Tag for tea

Well this won't be a new one to any Nigella.com reader, but in the spirit of frugality it had to crop up at some point. The delicious Tagliatelle from the Venetian Ghetto, featured in How to Eat, has become one of the Domestic Goddess' most popular recipes...and it isn't even her's! You can find the original in the inimitable Claudia Roden's The Book of Jewish Food: an odyssey from Samarkand and Vilna to the present day (London 1999) - if you don't have this book, pleeeeease buy it. It makes such a fantastic read, the telling of the Jewish migrations through the evolution of their food, that even if you don't have a religious or ethnic affinity with the subject matter you will be seduced by descriptions of spices, celebrations, and spirituality.

Here is how I do it for an easy Friday night supper for 2.

Preheat the oven to 200C/390F. In a small roasting tin, sprinkle 3 or 4 chicken thighs (bone in, skin on) with sea salt and rub on some olive oil. Roast them for about 40 minutes until the skin is golden and crispy and the meat very tender.

Meanwhile soak a handful of sultanas in hot water, lightly toast 1/4 cup pinenuts in a dry frying pan, and very finely chop the needles of a hearty sprig of rosemary.

Boil a big pan of salted water for the pasta.

When the chicken is ready, remove the thighs to a board and leave to rest for a minute. Add your tagliatelle nests to the water to cook (make sure they stay al dente!).

Pour the chicken roasting juices (yes all of them) into a small saucepan. Add the rosemary, pinenuts, and drained sultanas, and heat the sauce to bubbling for a few minutes. Taste, and add a little concentrated chicken stock if you think it needs more flavour. Take all the chicken meat off the bones and chop up, including the skin. Add to the sauce.

When the pasta is ready, or maybe slightly before, drain it, and quickly toss it back into the same hot pan with the sauce. Lift and stir until every sweet, chewy thread is coated.

Eat with a little more sea salt and plenty of fresh black pepper. Delicioso.