Penne Peas & Pancetta

Alex said he fancied pasta, as I hadn't been cooking it recently, (war on carbs and all), and I stumbled across the idea for this dish whilst glancing at my practically empty fridge.  I tend to always have pancetta or bacon in the fridge, along with tomatoes, spring onions and parmesan.  I also usually have a stash of frozen peas in the freezer.

FYI frozen peas are actually more fresh than ‘fresh’ peas in the supermarket chiller cabinets, as the frozen peas are frozen almost immediately once they are harvested, whereas the ‘fresh’ peas are around a week old and haven’t been preserved in any way.

I love the freshness, and the different textures of this dish.  It only takes as long as the pasta takes to cook, and it makes for a great weekday lunch or supper.  It can easily be made for one, two, four, six, eight or more.

This is what I used for the two of us:

pancetta, sliced into lardons

3 spring onions, sliced

2 cloves of garlic, finely sliced

8 cherry tomatoes, halved

handful of frozen peas

170ml half fat single cream (small pot on the supermarket shelves)

olive oil

parmesan, grated

parsley, finely chopped

200g of dried penne

Rather than wait for a pot of cold water to boil, simply boil a kettle.  Toss in a large pinch of sea salt and a glug of olive oil and cook the penne al dente.  Remember the pasta needs to be a little under cooked, as you should always add pasta to the sauce for a final minute of cooking.

Heat a non-stick pan for the pancetta lardons, and dry fry these.  You don't need any oil as the pancetta has a lot of fat which will be rendered down in the pan.  When the natural fats have been released, add the garlic and spring onions until soft.

Then add the halved cherry tomatoes, and wait for them to blister and burst.  Then add the half fat cream, a good few twists of freshly milled black pepper, and simmer.

Add a handful of frozen peas to the same boiling water that you are cooking the pasta in.  This should only take a matter of 2 or 3 minutes. 

Drain the pasta, add to the sauce, and stir through.  Add the grated parmesan and the chopped parsley and serve immediately.  You see it really is that quick....the quicker the meal....the more time you spend with the ones you love.

I like to serve this with a very simply dressed rocket and watercress salad……

….and of course with lashings of love….

xoxo

Four Cheese Macaroni Cheese

When I was growing up macaroni cheese was one of my favourite meals - my father would make it and he and my mother would disagree as to whether or not it should be runny or dry.

This is my interpretation - and it's always a winner!

500g packet of macaroni
150g good quality mature Cheddar
150g good quality Gruyere
50g Parmigiano Reggiano
100g Mozzarella di Bufala
1 large onion
500ml skimmed milk
25g butter/margerine
25g plain flour
2 heaped tsp english mustard
Pepper to taste
grated nutmeg
(You will NOT need salt because of the high salt content in the cheeses)

Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees celcius

Cook macaroni in boiling salted water quite al dente (remember you need to slightly undercook the macaroni as it will continue to cook later)

Over a medium high heat melt the butter in a large heavy saucepan, add flour to make a roux

Using a whisk, add the mustard, and then the milk to the roux, a little at a time until you've made a lovely, lump-free white sauce.

Finely dice the onion and add this to the white sauce and allow to bubble for a few mins, as you want to cook the flour and the onions

Grate all four cheeses and gradually add all of the Mozzarella, and almost all of the Gruyere, Cheddar and Parmigiano to the white sauce allowing it to melt

Grate about half a nutmeg seed and stir into the sauce

Also add some freshly ground black pepper to taste

Set the remaining cheese aside for the topping

Stir the cooked macaroni into the cheese sauce well, ensuring every last bit of pasta is coated thoroughly - even better if the sauce gets into the pasta tubes

Transfer the cheesy mixture into a oven proof gratin dish and place in the oven for approximately 20 minutes.

When the topping is wonderfully golden and the cheese is bubbling on top, you know that it's ready

Serve with a green salad.......

...........and LOVE

Notes:- This dish is not for the faint hearted, and unless you have the metabolism of a teenage supermodel, it should probably only be consumed once in a while as a special treat!

You do not have to use all four cheeses as I have done, I just like the different flavours and textures that these four cheeses bring to the sauce. I also just happen to like my Mac'n'Cheese to be silky, luxurious and super indulgent.

You can also vary this dish by thinly slicing tomatoes and placing them on the topping - as my father used to do.

Or alternatively perhaps if you have some left over gammon or ham you can include that into the sauce.  If you do this, I would omit one of the cheeses, I would say the mozarella.

I made this dish and brought it to a Thanksgiving dinner, where 20 people practically fought over it!  I have been asked to bring it every year since......