LINGUINE PASTA RECIPES WITH CHICKEN RECIPES

Steps:

• 1. Nonno Contaldo is my mentor Gennaro’s dad, but as far as Nonno is concerned, he thinks I’m his grandson! (You can make of that what you will!). I was really surprised to find out that Nonno lives by himself, and I was very impressed to hear that he still cooks for himself every day; although there are always friends and family nearby to help him if he needs it. His favourite thing to cook for himself is mussels with pasta, so I’m going to talk you through the recipe as he explained it to me.
  2. Get a pan of salted water on to boil. Pour a few drizzles of extra virgin olive oil into a separate little pan and put it on a medium heat. Add the garlic, dried chilli and anchovy, then squeeze in and add the cherry tomatoes as the garlic begins to fry – at no point should the garlic take on any colour, but you need the heat to be hot enough to melt the anchovies. The juice from the tomatoes and oil will make a light, very delicate and simple sauce.
  3. Add the linguine to the pan of boiling water and cook according to packet instructions. Meanwhile, add a good handful of washed and debearded mussels to the tomato sauce. Give the pan a little toss, then place a lid on top and cook until all the mussels are open. As usual with mussels, if any remain closed after cooking, throw them away. Add a handful of chopped parsley to the pan.
  4. The pasta will now be a little under al dente and only a minute away from being ready. Nonno likes to drain his pasta, saving a little of the cooking water, then he puts the pasta back into the big pot and pours the mussel sauce over the top, mixing everything together well. Put the pot back on a low heat for an extra minute or two to cook the pasta perfectly – it will suck up all the lovely mussel juice. To finish, drizzle over a good bit of olive oil, season to taste and serve immediately.

Steps:

• 1. Peel the prawns, reserving all the heads and shells. Run a knife down the back and pull out the veins. Keep 4 prawns whole, running your knife down those ones again to butterfly them. Chop the rest of the prawns into small chunks to help distribute that sweet taste throughout the dish.
  2. Put the saffron into a little bowl with a thimble of boiling water.
  3. Place the prawn heads and shells in a large pan on a medium heat with a lug of olive oil and fry while you peel and finely chop the onion, then add it to the pan. Cook until the onion starts to soften, stirring occasionally.
  4. Add the saffron with its soaking water and the anchovies. Turn the heat up, add the wine and cook it away, then add the tinned tomatoes, 1 tin’s worth of water and a pinch of sea salt and black pepper. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 12 minutes.
  5. Leave the sauce to cool a little, then, in small batches, blitz in a blender until smooth, pass through a coarse sieve and season to taste.
  6. Put a large pan of salted water on to boil for the pasta. Peel and finely slice the garlic, quarter the cherry tomatoes and finely slice the chilli. Trim and finely slice the fennel, preferably on a mandolin (use the guard!).
  7. You can make this with the fresh or dried pasta – if you're using fresh, cut the sheets into linguine.
  8. Now it’s time to focus. Great pasta is all about timing and confidence – the sauce takes 4 minutes, so if using dried pasta, get that on first and start the sauce after 8 minutes; if using the fresh, cook it halfway through the sauce process – I don’t want you to overcook the prawns or pasta.
  9. Place a large pan on a high heat and, once hot, add a good lug of olive oil, quickly followed by the garlic and chilli. After 30 seconds, toss in the whole prawns, then after another 6 seconds add the chopped prawns, cherry tomatoes and fennel, and toss again. Pour over the sauce and bring to a simmer.
  10. At this point, drain your cooked pasta and place it on top of the sauce. Toss again, quickly check the seasoning and divide between four bowls, followed by any leftover prawns and sauce. Top each portion with a clump of rocket, add a squeeze of lemon juice and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil. Eat it, and be proud of yourself.