The best kind of food not only tastes delicious but also elicits some form of emotion — be it a fond memory or just a warm, fuzzy feeling. My aim is always to develop recipes that do exactly that. They should make your mouth water and bring you a sense that all is well with the world. And there are few things in life that do that better than pasta. It’s the poster child for comfort food, so here are three of my favourites.
Tomato, garlic and herb cheese pasta
Ingredients (Serves 4)
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 medium shallots, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp tomato puree
• 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
• A pinch each of granulated sugar and chilli flakes (optional)
• 350g spaghetti or long-cut pasta of choice
• 100g baby spinach
• 150g garlic and herb cheese, such as Boursin
• 40g parmesan, grated, plus extra to serve (optional)
1. Heat the oil in a large pan over a medium heat. Add the shallots and fry for 2-3 min until softened and golden. Stir in the tomato puree and fry for 30-60 seconds (to sweeten the puree). Add the chopped tomatoes, then swill out the tin with a splash of water and add that too. Season with salt and pepper, and the sugar and chilli flakes, if using. Simmer for 10 min, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes thicken.
2. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pan of salted boiling water until al dente. A couple of minutes before it’s done, stir the spinach into the sauce. Once it starts to wilt, stir in the cheese until it has melted and combined with the sauce.
3. Use tongs to transfer the pasta straight from the pan into the sauce and toss to combine. Sprinkle in the parmesan and continue tossing and swirling until the sauce thickens and coats the pasta. If the sauce overthickens, add an extra splash of pasta water.
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4. Season with salt and pepper if necessary, then serve with more parmesan if you wish.
Penne alfredo with bacon and sun-dried tomatoes
Ingredients (Serves 4)
• 50g streaky bacon, chopped
• 300g penne
• 1 large clove of garlic, finely diced
• 100g sun-dried tomatoes, in oil, sliced
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 300ml double cream at room temperature
• 40g parmesan, grated, plus extra to serve (optional)
• ½ a bunch of fresh basil (about 15g), leaves finely chopped
1. Fry the bacon in a large pan over a medium heat until the fat has rendered and is crisp. Drain away the fat if there’s an excess (a teaspoon or so is OK).
2. Cook the pasta in a saucepan of salted boiling water until al dente. Retain a cup of starchy pasta water before draining.
3. Meanwhile, add the garlic and sun-dried tomatoes to the bacon and fry for a minute or so, until the garlic is just about to colour. Add the butter and stir until melted.
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4. Stir in the cream and allow to simmer on a low-medium heat for about 5 min until it starts to thicken. Stir in the parmesan and basil and season to taste (it may already be salty enough). The sauce should be fairly thick by now.
5. Stir in the cooked pasta along with a splash of the reserved pasta water. Toss until the sauce thickens around the pasta and clings to it, thinning it out with more pasta water if needed.
6. Serve with an extra sprinkle of parmesan, if desired.
Salmon piccata pasta
Ingredients (Serves 2)
• 2 boneless, skinless salmon fillets, at room temperature (about 100g-125g each)
• Olive oil
• 3 tbsp unsalted butter (keep 2 tbsp in the fridge until needed)
• 200g spaghetti or long-cut pasta of choice
• 2 small shallots, very finely chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, very finely chopped
• 2 tbsp capers, drained
• 60ml dry white wine
• 120ml chicken stock
• 1½ tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 30g parmesan, grated, plus extra to serve (optional)
• 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley, plus extra to serve (optional)
1. Generously season both sides of the salmon fillets. Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a nonstick frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add the fillets and leave to fry for about 3 min or until they form a golden crust on the bottom. Use tongs to flip them over and fry for another 2 min or until they start to turn golden on the bottom. At this point add 1 tablespoon of butter (not from the fridge) and baste the fillets for another minute or until they’re just about cooked through. Remove from the pan and set aside, then lower the heat to medium.
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2. Cook the pasta in a pan of salted boiling water until al dente. You want it still a touch hard because we’re going to finish cooking it in the pan.
3. Meanwhile, add the shallots to the leftover butter in the pan and fry for a couple of minutes until they begin to soften. Add the garlic and capers and fry for another 30 seconds or so, then pour in the wine. Allow the wine to simmer for a few minutes until almost completely evaporated. This is important to burn off the alcohol and cook out the pungent flavour of the wine.
4. Stir in the chicken stock and lemon juice, then add the butter from the fridge. Continuously stir until the butter melts and creates a cloudy sauce.
5. Use your tongs to transfer the cooked pasta straight from the pan into the sauce, then continuously swirl and toss the pasta in it. After a few minutes the sauce will start to thicken. When it does, add the parmesan and parsley and continue to toss until the cheese has melted and the sauce is glossy, slightly creamy and clings to the pasta.
6. Roughly break up the salmon and stir it through the pasta (don’t be too aggressive or it will end up mushy). Try a strand of pasta to check for seasoning, adjust if needed, then serve with more parsley and parmesan, if desired.
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Comfy by Chris Collins (Michael Joseph £22) is out on Thursday. To order a copy go to timesbookshop.co.uk. Discount for Times+ members
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