Spaghetti with Saint Agur Blue Cheese & Hazelnuts

         

     Here I am again with a new recipe for you. I came up with this pasta sauce as we both are in love with pasta dishes, blue cheese & hazelnuts and believe us it is a match made in heaven. There are way too many blue cheese variations (this is a lie, there are never way too many cheeses) to choose from but for this particular dish we used Saint Agur Blue a French blue cheese from the province of Auvergne. This cheese is a very young one (aged only 2 months) and it has a super creamy texture due to the double cream content and also is less salty than other blue cheese. It's like a mild version of the more spicier and pungent Roquefort. Obviously, if you do not find Saint Agur Blue you can use Italian 'sweet' blue cheeses like Gorgonzola Dolce or Dolcelatte. 

         The other main ingredients for this dish are the superbly fragrant and nutty roasted hazelnuts. They add a crunchy texture to the velvety cheesy sauce. Hazelnuts are quick to roast, they only take about 12-13 minutes at 180°C/350°F. If you are roasting them yourself, always keep an eye whilst roasting as nuts can burn quickly due to their high oleic content. So give this a go and am quite sure you will love it and list it on your favourite pasta sauces!! For 2-3 hungry people you will need...

• 200g Spaghetti

For the sauce

• 100g (1 cup) Saint Agur blue cheese, crumbled
• 50g (1/3 cup) Roasted Hazelnuts, chopped/crushed
• 15g (1 tablespoon) Butter
• 15g (1 tablespoon) Plain flour 
• 230ml (1 cup) Whole milk
• 1 teaspoon honey
• Pinch grated nutmeg
• Pinch sea salt
• Pinch ground white pepper

To Garnish

• Whole hazelnuts
• Chopped parsley

How to...

1. In a small heavy based pan, make the roux (flour/butter mixture) by melting the butter then add the flour and with a balloon whisk stir until the roux turns golden. Add the milk, salt, white pepper and nutmeg and keeping stirring frequently until you get a thick bechamel like sauce. This takes about 10-15 minutes. 
2. Now lower the heat, stir in the honey and crumbled cheese and keep stirring until all the cheese has melted. In the meantime, cook the spaghetti al dente in plenty of salted boiling water.
3. Drain the spaghetti, add the sauce to the hot pasta and mix well until all the pasta is coated with the gorgeous creamy sauce.
4. Plate up and garnish with whole roasted hazelnuts and chopped parsley.
5. Serve hot.

Enjoy!!

R&A

Agua de Fresa y Mango - Mexican Strawberry & Mango Drink

         

Amongst the many food and drink delights that Amanda & myself came across during our trip to Mexico was these simple drinks made from fresh fruit, sugar & water, basically like a fruit punch. These were available with every meal at our hotel and were also available from street vendors wherever we went. They were so cold, nice and refreshing...love at first taste. They are called Aguas Frescas and are made from a myriad variety of fruit like papaya, guayaba (guava), pineapple, melon, watermelon, strawberries, mango, tunas (prickly pears), guanabana (soursop) but not only!! Two of the most famous ones in Mexico are Horchata and Agua de Jamaica. Horchata is a sweet rice drink made with soaked rice, sugar & cinnamon (it's absolutely gorgeous). Agua de Jamaica is made from dried Hibiscus flowers and has a very unique tangy taste. 

        Since you can basically make Aguas Frescas with any fruit, I decided to come up with a superdelicious drink made with fresh strawberries and ripe mango. Usually they are sweetened with white sugar but if you want you can replace the sugar with other natural sweeteners like honey, maple syrup or agave nectar (which has a low GI). One tip about making these kind of drinks is that the more ripe the fruit is the sweeter the drink will be and the less sugar you need to add. In this particular drink I used honey and I put about 3 tablespoons, but again, it's all up to how sweet you like it. Just keep in mind that liquid sweeteners like the ones I mentioned above are sweeter than sugar so you need to use less!!! For a 2 litre jugful you will need...

• 400g fresh strawberries, hulled
• Flesh of 1 ripe mango
• 6 cups (1.5 litres cold water)
• ½ cup (115g) granulated sugar  or ¼ cup (4 tablespoons honey
• 24 ice cubes

How to...

1. Add all the ingredients except the ice in a large blender and blend until you get a smooth consistency.
2. Pass through a sieve (to eliminate any strawberry seed) into a jug, add the ice cubes and put into the fridge to chill.
3. Serve chilled.

Enjoy!!

R&A

Goats' Cheese, Cherry Tomato & Tapenade Tart

       

   So, we love goats' cheese, tomato and olives...hmmm...so I came up with this super quick tart that both of demolished within minutes of it coming out of the oven. It came out so tasty, flaky, crispy...well perfect! I made our own tapenade but you can find it already made or you could even substitute it with pesto if you like (do not use the same quantity though as it has a stronger taste. We also used a mixture of coloured cherry tomatoes (red, purple & yellow) but you can use only red ones if you cannot find multicoloured ones. Oh yes, the goats' cheese, although it is not a melty cheese, it give this tart the delicious unique flavour that goats' cheese has. I also used a ready made puff pastry sheet but you can also make your own obviously but ready made pastry is fine if you're in a hurry.  

      Tapenade usually is a bit oily and runny and this ruin your tart by making the pastry too soggy, so what I have done I just added some pumpkin seed to the mixture so they can act as a thickener. If pumpkin seed are hard to come by, you can also use sunflower seed. Whatever seed you use, they will give your tapenade a nutty taste to your tart. So, give this a go and am quite sure you will love it and so will your family and friends. You will need...

For the tapenade

• 4 tablespoon green pitted olives
• 5 giant capers or 1 tablespoon small capers
• 1 tablespoon pumpkin seed
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• Pinch dried oregano
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 5 tablespoons (75ml) extra virgin olive oil
• Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

For the tart

• 1 ready made puff pastry sheet
• 150g multicoloured cherry tomatoes, cut in half (red ones only will do)
• 125g soft goats' cheese, sliced or crumbled
• Rocket (Arugula) leaves
• Extra virgin olive oil
  

How to...

1. Start by preheating the oven to 200°C.
2. Next up let's prepare the tapenade by blending all the ingredients in a food processor or stick blender (that's what I used) until you get a homogeneous smooth mixture. 
3. Unroll the pastry sheet onto a baking sheet or large baking tray covered with greaseproof paper. I trickled some olive oil before I put my pastry on.
4. Spread the tapenade evenly on the pastry leaving about an inch from each side. Top up with the split cherry tomatoes, add the goats' cheese, add some olive oil and bake in the hot oven for about 25 minutes.
5. After 25 minutes take out of the oven, let cool down for 5 minutes and add rocket/arugula leaves and serve warm.

Enjoy!!

R&A

Tomato & Ricotta Pasta Sauce - Zalza tat-Tadam u Rkotta

Well hello all!!! I am back!! Haven't blogged in a while because I have been quite busy with life. We have returned from a wonderful holiday in Mexico and now we feel really refreshed. I did come back with lots of Mexican recipes and food ideas but that is not what I am blogging about today. I will definitely be sharing some delicious Mexican recipes in the near future though. In the meantime here is a pasta sauce that is a huge favourite within Maltese households. A sauce that is very easy and quick to prepare and that everyone in your family will enjoy. Try it and you will definitely do it again...mark our words!! You can serve it with any pasta shapes you like, originally my mum used to boil some spirals/cellentani but anything will do. We like penne too as the sauce gets into the pasta...mmmm!! So here goes our version; for the sauce you will need...

• 350ml Passata Rustica (Thick tomato passata)
• 100ml water
• 125g ricotta
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ½ teaspoon dried marjoram
• Pinch peperoncino (chilli flakes) - optional
• Sea sat & freshly ground pepper, to taste

How to...

1. In a small pot, add the garlic to the olive oil and heat gently on a low heat until the garlic is golden.
2. Now carefully add the passata and water and give it a good stir. Add the marjoram, salt & pepper and chilli flakes (if using) and give it a good stir. Simmer covered on medium heat for about 10-15 minutes.
3. Add the ricotta and stir well to incorporate within the tomato sauce. Simmer for a further 5 minutes and turn off the heat.
4. Serve hot with your boiled pasta and add more black pepper.

Enjoy!!

R&A