Saturday Night Pasta with Olives, Tomato and Chili

Staying in this Saturday night? Lucky you: it is the perfect time to cook yourself some delicious, easy pasta, open a nice bottle of wine, and catch up on Ray Donovan or whatever else you are into at the moment. Don’t worry about the washing up, either: you only need 2 pans!

Have a lovely weekend!

You will need (for 2):

4 tbsp olive oil
2 anchovies in olive oil, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 small red chili, finely chopped
2 tbsp capers in brine, drained
About 10-12 mixed green and black olives, halved
250 g cherry tomatoes
250 g wholewheat fusilli

salt, pepper

Method:

Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil, and cook the pasta according to the packet instructions.

Meanwhile, make the sauce. In a frying pan, heat up the olive oil over a medium heat, and add the anchovies and chili. Cook for 2 min, stirring, then add the garlic and cherry tomatoes. Cook for about 8 min, then add the olives and capers and leave to cook until the pasta is ready. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Drain the pasta and return to the pan, tip the sauce into the pan and combine. Serve with grated Parmesan, if you like.

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Quick Sausage Pasta for Two

Last night, Mr GreedyFrog was away, so I was cooking dinner just for me and my Little Greedy Tadpole.

Like a lot of toddlers, she adores pasta, so this sort of dish is always a winner with her. And it is also pretty popular with adults: it is full of flavour, healthy, and will be on the table in about 20 min.

You will need:

300 g wholewheat pasta (I used penne)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
3 good quality sausages
1 x 400 g tin chopped tomatoes
1 tsp finely chopped lemon zest
1 small bunch parsley, chopped
Salt, pepper

Method:

Cook the pasta according to the packet instructions.

Meanwhile, heat up the oil in a medium size pan. Gently fry the onion for about 2 min.

With a sharp knife, cut open the sausage casings, and squeeze out the sausages. Break up the sausagemeat into small balls, and add to the onion along with the garlic. Cook until brown on all sides.

Add the lemon zest and the tomatoes, stir and bring to the boil. Turn the heat down, season and simmer for about 10 min. Add the chopped parsley, and serve with the drained pasta.

Pasta Bake With Goat’s Cheese and Turkey Meatballs

I do not run for anyone. Not only do most of my shoes not allow it, but if I am totally honest I also find it rather tedious, and let’s face it, exhausting.

I am always happy however, to support friends running for charity in any way I can. Which is why this weekend I was delighted to welcome at Greedy Frog Towers two dear friends brave (and fit) enough to tackle the Great North Run.

The night before the race, I prepared this dish for them, with pasta for energy, plenty of vegetable goodness and lean protein in the form of turkey meatballs. It went down a treat!

They both finished the race and did amazingly well, raising a lot of money for Cancer Research in the process, and I am very proud of them.

You will need (for 6):

For the meatballs:
400 g turkey mince
1 onion, finely chopped
2 tsp dried sage
salt, pepper

For the sauce:
olive oil
2 large peppers
a handful mushrooms, chopped
2 x 400g tins of chopped tomatoes
2 cloves garlic

To finish:
500g pack pasta
1 small log goat’s cheese
1 tsp dried sage

Method:

Preheat your grill to medium-high. Grill the peppers on all sides until black and blistered, then place inside a plastic bag. Wrap this plastic bag into another one, then reserve until cool enough to handle.

Meanwhile, mix all the meatball ingredients in a large bowl, and form into golf-ball size meatballs.

Heat up the olive oil in a large, deep pan. Gently fry the meatballs until golden on all sides. While the meatballs are cooking, peel, de-seed and dice the peppers. When the meatballs are well coloured, add the peppers and mushrooms to the pan, stir gently (taking care not to break the meatballs), and cook for 2 min more.

Add the tomatoes, bring to the boil, then turn the heat down and simmer for about 30 min.

Preheat your oven to 200°C/ fan 180°C/ Gas 6. Cook the pasta according to the packet instructions, then drain. Butter a large ceramic or glass baking dish.

Spread a layer of sauce at the bottom of the dish, and top with a layer of pasta. Repeat until you have used up all the ingredients. Slice the goat’s cheese, and distribute evenly on the dish. Sprinkle the sage, then bake for 15 to 20 min, or until the cheese slices start to take colour.

Serve with some fresh crusty bread.

Beef and Feta Stuffed Peppers

I was inspired by Eat Already’s Stuffed Sweet Peppers to try my own version of the recipe. I had made stuffed peppers many times before, but never cooked in a sauce.

Instead I would cut the peppers in half, pre-cook under the grill, then fill with cooked rice, or meat and return under the grill for a few minutes.

Then I read through Eat Already’s post and had one of these “how come I’ve never thought of this” moments. I just had to try it!

I changed a few things, and added the feta, simply because I have this compulsion not to follow recipes exactly; but essentially it is still Eat Already’s recipe. So without further ado, and with the recipe’s rightful owner’s kind permission, here it is!

You will need (for 4):

1 onion
1 carrot
2 cloves garlic
3 tsp dried oregano
2 tbsp olive oil
1 bay leaf
2 400g tins of chopped tomatoes
1 litre beef stock, hot
1 small bunch parsley, chopped
500 g minced beef
4 peppers
200 g feta
Salt
Pepper

Method:

Finely chop the onion and reserve half for later. Chop the carrot. Crush the garlic.

In a large pan, heat up the olive oil on a medium heat, and gently fry the onion, carrot and garlic. Add 2 tsp of the oregano, cover and leave to cook for 3-4 min to soften.

Add the tomatoes, stock and bay leaf, stir and bring to the boil. Season to taste.

Meanwhile, mix the reserved onion with the minced beef. Add the remaining oregano, salt, pepper, parsley, chopped feta, and mix thoroughly.

Cut the tops off the peppers, and remove all the seeds and membrane. Stuff with the meat mixture, and put the tops back on.

Immerse the peppers in the sauce, bring back to the boil, then simmer for 45 min to 1 hour.

Serve with some of the sauce, with some rice or pasta.

If you have any of the meat mixture left after you have stuffed the peppers, roll it into meat balls, and cook in the sauce alongside the peppers. This could make a wonderful lunch for the following day, with some pasta.

Baked Eggs with Chorizo, Tomatoes and Peppers

I love eggs in every guise, but baked eggs are among my absolute favourite things. This is only one of many ways to have them, and you can vary the recipe depending on what you like, or what you have in your fridge.

You will need (serves 4 as a starter, 2 as a main):

6 small tomatoes
1 pepper (any colour you like)
1/2 a red onion
About 40 g chorizo
Olive oil
1 clove garlic
Dried oregano
Salt
Pepper
20 g Parmesan

Method:

Preheat your oven to 220 C/ fan 210 C/ gas 7. Butter 4 ramequins.

Peel and finely chop the onion. Put the tomatoes in a large bowl, pour enough boiling water on them to cover, and leave for a few seconds until the skins start to split. Drain.

Grill the pepper, or spear it with a fork and hold it above the flame of the hob until the skin bubbles and blackens. Wrap in two plastic bags.

When cool enough to handle, peel, quarter, de-seed and dice the tomatoes. Peel, de-seed and dice the pepper. Cut the chorizo into hazelnut-size chunks. Peel and thinly chop the garlic.

Heat up a frying pan on a medium heat, add about 2 tbsp olive oil, and when hot, add the onions, tomatoes, peppers and garlic. Stir, then leave for 1 min.

Add the chorizo and a sprinkle of oregano, fry for about 3 min or until the vegetables are soft. Take off the heat.

Spoon the vegetables into the prepared ramequins, reserving about 4 heaped tbsp . With your spoon, create a slight hollow in the mixture, and break an egg in each one. Top with the reserved mixture, grate the Parmesan on top and put the ramequins on a baking tray.

Put the tray in the oven and bake for 6 min for a runny yolk, 8 min if you like your eggs more cooked.

Serve with some nice, crusty bread to dip.