31 Jan 2016

Lasagne; classic and pesto #tocookbefore24

Some lasagne fun for you on this rainy Sunday!

Lasagne is a great go-to dish when you want to make an effort for guests but don't have a lot of time (Mama definitely taught me this over the years). It can be made in advance and frozen, always looks impressive when it emerges out of the oven all golden and bubbling, and I have yet to find anyone who dislikes it. Basically, it's a good classic to know! Lasagne is all about the sauces which can seem a bit intimidating at first, but once I'd mastered both the white and the tomato, it was simply just a case of layering everything up - which is a lot of fun!

I also wanted to find a decent vegetarian lasagne, one that didn't involve substituting aubergine for the meat (whhyyyy do you do this?! WHY?) and I found this gorgeous pesto lasagne with a creamy pesto and mascarpone sauce and crunchy pine nuts on top. It's seriously diviiiiine.

Go, go go!

For a classic meat lasagne, you will need (serves 4):

450g beef mince

150ml beef stock

Approximately 9-12 lasagne sheets

Large handful of grated cheddar cheese

For the tomato sauce:

1 onion

1 pepper

2 garlic gloves

2 tablespoon tomato puree

2 400g chopped tomatoes

Handful of basil leaves

For the white sauce:

75g butter

70g plain flour

450ml milk

Tomato sauce

Chop the onion, pepper and finely chop the garlic cloves. Cook in oil over a medium heat for 5-10 minutes, until soft.

Stir in the tomato puree and cook for a further 5 minutes.

Add the chopped tomatoes and basil leaves. Bring to the boil and then simmer for 20 minutes.

White sauce

Melt the butter in a saucepan and then stir in the flour.

Slowly whisk in the milk and then bring to the boil. Turn down the heat and then cook, stirring, until the sauce thickens and coats the back of a spoon. Have a faith; it looks a bit lumpy and unappetising for a while, but it gets there!

All together now

Heat some oil in a frying pan and then cook the meat until it has browned.

Pour over the stock and tomato sauce, stir together, bring to the boil and then simmer for half an hour.

Spoon a third of the meat/tomato sauce into an oven-proof dish. Cover with a layer of the lasagne sheets.

Cover the lasagne sheets with some of the white sauce.

Repeat until you have 3 layers. Finish with a layer of the white sauce, making sure all of the pasta sheets are covered, and cover with your grated cheese.

Bake at 180c for 40-45 minutes until golden and bubbling.

And now for the veggie version!

For vegetarian pesto lasagne, you will need (serves 2-3):

1 190g jar basil pesto (recipe for home made here)

300g mascarpone

150g spinach

100g frozen peas

Handful of basil leaves, chopped

1 teaspoon of dried mint

Handful of cheddar cheese

50g pine nuts

9 lasagne sheets

50ml milk

Place the pesto, two thirds of the mascarpone and the 150ml water into a pan. Heat and mix until smooth and bubbling.

Add the spinach and peas and cook for 5 minutes.

Add the basil and mint.

Place a third of the mixture into a baking dish. Cover with pasta sheets and continue until there are 3 layers. Finish on a layer of pasta. The mixture will seem quite runny but don't worry!

Mix the milk and remaining mascarpone together and then pour over the top. Cover with the cheese and pine nuts.

Bake at 180c for 30-40 minutes, until golden and bubbling.

#tocookbefore24

#thebasics

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30 Jan 2016

A week of sunsets in Tenerife

First of all; WHY. Why did it take me so long to go on a sunny holiday in January? It is GENIUS. I have spent the past week in Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands, openly saying 'why isn't everyone doing this?'; although in a whisper because I don't want anyone else to catch on (she says, writing a blog post...). I, like many others I imagine, have always thought the idea of going somewhere sunny in the winter is a good one (who wouldn't?) but, until this year, I've continued to go on 'summer holidays' like most other people. Well now, I am truly a convert. British summers may not always be the best but foreign sun in the middle of our winter is more needed, more therapeutic and more liberating.

I have spent a week feeling free in that way only travel can create. Free in the small ways; I love throwing an old pair of shorts over my swimsuit and that's dressing done, and not brushing my hair or wearing make up. But also that freedom that comes with not having to stress over money or career or general daily issues. To just read, laugh with my favourite person, write, swim... it was so good to just BE; to contemplate this big, scary, gorgeous world in peace for a moment.

Every day the sun would peak over the top of the mountains our apartment clung to at exactly half ten, and each evening we would watch it set, sinking behind the island opposite and turning the sky a whole array of gorgeous colours. This created a lot of conversations about the science behind the sun moving across the sky, the curvature of the earth; trying to get our heads round the utter madness of us little beings clinging to the side of this enormous planet spinning through the solar system.

Needless to say, the sunsets made us feel humble and we thought they were the best thing; there was definite irritation at others not appreciating it, so much so that there were threats to throw a flip flop at the guy two balconies down who was facing the opposite direction to the sunset. How DARE he not take the time to stop and acknowledge the natural wonder right in front of him!

Other natural beauties on the island included the volcanic effect on the glittery black sand and the unusual colour of the cliffs, both slightly eerie and yet comforting in their solidness. We took a boat trip where we got to see them up close as well as the local wildlife including some whales and a whole pod of dolphins which was pretty much a flippin' dream for me.

Whilst I mainly lived off a diet of ice creams, cocktails, milkshakes & breadsticks (and a marvellous diet it was too), we did do some exploring of the local restaurants. One of my favourites was one where you could sit outside in the town square, next to the pretty local church, and just watch the world go by. My other favourite was the Regency Restaurant which was the kind of place where you could close your eyes, point at the menu and whatever you landed on would taste amazing.

The volcano was a constant presence, looking over us and my favourite day was our mini road trip in Teide National Park, including going to the top of Mount Teide itself.

Whilst winter sun is harder to leave, you at least soak up enough Vit D to help you survive until Spring. Hopefully.

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21 Jan 2016

Pizza #tocookbefore24

Once you've had a home made pizza, shop-bought ones just don't cut it. I grew up on home made pizzas; Sunday nights were pizza night in our family and they really were the best. My Mum was a busy woman so she often used the bread machine to mix up the dough; but I won't have the luxury of owning a bread machine when I move out so it was time I learnt to make my own pizza from scratch. Got to keep up the high-quality pizza standards!

I've gone for a classic Italian-style pizza for this but I would like to note that sun-dried tomato pesto is one of the best bases for a pizza - if you happen to find yourself having one of those days where you can't be bothered to make your own tomato sauce!

Right, let's kick off pizza night!

For two pizzas, you will need:

300g bread flour

1 teaspoon instant yeast

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon olive oil

200ml warm water

100ml tomato puree

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 garlic glove, finely chopped

1 big ball of mozzarella cheese

Whatever you want for the topping!

Put the flour, yeast and salt into a large mixing bowl.

Make a well in the middle (don't ask me why, that's what Jamie Oliver told me to do) and pour in the water and oil.

Mix it up!

On a floured surface, knead the dough until you have a round ball.

Split the dough in half and then roll out until it is thin. Don't worry about getting a perfect circle; weird shapes add character to your pizza! Lightly oil two baking sheets and lay out your pizza bases.

Mix your tomato puree, basil and garlic together.

Spread evenly across your dough.

Then top with whatever you like! I made one of mine a classic margherita with mozzarella, tomatoes and basil leaves and then decorated then other with mozzarella, chorizo, red peppers and olives. I also added a small sprinkling of cheddar cheese to both.