Inspired by Italy: Scallop, Fennel and Bacon Linguine

Here is the main course from this week's ‘Monday Menu’; Scallop, Fennel and Bacon Linguine.

This originally began life as a starter, where I served it without the linguine. With the addition of wine and a little extra mascarpone though, it creates a lovely sauce destined to coat lengths of pasta. That said, if you like the flavours, I can recommend serving as a starter with slices of toasted ciabatta drizzled with your best oil.

You can use streaky bacon or pancetta in the recipe, I've gone with pancetta to stay with the Italian theme, but if you prefer bacon, it's just as nice!

One thing worth noting though before you approach with gusto….This all comes together very quickly at the end and there is a risk of overcooking or ingredients getting cold if you don’t apply a little bit of organisation! I recommend pre-reading the steps so you’re ready for action and then it should be easy.

Enjoy cooking,
Helen x

Scallop, Fennel and Bacon Linguine

Ingredients

• 2 fennel bulbs (sliced and trimmed)
• 130g mascarpone
• 150ml white wine
• 16 fresh scallops
• 75g streaky bacon (or pancetta)
• 500g fresh linguine
• 1 lemon

Step 1: Boil the fennel slices in water for 3 mins and drain

Step 2: Place fennel slices in shallow dish, dot with mascarpone, pour over wine and season. Place under a grill until golden and bubbling (5 mins)

 

Step 3: At the same time, fry the bacon/pancetta until crispy

Step 4: Add the linguine to a pan of salted, boiling water (follow pack instructions for cooking time) and remove and drain when cooked

Step 5: Add the scallops to the same pan and fry in the bacon/pancetta fat (add olive oil if needed). Fry scallops until golden (3 mins on each side at a medium high temperature should be sufficient).

Step 6: Plate up. Scoop pasta onto serving dish and top with fennel and the wine/mascarpone sauce. Place over the top a few slices of bacon/pancetta and 4 scallops per person. Squeeze over lemon and season to taste

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Lebanese Feasting: Spicy Lamb Tart

Time for the main course element of this week's Monday Menu, Spicy Lamb Tart.

I don't ordinarily have much use for lamb mince, favouring lean beef is ever the need arises for it within a dish. However, the lamb definitely adds the perfect flavour to this tart (recipe adapted from Delicious Magazine 2010).

This dish has layers and layers of flavour from the pomegranate molasses, cinnamon, chillies, allspice and herbs that are added throughout. Whilst that means it does take a little time to get ready, it's not complex and the aromas and taste are definitely worth it.

I bought my pomegranate molasses some time ago from Sainsburys (look for it in the 'World Foods' section). If you buy some for this recipe and have no idea what to do with it afterwards, there are some good recipes here.

This tart will feed 4 people with sides of fragrant rice and a green salad.

Enjoy cooking,
Helen x

Spicy Lamb Tart

Ingredients

• 375g ready-rolled puff pastry
• 1 tbsp polenta
• 1 egg (beaten)
• 1 onion (finely chopped)
• 400g lean lamb mince
• 2 tbsp pomegranate molasses
• 2 tsp ground allspice
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 red chilli (chopped)
• 1 green chilli (sliced)
• 25g pine nuts (toasted)
• 200 ml chicken stock
• Bunch of flat leaf parsley (chopped)
• Bunch of coriander (chopped)
• Handful pomegranate seeds
• Olive oil

Step 1: Preheat oven to 180c/GM 6

Step 2: Sprinkle polenta on a baking tray and lay pastry over the top. Score a border about 3 cm in from the edge and brush with beaten egg (try not to get egg in the scored line). Place in oven for 15 minutes until pastry is light-gold in colour (not brown) and remove.

Step 3:  Whilst pastry is in the oven, soften the onion in a glug of olive oil for 5 minutes. Add the lamb and cook through until browned (about 5 minutes). Then add spices, pine nuts, molasses, stock and chopped chilli. Simmer for 10 minutes until stock has reduced and sticky lamb mix remains.

Step 4: Add chopped herbs (reserving some parsley) to the lamb and spread over centre of the golden pastry, laying the sliced chilli on top.

Step 5: Return tart to the oven for 10 minutes more, until pastry is a deep golden colour. Remove and top with pomegranate seeds and remaining parsley.

Step 6: Slice and serve with chosen accompaniments.

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Food for sharing....Chicken, Apricot and Almond Tagine

As you may have gathered, I have a rather sweet tooth..

Even my savoury dishes have a healthy dose of sugar lurking in there somewhere (see recent entry Lamb and Cherry stew). This is definitely not the blog to follow for savoury lovers!

This recipe is from Sarah Raven, a food writer with a really lovely book called Food for Friends and Family, which is sort of the gist of feedahappylife really! Sarah Raven is a gardening expert too, so all of her recipes are filled with punchy flavours and masses of herbs and spices, which I love.

I'm also a big fan of the tagine! There is something decadent (and wholly unnecessary as you can just use a casserole dish!) and wowy about bringing out dinner in a gorgeous, peaked serving dish like this.I rather like this IKEA one (£55) and this Le Crueset one too (£100)....

.....IKEA...... 

                                                                    .....Le Crueset.....

However, this recipe is far from reliant on this extravagance and a heavy bottomed saucepan will work just as well.

This serves 4 greedy or 6 reserved friends and you can stretch it out further with flat breads, cous cous, green salad etc... I think it's nicer made the day before so the flavours infuse. If you're of the same mindset, add the herbs on the day you are actually eating it so they stay green and vibrant.

Enjoy, fellow sweet-toothed readers....

Chicken, Apricot and Almond Tagine

Ingredients

• 8 chicken thighs
• 2 onions (sliced)
• 2 garlic cloves (crushed)
• pinch saffron threads
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1 1/2 tsp hot paprika
• 400ml apple juice
• 400ml chicken stock
• 250g ready to eat apricots (chopped)
• 100g whole, peeled almonds
• large bunch mint (chopped)
• large bunch flat leaf parsley (chopped)
• large bunch coriander (chopped)
• olive oil

Step 1: Lightly brown chicken with a glug of oil over a medium heat

Step 2: Add the onions and garlic and saute for 5 minutes

Step 3: Add the spices and cook for 2 minutes

Step 4: Add the apple juice and stock, stir and simmer for 15 minutes

Step 5: Add apricots and almonds and cook for 15 minutes until liquid has reduced and thickened

Step 6: Before serving, stir through fresh herbs

Step 7: Serve with your selection of accompaniments

Hope you enjoy,
Helen x

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Pan-Bagnat: A rather extravagant sandwich - 2 hours to prepare, but worth it!

Confession time! I saw this recipe in a magazine and decide I'd embark upon it for lunch. This decision was made at about 11 o'clock. I'm not one for reading recipes from start to finish before I start, and it was only when I started it, I realised it was more likely going to be ready for tea time rather than lunch!!

So, warning for you....should you wish to make this (and I highly recommend it), make it the day before you need it and fridge it until the chosen point!

The recipe is based on a french dish called Pan-Bagnat. It's essentially a hollowed out loaf, filled with roasted vegetables and cheese and pressed in the fridge for several hours. This allows the flavours and juices to be absorbed by the bread and sliced in lovely chunks for a healthy, tasty lunch-time meal.

It's a great picnic dish and I think best served for crowds, this much effort invested in a sandwich deserves to be shared!

The key ingredients here are a decent loaf (I favour a multi-grain one as I think it holds the shape better) and fresh vegetables. Don't follow the ingredients too slavishly - if there is something you don't like just swap it for more of something you do!

....feedahappylife's selection of vegetables....

...preferred bread...

Pan-Bagnat (serves 4)

• 1 red pepper, quartered
• 1 yellow pepper, quartered
• 1 large courgette, sliced
• 2 portabella mushrooms, halved
• 1 aubergine, sliced length ways
• Olive oil
• Red wine vinegar
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• Handful basil leaves, torn
• Large, round, crusty loaf
• 3 tbsp caper puree (or olive tapenade or pesto)
• 125g mozzarella, drained and sliced
• Seasoning

Step 1: Place vegetables in a single layer, pour over a good glug of oil and grill for 10 minutes (turning half way through). You might need to do this a few times to get through all of the vegetables

Step 2: Make the dressing by mixing half the basil, a glug of oil, a glug of vinegar, seasoning and the crushed garlic in a large bowl. Stir together to combine and add the roasted vegetables to the boil and toss gently. Leave vegetables to cool.

Step 3: Slice of the bread 'lid' and remove all of the inner bread (leave a 1 cm shell). I keep the inner bread, shred and freeze for breadcrumbs for other dishes...

Step 4: Cover the inside of your bread with your choice of paste

Step 5: Take the cooled vegetables and squeeze them dry between sheets of kitchen roll (this is really important and will stop your bread going soggy). Slice the mushroom halves and put to one side.

Step 6: Layer up your cooled vegetables and press firmly into the bread. Alternative vegetables with mozzarella slices and torn basil leaves. Leave the mushrooms until last and add to the top.

Step 7: Place the lid back on the bread and wrap tightly in cling film. Place the bread between two plates and weight down with tins for two hours in the fridge

Step 8: Remove cling-film, cut into slices and serve

Hope you enjoy,
Helen x

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Posh Onion and Fig Tart Tatin served with Parmesan Ice-Cream

I got a little bit carried away with this one....

I rather fell in love with the picture of Italian simplicity below and decided to give the recipe a go..

It was as advertisement from Discover the Origin, a campaign to publicise Italian ingredients, and I thought it looked like a nice, indulgent treat. However, it was a bit of a faff..... The Parmesan ice cream had to be made the day before and I had to trudge around Nottingham to buy figs (Sainsbury's & Tesco's both failed me, though I did discover a rather lovely fruit and veg shop that saved the day!).

After all the faffing, I still found the ice cream to be grainy (sometimes happens with homemade ice cream made without a machine), the figs somewhat redundant and the parma ham a slightly odd addition (clearly, I'm a heathen). My partner quite enjoyed it, which is fine because I wont be making the dish again! So why write about it here you may ask??

We'll, I was rather impressed by the onion tatin. Dark, flavoursome onions, enhanced greatly by the addition of Marsala and thyme and finished simply with ready-made puff pastry. For that reason, I've only included the recipe for the onion tatin below (minus the figs) - however, if anyone wants the entire recipe to better my attempt, drop me an e-mail.

Onion and Thyme Tart Tatin (serves 4)

• 1 sheet puff pastry
• 50g butter
• 4 large onions, sliced
• 2 tsp caster sugar
• 2 tsp best balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp thyme leaves, chopped
• 2 tbsp Marsala

Step 1: Preheat oven to 180c

Step 2: Sweat onions in butter until golden and soft (about 15 minutes, don't rush this bit!). Add the Marsala and thyme leaves and stir though until absorbed

Step 3: Using the tart tin you intend to bake with, place upside down on the pastry and cut out circles for the tart base. Leave to one side for now.

Step 4: Add the onions to your greased chosen tart tins (I used individual but you can use a large tin if you want to serve in slices).

Step 5: Cover with your pastry circle and gently tuck down the side of the dish

Step 6: Bake for 20 minutes (small tart) 25 minutes (large tart), until pastry is golden brown.

Step 7: Run a knife round the edge and, using a serving plate over the top, flip out to serve

Step 8: Serve warm with salad or vegetables

Hope you enjoy,
Helen x

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Fragrant Lamb & Cherry Stew served with Lemon Cous Cous

Good grief! A recipe not about cake! Can you cope?

This is about as close to savoury as I go. A sweet, sticky lamb dish bursting with juicy cherries.

Generally, I'm not a huge fan of lamb. I'm happy to eat it, but would rarely choose it from a menu. I find it a little fatty and there always seems to something more exciting on a menu that gets my vote. The only thing that might swing me is slow cooked lamb, falling away from the bone and melting in the mouth. The sort of dish that takes overnight slow-cooking that I do not have the patience to carry out.

This recipe however, manages the same, soft melting lamb in considerably less time! The vast amounts of spring onion and parsley make this a really fresh, rather than heavy meat dish which I love. Part of my wants to call it a salad, but I think it might be stretching it slightly....

The recipe is inspired by Silvena Rowe's dish in her book Purple Citrus & Sweet Perfume (gorgeous from start to finish). I've amended it by adding more cherries and lemons, to create a more sticky dish, to accommodate my sweet tooth. If you can't get hold of dried cherries, I'd substitute them for cranberries.


Lamb and Cherry Stew served with Lemon Cous Cous (serves 4)

•  800g lamb shoulder (cubed - I did mine from a joint so I could remove all the fat)
• 4tbsp olive oil
• 24 spring onions, sliced
• 4 lemons, zested and juiced
• 300ml lamb stock
• 150g dried cherries (I bought bags from dried fruit snacking section of Sainsburys)
• 1 large bunch flatleaf parsley
• 2 tbsp pine nuts, lightly toasted
• Green beans (to serve)
• Cous cous (to serve)
• Handful pistachio nuts (to serve)

Step 1: Heat oil in casserole dish and brown lamb

Step 2: Add spring onions to casserole and cook for 5 minutes

Step 3: Add stock, cherries and half of the lemon zest and juice. Simmer for 90 minutes until lamb is tender

Step 4: Leave to rest and make cous cous. Pour sufficient for 4 people into a bowl and cover with water. Leave for 5 minutes and stir through remaining lemon juice, zest and seasoning to taste. Scatter with pistachio nuts

Step 5: Boil green beans in boiling water for 3-5 minutes and refresh under cold water

Step 6: Stir torn parsley leaves and toasted pine nuts through stew and serve

Hope you enjoy,
Helen x

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