Orzo with Feta, Cherry Tomatoes & Dill

This is proof that the simplest ingredients can taste absolutely amazing if you just give them a chance. I will definitely be making this again & again. I've since tried it with spaghetti as well, but it just didn't have the same effect. The orzo is a must for this one.

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Broccoli & Butternut Pasta Bake

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Comfort food at it's best! This was another one of those clearing-out the fridge affairs, coupled with my guilt at not often eating broccoli often enough, even though I know I should. It's not that I hate it, it's just that there are so many other less.... boring vegetables around. Like aubergine and sugar-snap peas and cherry tomatoes and... 


Well, before I get carried away, and without further ado, the recipe:

Broccoli & Butternut Pasta Bake

Serves 6

1/2 onion, chopped
1 teaspoon garlic
1 small head of broccoli (you can go half-half with cauliflower), broken into bite-size florets
1/2 butternut, cut into cubes
a handful of black olives, quartered
250g short pasta shapes, cooked until al dente
3 tbsps cakeflour
2 tbsps butter
2 cups milk
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
salt and pepper, to taste

1. Saute onion in a bit of oil for a few minutes, until just soft. Add broccoli, saute until JUST soft (remember it's still going to be baked in the oven).
2. Cook the butternut pieces as well (you can either steam it, or just pop it in the microwave)
3. Mix the pasta, broccoli, butternut, onions & olives together in a large ovenproof dish and season to taste with salt and pepper.
4. Now make the cheese sauce - melt the butter in the microwave (or on the stove, the sauce will just take a bit longer to make), stir in the flour and gradually add the milk, stirring so no lumps form. Return to the microwave in 2 minute increments, reducing to 1 minute increments as the mixture thickens. Stir before returning to the microwave each time. When the sauce is nice and thick (after about 5 or so bouts in the microwave), add a half a cup of the cheese as well as some salt and pepper to taste (keeping in mind the cheese is already salty).
5. Pour the cheese sauce over the pasta mixture in the oven dish, mix lightly to coat with the sauce. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese over the top, place in 180C oven for 30 minutes until golden. Freezes very well.

Bockwurst with roasted apples and onions

I made this a while ago, but never got around to posting the recipe, so playing a bit of catch-up.

Made a few tweaks to the original recipe and I think it turned out quite well, although perhaps a little bit sweet. I think this was exaserbated by me serving it with sweet potato mash. Not a good idea. Next time I'll leave out the sugar and serve with plain mash (as the recipe suggests), or even polenta.

Bockwurst with roasted apples and onions

Adapted from food24.com

4 Granny Smith apples, cored and quartered
3 onions, peeled and quartered
2 tsps sugar
1 tsp caraway seeds
3 oranges, juice of
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp sea salt
freshly milled black pepper
4 bockwurst or frankfurters

1. Preheat oven to 180 ºC. Arrange apples and onions in a roasting pan and sprinkle with sugar and caraway seeds. Pour orange juice over and sprinkle with olive oil, sea salt and pepper. Roast for 30 minutes, or until onion have softened.
2. Add the sausage to the oven dish, spoon juices over and return to oven to heat through. Serve with mashed potatoes.

Mexican Stuffed Peppers

Surfing tastespotting, I saw a post about a dish at some restaurant - it was a bean mixture topped with a fried egg. Taking into account my fondness for stuffed peppers and the fact that I had some spinach & ham in the fridge that needed to be used, this was the logical result. 

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Asian Fishcakes with an orange mayo dipping sauce

This is such a Friday-night meal, even though I made mine on a Tuesday evening (granted, it was the night before a public holiday on the Wednesday, so that might explain it). Quick to make - especially if you cheat as I do and use smash (instant mashed potatoes) instead of making it from scratch. I console myself with the fact that the packet of smash does state that it's made of real potatoes...

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Italian Cherry Tomato and Mushroom Pasta with an Indian Twist

(No photo - yet)

Just a bit of experimenting in the kitchen, felt like something light and meatless and these were the ingredients I had on hand. Turned out exquisitely even though I wasn't expecting much. The cumin seeds really makes the other flavours pop.

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