Hi everyone,
Just a quick post to let you know that I’m moving blog hosting from wordpress.com to self-hosted over at http://auroralapetite.com. I’ll be moving over the subscriptions over the next couple of days so you should keep getting posts from me in your reader.
If you’re following me using a RSS reader, please redirect your reader over to http://auroralapetite.com.
Looking forward to seeing you all over there,
Dawn
xx
I assume most people are like me, rushing home from work in the evening and trying to get dinner on the table. Some days I consider cooking anything for dinner an achievement, let alone cooking a healthy, well-balanced meal. On those days, the only thing stopping me from phoning the nearest takeaway is the thought of having to go outside to collect it.
The next easiest thing to a takeaway has to be a simple pasta dish which can will be on your table within 20 minutes without much work. I tend to keep my fridge stocked with pancetta, baby spinach, and decent parmesan, and my store cupboard always has onions, pasta and olive oil in it. With a little bit of love and effort, these simple ingredient can be transformed into something delicious and healthy.
This recipe isn’t so much a strict recipe as a method using some basic ingredients. If you have chorizo rather than pancetta, feel free to use that, or if you stocked up on courgettes recently, grate them up and use them instead of the spinach. Add some cherry tomatoes if you have a punnet of them in your fridge, or replace the onions with shallots if that’s what you have to hand.
Serves 2
1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, sliced
2-4 cloves of garlic, crushed
200g wholewheat penne
100g cubed pancetta
100g baby spinach
salt & black pepper
Parmesan
1) Heat the oil in a large sauté pan and add the onions. Saute for 10 minutes until they are softened, and then add the garlic.
2) Cook the pasta according to packet instructions.
3) Meanwhile, add the pancetta to the pan and season well. Add the spinach to the pan after 7 minutes and allow the spinach to wilt down.
4) When the pasta is cooked, reserve a mug of the cooking water. Drain the pasta and add to the pan with a splash of the cooking water. Mix well, adding another splash of water if needed, and season to taste.
5) Serve sprinkled with some grated Parmesan.
I’ve been away for the last month from this blog, from Twitter and, pretty much, from most of the Internet. I have a backlog of blogposts to read in Bloglovin, a mountain of emails to respond to, and have missed so much stuff on Facebook. I missed having an Internet connection.
The reason for this month long absence has been the achievement of my main goal for 2014- to move out of our old damp and rundown apartment and into somewhere warmer and more modern. While the move has been great (bathtub, big kitchen, no mould), our internet provider dragged their heels getting our connection setup.
However, I’m back and will be back on the blogging wagon from tomorrow.
Aurora La Petite 