It’s two o’ clock, I haven’t had lunch yet… Time flies when you are so concentrated on your work. The simplest way to have a nice and easy lunch is to cook pasta, even if my fridge is almost empty… But I always have carrots and celery and I manage to find a shallot somewhere in the fridge. The soya sauce reminds me of the wonderful spaghetti with vegetables I ate in Thailand some years ago when I was on holiday. It was in a beautiful restaurant in Chang Mai, in the North highlands. So I try to come back to the flavours of Thai cuisine with these few ingredients.

Ingredients for one:
80 gr. of spaghetti
a shallot
two small carrots
a rib of celery
soya sauce
extra-virgin olive oil
sesame seeds

Put a tablespoon of seeds oil and two tablespoons of water in a wok, with a minced shallot. Add two julienne cut small carrots and two ribs of celery finely sliced. Cook for a few minutes, then season with soya sauce and cook for another minute.

Cook the spaghetti in salted boiling water, being careful to keep them “al dente” (that means still firm to bite, not soft) and then toss them into the wok with vegetables and cook for a minute. Transfer to a serving dish and top with some toasted sesame seeds. Taste and adjust seasoning to your liking, adding some soya sauce, salt or extra-virgin olive oil.

Yes, I know that Thai newspaper you see in the picture is a bit “old” (whoever knows Thai language will easily notice that…), but I like so much their alphabet that when I came back from Bangkok I took some local newspapers with me. And then, if I close my eyes, smelling the wonderful Oriental fragrance of this food, I feel I am still on my Thai holidays…