The steps of a man are established by the Lord,
when he delights in his way;
though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong,
for the Lord upholds his hand.
(Psalm 37 vs 23 – 24)
Step-by-step, this is how I run my life. Preferably the steps are slow and steady, neither a 100-metre sprint nor a gruelling marathon. A bit at a time, a bite at a time.
I have a great collection of cookbooks. Each was chosen with a project in mind but over the past 40 years (I bought my first cookbook from Heals in Tottenham Court Road, upon starting at the LSE in Autumn 1985) I have continuously tried to simplify my life. I feel it is time to let go of cookbooks that are interesting but will not yield any workable recipe for dinner.
Young people are smarter than us older folks as they turn to the internet a lot in search for recipes. There are videos as well which is a bonus if the presenter is engaging. I don’t use the internet much for recipes as there are always advertisements, and videos can be frustrating as you have to stop and write down the ingredients and method.
Instead I have a subscription to the New York Times which has an excellent Cooking section. I can save and share recipes, and the only thing I have to do is to sometimes convert the measurements to metric and reorder some steps.
One excellent feature of the NY Times recipes is that it lists the instructions under ‘Step 1’, ‘Step 2’ and so on. It is really important, when cooking from a recipe, to make the steps fit in with how you do things. Not everyone thinks alike and a quick rearrangement here and there goes a long way to make something achievable.
In the bigger picture of life, it is reassuring to know that it is God who establishes my steps and it is God who can catch me if I fall. This is why I shared the Bible verse above.
I hope no one falls with the following recipe, which I adapted from the New York Times. The original is here and my version using my own steps is below. I cooked this one evening when I had not been expecting guests for dinner. It was fast to cook and well received. Happiness all round.
I used tinned artichoke hearts, with the artichokes in oil as back up
Preparing the artichokes: drain the artichokes and cut in half, place cut side down on some kitchen paper to remove the excess moisture
The artichokes, before and after roasting
For the Pasta:
(serves 4, read note at the end of the post for serving 6 people)
2 x 400 g cans whole or halved artichoke hearts in water, drained
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
ground black pepper
320 g dried spaghetti
100 g Parmesan, very finely grated
Zest of 1 large lemon
2 tablespoons lemon juice
20 g torn basil leaves
30 g toasted pines nuts
How to Make:
Drain the artichokes and cut each in half if they come whole. Line a flat tray with paper towel and place the artichokes, cut side down, on it. Leave for a few minutes to remove excess moisture.
Heat oven to 200 C fan/ 220 C.
Remove the artichokes from the paper towel and place in a large mixing bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and ½ teaspoon of salt. Give everything a stir.
Remove the paper towel from the tray and line it with a sheet of parchment paper.
Scatter the artichoke hearts, cut side up, in an even layer on the tray. Roast for 25 minutes until browned and a little crisp around the edges.
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Add the spaghetti and cook until al dente, following the package instructions.
While the pasta cooks, prepare the ‘sauce’ or ‘dressing’. In a serving dish large enough to hold the spaghetti and artichokes, add the Parmesan, lemon zest, ½ teaspoon of salt and a few twists of ground black pepper. Toss to combine. Add the lemon juice and the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil; stir to combine. The mixture should resemble a thick paste.
Place the serving dish next to the pasta pot. When the spaghetti is cooked, lift out some of it (with its cooking water still clinging to it) and transfer to the Parmesan-lemon mixture. Quickly toss and drag the spaghetti in a circular motion around the dish to incorporate the sauce. Repeat until you have transferred and tossed all of the spaghetti.
Add the basil to the spaghetti, and keep tossing until you have a silky sauce clinging to it. Add more pasta water, 1 tablespoon at a time, if needed.
Top with the roasted artichokes and pine nuts, and serve. We ate the spaghetti with a simple green salad with avocado and French dressing.
For serving 6 people:
The original recipe yielded 6 servings, but I was only cooking for 4 and did not want any leftovers. For 6, simply add 50% more of the ingredients except the artichokes. The method remains the same.
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (2 tablespoons for the artichokes, and 3 tablespoons for the sauce)
1½ teaspoons fine sea salt (½ teaspoon for the artichokes and 1 teaspoon for the sauce)
ground black pepper
480 g dried spaghetti
150 g Parmesan, very finely grated
Zest of 1 large lemon
3 tablespoons lemon juice
30 g torn basil leaves
45 g toasted pines nuts