Polenta with Peas, Pancetta and Parmesan...

This is a tough time of year. Here in the UK we have a tiresome combination of cold, dark, blustery and wet. Despite a real passion for cooking the seasonal blues take hold and drain my motivation, especially when it comes to midweek meals.

This recipe from Rachel Ray via the Food Network provides the perfect solution. It’s easy to make, absolutely delicious and ticks all the comfort food boxes. As a one-pot meal it also saves on the washing up – BONUS!

Give it a try. You won’t be disappointed.

Polenta with Peas, Pancetta and Parmesan

Ingredients

1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

2-3 slices of pancetta cut as thick as bacon, chopped (I have successfully used the following: thin pancetta, thick smoked back bacon and leftover roast honey-glazed gammon)

1 1/2 cups chicken stock

3/4 cup milk

3/4 cup quick cooking polenta

salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 cup frozen peas (thawed)

a couple handfuls of grated Parmesan / Parmigiano-Reggiano (I used Grana Padano)

Directions

Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat

Add pancetta and cook until crisp (about 5-minutes) then remove to a plate

Add the chicken stock and milk to the sauce pan and bring to a boil

Whisk polenta into the liquid and continue to whisk for 2-3 minutes to thicken

Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper

Stir through peas to heat through (about 1-2 minutes)

Remove from heat

Stir in cheese and adjust seasoning

Garnish with pancetta

Optional: garnish with a few slivers of the cheese as well (I have also started adding a knob of butter at the same time I add the cheese. For me it adds richness and makes it even creamier)

Enjoy!

Strawberry, Feta and Bacon Salad...

Strawberry, Feta and Bacon Salad

The other day my Aunt Ellen sent me photos of some beautiful strawberry tarts she had made. Just seeing pictures of them was enough to get my taste buds going. Sadly the distance between Kent and Toronto is too great and I was denied a taste. She mentioned having an abundance of leftover strawberries and was unsure as to what to do with them. Immediate thoughts turned to smoothies, ice cream and jam – but surely there are other ways to use strawberries? A quick search uncovered this recipe for Strawberry and Arugala Salad.

I happened to have some spare strawberries so thought I’d give this salad a try myself. I wasn’t able to get a hold of prosciutto so used smoked, back bacon from the local butchers. For the salad leaves I opted for baby spinach, lamb’s lettuce and red chard with slivers of beetroot. It was amazing and definitely my kind of salad. The combination of sweet, juicy strawberries with salty bacon and creamy feta is to die for. This is the perfect summertime dish.

Here is the original recipe with my changes in paranthesis.

Strawberry And Arugula Salad With Crispy Prosciutto

Ingredients

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 1/2 teaspoons honey (I used Canadian maple syrup)

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 1/2 cups strawberries, hulled and quartered

1/3 cup sliced red onion (I used shallots)

Olive oil cooking spray (I don’t use cooking spray)

4 thin slices prosciutto (about 2 ounces) (I used 4 slices of smoked back bacon)

6 cups baby arugula (about 5 ounces) (I used about half this amount of salad)

2 ounces goat cheese or feta, crumbled (I used feta)

Directions

Whisk together first 5 ingredients (through to the black pepper) in a large serving bowl.

Add berries and red onion; let stand 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, lightly coat a seasoned cast-iron skillet or nonstick pan with cooking spray, and heat over moderately high heat.

Add prosciutto in one layer, and cook, turning, about 5 minutes or until golden brown and crispy. Transfer to a plate to cool; crumble and reserve.

(What I did for the above step was to cook the back bacon, removing it from the heat once it was cooked through. I then trimmed the rind off the side in one long strip, putting it back into the pan, on a high heat, to help crisp it up – it curls up nicely too! I sliced the back bacon into bite-sized pieces and returned in to the pan for a further 5 minutes once the rind had crisped up slightly.)

Place the baby arugula in a large serving bowl with the cheese; add the strawberries, red onion, and balsamic dressing, and toss gently until just coated. (I added the bacon pieces at this stage and tossed everything together. I reserved the curly rind for a garnish at the end.)

Divide the salad among 4 serving plates, and top evenly with the cooked prosciutto.

(This made enough salad for my husband and I to have a lovely dinner with NO leftovers!)

Enjoy!

Bacon and Cabbage: A Taste of Ireland...

As many of you know my husband and I celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving this past weekend. While I was able to have a taste of home with my fresh pumpkin pie, I wanted to do something similar for my husband. He comes from a large fun loving Irish family (is there any other kind?) and one of his favourite dishes is bacon and cabbage.

Traditionally the dish calls for boiled bacon but we used some smoked back bacon rashers instead. We decided to keep this dish very simple so all we used was the bacon, some Savoy cabbage and a knob of butter. It was served as an accompaniment to roasted chicken thighs and garlicky potatoes. The saltiness of the bacon really complimented the chicken and the potatoes. The cabbage gave the whole dish a lovely texture and it soaked up some of the garlic from the potatoes – which was divine!

This is a simple crowd pleaser and a real taste of Ireland!

Luna Raye’s Bacon and Cabbage

Ingredients

3 rashers of smoked back bacon cut into bite sized pieces

½ a medium Savoy cabbage roughly chopped or shredded

1 knob of butter (approximately 1 Tbsp)

Black pepper to taste

Directions

Put the cut bacon into a pan over a moderate heat

Stir every so often until all the bacon is cooked through

Add the cabbage and give it a good mix around with the bacon pieces

When mixed add the butter and keep stirring everything until the cabbage is just wilted (not long – about 5 minutes)

Season with black pepper and serve

Enjoy!

This recipe serves 2-3 people as a side dish

Bacon and Cabbage

These Thanksgiving dishes brought back many precious memories of past experiences, our homes and our families. It provided a good opportunity to remember all that we have to be thankful for, and all that we have to look forward to.

Can Leftovers Be Exciting? The Beauty of a Hodge P...

When my sister and I were teenagers we used to dread hearing our mom say, ‘tonight, we’re having a hodge podge meal.’ I still don’t know what it was about those words that struck fear into our hearts, because the meals were always wonderful. Thinking back I guess the idea of using leftovers to prepare a main meal seemed unexciting and bland.

Of course I now love preparing my own hodge podge meals and tonight that’s exactly what I did. What’s so wonderful about using leftovers is that you can get really creative finding ways to make them extra special. It’s even better if you’re able to combine them with some fresh ingredients.

We had some roast turkey left over from Sunday and 2 rashers of smoked back bacon that didn’t get used for our weekend fry up. I combined those with some cabbage and a chopped shallot and served it over mashed potatoes. Not only did it help clear out the fridge it was also filling, tasty and comforting – a true hodge podge meal!

Here is my recipe for Hodge Podge Turkey, Bacon, Cabbage and Shallots on Mashed Potatoes.

Ingredients;

2 rashers of smoked back bacon cut into squares.

Approximately 1 cup of chopped roast chicken or turkey.

1 medium shallot finely chopped.

½ small savoy cabbage chopped into strips.

¼ cup of chicken or vegetable stock.

1 Tablespoon of olive oil.

Method;

Fry the bacon rashers and shallot in the olive oil until bacon is cooked through and shallot is soft.

Add the turkey or chicken chunks and mix well to heat through. About 5-6 minutes.

Add the cabbage and give all the ingredients a good stir in the pan.

Add the chicken or vegetable stock (this helps soften the cabbage) and let everything simmer for 10 – 15 minutes until the stock has been absorbed.

Serve at once on mashed potatoes and enjoy!