Sometimes in life, it's fun to be a little bit extra but with the holidays fast approaching, I'm taking it up several notches. Welcome to my old kitchen where this video was shot amidst amazing gowns, accessories and food in one whirlwind afternoon. I've been known to have dress up dinner parties and pretend my life is perfect in every way when guests arrive (don't we all?) , but this OTT version also features some incredible diamonds, feathers, sequins and a touch of dramatic flourish. As this was a passion project it took a while to finalise and I want to say a big thank you to Rachel Gilbert who made the first gown, Aje; who made the second, Chaumet and Bulgari for their incredible jewellery and accessories, Stuart Weitzman for the pink shoes, Commune Bondi for the plates, In Bed Store for their linen napkins, and Native Drops for their incredible organic wine.
Couture it may nearly be but let's not forget about the cooking - this is a recipe video after all! It's a little challenging as it requires some multitasking - it's best to prep everything before the heat is on, because the end of the recipe happens fast!
( makes 2 large servings )
INGREDIENTS:
-4 scampi, halved (ask your fishmonger to do it for you-these babies are hard to slice!)
Reserve the heads for the sauce
- Linguine pasta
- baby zucchini, sliced
-green olives sliced or capers
- 2 punnets of cherry tomato sliced in half
- white wine, about a small glass
- a few sprigs of thyme
-parsley
-chilli
-garlic, half a head, finely chopped
-butter
- olive oil
-salt and pepper
METHOD
- Place the scampi heads into a pan with a good glug of oil. Fry on medium heat for 5 minutes, then add white wine, thyme sprigs, salt and pepper, chilli and garlic. Keep cooking on low heat for another 10 minutes. Remove the heads, add the cherry tomato, capers or olives and once the tomato soften, add the sliced zucchini. Keep cooking on low and add more white wine if it starts getting dry (just don't forget to cook the alcohol off before serving!)
-Boil water and add salt to it. Cook the pasta until al dente (check the packet for exact instructions)
-In the meantime, soften the butter and mix in chopped up garlic, thyme,parsley and salt and pepper. Pre-heat the grill, butter the scampi well and place on the hot plate. Scampi are very delicate and don't need a lot of cooking time. Depending on the size it should only take 1-3 minutes to cook through a half shell.
Mix the pasta through the sauce, serve on a plate with 4 half shells and some chopped up parsley. Bulgari jewels optional! ; )
Video shot by Aleksei Vanamois
