Tag Archives: quick and easy

Chicken and courgettes with spaghetti

25 Sep

DSCI0560I was caught on the hop the other night. We were supposed to be going out and our plans fell through so I had to pull together a meal from what I had in.  The result was amazing.  In the past I have made off the cuff meals from scratch. I suppose it is a bit like the invention test in Masterchef.  We have had some great meals but I would not write down what I did so they were always a one-off, much to my husbands dismay.  This was one of the reasons my grandson, Danny, talked me into doing a blog.  Well, this is my latest attempt at an invention test.  Hope you like it.

Chicken and courgettes with Spaghetti                    Serves 4

  • Spray olive oil or Frylight
  • 3 rashers of lean bacon, all fat removed, sliced
  • 1 onion chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, chopped
  • 1 courgette, halved lengthways and then sliced
  • About 150g/6 oz leftover roast chicken, cut into bite sized pieces (or 1 chicken breast simmered in chicken stock until cooked the cut up as before)
  • 1 large, ripe tomato, roughly chopped
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 300g spaghetti
  1. Heat the oil in a large frying pan then fry the bacon over a high heat for a couple of minutes until changing colour.
  2. Turn down the heat to low – medium and add the onion and garlic. Mix well and sauté for about 10 minutes until the onion is soft but not coloured.
  3. Add the courgettes, mix well and cook for 3 minutes.
  4. Add the chicken and cook for 4 minutes then add the tomatoes. Season to taste then mix well. Cook for about 5 minutes until the tomatoes have broken down, the chicken is cooked through and the courgettes are tender.
  5. In the meantime, cook the spaghetti as per packet instructions.
  6. Add a couple of tbsp of the spaghetti cooking water to the chicken mix to make a little sauce.
  7. When the spaghetti is cooked, drain and add to the chicken. Toss so the spaghetti is coated with the sauce then serve immediately.

 

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Prawn and salami with spaghetti

19 Mar

DSCI0567I cannot begin to tell you how delicious this recipe is.  Normally I struggle to eat all the food on my plate but this was an exception. In fact, it was so lovely, I could happily have gone back for seconds if there were any.

I would never have imagined salami would be a match for prawns but they work so well together.

Salami is cured sausage, fermented and air-dried meat, originating from one or a variety of animals. Historically, salami was popular among Southern European peasants because it can be stored at room temperature for periods of up to 30–40 days once cut, supplementing a possibly meager or inconsistent supply of fresh meat. Varieties of salami are traditionally made across Europe.

Varieties of salami include:

  • Cacciatore (Cacciatora, Cacciatorini) “Hunter” salami. Italy.
  • Chorizo, also spicy Iberian variant
  • Ciauscolo, typical of Marche
  • Fegatelli
  • Felino, Province of Parma
  • Finocchiona, typical of southern Tuscany
  • Genovese
  • German salami
  • Kulen spicy salami characteristic for Slavonia, Vojvodina and parts of Baranya
  • Milanese
  • Pepperoni
  • Saucisson sec (French “dry sausage”)
  • Soppressata, typical of Calabria
  • Spegepølse (Danish, means salted and dried sausage)
  • Winter salami (Hungarian Téliszalámi)

Here is the recipe. Hope you enjoy it.

Prawns and salami with spaghetti                          Serves 2 – 3

  • 1 tbsp rapeseed or olive oil
  • 1 small red chilli, seeds removed then thinly sliced
  • 1 fat clove garlic, finely chopped
  • 5 slices of Italian Salami, thinly sliced into strips
  • 10 cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 1 pack (240g) raw prawns
  • small handful parsley, roughly chopped
  • 200g spaghetti
  1. Heat the oil in a wok and bring a saucepan of salted water to the boil
  2. Turn down the heat under the wok to low and fry the chilli and garlic for 2 minutes. Make sure they don’t burn.
  3. add the salami and fry for a couple of minutes then add the tomatoes.  Cook for 5 – 10 minutes until the tomatoes have broken down and formed a sauce.
  4. In the meantime add the spaghetti to the boiling water and cook as per packet.
  5. Add a couple of spoons of the pasta cooking water to the tomato sauce and then add the prawns.  Mix well and cook for 5 minute or until the prawns have turned pink and cooked through, stirring occasionally and adding a little more pasta water if it becomes too dry.  Add the chopped parsley and mix together.
  6. Drain the spaghetti and add to the prawn mix.  Toss together to coat the spaghetti in the sauce then serve immediately.

 

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