Spicy Bacon Pasta

 

There is nothing better than a bowlful of pasta.

This is my new, absolute favourite pasta dinner. It is quick, tasty and uses a lot of kitchen staples which I always seem to have on hand. It is a perfect mid-week dinner that I probably make once a week. It's a take on amatriciana but it's got so many changes to that classic that I can't call it that in good faith.

The only slightly niche ingredient is nduja which, if you frequent hipster pizza establishments you'll probably have come across before. It's a very spicy Italian pork paste that has basically unlimited uses. It's fabulous mixed into a sauce like this where it confers a warmth. It's AMAZING in a grilled cheese sandwich where the spiciness really comes through. You can also just spread it on a cracker. No rules.

I get mine from the butcher but I have seen it in supermarkets too. Try it. Once I started using it, I couldn't imagine life without it. I basically have to have it in the fridge at all times.

Serves 2 generously, I usually add a little more pasta and make an extra portion for lunch the next day

Cauliflower Mac and Cheese Bake

So, you've eaten most of the meat in the fridge before it goes bad, and now you have a cauliflower sitting there in the crisper, judging you, wondering when it gets a chance to shine.

This is a quick midweek dinner, and adds some delicious veggies to this rich pasta bake. It's filling, creamy and goooood. Think of a cross between cauliflower cheese and mac and cheese. Cheese is a great common denominator.

Now, it's vegetarian as a base recipe, unless you go and add bacon (which I did). I cooked the bacon in the oven and then added the sliced bits in at the end. But it would be perfectly lovely without that.

Butterbean, Pasta and Pesto Salad

What are Mondays for, if not starting off with good intentions?

I’m not a big salad fan, but I do like butterbeans, pesto and pasta a great deal. So I decided to whip something up that would be a bit more interesting (and better for me) than a ham sandwich lunch.

This is really simple to make, and can easily be made out of leftover pasta if you happen to have made too much (which always, constantly happens to me). I am using my homemade pesto, but feel free to use any that you like. It takes 2 seconds to whip up, makes about 4 portions, and makes meal prep reeeeeally easy.

Feel free to play around with the flavours, or leave out the pepperoni to keep veggie. Speaking of veggies, I have a fairly limited repertoire of ones I actually like, so I’m happy with what I’ve put in, but feel free to go wild and add tomatoes or carrots or whatever you crazy salad-lovers fancy.

Bacon Spaghetti

This is one from a few weeks ago, before I started a ludicrous detox which involves no carbs and no dairy. This is difficult and I am struggling because I love carbs. And seriously, is there anything more satisfying than twirling a fork around a bowl of tomato-y/cheesy/bacon-y pasta? I don’t really think I’ve found it yet. It's definitely not cauliflower rice.

Basically this is another one of  my “let’s make a ready meal at home.” I love Marks and Spencer, and when I am doing multiple long shifts in work their microwave meals can be a godsend. I recently discovered their “bacon bucatini” which basically tastes like a grown up version of the Heinz Bolognese in a can. I think you can tell from that sentence that my childhood lunches were awesome.

Anyway, I wanted to recreate this rich, meaty, flavourful sauce at home. So, I had a crack at it, and I think I did. And it’s pretty damn good! It’s really quick as well, so I’d recommend it when you don’t want to go full Bolognese, but still want the pasta experience.

Chicken and Mozarella Pasta Bake

My guilty food pleasure is M&S ready meals. I normally have no tolerance for cutting corners in cooking when I feel that it is to the detriment of end product, but sometimes you just want (or need!) something ready to immediately throw in the oven. However, I also like to know what’s going into the food I eat, and the fussy part of me (a remnant of my childhood) appreciates that I can pick and choose exactly which ingredients are used. You’ll notice, for example, that I rarely cook with tinned tomatoes, because I hate those big pulpy bits that you can get. A nice sieved passatta is much preferable for me! Keep it smoooooth.

Anyway, back to the point, my absolute favourite M&S meal is a tomatoey, chickeny pasta meal which comes in a massive dish and which I have attempted to recreate numerous times, to no avail. So I decided to ditch all recipes and just wing it.

And it turned out well! I am in love with this meal – yes it takes quite a bit longer than a ready meal (mainly because of the cooking time of the sauce) but it is also fresh and delicious and flavoured exactly the way I like it. And there's enough food to last for days! Yum yum.

Chicken and Leek Cheesy Pasta Bake

Chicken and leek is one of my favourite flavour combinations. And everyone knows that I love a big bowl o’ pasta! There is something just unendingly comforting about tucking into a bowl of cheesy pasta, with vegetables and delicious roast chicken dotted between.

I feel like this is a perfect autumnal meal, and a great way to use up leftover chicken from the Sunday roast. This is a perfect weekday meal, and one I shall continue to perfect – next time I think I might do a béchamel instead of just milk, and add some grated cheddar to make the cheesy-ness even stronger!

Mozarella and Roasted Squash Pasta

Ooh, autumnal cooking, I do like you.

I’m always looking for delicious pasta bake dishes for mid-week dinners. You see, I love to cook, but I really really love eating. So much so that I am incredibly impatient when it comes to cooking dinner after work. I will not be lovingly stirring a risotto for an hour when all I want to do is stick my head in a box of cereal for some nutrition.

And then, the clouds parted and heavens opened because I found this delightful little recipe, that even makes enough for leftovers! Dream.

This could very easily be a veggie recipe but I added the bacon last minute as I had a few rashers to use up, and they did add a lovely smoky, salty aspect.

Creamy Pesto and Pasta

Hello long-weekenders! There is something absolutely delightful about having Monday off. And this is the perfect meal to whip up for those long, becoming warm, weekends.

So, as I said previously, I have recently been on a trip to Italy. While there, I sampled some amazing carbs food, and generally enjoyed myself for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

One of my favourite places was a small takeaway pasta place in Venice (#1 on tripadvisor!) where there were a choice of 8 sauces, 2 freshly made pastas and some extras. I have a huge weakness for pesto, and so when I saw a pesto sauce on the menu, I knew I had to sample it. It was completely unexpected in texture – creamy, saucy and thick. And of course, utterly delicious.

Of course, I had to have a go at making my own. The sauce in Venice felt much thicker and richer than if I had just added cream, so I decided to go with good old cream cheese.

So, what I have created here isn’t exactly what I had in Venice, but it’s close, and more importantly pretty delicious! A new favourite meal covering the weekday trifecta – quick, tasty, good fpr lunch the next day.

Creamy Cumin Pasta

I have a confession to make. I am a recipe stealer. If I go to your house and like what I eat, I will either hound you for the exact recipe, or subtly muscle the ingredients out of you and recreate it at home.

To my family and friends, sorrynotsorry.

This is one such recipe. My aunt brought a veritable vat of it to a family gathering and I hovered over it most of the evening, gorging and trying to tease out the ingredients. It is incredibly unusual, creamy, yet spiced and sweet. Delicious hot for dinner, or cold for lunch. This is my homage to one of the nicest pasta dishes I've ever had, so thanks Auntie Mandy!

Creamy Bacon Pasta with Green Bits

This is one of my favourite midweek dinners, it takes a few minutes to whip up, uses ingredients I always have hanging around, and tastes delicious! We had it after a quick gym session, protein BRAH, and it was perfect. I feel like Jamie Oliver with my 10 minute supper.

It is infinitely adaptable for whatever you’ve got in the fridge. I really like it with leek and peas, but you could probably stir in some spinach or green beans instead of the peas. I just love peas. You may not.

PEAS

Mac and Cheese

America, represent!

I, of course, bastardise this traditional meal shamelessly.

I always feel that this most stodgy of carbohydrate dinners needs something to cut through all the beige. Which is where I come in. To make this a full and slightly more balanced meal, I usually add meat, in the form of frankfurters or bacon, and to give it a little crunch I mix in some scallions. I think spinach could be excellent in this as well.

Sorry, my American friends. This is mac and cheese, but not as you know it.

Chicken and Sweetcorn Pasta Bake

It's a bit pot o' love (and carbs)

This is a firm part of my childhood. My dearest mother doesn’t cook much, despite making delicious meals at the drop of a hat when she decides to. She has always rocked a pasta bake, but has recently kicked it up a notch, so I have shamelessly stolen this recipe from her experimentations.

This is a good way to use up roast chicken leftovers, if you have any left after smothering them in salt and picking at them the evening after a big Sunday roast.

.. Because everyone has to resist that urge, right? Yes? Good.

It is a recipe with a few components, but it all comes together beautifully in one delicious casserole dish that you can stick in the oven and serve when the cheese is bubbling and golden.

Lasagne

This is unhealthy and delicious. Comfort food at its best for the miserable winter evenings: a warm rich meat sauce, creamy cheesy layers and a sliver of pasta between. This is probably my boyfriend’s favourite pasta dish and he gets extremely happy when it is served up.

Don’t be daunted by making the white sauce, it’s so much more flavourful when you make it yourself, and bonus: you can add as much cheese as you want! That's what sold it to me.

Adapted from a Nigella recipe.

Chorizo Carbonara

Sriracha hot sauce in the background, standard.

This is so quick to make! I am genuinely surprised that this Jamie 15 minute meal literally took 15 minutes. I win at Countdown-clock dinner!

This is a perfect dinner for when you really can’t be bothered making food. Normally, I would throw bacon in there, but I had chorizo in the fridge that needed used up and I thought I would mix things up a bit. Dat bright orange oil.

I know that "real" carbonara does not contain cream, but really, we're striving for delicious here, not authentic.