Salmon Vodka Tagliatelle

This is a perfect Friday easy meal.  Pasta off the pantry shelf, smoked salmon off-cuts and few other bits and pieces = gourmet food made at home!

There are so many variant recipes for this tasty dish with a wide range of pastas being used.  I love tagliatelle as it has a porous and rough texture which really sucks up the creamy sauce and richness of the egg yolk.  Tagliatelle is basically egg pasta - ratio 1 egg to 100g flour if you keen to make your own - and is a long flat pasta and a similar shape to that of fettuccine.  

Pasta offers great health benefits including providing glucose, a crucial fuel for the brain and muscles. It is an excellent source of complex carbohydrates which provide a slow release of energy.  Unlike simple sugars that offer a quick, and fleeting boost of energy, pasta helps sustain energy.

I generally work a 150g - 200g portion per person, which I find is more than enough, with no leftovers.

Salmon Vodka Tagliatelle 

Serves 2

• 400 g Tagliatelle
• 2 Tbsp butter
• ½ white onion, grated
• 1 Tbsp good tomato sauce
• ¼ cup vodka
• 1 Tbsp good tomato sauce 
• 1 cup single cream 
• 180g smoked salmon, cut into strips 
• Salt & pepper 
• 1 egg yolk 
• 2 Tbsp chives, thinly sliced

In a pot of salted water add a dash of olive oil and cook the pasta as per instructions on the packet.

In a large pan melt the butter and then add the onion and cook on medium until they have softened. Add the vodka and cook for a further 1 minute to burn off the alcohol.  Now add the tomato sauce and cream and simmer, still on a medium heat for 5 min.  Lastly, stir in the salmon slithers and season with a little salt and loads of fresh cracked black pepper.  Remove sauce from the heat.

When the pasta is ready, drain and ADD TO THE PAN - not the other way around.  Still off the heat, add the egg yolk and stir through to coat the pasta.

Return the pan and pasta to the stove and warm through on a low heat.  Serve immediately.

Smoked Salmon & Blank Ink Pasta

This sounds far more glamorous that what it actually is.  It is all about simple, fresh ingredients and if you don't have black ink pasta, normal pasta is just as good.  The liquorice pasta colour is a great contrast to the salmon but carries little flavour actually.  

  
250g pasta of your choice

8 Tbsp milk

2 tsp fresh dill, finely chopped

1/2 tsp Dijon mustard

200g light Philadelphia cheese

180g smoked salmon, thinly sliced

Juice of 1 lemon

Salt & pepper to taste

Splash of hot sauce / Tabasco sauce

Cook pasta as per instructions on the packet

Warm milk in a saucepan on medium heat

Add dill, mustard and cheese and stir until melted

Stir in slithers of salmon, lemon juice, salt, pepper and hot sauce to taste

Strain pasta and whilst still hot, pour sauce over and toss to coat

Serve with fresh dill and shaved Parmesan cheese

Bon appetite! and enjoy the Sunday evening movie ... wherever you are!

          ~ Michelle ~ 

Spicy Sausage Mac 'n Cheese

So when you don't really feel like cooking this is a good old faithful that is easy and never lets you down.  I have included some spicy sausage today which I had in the fridge, making it a great lunch.  You can also include bacon, mushrooms or really anything to 'spice-it-up. Here we go ... (suitable for 3 - 4 foodie lovers)

#MAKING WEEKENDS COUNT: Spicy Sausage Mac 'n Cheese

300g macaroni (100g per person)
2tbsp butter
1 cup red onion, medium chop
300g spicy sausage, small dice
1tbsp garlic, chopped
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1tsp smoked paprika (or normal paprika)
1tbsp mazina (or flour)
2 cups milk
1 tbsp parsley, finely chopped
1 cup strong cheese
1 egg yolk

Cook pasta as per cooking instructions on packet
Melt butter in a pot
Add onions, sausage, garlic, salt, pepper and paprika cook for 7 min on medium until all the oils and flavours draw from the sausage
Remove mix from pot and cool
Place pot back on the stove and add mazina and stir in the juices and scrape drizzle off the bottom of the pot
Remove pot from the heat and add the milk and parsley and stir
Add pot back on the stove and stir all the time until sauce thickens
Remove pot from the stove and stir in cheeses and yolk
Drain pasta.  Add sausage and cheese sauce to pasta and mix well
Place in an oven dish
Add freshly grated cheese and a few slices of fresh tomato for garnish
Bake for 20 min until brown

Delish ... I promise and it will never let you down.

Salami, Mushroom and Leek Carbonara

Here is a tummy pleaser and ideal for a-meal-for-one or a family of 6.  The perfect Sunday weekend winner when you just don't feel like spending too much time in the kitchen. This is made for 2 people so adjust accordingly. Here we go ...

Salami, Mushroom and Leek Carbonara

200g Linguini/ Spaghetti ( 100g pp)
1tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 cup leeks, chopped

150g strong flavoured salami, large dice

2 cloves garlic, minced
6 Shiitake mushroom, roughly chopped
2 egg yolks
250ml lite cream
Salt and pepper to taste
Cup of Parmesan, grated

Cook pasta according to instructions on the packet, however add a drizzle of olive oil, salt and a sprig of rosemary to the pot as well.
Heat oil and butter in a saucepan.
Sauté leeks, salami, garlic and mushrooms on medium heat for 5 min.
Mix egg yolks, cream, salt, pepper and cheese in a bowl.
Strain past when cooked then add quickly back to the pot.
Quickly add leek mix and egg custard to the pot and stir well through pasta for 2 min.
The heat of the pasta will actually cook the egg, that is why you need to work quickly.

Add some more fresh Parmesan on top and bon appetite!

Enjoy with a little Chianti on the side.

Soup'ilicious: Hunter's Minestrone

It is Friday so it is another SOUP'ILICIOUS night.  This is the best winter soup ever ... a take on the classic minestrone with a few tweaks.  It does have a lot of ingredients, but it is worth it.  Make a huge pot - it freezes well.

300g small pasta shells
2 litres chicken stock, homemade
6 cloves garlic, halved
4 tsp dried sage
1 sprig rosemary
3 sweet Italian sausages or chorizo sausage, diced
2 carrots, chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 tins whole tomatoes
2 bay leaf
Salt and pepper to taste
4 - 6 shin bones
2 tins white bean

Cook pasta according to pkt instructions
In a large pot combine stock, garlic and herbs and bring to the boil.
Simmer for 15 min and then strain.
Add sausage, carrots, celery, onion, tomato, bay leaf, salt, pepper and shin to the stock.
Cook until meat is tender.
Remove bones, stir in beans and pasta and heat through.
Process half the soup and add back to the pot - this will thicken it.

Enjoy with some whole wheat baguette and a good bottle of wine... just what we need after a hectic week at work!

Pea, Parmesan and Bacon Penne Rigate

So I am knee deep in washing and ironing as I start planning what clothes to pack for next week's travel back to sunny South Africa to see my folks and best friend Jen and Patrick.  Whipping up a quick and easy tummy warmer that freezes well.  Shaun is happy, he will have some heat-and-eats whilst I am away. Here we go ...

Penne Rigate pasta (1 cup pp)
100g bacon,diced
1 medium onion, diced
1 large clove garlic, chopped
Stalk celery, chopped
125g sugar snaps, whole
1 cup frozen peas
1 tbsp fresh mint, chopped
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
Bottle store-bought pf 3 cheese pasta sauce (250g)
1/2 cup Parmesan grated

Cook pasta as per instructions on the packet.
Heat a little olive oil in a pan and saute bacon until crispy.
Add onion and garlic and cook for 2 min
Add celery, sugar snaps, peas, mint, salt and pepper and cook for another minute.
Add cheese pasta sauce and heat through on a simmer for 2 min.
Add Parmesan and pasta off the stove and mix well.

Voila ... as we say here.  Enjoy.