Pasta with fennel, rocket and lemon

I'm finally back in the kitchen after two weeks of being sick and surviving on staples. I tried something quick and simple to get back in the swing: Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's pasta with fennel, rocket and lemon. I don't use fennel so often, and was happy to try something where the fennel flavour becomes beautifully enmeshed with the garlic, piqued by the lemon, and tempered by the rocket. I think I just ended up finding a new staple meal.

 

Plenty: Crunchy pappardelle

I'm finally back from my travels and back in the kitchen. Hurrah! I'm still keeping Ottolenghi's Plenty close by. Last week I had a go at the crunchy pappardelle, made crispily crunchy with Japanese Panko breadcrumbs. Delish. How I missed this book of spells!!

Pumpkin lasagne

Last week I had lunch at Kiasma and they had a wonderful pumpkin lasagne, leaving both me and my lunch companion yearning for more. After some browsing online, I picked this recipe, minus the proscuitto. It took a while to make (about 2.5-3 hours from start to finish) because of all the oven roasting. You can cut a lot of the time by not making your own white sauce, though. Unlike the one at Kiasma, this one was super cheesy, filled with pecorino and taleggio (and yes, that thick white layer in the middle of the photo is indeed the taleggio). In fact this is probably the most cheesy lasagne I've ever eaten. It was delicious, but I'm not sure whether it beats the Kiasma version. I garnished my portion with thyme sprigs, which accentuated the sweetness of the pumpkin nicely.

Lasagne al funghi e zucchine

Tonight I put together this lasagne using the last batch of zucchini from my neighbours' country plot and some portobello and button mushrooms, with marjoram and the usual red and white sauce. It was light on the cheese, with only parmesan accompanying the white sauce, and garnishing the top. Was the perfect way to stuff one's face on a cold autumn's Saturday night.

Mushroom lasagne

The other day my friend Maria generously gave me half a kilo of funnel chantrelles she picked. I saw it as another opportunity to - that's right - tackle another Plenty recipe. I went for the mushroom lasagne prepared with no less than four different cheeses: ricotta, Gruyère, mozzarella and Parmesan. It's the first time I've done lasagne from a recipe, or this elaborately, making my own béchamel sauce too, which was so easy that I don't understand why I didn't make it myself before. I made half a portion, which was still enough for at least 3 people. And like Ottolenghi suggested, I enjoyed it with green salad, with avocados and cherry tomatoes. Finally, one more big thank you to Maria. I am so happy to have such lovely and thoughtful friends!

Slow roasted tomatoes

I picked off this recipe from Gwyenth Paltrow's GOOP site. I make it whenever I find cherry tomatoes on the vine for a decent price. Though any vine-ripened tomatoes will do, cherry tomatoes are just a wee bit sweeter. In addition to halved tomatoes, all you need is olive oil, salt, pepper, and about 3 hours of doing something around the house while the tomatoes ripen in the oven (at 130-150C). The tomatoes are ready when the skin has curled well at the edges and the tomatoes have lost a good deal of their volume. I've enjoyed them as Gwyneth does, with mozzarella and fresh basil, but I've also had them with pasta and tossed them into salads. Most of this batch will be enriching my pitta bread lunches this week, accompanied by avocado, cucumber, lettuce and homemade hummus.

My brother's demon pasta

The other night I was exhausted and short on time so my brother volunteered to make a pasta for dinner. When I arrived, there was a splendorous smell in the air. Not only had he made food, but also a much loved starter: fried halloumi, now served with sliced plum cherry tomatoes and basil. I don't know why but the basil leaves a bizarrely great after taste reminiscent of gingerbread...

After enjoying the halloumi (as fresh off the pan as possible, before it goes all rubbery - I hate that!) were having spaghetti with red pesto, red onions, green and black olives, and cherry tomatoes, with grated parmesan on top. A quick demon mix of things he found in the fridge.

Paccheri alle zucchine

Today I used the last of the giant zucchinis grown by my neighbours. I made this first a year ago and it's an easy and reliable dish from Aglio & Olio. First you finely dice zucchini and onions and toss them in the frying pan with plenty of olive oil. Once they become golden and juicy and lose their volume, you add cherry tomatoes, chopped into quarters, and once they start to lose their shape a little, a bunch of finely chopped basil and parsely, plus salt and pepper according to taste. The recipe is made for paccheri, but I couldn't get any from the shop today so I used its little cousin rigatone instead. Grate some parmesan on top and your done. For the vegan version, leave out the parmesan.