Tag Archives: Pasta

Fideuá – Spanish Seafood noodle dish similar to Paella

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Fideuá, is a Spanish dish very similar to Paella but uses “fideos” which is a tiny pasta (it looks like thin spaghetti cut into one inch pieces), instead of rice.

Fresh fish, squid, prawns, tomatoes, noodles all cooked together in a good home made fish stock.

Fideuá is similar to paella, mostly because it is cooked in a Paellera which is the large pan used for Paellas and Fideuás. You can buy them online, using a regular frying pan will only work if you are cooking for two people at the most, since the rice or the noodles need to be in a thin layer to get the perfect texture.

The best way to cook paella is outside on an open fire. But I make it on the stove all the time, when I’m using my 4 person paella pan. For larger amounts I cook it outside.

Serves : 4
INGREDIENTS:

  • 6 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil (for cooking)
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
  • 400 gr. Cleaned Squid, cut into pieces
  • 400 gr. Firm fish, Halibut, Monkfish , Seabass….
  • 4-8 large Shrimp (optional)
  • 400 gr. Fideos nr. 4, or thin spaghetti broken into one inch pieces
  • ¼ cup canned tomato sauce (tomate frito)
  • 2 tsp. smoked paprika (Pimentón de la vera)
  • A pinch of saffron
  • 4 cups (good quality) fish stock, preferable home made
  • Salt to taste
  • Aioli to serve
  • Lemon wedges to serve
  • Parsley to serve
  • Lot’s of Sangria to serve (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS:

First bring your stock to a simmer and have a ladle ready.
Have your onion chopped, garlic chopped, fish cut into large-ish pieces and squid cut into bite size pieces too.
Everything happens rather quickly so have everything portioned out, a little bowl with your paprika powder, the tomato sauce etc…
Heat the Paellera, (the paella pan) on medium high heat. Add the olive oil, and add the onion and stir for a few minutes until it starts to color slightly, add the garlic and stir for one more minute. Add the squid, and fry for a minute or two, add the fish and stir around carefully for another few minutes.
Now add the paprika powder, stirring all the time but and add the tomato sauce and Saffron.
Now add the the noodles , making sure to coat all of them in the oil and sauce, add about half of the hot stock, adding more as needed. If you need more liquid, add hot water.
Cook on high heat for about 10 minutes, lower the temperature and taste the liquid to see if you need to add more salt. Cook for another ten to fifteen minutes until the noodles are cooked. There should still be some liquid in the pan and the noodles will have stuck to the bottom of the pan in the middle and is considered the best part. Enjoy!
Serve straight away with Aioli and lemon.

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Parpadelle Puttanesca with Lemon Pangrattato and fried Halloumi

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Parpadelle Puttanesca with Lemon Pangrattato and fried Halloumi

This is one of our favourite Summer dishes. It’s easy, quick to make and FULL of flavour. Thick noodles covered in Puttanesca sauce,topped with fried Halloumi and sprinkled with a generous amount of lemony Pangrattato. Most of the ingredients are pantry staples.

Serves 4

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cooking time total: 15 minutes

INGREDIENTS

Pangrattato

  • 1/4 cup  extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 cup  fresh breadcrumbs made from stale bread if you have it, otherwise fresh is fine
  • 2 tbsp. thyme leaves
  • 2 tbsp. chopped parsley
  • Finely grated zest of 1 lemon

Pasta Puttanesca

  • 16 oz. 400g Parpadelle or Fettucine
  • 1/4 c. extra-virgin olive oil
  • 3 cloves garlic, smashed
  • 4 anchovy fillets, chopped
  • 1  (28-oz.) can diced tomatoes
  • 1/2 c. green olives, pitted and sliced
  • 1/4 c. capers
  • 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
  • Kosher salt
  • Chopped parsley, for garnish

INSTRUCTIONS:

To make the pangrattato;
Heat  1/4 cup  oil in a pan to medium heat and cook the breadcrumbs until crisp and golden, about 4 minutes . Remove from pan and stir through the lemon zest, thyme and parsley. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
Start boiling water in a large pot (don’t forget to add a generous amount of salt once boiling) while you make the Puttanesca sauce. Also slice Halloumi and drain on kitchen paper.
Heat a large frying pan and add the 1/4 cup of extra-virgin olive oil, the 3 cloves of smashed garlic, the 4 anchovy fillets, stir for a minute or two until fragrant. Then add the remaining ingredients and simmer for about 5 – 10 minutes until tomatoes are soft.
Heat a non stick frying pan to medium high heat and fry the Halloumi, cooking it on both sides until very golden brown.
Cook the pasta according to package directions.
Drain the pasta, reserving a little of the water, and return the pasta to the pan. Add the Puttanesca tomato sauce, parsley and enough reserved water to loosen and toss to combine.
Place Pasta in a large serving dish, top with Halloumi and sprinkle with  the Pangrattato. Serve straight away.
Enjoy!
Need more pasta inspiration?
Fool Proof Lasagna

Classic Lasagna

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Fool Proof Lasagna

Nothing beats classic lasagna!
And this is the easiest recipe you will ever make. It’s FOOL PROOF ,  anyone can make it even if you have never cooked before. Follow the recipe exactly and you will be super happy with the result. Also, it can be made ahead of time and it’s freezer-friendly!
This recipes does take some time to make and a little bit more effort – but I promise you, it’s worth it. I even double the recipe some times and put one lasagna in the freezer.
The lasagna has layers of classic meat sauce, bechamel and cheese. A.K.A. layers of goodness!
This one of those dishes that tastes even better the very next day! So if you have leftovers, lucky you!

Serves: 6-8

Cooking time: approx. 1 hour

INGREDIENTS:

• 9 fresh lasagna noodles
• 1 pound ground beef
• 4 oz. finely chopped bacon
• 1 onion peeled and diced small
• 3 cloves of garlic, peeled and grated
• Salt and Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 1/2 Cup Pasatta (tomato sauce)
• 1 1/2 tsp. sugar
• 1 tbsp. bouillon powder
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
• 1 C. red wine or water
BECHAMEL:
• 1/2 Cup Butter
• 1/2 Cup Flour
• 1 tsp. salt
• 4 Cups milk
• a grating of nutmeg, about 1/8 tsp.
• 1 bay leaf
ADDITIONAL:
• 3 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella, divided
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

•Fool Proof Lasagna

DIRECTIONS MEAT SAUCE:
• Preheat oven to 350° F / 180° C . Lightly oil a 9×13 baking dish or coat with nonstick spray.
• Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the bacon and fry until it starts releasing a bit of fat, add the ground beef and onion and cook until beef has browned, add the garlic. Cook for about 3-5 minutes, making sure to crumble the beef as it cooks; season with pepper, to taste. Drain off excess fat. Put back on the heat. Stir in the pasatta, bouillon powder and Italian seasoning until well combined. Add the wine or water and let simmer on low heat for about 30 minutes. Taste and add more salt if necessary.
• Remove from heat.

Fool Proof Lasagna

DIRECTIONS BECHAMEL:
1. Heat a large pot with a thick bottom, add the butter and melt.
2. Add the flour and stir with a whisk until well combined.
3. Add the milk slowly, stirring constantly, until very well combined and there are no lumps at all.
4. Add the bay leaf and nutmeg.
5. Simmer for about ten minutes until flour is fully “cooked”
6. Remove from heat.
ASSEMBLE LASAGNA:
1. Spread 1 cup tomato mixture onto the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish; top with 3 lasagna noodles, 1/3 of the bechamel sauce and 1 cup mozzarella cheese. Repeat . Top with remaining noodles, tomato mixture, 1 cup mozzarella cheese and the Parmesan.
2. Place into oven and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until bubbling.
3. Let cool 15 minutes. This is an important step! *
4. Serve, garnished with parsley, if desired.
*Letting the Lasagna rest for 15 minutes will ensure that you can cut beautiful squares or portions.
*MAKE-AHEAD: Cover lasagna tightly with foil. Refrigerate up to 24 hours. Bake for 40 minutes. Uncover; bake for an additional 10-15 minutes, or until completely cooked through and golden on top.
*TO FREEZE UNCOOKED: Cover lasagna tightly with plastic wrap, then aluminum foil. Freeze up to 3 months. To bake, remove plastic wrap, cover with foil and bake for 90 minutes. Uncover; bake for an additional 10-15 minutes, or until completely cooked through.
*COOKED from frozen: sometimes I will make this recipe and divide it into four portions and pack them into foil baking dishes. Then freeze, when I’m in a hurry I will only have to defrost and place on a plate and microwave, and believe me….still really delicious.

Fool Proof Lasagna

red pepper pasta

Roasted Red Pepper and Sun Dried Tomato Fettuccine

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  • red pepper pasta

A quick Pasta dish, made in minutes. So simple and so good, I mean really, really good. The creaminess from the cashew nuts is so much better than any dairy cream I can think of and it’s also highly nutritious and actually good for you. So what’s not to love, it’s delicious, it’s quick, it’s nutritious, it’s pasta! And honestly, picky eaters are not even going to know they’re eating roasted peppers, win win if you ask me.

Ingredients;

  • 1 lb. Fettuccine, preferably fresh
  • ½ Cup sun dried tomatoes
  • 1 Cup cashew nuts
  • 4 whole roasted peppers from a jar
  • ½ Cup dry white wine
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • ¼ Cup Parmesan cheese
  • More Parmesan cheese to serve (leave out for vegans)
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • Handful of Basil
  • Handful of toasted pine nuts to serve
  • About 1 – 1 ½ cups of water to thin the sauce.

red pepper pasta

Instructions;

Soak the sun dried tomatoes in a cup of water for a couple of hours.
And also soak the cashew nuts in a cup of water for a couple of hours.
You can do this the night before or early in the morning.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta according to package directions.
Meanwhile place in a blender; drained sun dried tomatoes, drained cashew nuts, the roasted peppers, the Parmesan cheese, the garlic, white wine, about ½ cup of water to begin with and salt and pepper to taste.
Blend until creamy. Adding just enough water to get it creamy.
When the pasta is cooked al dente, drain and reserve a cup of the boiling water.
Return the pasta to the pan straight away and pour over the roasted red pepper sauce, adding enough of the water from the cooking to make it saucy.
Serve immediately with more Parmesan Cheese, toasted pine nuts and Basil.

Enjoy!

Myra Xo

red pepper pasta