Pasta: the best "fast food"

You know what it's like when the need for a good bowl of pasta comes over you? You need a lot of ingredients just good ones. Lemons, anchovies, Parmesan and some fresh herbs are just about all you really need to produce a heavenly meal in as much time as it take to cook some pasta.

You know what it's like when the need for a good bowl of pasta comes over you? You don't need a lot of ingredients, just good ones. Lemons, anchovies, Parmesan and some fresh herbs are just about all you really need to produce a heavenly meal in as much time as it takes to cook some pasta.

It's such a great comfort food, too. Truly satisfying on so many levels. No wonder the Italians lived on it as a daily staple for centuries. And so versatile. You can add just about anything to it which makes it the perfect "peasant" food which really means that you can use whatever you have in the pantry to conjure up an amazing meal. My dish here really came from a few factors: 1. hunger 2. what have I got in the kitchen and 3. time.

From the Pantry

pasta

lemon

parmesan

salt & pepper

parsley

anchovies

prosciutto

butter

capers

The Spell

Use a long, microwave pasta cooker (Decor) to boil your pasta with some salt. These pieces of equipment are so versatile and neater than dragging out a large saucepan, filling it with water and carrying, precariously, to the stove top. Waiting for it to boil, adding the pasta and salt and waiting, again for it to cook. The microwave pasta cooker is as simple as adding the pasta, add the water and salt and microwave on high for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt some butter in a saucepan, melt the anchovies, add the capers and lemon juice and some pepper and stir the cooked pasta into the sauce. Serve with parmesan and prosciutto and parsley on top. Two, four, six, eight: bog in, don't wait!