Sainsbury

Easy supper with asparagus, smoked salmon and readymade ricotta

Sometimes food is a left-handed thing.

It  has been chaotic here today. I completed editing a book at 2.30am, sent it with difficulty (too many images), and had to send it in two parts later this morning; there were two new commissions; loads of emails and telephone calls, three reviews, and a few arguments. A typical Monday.

By the time Mischief, the cat, turned up in the office, growling for lunch - a pack of cat’s food hurtles down the gullet of this demanding but  much respected veteran of 18 years (equalling 126 human years) every three hours - I’d only had a cup of tea.

With his next ‘wake up call’, at 3.30pm, I tootled downstairs and gave him his, then filled a bowl with ripe blackberries, adding yoghurt, honey, pumpkin seeds and pine nuts.

I have to admit, a quick blitz in the microwave warmed up the berries (straight out of the fridge) to room temperature and taste optimisation.  The other thing about fruit and nuts is you get a very fast fix from it.

Sometime later, after Mischief’s fourth meal of the day, I realised it was imperative to eat seriously, and wandered downstairs, peering into two fridges and cupboards to get an eye on what was around (I’m away from home, in case you hadn’t guessed).

Found ingredients:
•    8 pieces of Sainsbury’s large ricotta filled Mezzaluna pasta with caramelised onion and goat’s cheese
•    8 sticks of organic asparagus
•    A small handful of fresh parsley
•    Around 6 sun-dried (yesterday’s, slow oven-cooked) tomatoes
•    2 slices of organic Orkney smoked salmon…
•    ¼ pot of organic cream
•    parmesan cheese, freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste

Preparation:
•    Break the ends off the asparagus (if you flex them a little, they will break near the bottom – where they’re not tough) and throw them into a pot of boiling, slightly sea-salted water
•    Throw the ricotta pieces into another pot of boiling water
•    Cut up a slice of smoked salmon into long pieces
•    Chop as much parsley as you think you’ll want to eat

Cooking:
The asparagus will probably be about ready in, say, 7 minutes.  It should be tender to the touch of a knife but still bright green.  Drain it, put the lid on the pot, and put it aside.

By now, the ricotta should be ready, too.  If it’s floating near the top of the pan, it is.  Drain that, turn the heat down, and put the ricotta back into the pot with the shredded salmon, the parsley, and enough cream to gently mix it all together.

Turn it out on a plate and put the asparagus on the side with some parmesan crumbled over the top. Decorate with the tomatoes - like me, they have seen no recent sun.

All up, about 15 minutes. And it was really delicious (with a glass of Pinot Grigio).