Hi everyone - happy new year and apologies again for the blog delay! My final year of university has been just as manic as predicted. What with university deadlines, piles of books, joining a newly-formed publishing society, and creating artwork and creative content for the society's magazine - Figment - I've been too busy to update regularly!
Luckily I've had a relaxing Christmas break and it's been so nice to recharge the batteries; I had a wonderful Christmas with all the family, spent lots of time with Robbie, and have had some real "me" time (involving Harry Potter books, Game of Thrones DVD sessions with the little sister, and colouring books - heaven!). I've made a number of resolutions for the new year and it will be great if even a few of them stick. As well as writing creatively a lot more, I'm trying to create some artwork on a regular basis, take plenty of photographs on my new camera (mentioned at the end of this blog post!), and I'm even teaching myself the basics of the Italian language, to match my love of Italian food - buona sera, mi chiamo Maddie!
Anyway, I've come back to Canterbury this week feeling fresh-faced and determined to juggle all the responsibilities of my final term at university. Wish me luck!
Coming back to the subject of food, in the spirit of 'juggling' I've come up with a quick, healthy, and cost-effective meal that tastes absolutely gorgeous - perfect (and speedy) comfort-food for those who are also leading busy lives at present. This delicious pasta bake takes no time at all to whip up and is filled with plenty of vegetables, tasty smoked bacon, and a thick cheese sauce.
*Cauliflower cheese pasta bake*
*Serves 2*
200g pasta shapes
70g strong cheddar cheese, grated (50g for the sauce and 20g to top)
200ml milk
1tsp marge/butter
2-3tsp plain flour
4-5 mushrooms
1/2 leek
1 clove garlic
4-5 pieces (large florets) frozen cauliflower
2-3 rashers smoked back bacon
1/4tsp dried thyme
1/3tsp wholegrain mustard
Black pepper (lots)
1/2tsp anchovy paste (if you have it - not essential but adds a nice saltiness)
1. Firstly, lay out all ingredients by the hob as there's quite a few you'll need to hand for your cheese sauce. Put your grill on to a high heat and place your bacon under the grill to cook thoroughly until nicely coloured - I like mine almost burnt for the deeper flavour! This will take about 15 minutes depending on your grill power. Check and turn the bacon occasionally whilst continuing with the next steps.
2. Preheat your oven to 180' and slice your fresh vegetables (garlic, leek, and mushrooms) thinly, before adding your veg to an ovenproof dish with a little olive oil. Fry these until soft and fully cooked; whilst they saute you can boil your kettle ready to start cooking your pasta.
3. Next add your pasta shapes to a saucepan of boiling water, allowing about 10mins total cooking time. After 4mins of this time, add your frozen cauliflower pieces (and any other frozen veg you may wish to use) to the pasta saucepan, leaving them to cook for the remaining 6mins.
4. Once your veg are cooked, transfer to a dish and set aside. In the now empty ovenproof dish, pour in your milk and allow to warm through, taking in the flavours left by the sauteed vegetables, before adding your butter and flour and stirring thoroughly (so as to avoid lumps) until smooth*. Use a whisk or electric stick blender if necessary. Next grate in your cheese, stirring well, before adding black pepper, dried thyme, mustard, and anchovy paste (if using). Leaving the sauce on a mid-high heat and stirring occasionally, the sauce should begin to thicken nicely into a custard-like texture within a few minutes. If the sauce is thin after 5mins or more of stirring on a higher heat, simply add another tsp of flour.
* This is a non-traditional way of creating a white (bechamel) sauce. Most chefs melt butter over a low heat and whisk flour in, forming a paste, before adding the milk slowly - however, I find this a trickier method that requires more effort and results in far more lumps. Simply use whichever method suits you best!
5. By now both your bacon and pasta/cauliflower should be ready! After first checking that they are thoroughly cooked, take the grilled bacon and pasta/cauliflower saucepan from the heat (drain your pasta/cauliflower saucepan), before setting aside.
6. Once cool enough to handle, crumble your bacon into bite-size pieces directly into the cheese sauce. Finally, stir your cooked vegetables, pasta, and cauliflower into the cheese sauce, stirring all ingredients in well, before seasoning again with black pepper and grating over your remaining cheese.
7. Now simply place the ovenproof dish into the preheated oven for around 20-25mins until nicely browned. If you have any, serve with a drizzle of chilli-infused olive oil - it's rich, gorgeous, and adds a lovely spicy kick to the cheese sauce. Enjoy!
Here's my first 'foodie' photograph taken on my new camera - thanks to my Nan and Grandad for the fantastic Christmas present! If any of you are interested in looking at my photography, feel free to follow this link to my new Flickr account: http://www.flickr.com/photos/16467365@N03/
I hope you've enjoyed the post and do feel free to comment or get in touch. Hopefully I'll be able to update again before too long. Ciao! :)
Maddie x
