Recently I had the opportunity to teach our local rugby team how to cook. Seeing these young athletes from the Bay of Plenty Steamers get enthused about the simple art of cooking was a great pleasure.

Some had never cooked before, some were already well on the way to being foodies. This recipe proved to be great fun and so adaptable to their lifestyles.

As I’ve said before food brings people together and these sessions have created friendships that continue as well as making me a bit of a superdad, after all my kids met their heroes that day. To see their faces looking up to these giants of men will be a memory that will last forever.

SPEEDY PASTA
Serves 2

  • 200g pasta ‘00’ flour
  • 2 eggs or 4 egg yolks

Method
Sieve flour into a bowl.  Add whole egg and combine mixture with fingertips.  Turn out onto a floured work surface and knead into a dough.  If possible, rest in refrigerator for at least half an hour.  Roll out onto floured board into a rectangle.  Next, flour surface of pasta and, using both hands, roll rectangle into a ‘Swiss roll’ shape.  Use a sharp knife to cut into desired thickness, e.g. tagliarini (thin), tagliatelle (medium) or parpadelle (thick).

FRESH TOMATO SAUCE
Makes 1 litre

  • 500g ripe tomatoes, cored. seeded and roughly sliced
  • 1 onion, sliced
  • 2 cloves garlic, sliced
  • ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
  • Salt & freshly ground black pepper

Method
Put tomato, onion and garlic with oil in a saucepan.  Cook over a moderate heat for about 15 minutes.  When tomato and onion are soft, press everything through the coarsest disc of a food mill.  Season to taste.

QUICK PASTA WITH GARLIC & ROCKET

Toss a sliced garlic clove, good quality Parmesan cheese, rocket leaves or fresh parsley and good extra virgin olive oil with hot pasta.


 

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