As chefs, people always think that we cook the same way at home, but it’s not the case. Spending hours a day cooking is the last thing I want to do when I’m off.
There is nothing I enjoy more than a simple, quick home-cooked meal. I like easy recipes and for me anything pasta-related is comfort food. This is a quick and easy 15-minute recipe. You can adapt it to whatever dried pasta you have available in your cupboard, as long as it is a short pasta shape.
Ciaran McGill is head chef at One Pico restaurant in Dublin 2.
Orecchiette with broccoli and pesto
Serves two
Ingredients
200g of orecchiette pasta (farfalle or penne works also)
2 tbsp of basil pesto (you can use shop-bought, or just add more Parmesan and olive oil instead)
1 bunch of tenderstem broccoli
Handful of baby spinach
1 lemon
Knob of butter
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt and black pepper
Parmesan
Fresh basil leaves (optional)
Method
1 Bring a pot of salted water to the boil and blanch the broccoli for one minute then place it in iced water to stop the cooking. Drain and dry, then cut your broccoli into even-sized pieces.
2 Using the same pot, bring the water back to the boil and add the pasta and simmer for the length of time recommended on the packet.
3 Drain the pasta and reserve a little of the cooking water.
4 Put the butter in the pot and add the broccoli to warm it through, Put the pasta back in and mix in the pesto too. Add in a small drop of the pasta water and season with salt and pepper. Add the spinach and let it wilt gently. Grate in the zest of the lemon and mix through.
5 Place in bowls, drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle with grated Parmesan and grind a little extra black pepper over the top. Top with torn basil leaves, if using.
Kitchen Cabinet is a series of recipes from chefs who are members of Euro-Toques Ireland, who have come together during the coronavirus outbreak to share some of the easy, tasty things that they like to cook and eat at home #ChefsAtHome
