Saturday 24 November 2012



240. Wonky Summer Pasta (Jamie's Meals In Minutes, page 46)


This was summer in a bowl, for sure. Lots of yellows and greens. I purchased a nice, living basil plant and used about half of it. A quarter was pounded to a paste in the pestle & mortar, and another quarter was chopped roughly (with a few small leaves reserved for garnish). For the sauce, you combine egg yolks, olive oil, some freshly grated parmesan cheese (done with my new food processor's parmesan/ice grating disc attachment), salt, pepper, lemon zest & lemon juice. To this you add your pounded and chopped basil.




The pasta is cut into strips from a fresh package of lasagne sheets, and boiled very quickly for a minute and half. The trick is to combine it with the sauce, a bit of the cooking water, and eat it immediately. As Jamie would say, otherwise it gets a bit "claggy". If this happens, add more of the cooking water to thin it out a bit. I made enough for 2 portions, so I will find out how well this translates to left overs today for lunch. Fresh, it was delicious.


241. Herby Salad (Jamie's Meals In Minutes, page 46)


This recipe calls for pancetta. However, I am trying very hard to stay away from red meat, so instead I substituted some turkey bacon. I browned it in a pan with a little olive oil and a crushed garlic clove. I added some fennel seeds towards the end, for flavour. For my greens, I used a bag of baby arugula, but Jamie says you can also use watercress (or a combination of the two). To this, I added some halved grapes (which are actually on sale for $1/lb this week at No Frills!) Also, he suggests adding a small bunch of mint and a small bunch of tarragon. I pulled what little mint I could find off my anemic mint plant in the kitchen. I really enjoy tarragon, so I splurged on a small bunch and added some to the salad.




The dressing is a combination of balsamic vinegar, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. I did this in a jam jar so I would be able to keep it in the fridge for the rest of the week. I am really trying to eat at least one salad a day so this will be helpful. So, you combine your greens & grapes with your crumbled (or in my case, sliced) bacon/pancetta, sprinkle over the fennel seeds, and dress at the last minute. I thought this salad was really good. I look forward to my left overs!


242. Limoncello Kinda Trifle (Jamie's Meals In Minutes, page 42)


This dessert actually belongs to the Trapani Style Rigatoni meal, but I swapped it out since I had more of the ingredients for it than I did for the Pear Drop Tartlets that I was supposed to make. This one calls for oranges, Limoncello, lemon, marscapone cheese, and raspberries (or other seasonal fruit). However, I didn't have Limoncello (since I don't drink) or marscapone cheese (since I priced it at $6.99 for a container, which I thought was ridiculous). I did, however, have some 35% whipping cream in the fridge that needed to be used up.


The first step is to combine your juice and/or alchohol with some lady finger cookies. I used a combination of the juice from a few clementines and the juice from a lemon. I placed this, and the cookies, in the bottom of a baking dish. Then I whipped my cream, added confectioner's sugar, vanilla, lemon zest and juice, and spread this over the cookies. I topped it with fresh blueberries and then grated over some dark chocolate. It seemed a rather odd combination to me, but I went with it.




Yum! Really, really tasty and very quick to make. I will make this one again in a pinch, for sure.


The cookies dissolve into a delicious, orangey base, and the dessert is actually quite light and refreshing. And hey, what a way to use up fruit! :)



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