Tag Archives: bacon

Celeriac & Potato Gratin (3 Ways)

Featured | Posted by

I’ve received quite a bit of celeriac in my veg. box delivery from Oddbox recently. My go to recipes with celeriac are normally soup & mash but I do like to vary my meals as often as possible and this week my partner suggested a gratin. As I already had potatoes and onions in the cupboard, it seemed like the perfect accompaniment to serve with Pork for a Sunday Dinner. There’s loads of recipes for celeriac gratin on-line, but here is my attempt. Feel free to adjust the quantities of celeriac & potato if you have different amounts to use up.

INGREDIENTS

  • Half a celeriac (approx 500g.) chopped in similar size pieces to the potato. (I peel with a knife post boiling as find it easier)
  • 600g potatoes halved or quartered depending on size. (I didn’t bother peeling but this is completely up to you)
  • 2 x small onions, finely sliced
  • 150ml cream
  • 150ml milk
  • Knob of butter
  • 2 x cloves of garlic
  • 1 x sprig of rosemary

METHOD

Parboil the celeriac & potato for 10 mins (I start with cold water & start the 10 mins when the water starts to boil)

Melt knob of butter in pan and slowly cook the onions over very low heat for 10 mins, or until they start to brown.

Add cream, garlic, rosemary and enough milk to cover the onions, bring to a simmer and then simmer very gently for 10 minutes. After the 10 minutes is up, remove the garlic cloves & rosemary sprig.

Slice the potatoes & celeriac thinly (I use a mandolin) & roughly layer in an ovenproof bowl pouring over some of the cream & onion mixture after each layer.

Top the final layer with any remaining onion mixture, and bake in the oven at 180c for approx 1 hour or until golden brown.

This dish is such a rich, hearty and alternative side to a Sunday roast and it makes for incredible leftovers. I think gratin is one of those dishes that almost tastes better second time around. On this occasion, I completely mixed up the leftovers and served with fried pancetta and fried egg for a incredibly tasty and wholesome mid-week dinner.

My 20 month old son also enjoyed a portion of the gratin, he’s had celeriac a few times and I think originally found the taste maybe a bit too strong, but this time coupled with the cream, he ate every single last bite. Remember that celeriac is an allergen to if your child hasn’t tried it before, start with small quantities. My tactic with my son is to continue to expose him to as many tastes as possible and offer again and again even if he has refused the item on one occasion. It can be hit or miss but he’s generally a pretty good eater and the things he does enjoy often amazes me.

Advertisement

Cheese and Bacon Pin-wheels

Featured | Posted by

A while ago, I posted a recipe idea for puff pastry pinwheels which can be served as a tasty crowd pleaser when entertaining, or with a salad as a quick and easy mid week meal.

The best thing about these pinwheels is that you can make them with a whole host of leftover ingredients including cheese, vegetables and meat. They are also super easy and quite fun to prepare, so why not get the kids to help you out with this recipe during the summer holidays?

Here’s a recipe with my favourite combination of cheese & bacon, but I’d love to hear what ingredients other people use in their creations.

INGREDIENTS

  • 4 x bacon rashes, diced
  • 250g pre-made puff pastry
  • 100g Wensleydale cheese, grated
  • 50g blue cheese, crumbled
  • Tomato purée

METHOD

Preheat oven to 200c or as per the puff pastry packet instructions.

Fry the bacon for a couple of minutes, until it starts to brown.

Roll out the puff pastry, squeeze over the tomato puree and spread, ensuring the whole sheet is covered.

Sprinkle the pastry with the cheese and bacon, or whatever ingredients you are using. (In this instance, no seasoning is needed, as both the bacon and blue cheese are already very salty).

Cut the pastry into 8 strips, approx. 2cm wide each and then roll each strip into a wheel.

Place the wheels on a baking tray and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden in colour.

Bacon, Pea & Ricotta Linguine

Posted on by

Firstly, I must apologise for the super large time lapse since my last post, it’s been an incredibly busy few months.

My busy schedule plus lack of a regular weekly routine means that quick, easy & healthy home cooked meals are a necessity to ensure that I steer clear of the ready meal aisle in the supermarket.

The bonus of this though is that sometimes the simplest of suppers are the most satisfying and this recipe in particular uses only 4 ingredients and takes less than 15 minutes to cook.

I often buy soft cheese such as Philadelphia for bagels and regularly struggle to use it all up before it starts to go off. Mixing soft cheeses into pasta dishes is a quick and hassle free way of making a tasty cheese sauce, in fact the versatility of soft cheeses constantly amazes me. You don’t have to stop at a pasta sauce, a quick dollop of Philadelphia can make a baked salmon or chicken fillet into something slightly more special, and I’m still regularly surprised every time I have to add a spoonful of cream cheese to a sweet recipe such as a carrot cake or biscuit filling. I also wouldn’t stop at cream cheese; pasta sauces can be made with an abundance of other soft cheeses such as ricotta as demonstrated here.

With all these ideas, there’s no excuse for allowing that tub of soft cheese to develop a layer of mould in the fridge, and here is just one an example of a super speedy supper recipe that was made using of some leftover ricotta cheese, a few rashers of bacon and what I consider to be a staple freezer ingredient – frozen peas.

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 tbsp Olive Oil
  • 400g Bacon (Diced)
  • 200g Frozen Peas
  • 400g Linguine
  • 150g Ricotta Cheese

METHOD

Cook Linguine according to packet instructions

Meanwhile fry the bacon for 4 minutes or until browned

Add the frozen peas and cook for a further 4 minutes

20140603-210504.jpgDrain the pasta, return to the pan and add in the cooked bacon and peas (include all the pan juices for extra flavour)

Stir in the cheese, heat for 2-3 minutes, or until sauce is warm and fully mixed

Season to taste and stir

And there you have it, dinner for 4 in less thank 15 minutes.