Pumpkin and Burrata Salad

Its no secret that I am burrata obsessed. I give you this delicious wintery lunch. The sweet pumpkin with the nutty pine nuts and delicious soft burrata added crunchy peppery rocket. So good. Enjoy

Ingredients

1/2 Kent pumpkin, sliced into wedges

2 cups fresh rocket leaves

1 ball of burrata per person

2 tbsp maple syrup

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil plus extra to serve

1/4 cup pine nuts

Smoked sea salt flakes and fresh cracked black pepper to taste

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Arrange pumpkin wedges on lined baking tray. Whisk the oil and maple syrup together in a bowl and pour over the pumpkin turning to make sure to cover both sides. Bake in the oven for 25 – 30 minutes turning half way through. When there is 10 minutes left add 1 cup of rocket leaves to the baking tray with the pumpkin and roast together. The rocket leaves will become a delicious crispy garnish. At 2 minutes left, add your pine nuts to the roasting tray and move around with a spoon when you have one minute remaining to evenly roast.

Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 – 10 minutes. Arrange the pumpkin in serving plates with burrata and top with the roasted and fresh rocket as well as the pine nuts. Season with smoked sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper, add a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Enjoy

Three Cheese Puffs with Crispy Kale

Ummm, yum! This is really easy to make. Sharp Parmesan with soft mozzarella and delicious burrata and add lemon and crispy roasted kale to this. Wow… Delicious!

Ingredients

2 store bought sheets puff pasty

2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

4 cups chopped fresh kale

4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1/4 tsp chilli flakes

zest of 1 medium lemon

1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 ball of burrata cheese

Fresh lemon wedges to serve

Cracked black pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in a small pot and add the garlic. Fry in the oil for 1 – 2 min or until just brown then transfer garlic and oil to a bowl to cool. Line a baking tray with baking paper. The puff pastry sheets I use are square. I cut off roughly 1/4 from each sheet and reserve that in freezer for another meal leaving about a 3/4 sheet per person/serving. Place your puff pastry on the lined baking tray. Once the garlic and oil has cooled down, brush the pastry with the garlic oil. Next top with some mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle with red pepper flakes, lemon zest and add some of the crispy fried garlic. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes or until the pastry starts to puff and brown a little and the cheese has melted.

While this is baking mix your kale and remaining oil in a bowl and season with salt. After 10 minutes remove your puff pastry from the oven and top with the kale. Put back in the oven and bake for a further 7-8 minuted or until the kale is crispy. Remove from oven and top with some freshly squeezed lemon juice and cracked black pepper. Serve hot with the burrata cheese. YUM! Enjoy!

Sausage and Spinach Pasta

This was absolutely delicious. I served the leftovers for lunch the next day and added a poached egg to bulk it up. Very simple to make and so many yummy flavours. Worth it!

Ingredients

1.5 cups uncooked penne pasta

2 large casalinga Italian sausages (pork and fennel)

180 g fresh baby spinach

1 medium brown onion, sliced

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1 cup of white wine

1 tbsp olive oil

300 ml thickened cream

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

salt and black pepper to taste

Method

Place your baby spinach in a colander that will be used to drain the pasta after cooked. Heat a large pot of salted water and bring to boil. Boil the pasta as per the packet instructions and make sure to reserve a cup of the pasta water before draining. Meanwhile start making the sauce.

Squeeze the sausage meat out of the casings and pull into chunks. Heat the olive oil in a pan and fry the sausage meat until cooked through. Remove the sausage meat from the pan reserving the fats and add the onion. Fry the onion and red pepper flakes for 5 minutes. Add the sausage meat back into the pan and fry together for another 3 minutes. Now its time to add your wine. This will lift all those amazing flavours off the bottom of the pan. Allow to simmer in the wine until the wine has reduced by just more than half. Now add your cream, mix well and allow to simmer until the sauce starts to thicken. Season with salt and pepper and stir through your Parmesan cheese.

Drain your pasta over the colander which contains the baby spinach. The pasta water will wilt the spinach perfectly. Add your pasta and spinach to the pan with the sauce and mix well. Add about 1/3 cup of reserved pasta water and stir together adding more if needed. Serve and enjoy!

Burrata, Rockmelon and Prosciutto Salad

A quick salad for a busy weekday lunch or a delicious fresh salad to pair with a glass of bubbly on a hot summers weekend. So delicious and so easy to make. This serves 2 as a meal or 4 as a starter.

Ingredients

1 x Burrata ball

100g prosciutto

1/2 rockmelon thinly sliced

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil plus extra for crispy bread

1 tbsp champagne vinegar

1/4 tsp honey

pinch of chilli flakes

pinch of sea salt flakes

pinch of black pepper

small basil and mint leaves to serve

1 – 2 Ciabatta rolls, sliced

Method

Preheat the oven to 200C. Arrange the sliced bread on a oven tray lined with baking paper. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and season with salt. Bake in the oven until crispy. About 10 minutes. Do keep an eye on it so it doesn’t burn.

In a small bowl whisk together the oil, honey, vinegar, salt, black pepper and chilli flakes. Set aside. Arrange the burrata, prosciutto and melon on a serving dish. Scatter with the basil and mint leaves and drizzle with the dressing made earlier. Serve with the warm crispy bread. Enjoy!

Pesto Chicken Pasta

Very delicious filling pasta with all the right goodies to make this a winner. Change up your pesto choice perhaps, or use a different cheese. Everything goes with chicken right. I bought the pre chopped bacon bits from the shop. Enjoy!

Ingredients

2 cups cooked Penne pasta

1 large chicken breast, cubed

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp dried oregano

1/2 cup white wine

2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 cup finely chopped bacon

1 stick celery, thinly sliced

1 cup of pesto (I used a basil and cashew pesto)

1/2 cup mayo

1 cup fresh rocket leaves

1/3 cup shaved Parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper

Method

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Marinate the chicken in the paprika, oregano and 1 tbsp olive oil seasoning with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a pan and fry the bacon until crispy. Transfer to a plate with kitchen paper and drain. Set aside. Add the chicken to the pan and cook until browned on all sides. Add the wine to the pan and simmer scraping the bottom. Allow to simmer until all the wine has evaporated and the chicken is tender and cooked through. Remove from heat and set aside.

Once the chicken has cooled down pull apart slightly by hand. Mix together the chicken, bacon, rocket leaves, pesto, mayo, celery and Parmesan cheese. Place in a bowl in the fridge. This will be a more chilled meal so could work great as a pasta salad side dish too.

Start boiling your pasta as per packet instructions. Before draining the pasta reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water. Drain pasta, remove chicken mixture from fridge and add pasta. Mix well. Add 1/4 of pasta water and mix until the sauce looks more creamy. Add more pasta water if needed. Serve and enjoy!

Carrot, Pumpkin, Sundried Tomato and Feta Salad

Perfect combo of warm roast veggies and fresh crisp salad goodies. This is so good and so easy to smash together. I was going to do just a roast pumpkin salad and decided to add the baby carrots staring at me from the veggie drawer last minute. So worth it. Absolutely yumo!

Ingredients

1/2 butternut pumpkin, peeled and cut into cubes

1 small bunch of baby carrots, peeled and cut in half if on the bigger side

2 cups fresh rocket leaves

1 block of Danish feta, cut into cubes

1/2 cup sundried tomato strips

1/4 red onion, thinly sliced

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra

sea salt flakes and black pepper to taste

Method

Pre heat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Line a oven pan with baking paper and arrange the pumpkin and carrots on top. Drizzle with oil and season with salt. Roast until veggies are fork tender. Around 20 – 25 minutes.

Meanwhile make the dressing and prepare the other ingredients. Place the sliced onion in a little bowl with water and pop back in the fridge until needed. Make the dressing by whisking together the vinegar and oil and season with salt and black pepper.

Once the veggies are ready, remove from oven and transfer to a bowl. Pop in the fridge for 3-5 minutes to cool down a little so that it will not welt the rocket leaves. Drain the onions. Once the veggies have cooled slightly add the other ingredients to the bowl, add dressing and mix through. Serve and enjoy!

Buratta with Grilled Nectarines and Prosciutto

Buratta is my go to for a quick summers weekend lunch. Paired with a crisp white wine or dry bubbles. Yes please! These flavours work really well. All drizzled in a yummy champagne vinegar dressing. I’ll take 2 please.

Ingredients

1 buratta ball

3 white nectarines, sliced

1/2 cup fresh basil leaves

1/2 cup fresh mint leaves

1/2 cup tiny tomatoes, halved

6/8 strips of prosciutto

1 tbsp champagne vinegar

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

sea salt flakes and black pepper to taste

Method

Heat a griddle pan and rub the nectarines with a bit of oil. Once the pan is warm grill the nectarines on both sides until nice grill marks have formed and the flesh is soft. They will take a few minutes to be ready so in this the time prepare the rest. Whisk together the vinegar and olive oil seasoned with salt and black pepper and add the tomatoes. Let it stand on the side. Once the peaches are grilled, add to the tomato and dressing mixture and allow to stand for a few minutes to soak up all the goodness. Spoon the tomato and nectarine mixture on plates, top with buratta and fresh basil and mint. Add the prosciutto and serve. Delicious. Enjoy!

Creamed Spinach Fettucine

So what is not to like? Creamed spinach is a sauce already right so why not mix some delicious carbs through it. I also find that every time I make creamed spinach I have leftovers so with this recipe I can put the leftovers to good use and whip up a quick lunch packed full of veggie goodness. Enjoy!

Ingredients

1 medium red onion, diced

250g frozen spinach

150ml thickened cream

1 tbsp butter

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp flour

salt and pepper to taste

150 – 200g dry fettucine pasta

1 tbsp lemon zest

1/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese

Method

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil.

While waiting for water to start boiling you can begin with the sauce. Add the oil and onion to a pan and fry for 5 – 10 minutes until the onion is soft and fragrant. Add the butter and when melted add the flour. Stir well and then add the thawed spinach. Let this simmer until you can see it starts to catch a bit on the bottom of the pan. This will mean that most of the liquids have evaporated. Now start adding your cream in intervals. Add 50 ml at a time and stir through. Depending on your preference you might need more or less that 150 ml cream. Season with salt and black pepper to taste. Do try to keep it more on the saucy side as it has to coat the pasta later on. Let that simmer for a minute or 2 and when the consistency and seasoning is to your liking turn off the heat and finish up the pasta.

Boil your pasta as per packet instructions. Reserve a cup of the pasta water before draining. Turn up the heat under the spinach again and allow to come to a simmer. Add the pasta and half a 1/4 cup of the pasta water adding more if necessary. Stir well before adding too much. Allow to cook in pan for 2-3 minutes and serve with lemon zest and Parmesan. Enjoy!

Burrata & Broccolini Pasta with Burnt Lemon Butter

So delicious and fresh. Burrata is just such a great ingredient to use and as you can see I do like to use it in many different ways. This was delicious and worked really well especially on a cool rainy day, having a warm pasta behind a fresh burrata really worked. Enjoy!

Ingredients

2 cups large spiral pasta

2 cups broccolini, cut into thirds

1 cup asparagus, cut into thirds

70g butter

juice of half a lemon

salt and black pepper

Method

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. You will now work in batches. Do not strain the water off! Before starting to cook the veggies prepare a large bowl with water and ice on the side.

First we start by boiling the brocollini for 3-4 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and place in the ice bath. Now boil the asparagus for 1-2 minutes and remove with a slotted spoon and place in the ice bath with the brocollini. In the same water, boil you pasta as per packet instructions. My pasta needed 10 minutes which is perfect for starting to work on the burnt butter.

While the pasta is boiling heat the butter in a large pan and allow the butter to start to brown. Once it has reached your desired brown tint turn off the heat and add the freshly squeezed lemon juice. Drain the broccolini and asparagus.

Once the pasta has cooked drain and add to the pan with the burnt butter. Turn the heat back on, add the veggies and allow to cook in the butter for a couple of minutes until warm and the burnt butter is well incorporated throughout all your ingredients. Serve with the fresh burrata and some black pepper. Enjoy

Ham & Pineapple Pizza Puffs

First off, yes I am a pineapple on pizza person. What to do with all that left over Christmas ham was my dilemma so here it is. Quick and easy and so delicious! Enjoy

Ingredients

4 sheets puffs pastry

1/4 extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup tomato paste

1/4 cup water

1 tsp dried oregano

salt and black pepper

1 cup canned pineapple, drained and chopped

1 cup cooked ham, pulled into bite size pieces

2 cups grated Colby cheese

1/2 cup cubed Danish feta

1 tsp red chilli flakes

Method

Preheat the oven to 200C fan forced. Mix the tomato paste and water in a bowl until well incorporated. Now mix through the oregano and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Cut the puff pastry sheets into rectangles of about 10×20 cm. With the back of a knife make a dented line about 1-2cm along the entire rectangle to create a border. This will help keep the toppings at bay while getting a nice crispy edge. Brush the borders with olive oil.

Now it’s assembly time. Spoon over some of the tomato mixture, try to stay within the borders. I use roughly 1-2 tbsp per rectangle. Next add a sprinkle of red chilli flakes to each. Then your grated cheese followed by the ham, pineapple and feta. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until golden and crispy. Enjoy!