Marmite Pasta

"Mumma, Bappa ( father) won't be here tomorrow night for dinner, can you make Marmite pasta then?" asked my y little one very hopefully. As much as he ( or rather all three of us) hated his father and his numerous trips around the islands or the occasional trip abroad, one thing he has come to realise is that I make this particular pasta dish when hubby is away. Hubby has just left for a 10-week training abroad so as much as we are missing him, this particular pasta can only be made when he isn't at home for dinner. Why? He hates Marmite (LOL)!

As a child, I grew up loving Marmite, this black salty spread a lot like Vegemite. It's either you hate or love it. My husband is not a big fan of it but the boys love it and  Marmite on toast is a great food to give when the boys fall sick and are not in the mood to eat. My mum used to make us Marmite drink with Marmite, hot water, ground black pepper and lime juice when we had a cold.

Anyway, I found this recipe on Nigella's Kitchen series where she makes marmite pasta. While her recipe is pretty basic, just butter, Marmite and spaghetti, I jazzed up mine with chicken sausages, peas and garlic.

Recipe : Marmite Pasta , adapted from the recipe Marmite pasta from  the book Nigella's Kitchen .

Serves 1 adult and 2 kids 😃

4-5 Chicken sausages( I used Gill's Chicken Garlic )
2 cloves of garlic thinly sliced
1/2 cup  frozen green peas
2 tbsp butter
a little olive oil
1 heaped tsp Marmite
1/2 - 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
grated parmesan cheese (optional)
Water to cook pasta
salt
 about 200g- 250g spaghetti
a squeeze of lime


Bring a pan of water to boil and add enough salt to make it quite salty and cook the pasta till al' dente.  once the pasta is cooked add the frozen peas to cook them for just 1 minute. Remove 1 cup of the water it is boiling in and drain.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil ( about 1 tbsp) in a large frying pan and brown the sausages and remove. Cut into slices.

 Add the butter to the same and let it melt. Once it melts add the garlic and cook over medium heat, till the aroma of garlic comes out.

Add the Marmite and stir to mix in. Add a little pasta water, about 1/2 cup, a little at a time and taste.  It shouldn't be too salty, if too salty add a little normal water a tablespoon or two will do.   Add the ground pepper.

Add the cooked pasta,  sausages and peas and toss through the sauce. Add a little more pasta water to loosen the sauce if necessary, Cook for 1 minute, switch off, and add a squeeze of lime, about 1/4 of a lime. and  stir in parmesan cheese if using.

Serve immediately!