Summer vegetable spaghetti with feta and black olives

 

End of the veg box again - onions, courgette, lemons and red pepper - added a few green beans, feta and olives and this was the delicious result.  Summery, but also filling, saltiness from feta and olives, sharpness from lemon. Fab. Quick too.

Olive oil

Onion

Garlic

Salt

Courgette

Red pepper

Green beans

Italian herbs

zest and juice of a lemon

spaghetti

black olives

Feta

Basil

1.  Sweat down chopped onion in olive oil, with a pinch of salt, then add crushed garlic.

2.  Add chopped red pepper, courgette and green beans (I would have added spinach if there was any available, so add/substitute with what you have available).  Let them soften for a few minutes.  Add a pinch of italian herbs.

3.  Cook spaghetti in boiling, salted water, as per packet instructions.

4.  When pasta is al dente, add a couple of spoons of pasta water to veg and toss in drained pasta, stir.

5.  Add chopped zest and juice of a lemon, black olives, shredded basil and crumbled feta.

6.  Serve, grind on black pepper, scoff, bask in smugness.

Minestrone - or something akin to it

 

It's butter bean soup with an italian accent - I'm not sure it counts as real minestrone - but it is delicious..

Olive oil

Onion

Garlic

Carrot

Green beans

Mushroom

Roasted red pepper

Tin of butter beans

Yeast flakes

Italian seasoning

Chilli flakes

Tinned tomatoes

Pasta

Black olives

1.  Sweat chopped onion in olive oil.

2.  Add other chopped vegetables - I used carrots, green beans and mushrooms - but whatever you have really.

3.  Add crushed garlic and italian herbs, and a pinch of chilli flakes.  Fry off gently for a couple of minutes.

4.  Add chopped roasted red pepper (in this case from a jar).

5. Pour in a cup of water and simmer gently for a few minutes.

6. Tip in a drained tin of butter beans and a tin of chopped tomatoes, and another cup of water, keep simmering.

7.  Add soup pasta, and sliced black olives.  Season to taste.

8.  Simmer until pasta is cooked.

9.  Serve, scoff, smile.

Cheap, nutritious and tasty - beat that!

Pasta shells with tomato, broad bean, celariac and olive sauce, with cheese

Using up the veg at the end of the week pasta.

Onion
Garlic
Olive oil
Pasta shells (gluten free for us)
Courgette
Celeriac
Broad beans
Tin of tomatoes
Olives
Cheddar

1.  Gently fry chopped onion in olive oil, add crushed garlic and a pinch of italian herbs.
2.  Boil pasta.
3.  Add chopped courgette, chopped celeriac and broad beans to the onion.  (well, use whatever veg is lying abandoned in the fridge).
4.  Add a tin of tomatoes and squish the tomatoes into the sauce.
5.  Chop a few olives and stir them in too (optional - I liked them, but unfortunately not everyone did - as they bring a slight bitterness to the finished dish)
6.  Drain pasta, stir into the sauce, serve with lots of grated cheese.

Courgette frittata with polenta chips, roast asparagus and a tomato and olive "sauce"

 Another mediterranean feast sourced from Todmorden market.  Absolutely delicious flavours of sun and holidays.

All ingredients can be found within feet of each other, from ....

The Mediterranean Pantry
The Crumbly Cheese
Garry outside, for the veg
Local eggs from various stalls (ours were from our own bantams)

Olive oil
Polenta
Parmesan
Fennel seeds
Chili flakes
Onions
Garlic
Courgette
Eggs
Asparagus
Mixed herbs
Cherry tomatoes
Olives
Oregano
Basil
Mixed salad leaves
Balsamic vinegar

1.  Cut the polenta into chip sizes.  Drizzle some olive oil in on a baking tray, and put it in a hot oven to heat up.
2.  Grate the parmesan and add fennel seeds and chili flakes, mix them together.
3.  Toss the polenta chips in the cheese mixture until every one is coated.
4.  Put the chips onto the hot tray, and drizzle with a little more olive oil.  Bake for about 40 minutes, until golden - turn once in the middle.
5.  While they are baking bung the asparagus in an ove dish, drizzle with oil, season and bung that on the bottom shelf of the oven.
6.  Start the frittata by sauteeing onion and garlic in olive oil.  Add sliced courgette and fry gently.
7.  Gently whisk eggs and add a pinch of mixed herbs.  Pour into the pan with the courgettes.  Transfer the pan to the oven and let bake while everything else finishes.
8.  Fry sliced onion and garlic in another pan, add halved cherry tomatoes, oregano and roughly chopped olives.  This will only take a few minutes.  When it's "done" you can turn off the heat - it's nice warm as well as hot.
9.  45(ish) minutes from starting you should be ready to pull everything out of the oven and serve with salad leaves, lightly dressed with olive oil and balsamic glaze.
10.  Receive rapturous applause.

Cauliflower and butter bean casserole, with rice

Rich, flavoursome and tasty - and healthy too.

Olive oil
1 leek
Garlic
Celery
Carrots
Cauliflower
Mushrooms
Mixed herbs
Passata
Butter beans
Black olives
Frozen peas

Rice

Grated cheddar

1.  Sautee chopped leek, chopped celery and peeled and chopped carrots with the garlic in olive oil.
2.  When a bit soft, add florets of cauliflower and chopped mushrooms.
3.  Add a sprinkling of mixed herbs, passata and water.
4.  Put the lid on, and cook through for about 20 minutes.
5.  Add butter beans, peas and sliced olives.  Continues to cook.  Season.

When it's done, serve with rice and grated cheese.

Delicious - and healthy, and a veg box victory.

Romanesco and butter bean casserole

Well, what a week!  Wedding, music competitions (well done... v proud) ... work pressure, family health issues, back to Uni .... ! phew! It's been a roller coaster.

So, came home late tonight - having forgotten what was waiting - needed tasty filling dinner and to use up the end of the veg box dinner.  Imagine my surprise when I opened the fridge and the romanesco was sitting there!

There was also some colcannon left - so heated that through in the oven ... meanwhile


1 leek
olive oil
1 romanesco
garlic
1 courgette
2 carrots (purple, cos they were in the veg box :) )
Vegetable stock
tin of butter beans
about a dozen pitted black olives
tin of tomatoes

1.  Sweat chopped, washed leek in olive oil.
2.  Add in florets of romanesco and garlic.
3.  Stir around, then chuck in peeled, and chopped into chucks carrots, and then diced courgette.
4.  Stir a bit, add a pint of stock, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
5.  Add in a drained tin of butter beans and some roughly chopped, pitted black olives.
6.  Simmer.  When veg soft-ish (abut another 5 minutes) add in a tin of tomatoes = chop them with a knife in the pan.... simmer again.
7.  Scoff - with whatever you fancy - we have reheated colcannon - could easily have been rice.

This was really, really good.  The romanesco has a lovely, gentle nutty flavour which goes really well with the mediterranean influenced garlic, olive, tomato casserole vibe.  The purple carrots made it all a it more funky.

Last of the veg box dinner

Left from the veg box - new potatoes, vine tomatoes, an onion, a few mushrooms and a cabbage - but it was also for a birthday tea, so I wanted to try to make it a bit more special.

Boil new potatoes
Crush in hot olive oil
Chuck in chopped olives and roast for 40 minutes.

Bake tomatoes in olive oil and a sprinkle of salt for 40 minutes

Chop the onion

Fry half with chopped mushrooms and garlic, in olive oil.  Add a splash of white wine and a drained tin of butter beans.

Fry the other half until a bit soft, add cumin seeds, crushed garlic and shredded cabbage.  Toss about a bit.

Scoff - celebrate birthday with nice wine.

Squid paella

Oh, what a week it's been!

recipe... ish

olive oil
chopped onion
chopped celery
chopped red pepper
garlic - crushed
paella mix - or paprika and saffron and a few herbs
risotto/paella rice
tinned tomatoes
white wine
squid - sliced into rings
snow peas, chopped into pieces
black olives
salt and black pepper
lemon to serve

OK - sautee chopped onion in oilve oil, and when a bit soft chuck in veg and garlic, stir around a bit - them chuck in rice and spices (or spice mix)- stir around.  When all rice grains are coated chuck in tomatoes, wine and squid, and some water.  Keep simmering for about 15 mins as it all cooks together.  Add in chopped snow peas (or, frankly, frozen peas) and black olives - add more water if it's looking dry.  Keep simmering for another 10ish  minutes - tuen off the heat and let it gently suck up the juices... serve, scoff!

Baked cod with fennel, orange and olives with red rice

Red rice

Olive oil

Fennel
Cod
Oranges
Black olives
White wine

Cabbage

1.  Cook red rice by your normal method (bring to boil in water an inch above the rice in a cast iron pot, lid on, in medium oven until cooked).
2.  Splash of olive oil in an oven proof dish, add slices of fennel.  Pop the cod (frozen in this case) on top.  Layer on slices of orange and a handful of olives.
3.  Chuck in a glass of white wine - cover with foil and bake.
4.  Shred and steam cabbage.

Pasta puttanesco

It's not authentic, but it is quick and very tasty.  Tonight we had a nightmare with trains so didn't get in through the front door until 9:20.  We were sitting down to eat this at 9:40.  I decided to pep it up with anchovies and miss out the chili this time.

Olive oil
Gluten free pasta
leek, chopped and washed
2 plum tomatoes, diced
handful of olives, roughly chopped
small handful of capers, roughly chopped
crushed garlic
About 6 anchovy fillets, chopped.
Parmesan, freshly ground

1.  Put the pasta on, cook according to packet instructions.
2.  Sautee leek in lots of good olive oil.
3.  Add diced tomatoes.  Stir in and chuck in olives and capers.
4.  About 2 minutes before serving, stir through anchovies - they don't need to cook, just warm through.  I like them to retain little punchy pockets of flavour rather than it be evened out over the whole dish, in this recipe.
5.  Drain pasta,  stir into the sauce.
6.  Serve with big grinding of black pepper ad freshly grated parmesan.

Tuna pasta salad

Had a lovely visit with some mates today, who were looking for easy, quick but tasty dinners - we found a few - and I chucked this together when I got home, so I thought I'd add it here too.  Took about 13 minutes, start to finish.

Pasta - I used shells
green beans
celery
olives
tomato gherkins
1 tbsp Mayonnaise
1 tbsp natural yogurt
1 tin tuna in spring water

1.  Chuck pasta into plenty of boiling water, after a couple of minutes add chopped green beans.
2.  Chop celery, tomato, black olives and gherkins (could also add any/all cucumber, spring onions, peppers, bean sprouts, shredded lettuce, radish...)
3.  Add tuna (drained), drain cooked pasta a beans, stir in with mayonnaise and yogurt (squeeze of lemon juice if you have any)

Scoff.  Simples.

Cajun chicken strips, roman cauliflower and brown rice

Had some lovely, lovely victims round for tea tonight - and had some good chats, and some good laughs, and a nice tasty dinner. And I hope we can do it again soon... whenever, wherever... and this dinner was REALLY easy - but packed a punch.  Another bonus was that it was chucked together in 20 minutes ... sat waiting while we chatted ... and was delish when we sat down to eat (and chat and larf).  Thanks to victims for providing pud - I will be scoffing that tomorrow.


So, we'll start with the rice.....

Brown rice - cook it - according to packet instructions.  (Or, if the oven is on low-ish) put rice in a casserole with a lid, cover with water - height of rice + 1 inch, bring to the boil, stick in oven.  Ignore for at least 30 minutes, but basically until you are ready to eat.

Cajun chicken - buy cajun seasoning!  mix with cornmeal (50/50 - I used about 3 tbsps for 3).  (you could use flour or breadcrumbs, something dry to mix with the spices.  Toss in strips of chicken breast.  Shallow fry in olive oil - a couple of mins on each side - when you are ready to eat.

Roman cauliflower - chop 1 large onion, soften in olive oil - add 2 cloves crushed garlic and some mixed herbs/ oregano - add chopped red pepper, mushrooms and cauliflower florets, stir around for a bit.  Tip in a tin of chopped tomatoes & a tin of water.  Simmer for a bit, add small pinch of chili flakes (you don't want hot... just a tiny backgroud kick) - and a couple of tbsps of black olives, sliced (I used sliced out of a jar... OK they're not premium kick-ass olive - but they do the job really well, and they are SO quick).

Yogurty sauce - low fat natural yogurt, 1 clove crushed garlic, 2 tsps olive oil, pinch of salt, grinding of black pepper and juice of half a lime - stir....

Receive fulsome praise from gathered victims (Both of whom had seconds... let it be recorded).

Just to add.... Really best of luck to victim the younger who is chucking their good self out of an airyplane in the morning for the good of charity....  (bonkers!)

Pasta and tuna pesto salad

Recipe:  be as busy as humanly possible all day - look in cupboards - panic - boil pasta, open some jars and a tin or two, chop some stuff and mix.  So pasta - shells, because, why not?  Farfalle would be OK, and penne or other shortish types, but probably not long pasta, or sheets.  Jars - roasted peppers, pesto, mayonnaise (lower fat), gherkins, olives: chop - red onion, tomato, cucumber & stuff from jars that needed to be in smaller pieces (gherkin, peppers, olives).  Chuck handful of frozen peas into pasta - bring back to boil.  Open tin of tuna, drain, chuck into mixed vegetables - add big splodge of mayonnaise, add drained pasta and stir all together with a nice fresh grind of black pepper on top. Victim didn't say much, but ate it all.  I enjoyed mine. Some left for lunch tomorrow - result!

Spaghetti puttanesca

It's quick and it's tasty.  Sautee finely chopped onion and red pepper in a goodly puddle of olive oil. Put a big pan of salted water on to boil.  When it boils chuck in spaghetti, following packet instructions, usually about 8 minutes. To the sauteeing vegetables add chopped garlic, chili, black olives and capers, and some salt. (You can add anchovies, but victim isn't keen, so I left them out). Chuck in a tin of chopped tomatoes and simmer for a bit.  Add to cooked spaghetti, grind of black pepper, scoff.  Yum - for something so quick - adjust flavourings to suit yourself, I like it quite hot so added quite a lot of chili.

Baked cod and capers, with fennel and potatoes

Trying to get fish into primary victim is a losing battle.  This was eaten - but with a face like a slapped kipper.  I thought it was refreshing, light and tasty.  So, roast par-boiled potatoes in olive oil, with wedges of fennel - for about 50 minutes.  Bake cod on lemon slices, drizzle of olive oil, tablespoon each of capers and black olives - cracked black pepper - with a good squeeze of lemon juice.  Cod takes about 20 minutes - cooked frozen peas.  Easy peasy then lemon squeezy.  As I said victim ate and grimaced, me and second victim enjoyed it.  Primary victim grinned when I declared we couldn't have it again for at least 3 weeks. 

Mediterranean chicken stew

Saute onion and garlic in olive oil,  and a sprinkling of italian herbs, add bite sized chicken chunks and veg - green beans, courgette, red pepper in this case and a handful of olives.  Add wine or stock, or water and season.  (Could have added tinned tomatoes, but victim is rebelling against tomatoes again). Simmer - 20 mins-ish.  Tear in some basil leaves at the end.
It's a low fat dinner for the health kick - and pretty tasty.