Pasta and peas? Perfect!

Before I came to Italy, I have to admit that I never thought about putting peas with pasta. But here in Puglia, they tend to do it a lot. It's simple, doesn't take long to prepare and tastes pretty damn good. It's almost like a thick, hearty soup: perfect for those cool Autumn days.

And you don't even need to use fresh peas..I didn't! You just need a bit of oil, some chopped onion and a chopped tomato, and get it all frying nicely in a pan. Once the onion is soft, add a can of peas (this will probably make enough 'pea sauce' for 3 or 4 people) as well as the water from the can. Chuck in half a stock cube and leave on a medium heat for about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, get the pasta cooking in some salted boiling water.. Don't even think about putting penne or spaghetti with peas, as it's highly likely that some Italian mamma/nonna will come and hunt you down and give you a good telling off. Small peas? Small pasta! In terms of pasta quantity, you'll want a little less than your average one-person portion as the peas bulk up the dish quite a bit.

Once the pasta and peas are done, bring them together in perfect pasta pea harmony.You can always add a cheeky sprinkle of parmesan too if you fancy it. Enjoy!

Acquasala

Aaaaaaaand I'm back with another food post!

I recently discovered that the panini I had bought to eat on a particular day had been forgotten about. Left to go stale. No longer fresh and soft.

So, instead of seeking out some ducks (which would have been difficult because I swear, in the 2 years and 9 months that I've lived here, I haven't seen a single one...) I decided that the only logical thing to do was rinse the bread in water, mix it with some fresh tomatoes, add salt, oregano and then finally, lashings of olive oil.

That, my friends, is what you call an acquasala.

TIP: rinse the bread. Don't soak it. Otherwise it will just be soggy bread, and no one wants that...