Pancakes

Yes I know its over a week late, but this post is more about a kind of revelation. 

While I searched for inspiration for a savoury pancake last week I remembered something foodie that must have dug itself deep into my head. Some time ago, I knew of an Italian chef who ran a small village restaurant. His food was excellent and his passion for his restaurant and customers was second to none. He ran a traditional type of Italian where the pasta could be the starter, then a salad or veg, followed by the meat or fish. There was not a pizza in sight (This is street food, not restaurant food!). He was a character. I remember him once insisting that Cannelloni was not pasta, but pancake.

After googling this, I couldn't seem to find a definitive answer to whether Cannelloni is supposed to be pasta or pancake. I found out that it can be. I also found out that manicotti is also the name for a dish of pancake tubes, filled in the same manner as cannelloni. But then when searching further, it seems that mancotti can be pancake or pasta. All very confusing. But also very simple.....

Being gluten-free now, this means my pasta choices are limited. Generally there is fusilli or penne available, and incresingly so spaghetti and sometimes lasagne. But that's it. So here is the revelation. If cannelloni/manicotti can be pancake, it certainly will be in this house! Gluten-free pancakes are no trouble, but finding and cooking lasagne sheets and constructing rolls would involve so much more faff (and cost).  A workable way of making interesting baked pasta dishes has now come into my life! Hurrah!

What I made came straight from my head and I didn't follow any recipe, but I will attempt to document it here as best I can. Apologies for the picture, not very appetising. I promise it tasted much better than it looks!

I used a standard pancake recipe of 100g (gluten-free) flour, 1/2 pint milk and egg. There are so many recipes and recommendations out there so I won't re-write the method. I made a batch of 6 pancakes and let them cool between sheets of greaseproof paper.

Filling:
A few mushrooms, chopped
Bacon lardons
Red onion, chopped
Dried sage
White wine (optional)
Cream

Topping:
Milk
Flour
Butter
Cheese, grated

1. Gently fry the bacon, onion and mushrooms together. They want to be softened rather than browned.
2. Add a dash of white wine if you have any in (and open - its not that important) and reduce.
3. Sprinkle in some dried sage. I like sage flavour so added about a heaped tsp.
4. Pour in some cream and stir. The amount I used was enough to make a sauce, but not make it runny. This is actually the stuffing rather than the sauce, so it needs to be chunky.
5. Make a bechamel sauce with the butter, flour and milk (Delia's recipe (within her cannelloni recipe) uses cream and nutmeg which I left out - there are so many calories already!). Stir through some grated cheese, saving enough for the top.
6. Construct the cannelloni by spooning some bacon mixture onto each pancake and rolling it up. Place the rolls side by side in an oven proof dish. Pour over the bechamel sauce and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.
7. Bake until heated through and the cheese and sauce are bubbling. We serves it with a dressed green salad.

P.S. The picture at the top is of dessert. A standard pancake with the obligatory nutella and a generous drizzle of cream. Lovely!

Real Carbonara

Again, another frugal food recipe. Last week we were looking for things to cook for tea which were quick, filling and still cheap. And also I have recently been reading Antonio Carluccio's website (we are eagerly awaiting his new series, due in April, since it was produced by a friend and we've had a sneaky peak of some behind the scenes pictures). I came across his recipe for carbonara which is very simple, and most importantly authentic.
I've made carbonara before, or what I thought was carbonara, but the real thing doesn't have any cream, or mushrooms - like those supermarket versions have.
I forgot to print the recipe out, but thankfully we had a similar recipe in the Rick Stein Mediterranean Escapes book, so I decided to use that. The recipes do differ slightly, Carluccio uses wine, while Stein's doesn't. The use of garlic differs, and Stein also adds parsley. I have no idea which is more authentic, but both are clear on one thing. There is no cream. Don't even think about adding it.

The Stein recipe was for 4, but had 3 eggs, and I'm not about to start dividing up eggs somehow, so we kind of reduced it all by a third, and felt like pigs as we ate. We didn't opt for the suggested pancetta, but used some smoked streaky bacon which we had in the fridge.


Carbonara

The final dish was lovely. Very very tasty. In my opinion, it had the right use of garlic - fried with the bacon, and all it needed was a grinding of black pepper. Cream could make it feel more luxurious, but there really was no need at all.

For information, here is the recipe, taken directly from the book.

400g dried spaghetti
175g piece smoked pancetta, rind removed
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves
Handful of flat-leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped
3 large eggs, beaten
50g finely grated pecorino sardo marutro
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Bring 4.5 lites of water to the boil in a large saucepan with 8 teaspoons salt. Add the spaghetti and cook for 9 minutes or until al dente.
2. Meanwhile, cut the pancetta into lardons, about 6 mm wide. Heat a large, deep frying pan over a medium-high heat, add the oil and the pancetta and allow it to fry until lightly golden. Add the garlic and parsley and cook for a few seconds, then remove from the heat and set to one side.
3. Drain the spaghetti well, tip into the frying pan with the pancetta, garlic and parsley, add the beaten eggs and half the grated pecorino cheese and toss together well. Season to taste with a little salt and black pepper. The heat from the spaghetti will be sufficient to partly cook the egg but still leave it moist and creamy. Take to the table and serve in warmed pasta bowls, sprinkled with the rest of the cheese.

Leftovers - Chorizo Pasta Bake

Chorizo Pasta Bake


In continuation of our post about frugality (still don't know if that is actually a word), here is a concoction we made one night last week with just what we had left over in the fridge. By some strange fate it seemed that all the bits and bobs we had were exactly the right amount for what we wanted to do. This dish was great as we didn't spend anything on ingredients, and it fed us both for two nights. Bargain!
We made a pasta bake which isn't unusual when scrimping around for left over bits and bobs as I suppose there are limitless possibilities for what to put in them. 

This is what we used: (the amounts are very approximate)

100g Chorizo (diced)
Handful of Frozen Peas
1 Onion (chopped)
Half a Corgette (diced)
Half a tub of Passata
A glug of Double Cream
Gluten-free Pasta (enough to cover a lasagne dish)
2 Spring Onions (chopped)
Grated Mozzarella and Chedder mix
Olive Oil
Dried Oregano
Dried Basil
A little water
Salt and pepper

What to do:

Fry the onion for 5 minutes to soften.  Then add the chrorizo and fry for a further 5 minutes until the oil is released .  Add the courgette and fry until soft.  Season with salt and pepper and add the dried herbs.  Then pour in the passata and cream and bring to a simmer.

In a lasagne dish, cover the bottom with dried pasta and add the sauce and frozen peas.  Mix well and add a little water as necessary to just cover the pasta.  Sprinkle the cheese and spring onion over the sauce to make the topping.

Cook in a pre-heated oven at 200 degrees for about 30 minutes.

Paprika Baked Pasta

Yes I know it is another Pasta Bake - but they are just so convenient.  You can prepare them in advance and just pop them in the oven half an hour before teatime.  All that is ever needed is a pile of leaves and/or some nice crusty bread and you're done.

I suppose there are limitless ideas for what you can put in a pasta bake.  Even with this one I was meaning to put mushrooms and peas in but forgot.



Paprika Baked Pasta

As with many of our own recipes they are generally to eat up what is left in the fridge and this is no exception.  The only thing we knew we wanted in this dish was paprika and cream - probably due to the dishes we have been sampling recently at the Orange Tree Tapas in Denton.

What you will need for this dish:

Bacon Lardons (handful)
1 Medium Onion (chopped)
1 Courgette (chopped)
1 Clove of Garlic (crushed)
1 Tablespoon of Tomato Puree (that is paste not passata - long story!)
1 Tin of Italian Cherry Tomatoes
1 Tablespoon of Paprika
* 1 Tablespoon of Dried Sweet Basil
Single Cream - according to your taste
a good handful of grated mature cheddar for topping
Salt and Pepper
Olive Oil
Dried Pasta - for 4 (we used gluten-free)

* it is worth a mention that the sweet basil we used was bought from Greek Oil Direct who have a fantastic stall at Marple Farmer's Market.

Method:

First gently fry the chopped onion and bacon in olive oil for 5 mins

Then add then corgette and garlic and fry for a few mins more

Add the sweet basil and paprika and mix well

Add the tomato puree and cherry tomatoes, mix well. 

Add the cream till the desired consistency
Season and bring to a simmer

Put dry pasta into a casserole dish and pour over the sauce.  Add a little water if required till the pasta is just covered.
Cover and place in pre-heated oven at 200c and cook for 15 mins
Remove lid, sprinkle over cheese and bake uncovered for a further 15 mins




The picure above was taken before adding the topping.  Serve with leaves, bread and shavings of Parmesan.  This was just as nice cold the next day.

Chicken and Broccoli Pasta Bake

Well, it has been a little while since we have posted and a lot of food has been consumed!  A lot of very good food in fact which is why some posts are going to take some planning.  On Tuesday evening we returned from a short holiday in Switzerland and the food we had was wonderful (albeit often very expensive).  While we plan how to share these experiences with you I thought I would show you a couple of recipes we tried before we left.  These were basically to use up whatever food we had in the fridge so it didn't go to waste (we are good like that!).

The dish I will share today is a Chicken and Broccoli Bake:




Chicken and Broccoli Pasta Bake

 It is taken from the bbc goodfood website and the original recipe can be found HERE.  The only changes I made was to use chicken thighs (so needed to cook for a little longer), tomato puree instead of sundried tomato paste and I missed off the almonds.  All in a bid to save money for our trip I guess and I do not imagine it took a great deal away from the dish as it was still very tasty.

What you need (for 2)

200g of Pasta (we used gluten-free)
Half a medium Broccoli cut into florets
3 skinless, boneless Chicken Thighs (cut into pieces)
About 4 mushrooms
2 Tablespoons of tomato puree
1 Tablespoon of Boursin Garlic and Herb soft cheese
150 ml single cream
Olive Oil
3 spring onions and a small bowl of grated Cheddar (for the topping)

Pre-heat oven to 190c
Cook the pasta for 5 mins in a pan of salted boiling water
Then add the broccoli for 5 mins more and drain
In a large pan cook the chicken pieces (for 5 mins if using thighs)
Then add the mushrooms and cook for a minute longer
Add tomato puree, Boursin and cream
Simmer till the cheese melts and season
Pour the sauce over the pasta and broccoli and level the top
Mix the Cheddar and spring onion and sprinkle over the pasta
Bake for 20-30 minutes

And you should see something like this









A surprisingly light dish considering how much cheese went in.  It is also very versatile and the idea could be used for all manner of combinations.  A good way of using up whats left in your fridge.  I will post again tomorrow to show you what else you can do with 3 chicken thighs and half a broccoli.

Marple Food and Drink Festival and Crayfish

On Saturday, Tim was helping out the Marple Band at what we thought was a random gig, but it turned out to be at the Marple Food and Drink Festival. Bonus! I went along to support the band and also to see what was going on.

 

It was the Food and Drink day of the festival and the precinct was full of various stalls, many from local business, but notably including Marple Allotments Association. A stall which I gathered useful information about my lack of home grown tomatoes as well as some rather exciting and still muddy red Swiss Chard. Something that we've never cooked before.

I spent quite a bit of money while the band were playing, on various veg, gluten free brownies (because I can!) and a bottle of interesting Prosecco. But my main ingredient that I was excited about was Crayfish tails.

I'd spotted a recipe on The Recipe Chef, via facebook which I quite fancied, but never actually got round to hunting out some crayfish tails. So here they were, in little pots on the fishmonger's stand, begging to be bought. I couldn't remember the quantities from the recipe so bought a pot of prawns too. If there were too many, I'd just eat them as they were.

I kind of followed the recipe but not entirely, and looking at it now, I realise I ate the sauce which was meant for 2 people, but only with the pasta for one!

I started by chopping up the two and only tomatoes we had into chunks. These were supposed to be cherry tomatoes, but I did chop them to approximately cherry tomatoes if that counts? And started preparing the red pepper as suggested. This involved putting it in the microwave with a splash of water for a couple of minutes. At the end of the time I thought the microwave was going to explode, or the pepper would be on fire, but all was well. This too was chopped up, added to the tomatoes and put in the oven (200C) with a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar and a chopped clove of garlic for about 20 mins.

Meanwhile I put on some gluten free spaghetti to cook.

Once out of the oven, the sauce is mashed down in a pan, then the crayfish (and prawns) were added and the whole sauce heated through.

The sauce is mixed with the cooked pasta and I added a few torn basil leaves (the recipe said to cook the tomatoes with dried basil, but we didn't have any) and a drizzle of olive oil.

The dish was lovely. One of my favourites actually. And I will be making it again and again. If I can find crayfish tails that is. The guys at The Recipe Chef commented about the meatiness of the crayfish tails compared to prawns, but I've previously not had the opportunity to actually compare them in the same dish I didn't really expect much meatiness to be obvious, but there was quite a big difference. The crayfish also added so much more of a lovely fishy flavour to the dish.

Perhaps I've not been looking that closely, but it doesn't seem that our supermarkets have any crayfish, and with the absence of any fishmonger that I can see in the area, my hunt may be a long one.

Spinach and Feta Pasta Bake

On Wednesday I was a little bit lacking in ideas for what to have for tea.  Following an email from Fran we decided that we would have pasta as it has been a while.  Fran is also still not eating gluten and we had a big jar of GF pasta.  Plus, she had recently heard that a gluten-free diet can sometimes be lacking in iron!  Now I have no way of substantiating such a claim but if this is a good enough reason to eat spinach than that is fine as I love spinach. 

So it was decided that tea would be a gluten- free pasta and spinach dish.... but I was still lacking in ideas.  Then I thought of asking some newly found friends on the UK Food Bloggers Association as I was sure they would know what to do.  Sure enough, following a new discussion on the forum, a short while later I got a reply from Rosie of the fabulous Greedy Rosie's Dinner Blog.  Rosie suggested a pasta bake with spinach, feta and Parmesan which sounded perfect for a Wednesday night tea.  We also got a suggestion from Lucia of the equally wonderful Simply Italian Food to stir-fry the spinach in garlic before adding to the pasta - so that's what we did.

Spinach and Feta Pasta Bake

We had it as a main course with a little salad as shown which was just right for a rich but not too filling dish.  Using mostly Rosie's suggestion and a bit of guess work on the quantities we came up with the following:

1 Tablespoon of Olive Oil

2 Cloves of Garlic

Gluten-Free Pasta (enough to cover the base of a lasagna dish) 

200g Spinach

100g Feta Cheese

Tub of Marscapone Cheese

(Some) Milk

Grated Mozzarella and Cheddar Mix

Salt & Pepper

Half Teaspoon Grated Nutmeg

How we did it:

First we covered a lasagna dish with a layer of the dry pasta.

Then we stir-fried the garlic in olive oil for 5 mins and added the spinach till wilted.

This was added to the dry pasta along with the feta cheese (in small cubes), mixed and spinkled with ground nutmeg.

Then we made a sauce.  We used Marscapone and milk (Rosie's suggestion) as it needed be gluten-free.  We used a whole tub of cheese and perhaps half a pint of milk -  but just add it till the consistency feels right.

This was then poured over the top of the pasta and covered with grated mozzarella and cheddar.

We then baked it for about 25 minutes at 200c.

As Gluten-Free pasta cooks very quickly we were worried it might be over done but it was fine.  The mix needed a little water before cooking to make sure the pasta was submerged and didn't burn but the consistency was ok when cooked.  The taste was great too, quite rich though so wouldn't have a massive portion.  We were also a bit conscious of the fat/calories content so had it with some leaves rather than more carbs!!  So thank you Rosie and Lucia for your inspiration.  It worked well and was very quick and easy - just right for a weekday meal.  It is definitely something we shall eat again.

Carluccio's Spinningfields Manchester

After work on Wednesday last week we decided to go out for tea and some drinks. We had planned to go elsewhere, but the walk into town took us through the Spinningfields area. We stopped to look at a few menus, mainly just to see the sort of thing on offer, but the deli at Carluccio's enticed us in.
We asked if they sold any gluten free pasta - which they don't, then asked to see the menu. Impressively they have quite a number of their normal dishes included on the gluten free menu, all with gluten free pasta. This was too good to walk past.

Carluccio's Deli

We were one of 3 tables in the restaurant and sat near the window. With the staff going about their business, and the odd customer in the deli, together with the clean white feel (if white actually feels) and high ceiling, it didn't seem quiet or dead at all. Tim says it was clinky - in a good way. He knows what he means. (You can hear noise from the kitchen and don't feel self conscious.)

We ordered the large mixed antipasti for two as a starter, but also some olives and bread to nibble on. Then the Pasta Alle Vongole in Bianco from the gluten free menu and the Penne Giardiniera.
The waiter then returned and pointed out that bread and olives were part of the Antipasti anyway, and that he'd put the bread on a seperate plate - so they are ovbiously taking this non-gluten thing seriously.

The Antipasti was lovely. And the higlight of the meal for Tim. With artichokes, peppers, and other lovely lovely things. The best being the little pots of caponata, which we'll be trying to re-create at some point.

The main of the Vongole Bianco I thought was lovely. The first time (I think) that I had eaten clams and they were lovely. The whole dish carried the subtle flavour of the shellfish and was lovely and buttery. The pasta was yellow in colour and I asked it if was corn pasta - the waiter said he didn't know but would find out. I did say it didn't really matter, maybe he thought we were journalists or something, since we were taking pictures of the food. He returned and said it was a mixture ofrice and corn pasta. I normally have rice pasta, and this was far superior. Maybe its the way they cook it, or it is actually from Italy, (where I've read the GF pasta is much better) or it was just a better brand than what you find in supermarkets.

The Penne Giardiniera looked exciting with the spinach balls, but knowing that was one of the items of that dish that contained gluten (the other being the pasta), I didn't try them. Tim particularly enjoyed those spinach balls but felt the rest of the dish was a little bland to be brutally honest.

Clockwise from top left: Antipasti, Penne Giardiniera,

Ricotina al Linone, Pasta Alle Vongole in Bianco

For dessert we ordered the Ricotinna al Limone with two forks, which was pleasant enough, although the "tart lime syrup" that accompanied the slices of Ricotta wasn't as tart as expected.

A double starter, 2 pasta main courses, a shared dessert and a bottle of the Verdichio Classico came to about £47. Bargain. The verdict is, hurrah for the gluten free pasta, and fantastic value for the quality of the food. I say we'll be going again, Tim says he'll get a different main course next time.