Spinach & Ricotta Pasta Bake

Sometimes I feel like my casserole dishes are unreasonably small.  You know what I mean - stop pretending you don't.  You start to make a recipe and it's great.  This is looking awesome.  Oh no! Shit! Shit! Everything is overflowing and you're not even finished putting it all in the pan? WHAT THE HELL, CASSEROLE DISH!? What. The. Hell?

This can't just happen to me.  I cope with this either by putting everything into two casserole dishes or by smashing it down ridiculously and hoping that I'm squishing it enough to fit into one.  It rarely ends well and I usually forget to put a baking sheet underneath so I end up with a horrific mess in my oven.  This is one of those recipes.  Save yourself a mess - spread it out into two dishes unless you have one very large one.

Spinach & Ricotta Pasta Bake

Serves: 8

Total Time: 60 minutes

Ingredients:

300g angel hair pasta
1 - 400g tin diced tomatoes
1 - 800ml jar tomato puree
150g fresh baby spinach
300g ricotta cheese
4 eggs
150g sour cream
1/2 cup mozzarella
salt and pepper

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 200C/400F and lightly oil a very large oven-proof dish (Or two, as discussed above.  The original recipe I based this on called for a shallow dish.  AHAHAHAHAHA bullshit.)

2. Bring a large pot of water to boil on the stove.  Add the angel hair pasta and stir until starting to flex (this will prevent clumps of it sticking).  Drain the cooked pasta and stir in a small amount of olive oil to prevent a giant clump.  Allow to cool (seriously, let it cool, you have to touch this shit with your hands).
3. Spread the tin of diced tomatoes along the bottom of the pan.  Top with half of the spinach, half of the pasta and half of the ricotta.  Pour half of the tomato puree over the ricotta.  Follow with the remaining spinach and the remaining pasta.  Pour over the last of the tomato puree; top with the remaining ricotta.
4. Whisk together the eggs and the sour cream in a large jug until combined.  Season with salt and pepper.
5. Pour the egg mixture over the pasta and sprinkle with mozzarella.
6. Bake, uncovered, for 40 minutes or until lightly browned and set.

So bad for you - yet so...so good.

Nutrition Facts
Amount Per Serving
Calories		345.8
Total Fat		13.2 g
	Saturated Fat	6.3 g
	Polyunsaturated Fat	1.0 g
	Monounsaturated Fat	3.6 g
Cholesterol		165.4 mg
Sodium		678.5 mg
Potassium		883.0 mg
Total Carbohydrate		40.3 g
	Dietary Fiber	6.0 g
	Sugars	5.9 g
Protein		19.5 g

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

Spaghetti with Chili and Asparagus

I'm trying new things this month - and one of those is stepping outside of my comfort zone with things like food spiciness.  I've never been a fan of chillies.  I don't have a lot of heat tolerance most of the time but have tended to be downright paranoid with it.

This was fantastic.  It contains two whole chillies and you'd think that makes it super spicy - but it had only the tiniest hint of spice unless you were actually chewing on bits of chilli (Don't do that.  Aaaaugh burn.).  Most of the chilli in the bites you take won't go through such a direct crushing process and you miss the vast majority of the potential heat.  My son's biggest complaint about the existence of the chillies was, "I don't know what this is.  I don't want it." and that's just 4 year olds.

I want to start this with a couple of relevant tips.  A lot of people avoid things like chillies and asparagus because they don't know how to best prepare them.  What parts do I eat? How do I cut them up?  Let me help you with that by showing you (or rather telling you) what I do.

Chillies

So a recipe once suggested that you put chillies into your meal - thinly sliced.  Sweet.  You're going to be a total badass and try this with a mild chilli.  Fuck yeah!

You grab a whole chilli, cut the stem-end off and then slice it finely into rings full of seeds.  You toss it with your meal.  You immediately feel as though you were horribly lied to.  This shit is absurdly spicy.  It's almost inedible.  OMG make the burn stop!

Many recipes unfortunately neglect some basic instructions on exactly HOW to process certain vegetables such as chillies.  They assume a certain level of knowledge that should -never- be assumed.

So here's how I do it.  This works so much better.  Don't be afraid of chillies.  It'll be okay.

1. Keep your hands completely away from your face until you have finished.  For serious.
2.. Cut the stem end off of your chilli.
3. Slice the chilli in half lengthwise.
4. With super clean hands, use your thumbnail to scrape out the ENTIRE inside of the chili.  We want to discard of all of the seeds and membranes.  Contrary to popular belief - the heat is in the membranes, not the seeds.  Get all of that shit out unless a LOT of heat is what you WANT.
5. Set your chili skins aside and clean your cutting area of all membranes and seeds as well as the juice from these parts.  This will reduce the heat of your final dish.
6. On a fresh cutting surface, finely slice your chili skins and add to your dish.
7. Wash your hands -very, very, very thoroughly-.  I usually have to wash mine (including under my nails) at least twice before I can touch my eyes, lips or mouth without it burning.

Asparagus

I avoided asparagus for a long time.  When I tried to prepare it I was overcooking it terribly or undercooking it.  I would eat it past its freshest and I would include the woody parts because I didn't know how to properly prepare it.  This is what I have learned.

* Asparagus is best when either steamed lightly, blanched or roasted.  Squishy is bad.  You want a little crunch.
* The woody, inedible bits of asparagus getting you down? Easily fixed.  Hold the asparagus in your hands and flex it along the stem until it breaks.  It will snap almost precisely along the line where the stem becomes woody.
* Choosing asparagus at the store isn't, unfortunately, as simple as grabbing a bunch and hoping for the best.  After I finally learned how to identify fresh asparagus, I realized that many of the bunches at my local shops were very over ripe.  Asparagus should be firm and crisp.  If you hold up a stalk at one end, it should not bend downward with its own weight.  It should never be wrinkled (as asparagus will tend to become when it starts to wilt).   The tips should be firm when you pinch them.  If they are squishy, it is rotting.

----------------------------------

Knew all of that already? Sweet - you're totally better informed than I was when I started cooking (I couldn't make toast, seriously). Let's move on to the recipe bits.

Spaghetti with Chili and Asparagus

Serves 4

Total Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

100ml olive oil

16 asparagus spears, cut into 5cm pieces

400g spaghetti

150g rocket, chopped

2 small red chillies, deseeded and chopped

1 lemon - zested and juiced into a bowl

1 clove garlic, minced

120g parmesan cheese

Instructions

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil on the stove.  Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and a pinch of salt. 

2. Blanch the asparagus for 3-4 minutes.  Remove with a slotted spoon and immediately run under cold water (this halts the cooking process). Drain and set asdie to cool.

3. Return the water to the stove and bring back to a boil.

4. Add the spaghetti - cooking until just al dente.  Drain and return to the pan.

5. Meanwhile, add the rocket, lemon zest and juice, garlic and 65g of the Parmesan to the asparagus and toss.

6. Add this mix to the pasta, pouring over the remaining olive oil.  Season lightly with salt and pepper.  

7. Mix to coat - divide among 4 bowls and top with the remaining Parmesan.  Serve hot.

Tomato & Mango Salad

I've tried to get more creative with salads these days.  I'm that person who makes a main dish and then suddenly realizes that we can't eat just meat for dinner - about 5 minutes before we're meant to be having dinner.  I'm super grown up, for serious.

So I looked at what I had in my fridge (oh shit, overripe mango!) and whipped up this salad - which was a total and utter hit.  Especially with my 4 year old.   He gobbled his up and asked for more without even touching his (stupidly delicious) chicken.  Pardon the imprecise measurements - I made this on the fly.

Mango & Tomato Salad

Serves 4
Total Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients

1 cup of rocket
1 mango, cubed
2 tomatoes, cut into 1 inch pieces
mozzarella (I used string cheese because I'm ultra classy)
fresh lemon juice
honey

Instructions

1. In a medium bowl, toss together the cubed mango, tomatoes and rocket.
2. Slice a cheese stick if, like me, you are the classiest bitch around and don't actually bother with fancy schmancy stuff like bocconcini (which I totally can't spell without having to look up - shut up, you know it happens to you too).
3. In a small bowl, mix together small amounts of fresh lemon juice and honey until the dressing is tangy but not too sour - sweet, but not sickly.  Grind in a little fresh black pepper.
4. Toss the dressing with the salad and serve.

A lovely summer salad that my kid went nuts for!  We served this with Roasted Chicken Breasts with Leeks, Basil & Lemon.

Roasted Chicken Breasts With Leeks, Basil & Lemon

It's been a while.  My memory is awful and I've been super busy with my attempts to shave down my ass ever-so-slightly.  When I get home and my body hurts, the last thing I often want to do is even cook dinner - let alone then blog about having cooked dinner. 

However this month is full of excellent recipes and experiments and I intend to share more of them with my lovely peeps.  Also you guys. The chickens don't appreciate my recipes as much as I wish they would, the bastards.

I apologize for my epically shitty pictures.  I don't have a good camera and am stuck with using my phone in a mostly quite dark house.  I have, however, ordered a good camera so things should improve dramatically within a week or so.

Roast Chicken Breasts w/Leeks, Basil & Lemon

Serves 4
Total Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

1kg leeks
1 tablespoonolive oil
2 tablespoons chicken stock
30g butter, softened
zest of one lemon
2 tablespoons chopped basil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
4 chicken breasts

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 240C/475F.
2. Trim the leeks and slice thinly.  Toss with the oil in a baking dish and season lightly.  Cover with foil and roast for 15 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, combine the butter, chicken stock, lemon zest, basil and garlic in a small bowl.
4. Lay the chicken breasts atop the leeks and score them lightly.
5. Spread the basil and lemon mixture atop the chicken breasts, pushing it gently into the scores.
6. Roast, uncovered for 20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked thoroughly.  Spoon the juices over the breasts every 10 minutes until completely cooked.

Note: Mine actually took about 40 minutes to cook. Chicken cooking times can vary quite a bit and my oven takes ages to cook everything - we think we need to replace the seals (already - it's 3 years old).  Basting constantly is, of course, optional - but it can be the difference between melt-in-your-mouth chicken and dry-as-fuck chicken so....keep that in mind.

Enjoy!  It was delicious! My 4 year old wouldn't touch it.  SUCKER! More for me!