Making fresh pasta – wide ribbons

 

MUNCH RATING: 5/5

 

So far I’ve used my pasta machine to make spaghetti and taglioni (thin ribbon pasta) and ravioli and tortellini (filled pasta) and you can see my efforts here.

 

For my birthday Steve’s sister cooked us a dish of meatballs and pappardelle pasta, which we really enjoyed as it was thick and wide. So we decided to have a go at making something similar using the lasagnette cutter on the pasta machine which is 12mm wide.

 

I made some pasta dough using 200g of ‘00’ flour and 2 large eggs, plus about ½ tablespoon of olive oil. I just mixed it all in a large bowl and then kneaded the dough on a board until it was smooth and elastic. Then I wrapped the dough in cling film and chilled until I was ready to cut the pasta (a couple of hours).

 

Steve helped me to roll the pasta through the machine and cut the pasta:

1. We split the dough into 3 balls.
2. We rolled each ball into a sheet up to the 3rd thinnest setting as we wanted it quite thick.
3. We dusted the sheets with flour on both sides and then left them, covered loosely with a dry cloth, to dry out a little before cutting into ribbons. We’d learned from our previous attempts that you need to dust with flour quite a lot to prevent the pasta from sticking together.
4. We cut the pasta into ribbons and then dusted with a bit more flour before laying them out onto the board, covered loosely with a dry cloth, to dry out before cooking. 

To cook the pasta:

1. Bring a large pan of water to the boil and add salt.
2. Add the fresh pasta and when the water comes back to the boil, put a timer on for 2 minutes.
3. Drain the pasta, reserving some of the cooking water to add to the sauce.

 

Here’s the dish I created using some leftover sauce from a Beef and Ale Stew I’d made and stashed in the freezer. I’m naughty and don’t tend to label what I put in the freezer, so it ends up being “mystery food” and I thought the sauce had some beef left in it but it was just sauce. Luckily Steve’s Mum had got some steak out of the freezer so I used that!

 

Unfortunately I slightly overcooked the steak as I added it back to the pan too early.

 

Here’s what I should have done:

1. Heat a tablespoon of oil in a large pan. Fry the steak on both sides for a couple of minutes until the meat is rare. Remove from the pan and set aside.
2. Add sliced mushrooms to the pan and fry until soft and golden.
3. Add the sauce and a dash of double cream, then add the cooked pasta and blanched sugar snap peas. Mix thoroughly, season with salt and pepper and add any pasta water if necessary to create a nice sauce.
4. Slice the steak and add to the pan just before serving.

 

It was still a really good meal and we really enjoyed our home-made fresh pasta! We’ll definitely be making it again.

 

This amount of pasta made enough for 2 servings plus seconds.

Minced soy pork with noodles

MUNCH RATING: 5/5

 

In the April issue of BBC Good Food magazine there was a recipe by Ching-He Huang for this noodle dish. It looked really tasty, but what tempted me most was that it was quite healthy at around 500 calories and 12g fat per serving. I thought this would be the perfect dish to start our healthy eating plan as it’s quick and easy to prepare and cook.

 

I do make quite a few stir-fries so I already had most of the ingredients, but there are some ingredients that I had to get from the Chinese supermarket, such as the dried mushrooms. Steve was a little dubious about the dried mushrooms as he didn’t have very fond memories of them from dishes he’d eaten in restaurants. But once he saw that I’d chopped them up into small pieces he cheered up and after tasting them in the dish he declared that they were actually quite nice as he couldn’t really taste them, but they added a depth of flavour to the dish. He’s even suggested we try putting them in Bolognese and Massaman curry!

 

CHANGES TO THE RECIPE: 

I also used some chow mein noodles (Lion Brand) that I’d bought instead of the rice noodles that Ching used, as we prefer this type of noodle. Ching added noodles that were already cooked, whereas I added mine when they were just rehydrated as I preferred to finish cooking them in the pan so that they could absorb more flavour.  I used 2½ blocks of the dried noodles and this made quite a lot when rehydrated, so I added a bit more soy sauce than the recipe suggested and I also added some oyster sauce for extra flavour. Ching added dried shrimps, spring onions and coriander to her dish, but we ran out of spring onions and I can’t stand dried shrimps and coriander so I left them out. Instead I added some mange tout for some colour and one of our 5-a-day!

 

TASTE TEST:

I haven’t really used pork mince much before, which is funny because the Chinese love to use pork! But we both really liked the texture of the meat and it wasn’t greasy like lamb or beef mince. I will definitely be using more pork mince in future, especially as it was so nice in the Potsticker Dumplings we made!

 

• Serves: 2 generously

 

Ingredients:

• 2½ blocks dried chow mein noodles rehydrated (see notes below)
• 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 Tablespoon grated ginger
• 3 dried Chinese mushrooms, rehydrated and finely chopped (see notes below)
• 250g lean pork mince
• 1 Tablespoon Shaoshing rice wine
• 1 Tablespoon dark soy sauce
• 1 Tablespoon light soy sauce
• 1 Tablespoon oyster sauce
• 1 teaspoon chicken stock powder (I used Knorr granules)
• 100ml water
• 1 Tablespoon toasted sesame oil
• 2 big handfuls of mange tout

 

Directions:

1. Heat a wok over a high heat and add the oil. When it’s really hot add the garlic, ginger and finely chopped mushrooms. Stir well for a few seconds, then add the mince and stir-fry. When the meat starts to turn brown, add the rice wine, both soy sauces, oyster sauce, stock powder and the water and bring to the boil.
2. Add the rehydrated noodles and mix thoroughly, allow to cook for 2 minutes, then add the mange tout and cook for another 2 minutes until they’re cooked but still a bit crunchy.
3. Add the sesame oil, mix well and serve immediately.

 

COOK’S NOTES:

• To rehydrate the noodles: place them in a deep bowl or saucepan and pour over enough boiling water to cover them. Allow them to soften for a couple of minutes and then loosen with a pair of chopsticks until they’re all separated. Drain and rinse with cold water.
• To rehydrate the mushrooms: place them in a bowl and pour over enough boiling water to cover them. Leave them to soak for 45 minutes, then drain.

Making fresh pasta!

The great thing about having a blog that your other half reads is that he/she can really get to know you and what you really enjoy.

Steve must have read my post about how much I enjoyed watching Theo Randall make fresh pasta at the BBC Good Food Show/MasterChef Live London as he bought me a pasta machine for Christmas!

As an extra surprise he’d also requested a signed photograph from Theo Randall with a personal message saying “To Mandy, Good luck with the pasta machine! Best Wishes Theo Randall”.  The signed picture was a great surprise and a lovely touch to my gift – I’m a very lucky girl!

Anyway, enough gushing about my husband-to-be and onto the pasta machine. He bought me the Imperia Italiana Italian Pasta Maker Set from Amazon, plus The Pasta Machine Cookbook: 100 Simple and Successful Home Pasta Making Recipes.

The machine comes with a clamp and detachable handle, a star shaped ravioli tray, small wooden rolling pin and two cutting attachments so you can make ribbon shaped pasta.

On each of the attachments there is a very fine cutter and a wider one. After some research from other sources (the instruction booklet doesn’t really tell you anything about the attachments) I have ascertained the following:

• Spaghetti – the cutter gives rounded strands less than 2mm wide
• Taglioni (referred to as tagliatelle but this is not what I consider tagliatelle) – the cutter gives very narrow flat strands about 2mm wide
• Fettucine – the cutter gives flat ribbons about 6.5mm wide
• Lasagnette – the cutter gives flat ribbons about 12mm wide

The machine is really easy to put together, apart from the clamp can be a bit fiddly, especially if you don’t have a table with a decent overhang to be able to fix it securely. Unfortunately all our tables have an annoying curved edge, so I can’t get the machine to clamp very well and it takes two pairs of hands to roll the pasta whilst holding the machine down. Luckily I had Steve to help me and we had loads of fun making pasta!

I’ve watched Alton Brown’s episode on making fresh pasta and he secures his machine to an ironing board, which is a great idea but the design of the Imperia machine means you can’t do this and I don’t think Steve’s Mum would appreciate me using her ironing board for pasta!

Anyway, I’d read a few recipes on how to make basic fresh pasta, including the Imperia instruction book, the pasta book Steve bought me, Alton Brown and Jamie Oliver (from his first book The Naked Chef) and they are all different. Some use just flour and eggs, whilst others add water/oil and salt. I decided to go very basic and start with just flour and eggs. I went and bought the special type ‘00’ flour as recommended. It’s quite expensive at £1.45 for 500g from Waitrose, but I bought two bags plus some vanilla pods to make more vanilla sugar as I had a £10 John Lewis gift voucher from my Uncle as a Christmas present (I think most women my age would spend it on clothes and make-up, but I would rather spend it on food!).

Pasta Recipe:

The recipe for pasta is a complete doddle, it’s even easier than pastry! Just use 1 egg for every 100g of flour. So I’ve been using 300g of flour, so that’s 3 eggs, and this makes approx 500g of pasta dough. Of course there are special recipes that use tons of eggs, but I’ll stick with the basics for now.

Making The Dough:

The first time I made the dough, I used a food processor as you just need to whizz up the flour and eggs until it forms big lumps and then you need to knead it by hand for a couple of minutes until the dough is smooth, silky and elastic.

The second time I made the dough I did it by hand, as I didn’t want to dirty the food processor for such a simple thing. So I just placed the flour on a board and made a well in the centre, where I put my beaten eggs. I then started to draw the flour in from the sides using a fork, but disaster struck and the wall of my flour volcano collapsed and sent egg running everywhere! (So next time I think I’ll do it in a bowl, but I will still make it by hand as I hate washing up the food processor!). So once you have rescued any escaped egg and you have a semi-soft dough, then you can start using your hands and knead the dough for about 3 minutes or until smooth, silky and elastic.

If your dough isn’t coming together, i.e. there is a lot of dry flour left, then you can add a few drops of water to help bind it together. All flour and eggs are different, so you just need to adjust accordingly.

Whichever method you choose, you will need to wrap your dough well in cling film or in a zip-lock bag and chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour (don’t try and cheat by putting the dough in a bowl covered with a plate as the dough WILL dry out – I did this on my first pasta-making attempt!).

Rolling The Pasta:

1. Take the dough out of the fridge and divide it into 4 pieces, roughly the size of your fist. Recover the other 3 pieces that you’re not using straight away to prevent them from drying out.
2. On a lightly floured surface, flatten the ball of dough you’re working with until it’s about 0.5cm thick so that you can run it through the pasta machine at its widest setting.
3. Fold the sheet of dough into thirds and then turn it 90° (so an unfolded edge goes into the machine) and run it through the machine again at the widest setting. Repeat this about 5 or 6 times. I don’t think there are any hard and fast rules about how you fold the dough, as from my reading there seems to be more ways than you can fold a napkin! What you’re aiming to do at this stage is work the gluten in the flour by using the machine to knead the dough every time you pass it through. Plus by turning the dough 90° each time, you are creating a nice square shape for when you start rolling the dough thinner.
4. Lightly dust both sides of your ‘kneaded’ sheet of dough with flour and then run it through the machine on a thinner setting. Do not fold the sheet. Then turn the machine onto the next setting and run the dough through again, dusting with flour if you think it needs it.

• If you’re making a stuffed pasta, e.g. ravioli or tortellini, then roll your pasta to the thinnest setting. Stuff the pasta straight away.
• If you’re making other types of pasta like spaghetti or fettuccine, then leave the dough a little bit thicker, dust with flour and leave it to dry for about 5 minutes before attempting to cut into shape.

With some of the first pasta dough we made, we used the taglioni setting and we ate it straight away with roasted butternut squash and sweet potato, peas and a bit of cream cheese thrown in to make a sauce. I just boiled the pasta for 2 minutes and finished cooking it in the sauce. We were surprised how good it tasted and it was all the more satisfying because we’d made the pasta! This style of pasta was a lot like egg noodles and we both said we preferred a wider pasta.

With the rest of the pasta dough I made ravioli stuffed with the rest of the roasted butternut squash, sweet potato and cream cheese. I didn’t use the ravioli tray that came with the machine, I just followed the method that Theo Randall used. (I aim to do a step-by-step write up with photos on how to do this). I then put them in an airtight container and put them in the fridge. I should have let them dry a bit first and put non-stick paper between the layers because they had all stuck together when I went to cook them the next day. Luckily Steve managed to save most of them by using a wet palette knife to tease them apart. He’s such a clever boy.

So we boiled the ravioli for a few minutes until they floated to the top of the water. I did add oil to the water to stop them sticking, but a couple stuck to the bottom of the saucepan, so you need to watch out for that. I was surprised that despite some of the ravioli having holes, hardly any of the filling came out into the water.

We then drained the ravioli and then fried them in butter until golden brown. We didn’t have any sage, so just finished them off with some freshly cracked black pepper. Here’s the finished result:

I have to say that they tasted really delicious. The flavour of the filling was able to stand out because the ravioli wasn’t drowned in a sauce. So here’s a rough recipe for the filling:

Peel and chop into 1cm cubes a medium butternut squash and a large sweet potato. Put them into a large bowl and toss with about 1 tsp of cumin seeds, chili powder and dried thyme, some salt and pepper and enough oil to coat. Roast on a baking sheet for about 30 minutes at Gas mark 6/400°F/200°C turning occasionally. When the roasted vegetables are cool mash them up a bit with a fork and mix in a tub of soft cream cheese (I always use the value stuff) and then it’s ready to use.

I made about 15 raviolis and the rest of the filling I used to make tortellini (with another batch of dough), which I have put into the freezer. I laid them out on a tray so that they weren’t touching each other and froze them for about 3 hours until they were rock hard before putting them into a freezer bag.

Here are my frozen tortellinis, ready to be cooked. They look absolutely fine on this side….

….but turning them over reveals how they’ve cracked. When I cooked them they all split and some of the filling came out, but we still ate them and they were nice. I think I should have let them dry first before freezing them, as perhaps the fierce cold was a bit of a shock to them. So next time I will air dry for about 1 hour, then put them in the fridge until they’re cold and then put them in the freezer.

With the rest of the second batch of dough we made spaghetti, which I left spread out on a board to dry and I have stored in an airtight box. I cooked the spaghetti for 3 minutes and then finished off the cooking in a Bolognese sauce I’d made. The spaghetti was nice, but it was almost exactly the same as the taglioni and not really like the dried spaghetti that we’re accustomed to. We think this is because normal spaghetti is extruded through a machine, whereas this was made from a flat sheet of pasta.

It’s been a lot of fun making pasta so far and there is still loads of learn and try out, so I don’t think it will be a gadget that is lost at the back of the cupboard never to be seen again. The Imperia machine is very well made and I would recommend it if you really enjoy cooking as much as I do!

Vegged Out Macaroni Cheese

 

MUNCH RATING: 5/5

 

Macaroni Cheese is one of those comfort foods that I really love, but I don’t make it very often as it can take a long time to make from scratch – this took me about 1½ hours!  But it was a labour of love that was really worth it, as all the veggies made it really tasty and slightly healthy to offset all that cheese!

 

CHANGES TO THE RECIPE:

I actually halved the amount of cheese that the original recipe suggested, as 400g seemed really excessive! The addition of all the veggies adds a lot of flavour, so you really don’t need loads of cheese. I also changed/omitted some of the veggies to suit what I had in the fridge. I also used Panko breadcrumbs instead of fresh, as that is what I had to hand.

 

TASTE TEST:

Steve wasn’t sure if he liked the breadcrumbs, as it reminded him too much of fish pie, which he isn’t keen on. But he said he wouldn’t have known they were breadcrumbs if I hadn’t told him – he thought it was just crispy golden cheese. But I liked the breadcrumbs on top, as they gave the topping a nice contrasting texture. Steve said this was the best macaroni cheese I’ve ever made and he literally licked his plate clean!

 

• Serves: 4
• Oven temperature: Gas mark 6/400°F/200°C
• You will need: a large ovenproof dish, lightly oiled

 

Ingredients:

• 400g macaroni
• 150g streaky bacon, thinly sliced (I used a small packet of pancetta cubes)
• 1 leek, white part only, finely sliced (I used 1 medium onion, finely chopped)
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 red pepper, deseeded and diced (I used small orange peppers)
• 150g broccoli florets (I omitted this because I couldn’t be bothered to chop it up!)
• 110g frozen peas
• 100g tinned sweetcorn, drained (I used a whole small tin)
• 60g butter
• 60g plain flour
• 600ml cold semi-skimmed milk
• 2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 400g mixture of mature cheddar, red Gloucester and Cheshire cheeses, grated (I used 200g mixture mature and mild cheddar cheeses)
• 3 Tablespoons fresh breadcrumbs (I used Panko instead)

 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to Gas mark 6/400°F/200°C.
2. Bring a large pan of salted water to a rolling boil. Add the macaroni and cook according to the pack instructions until al dente (my pack said 13 minutes, so I cooked for 8 minutes). Drain well and run under cold water. Place in a large bowl and set aside.
3. Meanwhile, in a frying pan cook the bacon/pancetta in ½ Tablespoon olive oil until crisp and golden, then remove from the pan and set aside. Add the sliced leek/onion to the pan without adding any extra fat and cook over a medium heat, until very soft. Add the garlic and red pepper and cook for 3-4 minutes until softened, then throw in the broccoli (if using) and peas. Add a splash of water and cook for 1-2 minutes until the broccoli is still a little crunchy and the peas are just tender. Transfer to the bowl with the macaroni in, mix in the sweetcorn and set aside.
4. Make the cheese sauce: place the butter, flour and cold milk in a saucepan and bring to the boil whisking. Reduce the heat and simmer until thickened, whisking all the time. Once thickened, cook for 2 minutes. Reduce the heat and stir in the mustard and ¾ of the cheese. Stir until the cheese has melted and the sauce is smooth.
5. Pour the cheese sauce over the macaroni and vegetable mixture and give everything a good stir, then spoon into a large ovenproof dish. Mix the remaining cheese with the breadcrumbs, sprinkle over the top of the pasta and bake for 30-35 minutes until golden and bubbling.

 

COOK’S NOTES:

• The recipe said you can freeze this dish, so I froze half of it without any cheese or breadcrumbs on top. Apparently you can freeze for up to 1 month – we shall see if it tastes just as good once defrosted and reheated! To reheat: bake at Gas mark 6/400°F/200°C for 40-50 minutes.
• This can obviously be made vegetarian by omitting the bacon/pancetta.

 

Leek, Pea and Bacon Pasta Bake

MUNCH RATING: 4/5

This is one of those speedy suppers that doesn’t require any effort! The result is a really comforting dish of sweet leeks and peas, meaty bacon, pasta and a creamy cheese sauce – yum!

You will need: a large frying pan, a large saucepan

Ingredients:

• 3-6 rashers of bacon, chopped
• 1 leek, finely sliced into rings
• 1 Tablespoon oil
• 140g frozen peas
• 300g pasta shapes
• 200g tub of soft cream cheese (I used Tesco Value, only 45p!)
• 85g mature cheddar cheese, grated
• 1 teaspoon mustard (I used Dijon)
• black pepper

Directions:

1. Boil the pasta in plenty of salted, boiling water.
2. Meanwhile, fry the bacon in the oil until it is crispy and then add the leeks and gently fry for 10 minutes until they are soft.
3. Add the peas and gently fry until they’re heated through, about 3 minutes.
4. Reserve 150ml of the cooking water when you drain the pasta. Add this water, the cream cheese, half of the grated cheese and the mustard to the leeks and bacon. Stir until the cheese melts into a creamy sauce. Then stir in the pasta. Scatter the other half of the cheese over the top.
5. Heat the grill to high, then grill your pasta bake for 2-3 minutes until the cheese has melted and turned golden brown.

Pasta Bake

MUNCH RATING: 4/5

This is basically like a lasagne, but instead of using lasagne sheets you use cooked tagliatelle, so it is much quicker to cook as it is just flashed under the grill. I’ve made dishes like this before with a mince beef tomato sauce, but the addition of the wine really makes a difference, as do the herbs and nutmeg, so they are well worth buying.

• Serves: 4
• You will need: an ovenproof dish about 9 x 9 inches

Ingredients:

• 225g (8oz) minced beef
• 2 Tablespoons oil
• 50g (2oz) lean bacon, chopped
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 small carrot, grated
• 2 Tablespoons red or white wine
• 65ml (2½ fl.oz) stock
• salt and pepper
• pinch of nutmeg
• 1 medium tin tomatoes
• 2 teaspoons tomato puree
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• bay leaf
• 100g (4oz) dried tagliatelle
• 450ml (¾ pint) Béchamel sauce*
• 100g (4oz) grated cheese

Directions:

1. Heat 1 Tablespoon oil in a saucepan, add the bacon and cook until golden brown.
2. Add the onion and carrot and cook slowly until soft and transparent.
3. Stir in the minced beef and cook until the meat changes colour.
4. Add the wine, stock, salt and pepper, nutmeg, tomatoes, tomato puree, garlic and bay leaf. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer gently for approximately 45 minutes.
5. Cook the tagliatelle in boiling salted water with the remaining Tablespoon of oil. Drain well.
6. Place a layer of meat mixture in an ovenproof dish, cover with a layer of tagliatelle, then a layer of Béchamel sauce and then a layer of grated cheese. Repeat these layers finishing with a layer of cheese.
7. Brown under a hot grill or in the top of a hot oven Gas mark 7/425°F/220°C.

* Make the sauce using 450ml (¾ pint) milk, 40g (1½oz) butter and 40g (1½oz) flour.

Ken Hom's Udon Noodles with Beef and Chilli Bean Sauce

MUNCH RATING: 5/5

I used a recipe from a Ken Hom book (that accompanies his new Nutriwok) as a base for this dish. I added the carrots, green beans and mushrooms as I like my veggies! I also added the udon noodles as I love them, but you can use any kind of noodles you like or serve with rice.

His recipe was a bit confusing as he didn’t list the soy sauce in the marinade ingredients, but it is in the directions, so I ended up adding it at the end!
This is a great spicy dish, which is tasty but not too hot. Marinating the beef ensures that it remains soft and tender, whilst also adding flavour to the meat.

As with all stir fries, make sure all the ingredients are prepared before you start cooking.

• Serves: 2 (but the amount of beef and noodles can be doubled to serve 4)
• You will need: a large wok or frying pan

Ingredients:
FOR THE MARINADE 

• 2 Tablespoons reduced salt soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 Tablespoon Chinese Shaoshing rice wine or dry sherry
• 2 teaspoons cornflour

• 225g (1/2 lb) beef steak (I used rump), cut into 0.5cm x 5cm slices
• 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
• 3 spring onions, finely chopped
• 1 carrot, peeled and cut into thin slices on an angle
• a handful of green beans, cut in half
• 5-6 mushrooms, sliced
• 2 packs of straight-to-wok udon noodles
• 1 Tablespoon Chinese Shaoshing rice wine or dry sherry
• 2 teaspoons chilli bean sauce (I used Amoy Toban Jhan Chilli Bean Paste)
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

Directions:

1. Mix the marinade ingredients together and add the beef, allow to marinate for 20 minutes.
2. Heat the wok over a very high heat until it is hot, then add 1 Tablespoon of the oil and when the oil is slightly smoking add the beef and stir fry for about 5 minutes until nice and brown. Remove from the pan and set to one side.
3. Wipe the wok clean and reheat over a high heat until it is hot. Add the other 1 Tablespoon of oil and heat. Add the garlic and spring onions and stir fry for 30 seconds until it smells fragrant.
4. Add the carrots, green beans and the mushrooms and stir fry for a few minutes until just starting to soften.
5. Add the noodles and stir fry for 2-3 minutes until they are heated through.
6. Return the beef to the pan, then add the rice wine and the chilli bean sauce and stir fry for another minute so that everything is coated evenly (if it starts to stick then you can add a little water to the pan).
7. Finally, add the black pepper, sugar and sesame oil.
8. Serve immediately.

Pork and buccatini with coconut satay sauce

MUNCH RATING: 4/5

We had a spare pork chop in the fridge and whenever there’s any bits of meat hanging around I automatically think of cooking stir fries as it’s the easiest way to make it stretch.

But then I remembered a recipe I made with chicken and this is a variation on Chicken and noodles with coconut satay sauce. Instead of noodles I used buccatini, which is a really fat type of spaghetti and I love it because it reminds me of udon noodles.

Coating the pork in the egg white and flour isn’t necessary, but it gives it a nice coating and will ensure the meat is soft and tender.

• Serves: 2-3
• You will need: large wok or frying pan, small saucepan, medium saucepan 

Ingredients:

• 1 egg white (keep the yolks for a custard or something!)
• 2 teaspoons cornflour
• 1 large pork chop, cut into small 1cm cubes
• 1/3 of 500g pack of buccatini*
• 400ml can Coconut Milk Light/Reduced Fat
• 2-3 Tablespoons oil
• 2 Tablespoons Red Thai Curry Paste
• 2 shallots, peeled and sliced
• 2 carrots, cut into matchsticks
• a few mushrooms, sliced
• 2 small orange peppers, sliced
• 3-4 leaves of sweetheart cabbage, sliced
• 3 Tablespoons Crunchy Peanut Butter 

Directions:

1. Mix the egg white and cornflour in a small bowl until well combined. Add the pork and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
2. Cook the pasta as per the pack instructions. Drain and keep warm.
3. Meanwhile bring the coconut milk to the boil in a small pan and simmer on a medium heat to reduce and thicken.
4. Heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan and drop the pieces of pork individually into the pan so they don’t all stick together. Fry the pork for about 5 minutes, until crispy and golden brown – you might need to do this in batches. Set to one side.
5. Add a little more oil to the pan if necessary, then sauté the shallots until soft and brown. Stir in the Thai paste and cook for 1 minute until fragrant, then add the other vegetables and fry until vegetables are starting to soften.
6. Stir in the peanut butter, add the thickened coconut milk and return the pork to the pan.
7. Simmer for about 5 minutes until the sauce is a nice consistency and the pork is fully cooked.
8. To serve: place the warm pasta between 2 serving bowls and ladle the sauce on top. 

COOK'S NOTES:

• If you can’t find buccatini (I’ve only been able to buy it from Sainsburys) then just use normal spaghetti, or of course just use noodles!

Kung Po Chicken

MUNCH RATING: 3/5

I used Simon Rimmer’s recipe that he made on Something For The Weekend as a base for this dish.

CHANGES TO THE RECIPE:
I made quite a few changes to his recipe by simplifying it. I also added more vegetables and substituted the whole dried chillies for a pinch of crushed dried chillies and I used balsamic vinegar instead of the Chinese black rice vinegar as I couldn’t get hold of any.

I also stirred in some cooked noodles, but this was a mistake as the sauce has such an intense sweet/sour/hot flavour, that I think it would have been better to serve the dish with just some plain rice.

• Serves 6
• Prep time: 1 hour to marinate
• Cook time: 15-20 minutes 

Ingredients:

• 600g chicken, cut into strips (I used thighs and it’s roughly 1 per person if they’re big thighs)
• 3.5 Tablespoons (50ml) shaoxing rice wine
• 3.5 Tablespoons (50g) cornflour
• 3.5 Tablespoons (50ml) vegetable oil
• Pinch of crushed dried chillies
• 5cm piece fresh ginger, grated
• 2 carrots, peeled and cut into julienne pieces
• Some broccoli, cut into even pieces and lightly blanched
• 4-5 spears of asparagus, cut into pieces at an angle
• 3.5 Tablespoons (50g) soft brown sugar
• 75g cashew nuts
• 3.5 Tablespoons (50ml) light soy sauce
• 3.5 Tablespoons (50ml) balsamic vinegar 

Directions:

1. In a bowl, mix together the rice wine and cornflour until well combined, then add the chicken strips and mix until the chicken is completely coated in the mixture. Cover and chill in the fridge for one hour.
2. Heat the vegetable oil in a wok over a high heat. When the oil is smoking, fry the chicken in batches for 2-3 minutes, or until golden-brown. Remove from the wok using a slotted spoon and set aside on a plate.
3. Add the dried chillies and ginger to the pan and fry for 1 minute until fragrant.
4. Add the vegetables and chicken to the pan and stir-fry for a few minutes, then add the sugar, cashew nuts, light soy sauce and vinegar to the wok and stir-fry until the sugar has melted, the sauce is sticky and well combined and the chicken strips are cooked through.

Mac 'n' cheese, chilli bake with butternut squash

MUNCH RATING: 4/5

I had some leftover chili that Steve had cooked and some roasted butternut squash in the fridge and this is something I threw together. I wasn't going to blog it but Steve insisted it was so nice that I should write about it, so I've done my best to remember the quantities, but really it is a dish you can play around with. The roasted butternut squash on the top is really the concept we want to share as it's a surprisingly good addition because it adds so much natural sweetness.
Credit goes to Steve for the photo - I was too busy eating!

• Serves: 2 generously
• You will need: small but deep baking dish (I used a 9 x 5 x 3 inch silicone loaf pan)

Ingredients:

• 225g/8oz macaroni
• About 1 cup leftover chilli
• About 3/4 pint cheese sauce
• About 1 cup of roasted butternut squash

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to Gas Mark 7/425°F/220°C.
2. Cook macaroni until just al dente then drain well.
3. Mix half of the cooked macaroni with the chilli and spoon into a baking dish.
4. Mix the other half of the macaroni with the cheese sauce and spoon on top of the meaty pasta.
5. Scatter the roasted butternut squash over the top.
6. Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes or until the cheese is slightly golden.

Chicken and noodles with coconut satay sauce

MUNCH RATING OUT OF 5:

This is a really quick and easy recipe and is a nice twist on the Thai curry we usually make.

Serves 2 greedy people but the sauce could stretch to serve 4.

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp oil
• 3 small Chicken Thighs (or 2 large) de-boned and cut into small strips
• 1 Tbsp Red Thai Curry Paste
• Your choice of vegetables cut into bitesize pieces (I used half a leek cut into rounds, a few sliced mushrooms and couple of handfuls of spinach)
• 400ml can Coconut Milk Light/Reduced Fat
• 3 Tbsp Crunchy Peanut Butter
• 2 nests of dried Medium egg noodles (1 nest per person)

Directions

1. Cook the noodles as per the pack instructions. Drain and keep warm.
   
2. Meanwhile bring the coconut milk to the boil in a small pan and simmer on a medium heat to reduce and thicken.
   
3. Heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan and fry the chicken for about 5 mins, until just coloured.
   
4. Stir in the Thai paste, then add the leek and mushrooms and fry until vegetables are starting to soften.
   
5. Stir in the peanut butter and then add the coconut milk and the spinach.
6. Simmer for about 5 mins until the sauce is a nice consistency and the chicken is fully cooked.
   
7. To serve: place the warm noodles between 2 serving bowls and ladle the chicken sauce on top.
   

Notes:
If you like a thinner sauce you could skip Step 2, but we like ours thick and I find that reducing the coconut in a separate pan speeds up the process without overcooking the vegetables.

Creamy chicken and leek pasta

I wanted to make a healthier version of a cream sauce because I've been making so many cakes recently and thought I should balance out my diet a bit! This recipe produces a lovely smooth sauce and has a lot of flavour. It would also be great piled on top of a Jacket Potato!

I have to admit I didn't take a photo because I was too focused on eating! But I will definitely be making this again so I'll take a photo next time before I wolf it down!

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• Pasta for 2 people (I used Bucatini which is my favourite)
• 2 rashers of Bacon, cut into small strips
• 2 Chicken Thighs, cut into small strips
• 1 medium Leek, washed and cut into rings
• A few Mushrooms, washed and sliced
• 1 clove Garlic, crushed
• 1 tbsp Plain Flour
• 300ml Stock (I used Marigold Swiss Vegetable Bouillon Powder)
• 1 tbsp Wholegrain or French Mustard
• Pinch Cayenne Pepper
• 2 tbsp Creme Fraiche or low-fat cream cheese

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to pack instructions whilst you make the sauce.
2. Fry the bacon in a little olive oil until brown and crispy. Add the chicken and fry until brown as well. Remove meat from the pan and put in a bowl, but retain the oils and juices in the pan.
3. Fry the mushrooms and leeks for about 5 minutes until softened, then add the garlic.
4. Return the meat to the pan, then stir in the flour.
5. Add the stock, mustard and cayenne and simmer until the stock has reduced by half.
6. Add the creme fraiche or cream cheese and simmer until dissolved and the sauce is smooth and creamy.
7. Drain the cooked pasta and reserve a couple of tablespoons of the cooking water.
8. Add the pasta to the sauce and toss until fully coated in the sauce. Add some of the cooking water if necessary to help bind and thicken the sauce.

Greek Pastitsio

Another great Greek dish which I have been trying to recreate for quite some time. I have tried a few different recipes and I think this recipe gives a pretty authentic taste and texture, whilst not being too laborious.

Although it seems quite similar to lasagne in its construction, I think the emphasis is on the cheese sauce part, which holds the pasta together and allows the pastitsio to be sliced into portions like a cake. The nutmeg and cinnamon might seem like weird spices to add but I think they give the dish the authentic taste.

Serves 4

Pasta Mixture

• 500g pasta (authentic pastitsio uses Ziti but you can use penne, macaroni or bucatini)
• 3/4 cup (75g) grated cheese (use something that has good melting properties, like Halloumi or Mozzarella. I used Quattro Formaggio which was a mixture of Parmesan, Asiago, Fontina and Mild Provolone)

Meat Sauce

• 500g minced beef or pork
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 tin of chopped tomatoes or 1/2 jar ready made sauce
• 1 teaspoon tomato puree/paste
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon dried mint flakes (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper

Cheese Sauce

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 4 tablespoons plain flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 600ml/1 pint milk
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 3/4 cup (75g) cheese

Directions

1. Cook pasta until it is still al dente (otherwise it will turn to mush after you cook it in the oven). Drain, and return to pan. Stir in the cheese and set aside your pasta mixture.
2. For the meat sauce: cook minced beef and onion until meat loses its pinkness and onion is soft; drain excess fat.
3. Stir in tomato sauce, the 1 teaspoon salt, mint flakes (if used), cinnamon, nutmeg and pepper; set aside.
4. For cheese sauce: in a saucepan, melt the butter, then mix in flour and 1/4 teaspoon salt.
5. Slowly stir in the milk, stirring well after each addition so that no lumps form.
6. Cook and stir on medium high until sauce starts to thicken; stir for one minute more, then remove from heat.
7. Beat egg in a small bowl, then pour into cheese sauce, stirring briskly.
8. Blend in the cheese.
9. Layer half the pasta mixture in a 11" x 7" baking dish.
10. Spoon the meat mixture evenly on top, then the remaining pasta.
11. Pour cream sauce over top, to cover completely.
12. Bake, uncovered, at Gas mark 4/350°F/180°C for about 40 minutes, or until hot and lightly browned.
13. Let stand for 10 minutes.