Posted on

Calamari, Tomato & Basil Pasta Recipe

Calamari Tomato & Basil

I’ve been enjoying the summer weather lately, and been loving the entertainment opportunities that presents too. When I have guests though, I like having pre-prepared, or quick to prepare meals as I don’t like spending ages in the kitchen! That’s just one of the reasons I really enjoy this Calamari, Tomato & Basil Pasta: it’s easy to prepare before hand, leaving just 10 minutes cooking time required.Calamari Tomato & Basil

I prefer to use fresh pasta when pasta is the main part of the meal, so I’ve used fresh pasta in this recipe. Dry pasta works, but needs to be cooked for longer. It can also be served in a salad, or with quinoa or other starch of your choice.

Use a good quality squid for this recipe too – nothing worse than leathery calamari!

Now, if you want to prepare this meal for later cooking, chop the garlic cloves, wash and dry the cherry tomatoes – halve them if they are the larger variety – wash the squid, clean it and cut it into rings, and chop the basil leaves roughly. Store all the items in the fridge till about 20 minutes before you’re going to cook them, leaving it to warm to room temperature a little.

If your calamari loses a lot of liquid in the cooking, you can pour it out about before adding the cherry tomatoes.

Serve immediately – and if you’re having wine, Calamari, Tomato & Basil Pasta pairs really well with a dry white wine, like a Pinot Grigio – a wine I don’t normally like, but it works fantastically with this. Another alternative is Riesling.

Calamari, Tomato & Basil Pasta
Author: Keeper of the Kitchen
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4
There’s a lot of flexibility in this recipe, with room for adaptations to make it your favourite. You may not like anchovies, but don’t miss them out as they really add to the flavour of this dish.
Ingredients
  • Pasta for four people
  • 2tbsp olive oil
  • 1-2 garlic cloves
  • 4 anchovy fillets
  • 250g cherry tomatoes, washed and dried
  • 450g squid, cleaned and cut into rings
  • bunch cut basil leaves
  • salt and pepper
Instructions
  1. Prepare the pasta as per brand instructions. Set aside. (I bring 1000g water to boil in the Thermomix – Varoma/8 mins/ speed 4 – then add the pasta in the internal steamer for 3 – 4 minutes / Varoma/speed 4)
  2. To a heated pan, add the oil, garlic and anchovy to a frying pan and heat till the anchovy sort of ‘melts’.
  3. Add the squid and fry for 1 – 2 minutes, tossing them as you do.
  4. Next, add the cherry tomatoes and fry them for 3 – 4 minutes, till they begin to soften and leak juice – I prefer the cherry tomatoes to still have some bite to them, but it’s personal choice, really!
  5. Test the squid to make sure it’s nice and tender, then add the basil, salt and pepper.
  6. Serve with the pasta, or as a salad with green leaves.

 

Posted on

Cheesy Straws

Cheesy Straws

These cheesy straws are a lovely snack for lunch boxes and last minute visitors. They can be prepared whenever you have time, and the pastry frozen – then just pop out a handful and bake when you need them.  I was setting an Autumn scene for some photos I had to do, so we broke up the straws to make a ‘woodpile’. I was glad when the kids walked in and said ‘Oh, look at the brooms!’  Always useful when people can tell what you’re going for!
Cheesy Straws

These cheesy straws can be made as straws, though simply baking them in rounds is okay too – I tend to freeze them as round biscuits, making them easier to use with dips. If you’re going to make brooms, I recommend that you use the stringy type of kids cheese, rather than regular blocks of cheese which crack rather than pull apart. And have more chives than you think you need as they break really easily too. Cheesy Straws

I also like to add paprika or rosemary to cheese strings – it just depends on what flavour you like, or whether you like something different from time to time! Also, you don’t have to add parmesan, it just heightens the cheese flavour. If you decide not to, just make another 50g cheddar cheese.

Cheesy Straws Recipe:

Cheesy Straws
Author: Keeper of the Kitchen
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 60 sticks
Ingredients
  • 375g plain flour
  • 225g butter
  • 150g cheddar cheese
  • 50g parmesan cheese
  • 1 tsp mustard (I use a grainy mustard, but powder will work too)
  • 2 egg yolks
  • pinch of salt
  • pepper to taste
Instructions
Thermomix Instructions
  1. Add all the ingredients to the Thermomix bowl
  2. Mix speed 5/30 seconds
  3. Remove and shape into a log. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes
  4. Heat the oven to 180C
  5. Break off pieces and roll into sticks using your hands
  6. Bake for 10 – 12 minutes until golden brown. Allow to cool before moving but be gentle as they are fragile
Regularly Instructions
  1. Add all the ingredients to a food processor
  2. Mix until everything is combined and the dough forms a ball
  3. Remove and shape into a log. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes
  4. Heat the oven to 180C
  5. Break off pieces and roll into sticks using your hands
  6. Bake for 10 – 12 minutes until golden brown. Allow to cool before moving but be gentle as they are fragile

 

 

Posted on

Carrot And Cheddar Shortbread Recipe

Carrot and Cheese Shortbread

An odd side effect of growing your own food is that sometimes you have very small amounts of produce. For example, we harvested a handful of carrots this week, thinning out space for the other carrots to grow bigger. This gave us about 8 small carrots which is barely a snack of one person, never mind a side for three, so I had to think of something we could make that use the carrots to best effect.

Carrot and Cheese Shortbread
Carrot and Cheese Shortbread served with Carrot Top Hummus

I decided a good snack for a picnic we were attending would be Carrot and Cheese Shortbread. I know shortbread is normally a sweet treat, but why should it be!?

This recipe was a bit trial and error, but it worked out so well, I’m really pleased with it. And if we have another small batch of carrots I intend to do the same again, but freeze the dough so that we have ready shortbread whenever we want – I think it’s a great way of saving summer produce too! I’ll let you know how I get on with that.

Shortbread

In the meantime, here’s the carrot and cheddar shortbread recipe.

Carrot And Cheddar Shortbread Recipe
Recipe Type: Snack
Author: Keeper of the Kitchen
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 20 biscuits
In the Thermomix this just takes a few minutes, then there’s a 30 minute chill time. After chilling you need to slice the cookies or you can roll them out to make shapes.
Ingredients
  • 115g (4oz) salted butter
  • 90g (3oz) carrot and cheese*
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 1/2 tsp thyme
  • 1/2 tsp rosemary
  • 220g (1 1/4 cups) plain flour
  • 1 tbs water (a bit more if your flour is organic)
Instructions
  1. (If you’re not using a Thermomix, grate the carrot first)
  2. Add room temperature butter to a mixing bowl and using an electric beater whisk it till it’s light and fluffy
(Thermomix: add the butterfly and mix on speed 3 for 30 – 40 seconds)
  1. Add a mixture of carrot and cheese to add up to 90g. In this case I used 45g of each, but more or less of whichever you have, to add up to 90g.
  2. Add the rest of the ingredients, except the water and mix until combined
(speed 6 for 1 minute)
  1. Add the water and mix till it combines and pulls away from the sides
  2. Tip out onto greaseproof paper, and shape into a sausage. Chill for 30 minutes in the fridge.
  3. After 30 minutes, turn the oven on to 180C/350F. Slice the sausage into 1cm thick slices and place on a baking tray. Bake for 20 -25 minutes.
  4. Leave to cool.

 

Posted on

Deconstructed Butternut Squash Soup

Deconstructed Butternut Squash Soup

This soup came about because I really don’t like a chunky soup. Contrary to popular belief this isn’t because of the texture, but rather is because I get bored half way through a bowl of same tasting bite after bite. And by the time you’ve boiled your vegetables long enough to extract the flavour into the broth, every bite tastes the same.

I prefer a deconstructed soup. It’s still hearty, filling, healthy, but it looks much prettier since everything retains it’s colour and shape, and every bite is a mini-adventure.
 Deconstructed Butternut Squash Soup

Take this soup for example. Butternut soup with lardons, sage and Grana Padano cheese.

The first bite has a little bit of lardon and a small sliver of sage. It’s tasty. The next bite,  has a hint of garlic, and a bit of onion along with the butternut, and tastes homey. The following spoon picks up a large piece of melted cheese, and the rich full flavour of Grana Padano accompanies the butternut down my throat. The next spoon hits a pocket of sage butter, and provides a whole other taste to any of the previous bites – and next it’s just a plain spoon of butternut, that almost cleanses your palet. And so it goes, on and on.

Grana Padano Butternut Squash Soup

Well, it works for me, and I hope you like it too!

For this soup I like to roast the butternut squash. While you can just go ahead and make it from an uncooked butternut squash, which gives it a fresh flavour, I find a roasted butternut squash has so much more depth to it. It’s definitely worth the extra 40 or so minutes.

Deconstructed Butternut Squash Soup
Recipe Type: Soup
Cuisine: Italian
Author: Luschka
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 3 -4
It may seem a little fiddly, but for this soup you need to roast the butternut squash. Once it’s cooked, boil the soup for 15 minutes, while at the same time cooking the lardons and sage leaves for 10 minutes each. Slice up the cheese and everything should be ready at the same time.
Ingredients
  • 1 Butternut Squash
  • 4 Garlic cloves
  • 1 Onion
  • 250ml chicken stock
  • 30g butter
  • 10 sage leaves
  • 75g pasta
  • 140g bacon lardons
  • 50g Grana Padano shards
  • pepper to taste
  • olive oil to drizzle
Instructions
  1. Cut the butternut squash in half and scoop out the seeds.
  2. Peel four garlic cloves and put them inside the hollowed out butternut squash.
  3. Drizzle a good quality olive oil over the butternut squash, place on an oven tray and bake at 200C for about 40 mins till it’s soft all the way through. Set aside to cool slighly, then chop into rough chunks. If it’s a young butternut squash you can keep the skin, but if it’s older, discard.
In the Thermomix
  1. Add the onion and baked garlic cloves to the Thermomix and chop 3 seconds/speed 4.
  2. Cook for 3 minutes/100C/Speed 1
  3. Add the chicken stock and butternut squash, and cook 15 mins/speed 4
  4. Meanwhile in a pan, fry the bacon lardons until they are crispy, about 10 minutes.
  5. In another, smaller pan, melt 30g butter, and add the sage leaves. Gently fry for about 10 minutes on low heat until the butter is browned and the leaves are crispy.
  6. Thinly slice ‘shards’ of the Grana Padano cheese.
  7. To serve, dish up the soup, making sure to get some pasta in each bowl and sprinkle cheese over. On the side, serve lardons, additional cheese chards and the sage leaves.
  8. Drizzle the sage butter over the butternut squash soup, and serve.
Regular Instructions
  1. Chop and slice the onions and garlic, and saute for about 10 mins in suitable suit pot, till translucent.
  2. Add the chicken stock and butternut squash, and cook for about 15 minutes on medium heat.
  3. Meanwhile in a pan, fry the bacon lardons until they are crispy, about 10 minutes.
  4. In another, smaller pan, melt 30g butter, and add the sage leaves. Gently fry for about 10 minutes on low heat until the butter is browned and the leaves are crispy.
  5. Thinly slice ‘shards’ of the Grana Padano cheese.
  6. To serve, dish up the soup, making sure to get some pasta in each bowl and sprinkle cheese over. On the side, serve lardons, additional cheese chards and the sage leaves.
  7. Drizzle the sage butter over the butternut squash soup, and serve.

 

Posted on

Vietnamese Cashew Pineapple Chicken

I love this dish. It just looks summery and fresh and inviting. Serve it with rice, or if you’re sharing, add a hearty meaty dish with it.

Vietnamese Cashew Pineapple Chicken This recipe is originally from The Essential Asian Cookbook*, but adapted for serving two children and using a Thermomix – but you can use a knife as most of the cooking is done in a wok. I do think all of this could be done in the Thermomix to some extent. You could saute the cashews and coconut in the bowl, steam the chicken in the Varoma, and then combine all the ingredients at about 90C in the bowl before serving, but if I don’t have to and do have access to the wok, I’d do it that way.

Vietnamese Cashew Pineapple Chicken
Recipe Type: Main
Cuisine: Vietnamese,Asian,
Author: Adapted by Luschka
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4
A good stand alone, or perfect as part of a shared meal.
Ingredients
  • 30g (2tbs) shredded coconut
  • 80g (1/2 cup) raw cashews
  • 30g (2tbs) oil
  • 1 large onion
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 2 chopped red chillies (optional – I do it without)
  • 350g chicken thigh fillets, diced
  • 1 red pepper
  • 1 green pepper
  • 1 tbs fish sauce (nam plah)
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 320g (2 cups) chopped pineapple (fresh is good, but tinned and drained is fine)
  • 3 spring onions
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 150C (300F) and spread the coconut evenly onto a tray. Toast the coconut for 10 minutes until golden. Remove from the tray immediately to prevent burning and set aside.
  2. Increase the heat to 180C (350F) and roast the cashews for 15 minutes until deep golden.
  3. In a wok, pour the oil to heat up.
  4. Drop the onion and garlic (and chillies if using) onto a running Thermomix at speed 4, about 5 seconds.
  5. Stir fry for 2 minutes, then remove from the pan.
  6. Meanwhile, put the peppers into the Thermomix and chop speed 4 about 10 seconds or until it’s the size you want.
  7. Add the chicken and the peppers to the wok, and cook until the chicken is light brown. Add the onion back in to the wok, then add the fish sauce, sugar and pineapple and heat through for about 2 minutes.
  8. Blitz the spring onion on Turbo to chop.
  9. Toss the cashews through the food in the wok, then serve and scatter the toasted coconut and spring onion over the top.
  10. Serve with rice or Asian vegetables.
Regular Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 150C (300F) and spread the coconut evenly onto a tray. Toast the coconut for 10 minutes until golden. Remove from the tray immediately to prevent burning and set aside.
  2. Increase the heat to 180C (350F) and roast the cashews for 15 minutes until deep golden.
  3. In a wok, pour the oil to heat up.
  4. Chop the onions, garlic and chillies. While you’re at it, chop the peppers roughly and spring onions finely. Make sure the chicken is evenly diced.
  5. Add the onion, garlic and chillies if using to the wok.
  6. Stir fry for 2 minutes, then remove from the pan.
  7. Add the chicken and the peppers to the wok, and cook until the chicken is light brown. Add the onion back in to the wok, then add the fish sauce, sugar and pineapple and heat through for about 2 minutes.
  8. Toss the cashews through the food in the wok, then serve and scatter the toasted coconut and spring onion over the top.
  9. Serve with rice or Asian vegetables.
Calories: 2082
Notes
serves 4[br]521 calories per serve (doesn’t include rice)