Refried Beans Pita

Refried Beans Pita

It's dark, so very dark. Darker than I thought it would be at this time. Too dark. The pictures are going to be terrible! I made a decision about a year ago to try to always take my pictures in natural light. I much prefer it, it's cleaner and (surprisingly!) more natural. I had planned to do just that last evening. I would make my delicious refried beans, stuff them into warmed pita bread, spread over some sour cream and parmesan and take some beautiful pictures with the light flooding through my kitchen window. What do you do when it doesn't happen the way it should? You plough on regardless and pretend that you were going for the unappetising, unnatural look....

pic of the list, with one glaring mistake!

Makes 4 pita breads

2 tbsp Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
1 Onion (finely chopped)
2 cloves of Garlic (finely chopped)
1 Chilli (finely chopped)
pinch of Dried Oregano
1 tsp Hot Paprika
1 Tomato (finely chopped)
1 Tin of Cannellini Beans (drained and rinsed)
1 tbsp finely chopped Parsley
4 Pita Breads
2 tbsp Sour Cream
1 tbsp freshly grated Parmesan
Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper

1. Heat the oil in a pan and add the onion. Season well and cook for 7-8 minutes until the onion is soft but not coloured. Add the garlic, chilli and oregano and continue to cook for 2 minutes before adding the tomato and cooking for a minute more. Add the beans and parsley and cook for 5 minutes before mashing with a fork or potato masher. Check for seasoning, set aside and keep warm.

2. Meanwhile toast the pita breads before filling with the beans mixture. Cover with the sour cream and parmesan. Alternatively you can cut all the way around the pita and layer the beans, sour cream and parmesan. Serve and take some better pictures than me!

Spaghetti with Prosciutto and Mascarpone

Spaghetti with Prosciutto and Mascarpone

Pasta with Ham and Cheese? Surely I've lost my mind and mixed the contents of my lunchtime sandwich with some pasta and pretended to be a genius. Not quite. This is yet another example of the simplicity of Italian food. I like this dish as it reminds me of the Irish version of the classic carbonara. In Italy the carbonara is made with eggs, parmesan, pancetta and pepper while in Ireland we tend to destroy it with lashings of cream to create the blandest dish imaginable. If you kind of like the Irish version of the carbonara then give this one a try. The mascarpone and egg creates a luscious creamy sauce with lots of flavour while the prosciutto cuts through with it's perfect blend of sweet and salty.  

Serves 4

400g Spaghetti
250g Mascarpone Cheese
1 Egg Yolk
2 slices of Prosciutto di Parma (chopped)
pinch of Freshly Grated Nutmeg
Parmesan to serve
Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper

1. Cook the Spaghetti in at least 4 litres of salted boiling water until al dente (usually about 1 minute less than packet instructions).

2. Meanwhile put the mascarpone and egg yolk into a large bowl and beat with a spoon or whisk for a couple of minutes. Grate in the nutmeg, season and add the prosciutto before mixing well.

3. When the spaghetti is almost cooked, add 4 tablespoons of the cooking water to the mascarpone sauce and mix well. Drain the Spaghetti, add to the bowl with the sauce and stir well to combine. Serve with a little grating of parmesan on top.

Thai Red Curry.....In a Hurry

Thai Red Curry.....In a Hurry!

There is nothing better than a good curry. In Ireland, our taste buds have been pretty much ruined by a suspiciously Irish sounding manufacturer in a red topped tub hogging the curry market for years. Mammy's made it, children loved it, everyone's happy. I confess to being one such child, I would happily devour plates of "curry" so long as there were no mushrooms involved. There is a better way. A way that is just as quick and twice as tasty. 

I have spent quite a bit of time making curry pastes. We used to have "Curry Monday" in our house and each week I would try a new recipe from Atul's Curries of the World or Gordon's Great Escape books. Most of these recipes involved hand bashing numerous ingredients into a paste to form a base for the resulting curry. I admit it was worth the time and effort. There is something very satisfying about creating the dish entirely from scratch but sometimes time is of the essence and that is where this curry comes into play. Have everything ready before you start, it takes less than ten minutes to cook. Get the rice on!

Serves 4

1 tbsp Coconut Oil
2 tbsp good quality Red Curry Paste
1 tin (400ml) Coconut Milk
200ml Water
2 tbsp Fish Sauce
1 tbsp Sugar
200g Raw Peeled Prawns
1 Pak Choi (peel leaves away from centre and finely slice)
1 Red Pepper (finely sliced)
1 large Carrot (finely sliced)
1 Red Chilli (de-seeded and finely sliced)

1.Heat the oil in a wok over a medium heat and add the curry paste. Stir for 40-60 seconds before adding the coconut milk and water. Bring to the boil.

2. Add the fish sauce and sugar and stir well. Add the prawns and simmer for two minutes before adding the vegetables. Simmer for another two minutes being careful not to overcook. Serve with rice.

Pasta with Kale and Potato

I have recently been going through my vast selection of cookery books picking out recipes in order to increase my knowledge and expand my palate. I have found myself strangely attracted to vegetarian recipes which, for a die hard carnivore like myself, has been rather disconcerting. One such recipe was contained in Two Greedy Italians Eat Italy (review: here), Pizzoccheri with Swiss Chard and Potato. Pizzoccheri is a buckwheat pasta that is very difficult to find on this beautiful island and I noticed that a local supermarket had a special on curly kale so I decided to adapt the recipe to suit. I made a few other adjustments to ensure that all of the ingredients are easy to find in any supermarket. It worked out a treat!


Serves 4

300g Tagliatelle Pasta
200g Curly Kale (stalks removed and chopped)
200g Rooster Potatoes (peeled and cubed)
100g Unsalted Butter
3 cloves of Garlic (finely sliced)
100g Grated Mozzarella Cheese
80g Parmesan Cheese (grated)
Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper

1. Bring a large pot of water to the boil and salt well. Add the pasta, kale and potatoes and allow to boil for 8 minutes. Drain and put into a baking dish.

2. Meanwhile, heat the butter over a medium heat and add the garlic. Fry gently for 4-5 minutes until soft but not coloured.

3. Mix the pasta, potatoes and kale well and add the mozzarella cheese. Stir well before pouring over the butter and garlic mix. Stir well and check for seasoning, adding salt and pepper to taste.

4. Sprinkle the parmesan over the top and bake in a pre-heated 170 degree oven for 20 minutes. Serve immediately.