Aglio & olio-simple pasta sauce

Another typical Saturday. Up (relatively) early to prepare for a huge BBQ on Sunday, my almost son-in-law pops his head through the kitchen door, followed by a friend of his. Both are pretty built & ravenous types. Naturally, since I spent the morning cooking for the next day, lunch was meant to be simple, for 4 people, not 16. Therefore I adapted a classic pasta dish, aglio & olio (literally garlic & oil-sounds better in Italian).

Classic aglio & olio is just garlic cloves sauteed in olive oil with a dried chili pepper.

This time I added the following:

6 cloves garlic
5 anchovies
6 sundried tomatoes
1/2 cup of green olives
capers
chopped parsley

Slice all the ingredients. Wait until the pasta has been thrown into the boiling water & turn the heat on the olive oil, garlic & anchovies. Let the garlic saute nicely, the anchovies will melt. Add the , capers & olives. Pour onto cooked spaghetti, sprikle with parsely.

Oven potatoes

Oven potatoes are a staple when cooking for large groups of people. Everyone likes them and it is so much easier to make the whole meal in the oven (ok, I have a huge oven....)! Since I make them nearly every time there is some sort of roast, I tend to add different herbs & spices each time, whatever is available & accompanies the roast (chicken, beef, lamb, pork, game....).

Ex: With the sage & garlic leg of lamb I like to doctor the potatoes with rosemary.




Rosemary & Garlic Put roast into oven first, then prepare the potatoes, as their cooking time is probably not as long. Preferably use small potatoes, leave on peel, cut in half. Add full unpeeled cloves of garlic, a sprig of rosemary, 4 tbsps olive oil, salt & pepper to taste. If you have a bottle of dry white wine open, splash some on as well. Put the potatoes in the oven cook until golden & crisp.

Leg of lamb

Yes yes, a well known family dinner or Sunday lunch dish! Truth is though, that hubby really loves leg of lamb so we eat it at the very least once a month. Which means I have many ways of preparing it.

Given the size of the family, I usually make at least a 4 lb leg.

Cooking time for a nice tender pink is about 20 min per lb.

Always:
-marinate ahead of time (preferably 24 hrs before cooking)
-take out of fridge an hour before cooking
-preheat oven to hot
-pierce flesh with carving fork & baste with juices continuously during cooking
-salt half way through cooking, not before (preferrably with sel de Guerande)


ANCHOVY, ROSEMARY & GARLIC
A new recipe, given to me by my close friend Jeff, one of the best cooks I know. Since I never put up a recipe I haven't tested, this version of leg of lamb was served as a Sunday dinner (almost the whole family, we were only 7), to universal acclaim. Don't balk at the anchovy, the leg of lamb will neither smell nor taste of fish. Adding anchovy gives it a particular salty flavor, very nice!

5 anchovies (always in oil)
5 cloves of garlic
3 twigs of rosemary
pepper
red wine

Mash anchovies. Add crushed garlic. Rub the oily paste into the leg of lamb. Grind pepper to taste. Splash with red wine. Cover if marinating ahead of time. (Careful with the salt, as the anchovies are already pretty strong)





SAGE & GARLIC Simple but delicious. Use fresh sage (mine comes from the garden), about 4 or 5 leaves. With a small knife pierce the leg all over. Stuff each whole with shredded sage & garlic (small cloves or cut in half). Set aside a few leaves & cloves to rub into the skin. Cover leg with a few tbsps of olive oil, rub into skin. Pour a glass of red wine over the leg. Pepper to taste. Put into oven! Oven potatoes are a nice accompaniment.