Roast Pork, Pasta, and Tomato Salsa

The dish was begun with frying diced leek and onion in some olive oil, for about seven minutes at a medium heat. Then I added a third of a pint of boiling water, and added three squirts of tomato puree.

After that I added some finely diced fresh coriander leaf (dried will do just fine instead), some oregano and half a teaspoonful of paprika.

Then I deseeded a red chilli and cut it into thin strips. I diced two cloves of garlic, and added them to the pan. I broke a couple of slices of the roast pork into smaller chunks, and added everything to the pan. The resulting pork and tomato salsa was simmered for half an hour at a low heat under glass.

Served in this case with wheat-free pasta, cooked in salted water with a little olive oil to prevent sticking Ten to twelve minutes preparation time.

Dress with some freshly ground black pepper.

Pasta and Bacon Napoletana

Always risky to try a variation of an established dish if it is Italian! This one is fairly simple however, and should not annoy. It involves only two extra ingredients - Blue Stilton cheese, and diced green pepper.

I began by dicing two rashers of smoked bacon, and frying the pieces in a large saute pan in a little olive oil. I then added a julienned onion, and half a diced pepper. The ingredients were stir-fried for twenty minutes at a medium heat, until the onions began to brown, and the bacon became crispy.

I mashed a tin of peeled plum Italian tomatoes in a bowl and added them to the saute pan, along with about 400mls of boiling water. Stirred through the dish thoroughly, and add vegetable stock. Then I added about 40g of pieces of Blue Stilton cheese (bargain buy from the local co-op over Christmas!). Stirred for about seven minutes at a medium heat, until the cheese had entirely dissolved in the salsa.

The hob was turned down to a low heat, and was allowed to simmer for half an hour, with occasional stirring. Add black pepper, oregano, and some basil.

Served in this case with a wheat-free pasta from Sainsbury's, which behaves in the pot just like  durum wheat penne. The pasta was cooked at a fairly low heat for twelve minutes, in salted water and a drizzle of olive oil (to prevent sticking), and some chopped garlic. Stir frequently!

Chicken Pasta Bake

A simple dish made in two parts. First the pasta was prepared in salted boiling water, but not cooked to the full extent. This is because the pasta will be the base of the bake, and will cook further once the other ingredients are added. Drain and allow to cool, and add evenly to the base of the roasting tray.

Stir fry the mushrooms and the onion for ten minutes at a medium heat, and then add a third of a pint of water. Add tomato puree and the chicken stock, and then the meat from two chicken  drumsticks. Stir together and cook for half an hour until the sauce is considerably reduced. You can add a mixture of water and cornmeal to thicken, it, or some onion gravy granules.

Add the chicken salsa to the roasting tray lined with pasta. Spread evenly. You can add the Cheddar cheese in grated form, or in thin rectangles, according to preference. Bake in the oven at around 190 deg C until the cheese has melted and has begun to brown. This could be anywhere between twenty minutes and forty minutes on the middle shelf in the oven. Watch it carefully, at least once every five minutes! Take it out when it looks right. Serve with freshly ground black pepper.

Spaghetti Chicken Parmigiana

This is a version of the Chicken Parmigiana recipe posted recently, so this is something of a recap.

Made with the meat from two chicken drumsticks, an onion, tomato passata, two cloves of garlic, and 75 grams of finely grated parmigiano reggiano cheese.  The one difference from the earlier recipe is the addition of four topped green finger chillies.

The chicken drumsticks were preroasted, and still with their skins, into which some sea salt had been rubbed. Both the skins and the flesh were decanted into a small saucepan, together with one diced onion, and a little sunflower oil. Stirfried for four minutes at a medium heat, after which 150g of tomato passata was added, along with the finger chillies.

Simmer for fifteen minutes under glass, with a little black pepper. After that, allow to cool a little for five minutes, and then decant into a tray suitable for grilling.

Grate the cheese into a bowl. Then shake the grated cheese over the surface of the grilling tray, ensuring an even spread (I used a dessert spoon for this). Leave to stand for five minutes while you fire up the grill.

Toast the cheese under the grill for seven to nine minutes (check the progress by eye). When the cheese has melted and browned, remove from the grill rack. Allow to cool for five minutes, then decant into a serving bowl.

Served with spaghetti, boiled with a little turmeric. Delicious!

Chicken (Pollo) Parmigiana

A simple and tasty dish made with the meat from two chicken drumsticks, an onion, tomato passata, two cloves of garlic, and 75 grams of finely grated parmigiano reggiano cheese.

The chicken drumsticks were preroasted, and still with their skins, into which some sea salt had been rubbed. Both the skins and the flesh were decanted into a small saucepan, together with one diced onion, and a little sunflower oil. Stirfried for four minutes at a medium heat, after which 150g of tomato passata was added.

Simmer for fifteen minutes under glass, with a little black pepper. After that, allow to cool a little for five minutes, and then decant into a tray suitable for grilling.

Grate the cheese into a bowl. Then shake the grated cheese over the surface of the grilling tray, ensuring an even spread (I used a dessert spoon for this). Leave to stand for five minutes while you fire up the grill.

Toast the cheese under the grill for seven to nine minutes (check the progress by eye). When the cheese has melted and browned, remove from the grill rack. Allow to cool for five minutes, then decant into a serving bowl. Serve with a four leaf salad (in this case). Add a dusting of oregano if desired. The dish can also be served with spaghetti, penne pasta, or with potatoes. Utterly delicious!

Garlic Lamb with Penne Pasta

Ground lamb, cooked in its own fat, along with white onion, peppers, and some dried red chillies.

The lamb was cooked first for 45 minutes, before the onion was added. After that, the diced carrot was added, and the peppers, and about half a pint of water. Then herbs (oregano and basil) and the tomato passata were added, along with the lamb stock. Finally, one crushed clove of garlic was added. Simmered under glass for an hour.

This is the base for a range of meals. Use as the basis of a Shepherd's pie. Add dates and garlic for a middle eastern or Italian style dish. Served here with wheat-free penne pasta.

Pasta Bake with Cauliflower and Tomato

Cut off the leaves from a whole head of cauliflower. Cut the florets into smaller chunks, and place in a pyrex (ovenproof) bowl. Shred two salad tomatoes, and add to the bowl.

Cook penne pasta in a separate pan for 8 or 9 minutes, and drain.

Preheat the oven to around 190 or 200 deg. C.

Make a white cheese sauce with cornflour, milk, Greek yoghurt, and a little water. Add 150 grams of medium strength cheddar cheese, thinly sliced. Stir frequently at a medium heat until the sauce thickens. Add half a teaspoonful of white pepper.

Grate about 75 grams of the cheddar. Add the cheese sauce to the cauliflower and tomato, and also add the pasta. Stir together with some vegetable stock. Dress the surface of the dish evenly with the grated cheddar.

Put the bowl on a shelf in the middle of the oven, and cook for at least 45 minutes. Watch the contents carefully, and don't allow the grated cheese to overcook. Turn the heat down if necessary, and extend the cooking time (not necessary in this example).

A very satisfying dish. It takes about thirty minutes to prepare, apart from the cooking time, but it is well worth it for the result!

Bacon with Penne Pasta

Cooking bacon cut into chunks and stir-fried until browned. Add chopped onion, green pepper, carrot and celery. Cook for ten minutes at a medium heat, stirring frequently

Add boiling water and tomato puree, and stir. Cook for fifteen minutes under glass, and add the basil and half a spoonful of smoked paprika.

I used wheat-free pasta, which cooks in the same sort of time as the regular variety (9 to 10 minutes).

Serve the bacon and the salsa on top of the pasta in a pasta bowl. Dress in some black pepper.

Bacon and Tomato Pasta

Penne pasta with a tomato and parmigiano regiano sauce salsa, with bacon chunks, garlic and herbs.

I cooked the bacon first at a medium heat, together with the garlic, which takes around fifteen to twenty minutes, until the bacon pieces are slightly browned. Then I added boiling water and pieces of the cheese (about 75g). Cooked for twenty minutes to half an hour until the cheese has melted, stirring frequently.

Then I added about 150g of tomato passata, plus the herbs basil, oregano, and a pinch of paprika. Added a dash of Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce. Stirred together thoroughly. This is essentially a neopolitan style salsa, which is the basis of many excellent Italian meals.

I left it  to cook at a low heat under glass for another twenty minutes to half an hour. During which time I prepared the wheat-free, gluten free pasta from Sainsbury's. I boiled water, and added about a third cupful of the dried pasta. I also added a quarter teaspoonful of turmeric, for both flavour and colour. The pasta was stirred frequently to prevent sticking.

The pasta was ready to serve in ten minutes. I spooned the salsa into a pasta bowl and used a slatted spoon to capture all of the bacon chunks. The pasta was drained, and decanted into the bowl. The dish was served with black pepper. Delicious!

Pastrami Cheese with Penne Pasta

The ingredients are: peppered pastrami trimmings, red pepper, mushrooms, onion, garlic, cornflour, 50g of a soft cheese (in this case camembert), and two pinches of marjoram. Plus 30g of penne pasta (wheat free if preferred).

Cook the pastrami in a little sunflower oil until cooked through (start with a high heat, then turn it down to a low heat). Add half a chopped red pepper, and the onion (diced). Add two crushed and chopped cloves of garlic, and finely sliced mushroom (3 small). Stir frequently until the vegetables are cooked.

Make up a quarter-cup mixture of a teaspoonful of cornflour and water. Add the mixture to the pan containing the pastrami and vegetables. Stir frequently and turn up the heat. Once the sauce begins to thicken, turn down the heat to a simmer, and continue to stir. Cut the cheese into thin strips and add slowly to the sauce. Stir until the cheese has dissolved. Add the marjoram to the sauce.

Boil the pasta in slightly salted water for 8-9 minutes, and drain. Add to a pasta bowl, and then add the pastrami and camembert sauce. Delicious!

Penne Pasta with Mussels and King Prawns

Sea food from Sainsbury's. Penne pasta, with squid rings, mussels, prawns. Cooked with red onion and garlic, and dressed with grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. The pasta was cooked in salted water, along with olive oil.

The onion and garlic was cooked in two knobs of butter for three or four minutes. Then the seafood was added, and stir-fried frequently at a high heat, for a further four minutes or so.

Add the sea food and the pasta together, and then decant into a pasta dish. Dress with Parmigiano Reggiano, or some similar grated cheese. Serve with lots of white pepper.

No herbs, no spices (apart from the white pepper). Delicious as it is.

Ragù alla bolognese

A variation on the recipe for the Italian dish Ragù alla bolognese. Made with 400g of ground (minced) beef, with 20 per cent fat, plus celery, carrots, red onion, a tin of Italian plum tomatoes, a handful of fresh basil leaves, a bay leaf, and beef stock. Sometimes the recipe for this dish asks for diced pancetta, which is a type of Italian unsmoked bacon, thyme, nutmeg and milk. I skipped all of those. Garlic is sometimes not specified, but I added three cloves.

Brown the beef in its own fat at a high heat in a large saute pan. Add the onions (three medium red onions), finely diced carrots (two), and finely chopped celery. Stir frequently to ensure even browning of the beef. Add finely chopped garlic. The browning process should be complete in fifteen to twenty minutes.

Add boiling water to the pan, and the plum tomatoes. Mash and chop the tomatoes with either a masher or a wooden slice or paddle. Stir the ingredients together. Add the beef stock, the chopped basil leaves, and the bay leaf. Add a couple of dashes of black pepper according to taste.

Once the pan comes back to the boil, reduce the heat to the minimum,  and simmer for two hours under a glass lid. Stir occasionally.

Serve with tagliatteli, or penne pasta, spaghetti (not done in Italy, I'm told) or fusili. You can choose to mix in some yoghurt before serving. Add a topping of parmesan, or parmigiano reggiano cheese, and dust with black pepper.

If you want to reduce the level of fat in the dish, you can brown the beef separately, and drain the fat off before adding the vegetables (use a metal sieve). Alternatively, you can decant the sauce into a tall glass vessel while it is still warm. The fat will migrate to the top and solidify. You can then spoon it off and reheat the sauce before serving.

Polska Surowa Smoked Sausage in a Cheese Sauce

Thinly sliced Surowa smoked and peppered sausage, fried with onion, until the onion begins to brown. The cheese sauce was made with cornflour, water, milk, a quarter teaspoonful of mustard powder, vegetable stock, two squeezes of tomato puree, and 80g of Sage Derby cheese. Stir continuously until the sauce thickens.  A pinch of oregano was added to the sauce before it was added to the onion and the sausage. 

Serve with boiled potatoes, or penne, or fusili pasta. 

Polska Surowa Smoked Sausage in a Cheese Sauce

Penne Pasta with Tomato and Green Pesto

A simple dish, quick to make. Penne pasta, cooked with salt and for 9 to 10 minutes in boiling water (Dove's Farm wheat free version). Stir frequently to avoid the pasta sticking together. Drain and place in a bowl.

Mix in a couple of teaspoonfuls of green pesto sauce (in this case Sacla brand), which is essentially a mix of ground basil leaves and a soft white Italian cheese. Add chopped or shredded salad or vine tomatoes, and mix together. Serve with black pepper. Can be eaten hot or cold, or in between. Delicious!

Penne Pasta with Tomato and Pesto

Penne Pasta, Chorizo and Blue Stilton

The gravy was made with one red onion, six shallots, half of a yellow pepper, cut into strips, a shredded salad or vine tomato, a dash of a Sauvignon Blanc, a teaspoonful of black pepper, parsley, some tomato puree, two spoonfuls of yoghurt, and ham stock,

The gravy was made by frying the red onion and the shallots, both chopped, until they were browned. I mixed some  cornflour with water, and added the ham stock. Then added this to the pot and allowed to thicken over ten minutes, stirring regularly. Then the rest of the vegetables, the tomato puree,The yoghurt, the parsley, and the pepper were added. The Blue Stilton cheese was grated in a rotary grater, and used as a topping. A delicious combination!

The penne pasta was Dove's farm brand, and is wheat free. Cooked in boiling salted water for 9 to 10 minutes under glass at a low heat.

Penne Pasta, Chorizo and Blue Stilton

Bacon and Tomato Pasta

A relatively simple dish, related in essence to a pasta dish which apparently is a favourite of Sophia Loren. 

Some thickly cut cooking bacon cut into 1 inch long strips, stir fried in olive oil along with sliced Spanish onion, and sliced red and green pepper (half a pepper each). Once most of the moisture from the onion, peppers and bacon has evaporated, add a 400g tin of coarsely chopped tomatoes. Stir together, with a little boiling water, and simmer for 25-30 minutes, until the bacon is tender. 

Slice 75g of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese into thin squares, and stir in to the pan. Add black pepper to taste. Shred a dozen fresh basil leaves and add to the contents of the pan. Stir. Cover the pan and simmer for another ten minutes or so. 

During the final simmer, prepare wheat free penne pasta in boiling salted water. This usually takes around nine minutes. 

Add four wooden spoonfuls of the bacon and tomato salsa to a pasta serving bowl, and drop the drained pasta on top with a slatted spoon. Mix the pasta into the bacon and tomato salsa with a dessert spoon, and garnish with a sprig of Basil. Extra grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese can be added according to taste.

A slightly different version of this dish without peppers and onion can be found here.  

Add the tomatoes to the saute pan.

Bacon and Tomato Pasta

Saucisson Sec Supérieur Sausage with Cheese Penne

Roughly cut pieces of Saucisson Sec Supérieur sausage, wheat free Dove's Farm penne pasta (made with maize and rice flour), in a cheese sauce made with grated cheddar, and grated haloumi cheese (being a quite salty cheese, no salt was added to the sauce). The base of the sauce was made with cornflour, and so the dish is wheat free.

The pasta was added to the cheese sauce and stirred in thoroughly, and then the sausage pieces,  about three minutes before serving.  Served with a dusting of dried oregano and some black pepper. 

The spiced sausage, though French, is very similar to Spanish spiced sausage, which can be used instead. 

Saucisson Sec Supérieur Sausage with Cheese Penne

Penne Pasta in a Cheese Sauce

Cubed potato, sliced red onion, and half a yellow pepper, cooked in just enough boiling water to cover the vegetables. Plus 200 grammes of tomato passata added halfway. Cooked in a pan for twenty-five minutes altogether, until the potato cubes are soft. Add some crushed garlic, and stir occasionally.

Cooking bacon  was cut into cubes and fried in its own fat in a small pan until golden brown, and then added to to the body of the sauce. The bacon can be replaced with mushrooms if you want a vegetarian meal. Added some vegetable stock, a pinch of basil, two pinches of oregano, and two pinches of rosemary. Cooked for another fifteen minutes.

After the sauce is cooked, add two teaspoonfuls of freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese (or more, according to preference), and stir together.

Cook the penne pasta in salted water until it has the right degree of 'bite'. I use Dove Farm wheat-free penne at the moment, which is generally ready after eight to ten minutes of cooking after immersion in boiling water. Drain the penne, and add to the sauce, and stir gently until mixed. Serve.

Sprinkle another teaspoonful of freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese on each serving, along with a generous amount of black pepper.

Penne Pasta in a Cheese Sauce

Chorizo with Penne Pasta and a Cheese Sauce

Sliced chorizo sausage, with penne pasta, chopped chestnut mushrooms, chopped red pepper, in a cheddar cheese sauce. Serve with lots of freshly ground black pepper.

Chorizo with Penne Pasta and a Cheese Sauce

Minced beef with Penne Pasta

Lean minced beef, chopped tomato, mushroom, green pepper, green chilli, onion, beef stock, fresh basil and coriander, chopped garlic, and wheat-free pasta (Dove Farm). Ground black pepper to taste. Minced beef browned in olive oil before spending about six hours in the slow cooker.

Minced beef with Penne Pasta