In My Kitchen - June 2016

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June is so full of birthdays for me, which means that a lot of meals are consumed at restaurants outside the kitchen. This is great because I love eating out, but it also means the potential of leftovers is significantly reduced which is a problem because leftovers are my staple food for work lunches. I spent the bulk of this weekend cooking up big batches of food that I can freeze to last a little while.

I made these infamous fake sausage rolls that I have blogged previously. I made a double batch of the filling, and froze half of it, so I can pull it out when I need it. These sausage rolls are always a hit with vegetarians and meat eaters alike, and are pretty healthy too. I can’t go without crediting Where’s The Beef, which is where I originally found the recipe, and years on, it is still a staple dish in my kitchen.



Winter has well and truly started in Melbourne, which means that winter vegetables are in season. I picked up a couple of heads of broccoli at the market. I had plans to make Ottolenghi’s broccoli and gorgonzola pie, but I didn’t have some of the ingredients, so instead I decided to make a big batch of pasta. It’s a pretty easy recipe, and was a bit of a crowd pleaser.

Ingredients:
2 heads of broccoli, cut into small florets
500g of pasta, I used spirals, but I’m sure you could use anything
A generous amount of olive oil, say about 60ml
3 or 4 cloves of garlic, sliced
1 chilli (or more if you like the heat), sliced
About 60g of parmesan, grated
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:
1.    Put the broccoli in a big pot of salted boiling water, and cook for about 3 minutes. Once tender, remove the broccoli with a slotted spoon and set aside.
2.    In the same pot, cook the pasta according to the directions on the packet. Once the pasta is cooked, drain, reserving about ½ cup of the water.
3.    Heat half the olive oil in a large frying pan or skillet.
4.    Add the garlic and chilli, and fry off.
5.    After a few minutes add the broccoli and fry off for another few minutes.
6.    Add the pasta to the pan, and mix thoroughly. Add salt and pepper to taste.
7.    Add the remaining olive oil, the water you had set aside from cooking the pasta, and almost all the parmesan. Mix well. The parmesan should melt and coat the pasta.
8.    Serve into bowls and sprinkle with remaining parmesan.


My batch was enough for about 4 serves, but bear in mind we eat large serves. You probably could have easily made it five serves. You could also add a few extra flavours like capsicum or wilted spinach. It’s a great way to incorporate more veggies into meals, which is something I am quite conscious of doing.

I found this amazing Connoisseur Murray River Salted Caramel and Macadamia Nut ice cream. This is usually quite a pricey ice cream, definitely reserved for special occasions, but I managed to find it on a super special, and we’ve been devouring it after dinner almost nightly. It is bloody delicious and I might have to stock up the next time I see it on special.


This post is part of the In My Kitchen series hosted by Maureen from the Orgasmic Chef. Head over to her blog to see what is going on in other people's kitchens!

6 comments:

  1. I could have stopped at the broccoli and gorgonzola pie. OMG I have to have this.

    That ice cream is my favourite too!

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    1. Yeah, I haven't had a failure with an Ottolenghi recipe, and the broccoli and gorgonzola pie is no exception!

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  2. Your sausage rolls sound great, especially for something other than meat filling Moni. I have tried that ice-cream on a stick covered with chocolate - yumm, yumm, yumm! Great seeing you for IMK, see you soon :)
    https://missfoodfairy.com/2016/06/08/in-my-kitchen-june-2016/

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    1. Yeah they replicate meat quite well, and with the nuts they have a reasonable protein content too!

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  3. yum yum to sausage rolls and to broccoli. we love it in this household. i like the sound of that pie too.

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  4. That ice cream sounds downright dangerous and delicious! Wonderful idea to have the sausage rolls for lunches.

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