My favourite at the moment is caccio e Pepe, it takes literally 10 minutes,
Boil the kettle, bung some spaghetti in,
As spaghetti cooks put a dollop of butter in a frying pan, pour a few table spoons of olive oil in the same pan, get your pepper grinder and grind grind grind grind grind until your wrist hurts (I think the recipe calls for a tablespoon of pepper!) add a pinch of salt.
Grate some cheese (I think that recipe calls for Italian cheese, but I just use the mature cheddar in the fridge!)
The spaghetti should be almost done at this point,
Put on the frying pan so the butter starts to melt.
Take a mug of the water from the spaghetti pan and set it aside.
Plonk spaghetti in the frying pan once butter is melted, stir in so it’s evenly coated, then stir in the cheese and spaghetti water.
Give another minute or so, just stirring in- or tossing in with the tongs and you’re done.
I think I’ve been fairly long winded about what’s essentially a piss easy recipe. I’m not sad to say I’ve made it every day this week as I cleared out the pantry cupboard- and I had 10 packs of open and not fully used spaghetti, seeing as it’s all different thicknesses and brands I don’t wanna use them together so I’m slowly but surely getting through the unused bits.
Also- spaghetti bolognese is another Of our easy ones, 5-6 cloves of garlic, an onion, I half chop, half grate it in. A handful of mushrooms, lean mince, loads of pepper, and a beef stock, add in a couple of tins of tomatoes and a few tablespoons of tomato puree, leave it to simmer whilst spaghetti cooks.
I sometimes cheat with tinned beef in gravy, I fry off an onion, put with the beef and tinned carrots- again with lashings of pepper, I coat a couple of tortilla wraps with egg (could work with Milk though) put the beef and onions in a lecreuset with tortilla wraps on top and put in oven for 10 mins on high heat, throw some of the pre prepared mash in a frying pan with a bit of butter, keep it moving, constantly until it’s heated through. A really comforting meal cooked in 20 odd minutes- and the meats far more tender than I get even after cooking for 4-7 hours.
we are very hearty eaters, hope it’s hepful though.
A night I can’t be bothered I chuck a few tortilla wraps DDs way, with some tomato puree, garlic and dried Italian herbs and half a tin of chopped tomatoes in a small Tupperware dish, some cheese and all the veg that can go on a pizza. Dinner becomes a craft exercise. We make little pizzas and they’re served with pre prepared salad....she loves pizza night because she gets to “cook dinner” and we both make a big thing of eating “the best pizza ever” ah now I feel bad for her.