Yet another offering inspired by a recipe by Thomasina Miers, taken from the weekly Guardian of 10 July 2020 [Vol. 203, I.No 4]. This is a vegetarian dish, but if you really want to indulge your carnivorous passions, you could easily add in a bit of diced ham, or perhaps a tin of salmon or chunky tuna.
Ingredients.
½ cup olive oil.
2 cloves garlic, peeled, chopped.
1 ½ cups fresh breadcrumbs.
2 tblsp grated parmesan cheese.
1 400g can cherry tomatoes.
2 tsp sweet chilli sauce [or to taste].
1 tblsp vincotto.
1 ½ cups sliced green beens.
½ cup water.
Salt to taste.
1 cup dried short pasta.
1 cup chopped fresh basil.
Method.
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Heat ½ the oil in a pot over a medium flame and fry the garlic for 1-2 minutes until golden. Remove from the heat, stir in the bread crumbs and the cheese and set aside in a small bowl. Without wiping out the pot, return to the heat and add the rest of the oil, the tomatoes, chilli sauce, vincotto, beans, extra water and salt to taste. Bring to the boil and add the pasta. Simmer, stirring from time to time to prevent sticking, for 10 minutes or until the pasta is al dente.
Turn the tomato mixture into a small baking dish. Scatter with the basil and top with the breadcrumb mixture, making sure that it is evenly spread. At this point you can either cover it and leave it to one side to finish later, or you can pop it immediately into the oven and bake it for 30 minutes.
Serve with: A fresh green salad.
Serves: 2.
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