Tag Archives: Pasta

Tagliatelle & Cauliflower Sauce

19 Friday Jan 2024

Posted by in Main Courses, Starters, Techniques, Vegan, Vegetable Dishes, Vegetarian

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Some dishes that I eat regularly are so simple that I almost don’t think of them as recipes worth sharing, but these are most likely the easy dishes that you would want to hear about.

I made my own pasta for this dish, which is much easier than you think, have a look at my post, the beginners guide to making fresh pasta. If you are mostly vegan like me you can choose flour that has a high protein content. I used wholemeal Khorasan flour which has 14.5% protein and holds together very well for pasta, spelt flour is very good too. I’ll put at the end of this post the address of a website for buying organic flours and pulses.

Of course using readymade pasta is perfectly fine. This recipe came from friends Gianni and Cinzia who I visited in Matera in the south of Italy and they use dried pasta.

For the sauce this time I used cauliflower as I have beautiful ones ready to eat in my veg patch,

but you can use quite a few other vegetables, broccoli, aubergines, peppers, courgettes all cut into small pieces, fresh peas or broad beans, the basic idea of the recipe remains the same. The vegetable is braised in olive oil with garlic until just cooked but still with a bit of bite, about a third of it is removed and put to one side, the rest has a little stock added and is braised until soft. This is then puréed with a hand blender or mashed to make a sauce, adding seasoning as you go. The removed vegetables are put back in the sauce to warm through and then the sauce is mixed into the pasta.

I love that this sauce is so light and full of flavour. It’s so versatile too as pretty well any vegetable that is in season can be used, herbs and seasoning can be varied. This has got me thinking about the recipe on this blog for Apicius inspired onions, with their flavouring of lovage, honey and herbs, which if two thirds of the onions were puréed would make a great sauce for pasta. I’ll try that next. it’s great that ancient Rome is inspiring today’s cooking!

Almost forgot the address for organic flour, grains and pulses

https://www.rincondelsegura.es/

Turkey Meatballs & Chestnut Tagliatelle

18 Monday Sep 2023

Posted by in Main Courses, Sauces, Techniques

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What to do with half a kilo of minced Turkey given to me by friends who were going away?

I haven’t made chestnut pasta for a good while, which would go very well with the mild gaminess of some little turkey meatballs, nor had I shared the recipe for chestnut pasta with you as I’d thought, so now is the opportunity to do that.
The meatballs don’t need a heavy sauce or a lot of sauce, so a mushroom sauce lightly thickened with goats cheese would be perfect.

Serves 4

The meatballs

500 grams lean minced turkey

1/2 sweet onion – finely chopped

1 large or 2 small cloves of garlic – finely chopped

1 level teaspoon fennel seeds

salt and freshly ground black pepper

olive oil for frying

The sauce

1/2 sweet onion – finely chopped

1 clove garlic – finely chopped

olive oil for frying

100 grams mushrooms – I used oyster mushrooms, but any type of mushroom will be fine – cut into small dice

500 ml chicken or vegetable stock

50 grams creamy goats cheese

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Parmesan cheese to grate on when serving

The pasta

65 grams chestnut flour

35 grams wholemeal spelt flour

1 large egg

pinch of salt

Start by making the pasta.

Mix the flours and salt in a bowl or on a board.

Make a well in the centre and add the lightly beaten egg.

Mix to make a firm but pliable dough. If it’s too dry add a little egg white and if too wet add extra spelt flour.

Using either a pasta rolling machine or a rolling pin, roll the pasta into an oblong, then fold into three, turn it 90 degrees and repeat the rolling and folding following the instructions in my post – the Beginners Guide to Making Fresh Pasta. Then roll the pasta down to the desired thickness, it was number 5 on my pasta machine, and cut into tagliatelle.
Leave to rest on your board while you make the meatballs.


Put the meatball ingredients in a bowl and mix well squeezing the onion and garlic into the minced turkey.


Taking a small spoonful at a time, form the meat mix into balls about the size of a cherry, rolling them between your palms to push the meat into firm balls and lay them out on two trays. If you have lean meat the meatballs will hold together without the need for eggs or breadcrumbs, and you will have a lighter texture to the meatballs. It does mean that the balls are a little more delicate and one has to take care when turning them in the initial cooking.

Once you have all the meatballs ready heat some olive oil in a large frying pan and put in half the meatballs. When they are nicely browned on one side, gently turn them. Keep doing this until they are browned and sealed on all sides.
Remove the meatballs from the pan , and put into a dish on the side.

Add a little more oil to the pan and cook the other half of the meatballs in the same way. Remove these from the pan as well.

Add a little more oil to the pan and put in the onions and garlic for the sauce. Fry for a few minutes .

Add the mushrooms, stir to mix and fry to lightly brown them.

Add the stock and heat until the stock is boiling then add the meatballs, turn the heat down to a simmer and leave to cook through for about 7-10 minutes.

Meanwhile bring a pan of salted water to the boil and a cook the pasta for 5-7 minutes. Drain

Cut the goats cheese into small pieces and add to the meatballs to slightly thicken the sauce.

Check the seasoning adding salt and freshly ground black pepper as needed.

Serve the tagliatelle with the meatballs spooned over and grated Parmesan cheese.

Enjoy ❤️

Globe Artichoke & Burrata Pasta

18 Tuesday May 2021

Posted by in Food for One, Main Courses, Starters, Vegetable Dishes

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A super simple dish today. Most of the tastiest pasta dishes have few ingredients, and this one is no exception. Good olive oil, garlic, fresh cooked artichokes and Burrata cheese are all that’s needed for the sauce. For the pasta I used my favourite dried pasta, Maccheroni al Ferreto, which I know is not always easy to get hold of. Any of the more substantial pastas will work, tagliatelle, penne, orecchiette or pappardelle.

Per person

tablespoon olive oil

2 cloves garlic – finely chopped

3 globe artichokes

1/2 a Burrata cheese – roughly cut up

salt and freshly ground black pepper

50 grams dried pasta

Bring plenty of salted water to the boil and add the pasta. Let cook at a fast simmer.

Prepare the artichokes by removing the tough outer leaves, then the top tough part of the flower and the stem. Cut into fine wedges.

Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and throw in the artichokes. Fry them over a moderate heat turning them as they cook.

After five minutes of cooking add the garlic. Continue frying until the artichokes are cooked.

If your pasta isn’t yet cooked turn off the heat under the artichokes and cover them.

Once the pasta is cooked drain it saving a little of the cooking liquid. Add to the artichokes and stir well to mix. Reheat the artichokes if necessary and add a little of the pasta cooking liquor.

Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, then add the cheese. Stir once to mix and serve.

Enjoy!

Spaghetti With Globe Artichokes

16 Monday Mar 2020

Posted by in Main Courses, Starters, Vegan, Vegetable Dishes

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Today’s recipe is a simple tasty pasta dish with the sauce made from fresh globe artichokes and hazelnuts.

For 2 portions

200 grams spaghetti

6 globe artichokes – cleaned, trimmed and then cut into thin wedges

1 spring garlic/clove garlic – finely chopped

olive oil

50 grams hazelnuts

80 ml unsweetened hazelnut milk

salt and freshly ground black pepper

50 grams pecorino/Parmesan cheese finely grated – optional

Cook the pasta in plenty of boiling water seasoned with salt and a splash of olive oil.

Heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a large frying pan and add the artichokes and garlic. Fry on a medium heat turning the artichokes over regularly until they are just cooked and lightly browned. Turn off the heat.

In a small food processor whizz the hazelnuts to chop them small.

Add the milk and whizz more.

Add half the artichokes to the nut mix and whizz again to achieve a thick paste. Season with salt and pepper.

If you are using cheese add two thirds of it to the purée and pulse to mix.

When the spaghetti is about cooked, put the heat back on under the artichokes in the frying pan. Add the puréed artichokes and a spoonful or two of the pasta cooking liquid to make a thick sauce. Heat gently to warm up.

Drain the pasta from its water reserving a bit in case the sauce needs more.

Add the pasta to the artichokes and mix well to coat the pasta with the sauce.

Serve with either a sprinkling of finely chopped parsley or the rest of the cheese if using.

Strozzapreti with Tomato Sauce

07 Friday Feb 2020

Posted by in Food for One, Main Courses, Starters, Vegan, Vegetable Dishes

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Strozzapreti, meaning ‘priest strangler’ as it is reputed to be enjoyed so much and in such quantities by the holy fathers that it chokes them, is a rolled pasta that goes very well with this tomato sauce. You can of course use other pastas if you can’t get hold of Strozzapreti.

For 2

120 grams pasta

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large clove of garlic – finely chopped

1 small onion – finely chopped

1/4 red bell pepper – cut into short slices

2 tablespoons chopped Florence fennel

125 grams button mushrooms – halved and then sliced

200 grams chopped plum tomatoes

2 heaped teaspoons tomato purée

fresh oregano finely chopped plus a few sprigs for garnishing

4 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese if you are making the vegetarian but not vegan version of this dish

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Orange zest

Put salted water with a splash of olive oil on to boil for the pasta, and then cook the pasta according to the timings on the packet.

Meanwhile heat the oil in a frying pan and add the garlic and onion. Fry until translucent.

Add the red peppers and cook for á couple of minutes before adding the fennel and mushrooms. Stir well and leave to cook for five minutes.

Add the chopped tomato, purée and oregano. Cook slowly for 15-20 minutes until the sauce looks thick and richly red.

Season with salt and pepper.

If using the Parmesan cheese, add most of it now leaving a little to sprinkle on top of the pasta and stir into the sauce letting it melt.

Once the pasta is cooked but still with a little bite, drain from the water and add it to the sauce. Stir to mix.

Serve in shallow bowls with a grating of orange zest and a few sprigs of oregano to garnish. Of course if you are including Parmesan in your dish then add a garnish of grated cheese as well.

Linguini with Fresh & Sundried Tomatoes, Green Olives & Basil

04 Friday Sep 2015

Posted by in Food for One, Starters, Vegetable Dishes

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I was inspired by the tomato pasta of my last post to cook something similarly fresh tasting. So this quick to prepare dish is the result, using ingredients that I already had in the store cupboard. I give you the recipe exactly as I did it, but of course if you don’t have Aliolli and/or Chilli Jam in your cupboard, change for fresh garlic and chilli to taste.

A perfect lunch for one or a light colourful starter if you halve the amounts per person.

IMG_1876

LINGUINI WITH FRESH & SUNDRIED TOMATOES, GREEN OLIVES & BASIL

Per person –

30 gms linguini

10 ml olive oil

1 large tomato

3 sundried tomatoes

6 green olives

1.25 ml aliolli

2,5 ml chilli jam

Fresh basil leaves

Salt & freshly ground black pepper

Get a pan of water heating up for the pasta. Add to it 5 ml of the olive oil and half a teaspoon of salt.

When the water is boiling, add the sundried tomatoes to the water and let simmer for a couple of minutes. Scoop out and leave to cool.

Add the linguini to the water and leave to cook at a medium simmer.

Put the other 5ml of olive oil in a shallow pan. Add the aliolli and chilli jam.

Slice the sundried tomatoes and add to the pan.

Remove stones from the olives and cut each olive in half. Add to the pan.

Halve the tomato across its equator and using a fine grater grate the pulp into a bowl until you are left with just the skin in your hand. If the grater is fine enough it should sift out the majority of the seeds. If the odd seed makes it into the sauce, it is not the end of the world.

Add the fresh tomato pulp to the shallow pan.

Roughly chop the basil leaves.

When the pasta is two or three minutes from the al dente stage of crookedness, slowly heat the sauce stirring to mix all the ingredients.

Once the pasta is cooked, drain and add to the sauce. Mix well to coat the pasta with the sauce. Season with salt, freshly ground black pepper and two thirds of the basil leaves. Turn again to mix in.

Turn into a pasta bowl and garnish with the rest of the basil leaves.

Enjoy!

An Autumn Lunch

12 Wednesday Nov 2014

Posted by in Main Courses, Starters, Sweet Things, Vegetable Dishes

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At this time of the year my southern Spanish vegetable garden is lush with green vegetables that in the north are considered spring vegetables. There are several varieties of lettuce and endive, Cima Di Rapa, crispy dark green chard, french beans, Mange-Toute and the sweetest baby courgettes……… So I want to feature this abundance in my meal. I dither between choosing to prepare a composed salad, or grilling some of the vegetables. In my other veg patch I find some small purple and white striped aubergines and a few asparagus spears. That helps me to make up my mind, grilled vegetables with a sweet and spicy pepper sauce. IMG_1390 My regular readers will know that I preserve whatever surplus I have of garden produce as I go along, so the sauce is based on a couple of these, the recipes for which you will find on previous blogs. SWEET AND SPICY PEPPER SAUCE Half a small jar of Red Pepper Salad 2 tablespoons Chilli Jam Juice of half a lemon Simply whizz together in the food processor The main course was Orechiette Pasta with Beef and Tarragon Meatballs in Mushroom Sauce. IMG_1389 BEEF & TARRAGON MEATBALLS WITH MUSHROOM SAUCE FOR 6 400 grams lean minced beef 2 garlic cloves – peeled 1 medium egg 25 grams dried breadcrumbs – preferably from good bread that you have dried and crumbed yourself Half a dozen sprigs of fresh tarragon Salt and freshly ground black pepper Plain flour Olive oil 100 grams fresh mushrooms, preferably ceps, but chestnut or oyster will do 20 grams dried ceps 300ml chicken stock Put the dried ceps in a small bowl and pour over enough boiling water to just cover. Leave to reconstitute. Crush the garlic cloves with a small amount of salt. Take the leaves off the tarragon stalks and chop finely. Put the minced beef in a bowl with the garlic, tarragon, breadcrumbs and egg. Mix thoroughly. Season with black pepper. Leave for about half an hour for the breadcrumbs to absorb moisture and bind the mix. Take small amounts of the minced beef mix and roll into balls and then roll in the flour. It is tedious to make the balls small, about 1.5 cm across is ideal, but they mix so much better with the pasta and are a perfect little mouthful this size that it is worth the effort. Heat some olive oil in a large frying pan and fry half the meatballs in one batch over a medium heat, turning from time to time to lightly brown them on all sides. Remove to a dish and fry the other half of the meatballs. Remove these too. While the meatballs are browning cut up the mushrooms into quite small pieces. Once the meatballs are out of the pan, add the mushrooms to it together with a little more oil if needed and gently fry them for about five minutes. Add the stock, soaked dried mushrooms and their liquid and bring to a simmer. Simmer for five minutes then add the meatballs and any juices that have seeped out of them. Simmer for five to ten minutes. Serve with pasta and parmesan cheese. For dessert, the Spanish classic, Cheese with Honey and Walnuts, the recipe appeared in a previous post. IMG_0389