A Spicy Chipotle Tomato Sauce

The perfect sauce for your gnocchi. Smoked Chipotle chilli flakes with fleshy tomatoes crushed with garlic salt and pepper and a little bit of rape seed oil. Which in turn gives you a wonderful aromatic spicy and yet tantalizing sauce for any pasta dish!
All you do is blitz all the ingredients and gently cook through to fuse all the flavours.

INGREDIENTS 

1 tin crushed/whole tomatoes

1 medium white onion

2 garlic cloves

1 tbsp rapeseed oil 

2 pinches chipotle dried flakes

1 tsp garlic salt

Ground black pepper to taste

Dried Oregano to taste 

Salt to taste 

METHOD 

Blend the tomatoes, onion and garlic cloves together

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan. Sprinkle in the chipotle flakes, pepper, dried oregano  and garlic salt as the oil heats up

Keeping on a slow heat, pour the tomato blended mix. Season with salt, stir and cover the saucepan

Cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally 

Serve with gnocci or your favourite pasta

Enjoy!

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Crushed Mushroom Pasta Sauce

Mushrooms = A no go zone for children!! But this yummy sauce will have them eating them in front of your very own eyes!!!

INGREDIENTS

1 Punnet of button mushrooms
200 ml crushed tomato
3 garlic cloves crushed
Salt to taste
Chilli flakes to taste
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp dried oregano

METHOD

Blitz the mushrooms until small pieces

Heat up the oil with the oregano and chilli flakes. Wait for the oil to sizzle

Add in the mushrooms and garlic. Sauté until a little water is released from the mushrooms

Pour in the crushed tomato with salt. Stir and cook through on a slow heat for 20 minutes, Stirring occasionally

Serve on a bed of cooked fusilili or penne pasta

Baby Sweetcorn Soup

I have a wonderful soup maker gifted from Tefal but I fail to use it regularly.  I love clear soups with chunky vegetables happily floating away in a tasty seasoned broth.

I feel SO satisfied after having a bowl or two and am now absolutely adamant to make more soup for myself!  This is a very simple recipe I put together today.  I used my soup maker machine but it can be cooked all in a saucepan as a one pot soup dish.

I hope you enjoy this spring time soup.  Here’s to more soups being made!

INGREDIENTS

8-10 baby sweetcorn chopped
1 small onion chopped
1 tomato chopped
2 celery sticks sliced
1 litre water
2 cubes vegetable stock
2 handfuls of small pasta shells
Salt to season
Garlic and chilli granules optional

METHOD

Place all the ingredients into a soup maker or in a saucepan on a medium heat to simmer.  Cook through until soft. 

Serve with a little grated cheddar on top and some fresh bread

A Silky Courgette Pasta Sauce

It’s the time to be sneaky again. Vegetables will be disguised in many forms so that our little ones will eat and hopefully enjoy them through the flavour rather than texture. I feel it is the texture that many children fear when it comes to eating fruit and vegetables. I couldn’t do aubergine when I was younger as it felt rather slimy on my tongue! Now I can’t live without them! Thanks to my Mum’s perseverance in feeding them to me.

Pasta is always a winner and chunks of courgettes are not appealing to our children so blitz it, make it smooth and silky! They’ll be none the wiser!

INGREDIENTS

1 large courgette
1 tin plum tomatoes
3 garlic cloves
1 level tsp dried oregano
Dried chilli flakes to taste
Salt to taste
1 tbsp olive oil
100ml water

METHOD

Blend the courgette, tomatoes and garlic to a smooth paste with the water

Heat up the oil on a low heat in a medium saucepan with the oregano and chilli flakes.  Once the oil starts to sizzle slowly pour in the tomato blend.  Stir in the salt

Keeping on a low heat, allow to simmer gently for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Whilst the sauce is cooking through put on your penne pasta to boil

Serve the sauce on a bed of pasta with a sprinkling of grated mature cheddar cheese

Israeli Cous Cous Salad

For someone that is not partial to cous cous I had never tasted Israeli cous cous until a few weeks ago. Not very cous cous like but is actually little pearl like pasta. I found it to be filling and goes well with all sorts of vegetables. I am writing this post up as I wait here for my husband to come home and try this salad for the first time. I will let you know his verdict. I know it will be good 😉

Enjoy your day, much love, D x

INGREDIENTS

2 cups Israeli cous cous (cooked as per instruction on packet)
285g tinned sweetcorn
1 bag of baby spinach
1 large courgette sliced thinly
12 cherry tomatoes
6 unpeeled cloves of garlic
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Lemon juice
Cheddar cheese grated

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 180°c, put the courgette, cherry tomatoes and garlic into a shallow roasting dish.  Drizzle over with a little olive oil, season with salt and pepper.  Place in the oven for 12 to 15 minutes until tomatoes are cooked through and the courgette slices are soft and tender

In a large salad bowl, combine all the ingredients, the pre cooked cous cous, sweetcorn along with the roasted vegetables fresh out of the oven

Mix well, smash the cherry tomatoes a little to release some juice for flavour, season with salt and fresh lemon juice

Serve on a bed of baby spinach and sprinkle with cheese.  Feta cheese here would also be a lovely choice

Simply Pomodoro Sauce

My love for Italian food exceeds my love of any other cuisine. Sometimes you just want a simple tomato, garlic based Italian sauce to adorn a plate of delicious pasta.
When I am in the mood for this, I automatically make my go-to pomodoro sauce! Simple, full of flavour and extremely addictive!!

Have fun and enjoy your pasta!!!
See you soon, until then much love, D x

INGREDIENTS

1 tin of chopped tomatoes
3 cloves garlic crushed
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp brown sugar
Salt to taste

METHOD

Heat the oil with the garlic and oregano on a low heat.  Once the oil starts to sizzle carefully pour in the tin of tomatoes

Add the sugar and salt.  Stir well, cook and cover for 15 to 20 minutes

Serve up the pomodoro sauce on your favourite pasta

Vegetarian Moussaka Style Pasta

Hello friends! Yesterday I fused two gorgeous cuisines together, Greek & Italian! And what a result!! Tasty, Mediterranean and very comforting…my kind of food. Also healthy with the soya mince, and fresh aubergine. Which I have to say is my vegetable of choice at the minute. I keep craving them and I’m sure you’ll all be getting more aubergine recipes soon.

I think the best thing about food blogging/writing is you get to eat the food at the end of it all. Developing, prepping, cooking is enormous fun but to eat the dish is like the cherry on the cake…ummmm reminds me…I have to bake a cake soon for all of you! It’s been a while…

Hope you’re all having a lovely weekend, see you all very soon. Much love, D x

INGREDIENTS

1 large aubergine diced
2 medium onions diced
300g vegetarian soya mince
2 cloves garlic crushed
1 tin chopped tomato
300g tomato passata
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tbsp olive oil
400g penne pasta cooked
Feta cheese optional
Salt & pepper to taste

METHOD

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan, sauté the onion and aubergine together, cover and cook for 5 minutes

2. Add the tin of tomatoes, passata, vegetarian mince, oregano, garlic and seasoning, stir, cover and cook for a further 15 minutes, stirring occasionally

3. Serve on some penne pasta with a generous crumbling of feta cheese

Fresh Linguine In A Leek & White Cheese Sauce

As you might be able to tell, I’ve started to love my leeks..I just can’t seem to get enough of them. So here I share a recipe that I made for lunch yesterday whilst my husband made this too, to accompany my dish.

What is even more special, is that I have been told by friends that they have a lot of leeks to use up…so I really hope you all enjoy this pasta dish, laced with the subtle taste of sweet leeks and a hint of cheddar cheese coming through!

Have a peaceful and stunning day…Enjoy! Much love D x

INGREDIENTS

2 leeks finely sliced
⅓ tsp dried oregano
1 tbsp olive oil
½ cup milk
½ tbsp butter
½ tbsp plain flour
Salt to taste
Handful of grated mature cheddar cheese

Pre cooked fresh linguine 150-200g

METHOD

● In a medium saucepan heat the oil and butter on a low heat. Add the leeks and stir till slightly soft and translucent

● Mix in the flour and combine well, cook for 2 to 3 minutes

● Gradually stir in the milk and keep stirring until it gets slightly thicker

● Season with salt and throwing in the cheddar cheese. Stir so that the cheese melts and becomes one with the sauce

● Sit the linguine on top of the sauce whilst still in the saucepan. Combine into the sauce and you are ready to serve

A Chilli & Garlic Red Sauce For Ravioli

I love pasta and find that making your own pasta sauce is very comforting.  You can add extra vegetables or make it spicy and vary it each time depending upon the type of pasta you are using.

My recent pasta dish allowed me to explore the simplicity of the red sauce.  All I wanted was a strong garlic and chilli hit to accompany some spinach and ricotta ravioli I had.  Which we polished off with a nice crisp glass of white wine.  A perfect sauce for ravioli..not too much going on in the sauce, just enough to add and bring out the flavours of the ravioli

I think I’m going to go and make some more! Ummmm…Have a relaxing weekend friends!, Enjoy…Much love, D x

INGREDIENTS

4 garlic cloves crushed
500g crushed tomato passata
Salt to taste
1 to 2 tbsp olive oil
1 large chilli chopped

METHOD

Heat the olive oil along with the crushed garlic and chilli on a low heat for 5 to 7minutes, making sure the garlic doesn’t burn

Slowly pour in the tomato passata, season with the salt and leave to simmer on a low heat still

I cover the saucepan and leave the sauce to cook through for at least 20 to 30 minutes.  If it gets to thick then add a little water to thin in down

Serve the sauce drizzled over a ravioli of your choice

Taking some over to the weekly party over @ The Novice Gardener

Gujarati Khandvi With Baby Spinach

This is one of my favourite traditional dishes of the region of Gujarat in India. Gram flour and fresh yoghurt based pasta sheets, rolled into tasty little delights. This is the second time I have made them and normally coriander is used as a garnish but I wanted to change it up a bit as I do! I found some crisp fresh baby spinach, shredded it and garnished the khandvi along with coconut

Have a look Tangy rolls of khandvi with baby spinach

Try them out and let me know how you like them..Have a gorgeous weekend friends! Much love, D x