Week 19 - Rich's Pasta Sauce

To date in this blog, I have made recipes I've either been given or found in recipe book or on the internet.  This week, I decided to try something new......creating my own recipe!

I'm no Jamie Oliver (I only weigh 75kg!) or Gordon Ramsay, but I do enjoy cooking and I only ever losely stick to a recipe.  Every once in a while I'll wing it and create something based on no recipe.......this is one of thos concoctions.

So what inspired this meal?  I hear you ask.  Well, erm, my inspiration was the ingredients in the cupboard and fridge that I thought would work.

My own TV Show may be a little way off

I'm sure demand for Rich's Pasta Sauce will be high, so I have taken the liberty of typing out the recipe (below), but I thought I should put the rating here at the top of the page as it's inevitably something anyone would check before making the meal!

Rating

Taste - 14/20

Cost - 6/10

Difficulty - 6/10

Prep Time - 5/10 

Overall 62%

Recipe

Ingredients

1 Onion

1 Clove Garlic

1 Carrot

2 Celery Stalks

1 Tin Tomatoes

1 Tin Chickpeas

Lump of Cheese

1 tsp Thyme

½ tsp Rosemary

100ml strong Vegetable Stock

Pasta – I used supermarket stuffed squash pasta but fresh pasta is always a winner

Method

• Chop the onion, and soften on low / medium heat.  Add the chopped carrots, celery and herbs and cook for further 5-10 mins.
• Add tomatoes, stock, chickpeas and leave to simmer for 20mins.  Meanwhile cook pasta.
• Combine pasta and sauce and top with some  grated cheese.

Week 18 - Lentil Cottage Pie

I can hear the questions already 'Is a Cottage Pie still a Cottage Pie when it has no meat?'.....   Yes.

According to the internet:
The term cottage pie is known to have been in use in 1791,when the potato was being introduced as an edible crop affordable for the poor (cf. "cottage" meaning a modest dwelling for rural workers).

So by my reckoning anything covered in mashed potato is a Cottage Pie.........unless it's a fat guy with a fetish.

Anyway, veggie cottage pie is awesome, a few parsnips in the mix for an added tang to the topping.  The only drawback is it's a bit of work to produce.  Recipe is here.

Covered in mash = Cottage

To summarize; veggie cottage pie is awesome, a few parsnips in the mix for an added tang to the mash.

Rating

Taste - 15/20

Cost - 5/10

Difficulty - 4/10

Prep Time - 4/10 

Overall 56%