Macaroni in Garlic and Coriander Sauce

Found some great furniture today – teak, hand polished to a glossy black shade, yet showing the grain. Instantly fell in love with the stuff. Winced at the cost, gritted my teeth and ordered the lot. I’ll probably live to regret it, but the nice part is that the furniture will probably outlive me.

Came home intending to cook something totally different – chicken in a thick, spicy, traditional gravy. Finally settled for pasta [macaroni]. I wanted the sauce to be spicy, crunchy, sour, tangy… and meaty. To top it all, it also had to be ready in 15 minutes tops. So here goes:

3 tbsp chopped cucumber 2 small tomatoes, chopped 1 small onion, chopped 1 tbsp chopped jalapenos 3 cups beef stock [or any other] Salt to taste 1/2 cup grated cheese 3 tbsp chopped fresh coriander 1 cup salami chopped into strips 1 tbsp chilli flakes 3 cloves of garlic, smashed 2 tbsp olive oil 1/2 cup prepared spinach

Method:

For the prepared spinach, wash some spinach leaves. Blanch in lightly salted boiling water for 1 minute. Remove, drain and chop finely. You can prepare a batch in advance and then freeze in ice trays if you like. That way, a few cubes in thrown in while cooking gives a nutritious angle to any dish.

1. Heat the olive oil
2. Add the onions. Saute till transparent. Add the garlic. Saute for a few seconds.
3. Add the tomatoes. Saute for 2 minutes
4. Add the rest of the ingredients, except the stock, cucumber, cheese and coriander
5. Saute for 2 minutes
6. Add the stock. Bring to the boil.
7. Add the cheese. Stir well.
8. Stir in the coriander.
9. Add the cucumber.Mix.

(For a vegetarian version, simply replace the beef stock with vegetable stock and leave out the salami)
Serve macaroni topped with the sauce. I loved it and hope you like it too.

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