2020-03-01 Woolworths Taste

Youthful capers

OLIVE-AND-CAPER

PASTASAUCE

“Aslightlyupgradedhome-madeversion

ofour 1994 stir-througholivepasta

sauce.Allthepantrybasicsareputtouse,

makingthissaucea journeyintomypast.

Butit’snotthatmuchbetterthanthe

bottledversionandit is moreexpensive

tomakefromscratch.Buytheready-

madeolivestir-throughpastasaucefrom

Wooliesandsplurgeontheredwine...”

Serves 4

EASY

G R E ATVALU E

Preparation: 10 minutes

Cooking: 25 minutes

oliveoil¼cup

capers 100 g,roughlychopped

pittedolives 140 g,roughlychopped

garlic5–6cloves,finelyminced

tomatopaste1 x 410g can

seasaltandfreshlygroundblack

pepper,totaste

penne 500 g,cookedaldente

Simmeralltheingredientsexcept

thepastaovera mediumheatfor

6–7minutes.Servewiththepasta.

FAT-CONSCIOUS,DAIRY-FREE,

MEAT-FREE

WINE:WoolworthsHartenberg

Shiraz 2017

PHOTOGRAPH

SADIQAH ASSUR-ISMAIL

PRODUCTION

HANNAH LEWRY

FOOD ASSISTANT

BIANCA STRYDOM

PORTRAIT

MICHAEL LE GRANGE

A pastasauceofolives,garlicandcapersmaynotbethemostexpensivething

SAM WOULIDGE has ever eaten, but her memories of the dish are priceless

TASTES THAT BIND

54 TASTE MARCH 2020 TEXTSAM WOULIDGE

I

’veknownStephandStefanfor 25 years.
Theyarechildhoodsweetheartswho
marriedstraightoutofuniversityandhave
threebeautiful,interestingandinterested
daughters.Theyaremygoddaughtersbut
I cannotrightfullyboastaboutthembecause
I ama terriblegodmother.I forgetbirthdays
andmonthsgopastwithoutanycontactbut
I delightintheir(excellent)companywhen
I doseethem.I amalwaysthrilledbutnot
completelysurprisedthatmytwoveryclever,
veryfunny,veryawareandengagingfriends
haveproducedsuchfineyoungwomen.
Wedon’tseeoneanotherasoftenas
wewouldliketobutwhenwedocatchup,
weinevitablyreminiscefondlyaboutour
20-somethingyearsandourregularsupper
dates.Theywerereassuringlypredictable
andalwayscheap.(ThesuppersI mean,
notour20-somethingyears.)Thesemeals
consistedofa bottleofWooliesJuicyRed,
a packetofpastaanda bottleoftheirolive
stir-throughpastasauce.Orthepesto
oneif wewerefeelingflush.Wefelt
terriblysophisticatedandadultduring
thesesuppers;theeatingofolivesand
thedrinkingofredwinebeing a relatively
newexperienceforusall.
InlateryearsI wouldfallinlovewitha
moreexoticversionofthisdish.Thepasta
puttanescamadeusingolives,capers,red
pepperflakes,garlicandanchovies– and
withitslegendarysordidhistoryofillicit
dalliances and paid companionship – will

alwaysremindmeofthose youthful,

innocentsuppers.

I wasalwaysthethirdwheelbutStephand

Stefannevermademefeeluncomfortable

orawkwardaboutit.Ourswasaneasy,

familiarfriendship.Socomfortablewere

weinoneanother’scompanythatthey

wouldargueandI wouldmediate.A frugal

dinnerforthreeandfreemaritaladvice

fromthesingleton.What could go wrong?

Inourcase,nothing.

Once,a coupleofyearslater,whenwe

wereallinLondondoingourtwo-year

working-holidaything,I gatecrashedtheir

romanticroadtriptoCornwallandStIves.

Welaughedandexploredthewinding

roadsofwintryseasidetownsandread

booksandchatteduntillateatnightwith

thecompanionableeaseofoldfriends.

Stefanwasthedriver,Stephreadtheroad

mapsandI keptthepeacefrom the back

seatofthesmallrentalcar.

Westayedinsomeseriouslydodgy

andcheaplodgings.Untiloneafternoon

whenStefan,theactuary,insistedthatwe

upgradetoroomswithseaviewsandclean

bathrooms.“Let’sblowthebudget,”’

hesaid.AndStephieandI roaredwith

laughterbecausethosewerepossibly

thefinestwordsa mancouldsay.

InthatmomentI lovedmyfriendalmost

asmuchashelovedhiswifeandhis

spreadsheets.Thebeautyofthosewords,

the hilarity of the moment and our shared

laughterremainsoneofmyfavourite

memoriesofourfriendship.Ohyes,and

thattimeStefantoldthemostsurprisingly

obscenejokeinfrontofmymotherand

shealmostchokedwithlaughteronour

cheapwine,notatthejokebutatthefact

thatsucha conservativelydressedboyish-

lookingnumbersmancouldspewsuch filth

whileinnocentlyeatinghispasta.

Fast-forward 25 yearsandwhenwenow

seeoneanotherwemakea productionof

it,becauseit is sorarea celebration.The

fourofus,becauseJacquesslottedintothis

friendshipaseffortlesslyasI oncedid,eat

infancyrestaurantsanddrinkexpensive

wine.ButwealwaystoasttheJuicyRed

andthebottledpastasauceofouryounger

days.Andwealwayssaythatweshouldn’t

letsomuchtimepassbetweenseeing

oneanother.“Let’sjustmeetupfora quick

weekdaypastaandwine,”oneofuswill

inevitablysay.“Justa quickcatch-up...”

Thiswillbetheyearforthat.Andthere

is noneedtoblowthebudget.Although

theprospectwillalwaysmakemesmile...W

confessionsofahungrywoman.com, @samwoulidge

“If I wereyou,

I’dbuythe

ready-made

olivestir-

throughpasta

sauce from Woolies”