Always thinking of the next meal...
Everyone knows about Parmesan, also known as Parmigiano Reggiano, but what about Pecorino Romano? It is aged and hardened especially for grating and can be exactly the same way that Parmesan is. So what’s the difference? One, Parmesan is made of cow’s milk whereas Pecorino comes from ewe’s milk. Two, Pecorino has a saltier and sharper taste and brings a lot of Italian dishes to a new level. Cheese is a fascinating subject with so many varieties in the world there is much to learn.
No wonder pasta is such a favourite for families all over the world. It is quick to prepare and has the potential to be healthy, depending on the sauce you make with it. Children have an endless fascination with all the shapes and sizes pasta comes in. Speaking of which, Gabriel tasted pasta for the first time the other day and approved! Though I must admit I’m still a bit nervous giving him solid (not puréed) food. At 8 months he still doesn’t have any teeth and I dread the day he’s going to choke on something. Oh dear, I sound like a paranoid mother, don’t I?
I lied. Not all the tomatoes from the veg plot this summer were used for my fresh tomato sauce. Sometimes I craved a bit of meatiness and prepared this simple pasta dish. In the past I used to scoff at recipes using pancetta and substituted it with bacon instead. Oh how I see the error in my ways. Not only does the pancetta add another dimension to the dish with its piquant flavour, but its fat mellows the tang of the tomatoes. Mamma mia!
One thing that never ceases to amaze me is how easily tomatoes grow here in the UK. For four years in a row we’ve had bumper crops of tomatoes. With Gabriel’s arrival this year our vegetable plot got grossly neglected and our poor tomatoes missed out on the tender loving care they needed. Yet we harvested kilos of them ever week. There was a slight problem though, I didn’t know what to do with them! I needed a solution quick. It would have been an awful shame to let premium quality organic tomatoes go to waste.
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