Beetroot Linguine with Courgette and Mushrooms

Recipe Ingredients: (enough for 4)

• 400grs linguine pasta
  
• 3 small cooked beetroot (finely chopped)
• 1 courgette (finely chopped)
• 2 garlic cloves (finely chopped)
• 1 onion (finely chopped)
• 12 mushrooms (cut in halves)
• 2 soup spoons of fresh cream
  
• 1 glass of semi skinned milk
  
• 1 teaspoon of corn starch diluted in a little water
  
• 2 soup spoons of grated cheddar cheese
  
• some, salt black pepper and olive oil.
  

Place some water in a pan with a little salt and a drizzle of olive oil, once boiling insert the linguine there, letting this one cook for 12-14 minutes, once done (should be al dente), drain it and while draining pass through it some more fresh boiling water, to remove excess starch. Continue to drain it.

Meanwhile put a little olive olive oil in a wok (about 3 soup spoons full). once hot add the onion and garlic, once these start going blond, add the remaining vegetables (the beetroot, courgette, and mushrooms) let these cook well for around 7-10 minutes, adding a little water every time it feels a little dry and stirring occasionally.

After they are cooked, add the fresh cream at this stage and the milk, bring it to the boil, and as soon as it starts to boil add the corn starch diluted in the water, the cheese, and stir regularly allowing it to thicken, once thickened place the linguine inside and stir come more as to mix well the sauce with the pasta, serve it now while very hot, it is delicious.

The beetroot is lovely in this dish as it does not just add colour it adds flavour and texture, and creates a varied different levels of textures and flavours, the beetroot should remain slightly crunchy the mushrooms meaty and juicy and the courgettes soft and creamy. Also bothe the beetroot and the mushrooms give this dish an excellent earthy flavour which is mellowe by the silky cream of the fresh cream, milk and cheese. Bon Apetit!!

** this is a valentines day inspired dish, for the colours and textures within**

Prawn Cakes with Saffron Bulgur and Salad

Recipe Ingredients: (Enough for 4)

• 200grs large prawns (puréed)
  
• 150grs cooked potato (puréed)
  
• 300grs Bulgur Wheat (medium)
  
• 1 egg (yolk to one side, whipped white to another)
• 1 Gem Lettuce (well crispy separated into leaves)
  
• 1 onion (finely chopped)
  
• 1/2 half a red pepper (finely chopped)*reserve a little for decoration*
  
• 2 garlic cloves (minced)
  
• 1 piece ginger (minced)
  
• 1 soup spoon of turmeric + 3 strands saffron
  
• 1 pinch chilli powder
  
• seasoning (salt and pepper)
  
• oil to fry
• some olive oil
  

One more easy to prepare recipe, that is tasty wholesome and easy on the waste line. Mix the potato purée and prawn purée with the egg yolk and some seasoning, after well mixed add the whipped egg white, and mix this well too, to form a paste. Place the oil on a pan or fryer, and to form the cakes you use two spoons, and scoop from spoon to spoon which will for the cake which you will then drop into the very hot oil, cooking them on both sides until golden brown (see picture). After they are cooked put them on a plate containing several kitchen towels to remove excess oil.

The accompaniment is bulgur, which is cooked just in boiling water as you would do rice, placing in the water a little oil and some salt, it will cook in around 10-12 minutes, then you drain it and pass through it while draining some boiling water to remove starch. The grains will be well fluffy.

While it's draining, put a wok on the fire (or large frying pan) with a little olive oil, once hot add the onion, pepper, garlic, ginger and seasoning once golden golden add the turmeric and saffron as well as the chilli powder, stir for around 1-2 minutes, then add a little water like 1/3 of a glass,cook a further 1 minute and then add the drained bulgur, turn the heat off and mix it really well so that the whole flavour infuses it.
Then is just a matter of arranging this light meal on a plate, you can do it as it is shown in the picture or use your own ideas. I used some strips of red pepper to decorate the bulgur, and used the larger gem lettuce leaves to bed the prawn cakes, and with the remaining leaves I shredded them added a few bits of tomato & grated carrot, and drizzled them with balsamic vinegar and some olive oil.

Was delicious. hope you enjoy this summer meal.

I was awarde this special token by my dear friend Kim From the blog Ordinary Recipes Made Gourmet she is a great friend, and normally i don't accept tokens as I just don't have the time required to post them and to attribute to deserving blogs.

Also, like her I feel I would be fair to just select a few of my friends foodies as all that visit me I feel deserve tokens like this one, so I am not passing it around as all of you are deserving of it. But I am linking back to the person that gave it to me, as she deserves it. She is fun to talk to, full of energy and helpful, her foods are full of quality even when she makes simple or classic foods. I suppose that is her motto anyway, she tries hard to succeed and I feel she deserves to have success, she has this Amazon Store you should visit.

Orange Cake "Large" for Slicing

Recipe Ingredients: (was enough to cut 70 rectangular slices)

• 300grs of butter (or baking margarine)
  
• 300grs of sugar
  
• 4 oranges (2 cut in slices and 2 "whole" blitzed into creamy pulp)
  
• 6 eggs
• 300grs of flour
  
• 2 soup spoon of baking powder
  
• 2 teas spoons of orange essence
  
• a little of dememera sugar
  

Couldn't be easier... Beat the sugar with the butter, until you obtain a light and whitish cream, once that is done put the eggs (pre-mixed) in, a little at the time keeping the beating of the cream, this way attaining even a more creamy and full of air dough.

Once that is done, add the two oranges in pulp + the orange essence, (mix the pulp in well with a wooden spoon in a folding gentle action to try not to release any of the air contained in the dough), lastly add the flour, a little at the time as well, again folding action and gentle, until all is incorporated in the dough.

Then place the dough in a large tray previously greased and floured, I also used a Teflon baking sheet to avoid the cake sticking to the pan (worked a treat). On top of the dough lay the orange slices and cover the top of each slice with some dememera sugar, to allow them to crystallize and not burn as that would leave a bitter taste, (also if you think the taste of the orange skin may be too strong for you, you can always peals the slicing oranges prior to slicing).

The whole thing goes in a preheated oven at 180ºC for around 20-25 minutes, once done remove the cake from the oven, and let it cool a little before attempting to remove it from the container, this is where the Teflon came in handy as I just picked the four corners of it to remove the cake from the container to a cooling rack.

Optionally at the end, you can also squeeze a further two oranges and boil the juice with some sugar to make a liquid syrup to pour over the cake and get it even more moist, as this is a moist cake already, and very spongy and light. Then let it cool completely and slice it into rectangles.

Mini Palmieres Cinnamon | Vanilla

Recipe Ingredients:

• 2 pkts of ready made puff pastry
  
• demerara sugar (sufficient)
  
• 1 soup spoon of cinnamon
  
• Honey (sufficient)
• powdered sugar (sufficient)
• vanilla essence
  

Sprinkle some flour on a table (surface), lay on the puff pastry block and spread it with the rolling pin until it is just about half a centimetre thick, retaining the rectangular shape. Now spread over it the dememera sugar mixed with the cinnamon, lay it on quite thick layer 2-3mllimetres , then from the smaller with side roll the pastry until about half and do the same from the opposite side, until you have like two rolls in the centre, then with a Sharpe knife cut slices about 1cm thick and lay the slices in a tray either previously buttered and floured, or the easy way with a Teflon baking sheet.

It goes in the oven for around 15 minutes at 180-200 Celsius, until golden, then remove them and place them on a cooling rack.

For the second lot repeat the process, but on this one before rolling I put honey mixed with vanilla essence and a little powdered sugar, and once cooled I sprinkled more powdered sugar.
As the pastry has no sweetness at all this may look like a lot of sweet but I assure you is not and turns out really well balanced. Happy party!!