Too many cooks spoil the broth. Or do they?
I was really lucky to have Zuriel a friend of mine who happens to be a chef, come over and join me in cooking a delicious pasta and salmon dish.
Watching Zuri, chop the tomatoes and dice the onions was a treat, he was so quick and precise. Not like butter fingers here, who manages to cut her fingers on a regular basis.
We were really excited about making a simple pasta dish that would come out delicious and easy to follow. We did have a couple of differences of opinions, but we managed to work it out so I got my way every time... He kept calling me ‘balabousit' which I later found out is the equivalent of 'bossy boots’. Go figure…
This is a now one of my families favourites and have been making it often.
Fettuccine with spinach in béchamel sauce
Ingredients
For pasta
250g Fettuccine
1/2 cup black olives, chopped
Spinach, béchamel sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 red onion, diced
3 large garlic cloves, smashed and finely diced (good luck)or crushed
100g frozen spinach, thawed and drained of any liquid
Salt and pepper according to taste
50g butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 1/4 cup milk
Juice of half a lemon
Roasted tomatoes
Ingredients
1 punnet cherry tomatoes, cut into quarters
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
Salt and pepper according to taste
Olives
Ingredients
½ cup whole black olives (pitted)
Salmon
Ingredients
500g salmon
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
Method For Salmon
Pre heat the oven to 200c
Place salmon on a baking tray and drizzle with with ½ tablespoon of olive oil. Sprinkle dried oregano, salt and pepper and cook for roughly 12 minutes.
Method for roasted tomatoes and black olives
Chop olives set a side
Place cut tomatoes on a baking tray lined with baking paper, drizzle olive oil, sprinkle salt and pepper and 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano. Place in the oven and roast for 7 minutes. Remove from oven, transfer to a bowl and set aside.
Fettucine
Cook the Fettuccine as per the packet instructions, drain and and set aside.
Method for béchamel sauce
Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil into a large pot, over medium to high heat. Stir in onions and cook until transparent then add garlic and stir for one minute.
Add butter to the pot and let it melt on medium heat, stir in the flour, continue to stir until smooth, stir in the milk a little at a time. Keep stirring until you have used up all the milk and texture is smooth.
Mix in the spinach then the lemon juice stir until spinach is incorporated thoroughly. Turn off the heat.
Stir the pasta into the prepared sauce.
Scatter roasted tomatoes and black olives on top of pasta portions. Serve with salmon.