Bits from the fridge

yesterday afternoon i was kinda running out of idea what to cook for lunch. as usual, i want something quick but tasty.  i  opened the fridge and found some leftover spaghetti from last wednesday's pasta day  and cooked frozen prawns.

so all i did was put the pasta and frozen prawns in a bowl of hot water and toss, then mix soft cheese into the pasta, add prawns, season with salt and pepper and garnish with sliced tomatoes & rocket salad..all that done in 5 minutes!

thanks oya for suggesting the name for this simple dish. i would just call it leftover salad.  

brocolli pesto pasta

today is my other half's birthday, meant to bake him a cake last nite for him to bring to work this morning but somehow my baking mood went down the drain..so he bought Dominos Pizza for his workmates today (and they said thats a good idea)..

i was teaching all day, finished at 5pm and got home at 6pm so no time to cook fancy meals. looked into the pantry and fridge and i ended up making 2 types of pasta dish -  tagliatelle in white sauce (cream + smoked salmon + grated cheddar & parmesan) for the little one cos she doesnt eat anything 'spicy' and not really adventurous with food and for the grown ups, i tried a new recipe - brocolli pesto pasta,  which i found online (bbcgoodfood).  big missy had both.

birthday boy said the brocolli pesto pasta was nice & different & refreshing.



Ingredients

• 400g penne , farfalle or conchiglie pasta 
• 250g broccoli , cut into florets
• 1 garlic clove , peeled
• 1 large lemon
• ½ tsp dried chilli flakes
• 3 tbsp pine nuts
• 5 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 tbsp Parmesan (or vegetarian alternative), grated

Method

1. Tip the pasta into a largepan of boiling salted water and cookaccording to pack instructions. Meanwhile,bring a smaller pan of salted water to theboil, add the broccoli and boil for 4 minutes.
2. Drain the broccoliand return it to the pan. Lightly mash thebroccoli with a potato masher or fork.Finely grate the garlic and zest the lemon,then mix into the broccoli with the chilliflakes and pine nuts. Cut the lemon in halfand keep for later.
3. Drain the pasta andreturn it to the pan. Stir in the broccolipesto and squeeze over the juice of1⁄2 lemon. Pour in the olive oil andgenerously season with salt and pepper.Spoon in the grated Parmesan, toss thepasta well and serve.

My notes :

• i used tagliatelle cos i ran out of penne or fusilli.  spaghetti works just as well for this recipe
• i didnt use pine nuts cos i dont have any,  but i added in 1 tsp of Sacla Green Pesto. the basic green pesto sauce is made using pine nuts, basil, garlic and olive oil; so i guess brocolli is an alternative to basil and it tastes just as nice, if not better.

seafood (and vege) tagliatelle

this was our last nite's dinner; i got bored of nasi, nasi, nasi for the past few nites. and this particular pasta dish is one of the easiest & fastest meal to cook and favoured by the kids; even our kenit had a second helping and went to bed with a full tummy without asking for susu.

i got the original recipe from bbc.co.uk/food website.

SEAFOOD TAGLIATELLE by Garrey Dawson

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• ¼ onion, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 150ml/5fl oz double cream
• 85g/3oz cooked prawns, peeled
• 1 spring onion, finely sliced
• 100g/3½oz ready-cooked tagliatelle pasta
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
• 1 free-range egg yolk
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• ½ lemon, juice only

Preparation

1. Heat the olive oil in a pan and gently fry the onion and garlic for 3-4 minutes, or until softened, then stir the cream and reduce for 3-4 minutes.
2. Stir in the prawns and spring onion, then add the cooked pasta and stir well to coat. Heat through for 1-2 minutes, then add the parsley, egg yolk and season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Stir in the lemon juice.
3. Place the pasta onto a serving dish and serve.

my notes/modification

i skipped the parsley, spring onion  and egg yolk, added cooked mussels, brocolli,  mushrooms (sliced) and baby spinach.

my preparation:

1. heat olive oil, fry 1/2 onion and 2 cloves of garlic until softened, then add in brocolli and mushrooms and saute. then stir in the double cream; i must have used more than 150ml. (if you dont have double cream, you can use fresh milk & add in a bit of grated cheddar cheese)
2. stir in the prawns ( i added cooked mussels), add cooked pasta and stir well to coat. heat thro for 1-2 minutes, then season to taste with salt and ground black pepper. add in baby spinach and stir in lemon juice
3. serve.