Tomato, aubergine and feta linguine

Image Souce: Taste.com.au

Ingredients

• 1 medium aubergine/eggplant, cut into 2cm cubes
• 1 red onion, cut into wedges
• salt and cracked black pepper
• 3 vine-ripened tomatoes, cut into wedges
• 400g fettuccine
• 1/3 cup (80ml) olive oil
• 1/2 cup (100g) fetta, roughly crumbled
• 1/4 cup basil leaves
• crusty bread, to serve

Method

1. Preheat oven to 190°C. Place the eggplant and onion on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Spray with olive oil spray, and season with salt and pepper. Bake for 10 minutes. Add tomato and spray with oil spray. Cook for a further 15 minutes then remove and set aside.
2. Meanwhile, cook pasta in a large saucepan of boiling salted water according to packet instructions or until al dente. Drain, return to pan and cover to keep warm.
3. Add olive oil to pasta. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Divide pasta between serving bowls. Serve with crusty bread

Source: Taste.com.au

Penne with tuna and courgettes

Image Source: Delicious Magazine

Now here’s a recipe for a quicky and tasty supper, one of my stand-by recipes which I can call on regularly, using handy ingredients always in my kitchen cupboard.

Ingredients

350g (12oz) penne pasta

20g (¾oz) each of butter and flour

250ml (9fl oz) fresh milk

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

110g (4oz) grated cheddar cheese

1 large courgette, coarsely grated

200g (7oz) tinned tuna, drained

Method

Cook the penne according to the directions on the packet, then drain and tip the pasta back into the saucepan.

While the pasta is cooking, make the sauce. Put the butter, flour and milk into a saucepan and, stirring steadily with a whisk, bring to the boil, by which time it will be a smooth sauce. Stir in the mustard, then 60g (2½oz) of the cheese, until it is melted. Stir in the courgette and tuna, if using. Turn into a heated, shallow, ovenproof dish about 2lt (3½ pt) in size, sprinkle the remaining cheese on top and place under a hot grill for 5 minutes until golden brown on top. Serve hot with a salad and crusty bread.

Adapted from Brenda Costigan

Tagliatelle with butternut squash

Image Source: Sunday Independent

I love this simple pasta recipe using one of my favourite vegetables – butternut squash. I adore the sweet nutty taste and the rich orange colour of the squash and it is packed full of nutritrional goodness. My favourite way to cook this vegetable is to roast it in the oven, which really enhances its flavour.

Ingredients

butternut squash, peeled and cut in narrow batons or chopped (about 550g /1¼lb flesh)

3-4 tablespoons olive oil

1 clove garlic, chopped

350g (12oz) tagliatelle

1 chicken stock cube in 1.7lt (3 pts) water

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

3-4 handfuls of fresh watercress

220g (7fl oz) creme fraiche

50g (2oz) fresh Parmesan, grated or shaved in curls using a potato peeler

25-50g (1-2oz) pine nuts, toasted

Method

Cut the butternut squash in half, then in quarters and peel it with a sharp knife. Slice the flesh into narrow finger-like batons or cubes.

Heat the olive oil on a generous piece of foil on a flat tin in the oven. Put the butternut squash and the garlic into the hot oil and toss, coating both with the oil.

Bake in the oven for about 15-20 minutes, or until the squash is tender enough to eat, tossing once or twice in the oil during that time.

Meanwhile, cook the tagliatelle in the light chicken stock according to the directions on the packet. Drain well.

Toss the tagliatelle with the butternut squash — you can mix in the olive oil in which the squash has been cooked as well, if you like. Season with salt and pepper. Put into a warm serving bowl and serve immediately, tossing the watercress and the creme fraiche through, or serving on the side, if preferred. Scatter the Parmesan and the toasted pine nuts over the top.

Adapted from a recipe by Clodagh McKenna

Spaghetti with Meatballs

Sauce
1 can of chopped tomatoes
1/2 medium sized onion
4-5 mushrooms-sliced thinly
2 cloves of garlic
1 teaspoon of dried mixed herbs
75ml cream (optional)
Seasoning

Meatballs
1lb minced beef
1/2 medium sized onion
1 clove of garlic
3 dessert spoons of breadcrumbs
1 dessert spoon grated parmesan
1 egg
2 teaspoons of tomato ketchup

Method

Mix the onion and garlic in with the meat.

Add all ingredients and use the egg to bind them together.

Be careful with the egg as you may not need the full egg – depending on size.

Using some flour mould the meatballs into the desired shapes.

Cook for 3-4 minutes on the pan and then transfer to the oven for an additional 15-20 minutes to ensure that they are thoroughly cooked.

To Make the Sauce:

Fry the onion, mushroom and garlic until nice and soft.

Mix in the mixed herbs and the chopped tomatoes.

Allow the mixture to bubble away for about 10 minutes.

If using the cream add to the sauce now to enrich it.

Adjust the seasoning and add the meatballs to the sauce.

Serve on top of some spaghetti.

 

Source: Kevin Dundon: RTE’s The Afternoon Show

Fusilli with spinach, raisins, pine nuts and feta

Image: Sunday Times

160g fusilli pasta

2 handfuls of pine nuts

½ red onion, finely sliced

2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra, for drizzling

½ red onion, finely sliced

Salt and pepper

3 cloves of garlic, finely sliced

225g baby spinach

2 big handfuls of raisins

Zest of a small lemon and ½ the juice

100g feta

Bring a large pan of well-salted water to the boil. Drop in the pasta and cook according to the instructions on the packet.

Meanwhile, toast the pine nuts for about 2 minutes in a large, dry frying pan (one big enough to hold all the spinach) over a medium heat, until tinged with gold (or use toasted pine nuts). Remove and keep to one side.

Heat 2 tbsp oil in the frying pan, sweat the onion for 3 minutes over a low heat with a pinch of salt, then add the garlic and sweat for a further 2 minutes. Add the spinach and raisins, stir for 2-3 minutes until wilted (it might seem like a lot of spinach, but it will reduce down). Add the lemon zest and juice, then the drained pasta, season well and stir through over a gentle heat. Pile into 2 bowls and crumble the feta over the top. Drizzle with a splash more oil to finish.

This recipe is taken from the Sunday Times.