Pre-Match Meal !

When I left the Hotel a few weeks back I made the mistake of posting on Facebook that I was Unemployed. It was meant to be a little joke but it kind of backfired on me as a few days later I got a call from my old stomping ground The Treehouse at Alnwick gardens to see if I would go back for a few weeks to help out. I love all the staff at the Treehouse and thought it would have been great to go back.
However at the end of the first week as I walked across the car park bent over with a bad back and limping with a very sore foot I realised that I was knackered and really did need a break hence I have been on vacation for two weeks but this week I started back working with the agency at a little pub near where I live. Its interesting doing the agency work as it provides you with a diverse selection of work.
At one end you get to do a 55 hour week at a flagship restaurant for the north-east that the Treehouse is and at the other end you get to work at smaller establishments which basically involves shorter days at a much more slower pace which is what I have done this week.
At these places your get to drink warmer cups of coffee as at busier places its usually gets cold before you get chance to drink it ! ha ha ! The prep for service list is a lot shorter in fact when I started their on Tuesday I had one and a half hours to peel 12 onions and grate one 4 litre tub of cheese !!

They even had a Radio !

Anyway I did not start work till 3.30pm so I decided to make myself something to eat as a pre match meal and hopefully fill me up so I did not keep dipping into the chip bowl during service !

Feta, Kale and Chorizo Spaghetti

This really is a throw it all in a pan add some cooked spaghetti and give it a good toss chef style in your pan and when your pasta has cooked it really just takes a few minutes.
Bring a pan of water to the boil and cook your pasta as per instructions on packet. My dried spaghetti takes about 7 minutes.

In a saute pan cook one finely sliced birds eye chilli, half a finely chopped red onion, half a finely chopped celery stick and one crushed clove of garlic in some Olive Oil. Cook for a minute then add the desired amount of chopped Chorizo. I love the oil the Chorizo floods out. Next I added a few slices of sun dried tomatoes and then placed a good handful of curly Kale (Which is at its best at the moment and a large bag of the prepped stuff will cost you about one English pound.) into the pan and stir.

I like my Kale with a lot of crunch to it so really I am just warming it through and coating it with all the flavours that are forming in the pan. Add your cooked pasta and mix well into the other ingredients. Now add about 100 mls of double cream and stir. The cream should be reduced until thick and is going to make a sauce when it mixes with all the lovely flavours that are circulating in your pan. To finish add about 2 TBSP of crumbled feta cheese ( not too small pieces) and toss it well in your pan. The Feta should still hold its shape but be soft on the outside.
Its ready serve it with a sprinkling of grated Parmesan cheese and a light drizzle of Extra virgin olive oil and few drops of balsamic vinegar.

O I nearly forgot...Enjoy !!