simple and tasty

PASTA WITH BUTTER

“ITALIAN butter is very different to the kind readily available in England. Maybe (probably) I’m just getting old, but I’m sure lots of butter in England doesn’t taste of anything anymore.

“In my last months before moving to Sardinia, I got into a habit of smelling the butter in shops. I would unfold some of the paper and have a good sniff of the pat inside. It drew some strange looks from other shoppers, but it’s a sound method of judging the quality,” says Letitia. “A good butter should smell of thick, cold, cream: ever-soslightly cheesy, faintly sweet.

Butter is “very rarely” used in cooking. “When butter is used, it is as an essential flavour in the finished dish, rather than just a means of cooking,” she explains – which this simple pasta dish demonstrates perfectly.

“Glamorous it may not be, but I could happily eat this dish every day. It also demonstrates the essential skill in making pasta sauces; that the pasta cooking water must be added to the finished dish, to both emulsify the sauce and melt the grated cheese into a creamy consistency.”

INGREDIENTS:

(For 2 restrained diners, or 1 hungover/fragile one)

220g dried pasta of your choice (I like risoni or any ‘short’ pasta best)

120g butter

8-10 small sage leaves

70g Parmesan, grated, plus extra to serve

Sea salt

METHOD:

1. Bring a large saucepan of well-salted water to the boil. Drop in the pasta.

2. Place the butter in a wide, shallow pan and put on the lowest heat. Add the sage and cook for a moment or so to gently to release the aromas. Drain the pasta when it is at your perfect al dente, reserving a cup of the cooking liquid.

3. Add half the cooking water and the pasta to the pan with the butter and sage and turn up the heat. Stir and toss well for a minute or so, then add the cheese and toss again and again, until an emulsified and silky sauce forms. If it looks too dry, add more of the cooking water, too wet, carry on cooking. Serve with more cheese.