Uncle Ted's Recipes #11: Porky Power Pasta

Ok so before we get into things I'd like to apologise for not having uploaded anything on this blog in quite some time but I'm trying to get back into the swing of things and produce more content on all of my online platforms. Hopefully this is the start of something great but only time will tell but anyway...on with the recipe!

Today we're going to be taking a look at a recipe that I cooked up (pardon the pun) last week while trying to think of what to do with some leftover breakfast meats that I had left over from some fry up breakfasts that I'd made earlier in the week. I had some sausages and bacon leftover that I couldn't really think of any other days last week where I'd want to have them for breakfast so I decided to incorporate them into a nutritious dinner where their saltiness and meaty textures would be nicely complimented. So here we go with the recipe proper and let me know if you guys have any suggestions to change or add to the recipe in the comments below!

Utensils:
1 large iron or cast iron pot or saucepan
1 medium meat slicing or fillet knife
1 medium vegetable knife
1 large chopping board
1 draining sieve or colander
1 fork
1 teaspoon
1 or 2 baking tray(s)
a roll of tin foil (possibly optional)

Ingredients:
1 diced large brown onion
200-300g spinach already washed and drained
100-200g petite pois peas
2 diced medium vine ripe tomatoes
3-6 rashers smoky back bacon
4-6 pork sausages (either standard pork or possibly pork and sage or Cumberland)
700-750g wholegrain fusilli pasta
200-300g Dijon mustard
vegetable oil
salt
ground smoked paprika
dried basil

Cooking method/Cooking steps:

Step 1 - Starting heating the oven on the grill setting to 250C while filling the pan/pot halfway with water and a couple of medium splashes of oil and start heating to the midway point on the dial.

Step 2 - Cover a baking tray with tin foil and then pierce the sausages 2 or 3 times on each side before placing in the tray and baking for 15-16 minutes while turning over halfway through.

Step 3 - Bring the water to a boil and throw in all of the pasta with a few pinches of salt and basil while giving a stir with the fork. Boil the pasta for 10 minutes and stir every 2 minutes very briefly while it is cooking again with the fork.

Step 4 - About 5-6 minutes before the sausages are finished cooking, cover another baking tray with foil and place the bacon in it to bake in the oven, remove the bacon from the oven at roughly the same time as the sausages. Once the meats are cooked, take them onto a chopping board and dice up with the meat knife and place into a bowl on the side for the time being.

Step 5 - When the pasta is cooked, drain it in the colander in the sink but do not lower the heat on the pan. Instead, place the pan back onto the heat and throw in a few splashes of oil along with the onion, a few pinches of salt and stir frequently while it cooks for 5 minutes. After this point, add in a few teaspoons of smoked paprika and stir to mix before adding in the tomatoes and mixing while cooking for another 5 minutes.

Step 6 - throw all of the spinach into the pan and stir until it is all wilted before adding in another pinch of basil and the diced up meat. Stir to mix before throwing in the pasta and mixing that in as well while also turning the heat down to the lowest possible setting.

Step 7 - throw in all of the mustard into the pan and mix in and then leave to heat up for about 3-4 minutes before adding in and mixing in the peas then leave to heat gently for another 4 or so minutes.

Step 8 - Serve on a gently-warmed plate either as it is or with a very light garnishing on top of parmesan and fresh basil leaves. Recommend washing this dish down with either a glass of sparkling water or a fizzy Eurocentric beer like Stella Artois or San Miguel Fresca.

Uncle Ted's recipes #10: Sublime seafood pasta

Sorry to all you little dearies that I haven't done a recipe in a good while but I recently thought of this recipe from scratch and thought it'd be great to share with you all.

ALERGY WARNINGS: Contains white wine, seafood and dairy.  May also contain nuts in garnishing.

INGREDIENTS (SERVES 3-5):

2 Medium white onions

18.5 cl white wine

250-400g mixed seafood (I used mussels, squid and prawns but feel free to add whatever seafood you fancy)

1.25-2 cups of frozen peas

175-200g fresh leaf spinach

400-500g linguini

11g dried parsley

3 teaspoons mustard

150-200g crème fraiche

3-5 g mixed Mediterranean herbs

a pinch of salt

olive oil

UTENSILS/TOOLS:

1 Large cutting knife

1 Large chopping board

1 sieve or colander

1 or 2 teaspoons

1 very large frying pan

1 large saucepan

1 fork

1 wooden spoon

METHOD/COOKING PROCESS:

1)- Start by filling the saucepan about 2/3 or halfway with cold water,  then add in a small bit of olive oil. Start the water on towards the boil.  

2)- Add some olive oil into the frying pan and turn it onto the lowest heat possible.  Dice up the onions on the board after peeling the skin off then chuck them into the frying pan.  Turn up the heat to about medium or mid-high and mix in a pinch of salt while briefly stirring.  Keep simmering the onions for about 10 mins until softened.

3)- When the onions are softened, add in the white wine and mix.  Then simmer for about 5 mins to pasteurise the alcohol. While this is simmering, wash, rinse and add in the spinach and add into the sauce.  Give the spinach about 5 mins to welt then start stirring it in.

4)-  After adding the spinach and wine, chuck in the crème fraiche and mustard and mix into the sauce. When both have been fully combined, add in the herbs and mix again. After doing this, turn the frying pan back down to either a low or mid-low heat.

5)- Put the pasta/linguini into the saucepan and bring to the boil.  Boil the pasta for 9 minutes and make sure to stir every 2 or 3 minutes that it boils with a fork in order to help prevent the pasta from congealing and sticking together.  After the pasta is boiled, drain it and let it do so for about 2-3 mins over the saucepan off of the hob.

6)-  About 4-5 minutes into the pasta boiling, add both the seafood and peas into the sauce in the frying pan and mix until the ingredients are all combined.  After doing this, turn the hob that the frying pan is off but keep it on the hob for the rest of the time that the pasta is boiling.

7)- When the pasta has finished draining, add it into the frying pan and remove from the hob. Then mix together until the pasta has been partially submerged into the sauce and everything is mixed together.  Be sure to make sure that you have a very large frying pan.

8)- Dish onto mildly warmed plates with a wooden spoon and salad spoon or something similar. 

SERVING SUGGESTION:

Serve along with a glass of pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc and a mildly warm rosemary and sea salt focaccia bread and mixed green leaf salad.

A possible garnish would also be to sprinkle toasted pine nuts on top after serving but only do this if no one has a nut allergy.

Uncle Ted's recipes #8: Post-workout pasta (includes prawns)

Again I know I really haven't been uploading a lot recently on this blog but whenever has punctuality been an aspect of my character on any form of social media?  Really the main reason for this being the case is that I haven't been making any new recipes or seen any new films recently but with this inspired dinner I thought up of recently I figured that now was as good a time as any.

I thought up of this healthy and tasty pasta dish recently a few days before I went to the gym as I needed a good dish that would be a great balance of all the essentials one may need after having a good work out and I think I've thought up a right winner as even if you don't work out its a deliciously healthy dish that ticks all boxes (that is if you do not eat fish).

INGREDIENTS (Serves 3-4 big portions):

300-350g king prawns (pre-marinated tofu if you do not eat fish)

175-250g ricotta

2 bunched handfuls fresh spinach leaves

1 large white onion

2 cloves of garlic

350-400g spaghetti (uncooked weight)

4-6 tablespoons white wine

olive oil

salt and pepper

dried basil

UTENSILS:

1 medium saucepan

1 large frying pan

1 vegetable knife

1 wooden spoon

1 fork

1 cutting board

1 colander

METHOD/PROCESS:

1 - Place some cold water into the saucepan to about just over halfway then add in some couple splashes of olive oil and turn onto boil.  Dice up the onion and place in an extremely low heat frying pan with a few splashes of oil in it and add a dash of salt before stirring.

2 - When the water is boiling, put the spaghetti in, make sure it is submerged for the most part then cook for 9 mins while stirring with the fork every 2 or 3 mins while it cooks so as to not let it become all clumped and starchy.

3 - When the onion starts  to soften after 5 mins of frying add in the crushed garlic and simmer for another 5 mins before adding in the white wine and simmer for another 5.

4 - When the spaghetti is cooked, drain it in the colander over a drain or sink then place the colander over the saucepan after the pasta is dried to get as much water drained away.

5 - After the white wine has had a few mins to simmer then add in the prawns and spinach and stir around for about 4-5 mins until the spinach has wilted before lumping the drained spaghetti on top.

6 - using a teaspoon, spoon the ricotta in several bits onto the spaghetti then stir around until most or almost all of the ricotta is nicely mixed in and all of the ingredients have been mixed around in a balanced way.

7 - Serve onto plates alongside toasted pitta with garlic oil and carrot salad with a glass of white wine (I'd recommend something like La Vielle Ferme) or if you don't drink alcohol then something like lemon or blood orange tea.

Hopefully you'll all enjoy this one as I kind of just thought up of it off the top of my head but it really is a winner if you need a perfectly balanced meal and don't have a huge amount of funds or time so give it a shot as you really can't go wrong with it!

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