Simply Spaghetti - Using New Season Asparagus

 The Asparagus season is here and it is beautiful.  Time for lunch
 I felt like a simple Pasta dish what a great way to hero the Spaghetti with Asparagus and some Tomatoes and Garlic

You will need

100 gms dried Spaghetti per person

Olive oil 1 tbs

Butter 1 tsp

2 cloves Garlic peeled and crushed

8-10 Cherry Tomatoes, chopped

2 Asparagus spears (tough ends removed then sliced )

Sea Salt and freshly Ground Black Pepper

Parmesan Cheese - finely grated 

Bring a well salted big pot of water to the boil

when it comes to the boil add the Pasta

after 7 Minutes, add the Asparagus

Cook for another 3 minutes 

Drain

In a pan add the Olive oil and Butter on medium heat

Add the Garlic 

Let it  cook gently till it becomes soft and fragrant - don't brown

Add the Tomatoes and let simmer for a few minutes till they are just soft

Meanwhile grate the Cheese

Toss the Spaghetti and Asparagus into the Tomatoes

Season well with freshly ground Black pepper

Into serving bowl and top with the grated Parmesan Cheese

Voila

Lunch is served

We Love Pasta

Well I love Pasta and I love to try it in so many ways. I was planning on roasting some prawns but "quelle domag...not in our freezer today, so I had a good look in the fridge and look what I found

In the fridge was a piece of carrot, a piece of courgette, 1/3 green pepper, half a leek, 1 lonely mushroom and and some bacon...in the freezer some frozen corn, and some breadcrumbs

Perfect

You can use what ever you like but this was such a good and colourful selection

Plus in the pantry I found some some spaghetti

So put on a pot of well salted water to boil for the pasta

Then prep your vegetable

Grate the carrot and courgette

Remove all the outside leaves of the leek, wash it and slice 

Slice the mushroom and the green pepper and you are ready to go 

Put a pan on the stove and bring up to medium heat

Chop the bacon and sauté 

When the water has come to the boil add the spaghetti and cook till just al dente around 6-8 minutes

Meanwhile

Remove the bacon and place in a bowl, add the mushroom

It does look a little lonely but it was worth it

Remove and place with the bacon  

Then add the chopped leeks

Saute them gently till soft 

Add the rest of the ingredients including the bacon and mushroom

Saute till soft

Throw in a good slurp of wine and turn heat up so that it evaporates

Meanwhile while this is happening

In a another pan add some oil... about 2 tbs, 

Heat till just about smoking and then add the breadcrumbs

Toss well and cook till they are just nice and toasty

When the pasta is cooked

Using your tongs, add it to the vegetables and toss well

Place on your plate

Sprinkle the toasted breadcrumbs over the top and enjoy

Lunch is served and very good it was too

Simple and Easy Lunch

 Sometimes you have some pasta leftover from a meal
Frequently one puts it in the fridge and forgets about it

WELL this time I decided to do something with it
Lunch for one

So so simple
This is one serving 
 
1 cup Cooked Pasta
Olive oil about 2 tablespoons
5 mushrooms chopped
Splash of wine
3 spring onions chopped
1/2 red pepper de seeded and cubed
A pinch of Vegeta. Or just sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper

In a pan heat the olive oil till hot
Throw in chopped mushrooms
Season with Vegeta or S & P
Cook on high for 3-4 minutes

Add splash of wine
Let it absorb
Add red pepper, and spring onions
Cook till soft

Throw in pasta and heat through

Serve, 

If you have some coriander or basil
Add that as well

Delicious and simple lunch

A Tasty Meat Sauce for Pasta

I know we all have our meat sauce that we call our own, this is very similar to one that I usually make, in fact almost identical
Thank you Bon Appetit for the inspiration, I read this in the morning and voila.. on the table for dinner
 It is a meat sauce not a tomato sauce, which I like a lot
I used Rigatoni
Those little ridges capture the sauce perfectly

1 medium onion, chopped

1 celery stalk, chopped

1 small carrot, peeled, chopped

3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

1 lb. good ground beef  (20% fat), patted dry

Sea salt

3 oz. thinly sliced Pancetta, finely chopped

1 cup dry white wine

⅓ cup tomato puree, I like to use Passata, not so intense
1 bay leaf

Pinch of finely grated nutmeg

2 cups (or more) homemade chicken stock or low-sodium chicken broth

1 cup milk

1 lb. fresh tagliatelle or pappardelle, or dry rigatoni
2 oz. finely grated Parmesan (about ½ cup), plus more for serving

Pulse onion, celery, and carrot in a food processor until very finely chopped.

Transfer to a small bowl.


Heat oil in a large pot over medium.
Break beef into small clumps (about 1½") and add to pot;
Season lightly with salt and freshly ground black pepper 
Cook, stirring occasionally but not breaking meat apart,
until beef is lightly browned but not crisp, 6–8 minutes.
It may be gray in spots (that’s okay!) and still a little pink in the center.
Using a slotted spoon, transfer beef to a medium bowl.



Wipe out pot.
Cook pancetta in pot over medium heat, stirring occasionally,
until pancetta has released some of its fat and is crisp, 6–8 minutes.
Add onion mixture to pot and cook, stirring occasionally,
until vegetables are very soft and beginning to stick to surface, 6–8 minutes.



Return beef to pot and pour in wine.
Reduce heat to medium-low and cook,
smashing down on beef with a wooden spoon, until wine is evaporated,
surface of pot is almost dry, and meat is finely ground, 12–15 minutes.
(The meat should be reduced to what looks like little bits.
It takes a bit of effort, but you can take breaks.)
Add tomato paste, bay leaf, and nutmeg and cook,
stirring occasionally and still pressing down on meat, until tomato paste is slightly darkened,
about 5 minutes.



 Pour stock and milk into pot; add a pinch of salt.

Reduce heat to the lowest setting and cook, stirring occasionally,
until meat is very, very tender, 2–2½ hours.
There shouldn’t be any rapid bubbles at this stage.
Instead, the sauce should release the occasional small bubble or two.
When finished, the sauce should have the texture of and look like a sloppy joe mixture.
If the liquid reduces before the meat is completely tender,
add an extra ½ cup stock and continue cooking.
Discard bay leaf. Taste sauce and adjust seasoning with salt;
keep warm.


Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water.
If using fresh pasta, cook about 3 minutes.
If using dry, cook until very al dente, about 2 minutes less than package directions.


Using tongs, transfer pasta to pot with sauce.
Add 1 cup pasta cooking liquid and ½ cup Parmesan.
Increase heat to medium, bring to a simmer, and cook, tossing constantly,
until pasta is al dente and liquid is slightly thickened, about 2 minutes.


Transfer pasta to a platter and top with more Parmesan.



Do Ahead: Sauce can be made 4 days ahead. Cover and chill.



Also sitting on my table, my 2 friends and some beautiful Gardenias
Straight from the Garden



Broccoli, Pasta, with Cheesy Crunchy Topping

Enough for a good feed for 2 people...with some pickings for late arrivals,
which is what happened our house last night
Vegetarian...as long as you eat cheese of course
This was on the NYT Cooking site

There was a couple of changes that I made, due to dietary requirements for a member of the family
and it worked really well

1 head Broccoli broken into florets
2 tablespoons Olive oil
1 tsp cumin ground seeds
Sea salt
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, or to taste
2 cups penne or similar pasta

1/3 cup finest grated Parmesan Cheese
1/3 cup Panko Bread Crumbs
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
Freshly ground black pepper
100 gms Goats Feta

Fresh lemon juice
Heat Oven to 200 C
On a rimmed baking sheet toss together broccoli, oil, cumin, salt and red pepper flakes
Roast until tender and browned at the edges 15-20 minutes
Tossing halfway through

Remove from oven and set aside
Turn oven onto Grill function

Meanwhile bring a large pot of salted water to the boil
Add pasta and cook to according to manufacturers directions
Drain

In a small bowl mix Parmesan, Panko, lemon zest, some sea salt 
and freshly ground black pepper

Toss cooked pasta with the broccoli, in a gratin dish
Crumble the Feta over the top

Sprinkle the Parmesan, breadcrumb mix
Drizzle very generously with Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Under the griller till topping is golden brown
2-4 minutes

Sprinkle with lemon Juice and serve

You can prepare ahead then pop under the grill when you want to eat
Might take a little longer but you can judge that

Creamy Corn with Pasta - You Want Heathly and Tasty - Youve got it

Always looking for Delicious Food for the Kids
Browsing through my emails I found this recipe in The NY Times Cooking
Kids love Corn
They love Pasta
What could be better...but Creamy Corn Pasta?

Lots of fresh herbs for that extra boost of flavour
Beautiful
As Corn is not fresh here at this time of the year, I used Frozen Corn Kernels
It worked perfectly
Make the Corn Puree earlier in the day and just reheat when you are ready to go

Ingredients
2 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for drizzling  
1 bunch scallions (about 8), trimmed and thinly sliced (keep the whites and greens separate)
2 Cups Corn Kernels either Frozen, or Fresh shucked off Cobs 
Sea salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper, more for serving
 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
 ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese, more to taste
 ⅓ cup torn basil or mint, more for garnish
 ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste
 Fresh lemon juice, as needed

700gms dry orecchiette or farfalle
Reserved Pasta Water 
Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil.
Cook pasta until 1 minute shy of al dente, according to the package directions.
Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of pasta water.


Preparation
Heat oil in large sauté pan over medium heat;
Add scallion whites and a pinch of salt and cook until soft, 3 minutes.

Add 1/4 cup water and all but 1/4 cup corn;

Simmer until corn is heated through and almost tender, 3 to 5 minutes.
Add 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper, transfer to a blender, and purée mixture
until smooth, adding a little extra water if needed to get a thick but pourable texture.

Heat the same skillet over high heat.
Add butter and let melt.
Add reserved 1/4 cup corn and cook until tender, 1 to 2 minutes.
(It’s O.K. if the butter browns; that deepens the flavor.)

Add the corn purée and cook for 30 seconds to heat and combine the flavors.

Reduce heat to medium.
Add pasta and half the reserved pasta cooking water, tossing to coat.
Cook for 1 minute, then add a little more of the pasta cooking water
if the mixture seems too thick.
Stir in 1/4 cup of the scallion greens, the Parmesan, the herbs, the red pepper flakes,
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. 

Sprinkle with fresh lemon juice to taste. 

Transfer to serving bowl and garnish with more scallions,
herbs, a drizzle of olive oil and black pepper.

Chicken and Broccoli - Two Ways - Both Work

Last night I made a Chicken and Potato Salad for the kids and they loved it

I still had 2 chicken breasts left to cook
Plus in the fridge was
A head of Broccoli
A red and a yellow Capsicum
A shallot
A Cucumber
Bread and Butter Pickled Cucumbers
Loving the colouful food 
Mayonnaise (Make your own  It is so simple, particularly  if you use your blender)
click here to get the easy recipe
Here is the Mayo I made and the Bread and Butter Pickles
I love them and use them in so many ways
I like to use the vinegar to make the mayo, just lifts the Mayo and makes it special

Corn in the freezer
Pasta in the pantry

I can make something with these.
Rather than make a large salad, not good to have it hanging around too long
I decided to split the ingredients
Made a Salad and also a Pasta Bake

So first poach the chicken in chicken stock preferably Homemade
I quite often add some Vegeta Chicken Stock Powder
It’s an excellent flavour boost
Bring the stock to the boil
Add chicken breasts, make sure they are covered
Bring back to the boil, drop the heat and simmer for about 2 minutes
Put a lid on the pot and leave till it has cooled
Do this earlier in the day

Chicken will be perfectly poached
Set aside and cut into cubes

Reserve the stock

Meanwhile
Break the broccoli into florets and into boiling salted water
Cook for just a couple of minutes, Want to keep it lovely and green

Strain into a colander… Keeping the water to cook the Pasta
Run the broccoli under cold water to cool down, then drain

Bring the water back to the boil and add 3 cups of pasta shells
Cook till al dente about 8m minutes
Drain divide into 2

Chop the peppers
Finely chop the shallot,
De-seed the cucumber and chop, you need about 1/2 cup

Let’s make the salad first
Into a large bowl
Place Half of the broccoli, half the peppers and shallots
1/2 cup chopped cucumber
3-4 slices of Bread and Butter Pickles finely chopped

Half the cooked Pasta
1 cubed chicken breast

Big dollop of Mayonnaise

 Toss and let sit for about an hour for the flavours to meld

Now lets work on the Bake

3 Tablespoons butter
3 Tablespoons Flour
1 1/2 cups Chicken stock

Melt the butter
Add the shallot and peppers
Season with S & P
Cook gently about 3-4 minutes to soften the vegetables

Add the flour
Cook about 3-4 minutes to get rid of the raw flour taste
Add chicken stock

Whisk well and heat till it starts to simmer and thickens
Once again simmer, stirring so it doesn't form any lumps

Add the remainder of the Broccoli, Pasta. Chicken  and a cup of frozen corn

Place in baking dishes.
You can freeze it at this stage

When you are ready to eat it
Top with some breadcrumbs and cheese
Bake for about 25 minutes, till it is bubbling and golden on top

Perfect