Category: Pasta

Already updated: pasta with truffle oil and parmesan

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It was not long ago at all that I declared that the nicest pasta dish is served with butter, truffle oil and parmesan, perfect for a quiet night in. That it is still true. But. It gets even better if said butter is browned butter. You will almost faint while eating this – it is that good!

Pasta with truffle oil, browned butter and parmesan, serves 2

3oo g good tagliatelle

1-2 tbsp browned butter

truffle oil

plenty of grated parmesan

black pepper

Browned butter: Melt butter in a saucepan while whisking until the colour turns brown. Remove from heat and pour through a muslin cloth. Keep in the fridge.

Cook the pasta al dente. Drain in a colander. Pour the pasta back to the pan and add the browned butter. Flavour with truffle oil and plate in bowls. Add plenty of grated parmesan, black pepper and maybe a pinch of salt.

Pasta with truffle oil and parmesan

Published on by Hanna1 Comment

When I went to Partridges last time I found some lovely tagliatelle from my favourite brand De Cecco. For some reason I haven’t found this pasta in regular supermarkets, but I am happy I found it at all.

I cooked it al dente and mixed it with some melted butter both for flavour and for it not to be sticky from the starch. Adding truffle oil and plenty of freshly grated parmesan and some black pepper made this into a fabulous meal. It feels decadent yet it is so simple to make.

As always when going for less is more, good produce is key. Make sure you use good quality pasta, nice parmesan (I prefer Parmiggiano Reggiano) and choose a good truffle oil. I found mine in Partridges as well, and it is more pungent than a supermarket bottle.

Pasta with truffle oil and parmesan, serves 2

3oo g tagliatelle

1 tbsp salted butter

truffle oil

plenty of grated parmesan

black pepper

Cook the pasta al dente. Drain in a colander. In the mean time, melt the butter in the pasta pan. Add the drained pasta and toss. Add truffle oil after taste and toss again. Serve in shallow bowls and add plenty of grated parmesan, black pepper and maybe a pinch of salt.

Pasta with spinach and peanut sauce

Published on by Hanna3 Comments

I thrive on inspiration from other blogs. Isn’t it great what the internet can provide us with?

Last week I found this recipe on a Swedish food blog I follow; Kryddburken [The Spice Jar] – a wonderful pasta recipe with a fabulous sauce made with spinach, peanuts, lemon, garlic and parmesan. It was utterly simple and tasted lovely. I think this will stick to my weekday repertoire.

I adapted the recipe a little (omitted pine nuts and halved it). You find my version below.

Pasta with spinach and peanut sauce, serves 2

Adapted from this recipe.

200 g pasta of your choice

100 g spinach, roughly chopped

50 g salted peanuts

200 ml half and half (half cream, half milk)

1/2 lemon, the juice

75 ml grated parmesan

1 small garlic clove, pressed

1 tsp chilli sauce

butter and oil for frying

salt and black pepper

Cook the pasta accordingly. Chop the nuts with a knife or in a food processor. Add the butter and oil to a frying pan on high heat. Add the spinach and nuts. Cook until the spinach has wilted and the water has dried away. Add the half and half, garlic and lemon juice and let the sauce thicken while stirring. Season.

Remove from the heat after about 5 minutes and stir in the parmesan. Serve with the pasta.

Spinach and aubergine lasagne for one

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Lasagne is a great dish to make if you’re feeding a large number of people, but it can as easily be reduced to just one portion.

One evening last week I found myself with an open packet of fresh lasagne sheets and a bowl of left-over homemade tomato sauce, and of course I thought it would be a good idea to make a lasagne.

The way I make it, without a cheesy bechamel, is a quick and truly delicious approach, and the best way if you’re making a smaller lasagne.

Spinach and aubergine lasagne, serves 1

1 small aubergine

150 g fresh spinach

3 fresh lasagne sheets

100 ml tomato sauce (homemade if possible)

150 ml creme fraiche

100 ml grädde

1 handful grated cheese

salt, pepper

olive oil and a knob of butter for frying

Wash the aubergine and cut it into slices lengthways. Fry these until soft in olive oil on high heat. Put aside. Add the knob of butter to the same pan on medium heat. Add the spinach and stir as it wilts. Add salt and white pepper and drain away the excess water from the spinach. Mix creme fraiche and cream in a bowl. Add salt and pepper.

Spread some tomato sauce in the bottom of a small ovenproof dish (10 x 10 cm approx), cut the lasagne sheet to fit and place it on top of the tomato sauce. Add another layer of tomato sayce, then a layer of aubergine followed by the spinach and then finally the cream mixture and grated cheese. Start again with another lasagne sheet and repeat until the dish is full. Top with a some cream mixture and grated cheese. Place in a 200 C oven for about 30 minutes. Leave to set for a few minutes before serving.

Weekday wonders: pasta bake with broccoli, spring onions and sambal oelek

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Pasta bake. Not a single Brit I have met has had a positive experience from a pasta bake. Bad memories from school dinners, or what is it about?

Where I went to school it was one of the few dishes I could actually enjoy a little. Most lunches consisted of a tiny bit of whatever was on offer, because you had to try it, and crispbread with butter and barbecue spice (classy, I know) to not die from hunger in the afternoon.

I promise you though, that this type of pasta bake is miled apart from school dinners and is not boring at all. It is a super easy weekday supper and instead of making a bèchamel I make a creme fraiche based sauce which I like to hot up a little with chilli sauce or in this case, sambal oelek.

To make this dish even better, choose nice dried pasta instead of the cheap ones on offer. I highly recommende De Cecco, which I always use.

Pasta bake with broccoli, spring onions and sambal oelek, serves 4

500 g De Cecco pasta

375 g broccoli, cut into florets

1/2 bunch spring onions, chopped

300 ml creme fraiche

1,5-2 tbsp sambal oelek

salt, white pepper

about 300 ml grated cheddar

Cook the broccoli florets in salted water for just a minute. Pick them up with a slotted spoon and leave to drain. Add more salt to the boiling water and then add the pasta. Cook for 3 minutes less than it says on the packet. Drain and rinse with hot water to get rid of the starch. 

Heat up the creme friache in a small saucepan and add the sambal oelek, salt and pepper. Add about 1/3 of the cheese and let it melt into the sauce. Mix the sauce and the pasta and pour the mixture into buttered ovenproof dish. Distribute the broccoli, scatter the spring onions on top and then sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. Bake for about 20 minutes in 200C oven.

Delizie alla Romagnola

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I spied this new (for me) type of pasta bake on a Swedish food blog. You take fresh lasagne sheets, add cheese and ham (and possibly courgette as well, which I forgot), roll them up, cut them in half and place them in a gratin dish. Add tomato sauce, bechamel and grated cheese. Really nice and more upscale than your regular pasta bake. And it is great to serve with bread to soak up the sauce.

 Delizie alla Romagnola, serves 2

Adapted from this recipe.

8 fresh lasagne sheets

6 large slices good quality smoked ham

24 slices medium hard cheese, I used cheddar and Emmenthal cheese

50 ml grated cheese (same as above)

Tomat sauce:

400 g passata

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1/2 tso sugar

2 tsp dried Italian herbs

salt, black pepper

Bechamel sauce:

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp plain flour

500 ml milk

grated nutmeg

1 dash of concentrated chicken stock

50 ml grated cheese

salt, white pepper

Place about 3 slices of cheese on each lasagne sheet. Divide the ham between the sheets and put it on top of the cheese. Roll them up from the shortest side. Place the rolls on a flat surface, i.e. a chopping board or plate with a weight on top so the rolls will keep their shape.

Add all the ingredients for the tomato sauce into a sauce pan. Bring to the boil and let it thicken while stirring, for 15 minutes.

Melt the butter for the bechamel in a non stick pan. Add the flour while whisking. Add some of the milk and stir with a whisk. Once the sauce has thickened a little add more milk and repeat this until you have used up all the milk and the sauce is thick. Add the cheese and let it melt. Season to taste with stock concentrate, nutmeg, salt and pepper.

Grease a gratin dish (10x20cm). Cut the lasagne sheet rolls in half and place them with the cut upwards. Pour over the tomato sauce, followed by the bechamel. Sprinkle grated cheese on top and bake in 200C for 15-20 minutes. Serve with bread/garlic bread and a nice salad.

Macaroni and cheese

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When I grew up in the rural countryside in Sweden in the 1980s and 1990s, most series on teve were American. In my youth I watched the likes of Beverly Hills 90210 and Baywatch and grew acustomed to a few American traits. Like eating icecream straight out of a paper tub, when icecream in Sweden only came in a plastic tub or a brick shaped paper carton. Not at all the same as the Ben & Jerry’s you could get in the States. Anyway, I have had plenty of icecream the American way since, and now you can get the American brands of icecream (with the right packaging) in Sweden too.

But there were other foods that seemed just as intriguing. Like a proper burger form a diner or mac ‘n cheese, the ultimate comfort food.

It has taken me until now to make an American version of the mac ‘n cheese, using The Pioneerwoman‘s recipe. And I truly understand now, why this is such a popular dish especially when in need of something comforting.

This recipe contains lots and lots of cheese, but the top layer is the best with the crusty cheese on top. I thought I used a lot of seasoning in this dish, but it needs a little more than you expect.

We ate this with chorizo style sausages

Macaroni and cheese, serves 3

Adapted from The Pioneerwoman’s recipe.

475 ml macaroni (2 cups)

1 beaten egg

4 tbsp butter (1/4 cup)

4 tbsp plain flour (1/4 cup)l

235 ml milk (1 1/4 cup)

1 tsp Colman’s mustard

225 g grated cheese (1/2 lb) for the mixture + extra for the topping

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Cook macaroni until very firm. Drain.

In a small bowl, beat egg.

In a large pot, melt butter and sprinkle in flour. Whisk together over medium-low heat. Cook mixture for five minutes, whisking constantly.

Pour in milk, add mustard, and whisk until smooth. Cook for five minutes until very thick. Reduce heat to low.

Take a few spoonfuls of the sauce and pour it into beaten egg, whisking constantly. Whisk together till smooth.Pour egg mixture into sauce, whisking constantly. Stir until smooth. Add in cheese and stir to melt. Add salt and pepper. Taste sauce and add more salt and seasoned salt as needed.

Pour in drained, cooked macaroni and stir to combine. Pour into a buttered baking dish, top with extra cheese, and bake for 20 to 25 minutes in 200C oven or until bubbly and golden on top.

Chorizo meatball carbonara

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I found this recipe in River Cottage Everyday, one of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s cookcooks.

Pork mince seasoned with paprika and fennel, then shaped into meatballs and together with cream, egg yolks and spaghetti, this is a fab pasta dish. Especially when served with heaps of freshly grated parmesan.

The Swedish way to make meatballs is to add breadcrumbs and an egg to the mixture, which makes the meatballs less compact and juicer, and I think I will apply this next time as these meatballs turned out a bit compact, but the seasoning was spot on.

Chorizo meatballs, makes 15-20

Adapted after Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s recipe.

500 g pork mince

2 tsp sweet smoked paprika

1,5 tsp hot smoked paprika

1-2 garlic cloves, minced

salt

1 tsp fennel seeds

1/8 tsp cayennepepper

30 ml red wine

black pepper

olja for frying

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. This is easily done using your hands or a wooden spoon. Roll into small meatballs. Fry in oil.

Carbonara, serves 2

300 g spaghetti

2 egg yolks

50 ml double cream

parmesan

salt, black pepper

Cook the spaghetti al dente. Drain. Mix egg yolks with cream. Add the pasta, salt and pepper. Serve with the meatballs and parmesan. 

 

Girolle cannelloni

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I found this wonderful recipe on a Swedish blogg called Remsan’s bistro and decided to make it. But being incapable of following orders or recipes, I of course made a few changes. But the essence of the original recipe is still there; the combination of girolles with thyme and cognac.

Try this, pretty please? You will regret it if you don’t…

Girolle cannelloni, serves 2-4

Adapted after Emmy’s recipe.

16 cannelloni tubes, De Cecco

1/2 medium onion, chopped

200 g fresh button mushrooms, diced in small pieces

100 g girolles, diced

200 ml crème fraiche

2 tbsp cognac

2 tbsp fresh thyme (or 1 tsp of the dried variety)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

1 tsp crema di balsamico

200 ml single cream

200 ml crème fraiche

300 ml grated cheese

grated nutmeg

salt, white pepper

Fry the onion soft in butter. Add the mushrooms and fry until golden brown. Add salt and pepper. Add creme fraiche, cognac, stock, balsamico and spices. Simmer for a few minutes.

Fill  the cannelloni tubes with the mushroom mixture and place in a greased gratin dish. Mix cream, creme fraiche, nutmeg, salt and pepper in a bowl. Pour it into the dish and distribute evenly. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake in 20-30 mins in 180-200C. Serve with a nice salad and a glass of wine. 

Spaghetti with girolles, dijon and cognac

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When a friend gives you three tubs of handpicked girolles (by himself) you feel the responsibility. To not disappoint I paired the lovely mushrooms with shallots, dijon mustard, some creme fraiche and cream and some cognac and served it with nice spaghetti (from De Cecco, my favourite pasta brand).

This saue is rather sharp on its own, but perfectly balanced when served with pasta. Feel free to add some black pepper or parmesan when serving, but it is really good without it too.

Spaghetti with girolles, dijon and cognac, serves 2

300 g spaghetti

1 large shallot

ca 100 g fresh or frozen girolles

1 garlic clove

butter, oil

50 ml creme fraiche

100 ml cream

2 tsp dijon

3-4 tbsp cognac

persillade, salt, white pepper

Cook the spaghetti in plenty of salted water according to the instructions on the packet. Chop the shallot and fry in oil and butter until soft. Remove to a bowl. Chop the mushrooms roughly, fry in plenty of butter and oil on high heat for about 5 minutes. Lower the heat and add the pressed garlic. Add also the fried onion. Pour 2-3 tbsp of cognac into the pan and let it bubble away. Add cream, creme fraiche and mustard and let it thicken. If you fancy a stronger cognac taste, add 1-2 tbsp more. Season to taste with salt, white pepper and persillade. Drain the pasta and place in bowls. Top with the sauce and sigh of happiness.