Salmon Pasta Bake

Sometimes you want to try and recreate a favourite childhood dish – but with a few twists – and this is exactly what I did here.   The dish in question is my mum’s macaroni fish pie, a dish made with a mixture of fish, pasta and mushrooms, baked in the oven in a cheesy sauce.   Even today I like it when she makes it for me, which unfortunately is not very often as I usually have my husband with me, who doesn’t share my love of cheesy fish pies.   He would say he has more sophisticated tastes.   I would say I have an appreciation of a wider range of foods.   In my mum’s dish, the mushrooms are a more recent addition.   An addition I’m happy with.  When I’m not there, she likes to use smoked haddock too,  but I find it a little strong and so prefer white fish, salmon or a mixture.  This time, I chose to add layer of spinach to the bottom of the dish as the vegetable component, but in retrospect,  I think I prefer mushrooms and would miss out the spinach layer next time, or maybe just have a spinach salad on the side.

So, given the choice, would I choose mine or my mum’s pie?   For now, my mum’s.   But with a few mushrooms instead of spinach, I’d be spoilt for choice.

I used Dreamfields’ rotini pasta which was once again successful.  I am also submitting this to Presto Pasta Nights, this week hosted by HoneyB of The Life & Loves of Grumpy’s Honeybunch.

Ingredients – Serves 1-2 (depending how hungry you are)

1 small piece of salmon

50g pasta

1 tbsp plain flour

250ml milk

2 tbsp Oil

1/4 tsp nutmeg

2 tbsp wilted spinach

2 handfuls grated cheese approx (I forgot to measure it, but taste the sauce and add more to get the right level of cheesiness)

Salt

Black Pepper

How to Make Salmon Pasta Bake

1. Cook the pasta for about 5 minutes then drain.

2. Heat the oil in a small saucepan.   Add the flour and keep stirring for at least 2 minutes, being careful that it doesn’t burn.

3. Start adding the milk. Add a little at a time and keep stirring so it makes a smooth sauce.   If you add too much at once it will go lumpy.

4. Add the nutmeg, season and stir in the grated cheese.  Then stir in the pasta.

5. Spread the wilted spinach on the bottom of the dish.   Cut the fish into cubes.   Put on top of the spinach.   Top with the pasta and sauce.

6. Bake in the oven at about 190C for about 25 minutes.   The dish should be piping hot and bubbling when it is ready.

7. Serve with lots of salad.

 

Spaghetti Carbonara and Review of Dreamfields Pasta

When I was a student in Durham we never used to eat out in restaurants except on someone’s birthday.  And then, it was always an Italian restaurant.   At the time, I hadn’t got into spicy food.   I was wary of chilli and so scared of Indian food, I thought I didn’t like Chinese food much as I didn’t like sweet and sour or lemon chicken, which everyone else seemed to love.   It may sound hard to believe, considering what I now like to eat, but I grew up in the middle of the countryside, 8 miles from the nearest town (of about 10,000 people), which had no Indian restaurants and only one Chinese one which I went to for the first time when I was 17.   My mother was (and is) a very good cook and made healthy but traditional dishes – pies, quiches, casseroles with potatoes and vegetables or salad.   A lasagna or moussaka was about as exotic as it got!  The nearest dish to curry was coronation chicken.  Really, when I look back at what I used to eat and what I used to avoid, I can hardly believe I was the same person.

Once I got to university, I think a lot of my university friends were the same with the result being that spaghetti carbonara is a dish that reminds me of my pre-spice days, as it was the dish I always used to order.   I loved the creaminess and the bacon and the fact that it was not something I would make for myself.  Not at that time anyway.  How things have changed!

So, why did I suddenly decide to step back in time and make a carbonara, perhaps ten years since I’d last had one?   Well, I recently received some spaghetti, penne and rotini pasta from Dreamfields to review.   And what better recipe to make with the spaghetti than carbonara.   Now, I’m not an expert on nutrition, but Dreamfields pasta claims to be different from other pastas in that it has only 5g of digestible carbohydrates, a 65% lower glycemic index and twice as much fibre as regular pasta and therefore could be good for people wanting a healthier pasta or those on a lower carb diet.  The Dreamfields website gives a lot more information about the nutritional content because here I have to be honest and say that as a runner, as well as a food blogger, carbs don’t bother me.   But, I do try to eat healthily and like to include foods with a low glycemic index and lots of fibre.  To me, what’s most important is the taste, the texture and does it fill me up.   And on these criteria I was very happy.    When cooked it didn’t go at all soggy like some pastas, it was nicely al dente and held the sauce well.

And it was definitely a good sauce.  It may look like a rich sauce full of cream, but, like a true Italian carbonara, it is cream-free.   The creaminess of the sauce comes entirely from the egg, parmesan and cooking water.    When you add the egg mixture, take the pan off the heat and stir quickly so you get  a silky smooth sauce, not a scrambled egg mixture. I ended up thinking, if carbonara is this easy, why does anyone ever buy a jar of sauce.   And why have I practically given up ever eating it?  Well, as it’s so simple, I still won’t be eating it in restaurants, but I might now be making it at home instead.

For more information about Dreamfields, take a look at their website.

I am also linking this to Presto Pasta Nights, this week hosted by Debbie Does Dinner Healthy.

Ingredients – Serves 2

120g spaghetti

2 eggs

4 rashers bacon

Black pepper

2 handfuls grated parmesan

1 clove garlic, chopped

Olive oil

How to Make Spaghetti Carbonara

1. Put the bacon in a frying pan to cook.   When ready remove.   Leave to cool and then chop.

2. Put the pasta on to cook according to the pack instructions.   It’ll probably take about 10 minutes.

3. Put the eggs in a bowl and beat them.   Season and add the grated parmesan.

4. Drain the pasta but reserve the water.

5. Heat a little olive oil in a frying pan or wok.   Add the garlic.   As it begins to colour add the pasta.    Toss.

6. Add a little of the reserved pasta cooking water.  Take off the heat.  Add the egg and parmesan mixture.   Keep stirring.   Add extra cooking water if it is too dry.   You should get a smooth creamy sauce.

 

Spaetzle with Caramelised Onions, Bacon and Cheese

Don’t you just love it when you haven’t thought of something for a while and then you get reminded of it and the opportunity to make it.   That’s exactly what happened with this month’s Daring Cook’s challenge.   The task was to make homemade pasta without using any motorized machinery.   One of the suggestions was spaetzle.   Spaetzle. Now, why hadn’t I ever thought of making it before.   The last time I ate spaetzle was back the nineties  in my year abroad in Germany.    It was in a restaurant and as far as I remember it was served with loads of cheese, bacon and leeks.   It was heavy but delicious.  The melting cheese and leeks clinging to the spaetzle.   A really hearty meal.   With that in mind,   I wanted to make a dish similar,  but if possible, not quite as heavy.   Well, I’m not sure if I managed that but I did add some peas and serve it with a huge spinach salad.

A recipe was provided for the spaetzle but it didn’t look anything like the spaetzle I remembered.   I searched around online and came across another site with very clear pictures and step by step instructions. The only hiccup was that the recipes required you to have a spaetzle press, but looking at it, it looked remarkably similar to my new potato ricer.  I wonder…   A little more searching revealed that you can use a potato ricer to make spaetzle, as long as you use the attachment with the large holes.    Any if you don’t have a potato ricer, you can even use a colander.   And if you don’t have a colander, well,  I don’t suppose you’d be trying to make spaetzle anyway.

When I first pushed the spaetzle through the ricer into the water I was a little worried as a lot of them seemed to stick together,   but as they cooked I prodded them a bit and most of them separated again.   Spaetzle is supposed to be very irregular with thinner and thicker strands and knobbly bits so don’t worry if it appears to be going wrong, it will almost certainly turn out ok.    I was really pleased with the end result and it was much easier than I would have expected before starting.

Blog-checking lines: Steph from Stephfood was our Daring Cooks’ July hostess. Steph challenged us to make homemade noodles without the help of a motorized pasta machine. She provided us with recipes for Spätzle and Fresh Egg Pasta as well as a few delicious sauces to pair our noodles with!

Ingredients – Serves 2

200g plain flour

2 eggs

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

2 rashers bacon

Handful grated parmesan

3 tbsp peas

3 onions

Breadcrumbs

Olive oil

Salt

Black Pepper

How to Make Spatzle with Caramelised Onions, Bacon and Cheese

1. Make the batter.  Add a pinch of salt and the nutmeg to the flour.    Break the eggs into the flour and mix with a wooden spoon.

2. Add 100ml of water, a little at a time.   Stir well so you have a wet dough/thick batter.   Don’t worry about one or two lumps.

3. Put the batter in the fridge to rest.

4. Slice the onions into strips and begin to fry in a frying pan over a low heat.   Stir every so often to stop them from sticking and burning.  Add a little salt.   If you want you can also add sugar but I don’t like the onions to be too sweet and they are sweet anyway.

5. While the onions are cooking fry the bacon in a separate pan until crispy.   When cool, use a pair of scissors to snip it into small pieces.

6. Bring a pan of water to the boil. Position a potato ricer or colander above the pan.  Add half the dough and squeeze through.     When it rises to the top and has been in the pan for about two minutes,  lift out with a slotted spoon and put in a bowl of cold water. Repeat with the rest of the dough.

7. Add a little extra oil to the pan with the caramelised onions in. Drain the spatzle and add it to the frying pan with the onion.   Add the bacon too and the peas.   Fry for about 5 minutes, stirring so it is completely heated through.

8. Just before serving, stir in the grated parmesan.   Divide between two plates and sprinkle breadcrumbs on the top.

 

Coriander Pesto

I’ve recently discovered that the Tesco in Elephant and Castle near where I work sells huge bunches of coriander – about 5 times the size of normal supermarket packets -  for just a pound.    This does mean I have to  eat coriander for about 4 days in a row, but to me that is no problem at all.   Rather, it’s an excuse to go coriander crazy.   Yes,  luckily I love coriander and I’m hoping  that you  like it too.  Some of my favourite dishes like curries, chillies and tagines all go well with a generous sprinkling of fresh coriander.    So why not treat it to the Italian touch too  – what about  making it into pesto?

Yes, that quick, easy last-minute fall-back staple of pesto.   But as it’s coriander, why not  add a little ginger, chilli and lemon juice too?    The result is then a zingy flavourful pesto that to me at least is a cut above the traditional  basil variety.   It may not be very traditional but it’s definitely one I’ll be making again.

I am sending this to Presto Pasta Nights, begun by Ruth of Once upon a Feast, this week hosted by Pia of Cook with Pia

Ingredients – Serves about 2-4

Handful of cashew nuts

Large bunch of coriander (cilantro)

Juice of 1/2 lemon

Approx 3 tbsp grated  parmesan

1 clove garlic

1 chilli

Extra virgin olive oil

How to make Coriander Pesto

1. Begin cooking the pasta.    At the same time put the cashew nuts in a dry frying pan and gently toast.   Keep tossing to prevent them from burning.

2. Put the cashew nuts, garlic, chilli and coriander in a food processor, top with a dash of oil and the lemon juice.   Blitz until smooth.   Taste and adjust as necessary.

3. When the  pasta is ready, drain and return to the saucepan.    Add the pesto mixture and the parmesan cheese.   Stir, until the pesto coats all the pasta and is heated through.

 

Store Cupboard Pasta

This recipe reminds me of my university days.   It’s the type of thing I used to make back then when I would just look in the cupboard and throw a few things in a pan to eat with pasta without any advance planning. These days I rarely make it as my husband doesn’t like tinned fish or sweetcorn.  The fact that I was in on my own last night meant I didn’t want to spend a long time in the kitchen and also gave me the perfect opportunity to use ingredients that he doesn’t like.

I’m also sending this post to Presto Pasta Nights which is being hosted by Bellini Valli of More Than Burnt Toast this week.

Ingredients - serves 1

1 tin mackerel or sardines in tomato sauce

1 small onion

About 8 cherry tomatoes

2 tbsp frozen sweetcorn

2 tbsp frozen peas

1 clove of garlic

Enough pasta for one

How to make Store Cupboard Pasta

1. Put the pasta on to boil.  Five minute before the end of cooking add the frozen peas and sweetcorn.

2. Fry the onion.  When soft add the garlic and cherry tomatoes.  Finally add the fish.  Break the fish up a little with the spoon but not too much. If it is too dry add a couple of tablespoons of water.  Continue to cook just until the fish is heated through.

3.Drain the pasta and put it in the pan with the sauce. Mix it all together so the pasta is coated in the sauce.

 

Spicy Tomato Pasta

This is my number one standby meal and I seem to make it at least once every couple of weeks, sometimes even once a week.  Amazingly, when I first had it it was my husband (who was then my new boyfriend) who cooked it for me and I found it rather too spicy, even though he had made it much less spicy than I now make it myself.  I soon caught his chilli addiction and this became not just his but also one of my favourites.

Ingredients

Enough pasta for 2 people

400g tin of chopped tomatoes

1 or 2 birdseye chillis, finely diced

3 tomatoes cut into thick wedges

1 yellow or red pepper, sliced

1 onion, sliced

1 clove of garlic, crushed

teaspoon of dried oregano

Grated cheese to serve (optional)

How to make spicy tomato pasta

1. Put the pasta on to boil until al dente

2. Stir fry the pepper and chilli pepper with a little oil.  Add the onions and garlic.   I like to still have a  little crunch in the onions but you could add then earlier if you prefer them more well done.  Then, as I don’t want the real tomatoes to disintegrate into the sauce I add then last at the same time as the chopped tomatoes and oregano.  Bring to the boil and simmer.

3.  When the pasta is done, the sauce is ready.  Serve with grated cheese on top.