Tortellini 'cheese' with roasted tomatoes

SERVES: 4 - 6
PREPARATION: 15 MINUTES
COOKING: 23 MINUTES

Ingredients 
2 punnets grape or cherry tomatoes
1 tbs olive oil
1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
500g cheese & spinach tortellini
70g unsalted butter 
1/3 cup (50g) plain flour
800ml milk
3 cups (360g) grated cheddar cheese
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/3 cup (80ml) thickened cream
Green salad, to serve (optional) 

Method
Preheat oven to 200C. Line a baking tray with baking paper and lightly grease a shallow 30cm x 22cm baking dish.


Place the tomatoes on the lined baking tray, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with garlic and some sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Toss the tomatoes to coat in the oil, then roast in the oven for 5 - 6 minutes until just tender but still holding their shape. Set aside.


Cook the tortellini in a saucepan of boiling salted water according to packet instructions, drain. 


Meanwhile, heat the butter in a large saucepan over low heat, then add the flour and cook gently, stirring for 1 minute until well combined. Remove from heat and gradually whisk in the milk until smooth. Return the pan to medium heat, and slowly bring to the boil, stirring constantly. Simmer very gently over medium heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is smooth & thick. Remove from the heat, then stir in 2 cups (240g) grated cheese, cayenne and some salt to taste. Once the cheese has melted gently stir in the cream, then add the cooked tortellini and roasted tomatoes and stir to combine. 


Spoon the tortellini mixture into the prepared baking dish. Scatter over the remaining cheese and bake for 12 - 15 minutes until golden and bubbling. 


Divide the pasta among plates and serve with a green salad if desired. 

My Notes

This was a really yummy and warming winter dish which came from the terrific Delicious Magazine


I went a bit over board with the cayenne.....

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

SERVES: 8 
PREPARATION: 10 MINUTES
COOKING: 35 - 40 MINUTES

Ingredients 
440g can pineapple slices in juice
1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
90g butter, softened
1/2 cup caster sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/4 cups self raising flower, sifted 

Method
Preheat oven to 180C/160C fan forced. Grease a 6cm deep, 20cm (base) round ring pan. Line base with baking paper. 


Drain pineapple, reserving 2 tablespoons juice. Cut pineapple in half. 


Sprinkle brown sugar over base of prepared pan. Arrange pineapple, just touching, over sugar.


Using an electric mixer, beat butter and caster sugar for 3 minutes or until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition.


Add flour and reserved pineapple juice. Stir to combine. Spread mixture over pineapple. Bake for 35 - 40 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Stand in pan for 5 minutes. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool. Serve 


My Notes 
Well as you can see as usual I did not have the right cake tin :) so I just used a normal one, and to pretty it up I put some glace cherries into the pineapple ring holes. 


As for the mixture, I added ALL the pineapple juice from the tin as the batter was really really thick. It was an OK cake but not one that I would make again, it was very dry. 

This recipe also came from Super Food Ideas Magazine which is a cheap & cheery mag for home cooks. But it has had a run in this house lately :) 

Maple Glazed Pear Meat Loaf

SERVES: 4
PREPARATION: 20 MINUTES 
COOKING: 45 MINUTES + 8 MINUTES FOR CARAMELISED ONIONS

Ingredients


Meatloaf
500g Pork Mince 
500g Veal Mince 
1 1/2 cup cooked couscous +
2 tablespoons thyme leaves
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 red onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
sea salt and cracked black pepper
1/2 cup (150g) caramelised onion (see recipe below) 
2 firm pears, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons maple syrup


Caramelised Onion
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 brown onions, sliced
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup red wine vinegar

Method
Caramelised Onion


Heat a large non stick frying pan over medium heat, add the oil and onions cook for 10 minutes, stirring or until onion is golden and soft.


Add sugar and vinegar and stir until sugar has dissolved.


Cook for 5 to 8 minutes until thick and caramelised.


Spoon into a sterilised glass jar and seal. Store in the fridge for up to one week. Makes 1 cup.


Meatloaf


Preheat oven to 200C (400F). Place the pork and veal mince, couscous, thyme, garlic, onion, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper in a bowl and mix well to combine.


Press into a lightly greased 1.5 litre capacity (6 cups) baking dish.


Spread with caramelised onion, top with pear and brush with maple syrup.


Bake for 45 minutes or until cooked through and golden. 

My Notes 


I used the full 1 cup of caramelised onion for this dish, 1/2 cup was no where near enough.


One cup uncooked couscous makes 2 cups cooked couscous. 


I would say this amount serves 6 rather than 4! 

This was a really nice one pot dish again from the lovely Donna Hay Magazine. I thought it could have done with quite a bit more salt, but hard to taste the raw meatloaf mix for seasoning :) 


I served this with a rocket and pear salad which was nice and lightened the dish up. 


I would make this again and it would be nice with pear chopped up into the meat mixture, it would add little bursts of sweetness. 

Potato Soup with Crispy Bacon

SERVES: 4 
PREPARATION: 20 MINUTES
COOKING: 20 MINUTES


Ingredients 


4 teaspoons oil
4 rashers bacon, chopped
1 brown onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
1.5 kg sebago (starchy) potatoes, peeled & chopped
2 sprigs thyme
2 litres chicken stock
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup cream

Method


Heat 2 teaspoons oil over high heat, add the chopped bacon and cook for 2 - 3 minutes until crisp. Set aside


Heat another 2 teaspoons of oil in the pan, add chopped onion, and garlic, cook for 1 minute.


Add potatoes, thyme, chicken stock & water. Bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15 - 20 minutes.


Blend with a hand held blender until smooth and stir through cream. 


Top with bacon to serve.

My Notes


When I mentioned that I was going to make this soup there was a turned up nose! I know it looks and sounds fairly bland, but WOW this soup was really, really delicious and next time I make it there will be a race to the table and definitely no turned up noses :) 

This recipe is from Donna Hay Magazine.....I just love it! And there is many more recipes yet to come from it :) 


I haven't bought a cooking mag at all this month! the ones I have have some great stuff in them that I want to make...mind you I HAVE got to have the new Masterchef mag, it has macarons on the front YUM 

Caramelised Fennel Tarts

SERVES: 4
PREPARATION: 25 MINUTES
COOKING: 20 MINUTES


Ingredients 


50g butter
4 baby fennel bulbs (520g), trimmed, halved lengthways 
1 teaspoon finely grated orange rind
1/2 cup (125ml) orange juice
1 sheet puff pasty
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme 

Method


Preheat oven to 220C/200C fan-forced. Grease and line 2 oven trays. 


Melt butter in large frying pan; cook fennel until browned lightly. Add rind and juice; bring to the boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, about 5 minutes or until fennel is caramelised and tender. 


Cut pastry sheet into 4 squares; place on oven trays. Remove fennel from pan, leaving behind the pan juices; divide among pastry squares. 


Bake tarts about 20 minutes or until pastry is browned.


Meanwhile, return pan juices to the boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, until the sauce thickens slightly.


Serve tarts drizzled with sauce and sprinkled with thyme. 

My Notes

As you can probably tell from the photos I made this recipe for lunch for 2 people and made 2 long tarts instead of the 4. Looked quite stylish and they were a really yummy vegetarian lunch! 


This recipe came from the cook book Daniel gave me for my birthday. Women's Weekly The Complete Cook. 



This is a great book which lists recipes by ingredients, which comes in handy when there is something in the fridge that needs to get used :) 

Lemon & Sugar Pancakes

SERVES: 4
PREPARATION: 10 MINUTES
COOKING: 15 MINUTES


Well Pancakes are not something that we have a lot of around here...but it has been SO cold and miserable food has been all about warmth and comfort :) 

Ingredients 

• 2 cups (300g) self-raising flour
• 1/2 cup (75g) plain flour
• 2 tbs caster sugar
• 2 1/3 cups (580ml) milk
• 80g butter, melted, cooled
• 1 egg, lightly whisked
• Extra melted butter
• Extra sugar, to serve (caster or brown) 
• Lemon wedges, to serve

Method

Sift flour into a bowl. Add sugar and stir well. Add milk, butter and egg. Whisk until well combined.

Brush two small non-stick frying pans with a little of the extra melted butter. Heat over medium heat. Add 1/3 cup of mixture to each pan. Cook for 2 minutes, or until bubbles appear on the surface. Carefully turn over and cook fro 1 minute.

Transfer pancakes to a plate and wrap loosely in a clean tea towel to keep warm. Repeat with remaining batter, greasing pan between each batch. If you find the pan is getting too hot, reduce heat slightly.

Serve pancakes with lemon and sugar.

My Notes 

Originally we were going to have pancakes with home made honeycomb that Daniel was making which   

Gary Mehgan from Masterchef made on the show, but it was a bit of a disaster :) and we were hungry and didn't want to wait 45 minutes for the honeycomb to set! 

see how to make honeycomb here  on Daniel's link :)