Spaghetti alla Checca

I had this dish on my last trip and it reminded me of just how good this dish can be and how easy it is to prepare. A specialty of Naples, this is a typical example of Italian uncooked or "crudo" sauces. It's a perfect example of how very simple, flawless ingredients can create something incredible.

Ideally, it is best in the height of summer when the tomatoes are bursting, but it's not too hard to find good quality cherry tomatoes in the colder months, and summer is almost here, so why not give it a try? Its very good and best of all it's delicious and healthy.

Ingredients

2 cups cherry tomatoes sliced in half

1 small bunch basil, torn into pieces

3 cloves of garlic, sliced

2 tsp dried chili

1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

A few grindings of Black Pepper

1 lb dried Pasta

Parmesan Cheese, or suitable substitute
1 Anchovy fillet, minced - Optional
1/2 lb full milk Mozzarella or Barrata, cut into smallish chunks - Optional

Combine all ingredients except pasta in a glass bowl and cover and let rest for 1-2 hours. There is no need to refrigerate.

Boil water, add salt and prepare pasta to directions. Once done, drain and combine with sauce, add salt to taste and finish with a little additional Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.

Comments

Norfolk Style Seafood

This is such a good recipe and so simple to make. The story behind this recipe is interesting. When I was a young boy, we used to go to a seafood restaurant in Washington DC called O'Donnell's. They had wonderful food, and most importantly, they had Buck.

Buck was a gentle giant at 6' 2" and was always talking to me about his recipe. He had invented this style of cooking seafood and had even developed special pans which could be used over open flame and then it could be delivered to the tables still sizzling. He was rightfully very proud of this.

After being there quite a few times, Buck shared his recipe with me and told me to keep it a secret. Since this was over 40 years ago, I guess I can reveal it now.

Ingredients

1/2 lb Shrimp, Jumbo Lump Crab or Langoustines, raw and shelled
2 Tbsp Butter
2 cloves Garlic, chopped
Dash of Old Bay Seasoning
Juice of 1/2 Lemon
Few dashes of Tabasco
Splash of White Wine
Salt and Black Pepper

Heat your pan until fairly hot, then add butter an…

Marlow and Son’s Butterbeans, Garlic Confit and Preserved Tomatoes

I first saw this recipe in Bon Appetit and was fascinated. It used interesting ingredients combined in a unique way and I had to try it. The recipe was given in response to an email from BA writer to Marlow chef Patch Troffer, but the recipe had no measurements and timing. After making it, I adjusted a few things and added quantities and timing and was very happy with the results. I ordered my dried beans from Rancho Gordo in Napa and they were excellent.

To make it spectacular, you really do need to make the garlic confit and preserved tomatoes. They aren’t hard to make, but set aside a bit of time. Make a full recipe and then use the rest for other dishes.
Garlic Confit
3 heads of Garlic, peeled and left whole. 3/4-1 cup Olive Oil 4 springs fresh Thyme 2 Bay Leaves 2 dried Chili Peppers

Add all ingredients to a small saucepan and cook on barest simmer for 1-2 hours. (This broad cooking time is due to the fact that some garlic has more moisture than others). You’ll want the cloves to be s…

Oven Roasted Salmon

This has to be one of the easiest and best tasting recipes I have. I developed it so I could always pull together a healthy dinner in a few minutes and then have beautiful cold salmon leftovers for the next day.

All you need is a nice piece of fresh salmon and a few basic spices. The real key is to get the oven very hot, so it sears the outside of the salmon and locks in the juices.

Ingredients

2 lb filet of Fresh Salmon, skin on is best, but not essential.
Celery Salt
Dill Weed
Roasted Garlic Powder
Freshly ground Black Pepper
1 Tbsp Butter
Parchment Paper

Preheat your oven to 550F. Take your parchment paper and put it onto a 1/2 sheet baking pan and lay your salmon onto the paper.

Melt your butter and brush it onto the salmon filet. Sprinkle on your spices to taste and bake for 10-15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the salmon. Remove and allow it to rest for 3 minutes before serving. It goes well with the seafood rice pilaf I featured in an earlier post.

Note: All of these spices can be…

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