Ragù

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Fall is really here. We are still having some beautiful days but more often than not, I am coming home looking for something to warm up my hands and my face. There might have been a lot of stews and soups simmering away in my kitchen lately. I originally planned to make this for my friends Judith and Mimi when they helped me squeeze my washing machine into my tiny kitchen and then build a new sink seemingly around it, but after we had completely re-assembled my kitchen we gave up on the whole dinner thing. And I was stuck with a kilo of minced meat at 8pm, so I decided to not make a quick ragù but something rich and seemingly creamy. I didn't get to sleep until 2 that night, but it was definitely worth it.
I used the recipe from Caz Hildebrand and Jacob Kenedy's 'The Geometry of Pasta' as my guide and as always their descriptions were easy to follow (and to adapt to whatever I wanted to make).
Ok, so what should you know before you even start with this recipe - it needs time - if you're really quick with the chopping and browning and stuff make sure you don't have to leave the house for the next 5 hours, if you, like me end up running to the supermarket halfway through the first steps because you've forgotten something, you'll end up needing closer to 6 hours.
It is a fantastic pasta sauce, an even better sauce for a lasagne, it is really nice in pasties (I guess they're not that Cornish anymore once you add the ragù) it freezes really well oh, and it's really nice just with a slice of bread as well.

Ragù (after Hildebrand & Kenedy)
600g Minced Beef
400g Minced Veal
200g Carrot
200g Onion
4 cloves Garlic
100g Butter
60ml Olive Oil
100g Bacon (unsmoked), cut into small strips or pieces
400ml Red Wine
600ml Milk
1kg Tomatoes (I used fresh tomatoes, but you could also use tinned ones)
250ml Beef Stock
A sprig of fresh Thyme (optional)

Before you do anything else, find a big pot.
Peel the carrot and dice it. Cut the onion into pieces about the same size. Then, peel the garlic and cut it into thin slices. The original recipe suggests using a large frying pan for the next step but I don't have a large frying pan so I just proceeded with a big pot and waited longer.
Melt the butter and the oil, then sauté the vegetables and bacon over a medium for 10 minutes until they are somewhat soft. Turn up the heat and add the meat in 5 smaller batches. Between additions, allow the water in the meat to evaporate - if you are using a frying pan, this will be relatively quick, if you are using a pot, give it some time. After you have added the last batch, wait for the pan to 'splutter' I know that sounds weird but you'll see - once it starts happening you'll understand. Turn down the heat and brown the meat. You're waiting for some crispy bits to appear which should take about 15-20 minutes if you have that magic frying pan and took closer to 20-25 minutes in my pot.
While you are waiting for the meat, cut the tomatoes into small pieces. If you are using fresh tomatoes and don't like their skins, you could blanch and peel them. I just left the skins on and cut them into pieces.
Add the wine and if you have been using a pan, now you transfer everything to a big pot anyway. Add the milk, tomatoes, and stock. Now is also the time to start seasoning. Add some salt, some black pepper, some chilli flakes (apparently that is somewhat heretical, but who cares?! It tastes nice!) and if you have some, some fresh thyme.
Turn the heat down very low and simmer for 4 hours or so, stirring occasionally. If the sauce becomes too thick, you can add some more stock or water, but you're aiming for a really thick sauce ('as thick as double cream and, stirred up, the whole should be somewhat porridgy' - and you wonder why I love that book?!?!)
Season one last time. I like to add some balsamic vinegar to adjust the acidity.
Now, either go to sleep or dig in :)

Stuffed Shells

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I talked to a friend today who told me 'at least [I] do something other than work...like write a blog...' since I don't wan't to seem like a workaholic (I really am NOT a workaholic - if there's a new episode of Pan Am or Hart of Dixie or Once Upon a Time or anything else along those lines I will drop everything to watch said episode, so that is proof enough that there is no workaholicness going on, right? And yes, I know my taste in TV shows is debatable) I am finally getting around to finishing this post.
The lesson we should have learned from this is that the only way I get stuff done is if someone makes me feel like a workaholic...or something along those lines :)

Believe it or not, but this was the first time I made stuffed shells. And I am in love. None of that awkwardness you have when you're stuffing cannelloni or the boringness of lasagne. Don't expect me to make either again anytime soon. I used Heidi Swanson's recipe from a few months ago for quantities and the amount of filling was perfect to make enough shells for a large (32cm) baking dish. For some reason I had a blonde moment when I thew the entire pack of shells into the pot (I ended up using about half of them...oops, but they made a really nice dinner later on).

Anyhow, I was originally planning on giving this recipe a slightly fancier name - I wanted to call them autumnal stuffed shells (because they have butternut squash in them) or something similar but the fact that Christmas is just around the corner and it's definitely not autumn anymore stopped me from going for that option. 

Unfortunately that meant I was out of ideas. So we're stuck with the boring name. And a not so exciting photo because I haven't mastered the art of taking nice pictures at night.

So, let's make some stuffed shells to impress someone cute (or very lovely flatmates in my case)!
And if you want some music to listen to while cooking, how about some Foreign Slippers.

Stuffed Shells

2 large tins Peeled Plum Tomatoes 

A generous splash of Olive Oil

Ground Cinnamon

1 Clove Garlic, crushed

Salt & Pepper

250g peeled & roasted Butternut Squash

250g Ricotta Cheese

1 Egg

100g Parmesan Cheese

Zest of 1/2 Lemon
Some Salt, Pepper & Nutmeg

Some dried Pasta Shells (Heidi suggests about 25-30 shells)

If you haven't roasted your butternut squash already, do so now.

Then, make a simple tomato sauce. Pour some olive oil into a pan and add the garlic, then turn on the heat.

Wait until your kitchen smells all garlicky (not burnt!) then add the tomatoes. Simmer at a medium heat while you put a pot with enough water on for the pasta.

Boil the pasta until it's al dente (Heidi says the shells will tear if you overcook them, since I listened to her and had no problems I can't tell you whether they'll tear but they were easy enough to handle so save yourself some time and drain them sooner rather than later).

While the pasta is bubbling away (by the way, don't forget about the tomato sauce, give it a stir every once in a while and season it with some salt, pepper and a teaspoon or so of cinnamon) return to the butternut squash.
Mash the squash  - yes, I had to go there - and whisk it together with the ricotta, then add the parmesan cheese and lemon zest. Unless you're into eating raw egg, season the filling now, then whisk in the egg.

Preheat your oven to 180˚C.

Rinse the pasta with some cold water so they're not too hot to handle.

Spread out about 1/3 of the tomato sauce in your baking dish.

Fill the shells with about one tablespoon filling each and set them in the baking dish. Sing along to your music to stop yourself from falling asleep while doing so :)

Once your baking dish is filled or you have run out of shells, spread the remainder of the tomato sauce on top of the shells and bake for about 45 minutes.

I hope you have a fabulous week and are getting as excited about all the food you'll eat over Christmas as I am!

Summer Pasta

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I hope you're having an equally lovely day as I am having today (is that actually a proper sentence?).
I just gave my friend Louise a chapter to read (yes, the one I haven't managed to get into proper draft form for like 3 weeks now...), the sun is shining through my window and it's a balmy 16 degrees outside.
If I was allowed to exercise these days (long story involving a wasp, my arm and a couple of visits to the minor injuries unit at 3am last week, but for once I'm listening to my mum - dear mum, I hope you notice how much effort this takes to not go and enjoy the sun on a run!) I would sooo go out and enjoy the weather some more - perhaps I'll go for a gentle stroll later this afternoon.
Anyhow, as I am re-learning how to eat when I'm not exercising I am rediscovering the wonders of summery pasta dishes. I can't seem to get enough of the many possibilities these days.
Yesterday I was inspired by Alex's mum's pasta recipe, but I thought I could share two of my favourite combinations with you today. They both follow the same principle and the quantities for the veg are based on a 40-50g portion of pasta - i.e. if you are a fan of larger pasta portions, use some more but at the same time I probably wouldn't treble the amounts if you want to have 150g pasta.

So what I normally do is stick some thin pasta (the type I use is called spaghettini but then again they seem to have a different name depending on the brand and the country, I am talking about the kind that takes 5 minutes to cook, and no, not the quick-cook kind) into some boiling salt water and then get on with sorting out the veg/fruit.

Courgette Pasta
150g Courgette (that is 2 small (12-15cm) courgettes), washed and the ends cut off
15-20g Parmesan, grated
Salt, Pepper
Some nice Olive Oil

Using a vegetable peeler, 'peel' the courgette into thin strips and set aside, then you grate the parmesan cheese. Wait until the pasta is nearly done (i.e. you feel like it's going to need another minute), then add the courgette and, after that additional minute, drain the pasta. Put the pasta into a bowl, drizzle with some olive oil, season with some salt and pepper and sprinkle with the parmesan.
See, that didn't take that long...

Pear and Gorgonzola Pasta
1 Pear
30g Gorgonzola

While the pasta cooks, wash the pear, core, and cut it into thin slices.
Cut the gorgonzola into smaller pieces and put the pieces into the bowl you'll eat the pasta from. Once the pasta is done, drain it but don't worry about all the water draining off. Mix the pasta with the cheese (the remainder of the cooking water that didn't drain off should turn some of the cheese into a creamy sauce that will stick to the pasta), then add the pear slices and smile while you enjoy this super quick lunch.

Prawn Pasta

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You know the feeling when you are standing in front of your fridge and there isn't really anything in there that you want to eat?
I've been having that a lot lately. So earlier this week I decided to go back to basics and make a quick and simple pasta dish.
It's bursting with flavours and is simply perfect for a quick spring dinner (or so I think). You can throw it together in 15 minutes (10 if you're going for really thin pasta) and concentrate on your guests rather than the cooking part of the whole thing.
It's also a perfect comfort food for when all you want to do is watch some crappy TV in your favourite pair of sweats (wanna guess which of the two options I went for? :) )

Prawn Pasta
1 handfull Freshwater Prawns per person
1 tsp Lemon Zest per person
Olive Oil
Lemon Juice
Salt
Pepper
Dried Pasta

Bring a large pot of water to the boil, then cook the pasta until it's done.
While the pasta is bubbling away, drain the prawns if they came in some brine. Grate the lemon zest if you haven't done so already.
Drain the pasta, pour it into a bowl, mix in some lemon juice and some olive oil. Then toss in the prawns.
Season with salt and pepper, then add the lemon zest.
Serve in a pretty bowl and let the flavours and colours make you feel better.

Schinkennudeln

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This is one of my favourite post-workout/comfort foods (I know, I should make a distinction between the two, but believe me, when you come home from a run or a spinning session and you've pushed yourself slightly too hard the boundaries get blurred).
Anyhow, this is one of those classic leftover-dishes that should stop being leftover-dishes and should just be eaten like every day!
Today's version had a mixture of pastrami and ham in it because we had all those leftovers from a board-game and pizza night yesterday (more about that tomorrow) and it worked just as well as a plain ham version does.

Schinkennudeln
Pasta (you'll need less than you think you will, 100g dry pasta will feed a VERY hungry person)
Ham (30-50g per person will be more than enough, but if you're using leftovers just use as much or as little as you have)
Onion (I tend to use 1/2 an onion per person)
Eggs (I like using two eggs per person, but again go for whatever your fridge tells you to :) )
Butter

Boil the pasta.
After you've drained the pasta, heat some butter in a heavy bottomed pan. Cut the onion into fairly large pieces, aim for about 1/2 to 1 cm squares (if you're really slow when you're chopping things then I would do that before heating the butter) and sauté until they are lovely and glassy.
While the onions are sautéing away, cut the ham into pieces. Add the pasta to the onions, give them a quick stir (if you are using leftover pasta from last night, give them a minute or two to heat up a bit), then add the ham.
Crack the eggs into the pan and mix them in with everything else. Turn the heat down and cover the pan.
Give things a couple of minutes before you give them a stir.
The eggs should be non-glibbery at this point, otherwise give them another minute or two. I don't really care how much you like carbonara sauce, this is not what you're aiming for.
Season with some salt and pepper.
Turn up the heat for another one or two minutes so you get some nice and crusty bits before you pile everything onto plates.
Anyhow, I hope you'll all have a good start to your week, I am off to pretend to do some more work :)

My First Recipe

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As I mentioned last week, the first recipe I ever engaged with in a creative manner was that for a creamy pasta sauce.
It's the perfect base sauce for pretty much anything and I've stuck with the same general idea for the last 21 or so years. I'm not gonna pretend I've got a perfect memory (actually if I didn't have Manuel to remind me to send emails to people I probably would forget about most of them) and tell you how amazing it was and stuff, but I do remember the feeling of this piece of paper, on which my dad had recorded my recipe for future generations, being 'mine' and boy was I proud of that :)

Little Katharina's Pasta Sauce :)
100gr Cream cheese
100ml Cream
1/4-1/2 Vegetable stock cube
Some water
Salt
Pepper
Nutmeg

Over a medium heat, stir the cream cheese into a saucepan with some water and the cream. Wait until the cream cheese has dissolved into the liquid and then add the stock cube and wait for the mix to thicken a bit.
Season with salt pepper and don't forget the nutmeg (I stole the nutmeg grater that I used for that from my mum, it's the best nutmeg grater on this planet, if I start hallucinating one day it's not my fault it will be the amazing nutmeg grater's fault).
Done :)
What did you expect? I was 4 or so, nothing fancy....but sooooo good!
You could also add some white wine but I wasn't that into wine back in the days :)

Something that's even nicer though is if you make some tomato sauce and then add both to your pasta (so much better than the readymade stuff).
Or you could just add some fresh peas like I did when I took the photo (there was definitely wine in that version).

Anyhow, what is the first recipe you remember cooking or writing down?

Pasta, Blue-Cheese Sauce & the Amazingess of Quince Cheese

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Ok, I admit it, I am blatantly dreaming of pasta right now :)
But don't worry, at least you get a lovely pasta recipe out of it.
Most of you know about my slight obsession with anything made from quince and with the seasonal calendar thing for the UK (do I look like I know when things are in season in this country?!?!) telling me that quince season is only a couple of weeks away I am now not only dreaming of pasta but also of quince :)
Today's recipe was dinner a few weeks back when I was staring at my fridge and there wasn't much staring back. But, there was a bit of roquefort begging to be used up and there was a square of quince cheese that had been sitting there for a couple of days as well. So the idea was born.
If you're not familiar with quince cheese, don't worry, neither was I  until my lovely cheesemonger offered me some. It's basically quince stewed with lots of sugar for pretty much forever (ok, I'm exaggerating) that is then allowed to set. I remember eating quince cheese or dulce de membrillo covered in sugar as a kid (oh, the pure bliss I missed out on by not knowing how amazing it tastes with blue cheese!!!!), but back to the pasta!

Pasta with a Blue-Chesse Sauce and Quince Cheese
Blue Cheese
Cream
White Wine
Salt
Pepper
Stock Cubes
Pasta
Quince Cheese

Make a quick and easy blue cheese sauce (nothing fancy, just make sure you use enough blue cheese so it tastes quite intense)
Boil enough pasta to feed a small army :)
Mix the pasta with the sauce, then chop the quince cheese into cubes and sprinkle them on top.
See, that was easy!
Enjoy with a glass of wine think of what else quince would go with :)

Vegetarian Chilli

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I'm sorry I've been so bad with my posts lately, but I'm drowning a bit on the work-front - so bear with me, I'm telling myself it will get better soon :)
Recently everyone and their grandma seems to have been writing about chillis. I have been quite taken by Jenna's creamy chicken chilli on Eat, Live, Run which just looks gorgeous, but I've been shying away from making it because it would involve me having to cook actual chicken (so we'll save that until I feel slightly more adventurous) but with everyone talking about their mum's chilli I started thinking about my dad's chilli (he's the god of the chilli in our family) which is based on Jamie Oliver's chilli recipe from one of the first books.
So on Saturday I decided to improvise and make my own chilli con fake-carne.
I was in the flat hiding from all the freshers that have descended upon town with their parents in tow. It was nice and sunny outside but I was snuggled up in my favourite armchair with a cup of tea, this month's issue of Monocle and I had a simulation running for my current study. Good times!

Vegetarian Chilli
1cup Cannellini beans
1cup Black eyed beans
500g Vegetarian mince (I like Quorn but just use whatever you like/can find, just keep in mind that you'll want to use less if you're using dry stuff)
Olive oil
2 Onions
5 Garlic cloves (I would have used more but I ran out)
1 tbsp Chilli flakes
1 tbsp Cumin (ground, not the whole stuff)
1 tsp Oregano
3 tbsp Brown sugar
Salt
Pepper
50g Dark chocolate
200g Tomato puree (the concentrated stuff)
4 cans Peeled plum tomatoes (or chopped if you're feeling particularly lazy)
250ml Red wine

Some pasta and cheese

All right, in the morning soak the beans in two separate bowls (if you're planning to make the chilli for dinner, not sure why they always tell you to soak stuff overnight, it's not like you'll be making it first thing in the morning....at least I hope you won't).
The cannellini beans will take a bit over an hour to cook, the black eyed beans will only take half an hour. I normally cook the first ones for 35-40 minutes before adding the later ones (ok, sometimes that goes a bit wrong, but hey, it's a chilli, nobody will notice some overcooked beans).
While the beans are boiling away, chop the onions and garlic, fry the onions until they're glassy, then add the garlic and wait until you can smell the amazingess of the garlic in your kitchen.
Add the mince and give it a couple of minutes.
Add the chilli flakes, cumin, oregano and brown sugar and stir.
After a minute or something add the tomato puree, stir and give it another minute.
Add the red wine and then after yet another minute add the tomatoes.
Now it's time to relax (don't forget the beans though if they're still boiling away). Give the chilli an hour or so, stirring occasionally. You'll want to add the chocolate about halfway through (i.e. whenever you remember).
After an hour or so add the drained beans and give the whole thing another 10 or 15 minutes. This is just enough time to make some pasta and to grate some cheese (normally I would have chilli with some bread but I thought I should mix it up for a change).
Season the chilli with some salt and pepper or potentially even with some marmite or vegetable stock if you feel it needs it.
Serve some pasta with a big helping of chilli and lots of unhealthy cheese.
Enjoy in the company of lovely people with a good bottle of wine :)

Autumnal Pasta

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I've made today's recipe twice over the last week. I originally made it on Anna's birthday aiming for something that would make you feel all warm and comfortable both when you look at it and when you eat it. Since my camera was doing funky things the photos for that version went missing and I made it again for a dinner with Sandra and Ashley (thank you for being my guinea-pigs every time I invite you over!) with some minor changes. You get the second version because the pasta ends up slightly pink which I think is super cool :)
Back to the warmth - I added cinnamon and nutmeg. I was originally looking for pumpkin spice mix but mine has disappeared so I went for a more christmasy theme (but if you have pumpkin spice mix or can be bothered to mix your own I would go for that, I have a feeling that would make it even better!).
I also added some chilli flakes for a tiny bit of heat which plays really nicely with the cinnamon.
Anyhow, part of why I love the recipe is because once you're done with the peeling and chopping all you have to do is boil the pasta and wait and chat to your friends or your cat or call your mum....
Also, since you're basically making roast veg, just see how it goes for quantities, you can always have some leftovers for lunch tomorrow :)

Autumnal Pasta
Beetroot, uncooked
Sweet potato
Some kind of pumpkin or squash
Onion
Garlic
Pine nuts
Olive oil
Brown sugar
Chilli flakes
Cinnamon
Nutmeg
Salt
Pepper
Parmesan

Some kind of pasta, e.g. linguine

Heat your oven to 220 degrees or if you have put it on the combination-fan-grill setting.
Peel the vegetables and chop them into bite-size chunks. Slice the onion into 3mm wide slices and mince the garlic.
Mix the beetroot and pumpkin with about a tablespoon of olive oil (if you're trying to save oil I would use some low calorie spray here and use actual olive oil later on) and some sugar (1 tbsp for a large baking tray is more than enough). Sprinkle with some chilli flakes (a bit less than 1tsp), cinnamon (about 1tsp) and nutmeg (no clue how much I used, I just grated away for a bit). Mix again and put everything onto a baking tray.
Bake/grill for about 10 minutes, then add the sweet potato (I don't like them when they go really soft) and the onion.
Give the veg another 15 to 20 minutes (check from time to time) and boil the kettle while you go and relax for a bit (this is the perfect time to catch up on some gossip or to prepare dessert.
About 10-15 minutes into you waiting for the veg (you want the veg to start looking soft and slightly browned, like it will need just under 10 more minutes), pour the hot water into a pot, bring it back to the boil and cook some pasta.
Once the veg is ready (which should hopefully be before the pasta is ready), take it out of the oven and put it on the side.
Heat some oil in a pan and fry the garlic until it goes all crispy. Once the garlic is ready put it on the side, clean the pan and toast some pine nuts in it (alternatively put them into an oven-proof dish and toast them in the still-warm oven).
Don't forget the pasta while you're doing all this. When the pasta is ready you'll want to be ready to drain it and, while it's still steaming, mix it with the roast veg. Grate in some parmesan cheese and toss in the garlic and pine nuts.
What I do then is allow people to season their own dish with some salt and pepper and add some olive oil if they want to (even if you've been using low calorie spray earlier on I would use actual olive oil here. Measure it out if you like, you won't need much 1/2 will be enough for one portion, but the extra oil will help carry the flavour).
 I don't know what it is about adding the oil at the end but it is just amazingly amazing.
All right, I am off for tonight, lots of travelling to plan and sort out :)

Linguine Alfredo

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When I've been travelling I crave comfort food. One of the things that I normally tend to look forward to the most when I come home to see my parents (well obviously apart from seeing them) is the Maultaschensuppe my mum makes for me. Just thinking about it makes me feel at home and relaxed.
Since I didn't have any Maultaschen left last night (yes, I have taken some back to the UK with me in the past) I had two options - cry myself to sleep or think of something else :)
And the winner this time was linguine alfredo. There's something incredibly soothing about the scary amounts of butter, cream and parmesan that go in there but if you ignore the surprisingly loud voice in your head that tells you that you're completely out of your mind eating something like this...pure pleasure.
The recipe below should be enough for 3 or 4.

Linguine Alfredo
250g Linguine
80g Butter
75ml Double cream
150-175g Grana Padano (for once in my life I actually prefer the cheaper option, I wish that would happen more often)
Salt, Pepper, Nutmeg

Boil the linguine in enough water.
While they're bubbling away, heat the butter in a skillet. Once the butter has melted, add the double cream and stir until they're properly mixed.
Grate the cheese ( I prefer it finely grated here, but if you want to have more of a cheesy experience I could imagine a very coarsely grated version working really well), put it into a serving dish and add the butter-cream mixture. You can stir the mix but there's really no need for now.
Just before the pasta is done take away some of the water and keep it for later in case the pasta mix ends up being too dry.
Once the pasta is al dente, drain it and put it straight into the serving dish. Now you're allowed to mix everything together :)
Season well, keeping in mind that you won't need much salt because of the cheese.
Enjoy the sheer bliss when you get to eat the linguine!