Fettucine with spinach in béchamel sauce

Too many cooks spoil the broth. Or do they?

I was really lucky to have Zuriel a friend of mine who happens to be a chef, come over and join me in cooking a delicious pasta and salmon dish.

Watching Zuri, chop the tomatoes and dice the onions was a treat, he was so quick and precise. Not like butter fingers here, who manages to cut her fingers on a regular basis.

We were really excited about making a simple pasta dish that would come out delicious and easy to follow. We did have a couple of differences of opinions, but we managed to work it out so I got my way every time... He kept calling me ‘balabousit' which I later found out is the equivalent of 'bossy boots’. Go figure…

This is a now one of my families favourites and have been making it often.

Fettuccine with spinach in béchamel sauce

Ingredients

For pasta

250g Fettuccine

1/2 cup black olives, chopped

Spinach, béchamel sauce

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 red onion, diced

3 large garlic cloves, smashed and finely diced (good luck)or crushed

100g frozen spinach, thawed and drained of any liquid

Salt and pepper according to taste

50g butter

2 tablespoons flour

1 1/4 cup milk

Juice of half a lemon

Roasted tomatoes

Ingredients

1 punnet cherry tomatoes, cut into quarters

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

Salt and pepper according to taste

Olives

Ingredients

½ cup whole black olives (pitted)

Salmon

Ingredients

500g salmon

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

Salt and pepper to taste

1/2 tablespoon olive oil

Method For Salmon

Pre heat the oven to 200c

Place salmon on a baking tray and drizzle with with ½ tablespoon of olive oil. Sprinkle dried oregano, salt and pepper and cook for roughly 12 minutes.

Method for roasted tomatoes and black olives

Chop olives set a side

Place cut tomatoes on a baking tray lined with baking paper, drizzle olive oil, sprinkle salt and pepper and 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano. Place in the oven and roast for 7 minutes. Remove from oven, transfer to a bowl and set aside.

Fettucine

Cook the Fettuccine as per the packet instructions, drain and and set aside.

Method for béchamel sauce

Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil into a large pot, over medium to high heat. Stir in onions and cook until transparent then add garlic and stir for one minute.

Add butter to the pot and let it melt on medium heat, stir in the flour, continue to stir until smooth, stir in the milk a little at a time. Keep stirring until you have used up all the milk and texture is smooth.

Mix in the spinach then the lemon juice stir until spinach is incorporated thoroughly. Turn off the heat.

Stir the pasta into the prepared sauce.

Scatter roasted tomatoes and black olives on top of pasta portions. Serve with salmon.