Some Thoughts On Cooking & A Recipe
The act of cooking for others pulls on all of my emotions all of the time
Before we go any further, the pictures here illustrate the writing bit, not the recipe!
It might not surprise you to hear that I get a deep sense of joy from feeding people. It fills me up in a way that childhood play dates used to. That warm glow of anticipation, knowing that there will be games and a special tea - when I plan menus and arrange suppers the tingle of excitement is the same. An ‘oh and we could do that too’ enthusiasm. It makes me very happy indeed.
Conversely, I often cook at my best when I am deeply sad or profoundly moved. If I have a heaviness in my bones about something I find the act of taking ingredients and immersing myself completely in their preparation channels large emotions in a really beneficial way. It is a dance of comfort in the familiar warm of the kitchen - engaging in known acts and practices, a confidence, a working through, kneading out, releasing. I can sense my feelings moving through me, along my arm bones and into my fingers, clutching at the knife or spoon and escaping, stirred into sauces, sprinkled into pots and pans. Not as a way of offloading negativity, more a means to embrace the universe, to reach out and beyond what’s going on in my mind and how it’s been translated physically, to bring comfort, a sense of peace.
Cooking is a great anchoring process. A grounding. The simplest methods can evoke this sense of rebalancing - slicing bread to make toast, spreading butter or drizzling oil, a sliced tomato with a little salt - all these acts so known, become ritual and balm when the world feels a bit too much.
There is a companionship in food. I work predominantly alone, but when I am cooking for others the physical presence of the food brings me company and the shadow forms of those I am cooking with.
Perhaps this is why presentation is so important. The final flourish that adorns the food with the importance I feel for it - garnish as indicator ‘look, I made this with my heart and soul and I have a deep love for it. It is here for you. I hope that you enjoy it.’
Perhaps again this is why performance anxiety can be so acute. I am grateful to no longer experience it as much as I used to, but it still hits on occasion and never for any rational or particular reason. My cheeks will flush and my heart will skip and I will think all sorts of terrible, fretful things - ‘how can I charge for this? What was I thinking?’ This is why the absolute last thing on my list of ambitions is to have a cafe or restaurant. Imagine! Everyone there, right there, eating what I’m making. It would be way too much! My Friday Food Deliveries are the perfect vehicle for me - you can see this weeks menu here, I am very excited about it.
Often favourite things to cook are the things that we cook for favourite people. Making a pasta pot dinner for my partner and kids hits high. It’s not the same cooking as I do for paying clients. It involves no laboured creation of spice blends and pastes, tarkas and pickles. There are no complicated processes - best yet with this recipe, thanks to Catherine Phipps unlocking the mysteries of pressure cooking in her marvellous book Modern Pressure Cooking (she also writes on here) it is remarkably simple - non pressure cooker instructions are also included in the recipe. Leave out the bacon if you are vegetarian or vegan.
Penne with Bacon, Aubergine, Lentils & Tomatoes
Feeds 4
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, diced
6 rashers of smoked streaky bacon, chopped small
2 bay leaves
1 aubergine, cut in 4 lengthways with each slice diced into 1cm cubes
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
500g penne
400ml tin chopped tomatoes
1 stock cube - chicken or vegetable - only for pressure cooker version
1 handful of dried green lentils - only for pressure cooker version
Salt & pepper
Few fresh basil leaves (optional)
Equipment
Chopping board and sharp knife
Pressure cooker or large saucepan & medium saucepan
Method
Heat the oil in your pressure cooker on sauté mode if it is a digital one. Heat the oil in your medium saucepan if not pressure cooking.
Once the oil is hot add the onion, bacon and bay leaves and fry, stirring regularly, until the onions and bacon have softened and coloured a golden light brown - this will take 15-20 minutes.
Add the aubergine and garlic and continue to fry gently for another 5 minutes.
NON PRESSURE COOKER VERSION
Add the tinned tomatoes, stir well, reduce the heat and continue to cook for 10-15 minutes. Cook the pasta according to the packet instructions. Add the basil leaves to the sauce before serving.
PRESSURE COOKER VERSION
Turn off the sauté mode.
Add the tomatoes and stock cube to the pan, fill the empty tomato can with water one and a half times, adding the water to the pan (600ml of water in total).
Add the penne and lentils to the pan, season with salt and pepper, stir well making sure that nothing is sticking to the base of the pan. Pop on the lid and cook at high pressure for 5 minutes. Once finished cooking, release the pressure. Add the basil leaves before serving.
Really beautiful writing.
You can cook pasta in a slow cooker? That has never occurred to me as a possibility 😆