Baked Manicotti

Another Jamie Oliver dish that was wonderful.  Next time I think I would cut out the first few steps of making the red sauce by just using some of what I’ve canned from the summer, but great recipe nonetheless.

2 knobs of butter
• olive oil
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely sliced
• a large handful of fresh marjoram or oregano, roughly chopped
• ¼ of a nutmeg, grated
• 8 large handfuls of spinach, thoroughly washed
• a handful of fresh basil, stalks chopped, leaves ripped
• 2 14oz cans of good-quality plum tomatoes, chopped
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• a pinch of sugar
• 14oz crumbly ricotta cheese
• 2 handfuls of freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 16 cannelloni tubes
• 7oz mozzarella, broken up

for the white sauce
• 1 pint of crème fraîche
• 3 anchovies, finely chopped
• 2 handfuls of freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Then find a metal baking pan or ovenproof dish that will fit the cannelloni in one layer so it’s nice and snug. This way you’ll get the right cover of sauce and the right amount of crispiness on top. When I cook this at home I just use one pan to cut down on lots of washing up! Take your metal pan or a saucepan, put it on a high heat and add your butter, a drizzle of olive oil, one of the sliced garlic cloves, a handful of marjoram or oregano and the grated nutmeg. By the time the pan is hot the garlic should be soft. Put as much spinach as will fit into the pan. Keep turning it over; it will wilt quickly so you will be able to keep adding more spinach until it’s all in. Moisture will cook out of the spinach, which is fine. By cooking it this way you don’t lose any of the nutrients that you would if boiling it in water.

After 5 minutes, put the spinach into a large bowl and leave to cool. Place the pan back on the heat, add a little olive oil, the other clove of sliced garlic, your basil stalks and the tomatoes, then fill one of the empty tomato cans with cold water and add this too. Bring to the boil, then turn the heat down, add a pinch of salt and pepper and the sugar, and simmer for about 10 minutes, until you get a loose tomato sauce consistency. Then take the pan off the heat and add the basil leaves.

By now the spinach will have cooled down, so squeeze any excess liquid out of it and pour this back into the bowl. Finely chop the spinach and put it back into the bowl. Mix it with the liquid, add the ricotta and a handful of the Parmesan, and then use a piping bag to squeeze the mixture into the cannelloni. You can make your own piping bag by getting a plastic sandwich bag and putting the spinach mix into the corner of it. Then twist the bag up and cut the corner off. Carefully squeeze the filling into the cannelloni tubes so each one is filled right up – really easy.

Lay the cannelloni over the tomato sauce in the pan. Or you can pour the tomato sauce into your ovenproof dish and lay the cannelloni on top. To make the white sauce, mix together the crème fraîche, anchovies and the 2 handfuls of Parmesan with a little salt and pepper, then loosen with a little water until you can spoon it over the cannelloni. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan and the mozzarella pieces, and bake for about 20 to 25 minutes until golden and bubbling.

 

Creamy Mushroom-Chicken Pasta Bake

Sometimes you just need a little comfort food.  Before this last heat wave hit, I made this with the feeling that Fall was in the air…. sadly, it didn’t last.  Hopefully we’ll see cool weather from here on out so we can start enjoying all this upcoming season’s harvest.  Thank you, Jamie Oliver, for another easy meal and the reminder that warm, rich food is just a few weeks away.

For the recipe, click here.

 

Pesto Pizza

Making life (or at least dinner) super easy…

1 Jar Pesto
1 Jar Sun Dried Tomatoes
1 Chicken Breast (cooked, e.g. on a skillet for say 20 min)
1/2 cup Feta Cheese
1/2 cup Fresh Mozzarella
1 recipe Pizza Dough (or just get some from Trader Joe’s)

Preheat oven to 350F.  Roll out your pizza dough, spread with the pesto, sprinkle with the remaining ingredients and throw it in the oven (preferably on a pizza stone if you have one) until brown and bubbly (about 20 min).   Oh, and try to serve it with a salad to appease your conscience.

 

Summer Tomato and Feta Quesadilla

With a little one, I’ve been making a lot of easy and quick meals.  You know—–your same old staples with a twist.  Here’s one: take feta, fresh tomatoes from the garden, a tortilla or two and throw it on the skillet over med-high.  Magically delicious.

 

Tomato Mozzarella Sandwich

Last night Trevor was out for a fantasy football draft and I wanted something quick and easy for dinner.  With tomatoes overflowing on my bush outside, courtesy of the extremely hot weather we’ve had these past few days, I decided to put them to good use.  A quick bath in olive oil and balsamic gives the tomatoes and amazing flavor with minimal effort.

Enough tomatoes to fill the number of rolls you will be serving
Rolls, split in half
Balsamic Vinegar
Olive Oil
Garlic
Fresh Basil, chopped
Mozzarella (fresh)

Chop the tomatoes and drizzle with the olive oil, vinegar, 1-2 cloves of garlic, and the basil.  Allow to marinate for a few minutes.  In a skillet over med-high heat coat the bottom with olive oil and throw in 1-2 cloves of minced garlic.  Toast the bread (cut side down) until crisp.  Add a slice or two of the cheese to the bread and the marinated tomatoes.  Add salt and pepper if desired.  Serve immediately and enjoy!