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by bitsofcarey

Butternut lovin’ – Rustic roasted butternut with bacon and sage

May 7, 2013 in Meatless meals, Pasta, salads, vegetables

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Rustic Roasted butternut with bacon and sage

Simply cut 1 small butternut into thin wedges – leaving the skin and pips intact (skin and pips are edible and a great source of fibre).
Wrap each wedge with 2 – 3 slices of streaky bacon and top with some sage leaves. Drizzle with a little olive oil and lightly season.
Roast for 50 minutes at 180°C until caramelized and crispy.
These are delicious torn up and added to a salad of preserved figs, rocket and maybe some blue cheese…oh my heavens, that’s pure deliciousness right there!

Anyone that reads my blog will know that I am obsessed with butternut.  I can’t get enough of this humble vegetable and when Women’s Health asked me to share a butternut recipe, I was quite happy to do so.  In this mag’s May issue, there’s a stunning feature with 4 of SA’s top chefs showcasing their mouthwatering dishes with butternut as the core ingredient.

It was interesting to see what the chefs came up with. I have to say,  Pete Goffe-Wood’s dish appealed to me the most – he did a caramelized butternut and goat’s cheese rotolo. I’ve always wanted to know how to make rotolo, by the looks of it, it’s pretty much a pasta roulade. Looks yum hey?
(Image by Russel Smith, Women’s Health May 2013 issue)
So now after all this butternut porn, I’m sure you’ll want to get into the kitchen and cook that butternut that’s been sitting in your vegetable basket for a while now. I suggest you go check out what Margot, Reuben and Luke did too!

In the meantime, here are some of my most popular butternut recipes:

Butternut soup infused with cumin and orange

Butternut, sage and pine nut penne

Lush winter salad

Butternut gnocchi with blue cheese sauce

 

 

 


 

 

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by bitsofcarey

Two oceans carbo load: 3 quick and delish pastas

March 28, 2013 in Crush mag recipes, Pasta

1 Comment »

To the runners that are braving the Two oceans marathon this weekend, I have 3 quick and easy pasta dishes just for you (and for anyone else who could eat pasta all day everyday)!
The training is done, the mental preparation is taking place and now your carbo loading pasta dishes are sorted too.  Good luck peeps, may the pasta be with you! You can doooo it! xxx

Penne with crispy bacon, pea and feta (above pic)
Serves 2 – 4

250 g  penne pasta or whole-wheat pasta of your choice
Olive oil
250 g back bacon or smoked chicken rashers
2 spring onions, sliced
250 ml (1 cup) frozen baby peas/ petit pois
150 g soft Danish style feta or reduced fat feta cheese, cubed
A handful of mint leaves, torn
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
30 ml (2 T) olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Boil the pasta in salted water until al dente. Drain and coat with a bit of oil.
For the bacon: Put your grill in your oven on and adjust the shelf to the highest level.
Place the slices of bacon onto a drip rack and grill under the element until slightly crispy, turning once.  Dab with paper towel and chop into bite size pieces.
Sauté the spring onions and peas for a minute and add to the pasta together with the bacon, feta, mint and olive oil. Season to taste.
Eat warm or at room temperature.

Penne with roasted butternut and sage
Serves 4

500 g butternut cubes ( 2cmX2cm)
3 cloves garlic, crushed
A large sprig of sage leaves
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
250 g penne pasta (wholewheat)
A small handful of pine nuts
A small handful of pumpkin seeds
50 g salted butter
8 sage leaves
Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 200°C.
Place the butternut cubes onto a baking tray with garlic, sage, a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast for 30 minutes or until tender with crispy, slightly charred edges. Set aside.
While the butternut is roasting, Boil the penne in salted water until al dente. Set aside.
In a large dry pan, toast the pinenuts and pumpkin seeds, then remove and set aside.  In the same pan, add the butter and sage.  Melt the butter until the colour changes to nutty brown (not burnt), turn off the heat but leave on the stove top to keep warm.
Add the pasta, pinenuts and pumpkin seeds, butternut to the sage butter pan and toss until well combined. Heat through if needed and drizzle with a little more olive oil. Check seasoning.

Linguini with lemon, basil, parmesan and toasted pine nuts
Serves: 2- 4

250 g linguini pasta
Salt
3 T (45 ml) extra virgin olive oil
Juice and zest of 1 large lemon
1 c (250 ml) fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
50 g pine nut, toasted in a dry pan
+- 3 T (45 ml) grated parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Cook the pasta in well salted boiling water until al dente. Rinse immediately with cold water (or if you want to serve it hot, don’t rinse).
Toss the pasta with the remaining ingredients until well combined. Season to taste.
Serve with extra basil and grated parmesan if desired.

All these recipes featured in Crush online magazine

 

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by bitsofcarey

Baked butternut gnocchi with crispy sage and blue cheese sauce

March 27, 2013 in Crush mag recipes, Meatless meals, Pasta, vegetables

11 Comments »

Oooh, it’s chillers outside and all I can think about is this delcious dish of melt-in-your-mouth butternut gnocci with crispy sage smothered in creamy blue cheese sauce. Oh my life! If there ever was an IDEAL autumnal dish, this would be it!
It’s a match made in heaven. Sweet butternut, earthy sage and tangy blue cheese. Yum yum yum!
I did this recipe over two years ago for Crush online magazine but my oh my, it’s still a winner!  Try with crispy bacon bits ;-)

Baked Butternut gnocchi and sage with creamy blue cheese sauce

This gnocchi is par boiled and then baked with sage to golden perfection and drizzled with a classic blue cheese sauce. Need I say more?

Serves: 6
Difficulty: moderate
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 45 – 50 minutes

For the gnocchi:
500 g butternut, cut into cubes
30 ml ( 2 T) olive oil
Seasoning
250 g Ricotta cheese
500 ml (2 c) cake flour
7 ml( 1 ½ t) baking powder
125 ml ( ½ c) Parmesan cheese
2 egg yolks
2 ml ( ½ t) ground cinnamon
1 ml (pinch) nutmeg
5 ml ( 1 t) salt
Freshly ground pepper

Bake with:
40 ml olive oil
Sage leaves

For the sauce:
125 ml   cream
+- 100 g blue cheese, crumbled
30 ml (2 T) grated parmesan
Salt and pepper

To serve:
60 ml ( ¼ c) grated Parmesan

Preheat the oven to 200°C.

Put the butternut into a baking tray with a few sage leaves, drizzle with the olive oil and season. Bake for 30 minutes or until soft. Allow to cool.

Blend the butternut into a puree with a food processor. Allow to cool slightly and then add the flour, baking powder, ricotta, Parmesan and seasonings, mix until the ingredients are well blended and form a doughy consistency. Add more flour if too sticky.

Turn the heat up to 220°C.

Remove the gnocchi mixture from the processor and knead onto a floured surface until it becomes more pliable. Divide mixture into 4 and roll each piece into finger width sausages, cut into 4 cm pieces and press lightly with a fork.

Place prepared gnocchi into salted boiling water for 3 – 5 minutes or until they float to the surface, remove with a slotted spoon and place into a baking dish (30 x 25).

Drizzle the gnocchi with some olive oil and top with sage leaves. Place in the oven for +-12 minutes.

For the sauce: Gently heat the cream and add the blue cheese bit by bit until it has all melted. Stir in the Parmesan. Remove from the heat and season with salt and black pepper.  Pour over the baked gnocchi.

Serve immediately with grated Parmesan.

Delicious with a salad of rocket, pine nuts, balsamic reduction and extra virgin olive oil.

 

 

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by bitsofcarey

Seafood spaghettini

October 16, 2012 in Crush mag recipes, Fish, Pasta

6 Comments »

Okay, I need a little break from my salad posts. Last night I browsed through previous recipes I’ve written for Crush magazine and came across this lush Seafood spaghettini from Issue 21. Oh my word, I’m just dying for some pasta especially after my 10 km ”wog” on Sunday. Let’s just say, I’ll be rewarding myself with this very, very soon. Although, it’s a pasta dish, it’s rather light and refreshing – a perfect pasta dish for summer, wouldn’t you agree?

Seafood Spaghettini
Serve with loads of parmesan and you’re in heaven.
Serves: 6 – 8

500 g spaghettini or linguini, cooked until al dente
2 T (30 ml) butter
1 t ( 5 ml) olive oil
250 g prawns, cleaned and de-veined
250 g calamari tubes, sliced
300 g fresh mussels
1 onion, finely chopped
2 celery sticks, finely chopped
2 large ripe tomatoes, seeds removed and chopped
½ c (125 ml) dry white wine
1 tin cherry tomatoes
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 c (250 ml) passata
2 t (10 ml) sugar
Handful of flat leaf parsley, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

To serve:
Extra virgin olive oil
1 c (250ml) grated parmesan to serve

Heat the butter and oil in a large frying pan. Fry the prawns until the shells are pink and slightly crispy, then remove from the pan and set aside. Fry the calamari for 3 minutes, remove and set aside. Lastly fry the mussels for 4 minutes until they start opening then remove and set aside.

In the same pan, sauté the onions and celery until softened. Add the tomatoes and sauté until most of the liquid has cooked away.

Add the wine and reduce by half, then add the tinned tomato, garlic, passata and sugar. Bring to the boil and then simmer gently for 15 minutes uncovered. Season to taste.

Add the seafood to the sauce and heat through for 5 minutes (make sure all the mussels have opened). Add the parsley.

Toss the cooked spaghettini and the seafood sauce together and season one more time.

To serve, drizzle with a bit of extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with grated parmesan.

 

 

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by bitsofcarey

Farfalle pasta with bacon and tomato cream sauce or smoked salmon and lemon cream sauce?

September 25, 2012 in Crush mag recipes, Fish, Meat, Pasta

3 Comments »

I go through phases with food, even pasta. For months, I’ll be obsessed with penne, then linguini, orzo, and now, farfalle (bow tie pasta). Not only are they cute to look at, they serve a great purpose, the sauce and all the good stuff gets stuck in the little folds and crevices. Not a bacon fan? Try my farfalle pasta with smoked salmon trout and lemon cream sauce from Crush! Issue 22 - it is just divine and can be done in minutes! So there you have it, same pasta, two completely different dishes. Both recipes serve 2-4 people.

Which one do you fancy?

Farfalle Pasta with bacon and tomato cream sauce
250 g farfalle pasta, boiled until al dente
250 g streaky bacon
1 onion, finely chopped
1 tin cherry tomatoes, squashed
45 ml tomato paste
5 ml dried oregano
2 ml sugar or to taste
250 ml fresh peas
250 ml reduced fat cream (to make yourself feel better)
¼ c (60 ml) grated parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Fry the bacon in a non-stick pan until crispy, add the onion and continue frying until fragrant and translucent.
Add the tinned tomatoes (give them a good squash), tomato paste, dried oregano and sugar. Gently simmer for at least 15 minutes.
Add the peas and cream and simmer for a further 5 – 10 minutes. Stir in the parmesan and take off the heat.
Season with salt and lots of freshly ground pepper to taste.
Gently toss the drained cooked pasta through the sauce. Adjust seasoning.
Serve garnished with grated parmesan and some chopped parsley or chives.

Farfalle pasta with smoked salmon and lemon cream sauce
250 g Farfalle pasta (bow tie pasta)
½ c (125 ml) cream
100 g smoked salmon trout, cut into thin ribbons
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
Handful of chives (+- 15g), chopped

Boil the pasta in salted water until al dente, drain well and place back into the hot pot.
Add the cream, salmon, juice, zest and chives. Allow to gently heat through for a minute.
Season with salt and lots of pepper.
Variation: Add 1 cup of petit pois to this pasta or serve with minted peas on the side

 

 

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by bitsofcarey

Cheesy bubbling pasta bakes

June 26, 2012 in Pasta

16 Comments »

Damn! It’s cold! It’s time to whip out some of my tummy filling, rib-sticking, gooey, cheesy pasta bakes! Here goes…

Cheesy pasta bake with chorizo and tomatoes
Serves 4 – 6
250 g (1/2 packet) pasta shells, cooked until al dente
Sauce:
125 g chorizo sausage, diced
¼ cup dry white wine
1 tin whole tomatoes
½ t dried mixed herbs
1 fat clove garlic, crushed
50 ml butter
50 ml cake flour
500 ml (2 c) milk
1 c grated cheddar cheese
125 g cherry tomatoes, halved
Salt and pepper to taste
Topping:
1 cup grated cheddar (or combined with parmesan)
Fresh basil leaves
Preheat the oven to 180˚C.

In a pan, sauté the chorizo until crispy, then add the wine and reduce
for 5 minutes. Add the tinned tomato and dried herbs and simmer for 10 minutes.
Stir in the garlic. And set aside. Season to taste.

In a medium pot, melt the butter and add the flour to make a roux, then
add the milk whisking all the while until thickened. Stir in the cheese and
season to taste.

Mix the chorizo sauce, cheese sauce, drained pasta and cherry tomatoes
in the biggest pot/pan. Season to taste.

Spoon the mixture into a greased baking dish, top with cheese and bake
for 20 minutes until golden and bubbling.

Top with a few basil leaves before serving.

Fully loaded mac ‘n cheese
Serves: 6

2 heaped cups macaroni or pasta shells, cooked until aldente
Sauce:
100 g butter
250 g bacon, diced
250 g portobellini or button mushrooms, sliced
100 ml cake flour
1 L milk
1 heaped cup grated mature cheddar
½ cup grated parmesan
¼ cup chopped parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
Topping:
½ c grated mature cheddar
½ cup grated parmesan

Preheat the oven to 180˚C.

In a large pot, melt the butter and fry the bacon until almost crispy,
add the mushrooms and cook until softened.

Stir in the flour until well combined, and then add the milk, stirring
well until thickened and the sauce start to bubble. Take off the heat.

Add the cheese and parsley and season to taste.

Add the rinsed and drained cooked pasta to the sauce and mix until well
combined.

Pour into a greased baking dish and top with the remaining cheese.

Bake for 20 minutes until golden and bubbling.

Serve with a seasonal salad.

Looking for something vegetarian, try my Butternut, caramelised onion and blue cheese macaroni or this scrumptious mushroom and aubergine lasagne .

C xx

 

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by bitsofcarey

Roasted butternut and sage risotto with crispy bacon

March 13, 2012 in Pasta, Uncategorized, vegetables

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Butternut and sage risotto with crispy bacon
Author: 
Recipe type: Main
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 

Serves: 4
 

Ingredients
  • 500 g butternut cubes
  • 6 sage leaves
  • olive oil
  • Salt and pepper
  • 250 g streaky bacon
  • 3 T (45 ml) butter
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, crushed
  • 1 c (250 ml) arborio rice
  • 1 L vegetable stock
  • 45 ml grated parmesan
  • 2 T (30 ml) butter
  • 12 sage leaves

Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees celcius
  2. Place butternut and sage leaves onto a baking tray, drizzle with oil and season.
  3. Bake for 30 minutes.
  4. Blitz butternut in a food processor until smooth.
  5. Grill the bacon on both sides until crispy. Set aside.
  6. Heat the butter and saute the onion and garlic until soft and fragrant.
  7. Add the rice and stir until well coated in melted butter.
  8. Over moderate heat, add stock slowly, 1 ladleful at a time until stock has absorbed each time.
  9. When all the stock has been absorbed and rice is cooked (+- 12-15 minutes), add the butternut puree and parmesan cheese, mix well. Season to taste.
  10. For crispy sage garnish, heat the butter until bubbling, add sage and fry for +- 2 minutes or until crispy.
  11. Roughly chop the bacon.
  12. Serve butternut risotto with crispy bacon, sage and some grated parmesan.
  13. Optional, drizzle with a little parmesan infused olive oil.

 

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by bitsofcarey

Lemon, rocket and parmesan spaghetti

February 15, 2012 in Meatless meals, Pasta, Uncategorized

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 If there is one ingredient that I could not live without, it would be fresh lemons. Not a day goes by that I don’t use them one way or another in my food or beverages. I find it quite funny when I look back in my archives and find that most of my recipes have lemon squeezed (excuse the pun) into them somehow. Other “must-haves” has to be olive oil, pasta, parmesan cheese and fresh herbs.  I would say these 5 ingredients are the foundation, if not the piece de resistance to 90% of my dishes.

Since it’s the month of loooooove, I think it is only fitting to showcase a simple dish that I make often. Not only does it involve the 2nd love of my life, lemon,  but also my other four “staples” - nothing more or less. This bowl of pasta epitomizes this blog and my love for simple, uncomplicated flavours.

Now for a bit cheese…To the no.1 love of my life, J, thanks for supporting me and my love for food, thanks for never moaning that I smell like a take away shop after a shoot or teaching a class- when I know I do, thanks for all those much needed cups of tea and for putting up with my tantrums in the kitchen. Most of all, thank you for being my partner in eating, best friend and the most awesome husband ever.
Lemony Spaghetti
Delicious hot, cold or room temperature. It truly just hits the spot. We enjoy this as a meal on it’s own as well as a side dish with some grilled fish or chicken, gorgeous.

Serves 2

250 g spaghetti boiled until aldente
3 T Extra virgin or parmesan infused olive oil
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
A handful of wild rocket (or basil)
1/2 cup finely grated parmesan or pecorino cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Toss the cooked pasta with the above ingredients and season to taste. Serve with extra parmesan.

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by bitsofcarey

3 awesome summer dishes

December 7, 2010 in Crush mag recipes, Pasta, Pizzas and flat breads, salads

4 Comments »

These are my 3 favourite dishes featured in Crush 4, my Cooking Monday to Sunday insert. I thought I’d share them to show you what has been occupying my blogging time lately!  Pop over to CRUSH for the recipes!

These babies scream summer! They are festive, easy, seasonal and most of all delicious!

BACON, BRIE AND CRANBERRY JELLY FLAT BREAD!

CHICKEN LEMON AND HERB SPAGHETTI

Perfect for left over chicken or turkey

GORGEOUS GRILLED PEACH AND PARMA HAM SALAD

AKA  “5 P”  salad – see how many ingredients starting with P you can find in this salad!

Perfect for a lazy Saturday afternoon lunch or as an accompaniment to a braai. STUNNER!

Hope you like them! Now go and check out my other 4 recipes!

Now that all my deadlines are done for full time and part time jobbies, I will be baking cheese and marmite muffins tomorrow and will soon tell you the tale of how it came about! gripping stuff! hahaha!

‘Til then..

Over and out in sunny beautiful Cape Town!

C xx

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by bitsofcarey

Quick chicken and chorizo Pasta

November 30, 2010 in Chicken, Pasta

10 Comments »

This is a fab mid-week dinner, especially if you have left over chicken in the fridge! All you need is a chorizo sausage, a tin of tomatoes, some chicken and pasta of course! It is so simple. We tend to eat a lot of tomato based pasta dishes in summer, they are lighter and carry flavours so well! I love the “smokeyness” spicy chorizo adds to the dish. You could leave the chicken out completely if you like( I just add it to bulk the dish up a bit with extra protein).

Serves 2 -4

You will need:

1 chorizo sausage, thinly sliced

1 small onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tin chopped tomatoes

1 cup of cooked shredded chicken

sugar, salt and frehsly ground pepper to taste

250 g tagiatelle

juice and zest of 1/2 a lemon

olive oil

 

Parmesan shavings

basil

Fry the sausage in a dry pan, until crispy. Then add athe onions and saute until they are translucent.

Add the tomatoes and garlic and bring to a simmer, cook for +- 10 minutes(allow to reduce slightly). Add the chicken and heat through. Adjust the seasoning with salt, sugar and pepper.

Meanwhile boil the pasta in salted water until al dente, strain and toss with lemon zest, juice and some olive.

Place pasta into serving bowls, followed by the chorizo mixture. Top with some parmesan shavings and garnish with basil.

Drizzle with some olive oil.

TIP: If you dont have Chorizo, replace with 125 g streaky bacon and add 2 ml smoked paprika.

 

Hope you are all having a good week so far! Not long till the hols!! Yay! Counting down the days!

 

C x

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