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

Shiitake Mushroom & Asparagus Risotto

"Well, that was worth the lifetime wait" That is what I said as soon as I finished my last spoonful of this risotto. The reason behind that saying was the fact that I never had a proper risotto before and also I had never cooked one before yesterday. For some strange reason I never felt confident enough to cook a risotto, always thinking that I'm going to mess it up. But hey, as they say, I nailed it!! I was browsing as usual and found this recipe which I adapted to our own taste. The recipe says to use dry white wine but we used a good Spanish dry sherry, which has the same colour and dryness as white wine but a fruitier crisper taste, in my opinion, but if you do not have it feel free to use a dry white wine. This recipe is completely vegetarian as well. I actually found out that the secret to the perfect risotto is patience, in fact you have stir calmly for nearly 20 minutes but do not be put off by this, it is certainly worth the effort. So here it goes, for 4 people you will need...

• 1.5 litres boiling water
• 2 vegetable stock pots (or cubes)
• 250g (1 ½ cups) Arborio rice
• 150g asparagus, ends discarded and chopped into 3 pieces
• 60g dried Shiitake mushrooms, soaked in boiling water for about an hour
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 120ml (½ cup) Spanish dry Sherry
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 60g (½ cup/½ stick) butter
• 50g grated Parmigiano Reggiano

How to...

1. In a pan add the boiling water and vegetable stock pots. Bring to the boil and throw in the asparagus and simmer for 4 minutes. Take out of the stock and put into ice cold water to stop the cooking process completely. Drain and set aside.
2. Now prepare the mushrooms. Start by discarding the steams and slicing the mushroom caps thinly. Heat the olive oil in a small pan and add the mushrooms, sauté for 5 minutes stirring frequently. Set aside. 
3. In a large heavy based frying pan or pan (I prefer a frying pan because it spreads the heat evenly during cooking) heat up half the butter and add the onion and cook covered on medium to low heat until soft and transparent. When onion is cooked, increase the heat to medium, add the rice and cook, stirring frequently for about a minute. 
4. Now add the sherry and simmer whilst stirring until it is absorbed, this will only take about a minute. Now add a cup of the vegetable stock whilst constantly stirring until all stock has been absorbed by the rice, this takes about 2 minutes.
5. From now on, keep adding the remaining stock ½ cup at a time, always adding the next one when the previous one has been completely absorbed by the rice. Keep doing this until you used all the stock or until rice is looking creamy. It is very important that you keep stirring the rice constantly to ensure an even absorption. This will take about 20 minutes. 
6. When done, take off the heat, stir in slowly the remaining butter and half the cheese. Now stir in carefully the cooked asparagus and Shiitake mushrooms. Serve immediately with extra grated Parmigiano.

Enjoy!!

R&A

Creamy Chicken & Venison Sausage Pasta Bake

I came up with the idea for this delicious pasta bake while I was driving back home from work. I stopped at the supermarket and found this dried, cured venison sausage and used it in our bake. If you cannot find anything similar, either replace it with any other dried cured sausage like chorizo, salami or even bacon. You can pre-grill the chicken breast well in advance and keep cool until you use it. For the creamy part I just prepared a quick béchamel sauce which is very easy and quick to prepare. The chicken, sausage, pasta and creamy sauce make this dish a very filling one indeed and can easily be classified as comfort food. To be honest once preparation of the ingredients is complete, it is all a question of mixing it all together. Give it a go to impress your family and friends. You will need...

• 100g dried cured venison sausage, sliced
• 500g grilled chicken breast, diced
• 100g sweetcorn
• 75g frozen peas, defrosted
• 75g button mushrooms
• Salt & pepper
• 300g penne
• 75g grated extra mature cheddar
• 4 teaspoons grated kefalotiri
• 1 beaten egg
• Ground hot paprika

For the béchamel sauce...

• 45g butter
• 45g flour
• 500ml whole milk
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley

How to...

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C.
2. Start by cooking the pasta al dente, about 11 to 12 minutes. Drain and rinse the pasta with cold water, toss slightly and set aside.
3. Cook the mushrooms in a small pan with a tablespoon of olive oil covered for about 5 minutes until soft.
4. Now, prepare the béchamel sauce, by melting the butter, add the flour and stir until the mixture turns golden brown. Add 200ml of the milk and stir well until the butter/flour mixture is dissolved in the milk and no lumps are present. Now add the rest of the milk and stir constantly until the sauce thickens, then take off the heat and stir in the parsley.
5. In a large mixing bowl, add the pasta (if the cold pasta is in one lump, just pour some boiling water on it and you are good to go), béchamel sauce, beaten egg, the cooked mushrooms, diced cooked chicken breast, sliced sausage, peas, sweetcorn and cheeses. Give it a good stir but be careful not to break the pasta. Tip into a greased oven dish, sprinkle with the hot paprika and bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes. Leave to stand for 10 minutes and serve warm.

Enjoy!!

R&A

Chicken & Mushrooms in a Creamy Sauce

I want to share with you this recipe that reminds me of my brother Stephen, reason being that when he was a little kid he used to lick the plate empty, nearly eating also the bones. He absolutely loves this recipe and is one of our favourites as a family. My mother used to do this a lot, it is one of the brilliant recipes from a 1970's recipe book written by the great Marguerite Patten which was/still is an inspiration to hundreds of thousands of cooks around the world from Mediterranean housewives (my mother) to world renowned chefs like Jamie Oliver. Simple home-made food, that is what Marguerite Patten was all about! The peas and sweetcorn add texture to this creamy chicken dish. My favourite part of this dish (apart from eating it) is getting a chicken and jointing it into pieces but obviously feel free to use thighs, breast or whole legs even to prepare it. Give it a go and you will do it again. You can serve it with crusty bread (that's what we did) or even mashed or roast potatoes. For about 4 people you will need...

• 3 large chicken breast, cut into large chunks
• 4 tablespoons flour
• salt & pepper
• 300g white mushrooms, sliced
• 1 can sweetcorn
• 100g frozen peas, defrosted
• 250ml whole milk
• 250ml water
• 2 tablespoons dry sherry
• Vegetable oil, for frying

How to...

1. Start by tossing the chicken pieces in 2 tablespoons of flour seasoned with salt & pepper. Shake off any excess flour.
2. Heat the oil in a large heavy based frying pan and fry the chicken pieces turning frequently until nearly cooked and brown. This will take about 20 minutes.
3. Take the cooked chicken pieces out and put on a plate with paper towel.
4. Add some more oil and cook the mushrooms, covered for about 2 minutes.
5. Now add the cooked chicken, peas and sweetcorn. Add the sherry and stir well.
6. In a measuring jug, mix the milk with the water and the remaining 2 tablespoons of flour. Mix well to avoid any lumps and this mixture to the mushrooms, chicken and simmer whilst stirring until the mushroom sauce thicken to your desired consistency.
7. Season with salt & pepper. Serve hot with potatoes & salad.

Enjoy!!
R&A

#Ramandalicious

Broccoli & Stilton Soup

This soup is the wife's favourite and to be honest broccoli were never one of my favourite vegetables but as I grow older it is definitely becoming one of my favourites. The better quality Stilton cheese the better soup you get but if you do not find Stilton you can use you Danish Blue cheese. Get the best broccoli you can get, greenest and freshest ones possible. It is quite easy to prepare. You can serve it with buttered crusty bread, grated Parmesan cheese or a dollop of cream. For 6 to 8 servings you will need...

• 1kg broccoli, flowers separated and stalks peeled and chopped
• 200g Stilton cheese, cut into cubes
• 1 large onion, chopped
• Knob of butter
• 250ml whole milk
• 3 tbsp flour
• 2 litres of water
• 2 vegetable Knorr stock pots or cubes
• Salt & pepper to taste
• Crusty bread, to serve

How to...

1. Melt the butter and fry the onion until soft and transparent.
2. Add the broccoli, water and stock cubes and cook on a medium heat until the broccoli are tender stirring occasionally. When broccoli are tender add the cheese and stir again
3. In a small separate pan put the milk and flour and slowly bring to the boil stirring all the time vigorously until you get a thickened sauce. When it boils remove from the heat and add the broccoli mixture. Give it a good stir.
4. Turn off the heat and leave it to cool down a bit.
5. Blend the soup with a hand-held blender or into a standing blender in batches and serve with some buttered crusty bread.

Enjoy!!
R&A

Pumpkin & Courgette Lasagna

These delicious lasagne are made as the title obviously says with pumpkin and zucchine. Unfortunately during Halloween, pumpkins in the UK are just used for carving and the flesh discarded, which is a pity as they can be used in various recipes, from savoury to sweet. Here in the UK they mostly use the butternut squash which is similar to pumpkin. Well luckily, that said it was a very big advantage for us as we bought two massive pumpkins for just £1 each, chopped them into chunks and froze them in freezer bags as by the way they only appear during Halloween over here. Back to the lasagne, this is prepared with layers of grilled zucchine, sliced mozzarella, single cream and delicious pumpkin and bacon purée. The most time consuming procedure of this recipe is preparing and grilling the zucchine, which you can always prepare in advance if you like. If you do not have or you cannot find pumpkin you can do this with butternut squash. Also, if you want some delicious vegetarian lasagne just leave the bacon part out! If you omit the cream, the lasagne will end up very dry so do use it, you can use light cream or even milk thickened with flour instead. Anyhow here are the ingredients that you will need...

• 4 large zucchine/courgettes, sliced lengthwise
• 1.5 kg pumpkin, cut into large pieces
• 3 mozzarella balls [375g], sliced
• 100g streaky bacon, chopped into small pieces (optional)
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 150ml single cream
• 250g lasagne sheets
• Pinch ground nutmeg
• Salt & pepper, to taste
• Olive oil

How to...

1. Firstly prepare the zucchine. Start by brushing them with olive oil, then grill them until soft. [The thinner you slice them, the quicker they will cook]. When done put them on a plate with kitchen roll and set them aside.
2. Next fry the onion in 2 tbsp of olive oil until soft and transparent. When the onion is done, add the bacon and the garlic and cook until the bacon is golden. Set aside.
3. Preheat the oven to 220°C. Put the pumpkin in a large oven tray skin side up, add a small glass of water. Bake in the hot oven for about 30 minutes. When cooked, carefully peel the skin off or scoop the flesh with a teaspoon.
4. Next put the cooked pumpkin together with the onion/bacon mixture in a blender, add some olive oil and the nutmeg, season well with salt & pepper and blend until you get a smooth purée.
5. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
6. Now it is time to start layering the lasagne. Start by pouring some cream, then some pumpkin mixture, then lasagne sheets, then another layer of pumpkin purée, sliced zucchine, mozzarella slices, then start all over again and continue until you have used all of the ingredients. Be careful not to press the lasagne sheets too much, just put them loosely.
7. When done, put in the hot oven and bake until the top is brown and bubbly. Around 30 to 45 minutes.

Enjoy!!!!

R&A

Penne Parnassus

This pasta dish is another of our own creations. It got its name from the movie The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. We were watching this great movie whilst chomping on a wonderful plate of this dish. It is a very tasty sauce and quite filling as well. The honey gives this sauce its sweetness whilst the bacon balances the palate by providing the necessary saltiness. Also, as cooked chicken, I roasted 4 small drumsticks, took the meat off the bone and diced the chicken meat. It gave the dish  an added delicious roast chicken flavour, but you can easily used chicken breast. These ingredients are for 3-4 people, again depending on how big your portions are. Feel free to adapt adequately. Hope you will try it and enjoy it!

• 300g penne
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 200g diced cooked chicken breast
• 100g bacon, cut into small pieces
• 100ml single cream
• ½ teaspoon dried sage
• 200ml chicken or vegetable stock (I used a Knorr stock pot)
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Ground black pepper, to taste
• Grated Parmesan or Kefalotiri cheese, to serve

How to...

1. Start by roasting the chicken drumsticks. Preheat the oven to 200°C. Put them in an oven dish with a griddle in it and season with ground black pepper. Roast the chicken pieces for 30 minutes, leave to cool and dice the meat. If using chicken breast, grill the split the chicken breast until golden on both sides and then chop into small dice. Set aside.
2. Fry the onion in the oil until transparent and soft. Add the bacon and cook until brown and crispy.
3. Add the chicken to the bacon and stir well.
4. Add the pepper, sage and 2 tbsp of honey. Stir fry for a couple of minutes.
5. Add the stock and reduce the stock on a high heat.
6. In the meantime cook the pasta.
7. When the stock is reduced, add the cream. Stir well and heat slowly on low heat, make sure you do not boil the cream.
8. Mix the sauce with the cooked pasta and sprinkle with the grated parmesan or Kefalotiri cheese.

Enjoy!!
R&A