LEMON MISO BUTTER SPAGHETTI

w/ crispy capers & walnuts

a perfect plate imo

Hello and welcome back to The Late Plate,

This week we are going back to basics. If there is one thing that I cook at home in the warehouse, time and time again, it is a pot of simple pasta. In my book, you can’t go far wrong with a good plate of pasta. When done right, it is filling, easy, quick and delicious. The key is to make sure everything is well balanced, and I’m not embarrassed to say that I spend a *lot* of time thinking about how to achieve that.

Last week I went to the cinema with Jamie, he had wanted to see the new Studio Ghibli movie for a long time and I had promised I would go with him. I hesitate to say this, because I know how sweeping and judgmental it sounds, but I struggle with animation and I especially struggle when it is paired with fantasy, I am more of a realism girly, so I was skeptical about the film, to say the least (I swear we are getting to the pasta).

I diligently sat and concentrated for the first 30 minutes, marvelled at the beautiful drawings and enjoyed the soundtrack, but I had made the mistake of going in hungry, and mentally tapped out around the half hour mark. For the rest of the movie, I thought about what I would make for dinner as soon as we got home. I thought about the ingredients we had in the house (very few) and what I could make from them. I wanted a speedy pasta but I didn’t feel like pomodoro. I wanted something that was going to tick all the flavour boxes; salt, fat, acid and heat. I danced around the idea of a completely garlic based pasta, deeply considered a simple butter and cheese situation, but ultimately tried to be a grown up and incorporate a few more flavours.And this is what we ended up with. A lemon miso butter spaghetti, sprinkled with crispy capers and roasted walnuts. A perfectly silky, balanced, bowl of pasta, deep in umami flavour and texturally satisfying, utilising pantry staples: butter, miso, lemons, capers.

When I think about balancing a meal, I think of the four main components of good cooking; salt, fat, acid and heat. If you cover all of those bases, you are sure to have a meal worth eating. I have to credit Samin Nosrat and her brilliant, James Beard Award-winning book, ‘Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat’ for encouraging me to think this way about the food I cook. It really does lay the foundations for a delicious bite, whether you are making ragu or focaccia. If you haven’t read the book or watched the Netflix documentary, I encourage you to! Your cooking and your mind will benefit endlessly.

Let me know what you think.

Sending love, Rosie x