I Am Delicious

Parma Ham Macaroni, Cherry Tomato & Peas

Parma Ham Macaroni with black olives, cherry tomatoes and green peas is simply delicious and very easy to prepare. Full of nutrition and will keep your stomach full for many hours. Also if you skip adding ham, that might be a good option for vegetarians. You might be creative here and get additional ingredients, anything you like to have in macaroni dish.  

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:                                       

• 2 leeks - chopped
• 400 g frozen peas 
• 200 g Parma ham - chopped
• 400 g macaroni
• 300 g grated mozzarella cheese
• 3 Tbsp mustard
• 300 g cherry tomatoes - in halves
• 500 ml vegetable stock
• 2 chilli peppers - chopped
• 150 g black olives
• 5 Tbsp basil leaves - chopped 
• 4-5 Tbsp olive oil
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• fresh basil leaves to garnish

Method:

1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Add leeks, chilli pepper and Parma ham. Cook all together for 5 minutes or until leeks are soft.

2. Add peas and continue cooking for another 5 minutes.  

3. In the meantime cook macaroni. When ready, drain the pasta and leave aside to cool a bit. 

4. Now add macaroni into leeks and peas. Add vegetable stock and stir well. Add half of grated cheese and mustard. Add sea salt and pepper. Mix well. If needed add a more of olive oil. Cook for 5 minutes - stirring from time to time until cheese melts.

5. At the end of cooking, add cherry tomatoes, chopped basil leaves and black olives. Mix and leave aside for a moment. 

6. Now move the pasta from skillet to large baking dish. Pre-heat the oven to 200 C with no fan and if you are using fan to 180 C. Sprinkle remaining half of grated cheese over macaroni and leave in the oven for 15-20 minutes.

7. Serve hot, scattered with fresh basil leaves.

ENJOY!!!

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Chinese Rice Noodles with Green Beans and Mung Mushrooms

Perfect recipe for vegetarians and Chinese food lovers. No meat, only fresh and healthy vegetables, green, yellow and  made in wok on extra-virgin olive oil and a dark soya sauce. Simply Delicious.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 15-20 minutes

Ingredients:                                       

• 700 g mix of green, yellow and sweet beans
• 4 Tbsp dried mung mushrooms
• 200 g rice noodles
• 2 small carrots - chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic - chopped
• 1 tsp crushed chilli
• 1 onion - chopped
• 1 - 2 Tbsp of marinated ginger
• small piece of fresh ginger - finely diced
• 2-3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 8 Tbsp dark soya sauce
• juice of one small lime
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• freshly ground black pepper 

Method:

1. Remember to wash the beans first. Chop the carrot.

2. Put dried mung mushrooms in hot water for 10 minutes. 

3. In the meantime we prepare the beans. Heat large pan and add olive oil. You can also use a wok pan. Once oil is hot, add beans, mung mushrooms, carrot, onion and garlic. Keep cooking for 10 minutes. 

4. Add marinated ginger to the beans. Season with chilli, pepper, thyme, add diced fresh ginger, juice of lime and soya sauce. You can add more soya sauce than in this recipe - depands what you like. Do not add any salt - soya sauce is salty enough. Cook for another 5 minutes until carrot and beans turn soft.

5. In the meantime pour hot water into large pot and add rice noodles. Cover with the lid and wait for 3 minutes until noodles soften.  

6. Ready vegetables put on the top of rice noodles and serve hot immediately. 

ENJOY!!! 

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Summer Lasagne with Courgette

Takes about 45 minutes to prepare this delicious summer lasagne. I love it!!! Also you just need a few ingredients you probably already have in your fridge. 

Lasagne is a dish made of alternating layers of pasta, cheese, sauce, and meat or like in this case - vegetables. Lasagna is believed to have originated in Italy. The word lasagna in the past referred only to the cooking pot in which the dish was cooked rather than the food itself but after centuries it moved to the dish itself. Another recipe with no meat, so perfect option for vegetarians.

Prep Time: 10 minutes                                    

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:                                       

• For the pasta layers: 9 dried lasagne sheets or a dough made from 3 glasses of flour, 4 eggs, mineral water, 4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 4-5 Tbsp olive oil
• 3 spring onions - sliced
• 3-6 cloves of garlic - sliced
• 800 g - 1 kg courgette - coarsley grated
• 500 g ricotta chees
• 250 g cheddar cheese - coarsley grated
• 500 g tomato sauce with capers and basil
• 50 g parmesan cheese for topping
• sea salt & freshly ground black and white pepper

Method: 

1. If you decide to use lasagne sheets, then boil a large pot of water and put a bit of salt in it for getting more flavor out of your pasta. Remember to add a few drops of olive oil so the sheets will not stick together. Keep cooking al dente for 5 minutes. Rinse the sheets in cold water and immediately drizzle with a bit of olive oil so the sheets will not stick together.

2. If you want to prepare your own pasta, do the following: mix flour, eggs, extra virgin olive oil and sea salt. Keep kneading the dough adding a bit of sparkling mineral water to obtain a smooth and consistent dough. Sparkling water is my trick - it makes the dough even softer. At the end, the dough cannot be neither too sticky nor too dry. Form a ball with the dough and wrap it in the transparent foil. Leave it in the fridge for about 60 minutes. Afterwards, roll out the dough and create 3 flat lasagne sheets either with your hands or with help of pasta machine. Leave the sheets aside to dry a bit. If you don't have a pasta machine, divide the pasta dough into 3 smaller balls and, with the help of a marble rolling-pin, roll them on a well floured smooth board. After, cook for 5-6 minutes in a boiling water with a bit of salt and olive oil. Then rinse the sheets in cold water and immediately drizzle with a bit of olive oil so the sheets will not stick together

3. In the meantime heat the olive oil in a large frying pan and fry the spring onion mixed wit sliced garlic for about 3 minutes. 

4. Add courgette to the onion and continue to fry, stirring from time to time until courgette softenes and turns light green.  

5. Add 2/3 of both ricotta and cheddar cheese. Season with sea salt and pepper to taste.

6. In a large baking dish, put first lasagne sheet made from the dough or three smaller lasagne sheets you just cooked. Now put on lasagne sheets tomato sauce and then courgette mix, Cover all with another layer of lasagne sheets, tomato sauce and courgette mix. On the top of courgette put tomato sauce again and cover with the top layer of lasagne sheets.

7. Spread remaining ricotta on the top of lasagne and scatter with the rest of cheddar. Season with parmesan cheese at the end. 

8. Bake your lasagne on the top shelf of the pre-heated oven to 220 C for 20 minutes or until the pasta turns tender and the cheese is golden. 

9. After lasagne is ready, leave it for a few minutes outside of the oven to rest a bit before serving. 

ENJOY!!! 

 

Delicious Italian Pasta with Pesto

Extreemely fast to prepare - takes almost nothing to cook. I love fresh homemade pesto and you cannot compare it with the one bought in the grocery store. No meat, so perfect option for vegetarians. 

The word "pasta" comes from the Italian word for "paste" and means a mix of flour and water. Popular legend says that pasta was introduced by Marco Polo to Italy following his travels exploration of the Far East in the 13th century. The Chinese were making a noodle dishes in early 3000 B.C. Pasta made its way to the New World through the English travellers, who discovered it while living in Italy. Pasta consists of flour, water, salt and sometimes eggs. Over the centuries dozens of pasta shapes, sauces and ways of serving were invented. There are over 600 pasta shapes worldwide. Spinach is used to make pasta green, tomato makes pasta red and squid ink makes pasta gray. I read somewhere that an average Italian person eats more than 51 pounds of pasta every year. How about you?

Prep Time: 5 minutes                                    

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:                                       

• any dry pasta shapes you like - you can use tagliatelle, farfalle or any other
• 70 g of fresh green basil stalks and leaves
• 10 g of ground almonds instead of pine nuts
• 30 g parmesan
• 40 ml extra-virgin olive oil
• 5 garlic cloves 
• sea salt & freshly ground black and white pepper

Method: 

1. Boil a large pot of water and put a bit of salt in it for getting more flavor out of your pasta. Cook pasta al dente, which means "to the tooth" in Italian. That means it's cooked, but still has some resistance when chewing. For how long to cook al dente you need to read instructions on the pasta box. In average it would be approx. 10 minutes but might differ per pasta shape.   

2. Now we will prepare pesto sauce. In a blender mix well basil stalks and leaves, olive oil, salt, pepper, almonds and parmesan. Check the flavor and if needed add a bit more of salt. I like it more salty but that is my individual preference.

3. Mix cooked pasta with your pesto sauce and serve immediately.

ENJOY!!! 

 

Fusilli Pasta with Zucchini and Tomato (in Polish: Swiderki z cukinia i pomidorami)

Pasta comes to my menu occasionally but then it is simply delicious and special. It turns out that fusilli pasta goes really well with zucchini and simple tomato sauce. It takes only about 40 minutes to prepare. No meat, thus perfect for vegetarians.

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:                                       

• 250 g dry fusilli (spiral) pasta
• 2 mid size zucchinis (approx. 500 g) cut in half slices
• 1.5 l of vegetable stock (broth)
• 2 red onions - finely sliced
• 5-6 garlic cloves - crushed
• 1 chilli hot red pepper
• 100 g of grated Parmesane cheese
• 3 Tbsp chopped basil leaves
• sea salt and freshly ground black, white and red pepper
• 3-4 Tbsp fresh finely hashed parsley to garnish
• 600 ml fresh tomato sauce with chopped tomatoes

Method:

1. Bring a large pot of vegetable stock to boil. Add fusilli dry pasta and cook for 8-10 minutes until al dente. Then drain and leave aside.

2. In the meantime wash zucchinis. Cut both ends, then alongside and finally into 0.5 cm slices. 

3. Dice red hot chilli pepper.

4. Pre-heat the oven to 200 C with a large non-stick pan inside. Put the onion, garlic and zucchinis into the oven and fry for 4-5 minutes.

5. Combine chilli, tomato sauce and basil. Add dry fried galic, onion and zucchini. Bring to simmer in a large pot for about 5 minutes.

6. Toss fusilli pasta with the sauce and vegetable. Season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.

7. Transfer pasta to the oven baking pot. Garnish with grated Parmesan cheese on the top.

8. Bake in the pre-heated to 200 C oven for 15 minutes. Sprinkle chopped fresh parsley before serving. 

9. Serve hot.

ENJOY!!! 

Teriyaki Vegetables with Rice Noodles (in Polish: Warzywa Teriyaki z makaronem ryzowym)

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:                                       

• 100 g thin rice noodles
• 160 ml dark soya sauce
• 2 mid size red onions finely sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 red pepper, deseeded and finely diced
• 1 yellow pepper, deseeded and finely diced
• 1 green pepper, deseeded and finely diced
• 150 g baby corn
• 4 Tbsp teriyaki sauce
• fresh juice of 1 lime
• freshly ground black, red, green and white pepper
• 150 g fresh sweet green peas
• a few slices of ginger
• 1 Tbsp black sesame seeds
• chinease herb mix
• 10 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

Method:

1. Cook the thin rice noodles in boiling water, then drain and live aside mixed with dark soya sauce in a pan.

2. Heat a wok, add two Tbsp of olive oil and fry the onions and galic for 3-5 minutes on medium-high heat. Add freshly ground pepper. 

3. Add the peppers, baby corn, sweet green peas, ginger, lime juice, 8 Tbs of olive oil, teriyaki sauce, black sesame seeds and chinese herb mix. Keep cooking covered for next 10 minutes - stirring from time to time.

4. Add cooked noodles in dark soya sauce to the vegetables and stir well. Keep frying for next 5 minutes.

5. Serve warm with a glass of good wine.

ENJOY!!!

Pearl Barley Groats in Tomato Sauce (in Polish: Kasza jeczmienna w sosie pomidorowym)

Easy and little time to prepare. Pearl Barley Groats are most often used in soups and stews, but it also makes a nice main dish like the one presented below. Unlike beans it does not require to presoaking prior to adding it to dishes, but it does require time to soften. No meat so perfect for Vegetarians. 

Prep Time: 10 minutes                                    

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:                                       

• 4 baby leeks - finely chopped
• 3-4 garlic cloves - finely diced
• 3 celery stalks - finely diced
• 1 can chopped tomatoes with basil and oregano or with galic (450 g)
• 250 g vegetable broth
• 200 g pearl barley groats
• fresh finely chopped parsley leaves
• basil leaves to decorate
• sea salt & freshly ground black and white pepper

• OPTIONAL: you can also add finely sliced sausage - any you like if you want a bit meat in the dish - I did in that case adding turkey meat sausage

Method: 

1. Place galic and celery stalks in a vegetable broth. Add sea salt and pepper. Cook for 10-15 minutes on medium-high heat until vegetables turn soft.

2. Add chopped tomatoes and baby leeks. Cook for another 10-15 minutes. At this stage you can add finely sliced sausage if you wish.

3. Season with freshly ground black and white pepper and basil leaves. 

4. Boil barley until tender; then rinse well. It might take about 15 minutes or a bit more to cook it.

5. Once barley is ready serve it with tomato vegetable sause on the top, decorated with basil leaves. 

ENJOY!!!

Risotto with Asparagus and Dried Tomatoes (in Polish: Risotto ze szparagami i suszonymi pomidorami)

Best Risotto recipes come from Italy. Italians use most of the time green asparagus, but since I couldn't find it, I used white asparagus and it is Delicious too. Takes about one hour to prepare it. Serve hot and with parmesan cheese topping. No meat included so perfect for vegetarians as well. I love it!!!

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:                                  

• 1 l chicken broth
• 3-4 Tbsp olive oil
• 3 Tbsp butter
• 1 big onion finely chopped
• 10 dried tomatoes cut into stripes
• 300 g risotto rice (Arborio)
• 200 ml dry white wine
• 300 g white or green cooked asparagus
• 90 g freshly grated parmesan cheese
• fresh basil leaves
• sea salt and freshly ground white pepper

Method: 

1. Clean and cook the asparagus for a few minutes until it is a bit soft. You can also use a special asparagus pot - of course if you have one. Once cooked, cut asparagus into 3-4 cm pieces and set aside.

 

2. Oil 

and butter heat in a deep saucepan. Add onion and dried tomatoes. Cook over medium heat for approx. 5 minutes until onion turns 

translucent.

3. Add rice and keep stirring until the rice softens a bit and becomes translucent as well. Should take about 7 minutes.

 

4. Add wine. Keep stirring until wine is absorbed by rice.

5. Slowly add chicken broth - spoon by spoon - waiting until rice absorbs previous portion. Cook for about 20-25 minutes until rice absorbs all the broth. Rice should be slightly firm in center and look creamy.

  

6. Add asparagus and mix carefully with rice. Keep cooking for next 3 minutes. 

7. Serve with fresh basil leaves and topped with freshly grated parmesan.

ENJOY!!!

 

Italian Gnocchi in Tomato Sauce (in Polish: Wloskie gnocchi w sosie pomidorowym)

Gnocchi is one of the Italian dishes, pasta type in a form of soft dumplings. We can have plain, spinach or ricotta gnocchi and many others depending from which region of Italy they come. My recipe is plain flour gnocchi with home made Delicious tomato sauce and basil. It is another example of light and nutricious dish. There is no meat so good for vegetarians as well. 

Prep Time: 30 minutes                                    

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients: 

For tomatoe sauce:                        

• 500 g can chopped tomatoes
• 1 bigger onion - finely chopped
• 4-5 minced garlic cloves
• 150 ml dry white wine
• sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
• fresh basil
• 2-3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 Tbsp parmesan for the topping if you like

For gnocchi:                        

• 800 g red skin potatos
• 2 Tbsp of fresh basil leaves finely chopped
• 1 egg
• 200-250 g plain flour
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 

Method:

1. Olive oil heat in a large pan on the medium-high heat.

2. Add onion and minced garlic. Keep stirring until onion is soft and translucent.

3. Add wine, keep stiring and cook on medium-low heat until most liquid has evaporated.

4. Add can of chopped tomatoes, basil sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

5. Keep stirring for about 30 minutes. Sauce will be thickened so stir well to avoid burnt bottom. 

6. For gnocchi first boil potatoes in a large amount of water for 15-20 minutes until soft. 

7. Mash potatoes when they are still hot as it is easier to mash and the texture will be smooth and even.

8. Mix potatoes with fresh finely chopped basil (as much as you wish - I like quite a lot), sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

9. Small egg whisk for a few seconds in a separate bowl.

10 Mix plain flour with potatoes and keep adding the egg with spoons. You will not probably use all. Bring all together to a form of firm dough.

11. Knead the dough for a few minutes, then roll into long rolls - about 1 cm big.

12. Cut the rolls into 2-3 cm long pieces. The cut pieces should be laid onto the lightly floured work surface and separated. 

13. With each piece make a gnocchi shape. It is really easy. Take a piece and press slightly against fork surface making little rows. Now your gnocchi is almost ready.

14. Gently cook the gnocchi in a large pan of boiling salty water for 1-2 minutes until they rise. When floating on the surface, cook them for additional 30 seconds. Scoop them out as they rise.

15. Serve with earlier prepared and still hot tomato sauce. Gently toss the gnocchi in a deep frying pan for additional 30 seconds. Add chopped fresh basil leaves.

16. If you like you can put 1 Tbsp pf parmesan for topping. Serve to eat immediately.

Enjoy!!!

  

Tuna & Pasta Salad (in Polish: Salatka z tunczykiem i makaronem kokardki)

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 9 minutes for 'al dente' pasta                                   

Ingredients:                                       

• 250 g boiled farfalle pasta - bow-tie pasta
• 4 skin peeled tomatos 
• 200 g green peas tin
• 200 g corn tin
• 250 g tuna tin - from water 
• 3-4 peelled celery stalks
• 150 g cheese
• fresh juice from 1 lemon
• 5-6 Tbsp mayonnaise
• sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

Method: 

1. Tuna mix with mayonnaise and fresh lemon juice. Wait a few minutes until ingredients mix well. 

2. Cook farfalle (bow-tie) pasta the way you like, I recommend 'al dente' cooked 9 minutes in boiling water.

3. Cut tomatos and cheese into cuarters and peeled celery into thin slices.

4. Mix all vegetables, tuna and cheese with corn and green peas (both from a tin).

5. Mix all together with cooled pasta.  

6. Add sea salt and freshly ground pepper.

ENJOY!!!