April Fool's Spaghetti

April Fool 
& Spaghetti Sauces

A Panorama report on 1st April 1957 delivered one of the best broadcast April Fool's jokes, possibly ever.

They reported on a family in the southern Swiss canton of Ticino who were harvesting a bumper crop of spaghetti. The quality of the crop was put down to the mild winter and virtual disappearance of the dreaded spaghetti weevil.

The report contained footage of the traditional harvest festival. Discussions included the breeding techniques necessary to develop a strain of spaghetti that produced the perfect length to each string.

I wonder how they grow penne or rigatone ?

The farfalle trees must be truly impressive !



Now we have the perfect spaghetti, we need the perfect accompaniment...


Spaghetti alle Vongole

Here's how:

Rinse about 500 g of fresh clams in water, discarding any that are broken or open. Skin a dozen cherry tomatoes by sitting them in boiled water for a couple of minutes. Cool them and the skin will just slip off.

Cook 150 g of spaghetti to the pack instructions, drain and drizzle with a little olive oil (this stops the strands sticking). Soften 2 diced shallots and 2 grated cloves of garlic in oil, then add 2 tsp of Stokes Chilli Jam and 3 tbsp of Stokes Tomato Ketchup.

Stir in the tomatoes and clams with a glass of white wine. Pop the lid on and simmer gently for 3 or 4 minutes until the clams open. Add the pasta to the pan with a couple of handfuls of chopped parsley.

...with Meatballs

This recipe makes about 50 meatballs the size of golf balls. Use what you want this week and freeze the rest for next.

Here's how:

Squeeze the meat out of 8 pork sausages, combining it in a bowl with 1 kg of minced beef, 3 finely diced shallots, 90g of grated Parmesan cheese, 100g of breadcrumbs, 1 tbsp of Italian mixed herbs, 1 tbsp of Stokes Chilli Jam and 2 beaten eggs.

Season, combine well and form your golf ball sized meatballs. Freeze what you are not using and place the rest on an oiled roasting tray, drizzle with a little more oil and roast on a medium heat for 25 minutes.

For the tomato sauce: Soften 2 diced shallots and 2 grated garlic cloves in oil, add 1 tin of chopped tomatoes, 1 sliced red pepper, 150 ml of red wine, 4 tbsp of Stokes Tomato Ketchup and simmer. Tear in a handful of basil leaves and add the meatballs, simmering them in the sauce for 15 minutes then serve with your cooked spaghetti.

Fritata di Pasta Carbonara

This is an unusual use of spaghetti, ideal for a lunch with friends.

Here's how:

Cook about 300g of spaghetti to the packet's instructions, drain and put it into a shallow pan with a knob of melted butter, 100g of grated Pecorino or Parmesan cheese, 150g of smoked ham or pancetta 1 or 2 tbsp of Stokes Dijon Mustard, 100 to 150ml of double cream and 4 beaten eggs.

Combine the ingredients over a medium heat until it starts to set and browns around the edges.

Now pop it into a medium high oven until the filling sets and flip the fritata out onto a plate. Let it cool just a little and enjoy it with a mixed salad.

Spring forward with Stokes

You can order the tastes of Spring - here

More foodie thoughts for the week:





Great British Beef Week - 
try these classic global recipes using British Beef here.












Cooking with Mustard - 
re-defining 'tasty' with these delicious recipes - here.


 








Social Sharing - 
exchanging foodie ideas here.

If good food makes you happy
...adding Stokes will make you smile ;)

 FOOD MADE BETTER 

www.stokessauces.co.uk

01394 462150