Pasta

Spaghetti Puttanesca

~ rinaforster ~ Leave a comment


I love the taste of the Mediterranean, tomatoes, olives, garlic, lemons etc and this contains all the above

First get your spaghetti on according to packet instructions and follow the recipe below for enough sauce for 2 adults

Heat a pan on a medium heat with a little olive oil and add a crushed clove of garlic. Leave until just turning brown then add 4 anchovies, 50 grams of mixed pitted olives, a tablespoon of capers and a sprinkling of dried chilli flakes and 6 chopped sundried tomatoes, stir for a couple of minutes until sizzling then add 100ml of passata and a tablespoon of tomatoes purée. Continue to cook for a further couple of minutes until the pasta is cooked. Finally add a squeeze of lemon juice then drain the pasta and add to the sauce. 

Give everything a good stir and serve up with some fresh Parmesan 

Enjoy

X

Lamb and Bean Stew

~ rinaforster ~ Leave a comment

image

I’ve adapted this recipe so that I can cook it using some slow cooker

In your slow cooker add one diced onion, 500g of diced lamb, two diced red peppers, 350ml of tomato and basil passata, 300ml of vegetable stock, zest and juice of one lemon and seasoning. Stir and cook on medium for approx 8hrs

When you’re ready to eat, pour the contents of the slow cooker into a saucepan and add a 400g tin of cannellini beans and 200g of orzo pasta, simmer for 10-12 minutes until the pasta is cooked then serve

image

 

 

 

 

Meatball and Pasta soup

~ rinaforster ~ Leave a comment

image

In the words of my husband ‘Meatball and Pasta soup??? Now that’s the kind of soup I like’ this soup is delicious and filling so won’t leave anyone hungry. Perfect for a cold day! I have hello fresh to thank for this recipe!

First finely dice a stick of celery and a carrot, then fry in a saucepan on medium heat for 5 minutes with 2 cloves of crushed garlic and a tablespoon of olive oil.

Next add a tin of chopped tomatoes, a vegetable stock cube and 500ml of boiling water. Let this summer whilst you make the meatballs

In a bowl mix 200gm of minced beef with 1/2 teaspoon of chilli, 2 tablespoons of grated parmesan, a handful of finely chopped fresh marjoram (or 1/2 teaspoon of dried marjoram) and season with salt and pepper,  make in to meatball and fry for a couple of minutes until browned then set aside

Next, add your pasta into you soup mix (approximately 3-4 handfuls) and cook in the soup

When the pasta is 5 minutes away from being done, add the meatballs and cook in the soup for the remaining time.

Serve with some grated parmesan and crusty bread 

 

 

 

Garlic Prawn Linguine

~ rinaforster ~ 2 Comments

image

Prior to having kids I used to make this dish with lots of chilli, but I’ve taken the chilli out and it still tastes delicious. The good thing is that it’s ready in the same time it takes to cook your pasta too!

First get your linguine cooking according to packet instructions

For the sauce, add a large glug of olive oil in to a large frying pan, next add some chopped parsley (fresh if you have it, otherwise dried is fine)  and 2 cloves of crushed garlic. Heat in the pan on a medium heat for 2-3 minutes, try not to let the garlic brown. Next add approx 250ml of white wine and turn the heat up to the max to bring to the boil. Once boiling turn the heat down slightly to a medium high heat and allow the sauce to simmer to allow the alcohol burn off. Next add approx 150ml of passata and 8-10 quartered cherry tomatoes. Allow the sauce to simmer for another 5 minutes until the pasta is a minute away from being ready. Now add 250g of raw shelled prawns to the sauce and stir in, cook for a minute until the prawns are pink and ready, try not to over cook the prawns. They shouldn’t need more than 2 minutes. When the pasta is ready, strain and add to the frying pan, mix everything in and cook for a further 30 seconds, plate up and serve with a little parsley on top

Polpetti Conchiglioni – aka meatballs and pasta

~ rinaforster ~ Leave a comment

image

Meatballs is definitely up there as one of my favourite dishes and I think most people would agree with me.

With this recipe I make the sauce from scratch too but trust me, it’s the simplest of sauces and the taste difference is well worth the extra minute it will take

First make the meatballs by mixing together a 500g pack of mince meat with (roughly) 2 teaspoons of dried basil, 2 teaspoons of dried parsley and 2 tablespoons of grated parmesan and season with salt and pepper. Make up into meatballs, this mixture should make approximately 25 meatballs

Next fry the meatballs on a medium to high heat until browned all over then remove from the pan and set aside whilst you make the sauce.

In a food processor blitz 6 ripe tomatoes with 1-2 cloves of garlic, half an onion and a handful of basil leaves (if you don’t have any fresh, just use a large heaped teaspoon of dried basil but you can mix that in after you’ve blended the ingredients) and that’s the sauce prepped

Once blitzed pour out in to the frying pan that you used to cook the meatballs and add a dollop of tomato puree and another 2 teaspoons of grated parmesan, mix and bring to the boil then simmer for 5 minutes, next add the meatballs, mix them in the sauce and cook for a further 10 minutes whilst you cook some pasta.

Serve with a large glass of wine and some crusty bread to mop up all the lovely sauce

 

 

Spinach pasta with Lemon Sea Bass

~ rinaforster ~ 2 Comments

image

This is a delicious yet simple pasta sauce which provides a great way of getting some spinach in to your kids!

For the pasta sauce

Wilt a bag of fresh spinach in a large saucepan over a medium heat and once done stir in a knob of butter and saute for a couple of minutes. Next add one tablespoon of milk, one tablespoon of cream cheese and a liberal sprinkling of parmesan cheese. Give everything a good stir until the cheese has melted and then take off the hob and whizz in a food processor. Pour over some cooked pasta and add some toasted pine nuts. Done!

For the Sea Bass

Heat a glug of oil in a frying pan over a medium to high heat. Once at temperature place the sea bass skin side down and cook for 2-3 minutes. Whilst it’s cooking season and grate some lemon rind and squeeze some lemon juice over the top. Turn over and cook on the other side for 1-2 minutes or until cooked. Serve hot