Creamy Smoked Salmon Pasta with Dill

Everybody knows I adore smoked salmon, so it is no surprise I was drawn to this recipe for   Creamy Smoked Salmon Pasta with Dill.

When it comes to pasta, the combination of smoked salmon and dill is my absolute favourite. This recipe has a creamy sauce which is light, fresh. It makes such a lovely, relatively fast dinner or a nice weekend lunch.

I like to use shaped pasta for a dish like this because the shape holds the creamy sauce well. I also think the smaller size of the pasta balances better with the salmon and chopped bacon pieces but you can use what you like or what you have in the cupboard!

This is one of those recipes that you can use a whole packet of dill on rather than a few sprigs and then leaving it to go off in your fridge. For a bit of extra flavour, you could add in a few capers, too. Enjoy!

Creamy Smoked Salmon Pasta with Dill
Serves 2

• 200g dry pasta
• 100 g smoked salmon
• 3 rashers shoulder bacon, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic
• 50g sour cream
• 3-4 sprigs of fresh dill, chopped

Set the pasta to boil. While the pasta is cooking, fry the chopped bacon and garlic in the pan. Once the bacon has started to brown, stir in the smoked salmon and sour cream. Leave on the element but turn the element down to low.

Once the pasta is al dente, stir the sauce through the cooked pasta and mix in the chopped dill (I generally try and use as much as possible as I really love the flavour of dill).

Divide into two bowls and serve. This dish is best served alongside a fresh green salad and a slice of homemade garlic bread! Delicious…

Roasted Vegetable and Pesto Pasta

Carbs: I  love ’em and I bet you do too.

Pasta, rice and potatoes seem to be a regular staple in our diets. Too much of them of course isn’t necessarily a good thing but eaten in moderation, they are sooooo good. I am  such a fan of a good pasta dish because pasta is a great ingredient for putting together quick and delicious meals.

The following recipe comes from the dynamic duo, Alison and Simon Holst. Although it includes a few pricier ingredients (hello, pesto!), I found overall it was quite good value for money and the flavours were pretty incredible! Of course you can mix it up a bit and add all sorts of different  roasted vegetables to the mix.

I found it was wonderful hot for dinner, and equally as delicious cold for lunch the next day. The roasted vegetables add so much flavour, you don’t really need to use too much cheese. Enjoy!

Roasted Vegetable and Pesto Pasta
4 servings 

• 400 grams pumpkin
• 1 red onion
• 1 yellow pepper
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2-3 large portobello mushrooms
• 300 grams short pasta
• 1/4 cup evaporated milk or cream
• 5 tsp basil pesto
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 100g feta, crumbled
• Pepper to taste

Heat oven to 225 degrees. While the oven heats, peel the pumpkin then cut into small pieces. Cut the red onion into about 12 thin wedges. Halve the yellow pepper, remove the seeds and then cut into 1cm strips.

Place the prepared vegetables into a large bowl. Add the garlic and two tablespoons of oil and toss gently until the vegetables are coated with oil. Spread the vegetables in a single layer over a baking paper-lined roasting dish, then place in the oven. After 10 minutes gently turn the vegetables, add the mushrooms and return to the oven for a further 10 minutes. Depending on your oven, the vegetables may need a little more time roasting so they don’t go mushy when added to the pasta.

While the vegetables roast, cook the pasta in plenty of lightly salted, rapidly boiling water. Drain the cooked pasta, return it to the cooking pot and toss with the remaining oil. Add the evaporated milk or cream, pesto and salt and stir to combine.

Remove the roasted vegetables from the oven and cut the mushrooms into strips about 1cm wide. Gently stir the vegetables and the feta into the pasta. Season to taste with pepper and garnish with the remaining feta.

Serve with a simple mescalin salad.

Healthy Beef and Lentil Lasagna

Homemade Lasagna is just so tasty. Beef and Lentil Lasagna even more so. The combination of beef mince and lentils provides a nutritious, cheap and healthy substitute for the usual beef mince filling. Lentils are high in protein but low in fat and are also one of the best vegetable sources of iron.

Pasta would have to be in my top five favourite meals. It is filling, super tasty and damn, can you experiment with it or what! I grew up on Lasagne, Alison Holst’s popular Lazy Lasagna to be exact (one of the easiest recipes ever – definitely try it if you haven’t already!).

This recipe actually contains half the fat and calories of regular lasagne but still tastes amazing. I often make this dish because it freezes so well and if you are short of time, you can also make in advance and let the flavours develop a bit more.

Although you can use dried pasta, from experience fresh pasta sheets work much better!

Beef and Lentil Lasagne

 

• 500 grams minced beef
• 550 gram tomato-based pasta sauce
• 400 gram can of crushed tomatoes, with herbs
• 220 gram can of brown lentils
• 1 1/2 cups of trim milk
• 1 tbsp of cornflour
• 1 tbsp of mustard
• 4 individual fresh lasagne sheets
• 1/2 a cup of grated parmesan cheese

 

Preheat oven to 180°C or 160°C fan-forced. Lightly spray a 24cm x 20cm (2L/8-cup capacity) ovenproof dish with oil.

 

Lightly spray a large non-stick frying pan with oil and heat over high heat. Add mince and cook, breaking up any lumps with a wooden spoon, for 3–5 minutes or until browned. Add the pasta sauce and tomatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes or until thickened. Stir in lentils.

 

Meanwhile, blend ¼ cup (60ml) of the milk with cornflour in a bowl. Bring remaining milk to the boil in a small saucepan. Stir in cornflour mixture. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes until sauce boils and thickens. Add mustard. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

 

Place 1 lasagne sheet in the base of the prepared dish and trim to fit. Top with one-third of the beef mixture. Repeat layering with remaining lasagne sheets and beef mixture, finishing with a lasagne sheet. Spread the white sauce over the lasagne and sprinkle with parmesan.

 

Bake for 30–35 minutes or until pasta is tender and top is golden. This healthy beef and lentil lasagna is great on a cold winter night, served piping hot from the oven alongside a crisp green salad and crusty bread. I highly recommend!

 

Soya Sauce and Roasted Peanut Pasta Salad

I love Summer, purely because I get to eat lots and lots of different types of salad!  Somehow salads don’t seem so appealing as a meal in the midst of Winter. Mesculin, roasted vegetable, pasta….salads are just delicious!

This pasta salad is seriously good! Saturday night was my first barbecue of the season and I took along this dish. It is very easy to throw together at the last minute and it is super tasty. I used spiral pasta but the original recipe uses vermicelli (a slender version of spaghetti!). You can add a small amount of chopped parsley to add a bit of greenery and flavour.

Soya Sauce and Roasted Peanut Pasta Salad

• 4 cups of pasta, cooked
• 1 cup of sunflower seeds
• 4 cups of roasted peanuts
• 1 cup of chopped parsley
• 1/2 a cup of soya sauce
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil

Cook the pasta until al dente. Drain and rinse the pasta then toss in oil. Add the soya sauce and sunflower seeds.

Toss the peanuts in a splash of olive oil and a teaspoon of rock salt. Microwave on high for about 10 minutes. Be sure to stop and stir these every two or so minutes so they do not burn. Let the peanuts stand for 10 minutes to cool.

Add peanuts to the pasta mix, along with the parsley. Toss slightly and chill in the fridge until needed. Enjoy!