Sunday lunch

We go sailing for a couple of days each summer and how to make good food is always an issue. The ingredients has to be rather sturdy, and preferrably not in need of a fridge. All we have is an isolated bag... Then it cannot be too fiddly with a lot of chopping and different procedures because the kitchen is miniscule (although you can stand up straight there...) with two gas flames and a little sink with sea water and fresh water. Washing up is complicated too so you don´t want too many pots and things to be used either. It also has to be safe, and so far I have never ever cooked pasta during the days at sea - it is simply too dangerous having a big pot of boiling water waving about. And this is such a pity, because a warm, tasty pasta is exactly what the crew craves! I have often made risotto instead, but now I have found several recipes in a short time for pasta cooked "risotto-style" and decided to give it a go for Sunday lunch.

And, my friends, I have found a solution to our food problems at sea! The slow cooking makes the pasta really tasty, you get a lot of flavour from it. This is also a great way to use leftovers! Yes, a success. This just has to be the perfect way to cook pasta! No fuss, you can use anything and it is sooo tasty and easy.

Pasta the risotto way à la my fridge this afternoon
Serves 1 very hungry person

100 grams good pasta, I used a tasty wholemeal version
about 200 ml hot stock or water, I didn´t have any stock cubes at home so I used some white wine (leftover!), water and herbes de provence
3-4 sundried tomatoes, soaked in hot water or in oil (leftover from Saturday night)
1 finely chopped yellow onion
fresh herbs, fresh tomatoes or whatever greens you have on hand (we made filled pork loin yesterday so I had some left of a lovely parsley/basil/sundried tomato mix)
3-4 slices of streaky bacon (also a leftover from this week)
some good strong cheese, like parmesan, but I always substitute Västerbotten cheese which is a lovely strong and flaky Swedish cheese

Chop the onion and sautée until a little soft in some olive oil. Add the pasta and stir until it is covered with oil and a little shiny. Add the wine or water or stock or what you use, it should just cover the pasta. Boil on low heat until the pasta is done and check it once in a while if it needs more fluid. If some fluid is left when the pasta is done don´t drain it, it has lots of flavour. Serve immediately with crispy bacon, veggies and some cheese on top.