Tag: tomatoes

Spinach and ricotta cannelloni

~ Sophie ~ Leave a comment

Sometimes you just need tubes of pasta full of iron-rich spinach and creamy cheese, enveloped in a rich garlicky tomato sauce. And of course topped with melted toasty cheese

  • 400g spinach
  • 6 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 egg
  • 30g parmesan, grated
  • 250g ricotta
  • 30g basil, roughly chopped
  • 150g (around 15 tubes) dry cannelloni
  • 4 cloves garlic, finely sliced
  • 400g passata
  • ½ tsp sugar
  • Salt and pepper
  • 40g cheddar, grated
  1. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large deep pan
  2. Sauté the spinach until it wilts then tip into a sieve – you can do this in stages if the spinach doesn’t doesn’t fit at once
  3. Press and squeeze out all the liquid from the spinach
  4. Then leave to cool for a bit, and then chop the spinach
  5. Put the spinach in a bowl, add the egg, parmesan, ricotta and half the basil
  6. Stir together well and set to one side
  7. Heat the other 4 tbsp oil over a medium heat and add the garlic slices
  8. Sauté until garlic is golden and then add the passata, sugar plus half a tin of water
  9. Stir together, season with salt and plenty of black pepper
  10. Heat to a bubble, cook for 5 mins and then stir in the rest of the basil
  11. Turn off the heat and set to one side
  12. Pre-heat the oven to 170C fan/190C
  13. Use a teaspoon (or, if you’re fancy, a piping bag) to fill the cannelloni tubes one at a time. There should be enough mixture to the fill each one to overflowing
  14. As you fill them, place the filled tubes neatly in rows in an ovenproof ceramic dish
  15. Pour the tomato sauce over the top and sprinkle with grated cheddar
  16. Bake for 45 mins until the top is browned and the pasta is soft when you stick a sharp knife into one of the tubes
  17. Leave to stand for 5 mins before serving so as not to burn the inside of your mouth off with molten sauce

Pork ragu

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Warm, rich and comforting. Eat over pasta or a jacket potato. Serves 4 generously.

  • 900g pork shoulder, trimmed and cut into chunky pieces
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 100g pancetta, chopped
  • 2 onions, finely chopped
  • 2 carrots, finely chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 tbsp tomato puree
  • 250ml red wine
  • Couple of shakes worcestershire sauce
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 tin chopped tomatoes
  • ½ tsp sugar
  • Salt and pepper
  1. Heat the oil in a deep frying pan (one with a close-fitting lid) over a high heat
  2. Put in the pieces of pork and leave until they turn brown, then flip them
  3. Brown on all sides and remove from the pan
  4. Turn the heat down and add the pancetta. Stir and cook until it’s crispy round the edges
  5. Then add the onions, carrot and garlic
  6. Stir together and cook for 5-8 mins until soft
  7. Add the wine, worcestershire sauce and tomato puree and stir in, scraping the lovely brown off the bottom of the pan
  8. Bubble for a couple of mins, then add the sugar, bay leaf, tinned tomatoes and 1½ tins of water
  9. Stir together, season well with salt and pepper, and bring to the boil
  10. Put the pork back in the pan and stir everything together
  11. Stick the lid on and put onto the lowest heat (or into an oven at 130C fan)
  12. Cook for 2 hours, stirring every hour or so
  13. Then take the lid off and simmer for a further 30 mins until the sauce is thick and rich. Just keep bubbling if you need to, it may take a little longer
  14. Take off the heat and remove the pork into a bowl
  15. Roughly shred it with 2 forks and scrape it back into the sauce
  16. Stir in and you’re ready to serve

Halloumi and tomato rice bowl

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Simple supper, a lovely pile of fragrant deliciousness. Eat it with a spoon, sitting somewhere cosy. Feeds 2.

  • 1 block halloumi, cut into 8 slices
  • Fragrant pilaf
  • Turkish dip
  • 150g green beans, cut into 1 inch pieces
  • Handful flaked almonds, toasted in a dry pan
  • 2 tbsp Greek yoghurt
  • Pinch of cumin
  • Couple of lemon wedges
  • A couple of tbsp of finely chopped fresh herbs (a combination of parsley, mint, dill or coriander)
  1. Cook the pilaf and pile it into bowls
  2. Boil salted water and cook the beans for 6-7 mins or so until tender but not soggy
  3. Drain and mix with the yoghurt, cumin, a small squeeze of lemon and a pinch of salt
  4. Fry the slices of halloumi in a dry non-stick frying pan until golden on both sides
  5. Arrange the halloumi, green beans and Turkish dip on top of the rice in a semi-artistic fashion
  6. Scatter with toasted almonds and herbs, and a squeeze of lemon on top

Fresh tomato salsa

~ Sophie ~ 2 Comments

Zingy, pingy mouth-feelings! Tortilla chip-dunking, burrito-topping, grilled steak-accompanying deliciousness.

It’s really lovely to use a combination of tomatoes if you can. Some big juicy ones, cut up small; some tiny sweet cherry tomatoes, simply quartered; and perhaps even a flavourful, knobbly green or yellow one, cut up to match.

  • 400g tomatoes, diced
  • ½ small red onion, finely chopped (I like to leave the cut up onion to soak in cold water for an hour – or more – and then drained to remove the raw sting of them)
  • Large handful fresh coriander, chopped
  • Juice of ½ lime
  • ½ tsp sugar
  • 1 tsp garlic oil
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • Salt
  1. Just mix and serve. Zero complication, maximum yum.

Polpette al sugo

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Deliciously comforting – succulent, tender meatballs in a rich tomato sauce. Feeds 2

  • 1 slice of white bread, crusts removed
  • 1 tbsp milk
  • 300g minced beef
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp dried parsley
  • Salt and black pepper
  • 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tin chopped tomatoes
  • 1 tbsp tomato puree
  • 1 tsp sugar
  1. Rip the bread into pieces and soak in the milk until soft
  2. Put the beef mince into a large bowl with the wet bread, egg, 1 clove of minced garlic, parsley, salt and pepper
  3. Use your hands to mix everything together.
  4. Divide the mixture into 8 large meatballs with wet hands and let them rest while you make the sauce
  5. Heat the olive oil in a large, deep frying pan over a medium-low heat and cook the other minced clove of garlic gently until fragrant
  6. Add the tomato puree and stir in, cooking for 2 mins
  7. Add the tinned tomatoes, half a tin of water, the sugar and seasoning
  8. Cook for 20 mins until the sauce is rich and thick
  9. Drop the meatballs in the sauce, making sure they are submerged
  10. Turn the heat to low, cover the pan and poach for 15 mins

Serve with tagliatelle, or long grain rice or just a pile of crusty bread for dunking.

Turkish tomato dip

~ Sophie ~ 1 Comment

A recipe brought back from my parents’ holiday to Istanbul in 1997. You will 100% want to dip toasted pitta in this. And crisps. Maybe your fingers – just don’t get caught.

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 large onion, finely chopped
  • 2 green chillies, deseeded and finely chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced/grated
  • 1 tin chopped tomatoes
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • ½ tsp salt
  • Black pepper
  • Handful fresh coriander, finely chopped
  1. Heat the oil in a thick-bottom pan over a low heat and cook the onion for 8-10 mins until completely soft
  2. When translucent, add the garlic and chilli
  3. Cook for a further couple of mins, then add the tinned tomatoes, sugar, salt and pepper
  4. Cook over a low heat until most of the moisture has evaporated
  5. Add the coriander and stir in
  6. Leave to cool to room temp and then serve

Beef and pork ragu

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Technically something close to an Italian ragù napoletano, this meat stew is hearty, filling and rich. Feeds a small army.

  • 4 tbsp olive oil
  • 500g beef shin, cut into chunky pieces
  • 500g pork ribs
  • 200g thick-cut bacon, cut into chunks
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 3 tbsp tomato puree
  • 200ml red wine
  • 1 carrot, peeled
  • 1 stick celery
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 3 tins chopped tomatoes
  • Salt and pepper
  1. Heat the olive oil in a big, heavy-based saucepan, add the meat to the pan in batches and fry until it’s brown all over, then remove from the pan
  2. When the meat is all browned and put to one side, turn down the heat and add the onion to the pan
  3. Cook for 7 mins or so until softened
  4. Increase the heat, stir in the tomato puree and wine and boil for 5 mins
  5. Add the celery and carrot, chopped tomatoes, a tin of water, salt and pepper
  6. Bring to the boil then lower the heat to a low simmer
  7. Add the meat back to the pan, along with any juices that have leaked out
  8. Cover and cook very gently for 2-3 hours. Stir from time to time and check there’s enough liquid – you can add a bit more water if it gets too thick. The sauce will be rich and thick when cooked and the meat will be so tender you can cut it with a spoon
  9. Remove the pork ribs and any bits of gristle, plus the bay leaf, carrot and celery (and eat the veg secretly in the kitchen before serving)

Serve with piles of tagliatelle or papardelle, traditionally as 2 separate courses – the pasta with the tomato sauce (primo) and the meat (secondo).

Tomato and chorizo salad

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Spicy, chewy and savoury from the chorizo – sweet, tangy and fresh from the ripe tomatoes. Big ticks all round. I love using a variety of different tomatoes for this, cut in different ways for texture and general prettiness. Feeds 4.

  • Around 200g chorizo, roughly cut into bite-sized 1-2cm pieces
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 3 large or 5 medium ripe tomatoes, chopped into interesting-shaped pieces
  • 250g cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 3 spring onions, finely sliced
  • Salt and black pepper
  • 1 clove garlic, sliced
  • 2 tbsp sherry vinegar
  • Small bunch of flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
  1. Heat a frying pan with the tsp of olive oil over a medium heat
  2. Fry the chorizo, stirring occasionally, until it is crisp round the edges and the fat has rendered
  3. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon, leaving as much of the fat behind as poss
  4. Tip the cooked chorizo into a bowl with the tomatoes and spring onions
  5. Season generously with pepper and sparingly with salt (bearing in mind that the chorizo is pretty salty)
  6. Add the sliced garlic to the chorizo pan and heat gently until the garlic sizzles and smells delicious. Take off the heat and whisk in the sherry vinegar
  7. Throw the contents of the pan over the salad, add the parsley and mix everything together. This is completely delicious with a chunk of crusty bread to mop up the juice.

Tomato soup

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Rich, intensely tomato-y and flavourful. A lovely thing to share with friends after a bracing walk in the woods. Just make sure you have crusty bread on the side for dunking.

  • 1 kg ripe tomatoes, halved
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 stick celery, chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 2 tbsp veg oil
  • 500ml veg stock
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • Salt and pepper
  1. Pre-heat oven to 200C fan (220C) and put the tomatoes on a baking tray cut side up
  2. Roast for 30 mins or so until completely soft, caught round the edges and collapsing in on themselves
  3. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large saucepan over a low heat and cook the onion, celery and garlic for around 10 mins until completely soft
  4. Scrape the contents of the baking tray into the pan, add the oregano, vinegar and seasoning and pour over the stock
  5. Bring to the boil, take off the heat and whizz up in the pan with a wand blender
  6. Taste, adjust the seasoning and serve piping hot. If you are feeling fancy, swirl a bit of single cream into each bowl as you serve

Tomato sauce

~ Sophie ~ 1 Comment

Straightforward and simple, but definitely not basic. This sauce is the essential staple of a delicious midweek pasta dinner. Feeds 2 comfortably.

  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp tomato puree
  • 1 tin chopped tomatoes
  • Dash worcestershire sauce
  • ½ tsp sugar
  • Salt and pepper
  1. Heat the oil in a saucepan and add the onion and garlic
  2. Cook slowly over a medium-low flame until soft, around 5 mins
  3. Turn the heat to medium, add the tomato puree and stir in, cooking for a minute or so
  4. Tip in the chopped tomatoes and two thirds of a tin of water. Add the worcestershire sauce, sugar and seasoning and stir together
  5. Bring to a bubble, then turn to a low simmer and cook with the lid off for 20-30 mins. It’s done when it’s thick, savoury and intensely tomato-y
  6. Taste it, check the seasoning, try not to eat it all from the saucepan

Hugely adaptable, add pancetta, basil, chilli flakes or any seasoning that makes your mouth happy. Eat on top of any and ALL the pasta.