Easy Weeknight Puttanesca

Is anyone else still feeling a little bit lazy post Christmas and wishing they'd done a little more lying around and a little less doing "stuff"? The return to work has definitely been a shock to the system for me and I'm lacking any kind of energy in the evening to cook. 

The temptation to order pizza is growing greater but with this date night standard pasta recipe, you'll be glad that you got.off the sofa. Plus you won't have those greasy cardboard boxes to deal with.

Fresh Pasta with Puttanesca Sauce

This recipe is sans olives. I would recommend including a handful of chopped black olives at the end.

Serves 2

Ingredients:
Fresh Pasta (type and amount is to your discretion)
2 cloves of Garlic, crushed
5 fresh Plum Tomatoes, chopped into chunks
1 tin of Plum Tomatoes
100ml Red Wine (I recommend a Sangiovese)
5 tinned Anchovies, finely chopped
1tbsp Capers, finely chopped
1 Shallot, finely chopped
A Hunk of Butter
1tsp Dried Oregano
Salt and Pepper to taste

Method

Heat a saucepan, add your hunk of butter, crushed garlic, anchovies, capers and oregano. Stir for a few minutes until the mixture gains colour.

Add your shallots and fresh tomato and turn down the heat. You want to sweat these until soft in the already fragrant mixture.

When the shallots and tomatoes have softened, add the red wine and increase the heat. You want to boil off the alcohol content aggressively for a minute or so.

Now add your tin of Plum tomatoes and simmer for ten minutes until you've got a luscious, thick ragu-like sauce. Add any salt and pepper at the end of the cooking process.

I served mine with a fresh garden salad (dressed with olive oil), garlic ciabatta.... and the rest of that Sangiovese!

River Cafe Risotto Milanese

Risotto is one of those dishes that I have always struggled with. The same could be said for rice in general. It seems to be my downfall. Last year I tried a Sausage, Red Wine and Broad Bean Risotto, which was the most successful that I'd been but it was far from traditional. It was time to take it back to basics and learn from the best. Recently having purchased the original River Cafe Cook Book from a charity shop, we have been working our way through Italian classics. I am now in love with the idea of spending a summer in Italy, exploring different pizzas, pastas and wine and pottering round on a Vespa in a white sundress. Finally, I have discovered why risotto is so often raved about. The Risotto alla Milanese is a rich, creamy and satisfying dish and although it does take a lot of love and attention to achieve, the finished result is well worth the effort.  

Risotto alla Milanese 

from The River Cafe Cook Book

Serves 6-8

Ingredients
300g Arborio or Carnaroli Rice
1 litre Chicken Stock
150g Butter
2 tbsp Olive Oil
1 White Onion, peeled and finely chopped
75ml Dry White Wine
175g Parmesan, freshly grated

Method

Heat the chicken stock. 

Melt 75g of the butter and all the oil in a large saucepan. 

Gently fry the onion until soft. 

Add the rice, and off the heat, stir until the rice becomes totally coated; this takes only a minute. 

Return to the heat, add 1 cup of hot stock and simmer, stirring, until the rice has absorbed nearly all the liquid. 

Add the saffron. 

Continue to add more stock as the previous addition is absorbed. 

Nearly all the stock will have been absorbed by the rice; each grain should have a creamy coating and yet still be al dente. 

Add remaining butter in small pieces, the wine and the parmesan, being careful not to overstir. 

Chorizo Carbonara

So, it's been a little while since I've blogged. This is totally unacceptable, but I've been having an extremely busy august. Firstly Rob and I moved into our own bijoux love nest in South West London. We've been enjoying access to butchers, fishmongers and cheeseries and the amount of greenery. Having my own kitchen is a complete blessing and we've been experimenting with different recipes nearly every night.

As well as sorting out flat admin, my mother's impending wedding is approaching at an alarming rate.  Last weekend we enjoyed a great hen do - baileys, boats and feather boas all featuring!

You may remember the foodie pen pals project that I wrote about last month. I really enjoyed creating my box this month, but due to unforeseen courier issues I still haven't received my box. Apologies for the delay in this, I will be posting as soon as I receive my anxiously awaited parcel.

Luckily amongst the crazy month that was August, we encountered a bank holiday and I found the time to set up a  post. Bank holidays are made for relaxing and eating deliciously rich fayre. This time, after a long National Trust walk, we tried a Chorizo Carbonara. I've never had a good carbonara before, only the gloopy microwaved versions. Rob tells me I am missing out greatly, and after trying this version, I will be ordering a carbonara on our next visit to an Italian.

This recipe comes from Hugh Fearnley's River Cottage Everyday. It's fantastically quick and requires minimal effort with maximum tasty gain.

Chorizo Carbonara

Ingredients:

Enough spaghetti for 2 hungry people

1 tbsp olive oil

175g Diced chorizo

2 large egg yolks

100ml double cream

Salt and Pepper to season

In a jug, beat together your egg yolks and cream and season with pepper and a smidgen of salt. Put to one side.

Bring a pan of salted water to the boil and add the spaghetti. Cook to your preference (I would suggest an al dente texture).

While the pasta is cooking, heat the oil in a frying pan or skillet. Add your diced chorizo and cook until golden and crispy.

Drain your pasta and add it to the chorizo pan. Pour in your cream/egg mixture and whisk together, taking the pan of the heat. Serve immediately! There's no need to worry about ensuring the egg is cooked, the heat from the pasta/meat will cook it.

Sausage, Red Wine and Broad Bean Risotto

Continuing the Foodie Pen Pal theme, after my delicious 'Broad Bean, Beetroot, Pea and Ricotta Ciabattas', I still had more broad beans to use up. Alongside these was a jar of Soffrito paste, a creation unknown to me before now that I was given by Paula of 'All About the Bake' fame in my parcel. She had told me that she uses it as a base for risotto. I've never been a particularly big fan of risotto and my one previous attempt to master the tricky dish was nothing short of a disaster. But I'd had time to think over our disagreement and had decided that I, Georgie, would be queen of the risottos. 

This is an adaption of a Waitrose recipe.

Sausage, Red Wine and Broad Bean Risotto

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp olive oil
• 6 Extra Lean Italian Pork Sausages
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 red onion, chopped
• A good handful of fresh Broad Beans
• 1 jar of Soffrito Paste
• 250g Riso Gallo Carnaroli Risotto Rice
• ½ pack fresh rosemary
• 100ml Italian red wine (e.g. Chianti, Montepulciano or Sangiovese)
• 500ml Boullion
• 1 tbsp freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, to serve
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a large pan and cook the sausages completely. Remove and put to one side.  
2. Add the onion to the oil in the pan and cook until the onion has softened.
3. Add the garlic, broad beans and soffrito paste and saute for 2 minutes.
4. Stir in the rice and rosemary and let the rice crisp slightly.
5. Add the wine and blast with a high heat until all of the liquid has disappeared.
6. Pour in the stock and cook until the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is soft.
7. Chop the sausages up into smaller chunks and add to the risotto. 
8. Season with salt and pepper.
9. Divide the risotto between 2 plates and sprinkle with Parmigiano-Reggiano and freshly ground black pepper. Serve with a peppery rocket salad.