Light Pasta Salad

I love this Pasta salad because of its lightness and great taste. It is inspired by a recipe by Elise Bauer on  Simply Recipes that I found years ago: 


You Need: 
16 oz torchiette pasta
1 tablespoon olive oil
1.5 cups cherry tomatoes - chopped
3/4 cups chopped olives 
2 handfulls pine cone seeds 
1/2 cup basil pesto 
1 cup peas
1/4 cup basil leaves chopped
salt and pepper to taste 

Instructions  
cook the pasta al dente (approx 10-11 minutes) in salted water and strain. 
Mix in a tablespoon of olive oil to prevent the pasta getting sticky and let it cool down.
Gently mix everything else in  and then it is ready to serve.

Enjoy! 

Guinness Ice Cream with Chocolate covered Pretzels

I have just made this ice cream in readiness for St Patrick's day tomorrow and it is AWESOME! Even for a non-beer drinker like myself - and so I felt like I had to share!
I got this recipe from Food & Wine and it is by pastry chef Cory Barrett.

You Need: 

2 cups of Guinness (16 oz)
2 cups of heavy cream 
1 3/4 cups of whole milk
15 large egg yolks
1 cup granulated sugar

Chocolate covered pretzels for serving

Instructions
In a large saucepan, combine the Guinness, heavy cream and whole milk and bring to a simmer over moderately high heat. In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar. Gradually add the hot Guinness cream to the yolks, whisking constantly until well blended. 

Pour the mixture into the saucepan and cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly until it coats the back of the spoon, about 6 minutes; do not let it boil. Pour the custard into a medium bowl set in a large bowl filled with ice water. Let it stand until the custard is cold, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes.

Pour the custard into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions (this may have to be done in two batches). Pack the ice cream into an airtight container and freeze until firm, about  4 hours. 

Spoon the ice cream into bowls and top with some chocolate covered pretzels and serve

Make ahead: The ice cream can be frozen for up to 1 week 

enjoy!

SAVORY TURKEY CRÉPES

I made these for my family on European Pancake Day. They were a total hit with all ages and a nice healthier and more nutritious alternative to the normal crepes with sugar, jam or ice-cream. The crepe recipe can be used for sweet as well.

Crèpes (approx. 12)

You need: 
1.5 cup all purpose flour
2 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt

3 eggs
1.5 cup milk
butter or oil for frying

Mix everything together. Melt a little butter on a large frying pan. spread a thin layer of batter on  the pan. Pan fry at medium heat for a few minutes, then turn over (note: the first one has a tendency to go wrong - dunno why). Repeat until all batter is gone 

Meat filling: 

You need: 
1lbs ground turkey
1/2 red onion
1 tablespoon oil
1 medium carrot (grated)
2 celery sticks (chopped)
1 cup strained tomatoes or chopped tomatoes
1 tablespoon oregano 
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 leaf of green cabbage finely chopped (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
Grated parmesan cheese to taste

Heat up the oil in a medium size pan and brown the onions and meat. Add everything else and let it simmer for 10 minutes on medium heat.

Put the filling on the crèpes (as shown in picture), roll and place in a lightly greased oven dish. Sprinkle a little grated parmesan cheese on top and place in the oven for 15 minutes at 390 degrees

Enjoy