Hearty Pasta Soup

Yet another super simple recipe from Good Food.

Hearty Pasta Soup

1 tbs Olive Oil

2 Carrots - chopped.

1 Large Onion - chopped

1 ltr Veg stock

400g can chopped tomatoes

200g frozen peas & broad beans

250g pack fresh filled tortellini. I used goats cheese and caramelised onion

Chopped basil leaves

Grated Parmesan

Heat oil in a pan and fry the carrots and onions for 5 mins. Add stock and tomatoes, simmer for 10 mins. Add peas and broad beans.

Once veg is tender, add the pasta. Return to the boil and simmer for 2 mins.

Serve with basil and Parmesan on top.

Hubby whipped up a batch of Rosemary and sea salt Focaccia to go with the soup and very nice it was too.

Cheesy Leek & Bacon Tart

I think I am going backwards in my cooking skills and I am trying to find the easiest meal out there. This one is a total cheat but ends up very delish and almost looks like you tried with it. Another from the Good Food archives.

Cheesy Leek and Bacon Tart

1 roll pre-made puff pastry

150g tub Philidelphia Light with Garlic & Herbs soft cheese

3 leeks - sliced into 5mm rings

5 rashers smoked bacon

100g Emmental cheese - grated

Heat a pan and fry in a little oil the leeks until just soft.

Unroll the pastry and put onto a baking tray

Spread the Philly over the pastry about 3cm from the edges (First time I cooked this it was a little too cheesy so second time around I cut back on some of the Philly)

Once the leeks have cooled put them on to the pastry along with the bacon that has been cut into little bits.

Add the grated Emmental and roll the edges up then pop into the oven at 190oc for 15 mins.

Looks and tastes fantastic! Next time I will try with mushrooms in place of bacon.

With the left over Philly from my second attempt I spread it over some pork loins, just before they went into the oven for 15 minutes, it really turned them around and made a possible boring meal a little more exciting. Have also tried adding Philly to pasta - don't try unless you like a claggy mess.

Mild Chilli & Bean Pasta Bake

Another one found last minute on the hallowed pages of BBC Good Food. Recipe Here

I made a few amendments, depending what was in the cupboard at the time, but this dish was really very, very tasty and will definitely be cooked again.

Mild Chilli & Bean Pasta Bake

Serve 4

1 large onion - chopped

350g lean minced beef

2 tsp chilli flakes

400g can chopped tomatoes

1 tbs tomato puree

400g kidney beans

300ml beef stock
300gm Fusilli

Topping

300g low fat greek yogurt

2 eggs beaten

Handful grated Cheddar cheese

1 garlic clove grated.

In a dash of oil fry the onions and mince in a frying pan until onions soft and mince browned.

Add the chilli flakes, tomatoes, puree, beans and stock bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes.

Cook the pasta, drain and then add to the mince. Transfer to a ovenproof dish.

Mix the yogurt, eggs, cheese and garlic season lightly and pour over the pasta and bake in a 200oc oven for 20 minutes or until lightly browned.

The topping was an absolute winner, firm, creamy and cheesy a great contrast to the chilli beef.

Spanish Chicken

It seems that my usual inspiration for cooking comes from a quiet afternoon in the office a little surf over to the Good Food website to get together a recipe for that evening. It really is a brilliant site. Last night I grabbed the following recipe from its pages.

Now, you know I am all about the ease and simplicity of one pot dishes, especially during the week, well this one is no exception.

Spanish Chicken

8 Chicken Thighs - skin on with bone in

3 Onions - thinly sliced

2 tsp Paprika

Zest and juice of 1 lemon

Parsley, good handful chopped

150ml Stock

1 Tbs Olive oil

Heat the oven to 190oc. Put all the ingredients into a large ovenproof dish. Mix everything together and season.

Bake for 45 minutes or until the chicken is golden and the onions tender. Stir the onions after 20 mins. Serve with rice.

See simple!

Baked Chicken with Soft Cheese and Thyme

This recipe is my take on one I had seen the the Good Food magazine April 2010. A really easy and satisfying one pan dish.

6 x Chicken thighs / drumsticks - skin on

Enough new potatoes for two - cut in half

200g Baby Plum Tomatoes

4 Banana Shallots, peeled and left whole

Soft Cheese with garlic and Herbs

Olive oil

Dried Thyme (fresh would be better)

Gently peel the skin away from the meat and push a tea spoon or so of soft cheese under the skin and massage into place on all the chicken pieces.

Pop them into a roasting tin add the potatoes, tomatoes and shallots to the tin.

Drizzle with a little oil and season well. Sprinkle over a nice large pinch of thyme.

Put in oven at 180oc for 40 minutes.

The dish came out gloriously crispy on the skin with a lovely ready made sauce from the cooking juices and melted cheese. Very yummy.

Mexican Bean Chilli

Tuesday night and I thought I would try a Good Food recipe for Black Bean Chilli unfortunately I could not find any black beans in Tesco! So I codged the recipe to suit what I did have.

Mexican Bean Chilli

Serves 2-3

1 tbs olive oil

2 cloves garlic - finely chopped

1 onion - chopped

1 red bell pepper - chopped

1 1/2 tbs pimenton (Spanish Paprika)

1 1/2 tbs cumin

1 1/2 tbs red wine vinegar

1 tbs brown sugar

1 can chopped tomatoes

1 x 200g can red kidney beans

1 x 200g can pinto beans

To serve

crumbled feta

sliced spring onions

sliced radishes

Boiled rice

Fry in oil the garlic and onions in a large pan until soft. Add the pimenton and cumin, cook for a few mins then add the vinegar, sugar, tomatoes, pepper and seasoning. Cook for 10 mins then add the beans and cook for a further 10 mins. Serve over rice with the feta, spring onions and radish sprinkled on top.

A very quick and simple dish but one that tastes fantastic. The vinegar adds a really lovely zing to the dish and the toppings lift and freshen the taste. Unusually for us a none meat dish, but could rapidly become a fave. I think any sort of beans could be substituted.

Cottage Chilli Hotpot

This is truly a stunning show stopper of a one pot dish. It comes from the January edition of Good Food magazine and my pictures really do not do it justice, it was my first attempt and I did not transfer it to a casserole dish so it looks a little messy, (Update, have added new picture from my latest attempt, much better) but it really is delicious.

Cottage Chilli Hotpot

Serves 6

800g Braising Streak - cubed

2 tbs seasoned plain flour

4 tbs Olive Oil

300ml Red Wine

2 Red Onions Finely chopped

2 Carrots - Finely chopped

4 Garlic cloves - Finely chopped

2 Red Peppers, deseeded and chunked

Thyme

Bay leaf

1 tsp each ground Cumin and Corriander

1/2 tsp each Cinnamon and Chilli flakes

2 x 400g Chopped Plum Tomatoes

2 tsp sugar

250ml Beef Stock

400g Red Kidney Beans

1Kg potatoes

Butter

Toss the beef in the flour and brown half of it in a pan. Remove meat from pan and deglaze with 100ml wine, pour all the wine and sticky bits over the meat, wipe pan clean and repeat with the remainder of the beef.

Add 2 tbs of oil to the pan and add the veg, peppers, fresh chilli some thyme sprigs and bay, fry for 10 mins. Tip in the spices, cook for 1 min then add the rest of the wine and reduce by half.

Add the tomatoes, sugar, beef, winey jucies and stock, season and simmer for 1 1/2 - 2 hours until meat is meltingly tender. Stir in the beans and allow to cool.

Peel and slice the potatoes about 5mm thick, then boil for 5 mins. Drain then tip back in to the pan. Add a knob of butter and thyme leaves, season then toss gently to coat. Pour the chilli mix into a casserole dish and layer the potatoes over the top. Bake at 180oc for 40mins or until sauce is bubbling and potatoes golden.

Serve with green veg and soured cream. Truly scumptious!