I was feeling slightly delicate today after a big night out last night, and I wanted to make a bowl of Keema from Nigella Lawson's Feast. Keema is an Indian spicy mixture of minced lamb and peas, which is apparently perfect for the day after the night before. Sadly though, my parents wanted to have leftovers for dinner, so I couldn't justify going out and buying the lamb for it. This, you see, would have just created more leftovers, thus exacerbating the problem.

So, I made this. I have fallen in love with frozen peas, and wanted to use them in a pasta dish. I also vaguely recall Giorgio Locatelli having an orecchiette dish with anchovies and green vegetables, and thus thought they would go well together. We also have some very nearly overripe tomatoes sitting on the kitchen bench...

Hangover Orecchiette



Put water for the pasta on the boil. When it's boiling, add salt and cook 100g orecchiette according to packet instructions.

Add some oil to a frying pan, add a small crushed garlic clove, a little bit of chopped onion and three large anchovies. Stir it around until the onion is soft and the anchovies have become mush. Add a finely chopped birdseye chilli (keep the seeds), a diced tomato and a couple of handfuls of frozen peas. Stir over medium heat until the peas are cooked and the tomato has gone mushy. Drain the pasta and add it to the pan. Stir to combine and serve with pecorino cheese shavings.

Serves 1

Now I know Italians don't serve cheese with fish, but this is my dish, and my hangover, dammit! It's good, it works! The heat of the chilli, the sharpness of the anchovies and cheese, and the bite of the pasta (it's better more al dente than normal, in my opinion) all work together really well. Similar to (I imagine) the Keema, this pasta is a reviving hangover cure in a bowl.