I don’t know whether I mentioned it in much detail (ahem), but Juan, Oscar and I recently went on holiday to Turkey. Although we were staying in one of the most restaurant-dense villages in the whole country, we didn’t actually get to eat in many of them because they got going waaaay after Oscar’s bedtime. Instead, we cooked at home in the evenings – and on the last night we threw together a pasta concoction using up as many leftovers as we could. Reader, it was delicious.
I’ve been hankering after the zingy, spicy, fresh flavours of this dish since we got back – and of course, by recreating it at home, I risked the disappointment of it not tasting sufficiently ‘holiday’. Sure enough, the tomatoes I had at my disposal were not the luscious, perfectly ripe specimens that every other country seems to be blessed with – I just bought the poshest ones on offer in the supermarket. I couldn’t find the dense, spongey, spiced Turkish sausage that I used on holiday, so I made do with good old English bangers. And I forked out a fortune on roasted peppers here, when over in Turkey they were cheap as chips. Anyway, the main thing is that I was pleased with the result – this is a lovely pasta supper that somehow evokes summer for me.
(One extra observation: I add parmesan to ALL pasta – even, controvesially, fishy pasta – but even I don’t think it’s necessary in this dish.)
- 3 sausages
- about 16 black olives, chopped
- 2 large roasted peppers (from a jar), sliced
- 200g ripe tomatoes, chopped
- handful parsley leaves, chopped
- juice of 1 lemon
- a good glug of extra virgin olive oil (about 2 tbsp)
- enough spaghetti for 2 (about 150g in total)
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- ½ mild red chilli, finely chopped
- Fry the sausages until golden all over and almost cooked through. Cut them into slices, then fry each slice until nicely browned on both sides.
- Meanwhile, combine the olives, peppers, tomatoes and parsley with the lemon juice and olive oil, and season well with salt flakes and black pepper.
- Start cooking the pasta.
- When the sausages are cooked, transfer them to the bowl of ingredients and mix well.
- Add the garlic and chilli to the same frying pan and fry gently until softened. Add the garlic and chilli to the other ingredients and stir well.
- Drain the pasta and stir it into the other ingredients. Serve.
P.S. Another summery recipe, homemade ice lollies, and more ways to use up leftovers.
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