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Brown Butter Pumpkin Linguine




If you've never browned butter, you are missing out on some serious depth of flavor. Once browned, it doesn't take much butter to add a lot of character to just about any recipe.   We don't eat a lot of butter in this house so it is with no reservation that I say there really is no substitute in this dish.




INGREDIENTS:


16 ounces (1 lb) whole wheat pasta
5 cups of beef stock (preferrably homemade)
3 cups water
2 tablespoons butter
1 8-10 inch sprig of fresh rosemary
1 ½ cups pumpkin puree
1 ½ cup dried shiitake mushrooms (optional)
Parmesan cheese to garnish







1 – Bring beef stock and water to boil in pot large enough for cooking pasta.


2 – Add pasta and stir in; cooking for approximately 8 minutes or until al dente.  Do not drain (see below).


3 – While pasta is cooking, heat  frying/saute pan over high heat.  Once pan is very hot, add butter.  


4 – Stir butter and allow it to brown but not burn. While holding rosemary with one hand, use the other hand to scrape the needles off of the sprig and into the pan of hot butter.  


5 – Add pumpkin to this and about 1 cup of the pasta water/stock mixture. 


6 – Test pasta to see that it is just about finished.  Using pasta spoon, lift pasta into pan with butter and pumpkin.  Toss to coat. 


7 – If using, add mushrooms to remaining pasta water to hydrate. 


8 – Serve by tossing with mushrooms and garnishing with parmesan cheese curls (made with a vegetable peeler). 










Makes 6 main course or 8 hearty side course servings.  Per main course serving:



* Nutritional data calculated using nutritional compilation tool for 2,000 calorie diet and is deemed close but not exact. 





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Canned heat: Salmon and Feta Flan

New Zealand chef and writer Ray McVinnie says he didn't become a good cook until he learned to be patient - that some recipes are for when you have hours to spare in the kitchen and some are for when there are a million other things to do. It's quite a good motto for life in general, when you think about it - especially if you're prone to a bit of 'argh-I'm-not-achieving-anything-on-my-to-do-list-itis'.

This recipe is for one of those nights (or days) when time, energy, money and inspiration are in short supply. Unlike those recipes that claim to let you get dinner ready in the wink of an eye (very funny post here about the latest Jamie Oliver '30 Minute Meals' book), this really does just need just five minutes of your attention before you throw it in the oven and recover with a gin and tonic.

Salmon and Feta Flan
This is a very forgiving recipe. Feel free to swap the salmon for tuna and the feta for another hard cheese, or use a little cream or plain yoghurt if you don't have enough milk. Eaten hot, it has a light, souffle-like texture, but it's pretty good cold too. Leftovers are good in a lunchbox the next day.

4 eggs
1/2 cup plain flour
1 3/4 cups milk
1 onion, finely chopped
100g feta, crumbled
handful of grated cheddar
200g tin salmon, drained
handful of parsley, finely chopped
zest of a lemon
black pepper

Preheat the oven to 180C and grease a 23cm metal or glass pie dish (not a loose-bottomed one or your flan will escape to the darkest recesses of the oven).
Put all the ingredients in a large bowl and beat like fury with a wooden spoon until they are well mixed (you can also do this in a food processor if you don't have the energy for a bit of beating). Pour into the prepared dish and bake for around 45 minutes, until golden and set. Eat hot or cold, with some crusty bread and a crunchy green salad dressed with a lemony vinaigrette. It's also good with a dollop of Yoghurt Tartare Sauce.
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Cinnasweet Pumpkin Seeds

Ingredients

  • 4 cups pumpkin seeds, rinsed and dried
  • 1/2 cup margarine, melted
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup white sugar, divided

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
  2. Combine the pumpkin seeds, margarine, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl; stir to coat the seeds. Spread the seeds in a single layer in a 10x15 inch jelly roll pan.
  3. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes; stir and return to oven for 15 minutes more; remove from oven and sprinkle 2 tablespoons sugar over the seeds; stir to coat. Return to oven and bake another 15 minutes before removing again to sprinkle with remaining sugar and stirring. Bake another 15 minutes. Allow to cool before serving. Store leftover seeds in an airtight container. 
 **These made my home smell amazing!! Def a different way to make pumpkin seeds but worth it for a change :) I did bake them at a slightly lower setting because I didn't want to burn them :)**
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ANGLO-INDIAN PORK VINDALOO

1 kg pork with lard cut into medium pieces       
3 big onions slices finely
3 big tomatoes pureed                        
1 tablespoon cumin powder
½ teaspoon turmeric powder               
1 teaspoon mustard powder
3 teaspoons chillie powder                    
1 teaspoon pepper powder
2 tablespoons garlic paste       
1 cup vinegar
2 tablespoons oil                                                            
Salt to taste

Marinate the pork with the salt, vinegar, chillie powder, cumin powder pepper powder, mustard powder, turmeric powder and garlic paste for about one hour.
Heat oil in a pressure cooker and fry the onions till golden brown.  Add the marinated pork and fry for a little while. No add the tomato puree and keep frying for some more time. Now add sufficient water and pressure cook for 15 minutes till the meat is well cooked. Serve hot with rice or bread. Enjoy this lovely delicious Anglo-Indian Dish with chappattis, Hoppers, Dosa, or Idli too
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TOASTED ORZO with PARMESAN & BASIL

This simple (and versatile) little side dish is just delightful. The orzo is toasted in butter before boiling, which adds an extra flavor, then it is tossed with Parmesan and fresh basil. Whether you use it as a side dish or a main dish, it is a very nice change.2 tablespoons butter
1 cup uncooked orzo pasta
2¼ cups chicken broth
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
¼ cup thinly sliced fresh basil
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
pinch of red pepper flakes
.
Melt the butter in a heavy bottomed pan that has a tight fitting lid. Add the UNCOOKED orzo pasta and stir until completely coated with the butter. Cook on medium-high until the pasta turns golden to lightly brown (watch it because once it starts to turn, it turns quickly).
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Stir in the chicken broth, red pepper lakes, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer until the orzo is tender and liquid is (almost) all absorbed. This will take 15 to 20 minutes depending on how fast your simmer is.
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When orzo is tender, remove from heat and stir in Parmesan cheese and fresh basil. Serve hot.
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NOTE: Just about anything can be added to this recipe, next time I think I'll include a little crisp bacon & some mushrooms!!!
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Beef stew

Ingredients

1 Swede
4 carrots
2 parsnips
3-4 onions (N.B supermarkets usually sell 'stew packs' which work out a lot cheaper! I always tend to buy more carrots and parsnips as they don't have many in)
1 pack of diced beef (better not to use really good quality as you'll cook it for a while)
2-3 stock cubes (knorr are the best and you can use chicken or beef, doesn't matter)
2 tablespoons of gravy browning
1 tablespoon of corn flour
Water

You'll need a pretty big pan for this or it wont fit. If you don't have a stew pan then just make the quantities smaller.
Method

1. Peel and chop all the veg into decent sized chunks (if they're too small they will just dissolve).
2. Bung all the veg and meat into a pan and cover with water. Only use an amount of cold water that just covers the ingredients.
3. Bring to the boil. You will find that you get this weird foam on the top, just spoon it all out. Alternatively, i think you can seal (fry until only the edges are brown) the beef before hand to stop this foam from appearing. I'm too lazy to do this!
4. Add the stock cubes and stir to dissolve.
5. Dissolve the gravy browning in boiling water in a mug or something. Add to the stew and stir in. If you just put the gravy powder straight in the pan you'll end up with gross lumps of gravy!
6. Cover and simmer for 1.5-2 hours. Annoying i know but i used to leave it while i was at a lecture!
7. Dissolve the corn flour in a separate mug or something.
8. Take the stew off the heat and add the corn flour solution.
9. Put the stew back on the heat and bring to the boil again to activate the corn flour. At this stage the stew should go thicker. Don't expect it to go really thick though.
10. Eat! This is really nice with crusty bread or rice and peas.

N.B You can also do exactly the same but with chicken which is well nice. You'll have to use chicken legs and/or thighs with the skins on for flavour. You will definitely have to brown the chicken in a little oil before adding all the veg and water etc. Before adding the corn flour, its nice to take out all the chicken and take it off the bone, removing the skin. Bung it all back in then add the corn flour.
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