick). Don't use a rolling pin as it would press all the air out of the dough. Spread the filling on top.
  
Preheat your oven to 250° C/ 480° F.

Brush the edges of the dough with water to make it stick, then roll the whole thing up, and shape into a wreath. Transfer the wreath to a baking tray lined with baking paper, and dust with flour. Cover with the towel again and leave to rise for 30 minutes.
 
Put the baking tray into the oven and immediately turn down the heat to 200° C/390° F. Bake for 35-45 minutes. Let cool completely before eating.

Perfect for a picnic or a tailgate party, don't you think?

Roasted cherry tomatoes and a mushroom omelette

Oh, lazy sundays, lazy sundays!

Sleeping in, scuffling around the flat one's pyjamas all day, snuggling up on the sofa, reading the paper, sipping a cup of tea. Some rays of sun fall through the windows, the cat stalks past, purring loudly (no, I don't have a cat either, but just work with me here. It's such a nice picture), your favourite music wafts quietly out of the stereo. Nobody calls, nobody mails, nobody wants anything, you've got absolutely nothing to do. Just peace and quiet.

But, oh, what to do when the stomach starts growling? French toast? Waffles? Nah, we do that every sunday. How about something savoury? Yes? Well, you're in luck because I've got the perfect idea: A nice fluffy omelette with some roasted tomatoes on top. Like that? I thought so.

This is also the perfect choice when you're having someone over for breakfast. It looks like a lot of effort but is actually very quick and easy.

I'm a huge fan of roasted tomatoes. They're also gorgeous with fresh bread and goat's cheese.

The effect roasting has on tomatoes is quite fascinating: The loose all their tartness and develop an incredibly fruity sweetness which is complemented nicely by a bit of salt. The colour's pretty, too, it becomes a very bright, almost orange-y red.

Roasted cherry tomatoes and a mushroom omelette
(Serves 3 normal or 2 hungry people)

1 risp of cherry tomatoes
1 shallot (alternatively a small red onion)
1 small clove of garlic
Half a packet of feta cheese (about 125 g/0.5 cups)
300 g/3 cups mixed mushrooms (I used brown cap, oyster and porcini)
3 large eggs

Some salt
Olive oil

Preheat the oven to 230°C/450° F.

Clean and slice the mushrooms, dice the shallot, mince the garlic, cut the feta into cubes.

Put the tomatoes in a small roasting tin, then shower them with a healthy glug of olive oil and a generous pinch of salt. Pop the tin into the oven for about 10-15 minutes. After 5-10 minutes, add a third of the sliced mushrooms.

Meanwhile, heat some olive oil in a smallish(!) frying pan. Add the shallots and fry until translucent. Add more oil, turn up the heat and toss in the remaining mushrooms.

In a small bowl, beat the eggs, then pour them into the pan. Reduce the heat immediately, add the feta and give the whole thing a few quick stirs to combine. Season to taste, then leave it to set. When the omelette has set, flip it over and cook for another few minutes.

Serve with the roasted tomatoes and mushrooms on top. It's glorious!