Home-Made Butternut Squash Tortellini

Our hand-made tortellini (spot Ash's ones in the bottom right corner! He delegated the rest of them to me after these deformed efforts!)

The finished dish

This recipe is really yummy & also good for you as the gyoza dumpling dough is lower in calories than fresh egg pasta. I promise you won't be able to tell the difference!

Ingredients:

Dough:
300g strong white flour
1/2 tsp fine salt
200ml boiling water

Filling
500g butternut squash
1tsp olive oil
1 red onion
3tbsp quick-cook polenta
25g parmesan
1/4 tsp grated nutmeg
salt & pepper

Sauce
3 tbsp half-fat creme fraiche
handful basil leaves
2 big handfuls of baby spinach leaves
Chilli flakes

First make the dough. Sift the flour & mix in the salt & then stir in the boiling water with chopsticks until a ball forms. If the dough seems too wet add a bit more flour. If it's too dry add more water. Cover the dough & leave it to stand & cool for an hour. 
Preheat the oven to 200c. Peel the butternut squash & cut it into 4cm chunks. Toss them in oil, season & then roast in the oven for 25 minutes. Finely slice the red onion. Toss it in the remaining oil & add to the squash after the 25 min cooking time & cook for a further 10 minutes. 
Allow the veg to cool for 5 minutes, then add to a blender with the polenta & blitz it to make an orange puree. Set aside to cool for an hour, then stir in the parmesan & nutmeg. 
Place the dough on a lightly floured surface & knead for 5 minutes until it is very elastic. Roll the dough out very thinly & cut out circles using a pastry cutter - you can't re-roll this dough, so get as many as you can out of it in one go. 
Take a disc of dough & lay it flat in the palm of your hand. Place a heaped teaspoon of the filling in the middle, dip your finger in water & brush it around the edge. Fold the pastry over & press the edges firmly to form a semi-circle. 
Bring a saucepan of water to the boil. Drop the tortellini gently into the hot water & cook for 5 minutes until the pasta is tender. Drain & then tip the pasta back into the saucepan. Add the creme fraiche, basil & spinach leaves. Season well, add chilli flakes, then toss together over a low heat until the spinach wilts. 

Asian Prawn Noodle Broth

This yummy dish is so warming and filling - perfect for wintery evenings when you still want to feel a bit virtuous!

Ingredients:

•1 tablespoon mixed seeds (pumpkin, poppy, sun flower)

•1 quart vegetable stock

1/2 can low fat coconut milk

•1 packet of king prawns, preferably raw

•2 teaspoons thai five-spice powder

•sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

•a thumb-sized piece of fresh root ginger

•olive oil

•½ to 1 fresh red chili, to your taste

•4 ounces rice sticks or vermicelli

•a handful of snow peas

•6 thin asparagus spears or 4 regular-sized spears

•6 fresh baby corn or 1/2 cup fresh corn kernels

•soy sauce

•juice of 1 lime

•a small handful of spinach leaves

Fresh coriander

preparation

1. Put a medium frying pan or wok on a high heat and add the seeds to it straight away, while it’s heating up.

2. Put a large saucepan on a high heat. Fill the saucepan with the veggie stock, heat until very hot, and put a lid on it.

3. Toss the seeds around until heated through nicely — this will take a couple of minutes.

4. While this is happening put the prawns into a bowl. Sprinkle the prawns with the five-spice powder and a good pinch of salt and pepper and stir.

5. When the seeds are done, transfer them to a plate.

6. Put the empty pan back on a high heat. Add a little olive oil to your hot pan with your prawns and cook for 3-5 minutes, until golden, tossing and turning every now and again.

7. Peel and finely slice your ginger and slice your chili.

8. Take the lid off the pan with the stock and add half the chili, all the ginger, your rice sticks (or vermicelli), snow peas, asparagus, and corn, with 2 tablespoons of soy sauce & the coconut milk. Bring to a boil and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring. Halve the lime and squeeze in the juice. 

  

9. To serve, divide the spinach leaves between your bowls and pour over the broth, rice sticks (or vermicelli), and vegetables. Divide the prawns over and scatter with the toasted seeds, coriander leaves and remaining chili.

Garlic, Spinach & Mushroom Pasta

Ingredients:

1 small bulb of garlic
olive oil
200g chestnut mushrooms
200g baby spinach leaves
200g low fat cream cheese
Plenty of freshly grated nutmeg
100ml low/reduced fat single cream
salt & pepper

Nestle the whole garlic bulb in a little foil & roast in a preheated oven, 200c for 35-45 minutes until it is tender when pierced with a knife.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large saucepan and gently fry the mushrooms until they are begining to brown. Add the spinach, cover with a lid and heat gently for a couple of minutes until the spinach has wilted.

Remove the roasted garlic from the oven, leave to cool slightly, then slice off the base and squeeze out the contents of each clove. Put this in a food processor with the cream cheese and nutmeg and blend until smooth.

Turn the garlic mixture into a saucepan, add the cream and heat gently, stirring with a wooden spoon, to make a smooth sauce. Add the mushrooms and spinach mixture and heat through. Season to taste with salt & pepper. Serve stirred through your favourite pasta.

Curried Butternut Squash Soup

Yummy, warming, filling & healthy - Does it get better than this?!

Ingredients:
1 butternut squash
2 onions
2 stock cubes (I use veggie) disolved in about a litre of water
1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
fresh coriander (optional)

Preheat the oven to 220c. Chop up the squash & onions and put them in a roasting dish. Bake uncovered for 45 mins or until the squash is tender. Don't worry if some of the pieces get a bit browned - this will add to the roasted flavour of the soup.

Remove from the oven. Tip into a saucepan and add the stock. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Let it cool. Puree in batches in a blender or food processor.

Toast the curry powder in a small frying pan over a low heat until fragrant - be careful not to burn it. Stir into the pureed soup. Season to taste. I then garnish it with fresh coriander - because I love it - but I know some people are not so keen!

Enjoy!

Leek, Courgette & Cannellini Bake

Like everyone else on the planet I'm trying to be a bit healthier and lose a little bit of weight. Not loads, gotta keep those 1950s style curves! ;) However, after the excesses of Christmas (mainly cheese and wine related!) I feel I need to give my body a bit of a break!

This recipe is great for when you want to be mega healthy but also to feel full. 

 

You will need:
Spray oil
1 large leek, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove
1 tsp chilli powder or 1 fresh chilli
2 tomatoes, finely chopped
1/2 can cannellini beans
1tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 large baking potato, sliced
1 courgette, sliced
100ml vegetable stock
25g cheese grated

Preheat the oven to 220c. Heat the spray oil in a frying pan and cook the leek and garlic until softened. 

Stir in the chilli, then the tomatoes, beans and parsley.

Transfer to a small baking dish. Cook the sliced potato for 5 minutes, drain and spread across the leek mixture along with the courgette. Pour the stock into the dish.

Bake for 25 minutes. Then sprinkle with the cheese and cook for another 10 minutes.

Enjoy!