Some things can be dragged, half dead from the salad drawer and dresssed up into a perfectly respectable meal and we are all for that. The Netherton household hates waste and very little food is ever thrown out here. Diana Henry, one of our favourite food writes recently wrote this piece about turning wilting fridge contents into delicious dinners for the Telegraph, which led me to ponder whether or not a fridge forage constitutes a recipe. My conclusion is that once once you write down a collection of ingredients in a more coherent form than a shopping list, with the intention of recreating the dish, then it is indeed a recipe.
BUT some things are "of the momemt" and only truly work when the key ingredients are in abundance, those times of year when you and/or anyone else who sowed some seeds, more in hope than expectation in the Spring months, keep asking how to use up their resultant cornucopia.
Last year was a disaster, but this year a new greenhouse, conscientious watering and a fair share of good luck have paid off and our tomato plants are a rash of red spots of startling sweetness. The prolonged period of hot weather, love it or loathe it, has intensified the flavour of the pot of supermarket basil, transplanted from the kitchen window sill to one of the sunniest spots in the garden; you wouldn't recognise it as the same plant.
For two people you will need:
150g linguine
around 300g cherry tomatoes, more or less depending on your harvest
2 tablespoons olive or rapeseed oil
50g butter
A handful of basil, more or less depending on the intensity of your plant and your preference
A pinch of Aleppo pepper or chilli flakes (don't overdo it, the tomatoes are taking centre stage here)
A teaspoon of salt, because, dietary restrictions aside, you should never eat tomatoes without salt, unless you are picking them straight off the vine and can't wait to get back to the kitchen!
Put the oil and half the butter into a frying pan and place over a low heat until the butter foams.
Add the tomatoes, chilli and salt and cook slowly for 10 minutes.
Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil, chuck in some salt and cook your pasta according to the instructions on the packet
Keep cooking the tomatoes over a low heat until the pasta is ready.
Drain the pasta and add to the tomatoes. Chuck in the basil and the rest of the butter and stir together. Feel free to add more butter if you wish.
Once the pasta is coated with the buttery juices from the pan, tip the contents into two bowls and tuck in.
Please do not be tempted to rush this and flash fry your tomatoes, it's not worth the few minutes you will save and the flavour will be nowhere near as good.
Aside: I was asked if cooking tomatoes like this would damage the flax oil seasoning on the pan; it won't. The oil and butter in the recipe not only flavour the tomatioes but protect the pan from their acidic juices.
If you want to try and recreate this in the dead of winter with imported tomatoes, add some sugar and a good vinegar to the pan, up the chilli content and forget the out of season basil. It will be tasty, but it won't be the same.
Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2018 ©
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