My favourite chef is Jamie Oliver. Hands down. I love his cookbooks, all of his TV shows, cookware and how he inspires others to eat healthy via Jamie’s Food Revolution. One of the most shocking moments of this show for me, was when Jamie went into an elementary school in the USA and the children couldn’t differentiate vegetables:
I could not even imagine not knowing what basic vegetables are at the age of six. Jamie took on the task of educating the world on obesity. He won the TED Prize after he presented this speech at the annual TED Conference where he received his One Wish To Save The World:
On these rainy days that we have been getting, I love to turn to pasta as a comfort food. Jamie has the most delicious pasta recipe that I LOVE to make! I have turned turned non-pasta lovers into “Can I eat whatever is left in the pot?!” With this one!
JAMIE’S ITALIAN’S ASPARAGUS FETTUCCINE
Serves 4
• 1 small onion, finely diced
• 1 small stick of celery, diced
• 1 medium courgette, finely diced
• 1 small leek, white part only, diced
• 16 stalks of asparagus, tips reserved, stalks thinly sliced
• A small handful of basil leaves
• 300ml vegetable stock
• 1 garlic clove
• 400g fresh or dried fettuccine
• 50g finely grated parmesan cheese
• Pea shoots, to serve
DIRECTIONS
Add 4 tsp olive oil to a heavy-based pan over a low heat and sweat onion and celery until soft. Add courgette, leek and asparagus stalks and sweat for a further 2–3 minutes. Add most of the basil leaves and when they wilt, add the stock, then simmer until veg are tender. Remove from the heat and, using a hand blender or food processor, blend till creamy. In another frying pan over a low heat, add a little oil and cook garlic till soft, then add the asparagus sauce and simmer for 2 minutes.
Boil a pan of salted water. Cook fettuccine, and 3 minutes before it’s done, add the asparagus tips. When fettuccine is al dente, drain, reserving a little cooking water, and add to the asparagus sauce. Loosen the pasta and sauce with cooking water, as needed. Stir in remaining basil, and serve with parmesan and pea shoots.
Happy Wednesday, friends!
Siobhan McCarthy.ca 
