I’m sure there are a million recipe posts about Pesto that have that title. Hang on, just let me check, ok, not a million just 92,000.

As the super nerd buys a fresh bunch of basil every Saturday for his home made pizza (Friday fun night has now moved to Saturday sex slow night - sorry that really gives the connotations with the title of this blog - it’s ok we’re married and we have 1 year old son so you know there is no sex sleep funny stuff going on), anyway I tried freezing it to use the next week but basil really doesn’t like to be frozen. So I had to do something with it.

Bring on pesto. I can make it about 5 minutes, store it in the fridge and the oompa loompa loves it too. I feel like I’ve already outlined the love in this post, but for those who missed it let me put it this way. Impress your mate without spending time in the kitchen. This recipe is great for a quick feed before you go out for drinks or if you want to show off by just chucking a few ingredients together and making something tasty.

Pesto Pasta
One big handful of basil leaves
2 small cloves garlic
1/3 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup parmesan
Pasta of choice

Method
Cook pasta according to instructions. It’s important to really make an effort with getting the pasta right as there is no heavy sauce to cover your mistakes! Put all other ingredients except for parmesan in a blender or pestle & mortar and blend until smooth. Stir in parmesan.

This makes enough pesto for about 6 people so you can probably store some in the fridge. Just make sure you pour a thin layer of olive oil over it otherwise it will go brown and yucky.

When your pasta is cooked, strain it and stir in pesto, start with a tablespoon and add more if you need to.

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There seems to be a real trend in home cooking these days and a resurgence of traditional dishes. Maybe because we were all scared witless that last year we were heading back into the great depression and longed to soothe ourselves with food our nanna used to cook.

Either way, I played my part by including this lasagna as a weekly staple in our menu. The super nerd loves lasagna, actually I’ve never met a man that didn’t like my lasagna, so ladies if you are looking to impress on a first date this is the dish for you. It’s not sexy like oysters and cavier, but remember girls, this is man food.

Serves 4, or 2 with excellent leftovers

Ingredients
500g lean mince beef
tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, sliced thinly
3 cloves garlic, chopped or squashed
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 glass red wine
2 400ml cans tomatoes (I like the whole roma tomatoes)
1 grated carrot

Instant lasagna sheets

White sauce
1/3 cup butter (a generous amount)
1/3 cup plain flour plus a tablespoon
4 cups milk

Hard cheese of choice - Parmesan or similar, cheddar will also do.

Preheat oven to 200C.

Make the spaghetti bolognese according to the instructions and then add the grated carrot at the end.

To make the white sauce, melt the butter over medium heat until melted. Add the flour to make a roux - basically just stir the flour into the melted butter until it’s all mixed. If your sauce is very runny add a bit more flour. Then add your milk. Now, the traditional Frenchie’s will tell you to add 1/2 a cup until the sauce thickens, then add another 1/2 cup until it thickens, then 1 cup blah blah blah…but really if you add all the milk at once and give it a good whisk it will turn out fine. It will take about 5 minutes to thicken and you will need to watch it and whisk often.

Ok, now layer and layer. In an ovenproof dish (roughly the same size as the sheets of lasagna you have) add a layer of bolognese, a layer of white sauce and a sheet of lasagna, then just continue until you are all out of one. I usually do about three layers and then remember I need extra white sauce for the top. I hope you have read ahead because you will need extra sauce too! The last layer is lasagna sheet, white sauce and then some hard cheese. You want to sprinkle your hard cheese so it will need to be grated or cut into thin bits.

All in the oven for about 35 minutes and then take it out and let it rest for about 10 minutes before you serve to your loved one…during which time you can open a bottle of wine, light some candles, put on some Ella Fitzgerald and let the smell arouse you…

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This recipe is a real treat. I also knew fennel was great with fish (usually salmon), but in this simple dish it just picks it up. It’s a great meal if you’re feeling a bit sluggish.

I usually use ordinary spaghetti, but my brother gave me some of this whole wheat spaghetti and I have to say it wasn’t bad. It takes longer to cook than bleached spaghetti, but the nerd couldn’t taste the difference and it’s a slightly rougher texture which just seemed to work.

Ingredients
400g blue eye cod, cut into chunks
1 small bulb fennel, sliced thinly - keep the dill looking bits too
1 clove crushed garlic
1 can tomatoes
1 teaspoon sugar
olive oil
juice half lemon
handful of spaghetti

Method
Cook your spaghetti in boiling water - I usually bring the water to boil whilst I’m preparing the rest of the meal.

Heat olive oil over low heat, add fennel. Cook for a few minutes until very soft. Add garlic and cook for about a minute. Add can of tomatoes and increase heat to medium. I usually add a teaspoon of sugar when I use can tomatoes and in this recipe it works. Bring to the boil and then turn down to simmer. If you have thrown your spaghetti in to cook excellent. You want your spaghetti in for about three minutes before you add the fish to the tomato sauce. So when you are at this stage add the fish to the simmering tomatoes. The fish will take about 4 minutes to cook and you should turn the heat to low. Just before serving add your lemon juice to the tomato sauce.

Drain your spaghetti and serve on plates topped with the tomato fish sauce and then top with the dill-like fennel bits. I know it’s a really simple recipe, but I was pleasantly surprised!

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There’s nothing special about this recipe, except for the fact you can cook it in half an hour and it will make you feel warm and cosy. Which is probably very wrong for tonight as it’s still about 25 degrees and rather humid…But it’s Friday night, I’m not going out and I felt like drinking red.

On the wine list is a Bluemanna 2001 Merlot, another stella purchase from GraysOnline… anyway it seems like it will do the trick to unwind on a Friday evening.

Serves 4

Ingredients
500g lean mince beef
tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, sliced thinly
1 teaspoon sugar
3 cloves garlic, chopped or squashed
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 glass red wine
2 400ml cans tomatoes (I like the whole roma tomatoes)
spaghetti
Parmesan (optional)

Method
Put a big pot of water on to boil for your spaghetti, add some rock salt.

Open wine and pour glass for one. On low heat gently heat oil and add onions. Cook slowly for 5 mins pushing them around and sipping wine. Add teaspoon of sugar and stir until dissolved. Add garlic and stir for about 30 seconds. Add mince and turn up heat. I always mash the mince as it cooks so you don’t end up with great big lumps of it. Sip more wine as mashing mince. It will take about 4 mins for the mince to cook. When it’s no longer pink, add 1/2 glass wine (not yours) and stir until the smell disappears, roughly a minute or so.

Add tomato paste and mix well. Add the tins of tomatoes and mash them up - you don’t want whole tomatoes popping up in your bolognese. It’s pretty much finished now, so just add a bit of salt and pepper and turn down to simmer.

Your water should now be boiling to put the spaghetti in. This should take around 6-10 mins to cook, but test it anyway by taking it out and eating.

Drain the spaghetti and serve onto plates (although I prefer bowls). Top with bolognese and then Parmesan, and don’t forget to eat with a glass of red.

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