Roasted Tomato and Goat's Cheese Pasta

I'll admit, it's taken me a while to come around, but his persistance has finally come to fruition. At first I was put off by his earthiness, and musky smell. It reminded me of the unwashed, and I had no desire for that to take up residence on my dinner plate. But then, with a little convincing, I encountered his sweeter side, the side you can only experience when you let him roll around your tongue. And with that I was hooked - my love affair with goat's cheese had begun!

Roasted Tomato and Goat's Cheese pasta

1 packet small pasta of your choice
1 punnet cherry tomatoes, quartered
1/2 red onion, cut into wedges and separated
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 good pinch dried oregano
1 roasted red capsicum, cut into strips

100 grams marinated goat's cheese


1 - Preheat oven to 200 C. Place the cherry tomatoes, olive oil, red onion and oregano in a lined baking dish, and roast for 25 - 30 minutes.

2 - Meanwhile, cook pasta according to packet instructions, or until al dente. Drain well.

3 - Combine the pasta, roasted veg, capsicum strips and mix well. Serve onto plates, then top with goat's cheese. Serve with a crunchy green salad.

Zucchini and Feta Fritters with Corn Salsa

I love this corn salsa - it's such a healthy, fresh taste, and the lime really gives it a nice Creole kinda kick!

Zucchini and Feta Fritters with Corn Salsa

Fritters

1 zucchini, grated
1 cup self-raising flour, sifted
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon dried chilli flakes (or more to taste)
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon coriander
100 grams feta cheese, crumbled


1 - Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl with a fork, so that no flour lumps remain.

2 - Heat a fry pan over a medium high heat. Drop a soup spoon's worth of batter into the pan, then spread them out a bit to flattened them. Cook for 2ish minutes, or until you see the bubbles begin to form, then flip them over and cook for another couple of minutes. Remover, then cover to keep warm until all the batter is gone.


Corn Salsa

2 ripe tomatoes, core removed and roughly diced
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
1 can corn kernals, drained well
juice of one lime
1 teaspooon of the best olive oil you possess
coriander leaves, to serve

1 - Add all the ingredients together, and mix well, so the juice intermingle. Just before serving, top with coriander leaves.

Roasted Vegetable Risotto

Comfort food at it's best, this one. And with four vegetables, you've almost hit your '5 a day' quota in one go - huzzah!

Roasted vegetable risotto

1/2 small pumpkin, cut into smallish squares
3 Roma tomatoes, cut into quarters
1 zucchini, grated
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, finely diced
1.5 litres vegetable stock or water
2 cups arborio rice
Parmesan cheese, to serve


1 - Heat oven to 200 C. Place the pumpkin and tomatoes in a roasted pan, toss with a little olive oil, then season with salt and pepper. Roast for 30ish minutes, or until tender. Set aside.

2 - Meanwhile, heat the stock until it is simmering. In another saucepan (a large one), heat the olive oil. When hot, add the onion and cook until golden and tender. Add the rice and let it cook for a couple of minutes, or until the rice becomes translucent.

3 - Add the stock one ladleful at a time, letting the rice absorb it before adding more. Continue in this way until almost all of the stock is used up, and the rice is almost al dente. Add the zucchini alongside the rest of the stock, and finish the cooking.

4 - Stir in the pumpkin and tomato carefully (you don't want to squish the veggies too much), then serve topped with parmesan if desired.

Ravioli with Butter Tomato Sauce

This is what's known around our place as the 'end of week cheat'. You're kinda cooking (as in your make the sauce) but you're also making your own life easy by using some pre-prepared filled pasta. And at the end of a long week, there's no shame in that!

Ravioli with Butter Tomato Sauce

1 packet ravioli of choice (we used pumpkin and almond, and it was gooooooood!)
800 gram tin crushed tomatoes
100 grams butter
1 onion, peeled and cut into quarters
Parmesan cheese, to serve

1 - Put the tomato, butter and onion into a saucepan, and cook over a medium heat for 20 minutes or so, mixing well.

2 - Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to packet directions. Drain well, then serve with sauce on top. Sprinkle of parmesan, if desired.

Sundried Tomato Pesto Pasta

You really, really cannot beat the old pasta-and-pesto combo. It's quick, flavoursome and perfect for a mid-week meal. And if you chuck some roasted veggies into the mix, then it becomes healthy with a minimum of fuss. Bwahahahah!

Sundried Tomato Pesto Pasta with Roasted Sweet Potatoes

1 largish sweet potato, peeled and cut into 2cm dice
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 quantity of fettucine
1 small jar of Sundried Tomato Pesto

1 - Preheat the oven to 200 C. Place the sweet potato in a roasting dish, and toss with the olive oil. Roast for 30 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes are tender.

2 - Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to the packet directions, or until al dente. Drain, then place back in the pan.

3 - Toss as much pesto as you fancy in with the pasta, alongside the sweet potatoes. Mix thoroughly, then serve with a nice green salad.

No-cook tacos

I was so tired the other night. Truly, the last thing I wanted to do was cook. Where was Jeeves when you needed him? But, alas, wishing on an imaginary Jeeves won't put dinner on the table. I gave a sigh of resignation, and took stock of my fridge and cupboards. I found a crisp cucumber, an avocado that really needed to be used, some new season cherry tomates and a pack of taco shells. A half smile began to play on my face. "Whoa-ho-ho!", I thought. "I may not cook tonight, but I can certainly come up with the goods for dinner!"

And thus the no-cook taco was born.

No-Cook Tacos


2 taco shells per person
400 gram tin red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 avocado, diced
1 Lebanese cucumber, diced
100 grams cherry tomatoes, quartered
Juice of one lime
100 grams tasty cheese, grated
1 small tub sour cream

1 - In a bowl, mix together the beans, avocado, cucumber, tomatoes and lime juice. Set aside for 15 minutes or so, to allow the flavours to mingle.

2 - When ready, quickly heat the tacos in a hot oven as per the packet directions. Stuff each taco with the bean mix, then top with cheese and sour cream and dig in!

Vegetarian Enchiladas

I was poking around in my cupboard the other day, and found a jar of enchilada sauce. Although I had absolutely no recollection of buying it, I wasn't about to let that stop me using it! Usually I like to make everything from scratch, but I wasn't about to look a Mexican gift horse in the mouth. So I kept poking around and discovered some tortillas, some beans and a few rubbery carrots in the frige. Perfect! So here we have enchiladas, Leisl-style: completely off the cuff, but damn good nonetheless.

Vegetarian Enchiladas

800 gram tin crushed tomatoes

400 gram tin red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 teaspoon chilli flakes
1 carrot, peeled and grated
1 zucchini, grated
4 flour tortillas
1 small jar hot enchilada sauce
100 grams grated tasty cheese
3 large handfuls salad leaves
1 Lebanese cucumber, roughly diced
50 grams feta cheese, crumbled
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 - Heat a large pan over a medium hot heat. Add the tomatoes, beans, chilli flakes, carrot, zucchini and 1/2 a cup of water to the pan, and bring to the boil.

2 - Reduce heat to low, and simmer for 15 minutes or so, until the mixture is nice and thick.

3 - Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200 C. Lay each tortilla on a flat surface, and spread with some of the filling. Roll up the tortilla, and place snugly in a baking dish. Repeat with other 3 tortillas.

4 - Pour the enchilada sauce over the top of the rolled tortillas, then top with the tasty cheese. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes, or until cheese is golden and bubbling. Set aside for a couple of mintues to cool before serving.

5 - Put the lettuce and cucumber in a bowl together. Mix together the oil, vinegar and mustard in a small bowl, then pour over the salad. Serve with the enchiladas.

Vegetable Quesadillas

I have no idea how authentic these babies are, but man, do they taste good!

Vegetable Quesadillas

2 red capsicums
1 zucchini, thinly sliced
2 handfuls baby spinach leaves, washed well
1/4 pumpkin, peeled and sliced thinly
2 tomatoes, sliced
200 grams grated tasty cheese
2 flour tortillas per person
Olive oil, to grease

1 - Preheat the oven to 220 C. Cut each capsicum into quarters, and remove the inner core and seeds. Place the capsicum pieces on a baking tray lined with baking paper, and lightly grease each with a smidge of olive oil. Roast in the oven for 20ish minutes, or until the skin is bubbling and starting to blacken, then remove and place in a plastic bag.

2 - Once the capsicums have cooled down, remove them from the bag, and remove the skin (putting them in the bag whilst hot lets the steam work it's magic on the skin, making it far easier to remove). Slice up roughly.

3 - Meanwhile, turn the oven down to 200 C. Place the pumpkin slices on a baking tray lined with paper, and roast for 15 - 20 minutes, until tender.

4 - Heat a chargrill pan over a medium high heat, and grill the zucchini slices for 3 minutes on each side, or until the pan leaves grill marks.

5 - Heat either a flat non-stick pan or a sandwhich maker, and brush with oil. Place each tortilla on a flat surface. Place some spinach leaves on the tortilla, then top with the capsicum, pumpkin, zucchini, tomatoes and cheese. Place the other tortilla on top, then cook on the sandwhich maker/pan for 2 minutes, or until the cheese has melted. Cut into quarters, then serve.

Spinach, tomato and potato dhal with honey roasted pumpkin

I love this dhal - it's so satisfying, and warm, with just a hint of heat. The tomatoes give it a lovely fresh flavour, stopping it from becoming too heavy, a common dhal problem. And you really can't go wrong with honey roasted pumpkin.

Spinach, tomato and potato dhal

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 brown onion, diced
6 salad potatoes, washed well and quartered
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon tumeric
1 teaspoon coriander
1/2 cup Persian red lentils (I used the Mount Zero brand, which are magnificent, and hold their shape when cooked. If you can't find these, used Puy lentils)
2 1/2 cups water
3 tomatoes, skinned and deseeded, and diced
2 large handfuls spinach leaves, washed well and stems removed

1 - Heat the oil over a medium heat in a large saucepan, and add the onion. Cook for 5 minutes, or until tender and golden. Add the spices, and cook for a minute more.

2 - Add the potatoes, lentils and water, and bring to the boil. Turn heat down and simmer, covered, for 35 - 40 minutes, or until the potatoes and lentils are just tender, stirring frequently.

3 - Add the tomatoes, and cook for 5 minutes more.

4 - Add the spinach, and stir in until wilted. Serve.

Honey roasted pumpkin

500 grams pumpkin, peeled and sliced into thin wedges
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/3 cup pepitas, toasted
2 tablespoons honey


1 - Preheat the oven to 200 C. Place the pumpkin in a baking dish, and toss with the oil. Roast for 30 - 35 minutes, or until tender and just beginning to caramelise.

2 - Remove from oven and drizzle with the honey. Roast in oven for 5 minutes more.

3 - Place the pumpkin on serving dish, and scatter with pepitas. Serve.

Nachos

Sometimes, at the end of a very, very, very long week, it would be so easy to dial a pizza. But you know what it's like on a Friday - every other person in the world has done the same thing, so your quick meal becomes a grumpy two hour wait at the front door, cursing their inefficiency loudly the whole time, resulting in other family members hiding in the bedroom so they too don't incur your wrath (What do you mean that never happens at your place? Geez, I must get grumpier than I suspected!).

So save yourself the trouble, and bang this together. It's even got beans in it - that makes it healthy, right?!

Nachos

1 pack unflavoured corn chips
800 gram tin crushed tomatoes
400 gram tin red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 teaspoon chilli flakes
100 grams tasty cheese, grated

1 - Preheat oven to 200 C.

2 - In a large non-stick pan, combine the tomatoes, beans and chilli, and bring to the boil. Turn down to a simmer, and cook for 10 minutes, or until the mixture is nice and thick.

3 - Scatter the chips into a large baking dish, then pile the bean mixture evenly on top. Top with cheese, then bake for 10 - 15 minutes, or until the cheese is golden and bubbling. Serve, with a smug smile!

Penne with Pea Pesto and Roasted Cherry Tomato Salad

Such a crap photo! Sorry - we had guests over for dinner, and I was too busy gasbagging and slurping wine to fuss around with the photo, bwahahah!

My mum used to say, as she handed out our dinner, "Plate's hot, but the din-din's gorgeous!" So, to paraphrase very badly, "Photo's ghastly, but the food's delish!"

Penne with Pea Pesto

300 grams frozen peas
3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1/2 cup pine nuts
100 grams parmesan cheese, grated
Finely grated rind of one lemon
Juice of one lemon
1/3 cup olive oil
5oo grams penne

1 - Cook pasta in a large pot of lighly salted water according to packet instructions, or until pasta is al dente. Drain.

2 - Meanwhile, cook the peas in a pot of boiling water for 3 minutes. Drain, then let cool (as you don't want to crack your food processor by processing hot stuff. Trust me, I've learnt from bitter experience).

3 - Put the peas, garlic, parmesan, pine nuts and lemon rind in the food processor. Blitz until smoothish, then add the combined olive oil and lemon juice whilst the motor is running. Blitz for 20 seconds, then turn motor off.

4 - Add the pesto mixture to the warm penne and serve immediately!

Roasted Cherry Tomato Salad

15 ripe cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 clove garlic, finely diced
1 pinch dried oregano
1 tablespoon olive oil
100 grams feta, roughly crumbled

1 - Preheat oven to 180 C. Place cherry tomatoes, olive oil, garlic and oregano in a smallish roasting pan, and toss to combine.

2 - Roast for 15 - 20 minutes, or until the tomatoes are puffy and oozing. Arrange on a platter, sprinkly with the feta, and serve.

Pumpkin and Sesame Dip followed by Savoury Bread Puddings

Bit of a double-whammy tonight, as it was our 8 year anniversary (hooray for us!), so I thought I'd go a bit all out! We had Pumpkin and Sesame Dip to start, followed by the Savoury Bread Puddings with a green salad. For dessert we had Blood Orange Jelly and Vanilla Panna Cotta trifles. If anybody would like the recipe for that, just leave a comment, although be warmed - although it's easy enough to make, it does take a few hours.


Pumpkin and Sesame Dip
1/2 Jap pumpkin, peeled and chopped into 4 cm pieces
1/2 teaspoon olive oil
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
Bread of choice, to serve

1 - Preheat the oven to 200 C. Place the pumpkin, tossed in the olive oil, in a roasting pan, then bake in oven for 1/2 hour, or until the pumpkin is cooked through.

2 - Wait for pumpkin to cook, then puree with the sesame oil and 1/2 the seeds. Place in a bowl and top with remaining seeds, and serve with bread.

Savoury Bread Puddings


This is a pretty nifty way of using up that sad loaf of bread that is just about starting to think about moving into mouldy territory. Potential penicillin sources aside, it's also a nice dinner party dish - who doesn't like getting their own individual dish to eat out of? Yeah, yeah, so it's not quite as impressive as a souffle, but it sure is a heck of a lot easier, and you can pretty much pile in any vegetable you like - although for harder vegetables, like carrots, I would recommend steaming them until tender first, like I've done with the sweet potato here. It's also quite handy as you can prepare it ahead of time - just refrigerate after covering with plastic wrap. Bring back to room temperature before baking in oven, though, so your cooking ware doesn't crack.

2 tablespoons olive oil, to grease
9 slices wholemeal bread, crusts removed, and each slice cut into quarters
1/2 bunch silverbeet, stems trimmed and leaves well washed and roughly chopped
1 small sweet potato, peeled and diced, and steamed until tender
100 grams sun-dried tomatoes strips, drained of oil
100 grams hard feta, chopped roughly
6 eggs
250 ml (1 cup) cream
250 ml (1 cup) milk
100 grams parmesan cheese, grated
Freshly ground pepper

1 - Preheat the oven to 180 C. Line a large baking tray with non-stick paper, and grease 6 1 cup ramekins with the olive oil.

2 - Over a low heat, saute the silverbeet leaves in a large pan with a little saucepan until the leaves have wilted. Let cool, then squeeze the liquid from the leaves.

3 - Place two triangles of bread at the bottom of each ramekin, then 4 triangles around the sides. Divide the feta, silverbeet, sun-dried tomatoes and sweet potatoes among the ramekins.

4 - Beat together the eggs, cream, milk and pepper to taste in a large jug. Add the parmesan, then pour this mixture among the ramekins. Set aside for 20 minutes so the bread can absorb the mixture.

5 - Arrange the ramekins on the baking tray, then cook for 35 minutes, or until the puddings are puffed, golden and set. Let sit for a few minutes before serving with a green salad.

Moroccan style potato stew

This is my take on Madhur Jaffrey's Moroccan Potato Stew, featured in her book World Vegetarian. Her's is a nice gentle stew, but if you've been reading this blog for a while, you've probably realised that I just simply cannot help myself: I must add a fiery chilli kick to pretty much everything! I also added some more tomatoes than the original recipe called for, just to give the dish a bit more depth.

As a side note, if you only buy one vegetarian recipe book in your entire life, you really wouldn't go too far wrong with this one. With over 600 recipes to choose from, covering almost every cuisine you can think of (and quite a few you probably couldn't), it really is a fabulous resource when it comes to cooking authentic, interesting and tasty ethnic vegetarian meals.

Right, enough babbling. The recipe:

Moroccan style Potato Stew

2 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 onion, finely diced (save the rest for tomorrow night's meal)
2 Roma tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced roughly (see here for an easy way to peel a tomato)
500 grams salad style potatoes (I used the waxy Red Desiree variety), washed well and diced
1/2 teaspoon tumeric
1/2 teeaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes
500 mls (2 cups) water

1 - Heat the olive oil over a medium low heat, and cook the onion for five minutes, or until tender and golden. Add the chilli flakes and cook for another minute (this allows the chilli to release it's heat).

2 - Add the remaining ingredients, and combine well. Bring the stew to the boil, then simmer, covered, for 20 minutes, or until the pototatoes are tender (but not falling apart).

3 - Mush up a couple of the potatoes to thicken up the sauce, and then serve.

Rosemary and Chickpea Pasta

This is a meal for Friday nights, when you head is aching, your feet are tired, and your belly has been rumbling since four in the afternoon. So settle down with a large serving of this, and a favourite magazine and enjoy the weekend!

Rosemary and Chickpea Pasta

2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 onion, finely diced
800 gram tin crushed tomatoes
400 gram tin chickpeas
1 carrot, peeled and grated
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, finely chopped
500 grams penne
freshly ground pepper

1 - Cook the penne in a large saucepan of salted water according to the time on the packet, or until the pasta is al dente. Drain.

2 - Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a saucepan over a medium low heat. Saute the onion gently until golden and tender.

3 - Add the tomatoes, grated carrot and rosemary, and bring to the boil. Turn the heat down and simmer until the sauce is nice and thick.

4 - Add the chickpea and lots of freshly ground pepper, and cook for another 5 minutes. Remove half the sauce and puree it. Add the puree back into the pan with the rest of the sauce, heat through and then serve over the penne.

Green salad

2 handfuls mixed lettuce leaves
1 ripe avocado, diced
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard

Put the lettuce and avocado into a bowl. Mix the oil, vinegar and mustard together in a small cup, then pour over the salad. Toss to combine, then serve immediately.

Chickpea and Sweet Potato Curry

This was one of those: Hmm, what the heck shall we have for dinner tonight. Better open up the cupboard and see what's hiding in there. Oh great - sweet mother of nothing. Hang on - I spy a sweet potato! And there's an old capsicum in the fridge, right next to that handful of spinach that I forgot to put into my sandwhich yesterday. I'm pretty sure I've got a can of chickpeas in the pantry. That's it - dinner is served!"

1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into 2cm squares
1 red capsicum, roughly chopped
1 onion, diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 or 2 handfuls of spinach leaves, washed well
1 800g tin crushed tomatoes
2 tablespoons hot curry powder
400g chickpeas, drained and rinsed well
coriander, to serve
cooked brown rice, to serve

1 - Steam the sweet potato in a steamer until just tender. Remove.

2 - Heat the olive oil in a large pan over a medium heat. Saute the onion until golden, then add the red capsicum, garlic and curry powder. Stir and cook for a minute or two.

3 - Add the tomatoes and chickpeas, bring to the boil then simmer for 10 minutes. Add the sweet potatoes and spinach, and carefully simmer until the spinach has wilted. Be careful not to moosh the sweet potatoes too much! Add coriander to taste, then serve over the brown rice.

Beany Quesadillas

This is perfect Friday night fare. It's relatively quick, full of goodness and is so delish, what with the squirt of lime juice and the dip of sour cream, that I was practically licking the plate afterwards! And if you decide to pair it with a Corona or four (hey, sometimes those work weeks can be absolute slogs), then so much the better. Loosen the tie or kick off the heels, crack open the beer and enjoy!

Beany Quesadillas

800g tin of crushed tomatoes

1 onion, finely diced

1 tablespoon olive oil

410g tin of red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes

1 cup grated cheddar

2 flour tortillas per person

300g sour cream

1 lime, quartered

coriander, to taste

1 - Heat the oil in a large fry pan. Saute the onion until golden, then add the garlic and chilli flakes and cook for another minute or so more, or until everything smells yummy and spicy.

2 - Add the kidney beans and cook for a minute. Add the tomatoes, bring to the boil, then simmer for 10 minutes, or until the mixture is a lovely thick goop. Leave to cool a smidge.

3 - Heat up a sandwhich press, dropping and smearing some olive oil on the surface. Place a tortilla on the press, spreading a good dollop of the bean mix onto the torilla, then top with cheese and coriander. Place the other tortilla on top of the first, then grill in the press for a minute or so, or until nice and crisp.

4 - Transfer the tortilla to a plate using a spatula, then cut into quarters. To serve, squirt over some lime juice and dip into the sour cream as you take each bite. Good, huh?!

Chilli and tomato risotto

Eek! No picture today, so please accept my deepest apologies. I had a sick friend over for dinner, and was so busy ministering to her needs by making this fabulously comforting risotto (I tells ya, all that chilli is great for clearing out the sinuses!) that I completely forgot the whole 'take a pic of my dinner' thing. Oops.

Chilli and tomato risotto

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 cups arborio rice
1 litre vegetable stock or water
800 gram tin of crushed tomatoes
1 tablespoon dried chilli flakes (or less if you don't like a big whopping chilli hit)
100 grams mild Taleggio cheese (or something similar)

1 - Heat the stock or water in a saucepan until boiling. Turn down to a simmer.

2 - Meanwhile, heat the oil and then gently saute the onion until golden. Add the arborio rice and chilli flakes and cook in the oil and onion mixture for a minute or two.

3 - Begin adding a ladleful of stock to the rice. Stir well, until all the stock is absorbed.

4 - Next, add a ladleful of the crushed tomatoes. Stir well, until all the tomato juice is absorbed. Alternate between the stock and the tomatoes, stirring continually, until both are finished or the rice is al dente.

5 - Serve in nice deep bowls, and top with some chunks of taleggio cheese, which will melt beautifully into the risotto. Blow nose at regular intervals.