spicy peanut butter noodles with broccoli and pickled mustard

This is a 'store cupboard special' recipe. Chances are you'll have all, if not most of these ingredients in your kitchen already and if not you can improvise. These noodles are quick and easy too. (I have been known to knock up a bowl after a night out on more than one occasion!) Once you understand the basic idea of this simple dish you can alter the flavours based on your own tastes or what you have in. The foundation of the sauce is peanut butter made into a sauce with hot water. You could even make this super healthy by blending roasted, unsalted peanuts with water and various seasonings.


Ingredients (2 greedy people)
200g egg noodles
1 head of broccoli or other veg of your choice, cut into bite sized pieces, stem and all
The sauce
3 heaped tbsp (crunchy) peanut butter
3 tbsp sriracha chilli sauce/chilli ketchup or similar. (You can add more or less of this to taste)
1 tsp chilli flakes (optional)
1/2 tsp sesame oil (optional)
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 tsp soy sauce
250ml (just) boiled water

To serve any selection from:
Finely sliced onion/spring onion
lime wedges
pickled mustard
radish slices
fresh coriander, mint and/or chives

1. In a pan of boiling water cook the broccoli for 5 minutes then scoop out with a slotted spoon and set to one side.
2. In the same pan cook the noodles according to the instructions on the packet.
3. Meanwhile, get on with preparing the sauce. Mix together all the ingredients apart from the water. Taste and adjust the chilli seasoning to your taste. Next add the water little by little until you achieve the consistency of pouring cream. 
4. Once the noodles are cooked, drain then place in a large mixing bowl, then stir through the broccoli and peanut butter sauce. Serve with the lime wedges, onion and pickled mustard or whatever you've got. 

(sort of) minestrone

This is a 'sort of' version of minestrone based on the ingredients I already had in the house and to use up the small amounts of left over pasta that were taking up space in my food cupboard. My recipe changes all the time but the basic principles remain the same. I'm a great believer in trying to avoid wasting food and saving money so feel free to vary the quantities and types of veg depending on what you like and already have around. Ideally I would have liked to add some celery but this worked out fine without. The pesto addition is non-essential but great if you can do it. It really lifts the dish to something special. You can always use shop-bought but homemade, fresh pesto is without equal in my opinion.


Ingredients

400g tin chopped tomatoes
1 large soup bowl of finely diced vegetables (I used 2 onions, red and green peppers, 2 carrots and a courgette)
2 handfuls of dried pasta, if they are different size break them up so that they are similar sizes - this will help them cook at the same time.
approx 8 large cabbage leaves, sliced
2 handfuls of green beans
Parmesan or pecorino cheese rind (if you have one)
2 tbsp oil
1 litre of chicken or vegetable stock
selection of herbs (I used 2 bay leaves, some dried oregano and asprig of dried rosemary)
salt and pepper to taste

Homemade pesto for serving.

Heat a large saucepan over a medium high heat, add the oil then the bowl of diced vegetables. Cook until soft but not coloured and the onions are translucent. Stir frequently.

Add the tinned tomatoes, herbs and a good sprinkling of black pepper and stir well. Next add the stock, reduce the heat and cook gently for around 30 minutes.

Now add the pasta and cook for a further 10 minutes until it is almost completely cooked then add the cabbage and green beans for another 5 minutes or so. If the soup is quite thick add extra hot water from the kettle until you achieve your desired consistency.

Check seasoning, remove the cheese rind and any whole herbs then serve. This is excellent with a dollop of pesto in the middle. My recipe for basil, rocket and walnut pesto is particularly good.

goulash & kluski (homemade egg noodles)

If you're looking for something warming and tasty for your dinner this week you really should try out this recipe for goulash. I don't own a slow cooker but I'm sure you could easily make the soup/stew in it and add the noodles just before eating. It is well worth making your own egg noodles to go with this dish. They're really easy and have a lovely light texture that is perfect with the goulash. You could also add these egg noodles to any other soup or stew, they'd be particularly good in a chicken noodle soup (I'll post a recipe soon).





Ingredients

400 g stewing beef cut into bite sized pieces
2 medium-sized onions, finely chopped
2 tbsp oil

3 tbsp Hungarian Paprika (I didn’t have any so put together my own mix of 2 tbsp regular paprika, 1 tbsp sweet smoked paprika plus 1 tsp hot smoked paprika because I like a bit of a kick in my food)
1/2 tsp caraway seeds
2 cloves of garlic, minced, crushed or finely chopped
500ml beef stock
500ml water
1 green pepper, de-seeded and diced
1 red pepper, de-seeded and diced
1 x 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
1-2 carrots, peeled and diced
3 medium potatoes peeled and cut into chunks
salt and pepper to taste
Extra 1 tbsp. paprika

1 portion homemade egg noodles

1. Heat a heavy based saucepan over a medium high heat and add 2 tbsp oil. Saute the onions until they are translucent. Add the beef and colour on all sides.
2. Chuck in the paprika, caraway and garlic. Stir thoroughly so all the meat is well covered. The base of your sauce pan might get a bit gunked up at this stage. Don’t panic, just make sure it isn’t burning.
3. Next add the carrots and pepers, give them a good stir then add the tinned, chopped tomatoes. Give everything another good stir and break up the sticky bits from the bottom of the pan with your spoon.
4. Add the beef stock and water and continue to heat until just boiling. Now turn the heat down as low as you can, cover the pan and leave to cook for around an hour until the beef is completely cooked and almost falling apart.
5. Next add the potatoes and continue to simmer until they are soft and cooked through.
6. Season to taste and stir through the extra tbsp. of paprika.
7. You can serve the goulash as it is now with a dollop of sour cream or crème fraiche and some crusty bread or you can add some homemade egg noodles.

chorizo, mascarpone and tomato pasta sauce

A tasty, kitchen cupboard meal. These ingredients are usually knocking around in my kitchen or there will be something that I can substitute. To make a vegetarian version of this dish at stage one, saute a finely diced onion in some olive oil, add a tablespoon of hot smoked paprika and a couple of cloves of crushed garlic then continue on with the rest of the recipe. You can either keep the sauce chunky or put it through a food processor before mixing with the pasta.

Serves 2-3
Ingredients
200g cooking chorizo
400g tinned tomatoes or passata
2 tbsp mascarpone cheese or creme fraiche or similar
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
sprinkle of dried chilli flakes (optional)
salt & pepper
200g dried pasta. I used pappardelle.

1. Heat a wide frying pan over a medium heat, squidge the sausage meat or of their casings directly into the pan so that you've got bite-sized pieces. Cook for around 3-4 minutes until crispy and golden and the spicy paprika oils have been released. Don't move around too much unless you want to it break down into much smaller pieces. You can drain the oil off if you wish but it seems a shame to loose so much of the flavour.
2. Add the fennel and chilli flakes and sizzle for a minute. 
3. Add the tomatoes to the pan and simmer the ingredients together for about 5 minutes before you put the pasta on, it should be starting to reduce by this stage. If the tomatoes are whole you will need to break them up a bit with the back of your spoon.
4. Cook your chosen pasta according to the packet instructions, mine took around 10 minutes.
5. The tomato sauce is ready once it is no longer watery and has thickened up and is glistening with little pools of oil. Season to taste.
6. When the pasta is nearly ready stir the mascarpone into the tomato sauce and mix thoroughly. 
7. Once cooked, add in the pasta. If the sauce is too thick for your taste, add a little of the cooking water to thin it out.  Serve and enjoy.

 

awesome macaroni cheese with pancetta & spinach

Just the thought of this dish makes me happy. Soft, cheesy and creamy sauce with salty, crispy bacon bits topped with crunchy breadcrumbs and the 'healthy' addition of the spinach. This is the ultimate comfort food for me and one of the first dishes I learnt to cook for myself, although in a simpler version. If you don't fancy bacon/pancetta or spinach leave it out, it will still be super awesome and delicious. Also feel free to change it up a bit adding roasted peppers, fried mushrooms, sweetcorn or green chillies. This is a great dish and everyone has their own signature version. Here is my current favourite.

Ingredients Serves 4 as a main dish or 6 - 8 as a side.

500g pasta shapes
300g strong cheese, grated (I used equal quantities of mature cheddar, gruyere and emmental)
200g fresh spinach
100g cubed pancetta or streaky bacon
500ml milk
100ml cream (optional)
50g butter
50g plain flour
pepper
nutmeg
approx 70g bread crumbs (I used fresh so had to toast them myself but skip this stage if you have shop bought breadcrumbs such as panko)



1. Preheat your oven to 200C fan.

2. Cook your pasta according to the instructions on the packet but drain it a minute or so before the end of the time. You don't want it to be over cooked at this stage. Leave it in the pan to one side.

3. If using fresh breadcrumbs toast them off in the oven, under the grill or in a cast iron skillet or frying pan on the hob.

4. In a wide frying pan crisp up your bacon or pancetta. When this is done set to one side to drain on kitchen paper and pour off the excess fat from the pan into a separate dish. (Please don't pour it down the drain - dispose of it properly).


5. Return the pan to the heat then add the spinach and wilt down. Squeeze out as much of the water as you can then scatter the spinach on the base of the oven proof dish.


6. Put a saucepan over a medium heat then add the butter and flour and stir together until the butter is completely melted and combined with the flour.

7. Now, little by little add in the milk stirring throughly after each addition to ensure it is completely combined and no lumps are forming. You hear about some people heating the milk separately, I never bother because it's just extra mess and my sauces always work out fine this way.

8. Once you have added all the milk grate in a little nutmeg and black pepper to taste and the cream if using then continue to heat the white sauce until it has thicken so that it coats the back of a spoon and the raw flour taste has gone. Turn off the heat then add 2/3 of the cheese and stir until it has melted in. Now stir through your crispy bacon bits.






9. It's now time to build up the final dish. Pour the cheese sauce over the pasta and stir until all the pasta is covered then transfer to the oven proof dish that has the spinach on the bottom.



10. Sprinkle over the remaining cheese followed by the breadcrumbs then place in the oven  for around 20 minutes or until it is golden brown on top and bubbling round the edges.

(award winning) linguine with breadcrumbs, chili, garlic and anchovy

I love this recipe and there are so many possible variations. I almost always have the ingredients for this in the house so it's a great meal when you haven't got much in or pushed for time. Even if you think you don't like anchovies I urge you to try this recipe. They disappear into the sauce to give a rich and salty flavour to the whole dish. But if you really can't bring yourself to use them leave them out but add some extra olive oil to help the sauce along or try a sundried tomato paste instead. (I've put the complete instructions for this recipe at the end of the post.) This recipe is so good that it one the judges prize in the Instructables Pasta Contest.

Ingredients

250g linguine or spaghetti

70g fresh bread crumbs

1/2 - 1 tsp chili flakes

4 cloves of garlic finely chopped

handful of flat leaf parsley

50g tin anchovy fillets in olive oil

1/2 tsp fennel seeds

1 tbsp olive oil

freshly ground black pepper

Heat a cast iron skillet or thick based frying pan and toast the bread crumbs in the olive oil until golden brown. Just before you remove from the heat add in the fennel seeds and lightly toast. Put the crumbs into a dish and set to one side.

Cook the linguine according to the pack instructions in well salted water.

About 5 minutes before the pasta is cooked heat a wide frying pan over a medium high heat.
Carefully pour in the oil from the anchovy tin and cook the garlic and chili flakes until golden. 

Next add the anchovy fillets and using a wooden spoon squish them until they have dissolved into the garlic and chili mix. Add a couple of ladles of the pasta cooking water to help this along so that you end up with a creamy puree.

Once the pasta is cooked add it to the anchovy mixture followed by the black pepper and the parsley.

Finally add the bread crumbs and stir through then serve.

 

Complete Instructions

1. Heat a cast iron skillet or thick based frying pan and toast the bread crumbs in the olive oil until golden brown. Just before you remove from the heat add in the fennel seeds and lightly toast. Put the crumbs into a dish and set to one side. 
2. Cook the linguine according to the pack instructions in well salted water. 
3. About 5 minutes before the pasta is cooked heat a wide frying pan over a medium high heat.
4. Carefully pour in the oil from the anchovy tin and cook the garlic and chili flakes until golden. 
5. Next add the anchovy fillets and using a wooden spoon squish them until they have dissolved into the garlic and chili mix. Add a couple of ladles of the pasta cooking water to help this along so that you end up with a creamy puree. 
6. Once the pasta is cooked add it to the anchovy mixture followed by the black pepper and the parsley. Finally add the bread crumbs and stir through then serve.