Bolognese bake

 (I only took one photo when out of the oven - apologies!)

Super easy, delicious food that everyone will love. A twist on a good old spag bol - take an exciting, different pasta like conchiglioni (large pasta shells) and bake with mozzarella and fresh basil!

Serves 4

- 450g lean beef mince

- 2 cloves of garlic, crushed

- 2 red onions, chopped

- 200g mushrooms, sliced

- jar of good pasta sauce (I used Sacla with whole tomatoes in - see pic below)

- glug of balsamic vinegar

- seasoning

- 350g conchiglioni (or pasta of your choice)

- 1 ball of mozzarella, sliced

- handful of fresh basil

- handful of cheddar cheese, grated

1. For the bolognese part, brown the mince in a large pan then add the garlic and onions and cook for a few minutes before adding the mushrooms.

2. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in salted water according to packet instructions.

3. When the mince mixture is cooked through, add the sauce, balsamic vinegar and seasoning. Bring to the boil and then simmer for 5-10 minutes.

4. Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees.

5. When the pasta is cooked, drain and mix with the bolognese mixture.

6. Pour everything into a baking dish and top with the slices of mozzarella and torn basil leaves. Don't forget to grate some cheddar on top too.

7. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until bubbling and golden brown on top.

Enjoy :)

Prosciutto, parsley and mushroom pizza

The ingredients and method for the pizza base and tomato topping you can find in my previous post, here! I forgot to mention just how delicious these pizzas were, especially this one - it has so much flavour from the salty prosciutto and the parsley goes so well with the mushrooms. This is the pizza I will make time and time again, so definitely try it out. (Sorry again for the photo quality) I served these pizzas with a salad of lettuce, spinach leaves, cherry tomatoes, red onion, mushrooms, and fresh parsley and basil.

Pizza base and tomato sauce ingredients and instructions are here!

Toppings:
- 1 ball buffalo mozzarella, sliced
- large handfuls of fresh parsley, finely chopped
- 1 pack of prosciutto
- button mushrooms, sliced
- handful of parmesan, grated
- olive oil


1. Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 6 / 200 degrees. Once the tomato sauce is spread on the pizza dough, sprinkle with half the parsley and place the mozzarella on top.
2. Cover with the prosciutto and mushrooms, and drizzle with a little olive oil.
3. Sprinkle the remaining parsley on top, and all of the parmesan.

4. Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes.

Enjoy :)

Mozzarella, chicken, tomato and basil pizza

I love making pizza, it tastes so much better (in a healthier sort of way!) I have posted the recipe I use before  here but wanted to do two new posts on the specific toppings I used because they both worked so well. Sorry for the bad quality of the photos, the lighting is impossible with my camera sometimes, so this is the best I could do - plus I just wanted to eat it asap so was rushing a bit... This recipe is easy to follow and is so worth it for a delicious treat!

*the ingredients list for the bases and tomato sauce are for 2 large pizzas - the toppings are just for one of these pizzas, since I'm doing another post with the other toppings I used*

Makes 2 large pizza bases:
- 400g plain white strong flour
- 1 tbsp / 15g dried yeast 
- 50ml boiling water, 100ml cold water
- 1 tsp sugar- 2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for brushing over base
- 1/2 tsp salt
- tepid water, to add to the dough
- extra flour for dusting surface

For the tomato sauce:
- 1 large jar of passata (crushed tomatoes)
- 2 cloves garlic
- pinch of salt
- handful of fresh basil, roughly torn
- 1 tsp dried mixed Italian herbs
- 1 tbsp green pesto


For the topping:
- drizzle of olive oil
- 2 small chicken breasts, cut into chunks
- 1 tsp dried mixed Italian herbs
- 1 ball of buffalo mozzarella, sliced
- few handfuls of cherry tomatoes, halved
- fresh basil, torn
- handful of parmesan, grated

1. To make the pizza bases, sift the flour into a large bowl and make a well in the middle

2. In a jug, mix the yeast with the boiling water, cold water and sugar. Stir constantly until dissolved and leave in a warm place until it becomes foamy - around 20 minutes

3. Pour the yeast mixture into the hollow in the flour, along with the salt and the oil, and knead everything together for about 10 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and elastic. You can do this on a floured work surface

4. Return to the bowl and cover with cling film, leaving a small gap. Put in a warm place and leave to rise for about an hour and a half, or until doubled in size.

5. Once risen, knead briefly and gently, then split into two pieces and roll out on a floured surface. Place on a baking sheet on a baking tray - it is ready to put toppings on!

6. For the tomato sauce, in a bowl mix all the ingredients together and season to taste. Spread generously on the pizza bases (should cover 2 or 3 so you might have some leftover)

7. Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 6 / 200 degrees. Heat the oil in a frying pan and cook the chicken with the dried herbs. Set aside to cool.

8. Place slices of mozzarella on top of the base, followed by the chicken, tomatoes and basil. Sprinkle generously with parmesan and bake in the oven for around 15 minutes.

Enjoy :)

Italian stuffed chicken breast with potato wedges

There isn't really much else to say that this photo doesn't already show - delicious Italian flavours, moist chicken breast, and soft flavoursome wedges with crisp skins. Mmmmm. Home-made potato wedges are far nicer than you could ever find in the freezer section at the supermarket, try for yourself! I served this with broccoli as well.

Serves 2

- 2 large chicken breasts

- buffalo mozzarella, sliced (about 3/4 of a ball)
- cherry tomatoes, sliced

- fresh basil, torn

- 1 onion, quartered

- olive oil

- 2 baking potatoes

- paprika

- salt

- dried mixed herbs

1. For the wedges, slice the potatoes into wedge shapes (half them, then half that, then half it again etc). In a deep sided baking tray, drizzle a generous amount of olive oil, then rub the wedges in the oil and lace in the tray. Sprinkle generously with the salt, paprika and mixed herbs. Bake in the oven for around 45 minutes - an hour at 180 degrees.

2. For the stuffed chicken, slice the breasts lengthways without cutting them completely in half. Place the mozzarella, tomatoes and basil in each one and gently close. (At this stage you could use cocktail sticks or wrap with bacon/proscuitto to secure the filling in place.) Place on a baking tray with the onion, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle mixed herbs on top of the chicken. Cook in the oven at 180 degrees for 20 minutes, covered with foil, and an extra 5 minutes uncovered.

Enjoy :)

Pan-fried sea bass with pesto spaghetti

I haven't had fish for ages and was really craving it last night; then realised that I hadn't ever posted a recipe that included fish on this blog! I love fish, particularly smoked salmon, tuna and any white fish. I rarely have sea bass but it is delicious and easy to work with. I won't take credit for the cooking of it, however, as my boyfriend was actually in charge of the fish frying! As said before in previous posts, I am a big fan of pasta and pesto, it is such a quick comfort food to whip up that isn't too unhealthy, and it tastes delicious. I decided to add some cherry tomatoes and mozzarella. Although this pasta is great on its own and is particularly suited to vegetarians, it also works perfectly with fish or chicken, or even cut up bits of bacon. So if you're thinking oh god i hate fish - then you don't have to use fish, you could grill some chicken or bread it and fry it to place on top, or fry it in chunks and mix it in. You can pretty much do anything with pasta and pesto - add more veg like onions, mushrooms, courgette, brocolli - anything you like, or experiment with adding different cheeses, or adding fresh herbs like basil. If you have ever had the pesto pasta at Zizzi's you will know it is great with a very creamy pesto sauce and green beans. This is a delicious 20-minute dinner!

Serves 2

- 200g spaghetti (or any other pasta)

- drizzle of olive oil

- 2 sea bass fillets

- 1/2 jar of green/basil pesto

- cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered (as many as you like)

- 1/2 ball of buffalo mozzarella

1. Boil water in a pan for the pasta and cook according to the packet instructions (should take around 10 minutes)

2. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a frying pan and fry the sea bass, skin side down for 10 minutes on a medium heat, or until the fish is cooking through and the skin is crisp.

3. Drain the pasta and return to the pan. Add the pesto over a small heat. Stir/toss until all the pasta is coated, then stir in the tomatoes and mozzarella. Heat through.

4. Meanwhile, flip the fish onto the other side for a few minutes until cooked through (cut one piece in half to check)

4. Place the pesto spaghetti mix onto the plate and top with the sea bass. This is perfect on its own or served with extra veg - I served with green beans.

Enjoy :)

Oven-baked rigatoni with salami

Yay, I've finally followed a Jamie Oliver recipe! I always tab loads of recipes off his site that I want to cook, but for some reason I never get round to cooking them. This was a delicious pasta bake - something different from the usual thanks to the crisp, salty salami. It had strong Italian flavour from the tomato and balsamic, and lots of different texture from the melted mozzarella, crisp salami, soft pasta etc. What I liked about this dish was that the pasta wasn't coated in sauce, it was more like rigatoni with a topping, kind of like a pizza. Having said that, it wasn't dry or bland or anything, although some people do prefer a pasta bake to have more sauce. If you do prefer it this way then I suggest adding more tinned tomatoes, balsamic and crème fraiche than the recipe suggests. If you're worried about this meal being too unhealthy then cook less pasta to have a smaller portion, and use reduced fat crème fraiche and mozzarella (I did this - both in Sainsbury's be good to yourself range). I served this with garlic bread for a delicious Saturday night feast!

Serves 4
- drizzle of olive oil
- pack of sliced salami (I used milano)
- 1 red onion, chopped
- sprinkle of garlic
- 4 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 400g tin chopped tomatoes
- 3 tbsp crème fraiche
- fresh basil leaves, chopped (I didn't have any fresh basil so bought chopped tomatoes with basil in)
- salt & pepper
- 300-400g rigatoni
- ball of buffalo mozzarella, sliced


1. Preheat the oven to 190 degrees/gas mark 5. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and fry half the salami until crisp. Add the onion and garlic and cook slowly until the onion is soft.
2. Add the balsamic, chopped tomatoes crème fraiche and basil. Mix together, season to taste and simmer for a few minutes.
3. Meanwhile, cook the rigatoni according to the packet instructions (around 12-14 mins) and drain once cooked. Tip into a baking dish and pour over the sauce.
4. Lay the mozzarella over the top with the rest of the salami. Bake for 25 minutes, or until golden.

Enjoy :)

Marinated lamb with tomatoes and mozzarella

I had no idea what to do with these lamb steaks for dinner - after lots of thought I decided to just improvise and make a simple marinade and then roast in the oven with mozzarella on top. It was lovely; I served it with the bacon and rosemary potato rosti (check this post!) and savoy cabbage - it was a deliciously satisfying meal! The lamb was full of flavour and it was very simple to do.

Ingredients:
- Lamb steaks
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp very lazy garlic in white wine vinegar (or just garlic granules)
- handful of fresh or dried rosemary (I used dried)
- salt & pepper
- cherry tomatoes
- mozzarella, sliced

1. Pour the olive oil and balsamic into a dish, and spoon in the garlic.
2. Rub the lamb steaks in until they are covered with the oil and vinegar.
3. Sprinkle lots of rosemary and turn the steaks over until they are covered with the herbs.
4. Seasoned and cut up cherry tomatoes, placing them around the steaks. Cover with cling film and chill in the fridge until cooking.
5. Pre-heat the oven to 190 degrees/gas mark 5 and bake in the oven covered with foil (not cling film!) for about 15-30 minutes depending on how rare you like your meat. Halfway through this cooking time, place the mozzarella slices on the lamb so it has time to melt.

Enjoy :)

Italian chicken bake

I bought the 'Eat In' magazine yesterday which I love, but don't usually buy because it's £2.50 and quite thin! Having said that, it gives me so many brilliant ideas for meals or baking, and offers really good tips on things like matching different herbs to different ingredient. The recipes are also really easy to follow and the photography is great. So I spent most of my train journey home yesterday with my head in this magazine; I even started to annotate some of the recipes!? Haha. I made this last night, and I only changed two things from the original recipe: not using pepperoni on top (my mum doesn't like pepperoni), and adding my favourite ingredients for Italian cooking, which if you read my other posts, is of course, balsamic vinegar! I served this dish with a bit of pasta, but I can imagine it working just as well with rice or even potatoes. Or just a larger portion of the bake with some cheesy garlic bread mm. 

Serves 2
Ingredients:
- 1/2 onion chopped (I used 1 small onion)
- drizzle of olive oil
- 2 chicken breasts, sliced/chopped
- sprinkling of garlic granules
- sprinkling of dried oregano
- 400g can of chopped tomatoes
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar (optional)
- 60g ball of mozzarella, sliced
- 25g sliced pepperoni (I didn't use this)
- salt and pepper


1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees/gas mark 6. Fry the onion in the oil, until translucent.
2. Add the diced chicken to the pan and brown for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and oregano and fry for another couple of minutes. Pour in the chopped tomatoes and balsamic vinegar and bubble for 5 minutes.
3. Pour into an ovenproof dish. Top with the sliced mozzarella and pepperoni, if using, and bake for 25 minutes or until bubbling. Season and serve with a carb of your choice!

Enjoy :)

The perfect baked potato

Why ruin a perfectly simple jacket potato by shoving it in the microwave for 10 minutes and making it soggy!? For some reason I am far better at using the hob or the oven than a microwave anyway, since every time I use the microwave for my porridge it ends up exploding all down the side of the bowl, and in the case of the famous jacket potato - no matter what I do, whenever I bake it in the microwave the skin wrinkles and goes tough. Although I like jacket potatoes when my mum bakes them in the microwave, I think it's safe to say that everyone loves a fluffy potato with a crisp, flavoursome skin. And here is how...

You will need a jacket potato, olive oil, salt and any other seasoning you like.
Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees/gas mark 6. Prick the potato with a fork or knife (this is very important - my dad once caused a potato explosion in the oven for not doing this...). Place the potato on a baking tray and brush with olive oil so the whole skin is coated. Sprinkle with salt and any other seasoning (like pepper, season all or fresh or dried herbs), and turn so that the whole potato is covered with seasoning. Bake in the oven for 1 hour 45 minutes - 2 hours. Turn halfway through cooking. The potato will be done when it looks brown in colour and crisp - stick a knife in the potato to check it is cooked through. Don't forget to extend the time if you are baking lots of potatoes at once or if it is particularly large!

Jacket potato toppings:
- Butter
- Any cheese
- Pesto
- Soured cream and chives
- Tuna mayo
- Egg mayo
- Sweetcorn
- Bacon and leek
- Fried onion and mushrooms
- Baked beans
- Coleslaw
- Chilli
- Cottage cheese
- Any flavoured spread like Philadelphia
- Chicken and garlic mayo

You can obviously mix and match any of these toppings to get some delicious flavours
Some of my favourites are:
- Green pesto and cheddar
- Brie and bacon
- Tuna mayo and mozzarella
- Sweetcorn, mushrooms with soured cream and chives
- The classic cheese and beans!

Enjoy :)

Perfect pizza

I love making pizza, I've made it from scratch so many times since I got this amazing Italian pizza magazine last summer (picture of magazine at bottom of post). It's actually quite simple to make pizza dough, healthier, and tastes so much more authentic! It is so versatile as well, you can choose the thickness of the dough depending on how you like your base, use half wholemeal flour to increase the nutrition, or even make your own stuffed crust (which I can't wait to try). You can buy a passata to spread on the base, or make your own. I usually buy a plain tomato passata, season and add fresh herbs. The best part is you can top your pizza with whatever you want (although mozzarella is a must have for the base).

The toppings I used in the photos are:
- Goats cheese and red onion
- Tomato, mushroom and pepper
- BBQ chicken and extra cheese
- Italian ham, mushroom and pineapple

(They all have passata topped with ready-grated or freshly sliced mozzarella, and a sprinkling of cheddar or parmesan)

Other toppings I have used on home-made pizza are:
- Proscuitto, mushroom and parsley (my favourite!)
- Chicken, rosemary and pepper
- Red onion and sausage/meatball

Next time I really want to try making a fiorentina (spinach, parmesan and egg) and a gorgonzola cheese and caramelised onion pizza

Makes 2 large, or 4 small pizzas
Ingredients for pizza base:
- 400g plain white strong flour
- 1 1/2 tbsp dried yeast or 1 sachet of easy bake yeast
- 25 ml hot water and 25ml milk, mixed together
- 2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for brushing over base
- 1/2 tsp salt
- tepid water, to add to the dough
- extra flour for dusting surface


1. Pile the flour in a large bowl and make a centre in the middle.
2. Mix the yeast with the water and milk (and/or follow packet instructions as this varies depending on what type of yeast you are using)
3. Wait for the yeast to react and become foamy, then pour into the flour with half the olive oil and the salt, and knead for 10-15 minutes on a work-surface dusted with flour. The dough should be smooth, elastic and stretchy - add more liquid if needed - the dough must not feel tacky or sticky at the end of the kneading process.
4. Grease a large bowl with the remaining olive oil and place the ball of dough inside. Cover with cling film or a tea towel and leave to rise in a warm place for an 1 hour 30 minutes, or until doubled inside.
5. Next, gently knead the dough and split into 2, or 4, and roll out on a floured work-surface. Place on a baking sheet and brush lightly with oil. Cover with passata, fresh herbs and mozzarella and any other ingredients you desire.
6. Bake in the oven at 200 or 220 degrees/gas mark 6 or 7 for 10-15 minutes, or until the base is cooked through, crisp and golden.

Enjoy :)

Simple tomato and mozzarella tarts

All you will need is puff pastry, mozzarella, fresh tomatoes, dried italian herbs, and a beaten egg.

You can use ready-made puff pastry, I use Jus-Rol pastry. Simply roll it out and cut into circles, or any shape, with a cookie cutter or something similar. 

Brush the outsides of the circle with beaten egg, and place a slice of mozzarella in the middle, topped with a slice of tomato. Sprinkle with herbs and bake in the oven for around 10-15 mins on about gas mark 4 or 5 (180-200 degrees)

I made these to take to a buffet once, they were easy to re-heat in the oven and tasted delicious.

Enjoy :)

Cheat's Italian calzone

I came across a 'cheat's calzone' in a student recipe book a while back; instead of pizza dough it is a wrap folded in half with filling inside. This makes it more suitable for a lighter lunch, as a proper calzone would be too filling. I changed around the ingredients to make a delicious italian one.

The ingredients:
- Mission deli wrap - Mediterranean herb (one)
- Sundried tomato antipasti (few pieces)
- Green pesto (teaspoon)
- Half-fat mozzarella (few slices)
- Fresh spinach leaves (few leaves)
- Extra virgin olive oil (drizzle for pan)

All of these ingredients can be found in Tesco, but I did get the pesto from Sainsburys, and the spinach from my local fruit & veg market!

Put the ingredients on one half of the wrap  ----->

Then fold the other half of the wrap over the filling, and heat a little olive oil in a frying pan. Gently fry each side of the wrap until crisp and golden brown!






  <---- It should look like this ---->





Try adding meat like salami or chicken, or change the ingredients completely! Another favourite of mine is tuna and mozzarella, or goats cheese and red onion.

Hope you enjoy :)                                                         
(all of these pictures were taken by me)