Before I begin, I'll note two things about the diet I'm following. The first is that while the diet itself is low in carbohydrates, this is not particularly by intention - I'm allowed to eat carbs in moderation (as with everything else), it's just generally easier to avoid them. The second is that the diet doesn't really apply to my main meal of the day, which consists of a main course of whatever I happen to be cooking.
This is quite important, because I am now entering the murky world of "Quick Pasta", the second chapter in Jamie's book. This chapter is positively heaving with carbohydrates (of course), with a side order of cheese of many sorts. So, if I were on a real low-carb diet, this one would kill me. Fortunately, I'm not.
The first item in the chapter is Classic Tomato Spahgetti, and let me tell you right now, it's lovely. Frankly, it would have been hard pressed not to be, being a simple combination of pasta, tomatoes, and various leaves and cheeses.
I made the spinach/goat's cheese variation listed in the book. The spinach turned out to be a good move; the goat's cheese not so much. To my surprise, I had actually had goat's cheese before, while in France, and hadn't really cared for it at the time. I don't really care for it now. Still, it was a very small part of the whole.
Unlike many of the recipes in the first chapter, this one is neither particularly expensive or particularly fiddly. Indeed, the biggest problem I had was that the spaghetti took fifteen minutes to cook, the sauce only five, and I hadn't realised this when I started cooking. Thus, instead of storing half the sauce for later use, I ended up using it all on two days' worth of spaghetti. Still, that wasn't too bad.
Also surprising was that the sauce was quite hot. This shouldn't have been a surprise, as one of the key ingredients was chilli, but I had thought this would be largely swamped by the tomato. This proved not to be the case, which was a good thing.
Anyway, this is another winner from Jamie, and one that should improve next time I make it (although I'm torn whether to go for a different variant or not next time. Perhaps the prawns/rocket option?). So, that would be 1-0 to Jamie in the second round of our little game (he won the first round 6-1).
Next up is "Baked Camembert Pasta", which is another pasta/cheese double threat. However, before that I'm going to try his "Healthier Full Monty" breakfast on Saturday (which means daring yet another of my culinary nemeses, the egg - scary stuff indeed). Also, tomorrow I'm making waffles, assuming that that is actually what they turn out as. So, it's all go in the House of Mirth.
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