Simple Pasta

Barbeque food here is usually really predictable. Chicken marinated in soy sauce (and sometimes honey), store-bought frankfurters, chicken/beef/pork satay, fishballs, otah, sweet potatoes, and occasionally prawns or stingray. This array of barbequed food would usually be accompanied with a big tray of fried rice or fried beehoon and some marshmallows. Barbeques in the west however, could include polenta cakes, a variety of grilled vegetables, a big bowl of crisp salad, some pasta salad, beef burger patties, and fresh fish.

When Singaporean students from a UK university come together to hold a barbeque for the freshers, the choice of food becomes a whole mish mash from both cultures. Alongside the sambal sotong, there would be potato salad. Right next to the otah, you'll be able to find some pasta salad. And for dessert, a few pieces of refreshing Vodka watermelon is the way to go.

I was tasked with making the pasta salad. Okay, fine. I wasn't tasked, instead I enthusiastically volunteered my services. I love finding these opportunities to experiment with recipes, though it is indeed risky trying something new at a function where so many people's palates and stomachs are at stake. But over the years, I have (or at least I hope) learnt to strike a balance between being adventurous and just being ridiculously overambitious.

Actually, you're right. I haven't learnt. But I have to start somewhere don't I?

Just the night before, I picked up a cookbook from Borders and spotted a recipe for a simple prawn and pasta salad that involved some cream, lemon zest and horseradish. I couldn't get that recipe out of my mind and decided that I'd do something similar for the barbeque tonight.

So I made a Saffron-infused Lemon Cream Sauce for a pasta salad that included prawns and roasted peppers. Instead of using horseradish for the extra twang, I added my favourite mustard for salads - Dijon. The pasta salad turned out surprisingly refreshing despite all that cream, and had an extra earthy depth because of the saffron and sweet roasted peppers. Although it can be served warm as a main dish, I personally feel that it would benefit more from some chilling.

In future, I'd also add something crunchy like garlic and herb croutons or crisp, fried bacon. But then again, I'm known for complicating recipes and messing around too much with recipes such that the flavours of the main ingredients don't shine through. I often have to tell myself to drop that spatula, and just walk away from the dish once it is done. Just. walk. away.

I'd make this pasta dish as an entree anytime, not just because it is uber easy, but also because it tastes fabulous. I'll give the rough estimates of ingredients, but recommend just dipping one piece of pasta into the sauce and trying it as you go along (woohoo!), then adding more of whichever ingredient you think is necessary. Also, since the sauce is cream-based, here's your chance to use that bag of beautiful tri-colour large spiral pasta that you fell in love with at the supermarket but had no use for, until now.

Saffron-infused Lemon Cream Sauce

Makes 1 cup of sauce, for about 800g of pasta

Ingredients

1 cup cream (whipping/heavy/thickened)

1 pinch of saffron

zest of 2 lemons

juice of 1 lemon

3 tbspn Dijon mustard

1 tsp salt

Method

Heat cream with saffron until blood heat and leave to infuse until cool.

Add zest, juice, mustard and salt then whisk until slightly thickened.

Pour onto cooked pasta salad and mix evenly.

Leave in refrigerator to chill for at least an hour before serving.

Update: I brought it to the bbq and it ended up a little drier than expected, most likely because of the refrigeration. So keep a little extra sauce to add in just before serving. It seems so obvious though, I really should have pre-empted this problem.