Tagliatelle with Leeks and Sausage - Tagliatelle con Porri e Salsiccia

This is one of those great Italian dishes that manages to transform a few humble ingredients into a deliciously satisfying dinner. Apart from the pasta, there are just two main elements, sausages and leeks. Add some garlic and seasoning and a glug or two of olive oil and that's it basically. It's simple, delicious and has universal appeal which makes it perfect for a family meal. It's also pleasingly frugal - one regular sized pack of sausages, along with a few leeks, makes enough pasta for four generous adult servings.

I'm pleased to be able to enter this in Camilla (Fab Food 4 All) and Helen's (Fuss Free Flavours) Credit Crunch Munch challenge, hosted this month by Angela at My Golden Pear.



As this recipe nicely used up my glut of leeks, (grown about 10 miles from my house) I'm also sending it over to Fiona of London Unattached who is hosting the No Waste Food Challenge this month on behalf of Elizabeth, of Elizabeth's Kitchen Diary.



Leeks are at their best at this time of year so I'm sending this over to Ren for her Simple and in Season challenge.



RECIPE

2 tablespoons olive oil
3-4 leeks
1 clove garlic
375g good quality pork chipolata sausages
half a glass white wine
400g tagliatelle or pappardelle

Start by preparing the leeks and sausages. As leeks can be very dirty, I usually slice them in half length ways and then chop them finely. Put them in a colander and wash thoroughly under running water. Drain well. 

For the sausages, remove the skins, break off small amounts of sausage mixture and form into small balls. 

Heat the oil in a large frying pan, add the leeks and cook gently until softened, being careful not to colour them as leeks can turn very bitter if they start to brown. Add the crushed garlic and continue cooking for a minute or two.

Remove the leeks to a plate and add the sausage meatballs to the pan. You don't need to add any extra oil at this point, there will be enough left over from the leeks. Cook for a few minutes over a medium heat until the meatballs are lightly browned all over. Add the leeks to the sausage meatballs in the pan and pour over the wine. Stir everything together and check the seasoning. I usually add a lot of freshly ground pepper as I think it goes really well with leeks.  Continue cooking for about 5 minutes or so until most of the wine has evaporated and the sausages are cooked through.

In the meantime, cook the pasta in a large pan of salted water, as per packet instructions. Near the end of the cooking, take a ladleful of the pasta cooking water and add to the leeks and sausage mixture if you think it looks slightly dry. When the pasta is al dente, drain well and mix with the leeks and sausages. Serve with lots of freshly grated parmesan. 

Hazelnut and Chocolate Shortbread Biscuits

I'm quite a romantic person - I love walking hand in hand along the beach on a balmy, moonlit evening; I nearly always light candles for the dinner table; roses and chocolates are, without fail, enthusiastically received and I'm always pathetically happy when Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy finally get together in the end.

Despite all this however, Valentine's day just doesn't really do it for me. I think it's a combination of the aggressive commercialisation coupled with the forced romance of the day itself. Surely, true romance is a spontaneous thing. I certainly know that when I think of romantic moments in my life, it's the unexpected gestures that come to mind - GL battling through snowdrifts and thorny bushes just to rescue my ski glove that had fallen from the chair lift we had been on (he came back bloodied and bruised but holding the glove triumphantly aloft); getting back from work and finding my room filled with hundreds of daffodils; GL carrying a big, old, heavy television up six flights of stairs (no lift) so that I had something to watch when I was ill.

That said, I don't hate the day and I have to admit to having a weakness for heart-shaped biscuits and chocolates. These ones are chocolatey, light and crisp, with a hint of hazelnut in the background. I had intended to sandwich them with nutella but actually, they are perfect just as they are.


There are several challenges this month that I'm sending this over to.



These definitely fit into the general love theme for February, so I'm sending this off to Dolly Bakes  (this month's host) and LauraLovesCakes for her Calendar Cakes - Oh L'amour.










The theme for this month's Tea Time Treats is chocolate; the challenge is hosted by Karen (this month's host) at Lavender and Lovage and Janie at The Hedgecombers.







I am also submitting these to Lets Cook Sweet Treats for Valentine with Nayna over at Simply Food.

As GL was the main lucky recipient of these, I am also entering it into the Four Seasons Food challenge with Anneli Delicieux (this month's host) and Louisa at Eat Your Veg. The theme this month is Food From The Heart.
                                           

RECIPE

35g blanched hazelnuts

165g butter, room temperature (I use salted but you can use unsalted if you prefer)

110g caster sugar

180g plain flour

20g cocoa

half teaspoon of vanilla extract

Pre-heat the oven to 170°C

Place the hazelnuts on a baking tray and roast in the oven for 8 minutes (use the timer!) and allow to cool. Place the nuts in a food processor and pulse until finely ground.

Either by hand or in a mixer, mix the butter, sugar and vanilla until combined. Sift the flour and cocoa together and then add to the butter mixture. Finally add the ground hazelnuts and mix until the dough comes together. Shape into a rough disk, wrap in clingfilm and chill for about 30 minutes. 

Flour a work surface and roll the dough thinly. Cut out the biscuits with whatever cutter you prefer, then place on a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper. 

Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes (depending on the thickness of the biscuits) and then move to a wire rack to cool.

Mini Vanilla Bundts

I never intended buying any Bundt cake tins, mini or otherwise. Yet I came across one on offer in a shop and frankly couldn't resist, even though the cupboards in my small kitchen are already full to maximum capacity. It has got to the point where I carefully balance pans and trays on the top of the smallest stack I can see and then shut the doors as quickly as possible so that the contents don't come crashing out all over the floor.

Anyway, these were worth it. The cakes were moist and springy inside but with a slightly crisp exterior and the miniature size makes them perfect for individual treats for loved ones.

I'm entering these into a lovely new challenge (for me), Treat Petite, where you can send in any recipe as long as it's mini! A great idea and I look forward to seeing this month's entries for 'Loved Ones'. The challenge creators are Cakeyboi, this month's host and The Baking Explorer.

 
I'm also sending this over to Javelin Warrior's wonderful weekly challenge which encourages everyone to cook from scratch, Made with Love Mondays.



RECIPE

150g plain flour
quarter teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
125g caster sugar
pinch of salt if not using salted butter
80g butter, melted
120ml sour cream
2 eggs
2 teaspoons good vanilla extract or paste

Icing
200g icing sugar

Pre-heat the oven to 170°C

1 mini-Bundt pan, well greased

Start by sifting the flour and bicarb of soda into a bowl. Add the sugar and salt if using and mix. 

In another bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients (melted butter, eggs, sour cream and vanilla). Gently fold in the flour mixture until combined. 

Scoop the mixture in to the Bundt moulds and bake for about 25 mins. 

Remove from the oven. Leave the cakes to cool for about 5 mins before turning them carefully out on to a wire rack to cool completely.

For the top, I just made a very simple water icing with icing sugar and warm water but you can use some vanilla in this if you want to add more flavour.

Panettone Pudding

January is almost at an end. In Italy, these last few days are known as 'i giorni della merla', the days of the blackbird. According to the legend, blackbirds used to be white until a particularly cold snap at the end of January one year forced a blackbird and her young to take shelter from the freezing weather in a chimney. When they emerged at the beginning of February, they were completely black and have remained so ever since. 'I giorni della merla' are thus traditionally the coldest days of the year and surprisingly, it does often seem to be the case. It's been a relatively mild winter so far both here and in northern Italy and yet the forecast for the next few days in both countries warns of plummeting temperatures, ice and snow.

If the 'blackbird days' do deliver again, then this panettone pudding is just what's needed - warm, rich, creamy and comforting, its spicy vanilla scent pervades the whole house as it's cooking and it comes out of the oven beautifully puffed up with a golden top. Perfect for fending off the cold.

I'm entering this into the Tea Time Treats Challenge, with the theme of Eggs, run by Karen of Lavender and Lovage  and new host this month, Janie from The Hedge Combers.




RECIPE - serves 2-4 

100g panettone
200ml double cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon caster sugar

 Pre-heat the oven to 160°C. Grease a small, ovenproof dish with butter.

Roughly cut the panettone into chunks and arrange in the dish. 

Measure the cream and milk in a jug, add the egg and egg yolk, together with the sugar and vanilla and whisk together until combined. 

Pour this over the panettone and leave for about 15 minutes so that the panettone can soak up the creamy liquid. 

Put into the oven and bake for about 35-40 mins until puffed up and golden on top.

Spiced Pumpkin and Chocolate Cupcakes

I am inordinately proud of these squidgy little mounds for a variety of reasons. Firstly, the taste - they're intensely chocolatey and lightly spiced which makes them perfect for this time of year. Secondly, the texture - you think they're going to be quite dense but actually these are celestially light and wonderfully moist. Thirdly, they last really well, indeed they taste even better the day after baking. Finally, they're a cinch to make. Last year I made a chocolate and pumpkin full size cake but made everything from scratch, including the pumpkin puree. Luckily, since then, I've been able to find tinned pumpkin puree in the local supermarket and it not only makes the whole thing so much easier, I actually think it's better because it's not so watery.

Contrary to expectation, I also feel that these little cakes can almost be classed as healthy. That wasn't my intention but as taste has definitely not been compromised, I look on it as an added bonus. There's no butter at all and only a scant amount of sunflower oil. There's a fair bit of sugar I know but come on, these are cakes after all.

In the Italian tradition, these little cakes (or muffins I suppose) are ideal for breakfast and as they're easy to eat (no icing to contend with), perfect for 'breakfast to go', this month's Breakfast Club Challenge, hosted by Utterly Scrummy Food for Families, created by Helen from Fuss Free Flavours.


As these are baked and vegetarian, I'm also entering them into Bake Fest, hosted by Cooks Joy.



They're also off to Family Foodie Challenge, created by Lou at Eat Your Veg and hosted by Vanesther at Bangers and Mash where the theme is lunchbox ideas. I think these would be perfect.

RECIPE

95g plain flour

20g cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking powder

half a teaspoon bicarb of soda

half a teaspoon ground cinnamon

half a teaspoon ground ginger

a pinch of salt

125 ml sunflower oil

2 large eggs

210g pumpkin puree (half a can)

100g granulated sugar

90g light brown sugar

12-bun muffin tin lined with 12 cupcake or muffin papers

 Pre-heat the oven to 180°C

Start by sifting the flour, cocoa, baking powder, bicarb of soda, salt and spices into a bowl.

In another bowl, whisk together all the other ingredients (oil, eggs, pumpkin and sugar). Gently fold in the flour mixture until combined. 

Scoop the mixture in to the cases, filling each case as equally as possible (I use an ice cream scoop for this).

Put in the oven and bake for about 20-25 mins or until a cake tester comes out clean. 

Remove from the oven. Take the cakes out of the tin as soon as you can and leave to cool on a wire rack.

Spaghetti with Tomatoes and Swordfish

For those interested in food and drink, autumn is probably the best time to visit Italy. From Trentino in the north to Sicily in the south, the entire country is filled with festivals and feasting, from September to November. These 'sagre', celebrating fantastic local produce, are usually held over a weekend and the whole town joins in the party atmosphere. The streets are filled with stalls and tables, with everyone cooking and selling typical dishes made with whatever they happen to be celebrating. There's always a glass or two of good wine from the area to accompany the food as well - I mean, you may be eating on the hoof, off paper plates but certain dining rules must be upheld!

If you are visiting Italy in the autumn, it's definitely worth finding out what's going on in the local area as I guarantee you'll be able to find something. There are sagre dedicated to almost everything: some are based around single ingredients such as chestnuts, olive oil, honey, wild boar; others focus on a typical dish like risotto, gnocchi or pesto. One of my favourite is held in September in Asti, Piedmont and it celebrates a variety of local produce so you can try delicious tagliatelle with the famous Alba white truffle, beef braised in Barolo, risotto with porcini... It's a wonderful way of trying excellent food without paying restaurant prices. Another great sagra celebrates the end of the wine harvest in Bardolino on Lake Garda. You pay a few euros at the beginning to buy a glass which you hang around your neck in a specially made box. You then use this glass to sample the different wines from various producers who thoughtfully also prepare some local dishes to accompany the wine. It's all great fun but obviously much better if you can make sure you don't have to drive at the end of the day.

This pasta dish is a recreation of something I tried in the Sagra del Pesce Spada (swordfish), held at the end of August in Gallipoli in Puglia. It's fresh and flavourful from the tomatoes and herbs, with chunks of meaty, succulent swordfish. It's a perfect dish for late summer but I thought I'd sneak it in before the weather gets too cold, using the last of the tomatoes from my parents' greenhouse.

This post is making its way over to the ever popular challenge, Cooking with Herbs. The challenge is created and hosted by Karen from the wonderful Lavender and Lovage.

I'm also sending it to Javelin Warrior's wonderful weekly challenge which encourages everyone to cook from scratch, Made with Love Mondays.

RECIPE
350g spaghetti

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

300g swordfish

1 garlic clove

half a glass dry white wine

250g cherry tomatoes, roughly chopped

a bunch of parsley, chopped

a teaspoon dried thyme

a pinch of dried chilli flakes

salt and freshly ground pepper

Remove any skin from the swordfish with a sharp knife and cut into chunky strips, about 2cm x 1cm. Lightly squash the garlic clove, making sure it stays intact and heat with the olive oil in a large frying pan. When it just starts to colour, discard the garlic and add the swordfish. Fry quickly for 2 minutes, then add the wine and let it evaporate for a minute or so. Add the cherry tomatoes and some salt and pepper and cook together for a further 2-3 minutes. Finally, add the parsley, thyme and chilli flakes.

In the meantime, cook the pasta in salted water according to instructions.

When the pasta is al dente, drain quickly and mix all together with the swordfish sauce.

Halloumi and Roasted Peppers

I suppose I have to face the fact that it's over. Linens and sandals have been relegated to the back of the wardrobe, the tan has faded, suitcases are once again gathering dust in the attic and memories of lazy, sun-filled lunches, sipping rosé, overlooking a startlingly blue Mediterranean have been firmly pushed to the back of my mind. Summer has gone and it doesn't look as though it will be back any time soon. Of course, I love autumn so my mourning won't last long, it's just that it seems to have arrived very quickly, leaving me feeling as though I haven't had a chance to properly say goodbye to summer.

This dish then is my farewell to summertime. It works well as a light lunch or as a starter. The brightly-hued, sweet-tasting peppers seem to retain the warmth of the sun that is sadly lacking at the moment and are a perfect foil for the salty halloumi; the citrussy dressing, fresh with herbs, complements both ingredients perfectly.

Go on, put those flip-flops away but make sure you've got this ready to eat afterwards. It would even go well with a glass of rosé or two...

This post is making its way over to the ever popular challenge, Cooking with Herbs. The challenge is created and hosted by Karen from the wonderful Lavender and Lovage.

I'm also sending it to Javelin Warrior's wonderful weekly challenge which encourages everyone to cook from scratch, Made with Love Mondays.

RECIPE - serves 2 as a light lunch or starter

1 x 250g pack of halloumi
1 red pepper
1 yellow pepper

For the herb dressing
150ml extra virgin olive oil
a large handful of  fresh flatleaf parsley
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 tbsp capers, drained
juice and zest of half a lemon

The dish works best when the peppers and dressing are at room temperature and the halloumi is hot so you can prepare the peppers and dressing in advance and finish the dish by grilling the halloumi just before eating. 

Start by roasting the peppers. Preheat the oven to its maximum temperature and put the peppers in whole, on a greased baking tray. Leave for about 25 mins, turning occasionally. The skins should be blackened and starting to peel away. Remove from the oven and put them in a plastic bag to cool before peeling them and eliminating the seeds and core. Slice each pepper lengthways into quarters or thirds.

For the dressing, start by roughly chopping the parsley and capers. Add to the olive oil along with the oregano, the lemon zest and the lemon juice. Shake (or whisk) everything together well. 

When you're ready to eat, heat a griddle pan until very hot. Drain the halloumi and cut into about 8 slices, brush each slice with a little olive oil and griddle for about 1-2 mins each side, until the cheese is lightly charred and beginning to soften.

Arrange the peppers and halloumi on the plates (making sure each plate has both red and yellow peppers) and spoon over the dressing.

Serve with lots of crusty bread.