Heidelberg

Passport & Plate - Linguine with Chicken curry & Mackerel

United Kingdom | Saturday, February 28, 2015 | 1 photos

Ingredients
[ SI measurements where unspecified]

Pasta:
1. 500g (whole grain or other) Linguine
2. 1 liter Water
3. 1/2 tbsp Salt

Fish:
1. 100g Mackerel (fresh or canned)
2. 1 cup fresh Lemon juice.
3. 1 small Garlic clove, cut in half
4. 1/2 cup Olive oil
5. 1/4 tbsp Red Chili powder

Chicken Curry:
1. 1/2 kg Chicken breast fillet, chopped
2. 2 medium Tomatoes on the vine, sliced
3. 1 medium Onion, chopped
4. 1/4 tbsp Red Chili powder
5. 1/2 tbsp Coriander powder
6. 1/5 tbsp Turmeric powder
7. 1 tbsp Salt
8. 1/2 cup Olive oil

 

How to prepare this recipe
Utensils required:
2 large pans, 1 frying pan, 1 small bowl, wooden spoon.

A-The Chicken Curry:
1. Put olive oil in a large pan and set it to medium-low heat for 3 min.
3. Fry onions in pan until golden.
4. Fry chicken breast in pan for 5-7 mins or until firm.
5. Put in salt, chili, coriander and turmeric powder. Mix well.
6. Cook for 20 min, occasionally stirring.
7. Put in tomatoes, mix well and put heat to low.
8. Turn heat off after 5-6 min. Leave lid on.

B-The Fish:
[This can be done simultaneously with the pasta section below]
(note: if bought fresh, make sure fish is filleted first)
1. Put the frying pan on low heat.
2. In a bowl, mix the olive oil, chili powder and lemon juice.
3. Marinade the fish in the mixture. Leave for 5 min.
4. Slowly place the mackerel fillets in the pan, one by one.
5. While the fish fries, place clove in the pan and rub it around holding it with your fingers over the fish (be careful!)
6. Fry no more than 7-8 mins, while turning it upside down halfway through.

C-The pasta:
1. Boil the water in a large pan.
2. As soon as it boils, mix in salt and linguine, stir.
3. Cook for 5-10 min, or until the pasta softens.
4. Drain the water.

D-How to serve:
Serve the pasta, curry and fish together. You may wish to serve pasta and fish together, with the curry in a separate dish. Enjoy with your favorite wine or water. (note, sometimes I sprinkle black pepper on the pasta as well, and serve with basil or coriander herb)

 

The story behind this recipe
This is actually a creation of my own. While I was studying in Newcastle upon Tyne as an international student, I had friends from many parts of the world. However, I had grown up eating a lot of Italian food made by my mother and therefore I mixed a lot with Italians, to learn more about the love of their food. I learned about the varieties of fish and pasta dishes in detail, from cooking times to the kind of pasta appropriate for different meats. I learned how to cook without measures (I provided measures for the reference of users of this recipe), and how to cook using the sense of smell. In doing so, I started experimenting with different ingredients, much to the agony of my Italian friends. They believed that recipes are there for a reason and should not be 'innovated'.
I had also started to work out with a couple of friends from a nearby gym and they were very strict when it came to carb-rich foods such as pasta and cheese. Taking up activities also limited the amount of time I had for each hobby. However, since proper Italian cooking required much time, and I couldn't afford to lose precious study hours at the cost of delicious cuisine, I started mixing the simplicity of Italian food with the quickness of Chinese and Indian food. (no I didn't tell my friends, no I didn't throw up after eating it or fall ill, and yes everyone loved it).
I got better at my attempts as I made this into a habit, but the recipe described above it actually the very first dish in a long list of my Italian-Asian fusions. I shared it with the gym group I was part of and they gave me a small token of appreciation to my surprise - a 1kg bag of chocolate whey protein powder.
I also shared the photograph with my girlfriend (an Italian). She was unimpressed.
I hope you guys like it and feel free to make it better!