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Posts Tagged ‘Easy’

Linguine with tuna sauce

Posted in Fish, Food, Healthy, Italian, Pasta, tagged , , , , , , , on 28 April 2012| 2 Comments »

This is so delicious!!! Make sure you use top quality tuna in olive oil (we like Ortiz). It’s really healthy too. What more can we say?

Note to Cara – Jono reckons Cian will like this one 😉

Linguine with tuna sauce – to serve 4

  • 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 3 tbsp fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
  • 1 cm fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
  • 450g creamed tomatoes (passata)
  • 2 x 200g cans tuna in olive oil, drained and flaked
  • 375g linguine

Heat the oil in a medium pan. Toss in 2 tbsp of the parsley, the garlic, chilli and ginger and fry for a few minutes until starting to soften. Add the tomatoes and cook for another few minutes. Fold in the tuna and season generously. Leave the sauce to simmer for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta, then drain and return to the pan. Pour the tuna sauce into the pasta and toss well. Sprinkle over the rest of the parsley and serve.

Wine Suggestions: We think a light Italian red would be good here. Try a Langhe Nebbiolo or something from Basilicata if you fancy going south.

(Original recipe from BBC Good Food.)

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Butternut Squash Curry

Posted in Asian, Food, Healthy, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , on 20 April 2012| Leave a Comment »

This is not a sophisticated Thai curry but is absolutely perfect for a quick mid-week meal. We loved it! We’ve been avoiding butternut squash this year it seems, which is no reflection on how yum it is. Serve with basmati or jasmine rice.

Thai red squash curry – to serve 4

  • 1 small butternut squash, about 700g
  • 200g pack mixed mangetout and baby corn
  • 2 tbsp sunflower oil
  • 1-2 tbsp Thai red curry paste
  • 400ml can coconut milk
  • 150ml vegetable stock
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp light muscovado sugar
  • juice of ½ lime

Cut the end off the squash and quarter lengthways, scoop out the seeds, peel, then cut into smallish chunks. Halve the baby corn lengthways.

Heat the oil in a saucepan. Fry the paste gently for 1-2 minutes. Add the coconut milk, stock, soy sauce and sugar. Bring to the boil.

Add the squash and baby corn. Simmer, covered, for about 10-12 minutes. Add the lime juice and mangetout and simmer for one more minute.

Wine Suggestion: We didn’t have anything to drink with this (except water) but if we did it would probably have been a beer!

(Original recipe from BBC Good Food Magazine, April 2001.)

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Sausage Pasta

Posted in Food, Italian, Pasta, Pork, tagged , , , , , , , on 9 April 2012| 1 Comment »

Good Friday night stuff this. We always have a stash of good quality sausages from Sienna in the freezer. This is a Jamie recipe called “Proper blokes’ sausage fusilli”. We assure you that proper ladies like it too!

Sausage Pasta – to serve 4

  • 2 heaped tsp fennel seeds
  • 2 dried red chillies, crumbled (or use chilli flakes)
  • olive oil
  • 600g good-quality coarse Italian sausages (or Cumberland)
  • 1 tbsp dried oregano
  • a wineglass of white wine
  • zest and juice of 1 lemon
  • 500g good-quality fusilli or penne
  • a couple of knobs of butter
  • a handful of freshly grated Parmesan, plus extra to serve
  • a small bunch of flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked and chopped

Crush the fennel seeds and chillies in a pestle and mortar until coarsely ground. Heat a splash of olive oil in a heavy frying pan. Skin the sausages and add the meat to the pan, breaking it up with a wooden spoon. Fry for a few minutes until it starts to colour and the fat has started to render, keep crushing it until it looks like coarse mince. Add the crushed fennel and chillies and cook on a medium heat for about 10 minutes until the meat looks crispy and golden brown.

Stir in the oregano, then pour in the wine and reduce it by half. Add the lemon zest and juice. Turn the heat to low while you cook your pasta according to the pack. Drain the pasta but reserve a little cooking water. Toss the pasta well with the sausagemeat, then add the butter, Parmesan, chopped parsley and a few spoons of the reserved water. You should have a loose, shiny sauce. Taste and adjust the seasoning, then serve with some extra Parmesan.

Wine Suggestion: The recipe book suggests a Valpolicella Classico which would be good but we reckon the bit of extra acidity from a Chianti would work better. Or if you like your wines fruitier and softer try something from the Tuscan coast, the Maremma.

(Original recipe from Cook with Jamie by Jamie Oliver, Penguin, 2006.)

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A Light Saffron & Tomato Risotto

Posted in Food, Healthy, Italian, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , on 23 November 2011| Leave a Comment »

Mixing fresh tomatoes into a risotto is a revelation and adds a layer of freshness that is enhanced by the crushed fennel – yum! This is a lighter risotto with much less butter and cheese than we would normally add! Still there is loads of flavour and this is perfect for a weeknight (we try and save the butter and cheese for the weekend).

Saffron & tomato risotto – to serve 2

  • 1/2 tsp fennel seeds, crushed
  • 2 tomatoes, chopped
  • a large pinch of saffron threads, crushed
  • olive oil
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • 1.5 litres vegetable stock
  • 275g arborio rice
  • 125ml white wine
  • 3 tbsp parmesan, grated

Mix the fennel seeds with the chopped tomatoes. Pour 1 tbsp of boiling water over the saffron to soak. Heat the oil in a wide, shallow pan and add the onion with some seasoning. Cook for a few minutes or until softened. Heat the stock in a separate pan until simmering.

Add the rice to the onion and cook for a few minutes or until the grains are glistening. Pour in the saffron and stir for a minute before adding the wine. Keep stirring until the wine is absorbed.

Add a ladleful of stock and stir again until absorbed. Keep doing this until the rice is cooked but still has a bite. Add the tomatoes and fennel seeds and cook for a minute. Serve with the Parmesan.

Wine Suggestion: Try a medium-bodied and well-rounded white from Italy, like a Fiano or Falanghina. Or you could push the boat out with a top quality Greco di Tufo, full of minerality but still with the freshness needed for this dish – we had none of these unfortunately 😦

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Creamy Linguine with Prawns – another low-fat version!

Posted in Food, Healthy, Pasta, Shellfish, tagged , , , , , , , on 11 November 2011| 3 Comments »

Creamy linguine and low-fat don’t usually go in the same sentence but in this case they work. Generally we’re not keen on low-fat substitutes, preferring to have a bit less of the real thing, but reduced-fat crème fraîche is an exception. We really enjoyed this and it feels quite indulgent despite being both low-fat and good for you.

Creamy linguine with prawns – to serve 2

  • 175g linguine
  • 2 tsp olive oil
  • 1 garlic clove, finely sliced
  • 100ml white wine
  • 2 tbsp reduced-fat crème fraîche
  • juice 1/2 lemon
  • 150g raw peeled prawns
  • small bunch chives, finely chopped

Cook the pasta. Meanwhile, heat the oil and gently fry the garlic for 2 minutes. Tip in the wine and bubble over a high heat for 1 minute, then lower the heat and sitr in the crème fraîche and lemon juice. Season with salt and lots of black pepper. Simmer for 1 minute to reduce a little, then add the prawns and simmer in the sauce until they turn pink.

Drain the pasta and tip into the sauce with half the chives. Mix it all together, divide between two dishes and sprinkle with the rest of the chives.

Wine Suggestion: Have a glass of whatever you used in the sauce. Picpoul de Pinet works well and Tesco Finest do a fairly decent one at a very reasonable price. It’s light but has nice fruit and a good crisp acidity – perfect for shellfish plus enough acidity to cut through the creamy sauce in this dish.

(Original recipe from BBC Good Food)

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Easy Thai Prawn Soup

Posted in Asian, Food, Shellfish, tagged , , , , , , , on 6 November 2011| Leave a Comment »

A really quick and easy week-night supper with bags of freshness and flavour. It’s also infinitely variable depending on what crunchy vegetables you may have to hand. We would have added a couple of sliced red chillies if we’d had some!

Spicy Prawn Soup – to serve 4

  • 1 tbsp sunflower oil
  • 300g bag crunchy stir-fry vegetables
  • 140g shitake mushrooms, sliced
  • 2 tbsp Thai green curry paste
  • 400g can reduced-fat coconut milk
  • 200ml vegetable or fish stock
  • 300g medium straight-to-wok noodles
  • 200g large, raw prawns

Heat a wok, add the oil, and stir-fry the vegetables and mushrooms for a few minutes. Take out and set aside, then tip the curry paste into the pan and fry for a minute. Pour in the coconut milk and stock. Bring to the boil, drop in the noodles and prawns, then reduce the heat and simmer for 4 minutes until the prawns are cooked. Stir in the vegetables and serve.

(Original recipe from BBC Good Food)

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Super-healthy salmon & rice salad

Posted in Fish, Food, Healthy, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , on 24 July 2011| 2 Comments »

We made this salad because we were trying to use up some brown basmati we’ve had sitting around in the cupboard. The flavour and texture combination turned out even better than expected and it was just as delicious for dinner as well as the next day for lunch. Fresh and light and yet filling and very satisfying. Definitely will be done again.

We reckon this would be a fabulous as part of a buffet; easy to prepare in advance and bursting with colours and flavour.

Don’t be put off by microwaving the salmon – it really does work a treat!

Zingy salmon & brown rice salad (serves 4)

  • 200g brown basmati rice
  • 200g frozen soya beans, defrosted (we used peas because we couldn’t find he soya beans)
  • 2 salmon fillets, skin on
  • 1 cucumber , diced
  • small bunch spring onions , sliced
  • small bunch coriander , roughly chopped
  • zest and juice 1 lime
  • 1 red chilli , diced, deseeded if you like
  • 4 tsp light soy sauce
  1. Cook the rice following pack instructions and 3 mins before it’s done, add the soya beans. Drain and cool under cold running water.
  2. Meanwhile, put the salmon on a plate and microwave on high for 3 mins. Allow to cool slightly, remove the skin with a fork, then flake.
  3. Gently fold the cucumber, spring onions, coriander and salmon into the rice and beans. In a separate bowl, mix the lime zest and juice, chilli and soy, then pour over the rice before serving.
Original recipe BBC Good Food

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We didn’t think this would be good enough to blog, but …

Posted in Food, Healthy, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , , , , on 7 April 2011| 2 Comments »

… it was. You know when you read a recipe and it looks tasty enough, but nothing special; good for a weeknight. Well this looked like that, and then had such great balance of flavours it had to make the blog. It did take longer than we expected, but the pizza-like aromas from the oven had us salivating and it was worth the wait. More like a veggie pasta bake than a frittata we reckon.

Easy oven frittata (serves 4, or less if you’re hungry)

  • 1/2 tsp oilve oil
  • 85g fusilli, macaroni or small pasta – we used conchigle
  • 1 bunch of scallions, chopped
  • 85g frozen peas
  • 85g frozen or tinned sweetcorn
  • 1 red pepper, seeded and chopped
  • 2 large eggs
  • 150ml milk
  • 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
  • 50g good Irish cheddar, grated (Bandon Vale worked well)
  • 2 tbsp parmesan, finely grated
  • a green salad to serve

Preheat oven to 190C / fan 170C and grease a 1.2 litre baking dish with olive oil

Cook the pasta in salted boiling water for 8 minutes. Add all the veg and cook for a further 2 minutes. Drain and tip into baking dish.

Beat together eggs, add thyme and milk and beat a little more. Mix in most of the two cheeses and some black pepper and a sprinkle of salt. Pour into the baking dish, stir, then scatter remaining cheeses on top.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until golden and set. Cool for a minute or two and serve with the salad leaves.

Surprisingly tasty and low fat too! What more could you ask for?

(Original recipe from BBC Good Food)

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Jono & Jules’ How to Cheat (just like Delia …

Posted in Food, Healthy, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , on 5 April 2011| Leave a Comment »

… ONLY BETTER!)

Here’s something we do when we know we’re going to get in late and hungry. To call it a recipe might be pushing it but it tastes good and requires virtually no effort.

10-minute tortellini – to serve 2

  • 250g pack fresh spinach and ricotta tortellini (or something similar – we try to avoid the meat filled ones as there is something a bit dog food like about them)
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 250g pack cherry tomatoes
  • a big bunch of parsley, leaves roughly chopped
  • 3 tbsp finely grated parmesan

Boil the past for 2 minutes until just cooked.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a frying pan and cook the tomatoes until they start to blister.

When the pasta is cooked, drain it quickly, reserving some of the water.

Tip the pasta, parsley, a splash of the cooking water and most of the Parmesan into the tomatoes and bubble it all together. Season with black pepper and salt.

Serve with the rest of the Parmesan.

Hey presto.

(We learned this from some other cheaters – BBC Good Food)

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Easy Lemon & Pea Risotto

Posted in Food, Healthy, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , , , on 7 March 2011| 2 Comments »

An easy and healthy after-work dish done in under half an hour and using things you probably have in the cupboard. We had to buy a lemon, and only because the one on the shelf looked a bit past it.

Serves 2, but easily doubled

  • 200g risotto rice
  • 850ml hot vegetable stock
  • 50g frozen peas
  • 50g Parmesan, grated, plus a bit more for over the top at the end
  • juice and zest of 1/2 a lemon

Heat a large saucepan over a medium heat, then toast the rice, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.

Add one ladle of hot stock and keep stirring until absorbed. The first ladle will be really quick.

Add the rest of the stock, a ladle at a time, until the rice is almost cooked, keep stirring it all the time. It will take about 20 minutes for you to stir in all your stock.

Stir in the peas and cook for 3-5 minutes and remove the pan from the heat.

Add the cheese, lemon juice, seasoning and then stir. Stick the lid on and let it rest for a minute.

Serve in bowls with the zest and a bit more Parmesan over the top.

(Original recipe from BBC Good Food)

Wine suggestion: Have a glass of something white if you have some leftover from the weekend.

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Josh’s Mediterranean Chicken

Posted in Chicken, Food, tagged , , , , , , on 16 February 2011| 2 Comments »

Here’s a recipe from my friend Josh. I was a bit confused when I read it – I’m all for easy recipes but chucking it all in a pot and sticking it in the oven made me think there was a step left out. Anyways apparently not. So chuck the following ingredients in a casserole with a lid and put it in the oven for 1 hour at 180C (don’t add the olives until 10 to 15 minutes before the end). Very tasty and easy-peasy. It can also survive waiting for half an hour in the oven if someone arrives home late…. can’t it Jono?

  • tin chopped tomatoes
  • 2-4 chicken breasts or thighs (leave them whole or cut them in two like I did)
  • 8-10 shallots
  • chopped sun-dried tomatoes (to taste – I used a small handful)
  • 200-300ml chicken or vegetable stock
  • 1 onion, grated
  • basil and oregano (I used a tsp of dried basil and a tsp of dried oregano)
  • salt and pepper
  • a big handful of olives

Serve with something starchy – rice, pasta, potatoes – whatever takes your fancy.

Thanks Josh!

Wine suggestion: We had a glass of a Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon blend from Bordeaux (Le G de Chateau Guiraud – a dry wine from the famous chateau making gloriously sweet Sauternes) and it worked well or if you fancy a red you could try a nice Italian Barbera.

Julie

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