Aubergine & Tomato Pasta

I've been making this aubergine pasta forever, and I was pretty sure I'd blogged about it already, but apparently I haven't (not going mad, honest). It's originally Aubergine & Anchovy pasta, a recipe from Kitchen 22, former Cambridge resident who has now defected to Oxford (horror!). I forgive her though, because she gives us nice things like this pasta dish.

I don't have a huge amount of success when it comes to aubergines, but things have recently got better due to me realising that fridge-cold aubergines never cook properly - going rubbery during cooking - but room temperature aubergines will cook down like all the recipe books say they should. So there you are, Top Tip - never cook aubergines straight from the fridge. 

This pasta sauce is very simple and has lots of great flavours for relatively little effort. You roast the aubergine for a while, then scoop out the flesh and add it to garlic, tomatoes and oregano. The original recipe has anchovy too, but as Mr is veggie I leave this out (would be unkind otherwise...) and it tastes great all the same. I have taken to replacing them with some capers, for saltiness. I also tweaked and added in passata instead of tomato puree. I'm a tweaker, what can I say.

Aubergine & Tomato Pasta
adapted from Kitchen 22
Serves 2 with a little extra for lunch the next day (yay)

300g spaghetti or linguine
1 aubergine - room temperature!
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped or minced
150g of passata or whizzed up plum tomatoes
1 tsp of capers, chopped
dried oregano
parmesan or veggie alternative
parsley to serve

Heat the oven to 200c / gas mark 5. Place the aubergine on a tray covered in foil (I've found they stick to trays so easily!), pierce the skin and roast for 30 minutes, turning once half way through.

When it is collapsing and the insides soft, remove from the oven. Leave to cool before scooping out the flesh.

Heat some oil in a large saucepan and fry your garlic then add capers, oregano, passata and season (you may not need salt because of the capers) Chop the aubergine roughly and stir in. Simmer whilst you cook the pasta.

When the pasta is cooked add a small amount of cheese to the sauce and stir in. Then stir in the pasta.
Serve with more cheese on top or some parsley.

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Mushroom Ragu

We've been going veggie in this household, the last 3 and a bit weeks we have only eaten veggie evening meals (except for a couple of slip ups, one involving takeaway pizza) which has made me more creative and I have tried lots of new recipes.

This mushroom ragu is one of my favourite meals from the last few weeks because it is so MEATY and really easy to put together. Other highlights from our veggie adventure include Ottolenghi's black pepper tofu and pasta puttanesca. You must try the tofu, it will convert you if you don't like tofu- but you must use silken tofu as stated.

Anyway, onto the ragu. You can use any mushrooms you have, about 300gs serves 2 people, I had some mini portobello mushrooms (yes I admit I bought them because they were cute) which I put in. A mixture of different interesting mushrooms would be lovely, maybe with a few dried mushrooms thrown in.

Mushroom Ragu
serves 2

half an onion or 3 shallots
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tbsp tomato puree
approx 300ml passata or pureed tomatoes
300g mushrooms, sliced
dried or fresh herbs - oregano, thyme, basil - about 2 tsp if dried, handful if fresh.
bay leaf
dash of chili flakes
milk

Fry the garlic and the shallots in some olive oil, then add in the mushrooms and cook for a couple of minutes. Then add in your tomato puree and passata with your herbs, bay leaf and chili. Season.
Bring to the boil and then simmer very gently for about 15minutes, stirring every now and again.
I read somewhere that a splash of milk or cream at the end is lovely in ragu, so I always add some in, it takes the acidity out of the tomatoes.
Serve with spaghetti and parmesan on top (apparently parmesan is not veggie but you can sub with cheddar or maybe some nice feta?).

This is so rich and comforting, definitely cured my craving for a proper meat ragu.

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Pattypan Pasta and the Etsy Blog

This week has been so lovely on the food blog front, I have guest blogged for Walden Local Food and today my blog for the Etsy Storque is up, check out the UK Edition for a yummy recipe for Rhubarb and Blueberry Cobbler. Thanks so much to Amity from Etsy for suggesting I guest on there!

After all this excitement I am popping in with a quick and lovely recipe for a summer squash pasta dish.
I picked up these really cute squashes (yes I bought them because they are cute) at the market last Saturday. I have been trying to get my hands on pattypan squash for a while, they are one of the best squashes to eat - sweet and tender.

If you work quickly it will all come together in the time it takes to cook the pasta.

I started by topping and tailing three squashes and slicing them very finely.
I fried them off with a glove of garlic in some butter til they were a little bit browned and soft. Then I added oregano, seasoning, chili flakes and a tablespoon of creme fraiche, and stirred to combine.
Once the pasta was ready, I drained it, added it back to the pan with the squash, some water reserved from the spaghetti and some parma ham cut into ribbons (4 slices was good enough for 2 of us).
Served with some freshly grated parmesan and lots of black pepper.

This pasta was so perfect for summer (we'll ignore the fact that it was raining a lot outside) - very light and with lots of fresh flavour. I'll definitely make it again!

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A Quick Recipe - Cheats Lasagne

I love spaghetti bolognese, I love mac and cheese and I like lasagne even better. This recipe is great because it is quick to put together, involves less effort than lasagne and is a tiny bit healthier than macaroni and cheese.

This is a fairly simple idea but I liked how it came together with things I had in my freezer and store cupboard already, and it tasted great! I picked a few of the new herbs we've planted in the garden - some oregano and purple basil went in.

Serves 2 greedy people!

250g macaroni pasta
1 tin of plum tomatoes, blended
250g mince lamb or beef
2 shallots or half an onion
1 clove of garlic
pinch of chili flakes
1 tbsp tomato puree
herbs and spices to your liking (I used fresh oregano, purple basil & nutmeg, cumin and paprika)
cheddar cheese - grated - enough to cover the top of your pasta for baking.

Finely dice the onion and fry in a saucepan with olive oil for a few minutes, stirring often. Add the mince and break up and brown. Add in the garlic. Add in your herbs, spices and season. Then add in your tomato puree and blended tomatoes. Bring to the boil then simmer for 1/2 hour  - 1 hour til the mince is tender and tomatoes cooked down.

Preheat your oven to a medium high heat.
Cook your macaroni for half the time as indicated on the pack.
Once done mix your bolognese sauce in and then put into a large casserole or lasagne dish. Cover with cheddar cheese and bake in the oven for 30-45 minutes until the pasta is done and the cheese is bubbling. You can grill it for a few minutes at the end to get the cheese really browned.

Dig in and don't forget to go back for seconds! ;)

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Cooking - Cacio e Pepe

Sometimes the simplest ideas are the best.
Cacio e pepe (spaghetti with cheese and black pepper) is a classic and has been doing the rounds in the food blogging world for a long time. I've always meant to try it, I was in a lunch rut today and so I gave it a go.



I used a recipe from Smitten Kitchen with linguine and parmesan instead of spaghetti and pecorino.


Serves 1 - easily doubled

1/4 lb linguine
approx 2 oz parmesan
teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
olive oil
knob of butter

Cook your pasta al dente, drain but reserve about 1/4 mug full of cooking water.
Heat olive oil in a pan til nearly smoking, then add your pasta and water (stand back as the water will splatter!). Cook for 30 seconds then add all but a tiny bit of parmesan and all your pepper, then your butter.
Stir to melt butter until a sauce forms.
Serve sprinkled with reserved parmesan.


It was perfectly simple, and not as dry as I expected. And so completely easy to make. I would say you could add things like herbs or chili but I think the best thing about this is the simplicity. Any more and it becomes something else entirely.

I'd definitely like to try this with fresh pasta next time too, i might even make it myself!

x

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