After yesterday’s more experimental pasta lunch I decided to have something more traditional.
Just a take on Aglio e Olio using the oil from a leftover jar of Cantabrian Anchovies with some crushed chilli flakes, fennel fronds and parsley from the garden.
Finished with some lemon, more parsley and a glug of Puglian olive oil.
The most notable thing is the quality of the pasta.
This was using 28p Lidl Spaghetti that I always have a couple of packs in stock for emergencies.
Whilst it’s nice to think that you’ve made a pretty decent plate of food for about 15-20p given the other ingredients, the gulf between the cheapest available pasta in the UK and something that costs 10x the price (but less when on offer) is wide. You get better texture, a broader margin for error and frankly a better flavour out of the nice pasta from Gragnano.
That said, I can’t shame anyone if this is their staple. Those feeding families, those without good incomes – you can make something really good with not much; literally store cupboard and the dregs of the salad drawer. It’s tasty.
If you can stretch to getting a “better” brand of pasta, I feel for dishes like this it would really shine.
by agmanning