Tuna and olive pasta

Tuna and olive pasta

Serves 2-3

I eat this at least once a month – usually in the run up to pay day when there’s nothing in the house to eat! If you have any leftover it will sit happily in the fridge until the next day. The sauce is quite punchy with salty olives and capers and a bit of warm heat from the chilli flakes, but you can always leave the chilli out if you are giving it to kids.

125g rigatoni or penne pasta

2 tsp olive oil

1 sprig rosemary (or use ½ tsp dried mixed herbs)

1 garlic clove, squashed

1 stick of celery, finely chopped, reserve a few leaves if there are any

400g tin chopped tomatoes

Seasoning

1 pinch dried chilli flakes

1 small can tuna

6 black olives, sliced

1 tsp capers, rinsed and chopped

3-4 basil leaves (only if you have any)

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp flat leaf parsley, chopped

1 tbsp grated Parmesan, optional

Cook the pasta according to instructions – about 12-14 minutes.

Heat the oil in a sauté pan and add the rosemary , garlic and celery and cook until lightly golden. Then add in the can of tomatoes – be careful as it will probably splutter! – and the chilli flakes and season, but go easy on the salt. Leave to reduce and thicken – about 5 mins.

Flake in the tuna, but don’t break up too much. Then add the olives, capers and tear in the basil if using. Add the balsamic and cook for another minute or two. Fish out the garlic and discard.

Take off the heat and stir in the parsley and any chopped celery leaves.

Drain the pasta and toss in the sauce. Serve with parmesan if you like.

Divine and decadent mushroom and truffle oil tagliatelle

Divine and decadent mushroom and truffle oil tagliatelle

Serves 1

Wow! This is another dish which hardly warrants a ‘recipe’ but it tasted so good  do not let its simplicity deceive you! In fact it is good to keep the ingredients short because it is the truffle oil that does the talking in this dish. The shoddy picture just doesn't do it justice. I suppose a glug of cream would be nice but I didn’t miss it. Be a great dish to double up for serving on a date J

PS I bought the black truffle oil from the BBC Good Food Show. Was £6 for just 100ml but the nice boys that sold it said it was real truffle steeped in mild grapeseed oil and far superior to supermarket oils that just have truffle “flavouring” added to them. Maybe I’m a mug but I was sold on the taste

60g tagliatelle

1 tsp butter

1 field mushroom, finely chopped

Salt and pepper

2 spring onions, chopped

¼ tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary - a bit of parsley would also be nice

1 tsp black truffle oil

1 tbsp grated parmesan

Cook the tagliatelle for 9-10 mins until al dente. Meanwhile heat the butter in a small frying pan and gently fry the mushrooms with some seasoning on a low heat. When beginning to soften and release moisture add the spring onion and rosemary and continue to cook gently for about 4 minutes until the mushrooms are dark and the onions have lost any rawness.

Drain the pasta and tip in with mushrooms, toss together and drizzle over the truffle oil. Place in a bowl and sprinkle over the parmesan and extra pepper if you like. Eat seductively by yourself or with someone also tasty.

Kind of Mediterranean Pasta Bake

Mediterranean Pasta Bake

Serves 1

Leftover turkey and pasta sauce to use up! Pasta bake is a-calling! I tend to go through phases of eating pasta quite a lot and then don't use it again for weeks. No one said I'm normal :)

60g pasta e.g rigatoni

Olive oil

½ turkey or chicken breast, diced

50g smoked bacon lardons

½ clove garlic, chopped

½ stick celery, diced

Few olives, sliced

1 tsp capers

¼ jar tomato and basil pasta sauce

2 tsp parsley, chopped

1 tbsp grated Parmesan

Cook the pasta in boiling salted water for about 15 mins until tender.

Meanwhile fry the turkey or chicken, bacon and celery in frying pan for a few mins until cooked. Add the olives, capers, pasta sauce and parsley and simmer gently for 3-5 mins to heat through.

Mix with the drained pasta and transfer to an oven-proof dish. Sprinkle over cheese and cook under a grill until toasty and bubbling. Eat!

Breaded turkey escalope with rosemary and garlic roast potatoes

Breaded Turkey Escalope with Rosemary and Garlic Roast Potatoes

Serves 1

I had an Italian dinner party at the weekend and decided at the last minute I couldn’t really be bothered to cook! So I bought ready-made breaded escalopes and needless to say they were pretty awful! So this is the made-from-scratch version and not only were they so easy, they were ten times tastier! It was inspired by my favourite dish from Strada.

1 turkey breast fillet

Salt and pepper

1 beaten egg

 Dried breadcrumbs

1 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

2 large-ish new potatoes

1 large garlic clove, halved

Olive oil

1 sprig fresh rosemary, chopped

1 shallot, sliced into half moons and separated out

Few green beans

¼ jar tomato and basil pasta sauce

Preheat oven to 200C. Flatten the turkey fillet a bit and season. Put the beaten egg in a bowl. In another bowl add the dried breadcrumbs and Parmesan. Dip the fillet in the egg and then the breadcrumbs until well coated. Set aside.

Cut the potatoes into chunks and tip into a baking tray with the garlic. Coat in oil and season well. Sprinkle over the rosemary and bake in the oven for 8-10 mins.

Put a bit of oil in a frying pan and sear the turkey fillet until lightly golden on both sides. After the potatoes have had 5 mins transfer the turkey to the baking tray. Cook for another 12-14 mins, turning halfway through. Toss the potatoes halfway and sprinkle over the shallot.

Boil the green bean for 7-8 mins until tender and gently warm the pasta sauce in another pan.

Rest the turkey for a couple of mins and then serve with the roast potatoes and frazzled shallot and  drained beans and  the pasta sauce on the side.

Creamy pesto turkey, asparagus and spinach pasta

Creamy pesto turkey, asparagus and spinach pasta

Serves 1

More asparagus and spinach to use up! This is such a quick and comforting dinner – using just a little cream cheese and adding the pasta water makes a fab low fat sauce. Love it! Sprinkle with parmesan if you have any.

50g rigatoni

Salt

5 asparagus stalks, cut into 2in lengths

Handful spinach

1 tsp oil

1 turkey breast steak, sliced into thin strips

2 cherry tomatoes, quartered

1 tsp pesto

1 tsp cream cheese

Black pepper

Boil the pasta according to instructions in salted water. Add the asparagus for last 4 mins and the spinach just before draining.

Meanwhile heat the oil and fry the turkey breast strips until just cooked – about 2-3 mins. Throw in the cherry tomatoes and add the pesto and cream cheese. Loosen with a few tsp of pasta cooking water until you have sauce. Season with black pepper and then add the drained pasta and vegetables. Toss to coat then serve. Mmmm

Turkey, Asparagus and Baby Vegetable Risotto

Turkey, asparagus and baby vegetable risotto

Serves 1

So, having some of Sunday night’s leftover cooked turkey breast and lovely fresh asparagus to hand, I thought a risotto would be nice. Be careful with the seasoning – I found it didn’t need any salt.

5 stalks young asparagus, thick end trimmed off and set aside

1 tbsp frozen baby broad beans

1 tbsp frozen petit pois

3 spring onions, finely sliced

1 tsp olive oil

Half a garlic clove

50g carnaroli risotto rice

Splash of white wine

1 pint boiling chicken stock – I used fresh from a tub

Two thick slices cooked turkey breast, diced

Half a lemon

1 tsp fresh chopped mint, finely chopped

Parmesan cheese for grating over

Slice the thick ends of asparagus into 0.5 cm rounds. Bring a small pan of water to the boil with a little salt and blanch the sliced asparagus and broad beans for 3 minutes. Then add the peas and asparagus tip and cook for 1 minute more. Drain and refresh under cold tap. Leave to drain. I decided to peel the broad beans as their vibrant green colour inside are more visually appealing, but must admit I didn’t bother doing every single one. It’s up to you.

Gently fry the spring onions in the oil in a wok and add the garlic clove to help flavour the oil with a mere hint of garlic. Once the onions are soft, pick out and discard the garlic and add the risotto rice. Stir to coat in the oil and then add a splash of wine. Bubble away until it is all absorbed.

Then add a little of the stock at a time, stirring continually until it is all absorbed and the rice is almost tender. I think it depends on what brand you use, but mine took about 20-25 mins and it still had a bit of bite. Use some hot water from the kettle if you run out of stock.

Add the turkey and a squeeze of lemon and stir in the mint. Stir to heat through, and add the vegetables. You may need a little bit of water to stock it being too dry at this stage. Taste for seasoning, a bit of pepper is probably all it will need, and then pile into a bowl and scatter over as much parmesan as you like.