It’s hard to fathom the scale of loss and devastation that so many people now face in the wake of Cyclone Gabrielle and the Auckland floods. Somehow there was this idea that tucked down here, in the bottom of the Pacific, we were sheltered from all the climate disasters happening out in the wider world. But no, we’re not.
In that random way of life, one person’s property can be utterly destroyed, while their neighbour’s remains unscathed.
The care and kindness of community can go a long way to ease the pain. Having someone drop over a cooked meal or some baking meets a practical need but also delivers a real sense of care and support.
The amazing not-for-profit organisation Food for Love, which is based in Wānaka, provides home-cooked meals to a family or an individual who needs a little bit of help. Locals volunteer to cook meals and do baking in their own homes, then deliver them to nominated recipients, while a central kitchen also has volunteers making meals in bulk for the elderly at weekends and other times as necessary. Food for Love has a structure that volunteers can easily fit into (they just have to cook the food and get it to the person whose name and address they have been advised, or join the roster to help cook at the central kitchen), but the premise is one that we can all buy into no matter where we live.
If you are making a meal, cook double or triple and package it up for someone you know, or someone you don’t actually know but you know is in need. Right now, setting aside those people who have actually lost their entire homes, there are thousands of people without ovens or fridges, or the means to cook anything.
It doesn’t have to be expensive. Cook up a packet of pasta, and make a simple sauce with onion, garlic and a couple of cans of tomatoes. Add nuggets of sausage or some fried bacon or chorizo, perhaps a pinch of chilli or oregano. Turn it into a bolognaise sauce with some browned mince, or make it into a chilli with mince, beans and Mexican spice. Once it’s cooked, tip into an aluminum tray, sprinkle a little cheese on top and fire it into the oven. Curry is another great meal you can bulk up economically. Make a curry sauce with curry paste or powder, fried up with onions, garlic and ginger. Add some stock and or coconut cream and simmer for 10-15 minutes to round out the flavours. To this base sauce add chopped potato and pumpkin, and any other vegetables or protein of your choice. Simmer until tender and serve with rice.
You may need to provide disposable plates and cutlery and some paper towels for napkins. Whatever the meal you make for those in need, it will be received like a big, warm hug.
When you don’t have much time or cooking equipment simple pasta dishes like these are the order of the day. All can be easily scaled up.
Pasta with fried courgettes and ricotta
Start testing pasta 1-2 minutes before the end of the manufacturer’s cooking time and finish it in the pan with the sauce to absorb flavours. If using cottage cheese instead of ricotta, you will want to blend it up or mash it so it’s not so lumpy.
Ready in 20 minutes
Serves 4, recipe easily doubled
400g quality dried pasta
¼ cup olive oil
4 courgettes, thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, crushed
Zest and juice of 1 large lemon
250g ricotta, or cottage cheese, drained and finely mashed or pureed
½ cup grated parmesan
Salt & grinds pepper
¼ cup pine nuts or chopped almonds or walnuts, toasted
Cook the pasta according to packet instructions.
Heat 2 Tbsp of the oil in a large, deep frying pan over medium heat and fry courgettes in batches until softened and lightly browned, 2-3 minutes. Add garlic and sizzle stirring frequently for 30 seconds without browning. Remove from pan and set aside.
Drain cooked pasta, saving ½ cup of the cooking water. Place pasta and reserved cooking water in the courgette cooking pan with lemon zest, juice and remaining 2 Tbsp of oil.
Toss with tongs to coat pasta evenly. Add courgettes along with all remaining ingredients. Toss and serve.
Speedy tuna pasta with olives and peppers
I always keep canned tuna in the pantry. It makes such a good starting point for simple store cupboard dinners like this. You can use canned tomatoes in juice in place of the bottled pasta sauce —just add some seasoning and a teaspoon of oregano.
Ready in 20 minutes
Serves 4
400g quality dried pasta
2 cups tomato pasta sauce,
425g canned tuna in oil, drained
½ cup pitted black olives
2 sliced roasted red peppers (can use bottled)
2 Tbsp capers
¼ cup chopped basil or parsley
Salt and ground black pepper
Cook pasta to packet instructions.
Place all other ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a simmer, stirring gently so as not to break up the tuna too finely.
Drain pasta and transfer to a serving bowl.
Pile sauce on top and toss through to combine.
One-step deli pasta
This pasta dish is less about cooking and more about choosing great ingredients. That said, take great care not to overcook the pasta.
Ready in 15 minutes
Serves 2, recipe easily scaled up
200g dried pasta
1 packed cup chopped spinach or rocket
2 large tomatoes or 250g cherry tomatoes, diced (remove cores from large tomatoes)
120g feta, crumbled
2 Tbsp capers, chopped
2 Tbsp chopped olives
Finely zested rind and juice of 1 lemon
2 Tbsp olive oil
Cook the pasta to packet instructions. Meanwhile, combine all other ingredients in a bowl. Drain cooked pasta and toss through sauce.
Match these with ...
by Yvonne Lorkin
(Pasta with fried courgettes and ricotta)
Trinity Hill Hawke’s Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2022 ($25)
The Trinity Hill team are all safe and accounted for, which is excellent because I need them to be able to make another vintage of this terrific thing. Clean, soft and tantalisingly tropical, it’s gently juicy, fabulously floral and is an absolute joy to drink. The first words I wrote when sipping it for the first time were: “lovely”, “lovely” and “lovely”. It’s like a feisty fruit salad containing buckets of peach, mango, key lime, fresh nectarine, and all manner of minty, lemongrassy lusciousness. I also love its lemon verbena layers and crunchy acidity and freshness, with this gorgeous green, herby pasta. Trinityhill.com
(Speedy tuna pasta with olives and peppers)
Leveret Estate Hawke’s Bay Rosé 2022 ($22)
Crafted by Cam Duke, Hawke’s Bay’s own version of Cool Hand Luke, this generously juicy, sexy AF rosé is made from Lord knows what grapes (because it doesn’t say on the label and I was told but promptly forgot), but that doesn’t matter because the finished pink product is crammed with creaming soda, spiced watermelon, raspberry and crisp apple characters up the wahzoo. Chill it down and whip it out when those hard-to-impress rellies pop over. Hopefully by the time you read this there’s road access to the Riverview vineyard where these grapes are grown, because having tasted the 2022 with this tuna pasta, I’m looking forward to the next harvest with WAY too much enthusiasm. Wineportfolio.co.nz
(One-step deli pasta)
Shed 530 Estate Reserve Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2020 ($45)
Okay buckle up, because I was all set to tell you the best place to enjoy this outrageously soothing, spice and smoke-saturated wine is under the shade of the ancient trees at the newly renovated cellar door in Puketapu, staring out at the beautifully manicured vineyards and nibbling tasty tapas. But that was 11 days ago. Before a large chunk of the vineyard, winery and cellar door were washed away in Cyclone Gabri-hell. However, you can support the Shed530 whānau rebuild by buying this generously proportioned, pepper-stacked syrah online to have as an extra treat alongside this pasta. Shed530.com