Pesto Veg Pasta Salad

Ingredients:

750g pasta shapes

1 jar (190g) green pesto

5 tbsp olive oil

2 large carrots, finely chopped

150g frozen peas

150g frozen sweet corn

100g baby corn, finely chopped 

200g sundried tomatoes, finely chopped

5 tbsp dried basil 

Plenty of black pepper

Method:

1. Cook pasta, leave to cool a little.
2. Steam the sweet corn, carrots, baby corn & peas until soft. 
3. Add the olive oil & pesto to the pasta & mix well. 
4. Add the steamed veg, chopped sundried tomatoes, black pepper & basil & again mix well. 

Serve cold as part of a buffet or alone as a meal. 

Ratatouille

Ingredients:

1 aubergine, chopped

2 courgettes, chopped

1 carrot, chopped
2 peppers, chopped

1 red onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

a handful of fresh basil, finely chopped (I was able to use fresh basil from the garden)

2 tins of tomatoes

1 tbsp of red wine vinegar
Olive oil

Method:

1. Heat the oil in a pan. On a medium heat fry the onion, garlic and half the basil for a few minutes.
2. Add the aubergine, courgettes, peppers and carrots for a 4-5 minutes.
3. Add the tinned tomatoes, red wine vinegar and rest of the basil and bring to simmer.
4. Simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the vegetables are soft.
5. Serve with pasta or crusty bread, topped with some grated parmesan cheese.

Pea, Spinach & Pesto Lasagne

Ingredients:

White sauce:

500ml milk
25g butter
1 heaped tbsp plain flour

Lasagne sheets
Pesto - half jar
200g frozen or fresh peas
200g spinach
Cheese, grated
Few leaves of fresh basil
Few leaves of fresh mint

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 170C.
2. Melt butter in a pan on a low heat.
3. Remove from heat & mix in the flour to make a thick paste.
4. Whisk in a small amount of the milk to make a smooth paste and return to a low/medium heat. As it's heating continue stirring & gradually add more & more of milk to the pan. Eventually the sauce will begin thickening.
5. Stir in the spinach, peas, pesto & herbs and heat until the spinach leaves have wilted.
6. In a lasagne dish layer: the lasagne sheets, pesto, pea & spinach sauce & a sprinkling of grated cheese. Continue layering until you have used all the sauce, top with cheese. 
7. Place in the oven for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown.

Enjoy with some fresh green salad or garlic bread. We also had some grilled sausages with the lasagne for all you meat lovers.

Aubergine Vegetable Lasagna

Ingredients:

1 large aubergine

150g lasagna sheets

4 cherry tomatoes, halved

Sprinkling of basil

For tomato sauce:

1 onion

1 garlic clove

1 tsp basil (fresh is best but dried is ok too)

1 courgette

1 carrot

1 tin of tomatoes

1 vegetable stock cube

1 tbsp tomato purée

For the cheese sauce: 

25g butter

1 heaped tbsp flour

500ml milk

Handful of grated cheese

Black pepper

Sprinkling of nutmeg

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180C/Gas Mark 6.
2. Top & tail the aubergine & slice into 0.5cm slices.
3. Coat in olive oil & lie them on a baking tray.
4. Bake for 25 mins turning in the middle. 
5. Whilst the aubergine is cooking, chop the onion, garlic, carrot & courgette finely.
6. Put a little olive oil into a sauce pan & gently fry the onion, garlic, courgette & basil. 
7. Once soft add the tinned tomatoes, carrots, tomato purée, half a cup of boiled water & the stock cube. Stir well.
8. Leave to simmer until the carrots are soft and the sauce has slightly reduced.
9. In another saucepan on a low heat melt the butter.
10. Once melted remove from heat & stir in the flour to form a paste.
11. Return to heat & little by little add the milk stirring constantly until it is the required consistency. Add the cheese, pepper & nutmeg and extra milk if required to make it thinner. Simmer for a few minutes. 
12. Once the tomato sauce, cheese sauce & aubergine is cooked layer the lasagna sheets followed by the tomato sauce, cheese sauce, more lasagne, aubergine, tomato sauce, cheese sauce... & repeat layers until all the sauces & aubergine is used up. 
13. Top with grated cheese, the cherry tomatoes & a sprinkling of basil.
14. Heat in the oven until the topping is nicely browned for about 30 mins. 

Serve with garlic bread & green salad. 

Sausage Tomato Pasta

Ingredients: 

6 sausages

1 pepper, sliced

300g pasta

oil

1 red onion, sliced

1 can of tinned tomatoes

1 tbsp tomato puree

1 tsp dried rosemary

1 tsp dried chilli

150g fresh spinach

Method:

1. Boil pasta in a pan of boiling water for ~10-12 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, chop the sausages into small balls.
3. Heat oil in a wok and add the sausages for 3-4 minutes until browned.
4. Add the onion and continue cooking for a few minutes, until the onions are soft and sausages cooked through.
5. Add the pepper, tin of tomatoes, tomato puree, rosemary and chilli and heat until simmering.
6. Allow to simmer for 5 minutes and then add the spinach in until it reduces.
7. Stir the pasta into the sauce and serve.

Optional top with cheese to serve!!

Broccoli & Fig Pasta

I created this recipe after receiving a fruit and vegetable box with both broccoli and figs in it. I was not sure what to make for tea and this is what I came up with...

Broccoli & Fig Pasta

Figs

Broccoli

Ingredients:

300g pasta

350g broccoli, cut into small florets

6 figs, quartered

3 tbsps lemon juice

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

100g grated cheese

1 tbsp olive oil

Method:

Frying the figs and broccoli

1. Place the pasta in the bottom of a pan with the broccoli on top and boil for 5 minutes before removing the broccoli, but allow the pasta to continue boiling until cooked.
2. Gently heat the oil in a pan and add the garlic for a minute.
3. Add the figs, broccoli and lemon juice and fry for a few minutes.
4. Add the cooked pasta and grated cheese to the pan and toss together ready to serve.

Add the pasta and cheese

As an alternative you could also add seeds or nuts to the recipe and fry with the garlic.

Bacon and mushroom pasta bake

Bacon & Mushroom Pasta Bake

Ingredients:

250g bacon, cut into strips

250g mushrooms, sliced

1 tbsp oil

25g butter

25g plain flour

600ml milk

salt

pepper

60g cheese, grated (for sauce)

300g pasta

1 carrots, cut into cubes (cm slices quartered) & steam (Optional)

1 tin of sweetcorn (Optional)

1 tin of garden peas (Optional)

50g grated cheese (for topping)

Method: 

1. Preheat oven at Gas Mark 4
2. Put the pasta onto boil as per pack instructions.
3. Fry the bacon for a few minutes and then add the mushrooms and fry until cooked.
4. Melt the butter in a pan on a low heat, once melted remove from heat and stir in the flour to make a thick dough.
5. Put the pan back on the a medium heat now and slowly add most (not all) of the milk, stirring constantly.
6. Season with salt and pepper and allow to simmer gently and thicken whilst still stirring.
7. Add the cheese to the sauce and stir in until melted into the sauce.
8. Add the bacon & mushroom combination and any optional ingredients (peas, carrots, sweetcorn) to the cheese sauce.
9. Put the pasta into an oven proof dish and then pour over the sauce. 
10. Top with grated cheese (or a mix of breadcrumbs and cheese).
11. Heat in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until the topping has crisped.

Serve with fresh salad or garlic bread.

Homemade Beef Lasagne

I find that it is always better to make the lasagne the day before and heat throughly the next day as this allows the sauce to soak into the lasagne sheets.

Bolognese sauce

Ingredients:

500g mince beef

1 onion, chopped

250g mushrooms, sliced

Clove of garlic, crushed

1 tbsp basil (or mixed herbs)

1 tin of chopped tomatoes

300ml beef stock (1 beef OXO cube desolved in boiling water)

1tbsp of tomato purée

1/2 carrots, chopped into small pieces (optional)

1 green/red pepper, cut into cubes (optional)

200-250g lasagne sheets

300ml creme fraise (reduced fat)

150-200g grated cheese

Method:

1. Fry the onion with the herbs and garlic until soft.
2. Add the mushrooms until soft.
3. Add the beef and fry until browned.
4. Add the peppers, carrots, tinned tomatoes, stock and tomato purée and mix together well.
5. Bring to the boil and simmer gently for 10-15 minutes until reduced.
6. Once the bolognese sauce is cooked, you can start layering the bolognese, creme fraise and lasagne in a Pyrex dish.
7. Start with a layer of lasagne sheets, then a few spoonfuls of creme fraise spread over the lasagne, followed by a centimetre thick layer of bolognese sauce. Keep layering in this order until you fill the dish or run out of bolognese sauce. (see photos below)
8. Always finish with a layer of lasagne and top with grated cheese.
9. Leave overnight or for a few hours for the juices to soak into the lasagne and then cook at Gas Mark 3 or 160C for approximately 45 minutes, until the cheese has nicely browned and the sauce is bubbling away.

Serve with garlic bread and/or salad.

Layer the fillings - lasagne sheet, creme fraise
& bolognese sauce

Making the lasagne

Top with cheese

Beef lasagne

Homemade Ruth's Ratatouille

Ratatouille

Ingredients:

1 aubergine, chopped into cm cubes
1 courgette, sliced
1 pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
200g mushrooms, chopped roughly
2 tins of tomatoes
2 garlic cloves, chopped finely
2 tbsps of dried basil (or fresh if available)
2 tbsps of oil

Chopping an aubergine

Method:

1. Heat the oil gently in a pan until hot.
2. Add onion, garlic, basil & mushrooms and fry until starting to soften.
3. Add the aubergine, courgette & pepper and fry until soft.
4. Add the tomatoes and simmer in the pan for 5-10 minutes.

Serve with pasta topped with grated cheese (and sausages for all you meat eaters!)

Frying all the vegetables

Homemade Ratatouille with pasta & sausages,
topped with grated cheese

Meatball Pasta Bake

Ingredients:
1 tbsp oil
12 beef meatballs
1 onion, chopped finely
250g mushrooms, sliced
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tin of tomatoes
2 pepper, chopped
2 carrot, chopped
200ml beef stock (1 beef OXO cube dissolved in boiling water)
1 tbsp of tomato puree
300g pasta shapes
150-200g grated cheese
1 tin of garden peas (Optional)
1 tin of sweetcorn (Optional)


Method:

1. Heat the oven to Gas Mark 4 or 180C.
2. Heat the oil in a pan and fry the meatballs, onion and garlic until onions are soft.
3. Add the mushrooms to the pan and fry also until the meatballs are cooked through and the mushrooms are soft.
4. Add the pepper, carrots, tinned tomatoes, tomato puree & beef stock to the pan (and any optional ingredients).
5. Allow the pan to simmer for 15-20 minutes until reduced.
6. In the meantime, boil the pasta shapes for 10 minutes.
7. Mix the pasta into the meatball sauce and pour it all into a pyrex casserole dish.
8. Top with grated cheese and place in the oven for 15-20 minutes until the cheese is nicely browned. 

Serve with garlic bread and/or green salad.

Cheesy pasta with spinach & sausages

Today's recipe is one of my all time favourites, my mum used to make it lots of us when we were children and so when I went to university I took this recipe with me!

Cheesy pasta with spinach & sausages

Ingredients:
25g Butter
25g Plain Flour
600ml Milk
150g Grated cheese
300g Spinach, chopped
250g Pasta
8 Sausages
100g breadcrumbs



Method:

1. Grill sausages (as per pack instructions) for approximately 20 minutes, turning occasionally.
2. Boil the pasta (as per pack instructions) for approximately 10 minutes.
3. Melt the butter on a low heat.
4. Once melted take off the heat temporarily and add the flour, mix together well to form a thick dough (see photos below).
5. Add a little milk and whisk well to form a paste.
6. Place pan back on to a medium-low heat. Constantly whisking whilst slowly adding three quarters of the milk.
7. Once slowly simmering the sauce should start thickening (after about 10 minutes), add about half of the grated cheese and stir together, if the sauce becomes too thick add more milk, a little at a time.
8. Cook spinach by placing in the microwave for a minute.
9. Drain off as much liquid as possible and add to cheese sauce.
10. Mix the cooked pasta into the cheese sauce.
11. Mix the left-over grated cheese with the breadcrumbs.
12. Place the pasta and sauce into a Pyrex bowl, and top with the cheese/breadcrumb mix.
13. Place in the oven or under the grill for a few minutes until the topping has browned.
14. Serve with the cooked sausages (if vegetarian leave sausages out).

4) Mix melted butter with the flour

5 & 6) Add the milk and whisk well whilst gently heating

The finished product!

Spaghetti Bolognese

Bolognese Sauce

Ingredients:
500g mince beef
1 onion, chopped
250g mushrooms, sliced
Clove of garlic, crushed
1 tbsp basil (or mixed herbs)
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
300ml beef stock (1 beef OXO cube desolved in boiling water)
1tbsp of tomato purée
1/2 carrots, chopped into small pieces (optional)
1 green/red pepper, cut into cubes (optional)
250-300g spaghetti (or pasta shapes)


Method:

1. Fry the onion with the herbs and garlic until soft.
2. Add the mushrooms until soft.
3. Add the beef and fry until browned.
4. Add the peppers, carrots, tinned tomatoes, stock and tomato purée and mix together well.
5. Bring to the boil and simmer gently for 10-15 minutes until reduced.
6. Whilst the bolognaise is simmering, boil the spaghetti/pasta.
7. Place spaghetti in a bowl or plate and cover in bolognese sauce.

Serve with grated cheese, garlic bread and/or salad.

Bolognese with pasta shapes

Ham & Pea Pasta

Frying mushrooms & onions

This has been one of my favourite recipes for the past few years. Its quick to make and very tasty and healthy.

Ingredients:

5 handfuls of pasta shapes

300ml of creme fraise (low fat)

250g of mushrooms, sliced

300g tin of garden peas

black pepper

300g ham (I often slow cook a gammon joint during the day) or bacon can also be used

1 pre-steamed carrot, cubed (Optional)

2 cooked beetroots (Optional)

1 tin of sweetcorn (Optional)

1 tsp of mustard (Optional)

Pasta sauce

Method:

1. Boil the pasta in a pan
2. Chop mushrooms roughly & fry gently until soft
3. Add the creme fraise, peas, chopped ham, black pepper and other optional ingredient(s), heat gently whilst stirring until all mixed together
4. When the pasta is cooked, add a tablespoon of the pasta water to the creme fraise mix, drain the pasta and stir in with the rest
5. Serve with grated cheese as a garnish

Serving suggestion: serve with garlic bread or salad