Chorizo & Courgette Pastabake

Chorizo & Courgette Pasta Bake

Well it's been very quiet in the flat with the Houseboy setting off with a spring in his step for a boys weekend in Ibiza, i'm  not anticipating him coming back with the same spring...needless to say i think he may need some nursing. I've hot footed it up North to stay with Mrs Rhodes but have left him some hangover cures in the fridge. The positives of having the place to myself has meant endless 5 USA without feeling guilty, the golf clubs have been banished to the spare room & have all the lamps on. (the Houseboy & i are in opposing lighting camps, while he's happy with one ceiling light on, i love to have a good collection of lamps on. Could be worse things to bicker about i reckon)  

 

It's been a busy old ten days, Monsieur M. my Jesus lookalike uni friend from far away Aberdeen has been on his annual pilgrimage to London, so some sightseeing, museum trips & drinks have been in order. I always love a trip to the V&A,  i dragged him (literally) round the jewelry rooms where i could spend hours staring at Victorian costume jewels. I'm just thankful i didn't have to take him to the science museum-don't get me wrong, science is cool & all that, but only in batches of 20 minutes or so.   

We had another fantastic evening with the Lipchucks who served up the most delicious Lamb dish served with Mashed Potatoes, Aubergines & Tomatoes. They have a great outdoor space for entertaining & its very easy to while away the hours with a glass (or several) of wine on a Sunday evening. I'm still contemplating the returning of the favour-going to have to pick up the pace here! I've been dreaming a lot of Pigs Trotters recently & i am dying to cook some up & make them into fritters, Black Pudding has also been heavily on my mind, although making that from scratch is trickier. 5 pints of pigs blood isn't readily available from Sainsbury.



The New Love In My Life

I recently got a new bike. Its amazing. I was originally advised to go for something lightweight, agile & discreet...i listened (for about ten seconds) but somehow ended up with  baby blue pashely. I've wanted one for so long i couldn't quite believe i was riding it home. My first gumtree purchase & it was successful-despite Mrs Rhodes almost convincing me i was going to end up being murdered & made into sausages after meeting a girl in Clapham flat. So all in all a good choice, even though it weighs a ton, is like driving a tank & pretty noticeable.

So this dish is quick, easy & lovely to have when the weather is rubbish. You can add a variety of different vegetables if you would like, Aubergine, Artichoke, Spinach, most will work. You could even do a bechamel sauce instead of a tomato one-if you fancied.

Ingredients:

• 1 medium onion
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 750g passata (essentially one large bottle)
• 5 tbsp of tomato paste
• 1 glass of red wine
• 1 tbsp of sugar

• 110g chirizo
• 1 1/2 courgettes
• hand full of cherry tomatoes
• 250g rigatoni pasta
• 50g of grated cheese (such as chedder, mozzarella, parmesan - what ever is lurking in the fridge)

Method:

Finely chop the onion & the garlic, add to a hot pan with a dash of olive oil along with the paprika, cook for 5 minutes making sure it doesn't burn. Add the passata, tomato paste, red wine & sugar. Leave to simmer for 20-30 minutes.

Meanwhile as the sauce is bubbling away, put the pasta on to cook as per the packet instructions. While the pasta is cooking, slice the chirizo & courgette into fairly chunky pieces. Cook the chirizo until crisp & add the courgette & cook for a further 3 minutes (make sure you don't over cook the courgette as it will cook further in the oven) Set  aside. Drain the pasta well & then mix in the courgette, chirizo, cherry tomatoes & sauce. Place in an oven proof dish, sprinkle with cheese & pop into a preheated oven of 180c - bake for 20minutes. Goes very well with a rocket salad. 

Where to eat in London #1

This week heralds the start of a new blogging strategy, or at least an attempt at one... In order to boost the weekly contents without boring everyone rigid with what i get up to, i will also be talking about places to eat in & around London. From Sushi to Sunday Roasts & Takeaways, healthy & unhealthy i will endeavour to try them all. For you, because i'm that kind of friend. And Houseboy, don't panic i won't be dragging you along to every meal. Just most of them.

This weeks pick is the fantastic Megan's a Mediterranean hide away in West Fulham. My companion was the lovely Miss Stewart who very kindly took me out for belated birthday celebration as she was away for my July festivities. I have walked or cycled past Megan's literally every week for the last two years & always thought it was just (albeit a very nice looking) a small daytime coffee shop. Well i was wrong on that account. With a small but lovely dining room leading onto a fantastic outdoor space, its a great retreat from the busy world.   

We started off with the Antipasti Sharing Platter which was served on wooden board & consisted of an array of Sliced Meats, Rocket, Crostini & Salamis. Generous portions, fresh as can be & a great selection made it an idea choice to kick off proceedings. I merrily danced on to the Whole Artichoke served steamed with Vinaigrette. Some people write off artichoke as too fiddly & hard work but i'm a fan & this dish did not disappoint. Fresh, hot & a delicious sauce. Miss S. chose very wisely & had the Pan Fried Scallops with Rocket. Perfectly cooked, with a zesty dressing it looked like a perfect summery choice.

After effectively two starters i decided to relatively light on the main & then saw the french fries. Game over & it was the Grilled Octopus with French Fries & Salsa Verde. The Octopus was grilled & served very plainly-there's nothing worse than taking away from the natural flavours. The Salsa Verde was good but not as piquant as some i have had (i'm spolit though as the Houseboy makes a blinding version) The fries were skinny, salty & crispy & a perfect accompaniment to the dish. Miss S. was captured by the Chicken Breast Paillard with French Fries & Tomato & Coriander Salsa. Nicely charred round the edges, great flavour & well seasoned it was again a nicely executed dish concentrating on fresh produce rather than faffing with lots of ingredients. 

So if you are looking for somewhere to have a glass of wine with the ladies, catch up with an old friend or woo a new lover, this intimate, friendly restaurant is the perfect choice. And it must be good because Nigella Lawson was at the next table & looked like she was having a great time. 

Details:

Megan’s Restaurant & Deli, 571 Kings Road, London, SW6 2EB. Tel: 020 7371 7837 info@megansrestaurant.com

By Day:

Monday until Friday: 8:00 – 17:30
Saturday: 9:00 – 17:30
Sunday: 10:00 – 17:30

By night:

Mon – Sat: 19:00 till late  

* All images are from the restaurant website. 

Spicy Asian Prawn Soup

Spicy Thai Soup

Switzerland, the land of cheese, chocolate & ridiculously expensive fare! A great place to travel, not only because it's a beautiful country of soaring mountains & placid lakes but because (& pardon the pun) it runs like clockwork. The transport system is frankly awesome & made our whistle stop tour so easy. From Zurich to Luzern to Grindelwald to Thon to Bern we didn't experience a moments delay at anytime. The Swiss are quite a serious lot at times, i kept wondering what would happen if a train actually was delayed...? I had visions of a platform of people all with mini cuckoo pocket watches looking confused. We choose a good time to vacate London that's for sure, with riots & looting rife, eating our way round the Alps was definitely the preferred choice. Quite scary to think that something like that could happen so quickly & so close to home. Maybe i should enroll the Houseboy onto a home defence course. Or get a barking dog doorbell.

View over Lake Luzern

What i love about Switzerland is the way each individual canton (26 in total) has it's own strong identity be it in cuisine, people or scenery. Food is one thing i noticed varied as we traveled. Like Zurich's 'Zuri Gschnetzlets' a dish of Diced Veal in a Creamy Mushroom Sauce, or Bern's 'Berner-teller' a variety of hot & cold meats including Pork Sausage, Beef Tongue & various Hams served with Beans & Sauerkraut. Emmental, not only known for it's cheese is famous for it's Creamy Meringues & Berries. Each canton or village takes enormous pride in it's specialities & i think that it's something that has been lost in Britain over the years. I suppose that East End London has it's Jellied Eels & Pie & Mash but there aren't many counties which boast regional dishes. Scotland of course has it's national dish of Haggis (i refuse to takes peoples criticism unless they have actually tried it) which i LOVE. But where i grew up, apart from having a baked good called "Border Tart' there aren't many dishes linked to the area.

Apple Turnover.

Lake Luzern is a stunning & a perfect place to take a boat trip & do some walking, after a long days walk (22k - just had to boast about that one!) you need a nice dish as a reward. Alpler Magrone is one of my favourite feel good Swiss dishes. Basically it's Macaroni Cheese with potatoes mixed in served with Apple Sauce & Fried Onions & occasionally bacon. So good after a long day skiing or after some serious sightseeing & beers. It's maybe not the best dish if you are diet prone...but sometimes these things have to be embraced. Several times in one week if you are on holiday. In Grindelwald we bashed out some more serious walks & indulged in some even more serious fondue. The Bernese Orberland does not take cheese lightly & we tried a local variety with bacon which we scooped up with bread & potatoes. The Houseboy was fully involved & i saw hints of the Cheese Mania which threatened to consume him while in France at New Year. He may be scathing about my love of dairy, but when presented with melted cheese he may as well role over & wag his tail. Bern the capital is a small but captivating city, although not as buzzy as say Zurich, it is full of charm & if anything visit so you can head to Altes Tramdepot a great local microbrewery which serves up traditional fare such as 'Spatzli' & 'Rosti'. The Rosti served with Bacon, Apple Sauce & a Fried Egg was hot, hearty & very filling. Apple sauce & potatoes is a combination winner. The beer was also very good, but maybe a little lost on me.

Standard Bakery Fare

The result of this holiday is to try and avoid bread, cheese & wine for a while. Given i'm heading out for dinner tomorrow night with the lovely Miss Stuart it's not looking very likely. I'm just banking on the Houseboy not reading this weeks waffle so i can avoid the reproachful looks after me moaning the whole way home that i need to start eating more healthy. Bah.

Now this dish is not Swiss in anyway but it is an easy & delicious soup, perfect for a midweek dinner when you are flat out. You can pad it out by adding different veggies-mange tout & broccoli works particularly well. You can also opt out adding the red chili if you prefer a milder dish.  

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp Thai red curry paste
• 1 tin of coconut milk
• 400-500mls chicken stock
• 1 tin (200g) sweetcorn
• 5 spring onions - thinly sliced
• 1/2  red chili - thinly sliced
• 300g (2 packets) Amoy straight to wok noodles
• 500g (2 packets) raw king prawns
• 1 small bunch of coriander - chopped

Method:

Heat your wok (or pan) up & add the curry paste, cook until it starts to sizzle. Add the coconut milk & stock, bringing it to a simmer. Carry on by adding the sweetcorn, spring onion & red chili-cook for 3 minutes. Then add the noodles & keep at a simmer for a couple of minutes. Lastly add the prawns & coriander & gently cook till the prawns are done.

View from hostel - Grindelwald