Spinach Mascarpone Pasta

Actually a re-post of an old recipe from when I first started blogging! I had a miserable photo back then and this is such a great dish I thought I'd do a little re-promoting. Titus adored this and asks for spinach pasta all the time now. Can't blame him - it's delicious. And very, very fattening. 

I've changed the quantities a bit... play around to make sure it's what you like. 

Pasta with Spinach and Mascarpone
by Jamie Oliver

500 g tagliatelle
200 g spinach, rinsed, dried and cut into fine shreds (depending on your patience)
3 cloves of garlic, finely sliced
1/2 nutmeg, grated
olive oil
knob of butter
salt, pepper
250 g mascarpone
200 ml cream (I used full-fat.)
2 large handfuls of grated parmesan

Cook the pasta in your normal way. Meanwhile, get a large pan and melt the butter and oil. Add the garlic and nutmeg, and when it's warm, add the spinach. Let it wilt for 3-4 minutes. Season it with salt and pepper. Add the mascarpone and the cream, and a little bit of pasta water. Season again, if necessary.

When the pasta is done, drain it and RESERVE SOME WATER. That's important. You need it. Add the pasta to the sauce, mix well, and add the parmesan. Mix again, and loosen it with several glugs of pasta water, added gradually. You want a soft, silky sauce, not a thick mess. Serve immediately - this can not wait.

How we eat risotto

These days, we never mix anything into a risotto. We serve it plain. With toppings. On the side. Lots of toppings. That way, everyone can get what they like. We always have corn, peas, bacon and often mushrooms. On this occasion, we happened to have red bellpepper and cubed goat's cheese as well. A good night.

I have tons of risotto recipes in my archive.

Quick Lunch Idea - Cilantro & Bacon Egg salad

Boiled eggs. (Fresh farm eggs, too!) A little mayo. Crispy bacon. Cilantro. And salt. And buttered sourdough toast.

Hungry yet?

Not bad at ALL - Thai Ribs

Thai-Style ribs - sounds weird, but this was pretty darned good. 

Recipe is from the winner of Swedish masterchef - Amir Kheirmand, and his book "V�rldens b�sta mat". ("Best food in the world") I simplified the recipe a little and might simplify it even more next time, feel free to play around with it. (I omitted most of the heat - none of us appreciate spicy food, to be honest.)  We ate the ribs with plain rice and some veggies tossed with teriyaki sauce. 

The book is fun - I liked it a lot. It has great photos and plenty of recipes. Next on my list to try are skewers with spicy Indian chicken thighs, or maybe the coca-cola soaked ribs. I do like coca-cola. And my husband really likes ribs. 

Thai-Style Ribs

two small slabs of thick-cut ribs (about 1,2 kilos), separated

thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, coarsely cut (don't bother peeling it) 

2 lemongrass stalks, pounded and coarsely chopped

3 garlic cloves, smashed

1-2 red chilis, sliced

50 ml japanese light soy sauce

Place all ingredients in a pot. Add water to just cover the ribs. Bring to a boil, remove any scum, cover with a lid and let it cook on low heat for about 90 minutes. Meanwhile, get on with the marinade...

marinade:

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 red chili, minced

50 ml japanese light soy sauce

50 ml oyster sauce

3 tbsp fish sauce

3 tbsp brown sugar

100 ml ketchup

2 limes, juiced

humb-sized piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated

Mix all ingredients for the marinade. When the ribs are cooked, drain them from the cooking liquid and place in the marinade for at least half an hour. (I haven't tried but I bet you can do this well in advance and chill the whole thing.) Heat the oven to 225�C and cook the ribs for about 15-20 minutes. Turn the ribs halfway through to ensure they don't burn, but crisp up evenly. Serve, and enjoy!

And finally a photo of my husband's lunch - leftover ribs, on toast, with a fried egg. He says it was delicious. 

Have you tried making the three-second slushie? I have! Well, I have tried. It's hard to get the cola super-cooled before it actually freezes.. but it does work, kind of. Anyway, I love frozen soda. So yummy. Perfect when it's really hot outside.

My sister's broccoli peanut pasta

My sister Ehva is an excellent and somewhat excentric cook. She has things in her kitchen that I rarely use, and mostly eats vegetarian food, always organic and high quality. And everything she cooks is delicious. Her pancakes are outstanding, as are her savory pies. And she once made me this pasta. It was lovely - a lot better than the one I made the other day, but that was still good as well. She just has a magic touch.

Broccoli Peanut pasta sauce
enough sauce for four

250 g broccoli, in florets
100 g toasted and salted organic peanuts
200 ml creme fraiche
pepper
grated cheese, to serve - parmesan or V�sterbottensost

Cook the broccoli in boiling water for about five minutes. Meanwhile, rinse the peanuts to get rid of the excess salt, and then put them in a food processor. Blitz like crazy for a minute or two - you want them ground up but not turned into peanut butter. When the broccoli is tender, drain and add to the mixer. Mix.

Scrape out the contents of the food processor into a pot, and heat gently. Stir in the creme fraiche, and season to your liking. Add a little pasta water if it seems too thick.

While you're doing all this, you're also cooking your pasta. (Right?) When ready to eat, drain the pasta and toss with a little butter and serve with the sauce and plenty of grated sharp cheese.

A simple cake

I love meringue cakes and this was no exception. Store-bought meringue rounds, layered with whipped cream and frozen-then-thawed berries and a little sugar. Easy as.. cake. And yummy.