Coiled spring
I’ve been impatient. Spring continues to sulk, and refuses to stay for more than fleeting appearances, so I decided to get started without it.
There are pots of chilli seedlings growing in the kitchen and they will be joined by sweet peppers and tomatoes soon. The chillies have just pushed out their first leaves and that’s enough of a success to encourage me that things will grow for me. I killed the last two houseplants I had so I hope I have better luck with the vegetables living under house arrest.
Based on my new-found expertise (courtesy of Google), chillies seem to be quite happy growing indoors as long as they get plenty of light. If you plan to grow them from seed then be prepared to wait. Mine took nearly a month to germinate, but there was no great skill to it. All you need to do is leave them somewhere warm and keep an eye on the compost to make sure it doesn’t get too dry. I lined up all my pots on top of the radiator. The heat is only needed to get them to germinate, so they can be moved once the leaves emerge.
By early summer, I should be using my fresh chillies to make this recipe from the River Cafe cookbook:
Penne all’arrabbiata
Serves 4
350g penne
4 garlic cloves, peeled and cut in half
4 dried red chillies [I'll substitute 2 of my home-grown Serranos]
3 tbs basil leaves
750g plum tomatoes, skinned and roughly chopped
extra-virgin olive oil
Heat 3 tbs of olive oil in a thick-bottomed pan.
Add the garlic and fry gently. After 1 minute, add the whole chillies, then continue to fry until the garlic is lightly brown. Remove it with the chillies and save. Add the basil to the hot oil for a few moments to add flavour, then remove and save. Finally, add the tomatoes to the flavoured oil with 1 tsp of sea salt and cook gently for 10 minutes.
Cook the penne in boiling salted water until al dente. Drain, add to the tomato sauce, toss to coat and stir in the garlic, chillies and basil. Serve with olive oil drizzled over.
Filed under: General | Leave a Comment
Tags: chillies, food, grow your own, recipe
No Responses Yet to “Coiled spring”