Comfort food

I´m home alone this weekend with my (now decreasing) cold and asked a friend over tonight to watch TV. I wanted to give her a real treat and made my number one comfort food - pasta with mango chutney, smoked mussels and cashew nuts. The recipe is an old favourite and I have made it both for myself and for friends many many times. Always a success! The taste is great, it is really easy to make, you don´t have to run to the shop for anything fresh - perfect if you have surprise guests. And all you need to prepare it is a bowl, a spoon and a pot.

And the recipe for my best pasta dish is:

(serves two hungry ones)
1 tin of smoked mussels in oil (105 g)
approx. 300 grams of shrimps, peeled
two or three tablespoons of mango chutney
a pinch of cayenne pepper
a pinch of saffron
two big handfuls of cashew nuts
(you see, you can keep it all at home in freezer, fridge and cabinets!)

Mix everything (don´t drain the mussels from the oil!) carefully in a bowl, this can be made well in advance. Let it stand for a while to develop even more taste!
When you are ready to eat, boil some tagliatelle. While you drain it, pour the shrimp/mussel marinade in the pot and heat it up quickly. Mix carefully with the pasta and add toasted cashewnuts. Serve immediately on hot plates. It is really hard to describe the taste, or should I say tastes. Smoke, fruit, salt, sweet, spice... And it looks great too!