Lamb Cutlets with Roasted Garlic Pasta

Monday, 12th January 2015

We had some nice lamb cutlets to eat, which I like to grill hot and fast. But I wasn't sure about having them with pasta until I saw this recipe.
I grilled the lamb instead of frying, and wasn't well enough prepared to infuse the oil with rosemary. I also only mixed in a small amount of the garlic and just served the rest separately with the lamb on top of the pasta, since I like it more than Monika. The cutlets were tender and juicy, as expected, and went very well with the oily, slightly cheesy pasta.

Pasta with Bacon and Cream

Tuesday, 11th March 2014

and a little basil. Very straightforward, but very good.

Pasta and Meatballs

Friday, 21st February 2014

Meatballs made with a mix of pork and beef mince, a few breadcrumbs, onions, herbs and an egg. Following a suggestion on Quora I formed the balls and then put them in the fridge for a couple of hours before cooking, which definitely did seem to help them keep their round shape.
A sauce of tomatoes, onions and mushrooms.

Veal Cutlet

Sunday, 26th January 2014

As usual, seared the meat and finished it in the oven. The addition of a bit of lemon gave it a nice extra flavour. For the pasta a sauce of onions, garlic, tomatoes, mushrooms and lots of oil, cooked gently for a long time, to get a rich, oily caramelised taste. The sauce reduced so much I should have started with an extra onion and two or three more tomatoes.
(Taking pictures of food without showing smeary plates is hard!)

Spanferkel chops

Friday, 10th January 2014

The little suckling pig chops were simply seared then finished in the oven for a few minutes. Very tender and flavourful, but the star of the plate was the pasta sauce.
This was just onions and garlic softened in a good amount of olive oil, then cherry tomatoes added and allowed to simmer gently so it all caramelised. I added fresh basil and bit more oil at the end. Deliciously oily and rich, but at the same time simple.
Served with a salad of lamb's lettuce, bacon and parmesan shavings.

Pasta and Salmon

Monday, 30th December 2013

Errrm... I don't really remember making this. New Year must have killed a few more brain cells than I realised.
Looks like a bit of salmon pan fried and then cut up, and served on the filled pasta. I wonder where the pasta came from?

Pasta with Salsiccia, Tomatoes and Mushrooms.

Sunday, 10th November 2013

Based on this. Remove the skin from some Salsiccia and crumble the meat up into chunks. Fry this until browned and remove it from the pan. Add some chopped onions, mushrooms and soften, then herbs and garlic. Deglaze with white wine. Add chopped tomatoes and some tomato puree. Simmer for a while. Allow to cool and then put it in the fridge overnight. Reheat and serve with pasta.
Reheating really does change the flavour of dishes like this, as the flavours have time to mingle. A bit too much tomato puree though.

Iberico Pork Cutlets

Sunday, 25th August 2013

Once again, season the cutlets well, then fry them for one minute each side in a very hot pan and finish for 10 minutes in the oven at 150°. Then allow to rest for 5 minutes. The cutlets came out very tender and juicy but could still have been a little pinker in the middle. I put a little thick balsamico on them before serving, which worked very well.
For the sauce I softened a large, thickly sliced onion and a crushed clove of garlic in lots of oil for 15 minutes, on a low heat, until it started to go brown. Then added a little white wine, and a large quantity of roughly chopped tomatoes from the balcony. Theses were Orange Banana, White Peach, Mini Red Pear, and Black Krim tomatoes. I added some more oil at this point too, and plenty of seasoning, and let it continue to bubble gently while the meat and pasta cooked. It came out just as I hoped, rich, oily and slightly sweet from the caramelized onions and tomatoes, with chunks of tomato still present.

Pasta with Shrimps and Tomatoes

Monday, 12th August 2013

Brown onions and garlic slightly then add some white wine. Increase the heat and add halved cherry tomatoes and prawns. Season well, with salt, pepper and a little chilli. Sizzle until cooked then add a little of the pasta water before pouring over the drained pasta.
The skins of the tomatoes (from the balcony) were a little tough, but otherwise very tasty.

Pan Fried Chicken Breast

Friday, 9th August 2013

The chicken breast was over 300g and way too big really. I fried it simply with lemon juice and plenty of black pepper and it came out very nicely. The pasta was tossed with oil and garlic, which I had to do twice, because I burnt the first lot.

Pasta with Bacon and Mushrooms

Monday, 22nd July 2013

Soften onions and garlic, add bacon and fry, then add mushrooms and cook through. Add a little wine and reduce, then add cream and bubble until thickened. Season and sprinkle chopped parsley. Pretty simple but very nice.

Pasta with Meatballs

Tuesday, 16th July 2013

For the meatballs I bought some bratwurst, removed the skins and mixed the meat with plenty of ground fennel and pink peppercorns. Fry some onions and garlic in plenty of oil, add the meatballs and brown, add halved cherry tomatoes and adjust seasoning. When the pasta is cooked at a small amount of the cooking liquid to the meatball pan and bubble it up, so the sauce has some juice. Delicious.

Iberico Pork Cutlet with Leek & Roquefort Sauce

Friday, 12th July 2013

Based on this recipe but with pork cutlets instead of veal. Otherwise I stuck to the recipe pretty closely. The meat could have been pinker in the middle but was still tender and juicy, and the sauce was lovely and rich. The pasta we had was thicker than normal and, despite having cooked for longer than it should, was still a little firm and could have used even a minute or two more.

Pollo alla Cacciatora

Friday, 8th June 2013

Al Fresco dining on the balcony today.
"Hunter style" means something else in Germany, but for this Italian recipe it was with tomatoes, onions and red pepper (Home book of Italian Cookery p124).
Brown the chicken then add chopped onion, garlic and pepper and cook for 10 minutes. Then add chopped tomato, bay leaf, a little red wine, salt and pepper. Add enough stock to just cover the chicken and then some tomato concentrate. Simmer for an hour or so.
Served with pasta in this case.
Simple and very good. The chicken could have been slightly juicier, but that's a minor quibble.

Pasta with Mushroom Cream Sauce

Friday, 15th March 2013

For the pasta, head to your local italian deli and buy what fresh pasta they have! :)
For the sauce, brown a little bacon, add and soften onions and garlic, add mushrooms and cook for a couple of minutes, add diced tomato and cook for a minute or so, add cream and seasoning. Bubble gently until it is ready.

Iberico Pork Cutlet

Sunday, 3rd March 2013

The cutlets were done as usual by quickly frying them in a hot pan and then finishing them for 10 minutes in the oven, with a few minutes to rest afterwards.
Pasta with a sauce of italian bacon, onions, garlic, white wine, diced tomato and cream, added to the pan in that order.
Superb and went down very well with a bottle of Vintage 2002 Bollinger!

Pasta with bacon and tomato

Sunday, 3rd February 2013

Back from a weekend in Heidelberg we hadn't the energy to go out to eat, so I made pasta with what I could find in the fridge.
I browned some bacon very thinly sliced from a large piece, then added finely chopped onion and garlic and allowed them to soften. Then added quartered cherry tomatoes and cooked for 5 minutes, then lots of cream and allowed it to heat through. Seasoned with black pepper and a very small amount of nutmeg and ground chili. Garnished with some slices of tomato. Absolutely delicious!

Tagliatelle Toscana with Parma ham

Friday, 14th December 2012

Based on Delia Smith's One is Fun, p 126. Fry onion and aubergine then add tomatoes, garlic, basil and tomato puree. Let this cook down to a sauce. Add some chopped olives.
Cook the pasta then mix in butter, Mozzarella and Parmesan.
Put the pasta in a dish, cover with a layer of Parma ham cut up into bite size squares, top with the sauce and then more Parmesan. Bake for 10 minutes.
Delia's recipe was for 1 so I doubled the ingredients, and ended up with enough food for 3 at least. A very substantial and filling dish but also very good.

Veal shoulder with red wine, bacon and onion sauce

Saturday, 1st December 2012

This wasn't the right cut of meat for quick cooking in the pan and it turned out pretty chewy. The pasta with cream and a selection of mushrooms included some dried mushrooms, which I hoped would beef up the flavour, but they came out chewy too. Ah well.

Pasta and salsiccia

Thusday, 23rd August 2012

Another variation on pasta and chopped up salsiccia. Fresh varieties of both makes all the difference.
The pasta was filled with chanterelle mushrooms and the sauce for the salsiccia is just wine, onions and a few cherry tomatoes.