Pasta, Glorious Pasta

Intimate Fettuccine Amatriciana Alfresco

Many of us can conjure up all sorts of warm, special memories about pasta.  Where we ate it, what our favorite sauce is, who we were with, who we shared with, and the lovely satisfied feeling you have after eating it.

I cooked my first meal for other people when I was 6 years old.  We were visiting my Godmother Dot and her family in Pinelands and I cooked SpagBog (Spaghetti Bolonaise).  As young as I was, I remember the tremendous feeling of achievement I felt when people just loved my food.  I had to stand on a box as i couldn't reach the stove, but that was the moment i fell in love with food and very specifically with Italian Food.  That too was the time I fell in love with the love you can give to other people by making them food.  Pasta just does this to people, it conjures up all sorts of glorious, warm, fuzzy feelings inside you, and it generates a feeling of togetherness, a feeling of family - particularly extended family.  When my adult sons come home to visit me their welcome home food is Mom's Spaghetti Bolonaise -- even though one of my sons is a chef, this is still his favorite food.  When you look at this image below, you just have to eat it and forget about "not eating carbs, or watching my carb intake, or banting"... haha...

I have just completed my first ever Argus (or Cape Town Cycle Race).  Now, its important to know that I have never done a cycle race before.  I have ridden my bike in various nature reserves and wine farm tracks, and on the local cycle tracks in Cape Town, and of course the spin bike plenty of times per week, but never a race with thousands of other people.  I entered the CT Cycle Race with the Pink Drive Charity - a cause I really believe in, and Noelene and her team do fabulous work screening rural women in South Africa for breast cancer.  Please check out www.pinkdrive.co.za.

So, carbo loading is a given a few days before this kind of endurance race.  Heavenly, we can eat loads of pasta and know its for a worthy cause, (my bear wasn't racing but was keen on the carbo loading :) haha).  We visited the spice route, www.spiceroute.co.za (Richard Bosman, cured meats) near Franschoek road and bought the most incredible streaky bacon and spicy sausage, shopped for gorgeous Italian tomatoes at the Italian Club in Rugby, and last, bought some Fresh Tagliatelle from Woolies (Yes, i could have made my own, but i didn't this time).

I was going to make Fettuccine Amatriciana   - a tomato based sauce with lovely bacon, garlic and chili.  Always serve pasta with a green salad.  I even mix my salad into my pasta bowl, probably not very correct, but the smell and taste of the green leaves coated in stunning extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice, mixed with the tart but sweet tomato sauce on the pasta is simply glorious.  I wouldn't be surprised if you can already taste this food and aren't salivating like crazy :) xx

Marriage Made in heaven, onions, garlic and gorgeous bacon.  Invest in a good, deep frying pan, its so worth it.

add those delectable Italian tomatoes.

Cook your pasta al dente and then mix with the sauce along with some of the pasta water until cooked.  I had run out of basil and used fresh coriander which was amazing with this sauce, and of course don't forget the very best Parmesan.  I also decorate with a few bits of dry chili for that extra bite. 

The end product. :)  and yes, I completed the race and got my first medal.