Haddock and Chorizo Gnocchi

MUNCH RATING: 4/5

This is my interpretation of a Gregg Wallace recipe from BBC Good Food Magazine. He used potatoes in his dish instead of the gnocchi, but I like the way the gnocchi absorbs some of the sauce, plus it’s quicker to cook!

I added some Parmesan to the dish as I’d just bought some from the Farmer’s Market in Epsom (read more about it here) and it worked well.
This is a really quick and easy recipe and the chorizo gives so much flavour. It’s quick garlicky, so there was no need to add any extra garlic!

• Serves: 2
• You will need: a frying pan with a tight fitting lid

Ingredients:

• 250g potato gnocchi (I used ½ 500g pack of Trattoria Verdi from Tescos)
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1 small chorizo sausage, thinly sliced (I used Cooking Chorizo from the Tesco Ingredients range)
• good handful cherry tomatoes, halved (home-grown of course!)
• 1 teaspoon Knorr Chicken Stock Granules
• 2 skinless thick haddock fillets (or other white fish)*
• salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Cook the gnocchi as per pack instructions, drain but reserve a couple of Tablespoons of the cooking water and then set aside.
2. Heat a large lidded frying, then add the oil. Add the chorizo and fry for 2 minutes until it starts to release its oil, then add the tomatoes, the reserved cooking water and the chicken stock. Cook until the tomatoes burst, then add the gnocchi and mix in well.
3. Season the fish with salt and pepper. Lay the fish on top of the gnocchi, put the lid on and leave to cook for 5 minutes, or until the fish has turned white and is flaky when prodded in the middle.
4. Sprinkle with a small handle of parmesan cheese.

*Take the fish out of the fridge and allow to come up to room temperature before cooking.

Mandy’s ‘Healthy’ Cajun Calzone & Dough Balls

MUNCH RATING: 4/5

I totally made up this recipe for the filling and I’m calling it ‘healthy’ because there’s no fattening cheese. I basically used tomatoes and ½ fat crème fraiche to make a creamy sauce so that the filling ingredients wouldn’t be dry. I have to say that for a total experiment it worked really well! I will definitely make this again as it’s a great way to use up leftovers and it was actually tastier than the pizza.

I made up the dough as per this pizza recipe and I used half the dough for the calzone and the other half I used to make dough balls (like the ones you get from Pizza Express).

• Makes: 1 calzone to serve 2 people and 8 dough balls
• Oven temperature: Gas mark 8/450°F/230°C
• You will need: at least 2 baking trays 

Calzone Filling Ingredients:

• 1 small chorizo sausage, chopped into small pieces
• 4 mushrooms, sliced
• 3 tomatoes, roughly chopped
• handful leftover roasted butternut squash chunks*
• leftover sliced and roasted red onion*
• 2 large handfuls of spinach
• 2 heaped teaspoons Cajun seasoning (I used Bart’s)
• 2 heaped Tablespoons ½ fat crème fraiche 

Calzone Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to Gas mark 8/450°F/230°C and place a baking tray in the oven to get hot (or ideally use a pizza stone!)
2. In a large non-stick pan fry the chorizo (no need to add oil) until crispy and the chorizo has released its oils.
3. Add the mushrooms and fry until soft.
4. Add the tomatoes with a splash of water, cover with a lid and cook for about 10 minutes until they have broken down.
5. Add the butternut squash, onion and spinach (or any other vegetables you want), the Cajun seasoning and the crème fraiche and mix thoroughly. Set to one side to cool whilst you roll the dough.
6. Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and roll out to a 10 inch/25cm circle and so that it is about 3mm thick.
7. Spread the filling onto one half of the circle, brush the edge lightly with water, then fold over the dough and pinch to make a semi-circle pasty shape.
8. Lift the calzone onto a baking tray and place this tray on top of the preheated one in the oven.
9. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown (I spread some leftover garlic butter over the calzone 5 minutes before the end of cooking). 

DOUGH BALLS:

1. Portion the other half of the dough into 8 even sized balls and roll so they have a smooth surface.
2. Place on a baking tray and bake for 10 minutes until golden brown and they sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. Serve with garlic butter (1 clove of crushed garlic mixed with 1 Tablespoon softened butter). 

*To roast the butternut squash and onion I just cut the squash into chunks and the onion into 8 wedges, tossed in a little oil and dried rosemary, then roasted on Gas mark 6/400°F/200°C for 45 minutes, turning occasionally.

You might also be interested in: Homemade Pizza

Oven Baked Risotto

MUNCH RATING: 4/5

Oh. My. God. I can’t believe it’s taken me so long to discover this wonderful method of cooking risotto! OK it’s not got the same exact creaminess of risotto that you’ve spent ages stirring on the stovetop, but the speed and easiness of this method more than makes up for that and the texture of the rice is brilliant. I suppose you could add some cream, but I personally don’t think it needs it or the extra calories!

• Serves: 4
• You will need: an ovenproof dish or pan with a tight fitting lid
• Cooking time: 30-35 minutes
• Oven temperature: Gas mark 6/400°F/200°C 

Ingredients:

• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 small chorizo sausage, chopped
• 4 mushrooms, sliced
• 2 sweet orange peppers
• 300g/10oz risotto rice
• ½ glass white wine (optional)
• 700ml/1¼ pint stock
• some leftover roasted butternut squash 

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to Gas mark 6/400°F/200°C.
2. Heat about a tablespoon of oil in your pan and gently fry the onion until soft. Add the chorizo and fry until crispy and it has released its oil.
3. Add the mushrooms and peppers and fry for a few minutes.
4. Add the rice and mix until well coated in the oil. Fry gently until the rice has turned slightly translucent.
5. Pour in the wine if you’re using it, then cook for a couple of minutes until it’s absorbed.
6. Add the butternut squash and the stock and bring to the boil.
7. Then cover with the lid and bake in the oven for 18 minutes.
8. I like to leave the rice to sit on the countertop for about 10 minutes, with the lid still on. This is enough time to crank up the oven to Gas 7/220C/425F and cook some roasted broccoli to serve with it.

Gnocchi with Chorizo and Butternut Squash

MUNCH RATING: 5/5

I love the flavour and the great meaty texture that chorizo gives to a dish and the sweetness of the butternut squash gives an excellent balance.
This is by no means a healthy dish with the chorizo, 2 types of cheese and cream, but I have added lots of vegetables and this isn’t a dish I would eat all the time so I think it’s OK!

It’s an easy one-pot meal, but if you don’t have an oven-proof pan then just cook it in a normal pan and then transfer to an oven-proof dish.

• Serves 4 (or 2 greedy people!)
• You will need: oven-proof pan and a large saucepan
• Oven temperature: Gas mark 5/375°F/190°C 

Ingredients:

• 3-4 shallots, peeled and finely chopped
• ½ chorizo sausage (I used Revilla Chorizo Pueblo from Sainsburys)
• 1 butternut squash, peeled and chopped into 1cm cubes
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• Handful of mushrooms, sliced
• Some leftover cooked peas and sweetcorn
• 1-2 tablespoons double cream
• 2x 150g packs mozzarella (I used Sainsburys Italian mozzarella)
• 1x 400g pack of dried gnocchi, cut into chunks (I used Italfresco Gnocchi from Sainsburys)
• Handful of mature cheddar cheese, grated (optional) 

Directions:

1. Heat a tablespoon of oil and gently sweat the shallots until softened and slightly brown.
2. Add the chorizo and fry until nice and crispy.
3. Add the dried oregano.
4. Add the butternut squash and fry for about 10-15 minutes until soft and tender (adding a tablespoon of water and covering with a lid will speed things along).
5. Add the mushrooms and any other veggies to the pan.
6. Meanwhile, bring a large pan of water to the boil and cook the gnocchi for a few minutes or until they rise to the surface of the water. Drain and reserve some of the cooking liquid.
7. Add the gnocchi to the pan, with the double cream and the mozzarella and mix thoroughly. Add a couple of tablespoons of the cooking liquid so you get a nice sauce.
8. Sprinkle the cheddar cheese on top, then put the pan in the oven and cook for 10-15 minutes or until the cheese is starting to brown.