Category: pasta

Categories
beef food mince pasta stock

spaghetti elvedenese

enjoying spaghetti bolognese

Some of the best meals come when your hands are tied; everyone’s hungry and you just have to work with what you’ve got. I had this recently whilst on holiday at Center Parcs Elveden Forest. Worn out from trekking, swimming and climbing, the troops needed fuel!

We’ve been to this village several times over the years and never failed to have an amazing time. We have kids separated in age by 9 years. This presents it’s own challenges which is well catered for by the variety of activities available. The big ‘un can go climbing trees and archery whilst the littl’un can go to fairy parties and learn to ride a bike. I’ve always loved the swimming complex, packed with inventive ways to be thrown about in the water.

And of course you can return to the home base of your self-catering villa. Being a cooking-loving kinda person I always cast a critical eye over the kitchen. You’re sorted for an oven, hob, microwave, dishwasher, fridge and letterbox-sized freezer. The range of utensils and pots can be challenging, with what seems like the Argos value pan set in the cupboard. There’s just three things I wish they’d include in the standard kitchen kit to keep me happy: some tongs (invaluable for turning things on a grill, and the best thing for serving spaghetti dishes), a decent knife to chop an onion with (blunted for safety no doubt), and a decent-size casserole dish. For this dinner (to feed 4) I had to juggle a couple of pans to cook my mince mixture.

I can’t be the first person to make spag bol here surely? It’s a real challenge to try and make family portions in small pans.

This is a minor criticism. I’m certain I must be the only one grumbling about this issue but being a food person the kitchen situation is never going to be perfect.

So here’s my rescue dinner, a kind-of crowd pleasing spaghetti bolognese, with odds and ends from home and a few essentials from the village supermarket. If you can pick up Knorr Flavour Pots they’re a great way to shortcut flavour into your dinners.

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spaghetti elvedenese

Author Gary @ BigSpud

Ingredients

  • 500 g beef mince
  • 2 onions peeled and diced
  • 1 tin tomatoes
  • 1 Knorr Mixed Herbs flavour pot
  • 1 tablespoon tomato ketchup
  • 1 teaspoon Marmite rounded
  • 200 g spaghetti

Instructions

  • Brown the mince in a saucepan, in batches if required. Put to one side when done, removing with a slotted spoon. In the same pan, gently fry the onion. Once the onion has softened, pop the mince back in the pan.
  • Add the tomatoes, then fill the tin back up with water and add that to the pan too. Stir in the stock pot. Once it all comes up to the boil, add the ketchup and Marmite. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes while you cook the pasta according to the packet instructions.
  • As the pasta finishes, check the mince for seasoning. Drain the pasta and then combine in the pan with the mince. Give it a real good stir for a minute to let the spaghetti soak up the flavours. Serve with grated cheese and crisp salad leaves.
Categories
food marsala pasta peppers pork

pork primavera

Sometimes, dinner gets later and later. It was just one of those evenings of putting children to bed, getting haircuts and other chores. I didn’t get started on this until 8.30pm, but we were eating by 8.45pm. You gotta love dinners like this, but it all starts from the storecupboard. If the basics aren’t there, you’re on to a loser.

This one massively favours substitution: swap pork for any other meat, the peppers for any firm veg, and Comté cheese is not essential. As luck would have it the Comté people got in touch and sent me some samples so I was more than happy to include it here. Heston’s a big fan of Comté, so is Raymond Blanc (he comes from that region) so it’s in good company.

Pork primavera (serves 2):

2 frozen pork loin steaks

150g frozen peppers

2 tablespoons Marsala wine

300ml creme fraiche

70g comte cheese, shaved

  1. Get a large pan of salted water on to boil, and a frying pan over a high heat. Add the pasta to the water and cook according to the packet instructions.
  2. Season the pork on both sides with salt and pepper and fry in the pan until browned on one side. Flip and cook for another minute and then remove to one side. Add the peppers to the pan and fry briskly, then add the Marsala wine. Allow to bubble for a minute.
  3. Slice the pork into thin strips, then add back to the pan with the peppers. When cooked on all sides turn the heat down low and add the creme fraiche. Stir thoroughly to combine and season with salt and pepper as required.
  4. Scoop out a little pasta water to a mug. If your resulting source is a little thick, you can let it down with this water. By this time the pasta should be done, so drain and add to the pork ‘n’ pepper pan. Turn off the heat, add most of the cheese and toss really well to combine. Serve and garnish with the remaining cheese.
Categories
breadcrumbs cheese pasta roux

jackie kashian’s cheese penne bake

I devour podcasts by the audio gallon. Since 2007 (late to the podcast party, I know) I’ve had a regular diet of banter, thought, review and revue. Many have come and gone from my queue, and I’m always happy to try new ones.

A few weeks ago I discovered The Dork Forest. Hosted by comedian Jackie Kashian she indulges her weekly guest in one of their obsessions, or ‘dorkdoms’. It’s a lot of fun, and if you like your podcasts rambly and occasionally educational, this is one for the playlist. On a recent episode her guest Tracey Ashley couldn’t praise her macaroni cheese enough. I don’t need asking twice; I raced off to try it.

Jackie’s original recipe is here, but be warned it’s written in American (Sticks of butter! Sharp cheese!). My rough Anglican version is below. I’ve not used Gruyere as it wouldn’t survive against the strong cheddar I used, an Asda mature cheddar with wholegrain mustard, part of their Asda Summer range. Any cheddar will do but the mustard flavour through it is really good. I’ve also subbed penne over macaroni. But it’s a great pasta bake, with a silky sauce and big flavour. I think it’s the breadcrumbs that make it.

Thanks to Asda for sending me the cheese to try.

Jackie Kashian’s cheese pasta bake (serves 4):

1 garlic clove, halved

4 tablespoons butter, melted

3 slices bread

3 tablespoons flour

500ml whole milk

2 teaspoons salt

¼ nutmeg, grated

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

400g cheddar cheese, grated

400g penne or other pasta

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Take your garlic clove and rub it around the inside of a baking dish. Whizz up your bread in a food processor, stir in 1 tablespoon of the butter and set aside.
  2. Get your pasta on to boil in plenty of salted water, and drain when done. Meanwhile make your sauce.
  3. Over a low heat stir together the remaining butter and flour until you have a roux and continue to cook for another minute until pale in colour. Add all of the milk and whisk constantly for about eight minutes until thick and smooth. Add the salt, nutmeg, cayenne and cheese. Take off the heat and stir through, then fold in the pasta.
  4. Pour into your baking dish, top with breadcrumbs and bake for 30 minutes until golden brown. Wait 2 minutes before serving to let the sauce settle, and serve with a green salad to try and offset some of the guilt.
Categories
black truffles food parmesan pasta

spaghetti with truffles

Some good friends gave me some Carluccio’s black truffles as a gift; the least I could do was serve it back to them. I thought this recipe would be one that Carluccio himself would be pleased with as it has minimal ingredients and ready in under 10 minutes. Mof-mof indeed.

Spaghetti with truffles (serves 4):

250g spaghetti (fancy bronze-die cut stuff if you can get it)

30g butter

30g parmesan, grated

1 black truffle

  1. Cook the spaghetti in plenty of salted boiling water until al dente. Like, proper toothy.
  2. As the spaghetti is nearly cooked, gently melt the butter. When the pasta is ready add it to the butter at the same time as the parmesan. Toss like crazy and add a real big punch of black pepper. Serve immediately, grating over black truffle to taste.
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