speedy lunch

at the moment i’m spending all my spare days and weekends studying – it’s the end of term and large assignments are due which, coupled with some recent slacking, means i’m an extra-busy girl at the moment.

obviously, quick and easy food is what’s required if i’m not to lose the day while exploring my recipe files (the internet and therefore blogs are off limits), cooking new and exciting things and inevitably doing those chores that i’ve been putting off for months but are somehow, now, incredibly urgent. a trip to the local deli is almost always required too – it may have something new in stock… it may be about to shut for the annual summer fortnight… and so it goes on…

however, once i buckle down and get on with it, if i’m not to feel too hard done by (it’s not so bad during these days of constant rain) the food also has to be really flavoursome as well as quick and easy. this cherry tomato linguine really hit the spot earlier this week. and if the rain doesn’t stop, try it for supper on the inevitable day when you get wet on the way home and need cheering up.

this dish is my contribution to presto pasta nights, as hosted by ruth at once upon a feast.

cherry tomato linguine (serves 1)

linguine

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped

12 cherry tomatoes, halved

1 tablespoon flat leaf parsley, chopped

salt and pepper

put the linguine on to cook.

heat the olive oil and gently fry the garlic and chilli until they are fragrant. add the tomatoes to the pan and turn the heat off until your linguine is almost ready (this will warm the tomatoes without cooking them).

just before you drain the pasta, squash the tomatoes with the back of a spoon so their juices are released then the heat back on so they cook a little. add the parsley and cooked linguine, season and mix well. serve with parmesan.