A new ingredient

Firstly ... let me tell you that my broccoli pasta the other night was yum! I thought it was even better than what I paid for at the posh Italian restaurant in Lygon St Carlton! Of course I might be blowing my own trumpet here ;-)

One issue did arise from this dish though. Does it actually qualify for 'Meat Free Monday'?

H'o'M thinks *NO* as anchovies are actually the meat from said fish. I say *YES*, because there's hardly any anchovies in the dish at all and seriously – anchovies aren't meat! Right?

Next … today I used a new ingredient. Broad beans. Have you ever used this vegetable? Check them out

Initially I had to order them because no-one in my little resort town stocked them regularly. Thank goodness for 'Elvis Parsely and Grapesland' our funky little produce/juicery store here in town. Not only did he order said vege for me, but when I went to pick some up he explained how to shell them and double peel them! What a lovely service – ya gotta love small town living!

So with my new ingredient all shelled I finally made one of the last dishes in the 'winter challenge' for lunch today - 'broad bean and spicy chorizo soup'. I liked it! It was hearty and tasty and definitely 'do-again-able'

My soup with Donna's soup! 

Next time though I would double shell the beans – as instructed by 'Mr Elvis Parsley'. Donna doesn't use the term 'double shell' as he did, but on a second reading – and after having tasted the soup - I think when she says 'blanched and peeled' she does mean to double peel!

There was nothing particularly wrong with the dish as it was, but I think the taste and texture of the beans would have been better if they were rid of both their skins!

Oh well, you live and learn! ;-)

MFM no 2

Meatfree Monday has come around again, and I've decided it's going to be a pasta tonight. I've been wanting to try this recipe for a long time, but couldn't get H'o'M very interested. Tonight is my chance!

I ordered a similar recipe at an Italian restaurant we went to recently, but was sadly, a little disappointed!  It's a simple broccoli, anchovy, chili number so you'd think it would be hard to get it too much wrong. Well in the dish I was served the broccoli was well over cooked and the orriechete was a little too watery as if the pasta hadn't been drained enough!  Of course, let me hasten to add, I ate it all ;-)

My pasta of choice tonight is linguine as there are times when only a long pasta will do! This seems to be a very simple dish but I hope it will be laden with flavour.


Stay tuned for the end result ;-)

Chicken and paprika

After a 'no cooking' evening last night which I will freely admit was the culmination of a particularly lazy 'pyjama day', I thought I'd better lift my game tonight.

One of our regular meals is a 'lemon chicken paprika bake'.

It's really tasty... think chicken sprinkled with olives, chorizo, sliced lemon, garlic, chicken stock and a sprinkle of paprika. It's a case of bung all the ingredients into a dish and bake it for 30 minutes.

I serve it with greens - tonight's were 'fresh from the farm swiss chard' and some green beans. Of course, because H'o'M must have them, I also served potato of some description - tonight's were wedges.

Just looking at this picture though makes me think how perfect this dish is for a post-ski dinner. It consists of easy to find ingredients that most people eat, it's simple to ramp up or down for any number of eaters, it's filling and full of protein to assist in the next day's exertions down the runs! I really must remember this one next time we go skiing!

The bread of life

As I was up this morning at 4am - who knows why?! - I had a lot of time on my hands and decided to bake foccaccia.

I have been meaning to bake some bread for a long time, but have always left it too late to prove the dough - clearly not an issue this morning.

What a lovely recipe this was. I decided to halve the recipe as I figured one loaf of foccaccia would do the two of us for a while - big mistake!
The result was such a success that I wish I had doubled the recipe not halved it.  The outside was nice and crusty, the inside was fluffy and bread-y, and I had sprinkled a mixture of salt, oregano and a touch of chili over the top of the oiled dough.

The bread went beautifully with the 'curried carrot soup' I made yesterday. A Thai red curry paste with some stock, carrots and red lentils all blended together with those magical 'stab mixers'.

 I wish I could be sure it will ever work so well again ;-)

I forgot

to blog about this salad I made way back in the middle of August.

Of course it's from Donna's magazine and is called 'white anchovy winter salad'. It was particularly tasty actually, made with roasted beetroot, roasted potato and roasted carrots served over salad greens with some white anchovies and a simple vinegar dressing.
As a sneaky addition I pan fried a chicken fillet, sliced it and threw it into the mix as well ;-) I know it wasn't part of the original recipe, and therefore technically not allowed,  but it was really wintry outside and a salad just wasn't going to cut it.

I liked it and would definitely serve it again - perhaps with a little less of the anchovy though as they did tend to dominate the plate and the palate.