Spaghetti Cacio e Pepe

For a quick and easy meal, this is perfect. Especially if you're not that hungry. But make no mistake, just because it is so simple, it does not mean that it compromised on taste... 

This is comfort food, with class.

Ingredients

500g spaghetti

2L         water

2t         salt, or to taste

120g margarine

2t         whole black pepper corns

½ cup chunky cottage cheese

300g bacon (optional)

250g mushrooms, sliced (optional)

1         onion, diced (optional)

2t         garlic, crushed (optional)

⅛t     nutmeg

parmesan to taste

Method

1 Let the water come to a boil, add the salt and spaghetti and cook to al dente. Strain, but keep the water.

2 Fry the bacon in 30g margarine until crispy. Set aside.

3 Fry the mushrooms (and garlic if you want) in 30g margarine until browned. Set aside.

4 Fry the onion in 30g margarine until lightly browned. Set aside.

5 Melt 30g margarine in a small saucepan and add the pepper corns. Toast for about 1 min (you should smell the pepper toasting), then grind with a mortar & pestle. Add the other peppers and nutmeg, if you want to. Set aside.

6 Mix the bacon, mushrooms, onion and pepper. Add it to the spaghetti with the cottage cheese and mix well.

7 Serve with grated parmesan as garnish and enjoy!

Notes: - ground black pepper and/or ground white pepper can also be added, just keep in mind that the intensity of the pepper increases as it cooks and stands.

- Only add the nutmeg if you use mushrooms

For a printable PDF version of the recipe, click here: Spaghetti Cacio e Pepe

Yours in oil and veggies

Risch

Asparagus Quiche

There are a lot of recipes for this quiche out there, so browse around and find one that suits your style, ingredients and time. Wednesdays are our meat-free days. We do add bacon to a lot of our Meat-Free recipes, but that is because I don't see bacon as meat... More as a taste enhancer or garnish! This is my version of an Asparagus Quiche, and I am throwing it together as I go along... Let's see how it turns out!

Ingredients                                                                      

1 cup Flour
1 tbsp Sugar

1/2 tsp Salt
50 g Margarine
1/4 cup Milk
30 g Margarine
2 Onions, chopped
300 g Bacon, cubed
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
430 g Canned asparagus pieces
4 Eggs
1 Tin sweetcorn
2 tsp Homemade mustard*
1 tsp Dried parsley
Pinch Cayenne pepper
To taste Salt & pepper
2 cup Strong cheese, like cheddar

Method

The crust
1. Mix flour, salt, sugar and margarine in blender.
2. Add milk to form loose crumbs.
3. Spread evenly in a baking dish, and press tight.

The filling

1. Melt the butter and fry the onion till lightly browned.
2. Add the bacon, loosen well and add the Worcestershire sauce.
3. Fry till done. Set aside.
4. Mix sweetcorn, eggs, spices, 2/3  of the cheese and asparagus.
5. Add the onion & bacon, mix well.
6. Scoop into baking dish and level.
7. Evenly cover with the rest of the cheese.
8. Bake in oven @ 180°C  for

Serve warm with some spicy preserve - curried beans and copper penny carrots - or a garden salad.

Yours in oil and veggies

Risch

Beans, Bacon & Beef

This dish is simple, easy, quick and delicious! It's also low-carb - bargain! 

Ingredients
3tbs butter
2 onions, chopped
300g bacon, diced
1kg cut beans
500g stew beef, cubed
1tbs soya sauce
1 rind feta cheese
salt & pepper

Method

Melt the butter and fry the onions till lightly browned.
Add the bacon and fry till browned.
Add the beans and lower the heat, cover and let is simmer till the beans are soft, but still firm. Add white pepper and salt to taste.
Dry the beef in a kitchen towel.
Fry in a very hot non-stick pan, without any oil or butter or anything else. Fry until browned. Remove from heat. Add the soya sauce and mix well.
Add the beef to the beans and crumble the feta cheese over. Mix through.

Serve and enjoy!!

 Yours in oil and veggies

Risch

Potato Bake with Bacon

Potatoes is one of the most versatile foods out there. And also one of the healthiest – despite what those medical people say. You take a potato out of the ground, wash it and cook it – no processing whatsoever. Please tell me how it can be unhealthy? Not to mention how absolutely delicious potatoes are with butter and cheese and cream and mushrooms…

Preparation time: 15min

Cooking time: +-2hours

Difficulty Level: Very easy

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

8 medium potatoes

500ml milk

1 onion, finely chopped

50g butter

350g bacon bits

100g cheese

Salt & Pepper

Breadcrumbs in butter

Method:

Cook the whole potatoes till ¾ ready.

 Add the onion to the milk and cook for about 20min on medium heat.  

Drain the milk off, and keep both the milk and onion.

Melt the butter and fry the onion and bacon until soft and lightly starting to brown. 

Add the onion milk and mix well.

Slice the potatoes and layer in a baking dish. Dot a little butter and sprinkle salt & pepper over the potato. 

Add some cheese. Add another layer of potato, and continue to layer until all the potato is done.

Pour over the bacon mixture.

Melt some butter and add the breadcrumbs, enough to cover the top the dish. I had a bit of a mishap, so mine doesn't exactly cover the top!!

Bake in the oven at 160°C until nicely browned.

Serve at a braai, or as part of dinner or enjoy as is!!

Yours in oil and veggies

Risch

Pea & Mushroom Spaghetti

In my garden, I have a small selection of veggies growing. Spinach, cauliflower (which flopped – thanks white fly!), brussel sprouts and peas. I love peas. I love growing them and I love picking them and I love eating them. Mostly I love eating them straight from the shell after picking. They are so sweet…  but usually my pea harvest is just enough for me to eat, and never enough for a meal. 

Well, this time I did something right. I harvested enough peas for a whole meal – and you wouldn’t even think I plucked anything, as there are still so many left!!

The best thing about fresh peas, is that they really don't require a lot of cooking. A little heat just to match the heat of the meal, is sufficient, because their taste is so sweet and so fresh.

Preparation time: 15min

Cooking time: 30min

Difficulty Level: Very Easy

Serves: 8

Ingredients:

1 onion, chopped

500g mushrooms, sliced (2 punnets)

150g bacon bits

2tbs coconut oil

400g spaghetti

250g fresh peas

Water

Salt & Pepper

Method

Melt 1tbs coconut oil and fry the onion till soft. 

 Add the bacon and fry till lightly browned. 

Melt the other tbs coconut oil and fry the mushrooms. 

Boil enough water for the spaghetti. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add the spaghetti and cook until el dente. Pour off the water. Add the bacon, onion, mushrooms and peas and mix well.

Dish up with a little grated parmesan.

And enjoy!

Yours in oil and veggies

Risch

Bacon, Onion & Cheese Roll

Very delicious and simple to make, and you can add almost anything to it. I again didn't add quantities, because maybe you like a little less onion or more cheese, and with this roll, you can swing it any way you like. Add green peppers, mushrooms and feta. Add salami. Replace the bacon with salami... the combinations are endless!
The ingredients is what I used to make this roll.

Ingredients:

1 roll puff pastry, defrosted
onion
cheese, grated  (I used processed cheese.)
bacon 
1 egg

Method

Roll out the puff pastry.

Cover with the bacon. 
Add the onion. Cover evenly.

Cover with cheese.
Roll up.

Whisk the egg with a little bit of water to make the eggwash. And brush your roll. Make a couple of slits on the top of the roll for the steam to escape.
Bake in the oven @ 160degrees C for half an hour, or until it browns nicely.

And serve!

Yours in oil and veggies

Risch

Tagliatelle Al Fredo

Man o man, do I love my Tagliatelle Al Fredo... Creamy, cheesy, bacon, mushrooms and pasta... all my my favourites in one! 

This one is made with homemade pasta. And the lovely thing about Tagliatelle Al Fredo is that you can change the ingredients to suit your taste. So there are no quantities in this recipe, only ingredients.

Ingredients

Tagliatelle Pasta   (about 500g)
Salt
Pepper
Chopped Onion (1-2)
Mushrooms (1 punnet)
Bacon Pieces (about 250g)
Butter
Grated Parmesan (+- 2tbs)
Pinch nutmeg
1t Italian Herbs

Method

Like I said, my pasta is home made. 

Cook until al dente - it shouldn't taste like flour, or be hard and clumpy. If it cooks took long, it will completely disintegrated, though. So keep an eye on it. 

Once done, add some butter and blend in.

 Fry the onion in some butter until browned.

Add the mushrooms and fry until soft.

Fry the bacon separately. (You can fry everything together, my pan is just too small...)

In a saucepan, melt some butter. Add the cream, nutmeg, Italian herbs, salt & pepper. Heat to boiling point. Add the parmesan and whisk thoroughly until it thickens up.

Add the mushrooms, bacon and onion to the tagliatelle, mix well. 

Add the cream, mix well.
And serve

Enjoy with an ice cold glass of crisp white wine! (perhaps some milk for the kids, though..)

Yours in oil and veggies

Risch

Mac'n Cheese

Comfort food. We all love it and at times, we all need it. The drop in serotonin levels are quickest risen by pure pasta or potato – the best carriers of the happy hormone!! And what better comfort food than Mac’n Cheese? You can really play with what you put into it. You can dress it up or play it down, you can bake it or prepare it as is… In the end, you want pasta and cheese – the food of kings!!

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time:  1 ½ hours

Difficulty Level: Very Easy

Serves:  6

Ingredients

500g pasta – I used homemade

1tbs + 3tbs butter

2tbs flour

Milk / buttermilk

1t mustard

1t mixed herbs

Ground black pepper

Salt

1 onion, chopped

200g bacon, chopped

250g mushrooms, sliced

200g processed cheese

50g cheddar cheese

Pinch ground nutmeg

Method

Cook the pasta to al dente.  

 Fry the onion, mushrooms and bacon in 1tbs butter until lightly browned. Set aside. 

Melt the 3tbs butter. Add the flour and mix well. Add the milk or buttermilk while whisking continuously to form a smooth sauce. Add the cheddar cheese and blend until it has all melted in. 

Mix the macaroni, mushroom mixture and sauce together. 

Scoop into a prepared baking dish. Cover with cheddar cheese 

and bake in a preheated oven at 160degrees C for about an hour, until the cheese is starting to crisp on top.

Enjoy with a salad and a fabulous decadent glass of red wine…

Yours in oil and veggies

Risch