Biltong, Mushroom & White wine cream sauce pasta

LET'S COOK!!

I have been such a fan of Masterchef lately, watching every possible series of every possible country I could lay my hands on, with this my husband and I decided to do a Masterchef cook off with things we had in the house.  I decided to do a Biltong, Mushroom & White wine creams sauce pasta and he decided to make a Cheese, Garlic & Ginger filled Rump steak.  I personally think I won the challenge as his was great tasting but mine was just so much better....(hehehehe)

 

Now you don't necessarily have to use Biltong (South African Dried Spiced meat) you can use Bacon or even Panchetta, which ever you fancy, or leave out the meat completely for a vegetarian meal.  I added cashew nuts to the plate at the very end, and wow, it was a great feature....try it trust me.

It's really plain and simple to make.


So here we go:

Ingredients

Printable Version

250g of Biltong (Bacon, Panchetta or even chicken)
1 x Punnet of Mushrooms
1 x small onion - chopped
Butter
1 to 2 tubs of cream (373ml)
125ml to 200ml white wine (I used a sweet wine)
1/2 packet of spaghetti or any pasta you want to use
Cashew nuts (a handful)
Garlic
Herbs
Salt
Flour (to thicken the sauce)


How to:

1. In a big pan melt the butter and then add your chopped onions in and saute until it's a nice golden brown.
2. If your adding bacon or any other meat add it in now, and cook until they are nice and crispy.  if you are using Biltong only add it in later.
3. Now to add the mushrooms, in this recipe I only halved them, it's a tasty way to eat fork-fulls of mushrooms...yum.  Don't let the mushrooms cook to long before continuing on with the saucy part of this recipe, we don't want the mushrooms to be soggy.
4. Add your 1 or 2 tubs of cream, I love a lot of sauce so I added both tubs.  Keep stirring and then add your wine gradually.  Turn the heat down and keep mixing. 
5. Add some garlic, herbs & a very little salt at this stage.  I sometimes scoop some of the sauce out into a small glass and then add 2 or 3 table spoons full of flour.  Mix the paste with your sauce and keep stirring. The reason why we add the flour outside of the pan is not to make any lumps.
6. When your sauce is completely finished you can add the Biltong, that's if you are adding Biltong.  Now set the sauce aside.

1. Boil the water for the pasta and add a about a tablespoon of salt to the water, when it's boiling add the pasta and let it cook.  The salt in the water make a huge difference to the taste of the pasta.  That is why we should had to much salt to our sauce.  And you should always cook your pasta at the end, so that they don't stick together.

And then you are ready to dish up, don't mix the two together rather dish them in the plate separately, add the cashew nuts and sprinkle a bit of  Parmesan cheese over to finish it off. 

Enjoy and let the taste move you.

Macaroni & Cheese

I love pasta, I truly do, I could most probably eat it every night for dinner...There are so many ways to cook it.  So here is another nice & easy recipe, very quick to make and once you pop it into the oven you can sit back and relax.  My family loves this one, and what's nice about it is if you don't have certain ingredients then you can leave them out. 

Food is all about flavour and enjoyment, making food always puts me in a good mood, and i try not to cook if i don't feel like it...Food should be a pleasure...so enjoy it.

So what do you need:

Macaroni

(I used a bit of a bigger macaroni, but also if you don't have use and other pasta except for spaghetti.)

Onion (chopped)

Oil

3 Eggs

500ml milk

250ml cheese (but if you don't have that much throw in what you have, the more cheese the yummier)

5ml mustard powder

Salt

herbs

1/ 2 Tomatoes

Extras:

Bacon or Ham

1.  Firstly you start by chopping up your onion and then drizzle your pan with some oil, now saute (meaning to cook food in a little bit of oil) onion until golden brown.

2.  Cook your pasta in boiling water, add some oil, this is so that the pasta doesn't stick together.

3.  While the pasta is cooking away, then we can continue with the onion, now add some bacon or ham bits, and cook until nice and brown. I don't really add any flavouring here, but salt and pepper is always nice.

4.  Now let's start on the sauce....Mix you eggs, milk, mustard powder, cheese and spice together.  Mix it very well.  In the picture below you will notice i used two eggs, that is because my eggs actually counts as four eggs, they have two egg yolks in.  You might need some more sauce, it all depends on how much you are cooking, so just keep adding 1 egg and 250ml milk for every time you increase.

5. When your pasta is ready strain the water away.  Now take your glass counter (oven proof) and now only fill it halve way as to make a layer of pasta. 

6.  Now add your bacon, I sometimes mix the bacon and the pasta together, so that there is a nice consistency of pasta and meat.  I also sometime mix in more cheese, I love cheese.  But in this case i made a layer pasta and then a layer bacon, then make a layer tomato slices and sprinkle some cheese.

7.  Now cover it with the rest of the pasta, and then place a couple of tomato slices on top, now pour over your sauce, yes your container might be to small as you can see mine was, but try to get in all the sauce.  Then you can put it into the oven at 180C for about 30 to 40 minutes, keep looking into it every 15 minutes, until all the egg mixture as become solid.

When it's ready take it out and you can serve it with a green salad or some spicy beetroot...this can be a very filling meal but also nice and light for the summer.

Enjoy

Alfredo Pasta

I Love Pasta...yes I think i have said it before...I Love Pasta...To me it is the most comforting food you can make...ok ok pasta and ice cream.  It is also one of the quickest meals to cook for dinner...I think I might be an Italian inside...This recipe is an favourite of mine, it is really easy and tasty too. 

So here we go:

What would you need

Spaghetti/ Fettuccine
Cream
Bacon or Ham
Mushrooms
Onions

1.  Start cooking the pasta, boil water in a pot, i usually pour some oil in with the water (this is so that the pasta doesn't stick to each other)...Then put in your pasta...

2.  Chop your onion and sprinkle oil in a pan and fry up your onions so that they are golden brown, as in the picture below.

3.  When your onions are golden brown then go ahead and add your bacon..I also added some cheese grillers when the bacon was nice and crispy.  When it's all nice and cooked add your mushrooms. 

4.  When your pasta is cooked you can strain it from the water.  Pour the pasta into a bowl and sprinkle some cheese over it..I love Aromat so I also sprinkle some aromat over the pasta and the cheese.  And then you can add all the other ingredients except for the cream.

5.  Lastly take your cream a pour it into the same sauce pan you used to cook the bacon into...this is so that the cream can pick up the flavour of the bacon..  Bring the cream to boil and let it simmer, just for a couple of minutes.  I sometimes add some flour just so to thicken the sauce.  Add some Parmesan cheese and walla your done...Pour over the pasta and enjoy.

Enjoy with a nice green salad...let the flavours transport you...

Panneloni (Twist on Canneloni)

This recipe is one of my husbands favourite, it happend quite by accident that I made it this way.  It is a twist on the Italian favourite Canneloni, I didn't have the original pasta noodles so I had to improvice and it worked out so well and so tasty.  We served it with some homemade garlic bread and a fresh garden salad. 

This recipe is exctremely filling and works very well when serving a lot of people...just one warning....don't attempt the recipe is you don't have lots of time, because it does take a lot of effort with all of the preparation and the ingredients....well enjoy.

So here we go:

Printable Version

What would you need

Since I have blogged about three of the magor parts of this recipe I have added the links....they are in the order that you might want to make them and prepare before you can start with the method as I will explain now.

1.  Pancake recipe
2.  Mince recipe
3.  White sauce recipe

and now the assembly method:

1.  Take your pancake and add a good dollop of mince and then roll the pancake until you can't see the mince anymore.

2.  Now take some tomato sauce pour it at the bottom of your oven dish and spread it nice and evenly, then pour some white sauce over the tomato sauce....That is your first layer.  Now you can start putting the filled pancakes on top of the white sauce....start fitting pancakes next to each other and make a layer.

3.  When you have completed one layer pour over some white sauce and then some tomato sauce...

4.  Sprinkle some grated cheese over the tomato sauce and then start making another layer with the filled pancakes.  Depending on your oven dishes it will also depend on how many layers you have..

5.  After you have completed you last layer then cover the pancakes with white sauce and sprinkle some cheese on the top.

6.  Place in the oven at 180C and have the cheese melt and brown.

Enjoy and serve with a fresh green salad & garlic bread.

Quicky Tuna Pasta

So it's Sataurday afternoon and you are in the mood for something quick & easy...with no fuss...Well this is such a lovely meal, it's also light and you can serve it with a nice green salad if you have unexpected guests that arrive.  I love pasta so i could eat this all the time....with tuna as an added bonus.


So here we go:


What do you need:

In this recipe you will notice i used a whole bag of pasta and because of that i used two cans of tuna, but it's up to you, i like a lot of tuna.

Printable Version

Mayonnaise

Tuna

Pasta

Oil

Cheese

1.  Put your pot on stove and drizzle some oil in the water...this is to help the pasta not stick to each other.  And when the water comes to a boil add the pasta and then lower the heat...

2.  As you can see below the pasta is ready, it has doubled in size, you can now strain it from the water and place it in a nice oven proof bowl.

3.  After you've placed the pasta in the bowl, sprinkle over cheese, the tuna and then mayonnaise, as you can see i have put in a lot of mayonnaise, i prefer a lot of mayonnaise and cheese...

4.  Mix them all together well, sprinkle some more cheese over it and place in the oven until the cheese is melted....if your really really hungry forget about the oven and melt the cheese in the microwave and eat....

Let the taste transport you...

Pasta Bolognaise

I love pasta, i could eat it everyday...i truely love it..so i thought i would put up one of my favourite dinners that i make almost every week.  It is quick and easy, i make it in about 30 minutes.  If you have a lot of people over and don't know what to make that is easy and doesn't hurt your pocket...this is it. 


So here we go:


You need the following:


Bag of pasta
500g to a 1kg mince (it all depends on how meaty you want it)
1 x onion chopped

1 x can chopped tomato

1 x sachet tomato paste

oil

1. On your stove top heat some water a litre per pasta bag, pour some oil in the water (this helps that the pasta does not stick to each other) 

2.  When the water is boiling add the pasta and stir.

  

3.  After about 15 minutes the pasta should be ready, you will notice that the pasta has almost double in size, and the water is much much less. 

4.  Strain the pasta from all the water, some people run water over the pasta, but i don't think it's really needed. 

5.  And then into a bowl.

 Now it's time for the meat...you of course don't have to make it seperate, it's quicker to cook it together. 

1.  So first you chop up your onion and then fry it in a little bit of oil...cook it until it's golden brown.

2.  Then you can add the mince, cook it until its nice and brown, add your seasoning...of course my favourite is beef spice, soja sauce and aromat, and salt & pepper.  

 3.  After its brown add your can of chopped tomato & tomato paste and let it simmer.

4.  And then it's done, pour it over the pasta and then sprinkle some cheese over. 

Enjoy the taste and dinner.