A couple of big-flavour pastas dishes for lazy cooks (like me)

and brace yourself for an indulgent little wander of my formative albums

Jun 21, 2024

I’m a bit late this week. I almost didn’t get the newsletter out but here I am typing the last few bits, coffee in hand. It’s early Saturday morning and I’m about to start getting ready for our youngest’s 7th birthday party. There are a million balloons to blow up sitting beside me. It’s actually ended up quite a long newsletter since I’m including the nostalgic musical memory tour at the end.

But firstly, I really hope you enjoy these simple meal suggestions.

These are my favourite kind of pasta dishes. Quick! I would make either of these over getting takeaways any day. They use ingredients I almost always already have on hand. Rich with good-quality olive oil and garlic, and featuring some of the punchy ingredients I absolutely love, like anchovies, capers, chilli, parsley, parmesan and lemon.

The recipes are similar to each other, riffing on the same starting base of garlic and olive oil. Also, in their approach to the cooking process: the ‘sauce’ will only take as long to prepare as it takes to cook your pasta. Be sure to undercook the pasta more than might feel comfortable, as it'll be in the pan for a minute or so after you’ve removed it from the pot and it will keep on cooking. Pasta water is your friend here. It’s a miraculous ingredient that means your gorgeous oily sauce will coat the pasta strands and remain silky rather than being absorbed entirely before it hits the table.

Spaghetti aglio olio e peperoncino

Serves 4

My girls call this Dad’s pasta. It’s Luke’s specialty; an easy Sunday night dinner that we all love. The entire dish hinges on using excellent, full flavoured olive oil. The well-salted pasta water means you won’t need any other added salt. We like ours with a scattering of Parmesan cheese. We always have a really lemony rocket salad on the side.

400g good-quality spaghetti

½ cup extra Virgin Olive oil

4 garlic cloves, finely diced

1-2 large red chilli, seeds removed, diced

Handful fresh parsley, roughly chopped

1 tablespoon salt to season pasta water

To serve: cracked black pepper, finely grated parmesan (if desired)

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add 1 tablespoon of salt to the water. Add the pasta and cook for 1-2 minutes less than the packet instructions. Meanwhile, place the oil, garlic and chilli in a sauté pan over a medium heat. Cook gently for a couple of minutes. Add a good ladle of the starchy pasta water. This is great for letting the garlic continue cooking without burning. Stir constantly, letting the water and oil emulsify a little and become a “sauce”. Add the drained pasta and toss well. Add in the parsley and cook for another minute or so. Divide between 4 bowls. Add some finely grated Parmesan if desired.

Anchovy, caper and lemon pasta with walnut breadcrumbs

Serves 4

This for the anchovy lovers. Truthfully, I’ll add more anchovies than this recipes states when I make it for myself as I absolutely love them. I landed on the amount in this recipe as being about right for serving to my family who like anchovies but aren’t quite as fanatical as me. The anchovies melt entirely into the olive oil. It’s wonderful.

The walnut and breadcrumb topping isn’t essential. If you’re short on time, you could sprinkle a little grated parmesan on your pasta to finish. The rich crunch is pretty delicious though so if you’ve got a spare few minutes, do it.

I made my breadcrumbs from leftover pieces of sourdough I had in the freezer. If you hoard the ends of loaves like I do, this is a brilliant way to use them.

30g walnut pieces

1/2 cup coarse breadcrumbs

1 tablespoon good quality extra-virgin olive oil

Pinch salt for breadcrumbs

1 tablespoon salt to season pasta water

400g good-quality spaghetti

1/2 cup good quality extra-virgin olive oil

6 anchovies

3 garlic cloves, very thinly sliced

2 tablespoons capers

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Cracked black pepper

Chop the walnut pieces very finely. You can do this in a food processor if you like. Heat a sauté pan over a medium heat. Add the first measure of olive oil. Add the walnuts and breadcrumbs to the pan and cook for a few minutes, moving frequently until golden brown. Toss with a pinch of salt and set aside.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add a tablespoon of salt. Add the pasta and cook for 1-2 minutes less than the packet instructions.

Meanwhile, wipe out the sauté pan and place the olive oil and anchovies over a medium heat. Use a wooden spoon to break the anchovies up so that they melt into the hot oil. Cook for a couple of minutes. Add the garlic and capers and cook until the garlic is very lightly golden, don’t let it burn or it will become very bitter.

Add 1/2 cup of the starchy pasta water along with the lemon juice and let the sauce keep cooking. It can bubble away for a few minutes, stir frequently.

Drain the pasta, reserving some of the pasta water. Add the spaghetti to the pan and toss well. Let it cook, moving frequently, for a good minute. Add a splash of pasta water if the pan feels dry. Finish with a good grind of cracked black pepper.

Divide between 4 bowls. Add the walnut topping. Enjoy x

I’m enthusiastically endorsing…..piling delicious things on top of flatbreads for dinner.

I shot the above recipe for clients of mine (Rockit apples) a couple of months ago and as does tend to happen, things that I create and photograph for my clients end up inspiring our family’s eating habits. This little dish above, started a spell of making dinners that started with toasted flatbreads spread thickly with homemade hummus or garlicky yoghurt and then topped with some kind of protein - I especially love a spicy lamb mince - and then topped with lots of fresh ingredients. Always red onion and avocado. A good serving of salad greens. Often some feta and toasted seeds.

I’ve been making sure I have some flatbreads in the freezer to make these quick dinners. There’s a brand at my local supermarket that is tasty and has minimal ingredients. They taste most delicious when toasted in a dry cast-iron skillet. It adds a nice smoky char. Of course nothing compares to homemde bread. If you’ve got my cookbook, theres a super easy recipe for Seedy Yoghurt Flatbreads on page 166.

Seedy yoghurt flatbreads from my cookbook ENJOY

Releasing a book can bring fun opportunities, even If I’m too shy to participate…

Real Groovy Records in Auckland stocks my cookbook. As a family, we’re really enthusiastic record collectors and are there all the time so I was super happy to see it instore.

The person who does their social media asked if I’d like to to film one of their “Where it all started” videos for their Instagram. People (mostly musicians) chat through the albums that shaped them. It’s super fun to watch if you’re a music fan.

They’ve asked twice now in DMs and I was excited to be asked because music was so important to me growing up and it’s something I really like to talk about BUT I’ve honestly felt too shy. Not cripplingly but a reasonable amount. Enough to make it easier to not do it. I wouldn’t say I’m normally a shy person. In fact I ordinarily run towards hosting opportunities, MC work, radio and TV interviews etc. This just seems to be the season I’m in right now. A bit of a shy guy moment.

I did really enjoy considering which bits of music I would have talked about though, so if you don’t mind indulging me, I’m sharing it here. These are the albums of my teens and twenties that will always have my heart.

I might still say yes to Real Groovy (if they’ll have me) so perhaps let’s consider this a practice run.

(Thank you for indulging me! This is so nerdy! Being able to also chat about a little bit of non-food nonsense sometimes is exactly why I wanted to start a substack…..)

Please tell me some of your seminal albums in the comments! I want to know the musical likes and loves of your younger selves.

I’m listing these in chronological order of importance to me.

Bjork: Debut (released 1993)

Bjork was everything to 14 year old me. She was so cool and odd. Maybe I discovered her through the soundtrack of the movie Tank Girl, which I adored. The music was so joyous and offbeat and her whole way of being in the world felt aspirational to me.

She played a concert in Auckland that year I was 14. My girlfriends and I all went. I wore black corduroy flares and a lime green crochet top and felt amazing.

Big Time Sensuality is still such a good bop and There’s More To life Than This an anthem for always.

Lifetime: Hello Bastards (released 1995)

Vivid memories of being 15 and listening to this CD lying on the front lawn of my friend Lauren’s house.

I finally saw them play in New York in my twenties. Long after I’d stopped listening to them regularly but it was still wonderful. I know objectively this band’s sound isn’t ground breaking but I’m not calling you and Rodeo Clown still make me feel 15 and giddy. I got this album on vinyl for Xmas last year. Part of a mid-life sentimentality that I’m unashamedly embracing.

Husker Du: Candy Apple Grey (released 1986)

At 18 and 19 I listened to this album nonstop. Don’t want to know if you are lonely (their biggest hit I think) was on constant rotation. I was about to go through the first big break up of my life and felt quite grown up that I understood the feeling this song captured.

I know I used to have this on vinyl back then and am so annoyed at how I haphazardly left bits and pieces of my belongings in different countries as I moved. Will own this on vinyl again soon.

Yeah Yeah Yeah: Fever To Tell (released 2003)

This album is me at 22 and 23. I saw them play maybe 3 times around then and it was always ridiculously fun. I remember dancing so hard. Karen O was a freaking revelation to me. So raw and wild and high energy. She was so free onstage and completely captivating. I wanted to be like her.

These songs are still so good. Date with the night and Maps especially.

M.Ward: Transfiguration of Vincent (released 2003)

A couple of M.Ward’s albums (this one and Post War) are so so dear to me. They were really important to me at a pivotal, unsettled time in my life. I was 26 and moving home to NZ from New York after being away for 7 or so years. I loved these albums so much that I made the choice to NEVER (and this is till true today) read an interview with M.Ward, google a music video or consume anything that connected me with the songwriter behind the music. I didn’t want to associate the songs with a specific person and their humanness but instead have the sings be all mine.

Helicopter and Sad, Sad Song are some fav songs. I went to Melbourne last year to see M.Ward play a 20th anniversary tour of this album and it was so lovely. Luke bought this for me on Vinyl a few months back too. The love for this one is still strong.

The end. Tell me some of yours. x

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