It’s all about the simplest, most delicious, spaghetti for me this year.
In all the craziness there’s something just very grounding and nurturing about it.
I just want easy. I want simplicity. I don’t want to faff around with a million ingredients.
Yes, I still love cooking, I just want it to be simple and kind of meditative. There’s something about the simplest spaghettis that provide this for me.
I hope you love making and eating this too.
For one big portion I used:
olive oil
1/2 lemon zest, just peeled off and chopped
1 garlic clove, peeled, squashed and minced
a big handful of breadcrumbs (I just blitzed a slice or two in the food processor - by the way you can do this and keep bags of breadcrumbs in the freezer and no need to defrost before using)
a small handful of fresh chopped parsley leaves
spaghetti cooked to your liking (around 75 - 100g for one)
a little of the pasta cooking water
juice of 1/2 - 1 lemon
a pinch of dried chilli flakes
salt and pepper
grated parmesan to serve, if liked
Put a slug of olive oil into a non-stick pan and then add the lemon zest and garlic.
Stir and after a few seconds - maybe 30 - when it smells incredible, tip in the breadcrumbs.
Keep stirring and cooking until the breadcrumbs are gorgeous and toasty and crisp - and then remove from the heat.
Add the chopped parsley and stir to make a lovely garlicky, lemony, toasted breadcrumb mixture - and set to one side.
Cook your spaghetti in boiling salted water but drain it a minute or two before it’s perfect and make sure to retain half a cup or so of the water it was cooking in.
Return the pasta to the pan along with a good slosh of its cooking water, a little drizzle of olive oil, the juice of 1/2-1 lemon (to your taste and also depending on how juicy your lemon is of course) and a good pinch of dried chilli flakes.
Stir it all together over a low heat for a minute and then turn the heat off.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Tip in most of the breadcrumb mixture and combine.
Pour into a bowl and top with the remaining breadcrumb mixture and some grated parmesan, if you choose (to be honest it doesn’t really need it but sometimes you do).
