Forward planning

I was very proud of myself for remembering all the necessary food items for our weekend in Jervis Bay. However, as always, I forgot to bring any empty containers for storing leftovers. Or even something like cling film or foil to cover leftovers stored in a bowl. So I entertained myself by juggling the few small containers we had, plus a lot of plastic bags, to get everything safely stored away, especially when the time came to leave on Sunday.

What’s that you say? I didn’t really lug leftovers back to Canberra, did I?

What a silly question.


As I was bustling around the kitchen Sunday morning, moving things from one container to another and washing and drying plastic bags so I could re-use them (what?!), DP wandered past.

“What are you doing with that bread?” he asked. (Referring to the last few slices of the baguette I had bought to eat with dinner Saturday night.)

“Taking it back to Canberra,” I responded.

My sister looked up from something she was doing at the kitchen table. “You’re bringing leftover bread back to Canberra?” they chorused. “Why?!”

Why, to make this, of course.

Crispy/chewy/cheesy/tasty pasta
Inspired by a recipe in Seriously Simple

4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2-3 slices day-old country bread
3-4 spicy Italian sausages, chopped*
1 lb/500 g pasta
1 recipe 5 second rule garlicky roasted tomatoes, sliced**
½ cup pecorino romano cheese or similar, plus more for serving at the table
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Put water for pasta on to boil. Grind bread into crumbs in a food processor. Heat 2 Tbsp of the oil in a heavy frying pan, and cook breadcrumbs until crispy. (FYI, now you have pangrattata.) Add the sausages.

When the pasta water is boiling, add salt. Cook the pasta according to package directions. Before draining, reserve about 1 cup of cooking water. Drain the pasta and return to the hot pan. Pour over the remaining 2 Tbsp of oil and toss to mix. Add bread crumb/sausage mix, tomatoes, and cheese and continue mixing. Add a little of the pasta water to help it all come together. Season with pepper and serve immediately.

Serves 4 with leftovers.

* You can use either raw or cooked sausages, removed from their casings. Naturally, the raw will take longer to cook; if cooked, it just needs to be heated through.

** You can substitute raw or sun-dried tomatoes, but the roasted really take it to another level.