Who will this feed and with what haste?
The following ingredients will serve comfortably you plus another; and can be prepared and cooked in around twenty minutes (say, ten minutes for the pasta and mushrooms, five for the pork, and another five for your fiddling).
Ingredients
- 250g farfalle pasta
- 100g chestnut mushrooms
- 225g pork belly
- 1 egg
- 1 clove garlic
- Knob of butter
- Salt
- Black Pepper
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Notes pertaining to these ingredients
The pork pictured above is in fact something called ‘zuurkool spek’, that is, ‘sauerkraut bacon’: a sort of unsliced bacon common in the Netherlands; very cheap (a 225g-275g slab can cost less than $1); better than much of the bacon many shops sell; and also a good alternative to a typical cut of pork belly, which is hard to procure in the country except for in thin and excessively fatty slices. In fact, if you braise this cheap cut slowly over several hours, colouring the outside very briefly then adding water and perhaps a little red wine, it will become wonderfully tender; but simply frying it works well too. I like the fattiness of belly pork, but a leaner cut of pork would be perfectly adequate, and would allow you to cancel your gym membership, or do away with your running shoes, or eat many candies and chocolates without pausing to care.
Chestnut mushrooms possess a slightly stronger flavour than white or button mushrooms, but those would taste pleasant also; and you could even add some porcini mushrooms, fresh or dried. I think this dish is liable to taste similarly well regardless of what pasta you use. If you like, add a little rosemary to the pork.
Method
- Fill a pot or large saucepan with water and bring to the boil; add salt, then throw in the pasta
- Slice the mushrooms, removing the stalks if you desire, and sauté in a pan with the butter
- Finely chop the clove of garlic, and add it to the pan of mushrooms
- Season the mushrooms with salt and a little pepper
- Once the pasta is al dente, drain the water; restore the pasta to the pot, adding olive oil and lightly seasoning
- Add the mushrooms to the pasta, and why don’t you crack an egg, and throw this in too, coating the pasta with the egg
- Slice thickly the pork
- Pan fry – with oil and some rosmary and red wine if you desire – at a high heat for a couple of minutes on each side
A Considerate Tip
Use the same pan for the pork that you already used for the mushrooms! Enjoy your food, but don’t put it all inside your mouth at once! Look out of the window occasionally while you eat – the movements of passers-by will aid the movements of your digestive system.
culturedallroundman 