When I was thinking of the dishes we regularly cook, it struck me just how many of them are a weird marriage of East meets West. Like we put miso paste in pasta and I put weird ingredients in fried rice. I wonder if other people saw how we made things they would be like “Err. What are you doing? Pasta is made with wine not sake, man”.
I guess what we eat is a reflection of who we are. I mean, we’re a bit of everything. A bit of here, a bit of there. Taking fragments from places we and our families have been and putting them together in a beautiful – and tasty – plate.
There are, of course, boundaries. I’m not proposing chicken feet sandwiches or Cheetos Hot Fries™ dipped in soy sauce. Some things are just plain wrong. But it is nice to know that what we eat is a basically a ridiculous mash-up of all of the influences on our lives.
It is thanks to you that this dish can now only be made with brown pasta, whose additional bite and depth adds something plain old regular pasta could not.
I love that it is healthy, tasty and easy, but most of all I love that it is a bit of both of us in the bowl.
A&A’s Tomato Veggie Brown Pasta
Makes enough sauce for a generous portion for two people.
SHOPPING LIST
Must Haves
1. Brown pasta – Spaghetti works well, but if using another pasta shape use about three quarters of a tea mug as the measure per person.
2. Cherry tomatoes – I usually use six to eight for this quantity, but a few more is fine. Use a knife to pierce the skin of each one once (this will help the juice flow out).
3. “Base Sauce Veggies” – Chef’s choice here, but using some or all of: a whole courgette (zucchini), half a big aubergine (eggplant), five or six mushrooms, a handful of asparagus or other similar veggies are good. Generally I use two or three types. It might look like a lot when you chop them, but they fry down. These should all be diced the same (small-ish) size.
4. Garlic – One or two cloves, chopped up.
5. Miso paste – One large tablespoon.
6. Dried chilli – A few good shakes of the jar.
7. Tomato puree – This is essential. Can be bought in Shinanoya/Kaldi Coffee Farm in tubes or in Ozeki/Tokyu in what look like ketchup packets, in the same section (annoyingly confusing). If using the tube, use two tablespoons. If using the small ketchup packets, two packets.
8. Sake or wine – Two circles or about one third of a wine glass. Heavy handed is ok here.
9. Mirin – Two small splashes (i.e. 1.5 tablespoons or so). Heavy handed not ok here as too much will make it too sweet.
Optional Extras
1. Meat/fish – You can make this with pretty much any meat, like mince, bacon or ham. You can also make it with fish, like mini scallops or prawns or clams. As a general rule, meat goes in at the start, but fish (other than clams) goes in at the end. For mini scallops, remove the skirts and finely dice them up (as they add nice fish flavour to the sauce). The main part of the scallop goes in at the end whole, but the skirts can go in earlier.
2. “Serving Time Veggies” – These are things you add after the sauce is finished and just before serving. They only need to wilt in the sauce and shouldn’t be overcooked. These are generally green leaves like spinach, rocket (arugula), chopped Asian veggies or similar.
3. Dashi packet – Only a quarter or half of one. Use to taste if not salty enough.
4. Cream – Very much optional and I use about 10% of the time. Add a circle or two to taste right at the end to give the sauce a richer taste and a more orange appearance.
HOW TO MAKE
1. Chop up all the Base Sauce Veggies and garlic and pierce each of the cherry tomatoes once with a knife. If using meat or fish or Serving Time Veggies also prepare these now. Lay out all the other sauce ingredients as it’s pretty quick to make once you start.
2. Put on a pot of boiling salted water with a little oil in it and start to boil the pasta. Everything else can normally be done in around the time is takes to boil the water and the pasta. The sauce can also be made separately in advance, if desired, with the pasta cooked to order when eating.
3. Fry the Base Sauce Veggies in a regular oil. I find the sauce taste better the more you fry them, so fry them on a high-ish heat and ok to go for a bit longer than you think. Maybe like 5-7 mins. Best when the veggies have gone brown and become super soft. Add the garlic with about a minute of frying time left so it doesn’t burn.
4. If using meat or clams (or scallop skirts), add these now and fry a little. If using raw meat, fry till cooked through. If clams or scallop skirts, one minute is fine. Don’t worry about overcooking the veggies!
5. Add the tomato puree and stir well to coat.
6. Add the cherry tomatoes, sake or wine and mirin and cook down for a minute or so. Use the wooden spoon to crush the cherry tomatoes (when soft) against the side of the pan to release the juice. If using clams, put a lid on now for 1 minute to steam them open.
7. Add the miso paste and about half a cup of water. This dish is best with a thicker sauce, so be sparing with water. Put in less water if using Serving Time Veggies (as when you add them later, they will give out water and thin the sauce).
8. Add the chilli flakes, then and cook on a high heat for a couple of minutes until the sauce is the desired texture.
9. Taste for seasoning. Add pepper and (if needed) a little dashi powder (no more than half a bag) or salt.
10. If using, add the fish/prawns/scallops, Serving Time Veggies and cream, then stir for one or two minutes max and turn off the heat for 2-3 minutes before serving. The residual heat should cook all of these, but if unsure you can obviously check the seafood.
11. Combine the sauce with the drained pasta and top with a little olive oil to serve.