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!

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

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

Cavolo Nero Cheese Muffins

Iron, Iron, Iron! My Mum seeked out some Cavolo Nero Cabbage for me and I was and am extremely grateful and pleased! Having never tried this type of black leaf Kale which is found in Tuscany, Italy, I really couldn’t wait to cook with it. Especially as Tuscany is one place that I want to travel to and see!

I tried it raw and it didn’t have an overwheming strong taste, so I took a chance and wrote up a savoury muffin recipe alongside some sweet cherry tomatoes and strong mature cheddar cheese. Both my husband and I were taken a back! All these ingredients especially the cavolo nero gave us a completely new tasting muffin sensation. I know this particular bake will become very much a regular in our household, especially as our home was filled by such a scrumptious aroma whilst they were being baked. Enjoy! Much love D x

INGREDIENTS

225g self raising flour
6 cavolo single leaves, remove stem and chop into strips
14 cherry tomatoes quartered
100g mature cheddar cheese
180ml milk
1 free range egg
50ml olive oil
1 tsp salt
½ tsp dried oregano
½ tsp smoked paprika

METHOD

• Preheat oven to 200°c/400°f. Grease a 12 hole muffin pan with some olive oil

• In a large mixing bowl, combine all the dry ingredients apart from the cheese

• Whisk the egg into the milk and pour into the dry ingredients along with the oil. Stir well to bring together

• Fold in the cavolo nero, cherry tomatoes and cheese

• Spoon up to half of the mixture in each muffin hole

• Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown

Melted Mozzarella…Need I Say More?

A very light meal was made in the form of melted mozzarella bruschetta.  Oh my! what a yummy meal it was.  Not too heavy or light, absolutely spot on!
Mainly eaten as a starter but I fancied a few more pieces than you would have in restaurant.  The best thing about this version was the melted buffalo mozzarella!  Did I mention it was melted?!!  So very rich, gooey, stringy and delicious!  I was in cheese heaven!

Try it out at the weekend friends, have a good one! See you next week, much love D x

INGREDIENTS

Fresh buffalo mozzarella in thin slices
Tomatoes diced finely
Red onion diced
Green chilli sliced finely
Salt to taste
Chunky pieces of toasted bread
Garlic butter Recipe here
Balsamic vinegar optional

METHOD

Place the tomato, onion, chilli in a bowl, season with salt.

Spread the toast with the garlic butter, top with the tomato mix and be generous with the mozzarella to finish

Heat in the oven or grill until the mozzarella has melted

Sharing Food On Shivaay Delights

Today’s food blogger choice is the vegan cook from the clear, concise and full of delicious food blog “Why not vegan?”

I saw this amazing picture. Roasted brussel sprouts with a garlic spaghetti, I know I will be trying this very soon. I always seem to forget that sprouts are available during the whole year and not just at Christmas where everyone eats them for tradition, rather than actually wanting to eat them!

The Why Not Vegan Blog and Spaghetti Recipe

Check out this food blog…it will inspire you! Much love, D x

Red Pepper & Lime Risotto With Feta

I can do risotto anytime of the year but this one especially as it’s extremely summery in taste. Tangy from the pepper, hot from the chilli and salty from the feta! Not forgetting the lift from the lime…Enjoy friends!

Much love, D x

Shivaay Delights

I have had this fusion risotto running through my mind for quite a while now. Yesterday I had all the ingredients I needed, so “hey presto!” it was created, made and devoured very fast.
A Mexican base with sweet, earthy notes of red pepper and a sour lift from the lime. Only then to top it off with some Feta cheese, for that Greek influence.

Oh my friends…you have to try this and tell me how it goes..Have a wonderful Wednesday and enjoy. Much love D x

INGREDIENTS

1 red bell pepper diced
2 garlic cloves minced
1 tbsp olive oil
1½ cup arborio rice
1 litre vegetable stock
Salt to taste
Juice of half a lime
Feta cheese crumbled

METHOD

● Heat the oil in a large non stick saucepan on a medium heat. Sauté the pepper for a couple of minutes and throw in the rice. Mix and…

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Thought For Thursday

I saw this first thing this morning “lol” 🙂 and I just love my Parmesan cheese! 
I love a whole mountain top adorning my penne arribiata…who’s with me?

Have a truly wonderful day friends…
Much love, D x

Quick Vegetarian Hawaiian Pizza Fix

Spicy, salty, juicy and sweet. Those were the flavours that was dancing around on my palate yesterday evening for my dinner! I love pineapple on pizza! And I had a major craving yesterday evening! So i thought I’d make a pitta pizza ~ instantly there and then.

You may look at the ingredients below and think ok?! I can see why she used these ingredients until you get to chopped coriander! I did add coriander and boy did it taste gooood! Give it a go you’ll be pleasantly surprised!
Have a super weekend! Much love D x

INGREDIENTS

Pitta bread
2 pineapple rings drained
sliced green chilli
chopped coriander
Onion slices
Cheddar or Mozzarella cheese
Tomato sauce made at home

METHOD

• Tomato sauce ~ ours was made with tomato passata, olive oil and a couple of crushed garlic cloves and dried oregano. Cook through until you get a thick sauce

• Lightly pre grill the pitta bread, lay on a lined baking tray with foil

• Spread some tomato sauce

• Top off with the onion and chilli. Gently place the pineapple rings on top

• Scatter the coriander and sprinkle on some cheese

• Place in a pre heated grill for 5-7 minutes until the cheese is bubbling and golden brown

Fresh Baby Leaf Spinach & Garlic Penne

Yesterday I had a really busy day! It was go go go! It was also very warm here in the UK so I didn’t really fancy anything too heavy to eat! We had some fresh baby spinach leaves in the fridge to be used and my husband decided to take control in the kitchen. Yay! dinner was going to be made for me! Wooo hooo! Whilst I carried to clean up after the kids….

I was treated to an aromatic and extremely tasty penne pasta salad with bright green spinach and glorious garlic running through it. Enough garlic to compliment the spinach and chilli flakes to lift the oil dressing. One pasta recipe I know I will be wanting again and again…Thanks H, lots of love xx

INGREDIENTS

1 packet of baby leaf spinach
3~4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic minced
1 tsp dried oregano
Salt to taste
Dried red chilli flakes optional
Pre cooked fresh penne upon instruction

METHOD

Gently heat the garlic with the olive oil, mix and combine the oregano so that it infuses into the oil

Stir in the penne, making sure all the pasta is covered in oil. Season with salt, mix.
Tear in our roughly slice the fresh baby spinach leaves

Turn off the heat, sprinkle in the red chilli flakes and the spinach will wilt a little as you toss the pasta

Serve up with some grated parmesan or in my case some grated mature cheddar to add a sharpness to the dish