Gustible - under the rubric of [$_SELF]

This is always a winner, and takes only about 20 minutes to make – Lindy is particularly fond of it…

So – main ingredients:

• Ribbon pasta (tagliatelli, fettuccine, whatever)
• Bacon
• Chillies
• Cream – full cream, fool. No – yoghurt is NOT the same.
• Either goat’s milk or a blue veined cheese
• Some spring onions
• Garlic, of course
• Tomatoes (nice, ripe, red, real ones)
• Mushrooms – brown, or preferably portabellini mushrooms
• Salt (something decent, at least Maldon) and black pepper
• Butter – a little bit (unsalted, need I say)

I don’t really do quantities. For a big meal for four people, use 250 grams of bacon, 4 tomatoes, 200 gram of mushrooms, 250 ml cream, enough pasta for four (you know how hungry you are), nice chunk of cheese, enough chillies to give a good bite (how am I supposed to know how strong the chillies are that you are using??). Whatever’s left to taste. Just get on with it, don’t sweat the small stuff.

Cook the pasta – you know how to do this. Al dente and all – if it turns out soggy, lose it, and start again.

Cut the bacon into little bits, and fry till almost crispy – don’t kill it – you want a bit of juiciness. I like to use a non-stick frying pan. It means I do not have to use oil to fry the bacon. Remove from the pan.

Chop up the chilli and garlic – a good mezzaluna is going to help you out here. In the meantime start frying up the mushrooms in a bit of butter – they will absorb ALL the butter you put in the pan – use your judgment, and consider your cardiologist’s feelings. Put some sliced spring onions, or other oniony thing in with the mushrooms – just a bit, for flavour.

OK – mushrooms out the pan. Chop up the tomatoes, and dump them in the pan. Fry till they get softish, and put the rest of the stuff back into the pan (no, not the pasta!!). Stir. Add cream. About 3 minutes before your pasta is done (should be about now, if you’ve timed things well) put the cheese into the sauce. Stir – no lumpy bits of cheese please.

Great – drain the pasta. Put in a serving bowl. Pour the cream over it, mix it up. Rip the cork out of a bottle of nice wine (red in winter, white in summer, whatever). You’re good to go!