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Meghan Markle has shared her favourite family pasta recipe that has enraged Italians over the non traditional cooking method. Mirror writer Niamh Kirk decided to try it out and see why the Duke and Duchess love it so much
It seems even the royals enjoy tucking into a hearty bowl of pasta – but Meghan Markle’s recipe has left Italians ‘wincing’.
In her brand new Netflix show, With Love, Meghan, the duchess reveals how it’s a “real delight” to be a “present parent” to her two children, Archie and Lilibet, and relishes small family moments created in the home. The highly anticipated series, which was released on Tuesday, sees the 43-year-old former actress share some of her favourite gardening, cooking, and hosting tips, including some of the best recipes she serves up to bring her brood together.
She is joined by a mix of her celebrity friends including Suits co-star Abigail Spencer, Delfina Blaquier and chef Roy Choi. In one of the clips, Meghan recreates a ‘family favourite’ dish, which she calls “skillet spaghetti”.
The simple recipe is just spaghetti on a bed of cherry tomatoes and feta cheese with kale and chard added in – but it’s the method that has Italian fans stunned. As a lover of any type of pasta dish, I decided to recreate the meal fit for royalty and try it myself to see why Harry and Meghan are such fans.
Meghan shared the super simple recipe within 10 minutes into the first episode titled ‘Hello, Honey!’ and tells viewers she regularly cooks for Prince Harry and their children. The former working royal is alongside her close friend, make-up artist Daniel Martin and tells how the US twist on the Italian staple is a favourite with Archie, five, and Lilibet, three.
It’s a one-pot dish which could make it easy for busy families, or working professionals who want a quick and easy dinner with little fuss. Firstly, Meghan takes the dry pasta from the jar and lays it in the dish over a layer of feta, garlic and cherry tomatoes. While she doesn’t detail measurements except “an entire pack of spaghetti” and three and a half cups of boiling water, I had to do it all by eye.
While I usually submerge my pasta into a large pan of already salted boiling water, Meghan pours three cups of boiling water straight onto the spaghetti, tomatoes and feta and puts a lid on the skillet after adding lots of lemon zest. But this method has enraged fans, who slam the technique as going “against the basics” of Italian cooking. So, taking inspiration from the duchess, I do the same and pour the water on top.
She told viewers: “You just pour boiling water on top and that’s it”. My pan doesn’t quite compare to her fancy Le Cruset dish she is using sadly, but nonetheless, the pasta is covered. To me, it seemed strange to boil pasta with the tomatoes and feta in – but if that’s her method, who am I to argue it. I let the watery concoction boil away.
I feel I am left with many more questions, do I drain the pasta? Do I mash up the tomatoes? Where is the sauce? Anyway I let it simmer for a while before giving it a bit of a stir. According to Meghan, the starchy pasta water mixed with the feta will make a creamy “sauce”, but I am yet to see a pasta sauce forming.
Not too long before it’s done, the recipe says to add the kale and chard, as well as some rocket for a “peppery bite” and she recommended to leave it to cook for another five minutes before taking off the heat. She said her “noodles are al dente” and then grated some Parmesan cheese over the top to finish.
Meghan said: “When I make this, I make it for my family” before clarifying “not that my children are eating heaps of noodles but I will make enough so that I can put leftovers in their lunchbox.”
While I was very, very sceptical about this, the starchy pasta water mixed with the feta actually made it really creamy, without the need for any cream, and it was certainly very vibrant. It looked very healthy, and I imagine it’s very low calorie – as there is no typical pasta sauce. I was pleasantly surprised that once it was served it looked a lot better.
As for taste, I can’t say it was bursting with flavour. Ultimately, it was just boiled spaghetti, but there was a nice touch of lemon, and the feta had dissolved giving a hint of creaminess. I would say it probably needed lots more garlic, salt and pepper to give it more seasoning but it wasn’t as bad as I had thought. I think for children this would be a good meal as there aren’t too strong of flavours involved.
Halfway through cooking, I was certain I’d done something wrong, but once it had been dished up, it did look like Meghan’s. I can’t say I’m in a rush to make it again. Sorry, Meghan.
Ingredients:
- Spaghetti
- Cherry tomatoes
- Feta
- Kale
- Lemon zest
- Chard
- Rocket
- Garlic
- Boiling water
- Parmesan
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