Pappardelle with Roasted Winter Squash, Rocket and Pistachios

Oh my but I do love me some pasta from time to time. Todd . . . he does hate it with a passion and so . . . I only ever have it very infrequently . . . almost never really.



The other day he was going with the missionaries to have lunch at a Single Sister's house and so I decided to fulfil my flagrant need to eat some pasta and threw together this dish.



Unfortunately my Pappardelle was a bit broken up . . . which didn't affect the flavour at all . . . just the looks. It went down the same and tasted every bit as delicious.



I love butternut squash as well, especially roasted until it is almost caramelized . . . and I love the flavour of sage . . . rocket . . . je t'adore . . . and pistachios??? Well, they just happen to be my most favourite nut of all time!!



So . . . let's see now . . . roasted butternut squash all sweetly caramelized at the edges . . . toasted pistachio nuts . . . oh so scrummy . . . sage . . . all musty herby . . . the peppery bite of rocket . . . almost meaty . . . buttery al dente pasta . . . oh . . . and cheese, finely grated Parmesan Reggiano . . . all together in my bowl, on my fork and in my tummy.



Bliss. Pure and utter bliss . . .




*Pappardelle with Roasted Winter Squash, Rocket and Pistachios*
Serves 4 to 6
Printable Recipe

Easy to cook and relatively low in fat. Low fat doesn't have to mean dissatisfied. This pleases on many levels! It's peppery, sweet and quite filling!

4 cups of butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
(about 1 medium sized squash)
2 TBS of good quality Balsamic Vinegar
2 tsp of good quality extra virgin olive oil
fine seasalt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
low fat cooking spray
8 ounces uncooked pappardelle or fettuccine
1 TBS butter
4 TBS coarsely chopped raw shelled pistachio nuts
1 TBS chopped fresh Sage leaves
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
1/2 of a 70g bag of washed rocket (2 cups)
2 ounces grated Parmesan cheese (1/2 cup)
corasely ground black pepper to garnish

Preheat the oven to 230*C/475*F/ gas mark 7. Line a baking tray with foil wrap. Spray lightly with cooking spray.

Toss the squash cubes together in a bowl with the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt and some pepper. Spread out on the baking sheet in a single layer. Bake for about 25 minutes or so, until tender and lightly browned, stirring occasionally.

About halfway through the baking time for the squash cook the pasta, according to the package directions, omitting any salt or fat. Drain in a colander over a bowl, reserving 1 TBS of the cooking liquid.

Melt the butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the pistachio nuts, sage and garlic. Cook for about 3 minutes until the nuts begin to toast and the mixture becomes very fragrant, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and toss in the drained pasta, cooking liquid, roasted squash and rocket, tossing all together gently to combine. Add a pinch of salt, some freshly ground black pepper and the cheese. Toss gently again to combine. Serve immediately.



Baking in The Cottage today, a delicious Golden Jubilee Cake.

Blue Cheese and Cheddar Stovies

Ahhhh . . . stovies . . . that traditional Scottish Dish which consists of potatoes, leftover roast from the Sunday roast, and onions stewed in beef drippings and broth on top of the stove . . . until the potatoes are tender and golden . . . and the whole thing becomes amazingly deliciously scrummy. Kind of like a leftover Sunday lunch stew I guess.



These are not stovies in that old tradition . . . I mean there's no meat in sight . . . and I've added cream to the broth, and herbs . . . but it is basically a potato and onion stew . . . cooked in a skillet on top of the stove, until the potatoes are meltingly tender and beginning to brown a bit on the bottom . . .



Sprinkled with cheese and then placed into a hot oven so that the cheese gets all golden and browned in bits . . . these are fabulously delicious.

Each mouthful . . . rich, cheesy, creamy . . . oniony, herby . . . moreishly scrummy.



You get those nice crispy brown bits of potato on the bottom. That oozingly rich sauce. The melted cheese gilding it all with more scrum almost than a body can handle. Blue cheese and strong cheddar . . . oh what a beautiful marriage.



Meat free. . . and on Monday too. If you use a vegetable stock and vegetarian cheeses, it is completely vegetarian . . . but don't shoot me for not being that pedantic. I do my best.



*Blue Cheese and Cheddar Stovies*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

Potatoes, onions, cream and cheese. Oh my goodness! Heaven on earth!

1 TBS butter
1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
4 medium to large potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced (a generous pound)
a couple of sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves stripped (about 2 tsp)
125ml of chicken broth (1/2 cup)
125ml of double cream (1/2 cup)
1 bay leaf
4 ounces strong cheddar cheese, grated (1 cup)
1 ounce of blue cheese, crumbled (1/4 cup)
fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
a few thyme leaves to garnish

Preheat the oven to 220*C/425*F/ gas mark 7. Melt the butter in a large oven proof skillet over medium high heat. Once it begins to foam, add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally until it softens and begins to turn golden brown. Toss in the garlic and thyme leaves. Cook, stirring for about 30 seconds. Add a pinch of salt and a good grinding of black pepper. Add the potatoes, chicken broth and cream. Bring to a simmer and then cover and reduce the heat to low. Cook, covered, for about 10 minutes.

Remove the cover and the bay leaf. Sprinkle both cheeses evenly over top. Place the skillet into the heated oven and cook for 15 minutes, until the cheese is bubbling and slightly browned. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with a few fresh thyme leaves to garnish.



Over in The Cottage today, Crispy Fried Potatoes with Eggs.

Wash Day Macaroni and Cheese

You will probably find my first Meatfree Monday post rather boring . . . delicious, of course . . . but boring nonetheless. I haven't had a time to go to the shops yet for this week's shopping so it's something I have pulled together using ingredients I have on hand.

This recipe is as old as the hills, hailing from a day and time when every Monday was Wash Day and women needed something quick and easy and that could basically take care of itself in the oven whilst they did the week's washing for the family.



This may be simple and plain, but it is filled with flavour. It's economical and easy to put together. The hardest part is probably making the bechamel . . . and anyone can do that, just so long as they remember the two rules of bechamel.

• Don't be in a hurry and try to cook it over too high a heat. Medium-low heat and patience is the key
• Whisk, whisk, and whisk some more. Whisk it constantly until it thickens. Don't turn your back on it for an instant. It's a sureity it will catch the second you take your eyes off of it!

Cooking marcaroni is likewise very simple. Just follow the package directions and stir it occasionally to make sure it doesn't stick together. Also be sure to add it to the water, only after it comes to the boil and keep it at a slow boil the whole time it is cooking.



I always use good quality Italian chopped tomatoes in tomato juice for this. Lotsa, lotsa good tomato flavour.



Likewise you will want to use a good and flavourful cheese. Today I used a mixture of the cheeses I had leftover from our trip up to Cumbria, the Flakebridge and the Eden Chieftan, but any good and flavourful cheddar will do.



The rest is just cooking magic. Totally delicious this is. I could eat it every day, no kidding. (All you need is a tasty mixed salad on the side and some crusty bread to sop up all of that tasty sauce!)



*Wash Day Macaroni and Cheese*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

Plain and simple needn't mean that something isn't tasty. This is absolutely delicious!

2 TBS butter
2 TBS plain flour
12 fluid ounces milk (1 1/2 cups)
salt and ground white pepper to taste
6 ounces dry macaroni (1 cup)
1 (415g) tin of chopped tomatoes in juice (15 ounce tin)
1 stalk celery chopped
4 spring onions, trimmed and chopped
6 ounces cheddar cheese, cubed and divided (1 1/2 cups)
Crushed croutons

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour. Cook and stir for one minute. Slowly whisk in the milk. Cook and stir until thickened. Season to taste with salt and white pepper. Set aside and keep warm.

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter a shallow casserole dish. Set aside.

Cook the macaroni according to the package directions. Drain well. Stir in the tomatoes, onion, celery and half the cheese. Add the sauce and toss to mix. Pour into the prrepared baking dish. Top with the remaining cheese and some crushed croutons.

Bake for 30 minutes, until hot and bubbly and lightly browned on top. Delicious!



Just in time for all that entertaining we'll be doing over the next couple of months with Bonfire Night and then Christmas, the people at Branstons have come out with some tasty new snacks! Branston Peanuts and Crackers are a delightfully tasty mixture of Branston's smooth pickle flavoured oven baked peanuts mixture together with savoury cheese flavoured crackers. Perfect as a nibble with drinks, these would be a great entertaining nibble during the holiday season. I highly recommend keeping a few bags in the cupboard just to put out when unexpected company drop by as well. I really enjoyed them. They were just the right combination of tang, crunch and salty moreishness. Many thanks to the people at TurnKey and Branstons for sending me some to try out! (Branstons and Cheese the perfect combination!)



Over in The Cottage today there's a delicious Blackberry Pie with Streusel Topping.

Vegetarian Mushroom & Ale Pies to die for

The Toddster and I had the most delicious lunch today. Most delicious indeed. Sarah from Purple PR contacted me recently and asked me if I would like the opportunity to try out the latest offering from the Linda McCartney vegetarian foods range, the Linda McCartney Mushroom & Ale Pies.



(I admit that I have toyed with the idea of becoming Vegetarian from time to time . . . and would probably quite happily do so . . . except that I do like me a nice tasty steak from time to time . . . sigh . . . ) I was happy to give these new Linda McCartney Mushroom & Ale Pie's a try. We've eaten their sausages from time to time and really enjoyed.



These pies are the happy result of the hugely successful "Search for the UK's Tastiest Meat Free Dish" contest in 2010, and I have to put my hand up and admit freely that these are very tasty pies indeed. (As you know we are real pie afficionado's in this house!)



The pastry was light, flakey and delicious and the filling quite generously ample and oh so scrummy. Consisting of tender mushrooms, lentils and spinach in a wonderful gravy lightly flavoured with ale that was moreishly good indeed! All together they were quite wonderfully scrumptious and I can see me going out to buy some more the next time I am at the shops! They are available exclusively in Sainsbury's from 7th August 2011 at a affordable £1.99 and will be available at Tesco (10/10/11) and Asda (05/11/11) also priced at £1.99.



I believe that Linda McCartney did a lot to promote meat free eating and vegetarianism in her lifetime and her line of meat free products are considered to be some of the best around. I, for one, would highly recommend these tasty Vegetarian Mushroom & Ale Pies. This is truly food to come home to!



I was reading on the site about Meat Free Mondays, which is a campaign that was launched by Sir Paul McCartney and his daughters Stella and Mary, which encourages the nation to help slow climate change by reducing the amount of meat consumed by having at least one meat free day a week and was most impressed.



You can read more about it here. I think we'll be enjoying Meat Free Mondays in our house regularly from now on . . . although in truth, I'll admit that I'm not quite ready to give up that steak just yet . . .



As Todd said when we were enjoying these pies . . . "Vegetarian Food has come a looooong way since the 1960's!!" Many thanks to Sarah at Purple PR and Linda McCartney Foods for having afforded us this most delicious opportunity to try something new. I think we've found a new favourite around here!



There are Pink Drizzle Plum Muffins over in the Cottage today!