Showing posts with label simple sauces. Show all posts
Showing posts with label simple sauces. Show all posts
The recipe I am sharing with you today is one that I adapted from one I found on Food 52 for Martha Stewart's One Pan Pasta. I just adore pasta myself, whereas my husband does not. (I know!) In any case I downsized it so that it feeds only two people.
I found myself with rather a large quantity of cherry tomatoes that I wanted to use up and I love using fresh basil in recipes when I have it, so this recipe was perfect.
One thing which I really loved about it was that everything cooks in one pan, even the pasta (linguini) . . . you just add the dry pasta and other ingredients, including water, and it cooks all-together in the pan.
No fuss, no muss . . . no faffing about with having to drain this or that . . . the water, tomatoes, etc. condense along with the starch from the cooking pasta to create a delicious sauce.
You don't even need to use boiling water. Just add it to the pan cold and let it come to the boil.
You do need to pay attention to it while it cooks however . . . to keep moving the pasta around so it doesn't stick to either the pan or well, together. (Anyone who has ever had long stranded pasta stick together in a large clump while cooking knows what I am talking about.)
You end up with an uncooked clump of stuck together pasta in the middle and cooked ends. In any case, if you keep your pasta moving, this won't happen. So do pay attention.
This is especially important as there is such a small amount of water used.
I had several kinds of cherry tomatoes . . . red and yellow . . . both incredibly sweet and ripe and delicious.
They went so well in this simple sauce, some of them broke down completely and others not so completely, but altogether most delicious.
There is a bit of heat in the sauce from the use of hot pepper flakes. Do adjust the amount required as per your own tastes . . . leave them out if you are not fond of too much heat at all.
I kept the amount of basil sprigs the same and that was the right thing to do . . . had I not done so, the flavour might have been lost all together. I adore the peppery taste of fresh basil, don't you?
The sauce is completed with thinly sliced onion and garlic, plenty of both . . .
This was really, really, REALLY nice! Not too spicy, not too mild . . . just right.
I thought the sauce beautiful, and I am not usually overly fond of tomato skins in my sauces . . . but in this they work. Providing a bit of texture and colour.
This was thoroughly enjoyed by myself . . . in face I dare say I might have even made a bit of a pig of myself.
Martha Stewart's One Pan Pasta
Yield: Serves 2
prep time: 10 Mcook time: 20 Mtotal time: 30 M
The original recipe was for four people. I have downsized it for two people. The pasta cooks completely in one pan, creating its own delicious sauce. You can be enjoying this from start to finish in less then 15 minutes.
Ingredients:
- 170g linquine pasta (6 ounces)
- 170g cherry tomatoes, halved (6 ounces)
- 1 small onion, peeled and cut into thin half moons
- 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- 2 sprigs fresh basil, plus torn leaves to garnish
- 1 TBS extra virgin olive oil
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 520ml water (2 1/4 cups)
- Freshly grated parmesan cheese to serve
Instructions:
- Put the pasta, tomatoes, onion, garlic, red pepper flakes, basil sprigs, olive oil, 1 tsp salt and a pinch of pepper into a very large deep skillet with straight sides. The pasta must be able to lay flat in the pan.
- Add the water and then bring to the boil over high heat. Continue to boil, lifting and turning the pasta with a fork or a pair of tongs to prevent it from sticking together or to the bottom of the pan, and making sure it stays pretty much submerged in the liquid. You may need to add a bit more boiling water. Cook for approximately 9 minutes in this way until the pasta has cooked al dente and the liquid has almost evaporated.
- Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Divide between two pasta bowls and garnish with torn basil leaves. Serve with some extra olive oil and freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
What is your favourite pasta sauce to eat? I don't think I have ever met one yet that I really didn't like.
The recipe I am sharing with you today for Greek Chicken with Tomatoes & Feta is one which was very popular with my boss and her friends when I was working at the Manor. I cooked it quite often for her and the ladies for luncheons and sometimes for her and her husband in the evenings.
The chicken is impeccably cooked after being marinated for several hours in a tasty herb, lemon and white wine marinade, which not only makes it really tender, but the flavours are wow!
The original recipe came from this cookbook, Fresh Every Day by Sara Foster. This was one of my boss's favourite sources for recipes she wanted me to cook for them. I was so impressed with it actually that I ended up buying a copy for myself.
The recipes are pretty basic actually, making great use of fresh seasonal produce and herbs. There are a few exotic ones, but most are very doable and quite simple.
The sauce for this chicken is created using the marinade as well as fresh tomatoes and onions. I used a mix of tomatoes from my box of heirloom tomatoes, but the recipe actually calls for plum tomatoes, which are excellent for sauces.
Added to that are onions, minced garlic and some kalamata olives . . . very Greek . . . oregano, basil . . .
Once the chicken has browned, these things get reduced along with the reserved marinade down into a lush and flavour filled sauce.
It is served sprinkled with crumbled feta cheese . . . and a garnish of fresh basil and oregano leaves . . .
So you get beautifully cooked, tender and moist flavourful chicken breasts . . . .
Adorned with a beautiful lush and rich sauce . . .
And crowned with salty crumbled feta cheese . . . it migh tlook like a bit of a hot mess . . .
But I can promise you that it is anything but a hot mess . . . it is perfection . . .
Savoury, tangy, sweet, salty, herby perfection. I have small batched it to feed two people, but it can easily be doubled or even tripled, having done so many times myself.
Greek Chicken with Tomatoes & Feta
Yield: 2
I small batched this fabulous chicken recipe from the cookbook "Fresh Every Day" by Sara Foster. The flavours are beautifully fresh!
Ingredients:
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 TBS Lemon juice
- 1 tsp fresh lemon zest
- 120ml white wine (1/2 cup)
- 1 TBS chopped fresh oregano, plus more to garnish
- sal and black pepper to taste
- 1 TBS olive oil
- 1/2 TBS butter
- 1/2 small onion, peeled and diced
- 2 plum tomatoes, cored and chopped
- 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
- 10 Kalamata olives, pitted and halved
- 3 fresh basil leaves, rolled and juilienned, plus more to garnish
- 1 ounce of Feta cheese, crumbled
Instructions:
- Pat the chicken dry and put into a dish with a cover. Add the lemon juice, lemon zest, wine, oregano, and salt and pepper to taste, rubbing it all into the chicken. Cover and place in the refrigerator to marinate for several hours. Bring to room temperature before cooking. (You can leave it as long as overnight.)
- Heat the olive oil and butter in a large skillet. Remove the chicken from the marinade, reserving the marinade. Cook the chicken in the hot fat, turning it only once, for 4 to 5 minutes per side, until golden brown. Remove to a plate, loosely cover with foil and keep warm.
- Add the onions and tomatoes to the skillet and cook over medium heat, stirring often, for 2 to 3 minutes, until the onion has softened and the tomatoes have released some of their juices. Add the garlic and cook for a minute, stirring. Add the reserved marinade and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until reduced by half. Taste and season as required.
- Return the chicken to the pan. Add the olives and basil. Simmer on low for a further 6 to 8 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the juices run clear.
- Transfer the chicken to heated serving plates. Spoon some sauce over each serving. Crumble the feta over top and garnish with herbs. Serve immediately.
When I served this at the Manor, she liked to have couscous with it. We enjoyed it the other day simply with some steamed rice. I did not serve a vegetable on the side. This was quite simply more than enough!
I was recently asked if I would like to try a new a cleaning product. Squeeky Cleaners are an eco-friendly, 100% natural and organic cleaning brand that kills 99.9% of all viruses and germs.
I was very surprised to learn that although we purpote to be cleaner and healthier than our ancestors might have been, we are living in incredibly more and more toxic environments. Our cleaning products are filled with chemicals and toxins.
We may see our indoor air as being cleaner and less polluted than the outside air but surprisingly, according to the British Lung Foundation, types of indoor air pollution include particulate matter (PM) – microscopic particles of dust and dirt in the air, gases – carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxide.
We think our homes are sparkling clean, but air poor quality can affect asthma, COPD and allergies. Indoor air pollution can be caused by many things. These include: cooking, poor ventilation, damp, toiletries and chemicals in cleaning products.
Harsh toxic chemicals found in many household cleaners affect skin, airways, lungs and eyes, with long term research suggesting that certain chemicals cause cancer and can even change our DNA over a period of time.
Squeeky cleaners have created and range of 100% natural, organic, eco-friendly, pet safe and vegan friendly cleaning products which are great for the home and planet. Their products can bring comfort to householders who worry that modern day living cannot be clean and natural without the use of harsh chemicals. All of their products are plant based and made with essential oils. They are safe, yet powerful and kill over 99.9% of all germs and viruses.
Squeeky cleaners have a range of products to make all areas of the home and garden super clean. One of their most popular products is the Organic Limescale Remover Life Bottle Bundle which brings a super clean shine to bathrooms and kitchens, even to the most toughest stains. The bundle includes a reusable UK aluminium life bottle and refils for just £14.99. For more information visit Squeekyshop.co.uk
I decided to try this out on the most minging thing in our home, the shower head for our shower. I am forever having to clean black mold and lime scale from it. I know it doesn't look too bad before but there was quite a bit of lime scale on it and some black mold around the screw on part.
This cleaner had a very pleasant smell that was not obnoxious in the least. And as you can see it did an excellent job of cleaning the shower head of its lime scale and is mold. I did have to apply a bit of effort, but you would expect to when it comes to lime scale that stuff is like tartar on the teeth!
My cleaner was here this morning and she used it in the kitchen and she really liked the smell as well, and felt it had done a great job where she used it.
With a re-usable bottle, (which is also 100% recyclable) 100% Organic and pet friendly, Vegan, cruelty free and having been made in the UK (which is important to me), this ticks all my boxes!
Golden Syrup Puddings. This is one of my husbands absolute favourite desserts. Its very old school and very reminiscent of the type of dessert which might have been served to him at the end of a school dinner during his school days.
He loved his school dinners. I think I might have as well. His mother never cooked a hot meal at night. She totally relied on him being fed with school dinners. A lot of family's were like that during and after the war in the UK.
Old fashioned and comforting, it was well worth getting through overcooked cabbage and boiled mystery meat if you knew this was waiting for you at the end!
The promise of a bit of something sweet can make almost anything bearable.
It is very similar to a dessert we have in Canada called Pudding Chomeur, which is made with maple syrup. Maple syrup is the syrup of Canadians.
It runs through our veins. If you cut us that's what leaks out.
Here in the UK you are more likely to strike a vein of Golden Syrup. Its a very British ingredient. It is very similar to corn syrup and you can use that instead.
Golden syrup has a very distinctive pronounced buttery caramel flavour. That's because corn syrup is made from corn starch and golden syrup is made from sugar! Caramelised sugar.
This is a self saucing pudding. You end up magically with a cake on top and a thick sweet sauce on the bottom . . .
I adapted the recipe from one I found in one of my absolute favourite cookery books. Every Day, by Bill Granger. I love Bill Grangers recipes. He's Australian.
You do have to fiddle a bit with his measurements, because they are Aussie, and there is a slight difference, but no worries, I've done the fussing for you and the measurements you see here are what work.
They should call it surprise pudding . . . looking at that you think to yourself, hmmm . . . cake. And not even any icing.
Then you dig your spoon into it pulling up from the bottom and SURPRISE!!
This is much more than just cake, and it needs no icing whatsoever!
A scoop of vanilla icecream goes very well however, as does pouring cream and I dare say warm custard would also be nice.
That's a photo of his on the far right. Mine was not quite as dark. Perhaps his sugar was more brown? I don't know.
You could try muscovado sugar and see what happens.
The cake itself is highly flavoured with warm ginger and vanilla. That is somewhat of a surprise, because you are expecting caramel . . . but instead you get ginger caramel.
This smells heavenly when it is baking . . . you almost can't wait to dig your spoon in, but do wait a few minutes as the sauce can burn your mouth . . . just sayin'
I wish I had four matching baking dishes. Todd and I, having gotten married late in life and both having begun over again with practically nothing but suitcases don't have four matching baking dishes. When you eat at ours you get what you get . . .
I do so like these little stripey ones however. I think they are quite pretty don't you? Besides its not the dish that counts so much as whats actually in the dish!
Golden Syrup Puddings
Yield: 4
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 20 MinTotal time: 30 Min
These are delicious, very old school. Comfort food puddings that create their own sauce. Flavoured with ginger, vanilla and golden syrup.
Ingredients
for the puddings:
- 140g self raising flour (1 cup)
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 100g soft light brown sugar (1/2 cup packed)
- 60g unsalted butter, melted (1/4 cup)
- 1 large free range egg, lightly beaten
- 125ml milk (1/2 cup)
- 1 TBS golden syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
for the sauce:
- 100g soft light brown sugar (1/2 cup packed)
- 2 TBS golden syrup
- 310ml boiling water (1 1/4 cups)
to serve:
- vanilla bean ice cream or pouring cream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/ gas mark 5. Butter 4 deep oven proof dishes, each capable of holding a generous cup. (9 fluid ounces/240ml) Set onto a baking tray.
- Whisk the flour, ginger, and sugar together in a bowl. Whisk together the egg, milk, melted butter, golden syrup and vanilla. Add all at once to the dry ingredients and whisk together until smooth and well combined.
- Divide the batter between the four cups.
- Whisk together the brown sugar, boiling water and golden syrup for the sauce. Divide between the four cups carefully, pouring it over top of the batter using the back of a spoon to diffuse it somewhat so it doesn't break apart the batter.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, until the sponge has risen and is golden brown.
- Serve warm with ice cream or pouring cream.
If you are looking for a simple pudding, homey and comforting, this be your dessert! Enjoy!
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