07.10.08: Pollo alla Cacciatora and salad

Once again She cooked up another round of the chicken and bnz firm family fav dish from Nigella (see the video!), but this time paired it with spelt penne pasta. A mixed leaf, avo, sweetfire beetroot and physalis salad decided to join in.

HE SAYS: This dish is always pleasant to come home to; the white wine aroma not only adds to the anticipation but also really bonds all the flavours together and makes it so richly moreish. The capers also help add that certain high note to the bowl. Tonight, there were lots of generous chunks of chicken and the smoked pancetta flavours seemed to cut through more so then the regular variety we have previously used. I thought the spelt pasta worked well and served as a brief intermission from our regular brown rice program. The avo and beetroot once again succeeded in transforming the salad from the mundane to the near spectacular.

SHE SAYS: Agree with Him, the smokey pancetta shone stronger than the plain version, but I still think maybe we need to try this dish without and see if we miss it. (We've one more pack to use up, so that experiment will have to wait.) Methinks spelt pasta is the partner of choice for the pollo; it rivals corn-studded polenta and bnz in the rice-alternative stakes. Capers will lways get big love from me, but I think their fruity teasings piques the tastebuds even more effectively when complemented by tomatoey goodness. He and I diverge slightly in opinion on the salad - for me, it's the tarty physalis that lifts the level, and how.