It’s a bit weird here at the moment. The days are warm but the nights are surprisingly cold; light lunches but also still comfort food dinner season. The purple sprouting broccoli season is upon us and as much as I like it cooked simply, maybe with a butter sauce, I am craving carbohydrates and big warming meals at the moment. My bacon, purple sprouting and cheese pasta bake is ideal.
Gnocchi with Broccoli, Toasted Walnuts and Blue Cheese Sauce
Ingredients
You will need (for four):| 2 500g packs of gnocchi (not the refrigerated ones) |
£1.30
|
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1 head broccoli, cut into small florets
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£0.80
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1 small onion, finely chopped
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£0.10
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|
Oil or butter for frying
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£0.02
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|
300ml double cream
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£1.10
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|
150g creamy blue cheese (I used Blue Monday)
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£1.20
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75g walnuts, roughly chopped
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£0.85
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Salt and pepper
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£0.02
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Total
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£5.39
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Method
Start by getting a frying pan on a low to medium heat and adding a glug of oil or knob of butter. Add the onion and fry slowly for around 20 minutes or until softened but not browned. While the onion is frying get another small frying pan on a medium to high heat. Add the chopped walnuts and toast them in the dry pan for a few minutes until you can smell they are toasted. Watch them carefully though as they can burn easily. Put to one side when done. When the onion is around five minutes from ready bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Add the broccoli and boil for two to three minutes.When the onion is soft, pour in the cream and stir frequently until it just starts to simmer.
Add the gnocchi to the pan with the broccoli and continue to boil for one to two minutes more or until the gnocchi floats to the top.
Crumble the blue cheese into the cream sauce, reduce the heat to its lowest setting and stir frequently.
Drain the broccoli and gnocchi and put to one side.
Ensure the cheese has melted into the cream and then add plenty of black pepper. Taste the sauce and add a little salt if needed; it will depend how salty your cheese is.
Veal, Pork, Serrano Ham and Porcini Cannelloni – Random Recipe Challenge
I know I’m guilty of flicking through all my recipe books and thinking how good the recipes sound but knowing full well it’s pretty unlikely I’ll ever give it a try because I’ll either forget or not have the time. This challenge suited me because I was forced not to turn the page to find something quicker, easier or less expensive. I stuck to the rules and ended up opening Rick Stein’s Spain to Canalons de ternera, cerdo, jamón y boletus or Veal, Pork, Serrano Ham and Porcini Cannelloni.
Chard and Smoked Bacon Open Lasagne with Basil Oil
Ingredients
You will need (for two):
- 8-10 rashers smoked streaky bacon
- 1 head chard
- 2 large garlic cloves
- 250ml crème fraîche
- Salt and pepper
- 3 sheets fresh lasagne
- Small handful basil
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Small handful Parmesan
Method
Start by cutting the bacon into small strips and put into a frying pan with a little oil. Get the bacon frying while you prepare the chard.
Strip the chard leaves away from the stalks and put in to two separate piles. Slice the chard stalks to roughly the same size as the bacon and shred the leaves.
When the bacon is turning golden brown add the chard stalks to the pan and fry for a few minutes until the stalks have softened. Crush in the garlic and then add the chard leaves. Fry for another minute or so until the leaves have started to wilt and then add the crème fraîche, plenty of pepper and a little salt. Keep cooking this, stirring occasionally, until you have a thick sauce.
Greek Style Baked Spaghetti and Feta
Foraging in Greece would be an amazingly acidulated affair; lemons, limes, olives, figs and pomegranates were dripping from the roadsides. I loved the fresh herbs that were used in all of the hot food I had and that no matter where you went bread and dessert were obligatory and free of charge. I had a great time and I can’t wait to try and recreate some of the great flavours I tried while I was over there. Here is my interpretation of one of my favourite dishes.
You will need (for two):
Olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 fat clove garlic, chopped
400g cherry tomatoes
Small handful of basil and parsley, chopped
Salt and pepper
170g spaghetti
200g feta
Broccoli, Walnut and Blue Cheese Pesto – Tenderstem in 10 challenge
Broccoli is a brilliant vegetable but occasionally I find myself at a loss for what to do with it. It’s great with spices, superb with salty soy and oyster sauce and phenomenal with blankets of cheese. So when the kind people from Tenderstem asked if I was interested in taking part in their challenge I gladly accepted; a chance to really think outside the box.
The challenge was to make a meal using the Tenderstem broccoli using less than 10 ingredients in less than 10 minutes. I felt like a Ready Steady Cook contestant. I received a lovely parcel which contained the broccoli as well as a kitchen timer to keep me on track!
Beetroot, Walnut, Goat’s Cheese and Orzo Pasta ‘Salad’ with Dill Dressing
We are coming to the end of last year’s stored beetroot and can look forward to some fresh summer beetroot soon. I haven’t planted beetroot this year as I decided I would grow peas, beans, more beans, tomatoes and courgettes only. Not to worry though as last year’s beetroot are still popping up in my vegetable box and down at the local market. I’ve called this a ‘salad’ because it sort of falls in the salad category with the beetroot, walnuts and dressing but at the same time it is a pasta dish; a very luminously coloured pasta dish at that.
Wet Garlic, Bacon and Broccoli Pappardelle
Start by frying the onion in a little oil for a few minutes to soften. Add the bacon and fry for about five minutes until the bacon is cooked and the onions turning translucent. Add the garlic and reduce the heat. Fry for a few more minutes before pouring in the stock. Simmer this on a medium heat stirring occasionally. I used some of the chicken stock I had made from the leftover chicken.
While this cooks, add the pappardelle to boiling water. Four or five minutes before the pasta is ready, add the broccoli to the same water. The sauce should be reducing but turn the heat up or add a little more stock if it’s happening too fast or too slow. When the pasta and broccoli are done, add the broccoli and a little of the pasta water to the bacon sauce. Serve the broccoli, bacon, garlic mixture on top of the pappardelle.I was really surprised how the garlic mellowed with cooking. There was a definite garlic undertone to the dish but it was not as overpowering as I thought it might be. The salty bacon, sweet onion, pungent garlic and juicy broccoli were all married together beautifully with the chicken stock. If you’re lucky enough to get hold of wet garlic this is certainly worth a try (I also added it to frying Chorizo and it worked a treat), if you’re brave then you could try slicing it in to a salad.
Purple Sprouting Broccoli, Garlic Infused Olive Oil and Parmesan Pasta
Purple sprouting broccoli has to be one of my favourite vegetables. Its arrival on my plate with the warmer weather tells me that in a few weeks time I will be enjoying asparagus. It’s delicate appearance and slightly sweet taste is brilliant with so many foods. I like mine nice and simple; with copious amounts of garlic infused oil and coronary shattering piles of Parmesan.
Purple Sprouting Broccoli and Bacon Pasta
Ingredients
To feed 4 people I used: