I was recently asked if I would like to try a recipe from the new Cirio cookery book.  I would be sent the tomato ingredients to do so.   I said sure, I am always happy to try out a new recipe.  

This one was for Tagilatelle with Ragu Sauce, and if you are thinking that doesn't look like Tagilatelle, you are right. Its not.  Its whole wheat spaghetti.  

As a diabetic, I only eat whole wheat pasta and I did not know how to convert the recipe for the tagliatelle into whole wheat, so I didn't make the tagliatelle, but don't let that stop you from trying it! 

 

As you all know I am a huge fan of the Cirio products.  I use them all the time.  When it comes to anything to do with tomatoes or tinned beans, I always buy Cirio.  

That's because I know that they are always going to be really good.  A lot of people don't realise that the flavour of the tomatoes they choose to use in a dish can mean the difference between a dish being so/so and a dish being wow!

 

Which is strange really because if you choose to use so/so products when you are cooking, why wouldn't you expect the end result to be so/so as well!   

A good quality tinned tomato can make a huge difference to the taste, consistency and quality of any dish. 

In my opinion Cirio is one of the highest quality brands of tinned tomatoes on the market, produced lovingly in Italy for an authentic Italian flavour.

 

The recipe they sent me was a tiny bit ambiguous as far as amounts of some of the ingredients, trusting I suppose on a cooks ability to know for themself how much of certain things they wanted to use.  

I have added the amounts I used for these to the recipe.  The end result was very tasty indeed!  (Even without the Tagliatelle!)

 

 

To make the pasta beat the eggs with a dash of oil and salt.  Add the flour to make a firm and elastic dough.  Cover and let rest for an hour and a half in the refrigerator.  Flatten the dough with a rolling pin on a lightly floured surface.  Roll out into thin pasta sheets, less than 1 mm thick and cut into 7mm strips.  Dust the strips with flour to keep from sticking.

For the ragu, heat a splash of olive oil along with a knob of butter in a large saucepan. Add the celery, carrot, onion and garlic and lightly fry to soften over medium low heat.  Add the meat and cook, stirring until the meat is quite dry.  Add the wine and bring to the boil and then simmer quickly until the wine is almost evaporated.  Stir in the tomato puree and Passata. Bring to the boil, REduce to a simmer and then adjust the acidity with some sugar.  Add salt to taste.  Simmer while you cook the pasta.

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to the boil.  Add the tagliatelle and cook for 3 minutes.  Drain well and then serve with the Ragu sauce.

 

This was delicious and because there are only two of us I had enough to freeze in a container for another meal.   Cirio tomatoes are available at all the grocery shops in the UK.  For more recipes and cooking inspiration and ideas do be sure to check out their recipe pages. 

Note - I was sent a range of Cirio products to use in the recipe free of charge, but not required to write a positive review of anything.  I quite simply like Cirio products and as you know, I have never made that a secret!  I do love them!  Buon Appetito!

 

One thing that I miss from home that I really, really used to love is the Robin Hood Oatmeal Muffin Mix.  It was something which I always bought and my family enjoyed.  We often added chocolate chips to it or raisins, and they went down a real treat!  They were family favourites.

  

I have never quite been able to replicate the flavour of those muffins, and I have really tried! 

  

This recipe I am showing you today is adapted from one which I found in this little book, Muffinss, by Susan Reimer.  I did add some grated nutmeg to the mix because I was thinking that  might be the elusive flavour that I keep missing  . . .

 

They still don't taste quite the same, although . . .  in truth they are very VERY good, nonetheless! 

 

Today I used a mix of both milk and semi sweet chocolate chips.  If you are not fond of chocolate chips you could use chopped dates, or sultanas, dried apricots or even currants.

 

Whatever you choose, I think you are in for a real breakfast treat!

 

 

Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/ gas mark 5.  Line a 12 cup medium muffin tin with paper liners, or butter very well.  Set aside.

Measure the oats into a bowl and add the milk.  Set aside while you put together the remaining ingredients.  Sift the flour into a bowl with the baking powder, salt and nutmeg.  Stir in the chocolate chips.  Add the beaten egg, brown sugar, oil and vanilla to the oat mixture.  Add all at once to the dry mixture and stir to just combine, so no dry bits of flour are left.  Don't overcombine.  Divide between the muffin cups, filling about 2/3 full.

Bake for 20 minutes, until well risen and the tops feel quite firm.  They should also be golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the centre of one should come out clean. (There might be melted chocolate on it however!)  Tip out onto a wire rack to cool.

 

These would also make great lunch box additions for the kiddles, or even to bring to work for coffee break.  They would also be great served afterschool with glasses of cold milk.  Now my taste buds are tingling!  Bon Appetit! 

 

This recipe I am showing you here today is a prime example of how we eat here in Casa de Rayner, most of the time.  Its fast.  Its easy and . . .  most importantly . . .  its delicious!

 

I like to think its also fairly economical in that it uses things I generally have in my freezer and storecupboard, like rice, milk, chicken stock, frozen vegetables, onions and I confess  . . .  frozen mushrooms.  I always keep frozen sliced mushrooms in my freezer.  They are perfect for dishes like this where appearance doesn't really matter that much.

 

I picked up some packs of fresh cubed turkey breast the other day.  One of them was perfect for this dish.  The other was frozen, so now I have some cubed turkey breast for the future when I want to make something quick and easy for another meal.

 

You could of course use cubed chicken breast meat, or even leftover cooked turkey or chicken from the Sunday roast!

  

All are put together in a simple way and in one pot, making it an easy put together not to mention an easy clean up!

 

Yes, it all gets cooked in the one pan . . . first the turkey . . .  then the onions, mushrooms and garlic . . .

  

Some flour and seasonings go next, and then you add some chicken stock and milk . . . bring it to the boil, where it thickens a bit  . . . nice and creamy  . . .

 

And then finally the rice.  Covered, it cooks to perfection over very low heat in about 15 minutes or so.  A bit of salad on the side, maybe a crusty bun if you are so inclined and dinner is served!

 

 

Melt the butter in dutch oven (with a lid). (I use my medium La Crueset pan.)  Add the turkey and cook, stirring until it is no longer pink.  Add the onions, garlic and mushrooms.  Cook, stirring, for 3 to 4 minutes until they begin to soften.  Stir in the flour, seasoning salt, black pepper, and thyme.  Cook, stirring, for a further minute.  Slowly stir in the chicken stock and then the milk.  Add the rice and bring to the boil.  Reduce to a very low heat, cover and simmer  for 15 to 20 minutes until tender.  Stir frequently to prevent the rice from catching on the bottom of the pan. Because I use gas, I always have my pan on a heat diffuser, which helps to keep the temperature down.  Stir in the frozen vegetables, recover and take off heat.  Let stand for a few minutes to  heat through.  Serve immediately.

 

This is the kind of weeknight supper that will have both you and your family jumping up and shouting for joy!  The family because its delicious and you because it is quick, easy and not a lot of faff involved!

 

Soft white buns . . .  spread with a horseradish mayo, topped with tender juicy BBQ Beef, and then slathered in a delicious cheese sauce . . .  mmmm . . .  what's not to like about that!

 

When you  first look at the list of ingredients, you might be tempted to think its far too much trouble to put it all together, but each element is very simple and doable, and once you get them all done and in place, the rest is a doddle!

 

The horseradish mayo is simply some mayo whisked together with horseradish sauce, this gets spread on the bottom bun . . .

 

The BBQ beef as well is really quick and simple.  Just whisk the sauce ingredients together in a pan, bring to the boil, then add the beef and reduce the heat until the beef is heated through.  Buy the thinnest sliced roast beef that you can buy!  At the deli-counter if possible!

 

The cheese sauce is also very simple . . .  as simple as whisking together some grated cheese, corn flour (cornstarch) and evaporated milk and heating it up in the microwave until the cheese is melted and its all blended together and smooth. Yum yum!!

 

 

First make the horseradish sauce. Whisk the ingredients together in a small bowl. Set aside.  For the cheese sauce, mix the cheese and cornflour together in a bowl. Stir in the evaporated milk.  Heat in the microwave on high, stirring every 30 seconds, until the mixture comes together and is smooth.  Keep warm. (If you think it is too thick, you may whisk in a bit more milk and reheat.)

Whisk the tomato ketchup, water, brown sugar, vinegar, all seasonings and hot sauce together in a pan. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a low simmer.  Add the roast beef and heat through gently until heated thoroughly. 

  

While the meat is heating, split your buns, wrap in foil and warm in a hot oven for about 8 minutes. 

To serve spread the bottom of each bun with a portion of the horseradish mayo.  Top with a portion of the BBQ Beef, and finally the cheese sauce.  Place the top of the bun on top and serve immediately. 

 

We had some oven chips on the side with this, but coleslaw would be great or a salad.  This is a real winning sandwich.  Hearty and delicious!  Bon Appetit! 

 

I have a fabulous recipe for a Lemon Drizzle Loaf.  You just bang everything into the food processor and blitz it together, scrape it into a pan and bake.  I went to make it yesterday, got everything into the food processor and went to add the lemon curd which is uses and guess what . . .  NO lemon curd in the house.  Oh me oh my!  What to do, what to do . . .

  

I had recently picked up a jar of Bon Maman Salted Caramel Spread and after a bit of soul searching I decided that it was of somewhat the same consistency as lemon curd and I would use that instead!  The thought actually sounded quite delicious.

 

And so I went with it, and threw it into the food processor, scraped the batter into my loaf tin, banged it into the oven and then crossed my fingers.

  

Necessity is often the mother of invention.  It smelled gorgeous when it was baking.  It did take a bit longer than the lemon one to bake, but not a problem really . . .

 

The Lemon one does have a lemon drizzle topping on top, so while the cake was baking I put my thinking cap back on . . . .

 

I wanted a drizzle topping that would soak a bit into the cake, with flavours that wouldn't jar too much with the salted caramel . . .

 

I decided to go with coffee . . .  and so I mixed together a bit of hot coffee, some coffee liqueur, and granulated sugar . . . . it tasted pretty good.  You could use vanilla if you didn't want to use the liqueur.

 

I brushed this grainy syrup onto the cake as soon as I took it from the oven, and kept spooning it on a little bit at a time, until I had used it all up and it had soaked into the surface of the cake.  It also smelled heavenly!  The end result was incredibly edibly tasty indeed!

 

 

 

Some might bemoan the fact that they didn't have any lemon curd in the cupboard, and I will be rectifying that shortly, but in the mean time I am very grateful for the opportunity my lack thereof provided for me to discover something quite, quite tasty!  I think you will be grateful also.  You simply must bake this!  Bon Appetit!