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Seafood Lasagne August 2, 2010

Filed under: Fish,Pasta — delishuss @ 9:45 pm
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I got this recipe from my mum, who got it from one of her work colleagues who has tried it and says its delish. It looks really good, but I am going to leave this one up to you guys to try as I’m not a big fan of fish. Would love to hear from one of you if you try it.

Serves 6

Ingredients

50g (2oz) flour

50g (20z) butter

568ml (1 pint) fresh milk

225g (8 oz) smoked haddock, skinned and cubed

100g (4 oz) peeled prawns

10g (4 oz) peas

Grated rind of ½ lemon

100g (4 oz) ready to cook lasagne Verdi

1 egg, beaten

150g (5 oz) natural yoghurt

100g (4 oz) grated cheddar cheese

Method

  1. Place flour, butter and milk in a pan, heat whisking until sauce thickens, boils and is smooth. Cook for 1 minute.
  2. Add fish, prawns, peas and lemon rind.
  3. Place half the mixture in a 25.5 x 20.5 cm ovenproof dish. Use a deep one to prevent bubbling over.
  4. Cover with half the lasagne and repeat the layers.
  5. Whisk together egg and yoghurt, stir in half the cheese and pour over the lasagne.
  6. Sprinkle over the remaining cheese and bake at 200 degrees Celsius, (400 degrees Fahrenheit), gas mark 6 for 35 minutes until golden brown.
 

Leek, Bacon and Goat’s Cheese Pie

Filed under: Meat — delishuss @ 9:21 pm
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I subscribed to a cookbook, which came with some of the ‘BEST’ magazines, one of the cookbooks contained recipes for pies. A few took my fancy  but I ended up making this recipe based on the ingredients I had at home.  It’s good wholesome, comfort food. Give it go and let me know what you think.

Ingredients

1 pack of puff pastry (2 x sheets. If frozen leave out overnight to thaw)

1 ½ leeks, chopped

4 slices of smoked bacon, chopped

6 cherry tomatoes, halved

5 eggs beaten

1 egg beaten for sealing and glazing

6 slices of goat’s cheese

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

 

Instructions

  1. Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 7, 218 degrees Celsius.
  2. Fry off the bacon until browned.
  3. Grease an ovenproof dish (about 15 cm deep) and roll out one sheet of your puff pastry into your dish. Cut off any edges and patch any areas that you may be short of pastry using some of the beaten egg to help the patches of pastry to stick together.
  4. Add the chopped leek, fried bacon, cherry tomatoes and goat’s cheese onto the pastry base.
  5. Add some salt and pepper to the beaten eggs and pour over the pastry base.
  6. Place in the oven and cook for about 12-15 minutes. Remove from the oven. Brush some of the beaten egg around the rim and place the second sheet of puff pastry across the top, cut off any excess pastry. Glaze to top with the egg.
  7. Place back in the oven for a further 12-15 minutes. Keep an eye on it as the pastry can burn quite quickly.

 Note: Serve with a salad with balsamic dressing.

 

Red Lentil, Vegetable and Basil Soup

Filed under: Soups and Stews,Vegetarian — delishuss @ 8:49 pm
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This is a derivation of a Cornucopia recipe.  I tried the recipe after seeing it in their book.  Normally, I change stuff a little based on my gut feeling but didn’t this time to see if my gut was right. I’m afraid it was in this case. I altered it by adding some leek and some stock and reducing the quantity of basil. I think this is going to be one of my staple soups.  Hope you enjoy.

Ingredients

1 leek, chopped

3 sticks of celery, chopped

6 carrot, peeled and chopped

1 onion, chopped

100g red lentils

25g basil leaves, chopped

Salt and pepper

1 litre of stock

I litre of water

2 tablespoons of olive oil

Method

  1. Heat a large saucepan and heat the olive oil.
  2. Add in the vegetables and sauté for a couple of minutes. Reduce heat and cover and leave to sweat for 5 minutes.
  3. Add in the lentils, stock, water, seasoning and bring to the boil. Once boiled reduce heat and simmer until the lentils are yellow.
  4. Add in the basil leaves and stir.
  5. Blend with a handheld blender. Taste and correct seasoning if required.
 

Roasted Sausage and Pepper Rigatoni July 22, 2010

Filed under: Favourites,Meat,Pasta,Weight Watchers Recipes — delishuss @ 9:51 pm
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Here’s another Weight Watchers Recipe from the Fabulous and Filling Cookbook.  I only added one thing and that was a red onion cut into quarters or chunks.  I used Superquinn low fat sausages, they are gorgeous and there’s no noticeable difference between the full fat and low fat versions.

Serves 4

7 1/2 Weight Watchers points per serving

Ingredients

454g pack low fat sausages

1 red pepper, de-seeded and chopped roughly

1 yellow pepper, de-seeded and chopped roughly

3 garlic cloves, crushed

A pinch of dried chillies

Low fat cooking spray

350g (12 oz) cherry tomatoes, halved

250g (9 oz) dried rigatoni

2 heaped tablespoons shredded fresh basil

Method

1. Preheat oven to Gas Mark 7/220 degrees celsius/fan oven 200 degrees celsius.

2. Snip the sausages into chunks using kitchen scissors and toss together with the peppers, garlic and chillies in a large roasting tin. Spray with the cooking spray and roast for 15 minutes.

3. Stir the cherry tomatoes into the roasting tin and cook for a further 10-15 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, bring a pan of water to the boil and cook the pasta according to the packet instructions. Drain thoroughly.

5. Add the pasta to the roasted sausage and pepper mixture and stir in the fresh basil. Serve immediately.

 

Ratatouille Pasta

Filed under: Healthy Eating,Pasta,Vegetarian,Weight Watchers Recipes — delishuss @ 8:49 pm
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This recipe is from the Weight Watchers Fabulous and Filling Cookbook. I made a few additions to the recipe. I added a stock cube to the ratatouille after the tomatoes. Instead of using plain tomatoes, I used Napolina Chilli and Pepper, it gives it a good old kick.

Serves 4

4 1/2 Weight Watchers points per serving

Ingredients

Low fat cooking spray

1 red onion, chopped roughly

1 red pepper, de-seeded and chopped roughly

1 yellow pepper, de-seeded and chopped roughly

2 courgettes, sliced

1 aubergine, diced

3 garlic cloves, crushed

400g can chopped tomatoes

200g (7oz) dried fusilli or conchiglie

100g (3 1/2 oz) Brie, sliced thinly

Freshly ground pepper

Method

1. Heat a large, lidded sauce pan until hot and spray with the cooking spray. Cook the onion for 2 minutes then add the peppers and cook for 2 minutes stirring.

2. Add the courgettes, aubergine and garlic and cook for 3 minutes. Add a splash of water if necessary to prevent the vegetables from sticking to the pan.

3. Cover the pan and cook for a further 4 minutes over a medium heat until the vegetables have softened then add the tomatoes and simmer for 10 minutes, uncovered. Season with black pepper.

4. Meanwhile, bring a large pan of water to the boil, add the pasta and cook according to the packet instructions, until tender. Preheat the grill.

5. Drain the pasta and mix with the ratatouille. Tip into an ovenproof baking dish anfd top with the sliced Brie. Grill for 2-3 minutes until the Brie starts to melt. Serve on warm plates.

 

Mediterranean Sausage and Bean Stew

Filed under: Meat,Soups and Stews — delishuss @ 9:33 am
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This is great comfort food. I’m not really sure where I got this recipe from, I think it was one of my own creations. Worth a try!

 

Ingredients

1 tblsp of olive oil

6 chopped Denny’s tomato and rosemary sausages (or something similar)

1 tin of cannelloni beans

1 medium size onion chopped

1 clove of garlic chopped

1 small red pepper chopped

1 small yellow pepper chopped

1 tin of tomatoes

1 tblsp of tomato puree

½ tsp of dried Italian seasoning (oregano or basil will do)

Salt and pepper

 

Instructions

  1. Sauté the onions and peppers in olive oil and remove from pan.
  2. Add chopped sausages to pan, no need for any additional oil. When brown add in the garlic and cook for about a minute. Add the tsp of herbs and heat. Re-add the peppers and onions.
  3. Drain the cannelloni beans and add to pan. Cook for about 3 minutes stirring occasionally.
  4. Add in the tin of tomatoes and tomato puree, stir and bring to the boil.
  5. Season with salt and pepper to your desired taste. Remember that the sausages are heavily seasoned so don’t go mad.
  6. Reduce to simmer and cook for about 15 minutes.

This would be nice served with some toasted ciabatta.

 

Warm Salad of Black Pudding, Baby Potatoes & Chorizo July 16, 2010

Filed under: Meat,Salads and Dressings — delishuss @ 11:33 am
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This is another Dunbrody Cookery School recipes, this has to be my favourite from the two day course I attended. 

Ingredients

9 slices of black pudding (approx 1 packet)

3 oz/75g chorizo-diced

2 shallots-thinly sliced

9 baby potatoes

3 sprigs of thyme

1 large bunch fresh rocket/lettuce leaves

A couple of spoons of mustard seed dressing

Dressing (stores in the fridge for approx 2 weeks)

170ml olive oil

Juice of ½ lemon

Pinch of caster sugar

1 dessertspoon of honey

2 teaspoons of hot water

Cracked black pepper

1 teaspoon of wholegrain mustard

 

Instructions

  1. To make the dressing: mix the mustard, honey, lemon juice, and seasoning together.
  2. Whisk in the oil and correct the consistency with hot water. Whisk in the chopped thyme and allow the dressing to rest until required.
  3. Par boil the baby potatoes (put them into a pot with cold water, bring them to the boil and boil for approx 6-7 minutes until just tender) and allow to cool. Slice the potatoes into 4-5 slices.
  4. Heat a large frying pan and cook the black pudding on both sides until gently cooked and then add the baby potatoes, shallots and chorizo and cook them for a few minutes until browned off. Sprinkle in the fresh thyme and season sparingly.
  5. Meanwhile mix the rocket/lettuce leaves with a little of the dressing and place in the centre of your service plate/bowl. Just before you serve the dish divide the hot pudding mixture between the plates in a decorative fashion.

 

Additional notes

This recipe is supposed to serve 6 as a starter. I made it as a lunch at the weekend, so I increased the portion size.

In the past I never used to take much care in dressing the salad but it’s definitely worthwhile teasing the dressing through the salad with your fingers, as the dressing doesn’t just land in spots.

 

Ravioli and Meatball Bake

Filed under: Meat,Pasta — delishuss @ 10:58 am
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This is really yummy. It’s a real cheat recipe. I got it from a series of cookbooks called ‘Best Food Fast’.

Serves 3-4

Ingredients

1 packet of fresh ravioli

1 packet of ready-prepared meatballs

1 large jar of pasta sauce

1 onion, chopped

1 packet (ball) of mozzarella sliced

50g of parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons of olive oil

Instructions

  1. Brown the meatballs on all sides in the olive oil and place in an ovenproof dish. Fry off the onions and add to dish also.
  2. Boil the ravioli according for about 4 minutes, slightly less than the standard cooking time.
  3. Once the ravioli is cooked, drain and arrange over the meatballs and onion.
  4. Pour the pasta sauce over the meatballs, onions and pasta.
  5. Arrange the sliced mozzarella over the top and sprinkle over with parmesan.
  6. Cook in a preheated oven for 40 minutes.

 Voila you are done! This is a lovely, really wholesome food.

 

Penne Pasta with Smoked Salmon

Filed under: Fish,Pasta — delishuss @ 10:28 am
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I’m not a big fan of fish, but we made this recipe down in Dunbrody Cookery School and I must say I’m nearly converted. As the smoked salmon is cooked the flavour is not as potent. It’s another very quick recipe to make.

Serves 5-6

Ingredients

350g penne pasta

200g of smoked salmon

200ml pouring cream

50g crème fraiche

Juice of 1 lemon

50ml white wine

2 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley

50g grated parmesan (plus extra for serving)

Instructions

  1. Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil and cook the penne pasta according to the packet instructions.
  2. Chop the smoked salmon into long strips and set aside.
  3. Meanwhile in another saucepan put the cream, crème friache and lemon juice onto heat and bring them to the boil. Add in the white wine and grated parmesan and heat through.
  4. Allow the sauce to cook for at least 10 minutes during which time it will thicken by process of reduction and also with the addition of the cheese.
  5. Drain the pasta and add it into the hot sauce and then mix in the smoked salmon and the chopped parsley.
  6. Transfer to a large pottery dish and bring to the table to allow people to help themselves.
 

Chicken, Grape and Potato Salad July 15, 2010

Filed under: Chicken,Healthy Eating,Salads and Dressings,Weight Watchers Recipes — delishuss @ 9:37 pm
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Surprise, surprise another Weight Watchers recipe. Again, this is from the Fabulous and Filling Cookbook. When I tasted the dressing I thought it needed something, so I added a few splashes of Worchester Sauce, perfect. Also I coated the chicken with some fajita mix before grilling.

 Serves 2

4 Weight Watchers points per serving

Ingredients

300g (10 ½ oz) new potatoes, diced

125g (4 1/2) oz) skinless boneless chicken breast, halved horizontally

40g (1 ½ oz) reduced fat mayonnaise

50g (1 ¾ oz) low fat natural yoghurt

1 tablespoon snipped fresh chives

½ teaspoon Dijon mustard (optional)

100g (3 ½ oz) red grapes, halved

1 little gem lettuce leaves separated

Freshly ground pepper

 

Method

  1. Bring a lidded saucepan of water to the boil and cook the potatoes, covered, for 15 minutes or until tender. Drain.
  2. Meanwhile, heat the grill to medium high and grill the chicken for 10-12 minutes until cooked through, Set aside to cool.
  3. In a large bowl, mix the mayonnaise with the yoghurt, chives and mustard, if using, adding pepper to taste. Stir in the new potatoes and grapes.
  4. Slice the chicken and mix into the potato salad. Serve on a bed of Little Gem lettuce leaves.