On my June Kitchen Table: Super Speedy Eats!

A collection of the foodie products that I have been sent for review, or simply want to share with you this month. It turns they all fit into the category of quick and easy meals, enjoy!

Terra Nostra is, at first glance, a typical restaurant in the centre of St Ginesio, however they also make and sell high quality pasta and I was able try their Truffle Tagliatelle  and dried tomatoes Papparedelle.  Both were excellent quality pasta, the kind that easily retains a bit of bite and the flavourings in the pasta also adds to the dish.  Each pack also contains a sachet of flavoured oil, which has an authentic taste of the herbs or truffle oil as appropriate to the pasta type.

I made a simple seasonal dish of tomatoes slowly roasted in a pan with a little olive oil and garlic, then I added some sliced olives and at the last minute threw in some feta cheese cubes, this was mixed through the cooked Papparedelle al pomodori with the basil oil and made a really delicious and simple supper.
You can buy the Terra Nostra pasta through the e-shop  the prices are in euros and I have no information about purchasing in the UK.  8/10 

I'm not averse to a ready-meal, I always have a pizza in my freezer.  However, I'm not inclined to buy pasta dishes as ready meals as they are so easy to prepare.  I was intrigued by the blurb from Charlie Bigham's " the posh ready meal brand especially for twosomes. It's perfect for when you and your other half want to spend some quality time together, without having to sacrifice the taste!"  We don't have a Sainsbury's or Waitrose near where we live and Ocado don't deliver to our area,  but I managed to find a Sainsbury's on one of my frequent work trips. 

I was supposed to try out the new range of 'world' meals but there weren't any of those available in this store, so I took the chance to get the Moussaka and the Meatballs al Forno.  Each ready meal feeds two (although I did get the Moussaka to stretch to feed three) and costs £7.00. That's relatively expensive, but they are the best ready meals I have tasted, you could easily have thought they were homemade.  Himself was very impressed and enjoyed both dishes.

Another bonus is that the packaging is environmentally friendly using paper and wood rather than plastic, all of the packaging can be recycled.  Bighams recommend that you bake the dishes in the oven, but on one of the nights I was short of time and microwaved the dish for 6 minutes before finishing it off in the oven to crisp up the top.  9/10

Labels: #review, Charlie Bigham's, coconut, feta, fruit ices, lemon curd, Meatballs al Forno, Moussaka, olives, papparedelle, Smooze, strawberries, tagliatelle, tomatoes, yogurt

posted by Janice @ 21:08 4 Comments

Courgette and Mushroom Pappardelle with Stilton

I never feel much like doing a lot of cooking on a Friday night, so this was a quick and tasty meal that took very little preparation. 

I was asked to review this glorious veggie box by Farmison  the company is the brainchild of John Pallagi and Lee Simmonds, two old friends and colleagues who share a great love for fantastic food.

They promote their 7 core values:

1. Farmison provides home cooks with fabulous foods that would normally only be found in the kitchens of discerning, ingredient-aware chefs.
2. Farmison provides a lip-smacking alternative to the year-round monotony of supermarkets.
3. Farmison constantly changes what it sells to reflect what's in season. When foods are not at their best, we don't stock them.
4. Farmison supports biodiversity in our food chain by promoting rare breed meats and searching out less common fruit and vegetable varieties.
5. Farmison gives small-scale food producers a UK-wide platform to showcase and sell their products, complementing their own local initiatives.
6. Farmison sources food from the UK first and foremost and only chooses imported food if there is no British equivalent.
7. Farmison sells foods produced in a way that respects farm animals, producers and the environment.

I was certainly impressed by the freshness of the vegetables and the variety, they were very well packed too.

 I only needed two courgettes and about 8 mushrooms for this dish so there will be more recipes coming up.

Vegetable Papardelle with Stilton

2 large courgettes, diced
8 mushrooms, sliced
30g butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
100g Melton Mowbury Stilton,  crumbled
250g Soli Pappardelle pasta (courtesy of my lovely hamper from Capricorn Goats Cheese)

Heat the butter and oil in a large pan, add the courgettes and mushrooms and cook for about 10 minutes until the vegetables are soft and golden brown.


Fill a large pan with boiling water, bring to a rolling boil and add the Pappardelle

Add 100ml cream to the pan of vegetables and then add the crumbled stilton cheese.

Turn down the heat and cook gently until the cheese melts into the sauce.

Drain the pasta and mix with the cheese and vegetable mixture.  This made a generous serving for two but would have served four with some bread.  We love Stilton but if it's not for you, then you could use any cheese that melts well.

Look out for more recipes made with my Farmison Veg Box, if you would like to find out more about how you can buy your fruit and vegetables from Farmison there are a variety of boxes available, as well as a range of meats and cheeses.

 Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post. I was not required to write a positive review and any opinion expressed is my own.

Labels: Capricorn Goats Cheese, cheese, courgette, cream, Farmison, mushroom Stilton, papparedelle

posted by Janice @ 21:34 6 Comments