healthy – style dispenser

One pasta, two options, three flavours

Published on January 14, 2018 by wojtekvanportekLeave a comment

There are two groups of people, apparently – the ones who love their pasta mixed with the sauce, and the others who prefer to have it just on top.
It doesn’t bother me which option I have as long as the meal is well, tasty.
Bearing in mind my friend’s preferences, I made this simple dish the way she likes it – separated. And what’s your favourite?

To make this tree flavour pasta you’ll need:
a tin of cherry tomatoes
250ml of tomato passata
100g of dried tomato pesto
1tbsp of freshly grated ginger
1tbsp of freshly grated garlic
1 tsp of sambal oelek paste
2 medium red peppers
2 tbsp of balsamic vinegar glaze
a spoonful of good quality green pesto
parsley leaves and parmigiano reggiano to garnish

1. Using a glug of live oil, roast thinly sliced peppers in non-stick pan.
Stir them occasionally so they’ll caramelise nicely on both sides.
Once they soften, mix them with balsamic vinegar glaze and keep on a low heat for 3-5mins. Take off the heat and sed aside to cool.

2. In a heavy bottomed pan, fry garlic and ginger, and pour over tomato passata.
Follow with cherry tomatoes and simmer on a low heat. At this moment add the dried tomato pesto and sambal oelek ( or just chili as a substitute ) and stir occasionally until the sauce is thickened to a creamy consistence. Season up to your taste with salt, pepper and Worcester sauce – it’s a genius flavour enhancer!

Serve with your favourite type of pasta ( hint: it goes really well with penne!).
And here’s the trick; you can either add pepper into sauce and mix it all together, or serve the sauce on top of your penne with roasted peppers to taste the difference between the sauce, peppers and green pesto – used as a garnish.
The three flavours in one!

Happy Cooking ! 👨🏻‍🍳

Winter warmer anyone?

Published on January 7, 2018January 8, 2018 by wojtekvanportekLeave a comment

Festive season is behind us, and so is its food. But unlike Christmas, winter will stay with us for a while. I find winter warmers – like this Spiced Carrot&Sweet potato cream, I’m sharing here with you, are a perfect solution to the cold months. As usual I’ve made sure that the recipe is hassle free and the outcome filling, yet delicious.

To make this easy meal you’ll need:
3 medium potatoes
3 medium carrots
1 brown onion
some fresh thyme, ginger and a few garlic cloves – quantity to your own taste
smoked salt roasted almonds to garnish
a small chunk of freshly grated ginger
1 litre of vegetable stock

With a glug of olive oil, roast the onions in a large saucepan.
Once they soften, add grated garlic, following by the vegetable stock.
Boil the mixture for a few minutes then add chopped carrots and sweet potato and cook on a low heat for 10-15 mins until the carrots are al dente. Add the grated ginger.
The secret to the warming taste of this meal is to add the ginger at this moment (you could ad some chilli as well) so the gentle spiciness wont evaporate from the soup.
Once all the ingredients are cooked through, blend them gently to achieve a delicious cream.

Serve garnished with smoked almonds thyme and pepper if you like.
A sprinkle of finely chopped chives is also a good option for this meal.

not so rocket science, rocket salad

Published on December 31, 2017December 31, 2017 by wojtekvanportekLeave a comment

It’s one of these super easy meals, which despite minimum effort they still manage to look, well, super appetising.

You’ll need:

a bag of freshly rinsed rocket,
3 smoked mackerel fillets
2 medium ripened pears
about 100/150 g of stilton/gorgonzola cheese
1 small green onion
smoked almond flakes
olive oil, balsamic glaze

Place rocket in the serving bowl and follow with the rest of ingredients; thickly sliced pears, shredded smoked mackerel, chunks of cheese and thinly sliced onion.
Sprinkle generously with smoked almonds and finish with olive oil and balsamic glaze.

Enjoy!

Scallops&Buckwheat

Published on May 28, 2016May 27, 2016 by wojtekvanportekLeave a comment

In search for a summer meal? Well, there’s nothing better than scallops carmelised with sesame oil. A succulent and light alternative to meaty meals. Buckwheat roasted with shallot and pumpkin seeds is a delicious companion to sesame fried scallops.

To prepare meal for two:
100g of white buckwheat
8-10 scallops (fresh or frozen)
1 medium shallot onion
a handful of pumpkin seeds
1 tbsp of sesame oil
2 tbsp of white sesame seeds

Cook buckwheat according to the instructions on the packaging. When ready drain well from water and fry with chopped shallot, then season with coarse pepper and sea salt and add the pumpkin seeds.
Meanwhile dry the scallops with paper towel (especially when defrosted) and sprinkle them with sesame oil and sea salt. Following this dip the scallops in sesame seeds. Heat a heavy bottomed pan and fry them for about 5 mins until tender and carmelised. Leave to rest for a minute before serving.

TIP: 1. do not overdose with sesame oil, otherwise scallops will tend to burn rather than fry.
2. fry scallops on both sides in total time approx 5 mins.
3. to perfectly fry the onion with the buckwheat, start with lightly frying the shallot with a glug of olive oil and when softened, add cooked buckwheat and toss all together. Finally add the pumpkin seeds.

Enjoy!