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Posts Tagged ‘basil’

  1. tomato and mozzarella soup

    April 2, 2012 by potatoface

    tomato soup

    tomato soup

     

    I’m addicted to watching food channels. It’s like my equivalent of a porn channel. I can’t wait till I get home so I can watch it, I get overexcited when I watch it, sometimes I get all dreamy and distracted. It’s not like I watch everything, I’m not that addicted, I have my favourites. The only problem is when you watch it, you get hungry and you have to quickly make something nice and full of flavour to eat. Soups are coming to the rescue!

     Tomato and mozzarella soup

     Ingredients:

    2-3 cups of chopped tomatoes (or 2 tins of chopped tomatoes if you are making your soup during a commercial break)

    2 diced carrots

    1 diced parsnip

    1 small chopped leek

    pinch of sugar

    coarse salt

    freshly ground pepper

    2 spoons of olive oil

    knob of butter

    fresh basil (handful)

    mozzarella

    1. Put carrots, parsnip, leek and tomatoes in a pot, add a pinch of sugar. Cover, simmer on a low heat.

    2. When carrots are tender, using blender or food processor purée everything. Bring back to boil, add olive oil, season with salt and pepper, add knob of butter.

    3. Take of the heat, add chopped basil.

    4. Chop or tear mozzarella. Transfer soup into bowls, add mozzarella and serve with grilled ciabatta slices.

    Category lunch, soup, starter | Tags: ,,,,,,,,,, | No Comments

  2. Veggi spaghetti bolognese

    February 24, 2012 by potatoface

    spaghetti bolognese

    spaghetti bolognese

     There are always dishes in everyone’s repertoire which are idiot proof. To me one of them is spaghetti bolognese veggi style. You can’t go wrong, people love it and it takes just a few minutes to make.

    spaghetti bolognese

    spaghetti bolognese

     

    Ingredients:

    spaghetti

    2-3 spoons of olive oil

    mince quorn

    1-2 shallots

    2-3 cloves of garlic

    tin of chopped tomatoes

    olives

    fresh basil

    half a glass of red wine

    black olives

    freshly ground pepper

    pinch of sea salt

    1. Boil water for pasta

    2. Chop shallots and garlic. Pour olive oil into a pan and add the shallots and garlic, stir, fry till they are translucent. Add quorn mince. Mix and fry for 30 seconds and then add chopped tomatoes.

    3. Wait until sauce thickens. Season with salt and pepper, add wine.

    4. In the meantime boil pasta.

    5. Wait until alcohol evaporates. Add a handful of black pitted olives and chopped basil.

    6. Drain pasta and add to the sauce. Serve with parmesan sprinkled on top. Buon appetito!

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  3. I Want Winter to go Away Lentil and Tomato Soup

    January 14, 2012 by potatoface

    It’s winter. It’s cold and dark outside, quite miserable really, with occasional heavy winds. To cheer yourself up and make yourself feel warm you’ve got two options: 1. start heavily drinking or: 2.have some soup. I know what you are thinking – first option seems somehow very, very tempting. But think about your liver. Think about all the money it would cost you. Soup is so much cheaper.

    So here you go. A recipe for a nice, warming soup. It’s nothing like a glass of wine but trust me, it does the trick.

    lentil and tomato sopu

    Ingredients:

    1 parsnip

    2 carrots

    3-4 potatoes

    1 leek

    can of chopped tomatoes

    cup of red lentils

    pinch of cayenne pepper

    salt

    basil, oregano, thyme, bay leaf

    1 spoon of olive oil

    knob of butter

     

    1. Boil 1.5 litres of water.

    2. Peel, wash and dice parsnip, carrot and potatoes, add to boiling water.

    3. Add salt, olive oil and lentils. Cover and simmer till vegetables and lentils are soft.

    4. Using blender turn everything into a creamy soup but don’t go crazy, it’s nice to have chunks here and there.

    5. Heat up your soup, add chopped tomatoes and simmer for a while. Add herbs and cayenne pepper. At the end add a knob of butter. Serve with some nice bread.

     

     

     

     

     

    Category dinner, soup, starter | Tags: ,,,,,,,,,,,, | No Comments

  4. easy vegetarian shepherd’s pie

    December 17, 2011 by potatoface

    shepherd's pie

     

    I haven’t been here for a while. It was because I was down. And when I’m down I get stressed and worried that my family genes I hoped I didn’t have in me are actually saying hello.

    Luckily it a was  false alarm this time.

    Even when I’m down, I’m still cooking. And what’s better on a cold day than comfort food – nice, hot shepherd’s pie.

    I make a variation of  this recipe with mung beans instead of quorn mince meat.

     

    Vegetarian shepherd’s pie

    Ingredients:

    Quorn vegetarian mince meat

    tin of chopped tomatoes

    2 diced carrots

    3 spoons of olive oil

    3 shallots

    tin of green peas (or 100grams of fresh ones)

    vegetable stock cube

    spoon of basil (fresh or dried)

    freshly ground pepper

     

    4-5 potatoes

    knob of butter

    3-5 spoons of milk

    pinch of nutmeg

    150 grams of grated cheddar

     

    1. Chop shallots. Warm olive oil in a pan and fry shallots on the low heat.

    2. When the shallots start getting golden (but not brown) add quorn mince meat and chopped tomatoes and carrots. Stir, cover and leave it to simmer.

    3. In the meantime boil potatoes in salty water.

    4. Add vegetable cubes to your meat free mince and season with pepper. I don’t use salt, but if you feel like adding some, suit yourself.

    5. When your mince sauce starts to thicken, add herbs and peas (if they are fresh, you have to add them earlier).

    5. Drain your potatoes and mash them with butter, milk and nutmeg.

    6. In an ovenproof dish layer mince sauce. On top spread the potato mash, sprinkle with cheese and bake in the oven ( 180 C) till top starts getting golden.

    Enjoy!

     

     

     

     

     

     

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  5. easy spinach and ricotta lasagna

    September 21, 2011 by potatoface

    lasagna

    I don’t really believe in comfort food, maybe because I don’t have this weird relationship with food that some people do. I don’t eat to comfort myself, because something happened which made me feel uncomfortable, etc. I eat because I like cooking and I freaking love food. Though sometimes you eat something which makes you feel warm and dreamy. I definitely feel like that after eating this lasagna…

    spinach and ricotta lasagna

    lasagna

     

    Easy Lasagna

    Fresh lasagna sheets ( if you are adventurous you can make it from scratch but unless you are dating Jamie Oliver who you’d want to impress, it’s probably not worth the bother)

    200- 300 grams of spinach

    200 grams of ricotta cheese

    salt

    2-3 spoons of nutmeg

    olive oil

    tomatoes (chopped tinned ones are just fine)

    basil

    hard cheese, grated (cheddar is ok)

     

    1. Saute spinach in olive oil.

    2. Mix it with ricotta, nutmeg and salt.

    3. Warm up the olive oil, add tomatoes, stir and cook until excess liquid evaporates. Season, add some basil at the end.

    4. Layer spinach and cheese mixture in a buttered lasagna ovenproof dish, then the pasta sheets. Repeat till you run out of spinach and ricotta mixture. Layer the top with a pasta sheet. On top of that spread your tomato sauce and sprinkle grated cheese.

    5. Bake in the oven ( 180 c) till cheese starts getting golden.

     

     

     

     

     

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  6. Pasta with any veg you can find in your fridge

    September 1, 2011 by potatoface

    pasta with vegetables

    pasta with vegetables

    This pasta recipe should be dedicated to my friend Marcelina because it reminds me of her. Basically the whole pasta dish is made with what you can find in the fridge – the one I’m posting is with spinach, mushrooms , tomatoes and courgettes because these are vegetables I always have in my fridge, but sometimes I use variations – mushrooms, broccoli and tomatoes or mushrooms, peppers and tomatoes.

    My variations though are in a totally different category than Marcelina’s. She used to add things to her pasta which she found in a cupboard or fridge, but they were totally random, not going together at all. Something like sweetcorn, gurkens and walnuts for example. Her style of cooking was really adventurous and totally bonkers. Such an inspiration she was.

    So here it is – pasta inspired by Marcelina.

    Pasta with any veg you can find in your fridge

     

    Ingredients

     

    gnocchetti pasta (you can use farfalle, pennne or whatever you have in the cupboard)

    tin of chopped tomatoes

    1 courgette

    spinach

    mushrooms (a cup or 2 handfuls)

    olive oil

    fresh basil

    1-2 cloves of garlic

    salt and freshly ground pepper

    parmesan (I use vegetarian one)

     

    1. Chop mushrooms. Warm olive oil in a pan, add crushed garlic, fry for a minute, add mushrooms.

    2. When the mushrooms are fried, add cubed courgette and chopped tomatoes. Cook for a few minutes, add salt and pepper.

    3. When the courgette softens, add spinach gradually, stir.

    4. In the meantime cook pasta.

    5. When vegetables are cooked but not overcooked, add basil, drain your pasta, mix with your sauce.

    6. Serve on a pre-warmed plate with grated parmesan on top and red wine, preferably Montepulciano d’Abruzzo.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

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  7. creamy mushroom pasta – carbs are back

    June 29, 2011 by potatoface

     

    creamy mushroom pasta

    creamy mushroom pasta

    Well, guess what I read recently…? Carbs are back. Apparently high-carb foods thank to ‘resistant starch’ are actually good and can even help you loose wait.

    To celebrate the news everyone should have carbs. I’m going to have pasta. I love pasta. I have pasta almost every day. Luckily Boyfriend loves pasta too, otherwise we would have a tricky situation. The household could turn into scenes from the film ‘The War of the Roses’…

    It’s not that I ever cared about carbs anyway. I eat what I like and have never been on a diet. As my ex flatmate told me – I’m not fat but I’m not exactly skinny either. Well, I told him he is not stupid but not exactly bright either though…My bitchiness burns off most of my calories intake.

    Creamy mushroom pasta (quick recipe, it takes only 20 minutes)

    Gnocchetti pasta

    400 g of mushrooms (button or any you fancy)

    2 tablespoons of olive oil

    2 tablespoons of cream cheese or pack of goat cheese

    150 ml of cream (less if you are calorie conscious, you need some to melt cheese, but it’s up to you if you want it extra creamy. I think extra creamy is the best. You can replace it with soya cream, less calories, perfect for vegans)

    parmesan

    salt and freshly ground pepper

    chopped parsley or chives

    1. Boil water for pasta with a pinch of salt.

    2. You can use any pasta you want but in my opinion gniocchetti tastes the best.

    3. Chop or slice mushrooms.

    4. Warm olive oil in a pot, add mushrooms. Cover and fry for a few minutes.

    5. If the water for pasta is boiling, add your gnocchetti, stir, cover and leave for 4 minutes.

    6. When your mushrooms start to get soft and the liquid evaporates a bit, add cream (and again, it can be double or single, I use anything I can find in the fridge) and then cream cheese or goats cheese, or both. Sometimes I add a splash of white wine for added flavour or if I’m left with an open bottle and have to get rid of it before it goes bad.

    7. Lower the temperature and stir until cheese starts to melt.

    8. Grate some parmesan and add to your cheesy sauce.

    9. Pre-warm plates.

    10. Drain your pasta ( you can leave some starchy water, pasta doesn’t have to be drained completely)

    11. Add pasta to your sauce, add some salt and fresh pepper, mix carefully.

    12. Serve with chopped parsley, chives or even basil. This one is perfect with white wine, yumm!

     

     

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  8. simple spinach pasta – how to cheat your way

    June 23, 2011 by potatoface

    spinach pasta

    Have you ever been in a situation when you had only 10 to 15 minutes to make something for lunch or dinner, something to fill you up, comforting and warm? Well, I’ve quite often been in that situation. There is no need to panic, you can keep your socks on, there is always pasta with spinach. It’s so easy that a 6 year old could make it, it’s also very nice. If you serve garlic bread or focaccia, salad and wine with it, you can even offer it to people coming for dinner. To make it look more like an effort and dinner party dish, you can give it some fancy name, like ‘pasta fresca’, ‘spaghetti aglio olio e spinaci’ or something like that. Trust me, not many people speak Italian or have a clue what they are eating, and a fancy name for a dish never fails, people always assume it must be something sophisticated if it’s got an Italian sounding name. Warning! As Woody Allen said ‘never bluff the bluffer’. If you are cooking for someone who knows something about cooking, just admit you are making something simple, because simplicity in the kitchen is as ‘in’ as neon is the new black in fashion.

     

    Simple spinach pasta

     

    This is the simplest and quickest way of making pasta.

     

    2-3 spoons of olive oil

    spinach

    100 grams of pine nuts

    3 cloves of garlic

    salt and pepper

    fresh basil

    parmesan

    spaghetti (or any pasta you like)

     

    1. Boil salted water for pasta.

    2. Warm olive oil in a pot, add crushed garlic and fry for a while. Don’t burn the garlic, so keep on a low heat with lots of stirring.

    3. Add spinach, cover the pot.

    4. In the meantime boil pasta.

    5. Add some salt and pepper to spinach.

    6. Roast pine nuts and add them to your pot of spinach.

    7. Drain pasta, add it to the spinach. You can sprinkle it with some more olive oil and chopped basil.

    8. Serve with parmesan.

     

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  9. pasta with a greek twist

    June 18, 2011 by potatoface

     

    pasta with a greek twist

    In one of my favourite tv shows one of the characters, who’s a musician, starts working in a restaurant and he says that working in a restaurant is like having a back stage pass – you have access everywhere.

    Well, it’s not only that when it comes to food. Cooking is the most rock and roll thing ever. And so sexy too, take the aubergines for example…shiny, smooth, tasty. You can turn a simple thing into something amazing…

    (more…)

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  10. Summer lunch – fried aubergines and stuffed peppers

    June 17, 2011 by potatoface

    stuffed peppers and fried aubergines

    Summer time is for eating in the garden. Some people have barbecues. For my neighbours ‘barbecue’ is code for ‘all night drinking session with singing’ etc. If it’s dinner time you can have chilled wine and something nourishing to eat, at lunchtime you can have something summery like fried aubergines and stuffed peppers. You can have it with apple or pomegranate juice. It’s easy and quick to make.

     

    Summer lunch – fried aubergines and stuffed peppers

    (more…)

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