Stuffed Fiorelli Pasta + Spinach with sauce of parsley, nutmeg and vermouth

This dish can be prepped and served in 15 minutes. It does cheat with ready-made stuffed pasta and sauce granules, but the finished dish is, I think, a real pleaser and great value too. The quantities given serve two, and various substitutions are easily made.

Ready, steady ...

I've used Waitrose goats' cheese & caramelised onion fiorelli (at time of writing £3, or 2 packs for £4), but also good would be Sainsbury's or Asda's cheese or mushroom tortelloni (about £1.50). I like Bisto vegetarian parsley sauce granules (just add boiling water), and the vermouth is a basic brand. Spinach is from the garden, and is optional here. Some black pepper was ground over the pasta to serve, just before the sauce was added, but then I've a thing about black pepper and it isn't a must-do, so it's not in the ingredients list.

I served also small side salads made from just halved baby plum tomatoes, rocket and sliced red onion. These can be knocked up while water is boiling for pasta and sauce, or just before starting pasta preps.

Ingredients
handful of fresh spinach leaves (optional), any thick spines removed 
4 tbsp parsley sauce granules
1 tsp finely grated nutmeg
2 tbsp dry vermouth
1 pack stuffed fiorelli pasta (to serve 2)
two small sprigs of parsley or basil (again, optional)

Method
Warm two pasta bowls or coupe dishes.
 
1  Put plenty of water in a medium pan and set to boil.
2  Meanwhile, shred the spinach (if using) and put in a small pan with a few drops of 
         water and bring to the boil. Simmer for 3-4 mins.
3  Bring a kettle to boil with about 300ml water.
4  Put the parsley sauce granules and nutmeg in a small measuring jug and fill to 
         200ml with boiling water from the kettle. Stir well until it starts to thicken, then
         stir in the vermouth.
5  Put the pasta in the medium pan of boiling water, turn down the heat and simmer 
         for 3 mins.  
6  Meanwhile, lift the spinach with a slotted spoon and drain, then spread over the
         bases of the bowls. Lift and drain the pasta in the same way and spread in
         the bowls. 
7  Pour the sauce over the pasta, and top each dish with a herb sprig.

Yes, it's a fairly frenetic 15 minutes, but this is because the spinach, pasta and sauce should all be ready at the same time and each is very quick to cook!

Variations
As above, any filled pasta would work, and instead of spinach a few cooked peas could be scattered among the pasta. 

Packet sauces would be fine too, and Bisto does drums of plain white sauce granules which, like the parsley version (but not the cheese version) is suitable for vegetarians. The white sauce could be flavoured with grated vegetarian cheese or snipped soft herbs.

Dry sherry could take the place of the vermouth, and instead of a herb sprig to garnish, snipped coriander or parsley leaves could be sprinkled over the whole dish. 

This blog is not usually price-conscious, but the above recipe really is economical! Unless you serve it with a posh Italian red wine, that is.

 

Easy Tortelloni with Blue Cheese & Walnut Sauce

You say tortellini, I say tortelloni ... Let's call the whole thing pasta! Actually these are very similar, the only difference being size - tortelloni is the larger. Easy to remember which way round - the 'o' is fatter than the 'i'. I used a chilled, stuffed tortelloni here as that's all I could find, but either works well, and the plain dried version would be fine, too.

We recently spent a week in Bologna, and I'd been going wheat-free as much as possible - fun in Italy, to be sure. But for the last evening I gave up and had a really great tortelloni dish, more or less replicated here.

Once the ingredients are assembled, the dish should take no more than about 20 minutes and it's cooked on the hob using two pans. This quantity serves two - which is a whole chilled pack of the stuffed variety. If using dried plain tortellini, a suitable quantity for two might be about 40 pieces, cooked according to packet instructions. In this case some shredded spinach could be added to the sauce.

History Lesson
This pasta is a speciality of Bologna. Local legend says that the chap who invented it was looking for inspiration for a new pasta shape. When he caught sight of his new lover's navel - well, that was it. Almost enough to put you off the pasta, but hopefully not quite.

Tortelloni with Blue Cheese and Walnut Sauce
Ingredients

100ml double cream
50ml milk
60g vegetarian blue cheese, crumbled (e.g. Danish or Dolcelatte if suitable)
300g pack stuffed fresh tortelloni (e.g. spinach/ricotta, or about 40 pieces plain dried)
30g walnut pieces roughly chopped
Half tsp ground black pepper
Optional - sprig of fresh herb to garnish

Method
1  Heat the cream, milk and cheese gently in a small pan, stirring sometimes, until the
          cheese is melting, but don't let the mixture boil. Keep it just under the boil.
2  Meanwhile, boil a good amount of water in a large pan, add the tortelloni and cook as
          instructions. The fresh pasta will need about 5 mins at a gentle simmer and very
          careful handling to avoid the pieces opening up. Dried pasta will need a little longer.
3  When the pasta is almost ready, add the walnuts and pepper to the cream mixture.
4  Drain the pasta, divide between hot dishes or bowls and pour the sauce over them
5  Garnish with the herb if used.

And that's it. I realise it's not exactly an aid to slimming, but just look at the Italians - very few of them seem overweight, and almost none of the young people, despite their tucking into pizza and pasta more often than do most of us.

As an afterthought, of course the sauce would go with almost any pasta. Even the very nice wheat-free penne in my cupboard.

Easy Baked Pasta with Cauliflower and Mushrooms

Keen cooks probably knock up a pasta dish without needing a recipe. However, on this blog I like to include some recipes that don't need any special skill, and to give details of preparation and 'do one thing while another is being done'. The ingredients are inexpensive, too.

 This dish takes about 20-25 minutes to prepare and 25 minutes to bake. The recipe serves four, and of course the fusilli can be substituted by another bitty pasta. I don't see it with spaghetti or tagliatelle, but papardelle (wide flat strips) might be OK. If the cook is in a hurry, the dish can be put under the grill for 5 minutes instead of baking, but all ingredients except the cheese would need to be hot already. Or, the dish could be made in advance, then microwaved until piping hot and put under the grill.

For speed, I like packet cheese sauces. Asda's own has the advantage of being made up with boiling water; Sainsbury's own is very tasty but needs milk - though I usually use two-thirds milk and one-third water from cooking the cauli. (In this case the powder goes in a pan and the liquid is stirred in before bringing the sauce to the boil.)

by Liz West
via flickr.com

Pasta with Cauliflower and Mushrooms

The oven, set at 160C, should be switched on about 10 minutes into the prep time.
A large oven-proof dish is needed, lightly brushed with oil.

Ingredients

1 tbsp oil

1 medium onion

10 small mushrooms

1 small cauliflower, coarser stalks discarded and the rest cut into large chunks
175g fusilli pasta (spirals)

2 packets of cheese sauce 

2 tablespoons of chopped fresh herbs (e.g. sage, parsley) or 1 tbsp of dried
Handful of raw fresh peanuts (optional but lovely)
1 tsp ground black pepper

Matchbox-sized piece of vegetarian cheddar, coarsely grated

by zimpenfish
via flickr.com

Method

1  Put plenty of water on to boil for the cauliflower, and heat the oil in a small pan.
2  Peel and coarsely chop the onion, then add it to the oil and fry gently for 5 mins. 
          Trim the mushrooms, add to the onion, and fry a further 3 minutes.
3  Meanwhile, boil the cauliflower for 6-7 minutes, then lift out and place in the 
          oven-proof dish. 
4  Return the cauli water to the boil and add the pasta. Make up the cheese sauce
          while letting the pasta simmer for 8-9 mins until nearly soft, stirring often.
          Drain and add to the oven dish with the onion mixture.
5  Add the made-up cheese sauce, the herbs, peanuts (if using) and pepper and mix 
          thoroughly.
6  Sprinkle the grated cheese evenly over, and bake for about 25 mins until bubbling
          well and the cheese is melted and golden.

Likely veg to serve with this include whole green beans, peas, sweetcorn, grilled halved tomatoes, or roasted red peppers. A chilled cider might go well as an alternative to an Italian white or red wine.

Easy Pasta Recipe, and Shallot Tarte Tatin

Two recipes. The first is for a great pasta dish, easy and quite cheap to make, with full instructions for uncertain cooks. (I shall never post a recipe for the dreaded 'pasta with tomato slop' which restaurants often offer as the 'vegetarian option' but which is extremely easy and cheap to produce and often offensively bland. For anyone cooking this, I beg you to add lots of onions and herbs at least!)

The second is for a tarte tatin, one of my favourites - it's not hard to make but takes a while and needs a steady hand for flipping the tarte at the end. Instructions are briefer for this one.

Penne Pasta with Peas & Lemon Cream - to serve 2 good portions. Needs 35-40 mins.

Yep, this has beans but I lost my pea pic!

Ingredients - best to prepare before cooking starts:
  200g dried penne pasta (ribbed tubes cut
       slantwise)
  150g frozen peas
  1 tablespoon of vegetable/olive oil
  1 large clove of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
       (optional)
  200ml single cream (preferably organic)
  Juice and grated zest (rind) of half a large lemon
  1 teaspoon dried oregano (or parsley or coriander)
  60g grated veg Italian hard cheese (e.g. Sainsbury)
                                                           Black pepper

Also 2 saucepans (1 small, 1 medium). Put the oven on fairly low (about 125C), and warm up an oven-proof serving dish.

Method:
1  Boil a good quantity of water in the larger pan, then add the pasta and cook as
       instructions on pack.
2  Meanwhile, boil water in the other pan, put in the peas, bring back to the boil and cook
       5 minutes.
3  Drain pasta and peas and put in the serving dish and back in the oven.
4  Heat the oil in the smaller pan, then fry the garlic gently for 2 minutes.
5  Add the cream and bring gently to the boil, stirring occasionally.
6  Add the lemon rind and juice, the oregano and cheese, and about half a teaspoon of
       black pepper.
7  Mix well and stir over the heat for another minute or so to make sure it's all hot.
8  Pile this into the serving dish and mix it all. Either serve straight away, or keep hot in
       the oven.

Shallot Tarte Tatin with Thyme and Balsamic - serves 4, about 75 mins

Crispy puff pastry base covered with shallots gooey with balsamic and sugar. Would serve 4 if there are side vegetables (e.g.tenderstem & baby sweetcorn, not potatoes), or 3 with a decent side salad. When serving, the shallots will be soft and maybe slippery, so a very sharp knife, used boldly, is best to cut wedges. (She says from experience.)

Ingredients:
  500 shallots, round or elongated
  3 tbsp olive oil
  2 tbsp dark balsamic vinegar
  1 tbsp soft dark brown sugar
  2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves (or 1 tbsp dried)
  60g vegetarian Emmental cheese (e.g. President, otherwise Cheddar), grated
  180g puff pastry (rolled fairly thinly from a block, or most of
       one ready-rolled sheet)

Also needed: bowl, large frying pan, baking parchment, 20cm diameter non-stick shallow (about 4-5cm deep) cake tin.
After stage 3 below, set oven to 180C if fan, otherwise 200C.

Method:
1  Place shallots in a heatproof bowl and cover with boiling water. Leave 6 mins then peel
       (carefully if still hot). If they don't fall naturally into two pieces, halve them.
2  Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry shallots gently for 10 mins, stirring occasionally.
3  Add vinegar, sugar, thyme + 2 tbsp water. Fry gently a further 5 mins, stirring at times.
4  Line the base of the cake tin with a circle of parchment, then tip in the shallot mixture
      and smooth over to cover the base completely. Leave 10 mins to cool a little.
5  Spread the cheese evenly over the shallots.
6  Lay the pastry over the tin, and trim to leave a 5cm overlap all round. Tuck the overlap
      down inside the edges of the tin to seal in the filling.
7  Bake in the top half of the oven for 25 mins or until the pastry is well browned.
8  Allow to cool 5 mins, then run a non-stick knife/spatula gently around the edge to loosen.
9  The good bit: place a large plate over the tarte, hold both firmly, and quickly invert them.
      Carefully peel off the parchment.

Hope these recipes appeal, and please let me know if there are any 'requests' (preferably of a polite nature).