Posts Tagged ‘sundried tomatoes’
Asparagus, sundried tomato & olive loaf
Friday, May 6th, 2011
Spring flavour in every bite of this savoury bake
Ingredients
* 100ml olive oil , plus extra for greasing
* 250g asparagus spears , each cut into 3 pieces
* 200g self-raising flour
* 1 tbsp thyme leaves
* 3 large eggs , lightly beaten
* 100ml milk
* handful pitted black olives
* 100g sundried tomatoes , roughly chopped
* 100g Gruyère or Beaufort, grated
Method
1. Heat oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Oil and line the base of a loaf tin (approx 22 x 10 x 5cm) with baking paper. Cook the asparagus in boiling, salted water for 2 mins, drain, then cool quickly under cold running water. Pat dry.
2. Mix the flour and thyme with seasoning in a large bowl. Make a well in the centre, then add the eggs, milk and oil, stirring all the time to draw the flour into the centre. Beat for 1 min to make a smooth batter.
3. Reserve 5 asparagus tips and a few olives. Add the remaining asparagus, tomatoes, olives and two-thirds of the cheese to the batter. Pour into the tin, then put the reserved asparagus and olives on top. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Bake for 35-40 mins until the cake feels firm to the touch and is golden and crusty on top. Cool in the tin for 5 mins, then turn out and cool on a wire rack.
Preparing and cooking asparagus
Rinse spears. Hold one at each end, then bend – it will break where the tough woody stem meets the edible tip. the best way to cook the spears is in about 5cm of boiling water in a wide, deep sauté pan. Green asparagus will take 3-5 minutes, depending on its thickness. Test by piercing a spear with the point of a knife – when cooked it will just slide in easily. White asparagus takes much longer to cook as it has a woodier texture. It needs 12-15 minutes – test as above.
Tags: asparagus, black olives, eggs, Gruyère, sundried tomatoes, thyme
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Cheesy Leek and Spinach Pasta
Tuesday, March 1st, 2011
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1064/cheesy-leek-and-spinach-pasta
Ingredients:
* good knob of butter
* 1 tbsp olive oil
* 2 large leeks , total weight about 450g/1lb, thinly sliced
* 500g packets penne rigate or your favourite pasta shape
* 200ml tub crème fraîche
* 1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
* 125g packet Danish blue cheese , roughly diced
* 8 sundried tomatoes in oil, drained and thinly sliced
* 225g bag baby spinach leaves
Method
1. Melt the butter with the oil in a large pan, tip in the leeks and splash in a little hot water. Cover and cook over a low heat, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes until no longer squeaky.
2. While the leeks are cooking, boil the penne in salted water according to the packet instructions. Meanwhile, tip the crème fraîche and mustard into the leeks, add three-quarters of the cheese and season well. Stir until the cheese melts. Take off the heat.
3. Drain the pasta, reserving the cooking water. Tip the pasta into the sauce and stir, adding enough cooking water to make the sauce coat the pasta. Stir in the spinach, a big handful at a time, until it wilts, splashing in a little more water if needed. Toss in the remaining cheese and serve.
808 kcalories, protein 27g, carbohydrate 103g, fat 35 g, saturated fat 18g, fibre 9g, salt 2.03 g
Tags: leek, spinach, sundried tomatoes
Posted in All Recipes, Meal Suggestions | No Comments »