This was almost too easy to be true!!
I wanted something quick & tasty to throw together.
6x Lasagne sheets or cannelloni tubes
1 bag of fresh spinach or 500g frozen spinach
400g feta, roughly chopped
1 tin of tomatoes
handful of olives (stoned), roughly chopped
1 tbsp capers
25g parmesan or similar, grated
seasoning
Soak pasta in boiling water (add some olive oil to prevent them sticking together) or follow instructions on packet.
Wash the fresh spinach, place in pan without thoroughly shaking water from it, place lid on pan & allow to wilt (about 5-7 mins) OR defrost frozen spinach. Drain.
Add feta & blitz with hand blender.
Roll lasagne sheets if using & stuff the pasta with the spinach filling.
Place tomatoes in bowl & blitz with hand blender or roughly chop - whichever you prefer. Add olives & capers & pour over pasta tubes. Season - I just used pepper as I felt the feta, olives & capers provided enough salt but always taste to check.
Sprinkle with cheese, place foil over & bake in oven on gas mark 6 for 25-30 mins.
Unbelievably easy, low on washing up, BIG on taste & lots of complimantary noises from my husband!!
Recipe courtesy of Good Food website.
Tuesday, 10 March 2009
Chorizo al pimento
Chorizo
tomatoes (tinned or fresh)
red & green pepper
red onion
Quantities are up to you really with this simple dish. The chorizo flavours the vegetables beautifully. I'm not even sure it needs seasoning but check before serving.
Combine in saucepan and simmer for 30mins. Made in advance, the flavours have even more depth. Serve with rice, pasta, potatoes or crusty bread & a salad.
tomatoes (tinned or fresh)
red & green pepper
red onion
Quantities are up to you really with this simple dish. The chorizo flavours the vegetables beautifully. I'm not even sure it needs seasoning but check before serving.
Combine in saucepan and simmer for 30mins. Made in advance, the flavours have even more depth. Serve with rice, pasta, potatoes or crusty bread & a salad.
Monday, 9 March 2009
Tapa, tapa, tapas!
The tapas was a success (phew!)... despite a bus destroying my car hours earlier & several long phone calls with various insurance companies, I managed to get the tapas together & enjoyed a great evening with our friends.
I'd rather not attempt it with accompanying destruction again but it did take my mind off it..! The saving grace was that I'd made the houmous, baba ganoush & chorizo al pimento earlier in the day, Chris had also marinated the prawns & the rest was almost just throwing it together. There's a photo to go with this post (when I remember!) but unfortunately I didn't remember to take one until everyone was lying on the floor, un-buttoning the top button on their waistbands (no, not that kind of party!).
I think next time we have a Spanish themed evening, I'll go for paella with a few tapas dishes rather than the table-covering affair of this weekend but it certainly hasn't put me off.
With regards where I get the ingredients from; We're lucky to have an excellent Asian shop nearby that sells fresh, in-season & most importantly, very well-priced fruit & veg, and a Lidl. Lidl does fantastic European products, which is where we got the chorizo from (and they also do a nice tomato & basil pizza). For anything else, I have a Sainsburys opposite work where I can pick bits & pieces up. We like to shop in the markets in town, when possible too & often get our meat from there. We have a local butcher about 20 mins walk away but unfortunatley we never seem to go in that direction (although the sausages were excellent & well-priced).
I tend to remember places where we've been pleased with products & if we're passing, we'll pop in to stock up: the butchers & health food shop in Belper & an excellent farm shop on the outskirts of Duffield. There's also a lovely deli/cafe in Belper called Fresh Basil - see links to the side. the cakes are amazing!
I'd rather not attempt it with accompanying destruction again but it did take my mind off it..! The saving grace was that I'd made the houmous, baba ganoush & chorizo al pimento earlier in the day, Chris had also marinated the prawns & the rest was almost just throwing it together. There's a photo to go with this post (when I remember!) but unfortunately I didn't remember to take one until everyone was lying on the floor, un-buttoning the top button on their waistbands (no, not that kind of party!).
I think next time we have a Spanish themed evening, I'll go for paella with a few tapas dishes rather than the table-covering affair of this weekend but it certainly hasn't put me off.
With regards where I get the ingredients from; We're lucky to have an excellent Asian shop nearby that sells fresh, in-season & most importantly, very well-priced fruit & veg, and a Lidl. Lidl does fantastic European products, which is where we got the chorizo from (and they also do a nice tomato & basil pizza). For anything else, I have a Sainsburys opposite work where I can pick bits & pieces up. We like to shop in the markets in town, when possible too & often get our meat from there. We have a local butcher about 20 mins walk away but unfortunatley we never seem to go in that direction (although the sausages were excellent & well-priced).
I tend to remember places where we've been pleased with products & if we're passing, we'll pop in to stock up: the butchers & health food shop in Belper & an excellent farm shop on the outskirts of Duffield. There's also a lovely deli/cafe in Belper called Fresh Basil - see links to the side. the cakes are amazing!
Friday, 6 March 2009
Tapas extrordinaire
I'm attempting a tapas evening for my friends this weekend and I'm hoping that it's all in the planning / preparation. The menu though extensive, once broken down, isn't as scary as it looks!
Baguettes served with olive oil, balsamic vinegar & garlic mayo dipping bowls
houmous
baba ganoush (a garlicky aubergine dip)
olives
jamon de serrano (sliced spanish hams)
sliced tomatoes with mozarella & basil (drizzled with olive oil)
sliced tomatoes with avocado & spring onion (drizzled with olive oil)
garlic mushrooms
tortilla
prawns in garlic & chilli
patatas bravas
chorizo al pimento (a tomato, pepper & onion sauce)
ensalada du atun (tuna salad with a boiled egg, green beans, black olives & tomatoes)
Washed down with a dry Amontillado sherry & some chilled cava... let's pretend it's summer!
Some of the things can be prepared in advance (the houmous & baba ganoush) & a lot of the veg prep can be done earlier too, leaving only a couple of things to cook when everyone arrives.
Sounds easy doesn't it?
Watch this space...
Baguettes served with olive oil, balsamic vinegar & garlic mayo dipping bowls
houmous
baba ganoush (a garlicky aubergine dip)
olives
jamon de serrano (sliced spanish hams)
sliced tomatoes with mozarella & basil (drizzled with olive oil)
sliced tomatoes with avocado & spring onion (drizzled with olive oil)
garlic mushrooms
tortilla
prawns in garlic & chilli
patatas bravas
chorizo al pimento (a tomato, pepper & onion sauce)
ensalada du atun (tuna salad with a boiled egg, green beans, black olives & tomatoes)
Washed down with a dry Amontillado sherry & some chilled cava... let's pretend it's summer!
Some of the things can be prepared in advance (the houmous & baba ganoush) & a lot of the veg prep can be done earlier too, leaving only a couple of things to cook when everyone arrives.
Sounds easy doesn't it?
Watch this space...
Monday, 2 March 2009
Brasso'd off!
I had a glorious day in the studio last Thursday. I had prepped my plate the previous Tuesday evening, ran a proof off & happy with the outcome, I decided to have a good run at producing an edition for the Red Circle print exchange (deadline: imminent). And if I had time, I would attempt a slightly larger edition for the Oregon print exchange.
I set everything up & ran another proof off. There were some extra marks on there that were probably as a result of wiping off. I felt they distracted a bit too much from the intended image, so I tried another proof, with similar results. Between each proof I had degreased the plate using a powdered solution & a brillo pad (as we do everytime we need to de-grease a plate) but this wasn't ridding my plate of the extra marks. I should have left it there, after all - it's Chance Operations! But no, I decided to brasso the plate, another tried & tested process in prepping the plate for print.
I ran another proof off... and then another... the spit bite image which I was quite pleased with & took an hour to bite had vanished!!! I say these de-greasing & brasso processes are tried and tested but the spit bite process is new (as in, I'm one of the first to try at Green Door studio). It's such a delicate way of biting the plate that I had actually removed the image from the plate.
My studio time is precious, it being annual leave from work (& not a lot of it) & here I am wasting my time printing proofs & destroying the image. I consulted the studio technician. Fortunately, she had the great idea of using the Open Bite technique, painting on a blue wash to stop out the areas I don't want to bite & leaving the Spit Bite area open to the mordant. And it worked :) Not quite the same result - it now has a hardened edge around the area rather than the delicate ghost-like impression that it originally had but it has taken the print one step further & at least I have 1or 2 prints that are testament to the original.
Lesson learned.
I set everything up & ran another proof off. There were some extra marks on there that were probably as a result of wiping off. I felt they distracted a bit too much from the intended image, so I tried another proof, with similar results. Between each proof I had degreased the plate using a powdered solution & a brillo pad (as we do everytime we need to de-grease a plate) but this wasn't ridding my plate of the extra marks. I should have left it there, after all - it's Chance Operations! But no, I decided to brasso the plate, another tried & tested process in prepping the plate for print.
I ran another proof off... and then another... the spit bite image which I was quite pleased with & took an hour to bite had vanished!!! I say these de-greasing & brasso processes are tried and tested but the spit bite process is new (as in, I'm one of the first to try at Green Door studio). It's such a delicate way of biting the plate that I had actually removed the image from the plate.
My studio time is precious, it being annual leave from work (& not a lot of it) & here I am wasting my time printing proofs & destroying the image. I consulted the studio technician. Fortunately, she had the great idea of using the Open Bite technique, painting on a blue wash to stop out the areas I don't want to bite & leaving the Spit Bite area open to the mordant. And it worked :) Not quite the same result - it now has a hardened edge around the area rather than the delicate ghost-like impression that it originally had but it has taken the print one step further & at least I have 1or 2 prints that are testament to the original.
Lesson learned.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)