My favourite Spanish inspired pasta

When I opened my fridge this evening the ingredients just jumped out at me and the inspiration hit! I love love love Chorizo sausage with its Smokey flavors it goes well with anything, from calamari to chicken to just plain on its own with beautiful freshly baked bread and farm style cheese. But tonight I wanted pasta and I so I added the chorizo some of my cupboard staples like tomatoes, garlic and chili and it was fabulous and easy. Give it a try or make up your own combination and tell us about it...

Chicken and Chorizo Pasta

Ingredients: (Serves 3)

• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 Spanish red onion
• Olive oil
• Chorizo sausage (sliced)
• Handful of Rosa tomatoes
• 1 tin of chopped tomatoes
• 3 chicken breasts (sliced)
• Chili (to taste, I used dried chili flakes but fresh is also good)
• Paprika
• Pasta of your choice
• Sugar, salt and pepper

 

Ingredients

 Method:

1. Place a medium saucepan on a medium heat, and chop the onion and crush the garlic.
2. At the same time place a pot of salted water on the stove for the pasta.
3. Heat some olive oil in the pan and add the garlic, and onions.
4. When the onions have browned slightly add the chorizo (the chorizo will flavor and colour the oil and infused the dish with Smokey flavors)
5. Let the chorizo crisp its oils.
6. Then add the chicken and cook through.
7. When the chicken has browned add the fresh tomato and let them blister and cook releasing their juices.
8. Then add the tinned tomato, and flavor with the chili, paprika, salt and pepper. (Don’t forget to add some sugar, just a small teaspoon, to normalise the acidity of the tomato)
9. Then when your pasta is cooked, add the drained pasta to the sauce and serve

Ready to enjoy

Served with Wild Rocket

 

Home-Made Chicken Pie

It was my turn to make dinner for my family tonight and I felt like something warm and delicious but at the same time was quick and simple as I didn't have a lot of time. So I came across this recipe and decided to give it a try.

Roast Chicken and Mushroom Pie

Ingredients

• 2 onions (diced)
• 50g butter
• 400g portabellini mushrooms (halved)
• 8 fresh sage leaves
• 4 garlic cloves (crushed)
• ¾ cup white wine (optional)
• 500ml chicken stock
• 1 cooked free – range rotisserie chicken (shredded)
• 1 cup cream
• 2 – 4 teaspoons corn flour
• Puff pastry
• 1 egg for the egg wash
• Salt, pepper and seasoning to taste (I used some chili flakes and some mustard powder for heat)

Ingredients

 Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees centigrade.
2. In a saucepan over a medium heat, fry the onions in the butter for 5 minutes. Increase the heat and add the mushrooms, sage and garlic then fry for 10 minutes.
3. Add the wine, stirring for 2 minutes, before adding the stock.
4. Simmer for 15minutes or until thickened then add the chicken, cream (I used reduced fat cream) and corn flour, 1 teaspoon at a time until thickened to your liking.
5. Simmer for a further 5 minutes, then season to taste.
6. Spoon onto a large ovenproof pie dish.
7. Cut out the pastry and put onto of the chicken mixture. I made two decorative leave and a simple boarder for fun.
8. Remember that everything that you put on as decoration must be washed with egg too.
9. Brush the pie with the beaten egg and bake for 15 to 20 minutes until golden and crisp.



Mmmmmm...



This would also be really sweet as mini individual pies instead of one big one.

Quick and Easy Smoked Chicken Pasta

This pasta recipe is a firm favourite with every one who tries it. My dad had it in a restaurant in London many years ago and when he came home he said he had to make up his own version. This pasta is affectionately known as "Peter's Perfect Pasta". Its our go to pasta when ever I'm having lots of friends over. Its super quick simple and absolutely delish!!! I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Peter's Perfect Pasta

Ingredients: Serves 4

• 500g Penne Pasta
• 8 spring onions
• 5 rounds of feta cheese
• 3 smoked chicken breasts
• 100g flaked almonds (lightly toasted)
• Juice and zest of 1 un-waxed lemon
• Olive oil

Ingredients

 Method:

1. Bring a pot of salted water to the boil.
2. Slice the smoked chicken, toast the almonds, crumble the feta cheese, finely chop the spring onions and zest the lemons.
3. When the water is boiling add the pasta and cook as per instructions.
4. When the pasta is cooked drain it in a collinder and put it into a big bowl.
5. Toss in the lemon zest and few squeezes of the juice and a few glugs of extra virgin olive oil with the pasta.
6. Add the chicken, feta, spring onions and lastly the almonds.
7. Then toss together and enjoy with good company.

Delishhhh...

This recipe serves four easily with enough left over’s for lunch the next day.

Simple Chicken Pad Thai

So last night it was my turn to make dinner so I decided to make a quick and easy meal for my family. I love Thai food and am always looking for something different and fun to try, with the Woolworths Pad Thai Noodles it makes this meal so easy and is ready within minutes!

Simple translated Pad Thai means "Thai style fried noodles". I had some chicken in the fridge so i used that but you can also use prawns or even tofu. The vegetables are only limited by your imagination any combination will be delish. I used my favourite veggie of the moment Tenderstem Broccoli and some frozen corn i found in my freezer.

Here's the recipe:

Chicken Pad Thai

Ingredients: (Serves 2 to 3)

• 2 tablespoons of Sesame oil
• 3 chicken breasts
• 1 clove of garlic (crushed)
• 1 teaspoon of ginger
• Handfull of broccoli
• 1/2 cup of corn
• 400g Pad Thai Noodles
• 2 tablespoons of Indonesian Sweet Soya sauce
• 125ml of Oyster sauce
• Fresh coriander and crushed roasted peanuts to serve



Ingredients

Method:

1. Heat the oil in a large wok.
2. Add the sliced chicken breasts and stir fry for 3 minutes.
3. Add the crushed garlic and the ginger and stir fry for a further 1 minute.
4. Add 1 handful of broccoli and  the corn (or your choice of vegatables) and stir fry for a further 2 minutes.
5. Add the noodles and mix through 2 tablespoons of Indonesian Sweet Soya sauce and 125ml of Oyster sauce.
6. Stir fry for a further 2 minutes until the noodles are heated through and serve with fresh coriander and a handful of roasted crushed peanuts.

Mmmmm...

  





Left over chicken? What I did with mine:

So we had left over chicken from Sunday's roast and I wasn't interested in eating the same thing for dinner on Monday night, so I decided to make it into something else along with the mushrooms we had lying in the fridge... At first I thought a pie would be nice, but then I didn't feel like that either, I then thought maybe a lasagne, but couldn't find a recipe that tickled my tastebuds... so I opted to make a pasta sauce from my head, to add to some pasta, as time too was limited.

It was quick to make and delicious to eat.
Heres what I used:

Creamy tomato, chicken and mushroom pasta:

Ingredients:

• 1 packet of Penne Pasta
• 200g cooked, boneless chicken diced
• 1 tin of chopped tomatoes
• 100ml water
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed and put into 20ml olive oil
• 15ml coriander, chopped
• 100g mushrooms, chopped
• 125ml cream
• salt
• pepper
• chilli flakes (optional)



Ingredients (Excluding the water, salt, pepper and chilli flakes)



Method:

Boil a pot filled with water and a pinch of salt. Once the water is boiling add the pasta for +/- 8mins

Put the onion and garlic oil and chopped coriander into a medium sized saucepan on a medium heat and fry until the onions are soft and glassy.

Add the mushrooms and continue to fry until mushrooms have shrunken and are browning.

Add the chicken.

Add the tinned tomatoes and water and allow to simmer for 5 minutes.

Add the cream

Season with salt, pepper and chilli flakes if desired

Serve on the pasta and garnish with some grated parmesan and a few coriander leaves

Bon Appetit!