Absolutely Nothing To Eat : Linguine with Tomato and Capers

It may not sound like the stuff of culinary revolutions but this is just about one of the best spaghetti dishes I’ve ever made. It was the happy result one of those can’t be bothered, far too tired sorts of dinners. After being monumentally let down by Rico’s Pizza Shack (the most delicious wood fired pizzas served from a travelling food truck…which didn’t show up) I had to resort to something quick and tasty from a very empty fridge.

What I did have was a tin of tomatoes, a jar of capers, 2 lonely looking cloves of garlic, some fresh herbs, a packet of Linguine and ta-daah…it was delicious.

Put a spash of olive oil and some butter in a large frying pan, throw in the crushed garlic and a handful of chopped rosemary and thyme. Cook it for a minute but don’t let the garlic go brown. Add the tin of chopped tomatoes and a couple of teaspoons of capers (the small ones) or as many as you fancy. Stir it all together and cook on a medium-ish heat. I added a tiny bit of salt and some ground black pepper. I also stirred in a teaspoon of sugar but you can use balsamic vinegar or something similar if you prefer…and you have it in the house. Cook for 10 minutes or so until the liquid from the tomatoes has evaporated a bit and the whole thing looks dark and rich. It really doesn’t take long. Cook your Linguine (or Spaghetti…it doesn’t matter a bit) as normal and drain. Just before combining it all together, stir a couple of teaspoons of creme fraiche to the tomato sauce and some torn basil leaves. Add the spaghetti to the frying pan and mix it all together so every single strand is covered. Serve straight away with some more fresh basil leaves to make it look pretty.

Sorry my spaghetti photo is a little blurry – I was hungry.