Creamy Sausage Penne

Yes, I know. I have been awful with posting this past month. I have to say, though, my excuse is fairly legitimate; I have been job hunting and trying to settle Missy into childcare. Both of them hard work, especially with a munchkin that is going through a bit of separation anxiety - poor thing!

I have been pretty active in the kitchen - I even made some more bread - and I have even been taking some pictures. I just haven't had any time to type or upload anything. Hopefully I ll get a bit better again soon! We have had some pretty nice meals too - including a lovely cauliflower puree with pan fried scallops. Yum! This recipe is a little easier on the wallet, however. You can buy any good quality pork sausage for this, just make sure that the flavourings in the sausage actually work with pasta and cream! I just bought some simple Gloucester Old Spot sausages.

Serves 2

250g penne
2-3 good quality pork sausages
1 onion
dried chili flakes or 1 whole fresh chili, chopped
half a glass of white wine
1 tsp of tomato paste
150ml double cream
a few leaves of fresh basil
olive oil
pepper
Grated Parmesan

Chop the onion into thin slivers and fry off lightly in a little olive oil. Once softened put the heat up and add the sausage meat - removed from the skin. Break up the sausage meat in the pan and brown it off. In the meantime, boil the pasta. Once the meat has browned add the chili and the white wine. Once the wine has reduced by half, add the tomato paste. Cook for 2-3 minutes and then add the cream. Cook until the pasta is ready. Finally add the torn basil leaves, a good grind of pepper and the pasta. Stir and serve with a little grated Parmesan.

Smoked Trout Salad with Horseradish Dressing

I haven't posted for ages and I do apologise! I don't really have an excuse, other than the fact that I seem to be cooking lots of the same at the moment (weather is very confusing too!), so I don't have much new to write about. I could have had something great to write about last week; I went to the Hand and Flowers with my husband for dinner. 3 days after it was awarded its 2nd Michelin Star! But I forgot my camera and I didn't feel it would be fair of me to write about something that I couldn't show you images of. All I will say is that the food was amazing and we will be going again very soon, I hope!

In any case, this salad is really tasty, filling and fresh. I first made it 5 years ago and have adjusted it over time. It is no Hand and Flowers food, but its tasty and probably cheaper!

Serves 2

2 fillets of hot smoked trout
1 ripe avocado
150g of salad leaves
1 tbs of flaked almonds

for the  dressing

juice of 1/2 orange, freshly squeezed
pinch of salt
pepper
1 tsp of creamed horseradish
1 tbs of olive oil

Place the salad into each plate and flake the fillet of trout over the leaves (check for any bones at this point). Cut up the avocado in cubes and add to the salad and sprinkle the almonds on top. For the dressing whisk the orange juice, salt, pepper, horseradish and olive oil until combined (check for seasoning and heat and add more horseradish if you like). Drizzle the dressing over the salad and enjoy.

Bread (BLW)

Bread is such a great thing to have in the house, especially if you have a baby (and if you are Greek!). But I always feel guilty offering her shop-bought bread, as it has salt in it. I know it doesn't seem like much, but a little salt here and there, adds up. So when I was making pizza the other day, I decided I would double the quantity of dough and make some plain bread as well as the pizza. Home made, salt-free bread sounds like a nice thing to offer your little one, right? Guilt-free toast for my baby! I also managed to find some salt and sugar-free peanut butter in a local shop, so what a perfect afternoon snack would a peanut butter sandwich make?

Here is the recipe - exactly the same as the pizza base. I will be trying it with added things, like seeds or nuts and will update it if it works! But for plain white bread, it does work. 

280g of strong plain white flour
2 tsp of easy-blend yeast
250ml of warm water
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
pinch of salt (if NOT doing BLW)

Sift the flour and yeast into a bowl and make a well in the centre. Add the water and olive oil into the well and mix together into a soft dough. Tip it out into a lightly floured surface and knead for at least 5 minutes, until smooth and elastic. Return to a clean bowl (dust the bowl lightly with flour before adding the dough, so that the dough doesn't stick), cover with clingfilm or a damp towel and leave in a warm place for approximately 1 hour or until more than doubled in size.
After it has doubled in size turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface, knock out the air and knead again briefly. Place in a lightly floured loaf tin, make a slit across the top of the dough and bake at 200 fan oven for 25-30 minutes, till risen. Remove from the tin as soon as it comes out of the oven and tap under the loaf - it should sound hollow. Allow to cool on a rack.

Pizza (BLW)

I have been watching the Great British Bake Off on TV for the last few weeks quite obsessively. And I have to say that baking has always scared me a little, but this show makes it seem even harder! It's strange, because I have made profiteroles in the past (yes, from scratch!) and I have baked many cakes, but I guess this show highlights all that can go wrong too. And the judges are very harsh!

So when making pizza came to mind the other day, the thought of making the salt-free dough from scratch was quite intimidating. In any case, I persevered. What is the worst that can happen? I waste a little flour and water, right? I followed the recipe for the dough, with a few breaks to attend to a crying baby - currently going through a little separation anxiety or something... It worked! Obviously, the toppings were made up as I went, but the base turned out beautifully! I was/ am so proud!

Serves 2 (hungry) people, plus a mini one

for the base:

280g of strong plain white flour
2 tsp of easy-blend yeast
250ml of warm water
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
pinch of salt (if NOT doing BLW)

for the topping

6-8 anchovy fillets
1 red onion
1/2 red pepper
1/2 grated courgette
8 cherry tomatoes
4 tbs of passata
100g of grated mozzarella (or buffalo mozzarella if you feel extravagant)

For the dough base, sift the flour and yeast into a bowl and make a well in the centre. Add the water and olive oil into the well and mix together into a soft dough. Tip it out into a lightly floured surface and knead for at least 5 minutes, until smooth and elastic. Return to a clean bowl (dust the bowl lightly with flour before adding the dough, so that the dough doesn't stick), cover with clingfilm or a damp towel and leave in a warm place for approximately 1 hour or until more than doubled in size.

After it has doubled in size turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface, knock out the air and knead again briefly. Roll it out roughly and lift it into a large oiled baking sheet. Stretch it out carefully with your fingers to reach the edges of the sheet. Add the passata and spread it our thinly. Add any topping of your liking - the toppings above are just guidance. For babies, I would leave out the anchovies, as they are very salty. Sprinkle with cheese and place in a preheated fan oven at 200. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until the base is crisp.

The satisfaction of eaten a home-made pizza is great, The fact that it tastes so good is a fantastic bonus...

mini pizza, for my mini girl