Fusilli pasta with sausage and broccoli

Fusilli pasta with broccoli and sausage

Its always good to have several easy to make, weekday dinner recipes to hand for those working days when you get home after a busy day at work and you’re starving. These are the kind of days that you just don’t want to spend ages in the kitchen – which is nearly every work day!

Pasta is always a safe standby and this sausage and broccoli dish is just perfect! I love the taste of fennel but cooked fennel changes its flavour and loses a lot of that aniseed kick that I like. So, I use fennel seeds to make a difference.

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 250g dried fusilli pasta
• 4 large sausages, filling of your choice
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 200g broccoli, chopped into bite sized florets
• dried chilli seeds – to taste
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 knob butter
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Parmesan, grated

Method

1. Cook the onion over a medium heat until soft then add the sausage, fennel seeds, chilli and garlic and cook for about 10 mins until the sausage is cooked.
2. Meanwhile, blanch the broccoli in boiling salted water for about 4 minutes. Refresh in cold water – this needs to be crunchy but not raw
3. Next, cook the fusilli in boiling salted water according to the instructions on the packet – usually 10-12 mins
4. Drain the pasta (but keep a ladle full of the cooking liquid), mix with the sausage mixture and the broccoli. Add the butter and reserved cooking liquid, mix and leave to stand for about 5 min. Add salt and pepper to taste
5. Serve with grated Parmesan and a drizzle of olive oil

 

Pasta with sausage, radicchio and cream

Pasta with radicchio and sausage

They say ‘when in Rome, do as the Romans do’ and that’s what I’m doing with this radicchio recipe but making it a bit farther west in Sardinia! Romans, and Italians in general, love radicchio and use it in pasta dishes and in salads. Its cool bitter taste is really refreshing on a hot day and it goes perfectly with sweet or creamy dishes. When its cooked or grilled it loses most of its bitter taste but still provides a good balance to creamy sauces like the one in this pasta.

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 400g sausage meat (Italian if you can get it)
• radicchio, about 150g
• 150g cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 finely chopped shallot
• 150ml cream
• good pinch salt and pepper
• pinch of dried Chilli (optional)
• Olive oil for frying
• Trofie pasta, but you can use any short pasta

Method

1. Gently fry the tomatoes for 5 min until soft and add the shallots and fry for another minute
2. Add the sausage meat, mix well to break the meat into small pieces and fry for about 5 min until it develops a nice brown colour. Stir well and leave to brown for another few minutes
3. Cook the pasta in well salted, boiling water
4. Add the chopped radicchio and cook for a about 2 mins to wilt the leaves
5. Now add the cream, stir well and cook for a further 5 mins on a low heat
6. The pasta should be ready now so drain it and stir in the sausage and radicchio mixture

Fusilli pasta with wild boar ragu

Fusilli with wild boar ragu

Wild boar is a fairly common meat in Italy but less so the UK. It got a great flavour and is well worth the effort to source it. Great if you can get some but you can substitute beef for boar. I often make this recipe using sausages instead of minced mead. that you like. I often make this as a weekday dinner because it doesn’t take long to assemble the ingredients and I usually have sausages and brocoli to hand.

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 400g fusilli pasta
• 300g wild boar
• 150g frozen peas
• 1 large red onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• Broccoli, chopped finely
• Fennel seeds
• Red chilli, diced
• 100 ml red wine (optional)
• 1 tbp butter
• Olive oil

Method

1. Fry the onion gently in 1 tbp olive oil for about 15 min or until it has softened
2. Add the wild boar, mix well and cook on a medium heat until the meat has browned
3. Add about 1 tbsp fennel seeds, 1 tbsp chilli, frozen peas and cook for about 10 min, then add the red wine if using. Continue heating to reduce the liquid and boil off the alcohol
4. While the peas are cooking, blanch the brocoli in boiling water for about 3 min, drain and add it to the meat (this is just to take the bite out of the brocoli)
5. When the pasta is nearly cooked take some of the cooking water and add it to the meat mixture with a knob of butter. This starchy liquid will form the a nice sauce for the dish
6. Drain the pasta and combine with the meat. Let sit for about 5 mins so it can cool and the flavours can combine. Add a dash of olive oil to serve.

Shepherd’s Pie with leftover roast lamb

Shepherd’s Pie with leftover roast lamb

After a frantic week at work, its almost essential to be able to kick back at the weekend and have a long, relaxing roast lunch. I usually can’t find a roast that’s small enough for just one meal and often end up with leftover meat. This actually makes Monday’s dinner even easier as I can use the leftovers to cook up something simple for dinner. What could be simpler than that old favorite Shepherd’s Pie? Great comfort food that’s quick and easy to make.

The most common version of Shepherd’s Pie uses minced beef but you can replace this with leftover lamb, beef, veal, or pork roast. The quantity of vegetables and meat can vary. As long as there isn’t too much of any one ingredient then the pie will be nicely balanced.

Ingredients

• Leftover roast lamb cubed or minced – however much you’ve got
• Carrots
• Frozen peas
• Celery
• Potatoes, medium sized
• 1 onion finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove finely chopped
• 1 tsp dried herbs (thyme, basil, oregano or whatever you have in stock)
• Butter
• Milk
• 1/2 tsp mild curry powder
• Beef stock
• Cornflour
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Method

1. Saute the onions in the oil until they are soft
2. Quarter the potatoes, and cover with water and a good tablespoon of salt and bring to the  boil and simmer for about 20 mins until soft.  Mash the potatoes with the butter and enough milk to loosen the mixture – this will help to spread the potatoes on the top of the pie. Season well with salt and pepper
3. While the potatoes are cooking, add the celery, carrots and peas, herbs and cook for 5-10 minutes until the vegetables have just started to soften
4. Add the garlic and fry for another minute and add the leftover meat
5. Add about 100 ml beef stock (or more if you like to have more gravy in the pie) and a little cornflour to thicken. Check for seasoning and add more salt and pepper
6. Transfer the vegetable and to either one large oven dish or smaller individual pie dishes
7. Using a spoon or piping bag, cover the mixture with a layer of potatoes. Using a fork, make swirls on the surface. This helps the make the top of the pie crispy. You can also sprinkle with parmesan or other grated cheese if you like
8. Bake at 200˚C for about 20 mins until the top of the pie looks golden