Category Archives: 30-minute meals

30-minute meals, Appetizers, Seafood

Smoked Salmon Pizza

It’s no secret that I like to serve appetizers as dinner when I can get away with it. Some starters easily morph into the role of main course, such as spring rolls with pork meatballs and shrimp won tons in soup, while other appetizers aren’t really up to the task. I vividly remember the night that I served Reuben seven-layer taco dip and corn chips for dinner. Needless to say, I ended up eating a lot of taco dip by myself that evening.

I’m pretty positive this “pizza” is intended as a first course, but like most parents, I don’t do “courses” with the kids and I really wanted to try this recipe. Paired with vine-ripened tomatoes from our backyard, the pizza alone was plenty for the three (and a half) of us. Admittedly, it’s probably more of a brunch than dinner, reminiscent of a good bagel but lighter and with better textures, especially with the addition of sliced tomatoes.

Smoked Salmon Pizza
adapted from Wolfgang Puck

Makes 1 pizza

8 oz (225 g) prepared (unbaked) pizza dough (white or whole wheat)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 large or 1/2 small red onion, sliced thinly
1/2 cup (120 ml) sour cream
1 teaspoon dried dill (or 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill)
1 tablespoon chopped red onion
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
5 oz (140 g) thinly sliced smoked salmon
1 large or 2 small tomatoes, sliced thinly (optional)

Preheat the oven to 500°F (260°C).

On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out into a 10-inch round. The thinner the dough, the crispier the crust when baked. Transfer the dough to a baking sheet and brush the dough with olive oil. Scatter the sliced onion over the top of the dough and bake until the crust is golden brown, about 7 to 10 minutes, depending on the thickness of the dough. Let the baked crust cool for 5 minutes.

While the crust bakes, mix together the sour cream, dill, chopped red onion, and lemon juice.

After the crust cools, spread the sour cream mixture over the top of the crust to within an inch of the edge. Arrange the salmon to cover the surface entirely. Use a pizza wheel to slice the pizza into 6 pieces. If using tomato, top each piece of pizza with 1 or two tomato slices. Serve immediately.

30-minute meals, Desserts, Fruit, Potatoes, Salads, Seafood

Potato Salad with Smoked Salmon and Horseradish Crème Fraîche and Blueberries in Gin Syrup

Four years ago, when our daughter was 13 months old and not walking yet, we went to the Derryvilla Blueberry Farm** in County Offaly to pick berries. I still remember her crawling on the soft, boggy ground amongst the bushes, stopping now and then to pull a fat, sweet berry from the branches and pop it into her mouth. This time we had our son, who at two years old was a good age to enjoy picking the berries himself, so ripe they practically tumbled off the bushes and into our baskets. When we paid for our haul after an hour in the fields, the owner, Nuala, scooped up a bag full of berries from a nearby crate and gave them to the kids to eat in the car, free of charge. For the first 30 minutes of the drive home, all we could hear from the back seat was the sound of their little hands rustling in the paper bags as they snacked on the berries as if they were a bag of pick ‘n’ mix candy.

When my husband was a boy growing up in Michigan, one summer he and his family picked 80 lb of blueberries. In comparison, the 9 lb we picked last weekend seems meager, but it was enough to make a dinner of salmon with a blueberry pan sauce, a batch of blueberry crumb bars and these blueberries in gin syrup.* I froze the rest to use in my kids’ favorite breakfast once the weather turns cold, blueberry and banana porridge. I’m already looking forward to remembering the sunny, hot summer day we spent picking berries every time I add them to my children’s oatmeal this winter.

*If you’re looking for more blueberry recipes, try this lemon blueberry buckle or peach and blueberry sour cream cobbler.

*Derryvilla Blueberry Farm is located roughly between Newbridge in County Kildare and Portlaoise in County Laois, not too far off the M7 motorway. Ring 057 864 2882 or 087 246 6643 for opening times and directions.

Smoked Salmon and Potato Salad with Horseradish Crème Fraîche
adapted from Jamie at Home by Jamie Oliver

Serves 4 as a light dinner or lunch

As often as not, I lazily skip the lemon, vinegar and olive oil dressing and just mix the horseradish crème fraîche into the potatoes instead of dolloping it over the salad. In that case, add the lemon zest to the crème fraîche and sprinkle the capers over the salad instead.

1 1/4 lb (570 g) new potatoes, washed
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
zest and juice of 1 large lemon
splash of red wine vinegar
extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons capers, drained
14 oz (400 g) smoked salmon, roughly chopped
a small bunch of fresh dill or fennel tops, roughly chopped, or 1 tablespoon dried dill
2 or 3 tablespoons jarred horseradish sauce, or to taste
1/2 cup (120 ml) crème fraîche

Cut the potatoes into halves or quarters, depending on their size (you want them to be in bite-sized pieces). Tip into a pot of boiling salted water and boil for 10 to 15 minutes, until the potatoes are just cooked. Drain in a colander and cover with a tea towel to dry them out a bit while you make the dressing.

Put the lemon zest and half the lemon juice into a bowl and add the vinegar. Pour in three times as much olive oil as lemon juice and add the capers. Season the dressing with salt and pepper and whisk to combine. Transfer the potatoes to a large bowl and drizzle the dressing over. Toss gently until the potatoes are all well coated. Add in the smoked salmon and most of the dill and toss again. Transfer the potatoes and salmon to a serving bowl or platter or individual plates.

Mix the horseradish sauce into the crème fraîche with the remaining lemon juice and some salt and pepper. Dollop the crème fraîche over the salad and sprinkle over the rest of the dill or fennel.

Blueberries in Gin Syrup
adapted from Gourmet, August 2008

Serves 6

This recipe is open to adaptation. The original version conjures up a forest by adding a rosemary sprig and crushed juniper berries to infuse the syrup. I didn’t care for that so I’ve left it out here to make a plainer syrup. However, you could also try infusing the syrup with a cinnamon stick or a strip of lemon peel, and you could leave out the gin entirely too. These will keep for 1 or 2 days in the fridge.

1 cup (240 ml) water
3/4 cup (150 g) sugar
1 1/2 lb/2 pints (680 g) blueberries
1/4 cup (60 ml) dry gin

Boil the water and sugar in a small saucepan, stirring until the sugar has dissolved, until the syrup has reduced to about 3/4 cup (180 ml), which should take 10 to 12 minutes. Put the blueberries in a heatproof bowl and strain the syrup through a sieve over the berries. Stir in the gin. Allow the berries to macerate in the syrup for about 30 minutes, until the berries are completely cooled. Eat them on their own in a bowl, or spooned over vanilla ice cream, not forgetting to drizzle over some of the syrup too.

30-minute meals, Poultry

Turkey Meatballs with Walnuts, Cilantro, Golden Raisins, and Lemon-Cumin Yogurt Sauce over Couscous

Kristin and I are food psychic — strange but true. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve emailed her about a great cake I just made only to find she made the same thing (or something close) the day before. This blog has only confirmed my suspicions. I now double check the titles of her planned posts before doing my meal planning or, heaven forbid, I’ll risk making the same thing and will have lost a post opportunity. Last week, I opened up Molly Wizenberg’s A Homemade Life, planning to make bouchons au thon and these fantastic-sounding meatballs. Well, Kristin beat me to the tuna corks, but I’m happy enough to be able to share these sweet and savory meatballs. I suspected they would be lovely and so doubled the recipe for leftovers. I’m glad I did, because the second batch made for an amazing lunch the next day.

Turkey Meatballs with Walnuts, Cilantro, Golden Raisins, and Lemon-Cumin Yogurt Sauce
adapted from A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg (or via Orangette)

Makes about 40 meatballs (serves 4 for dinner plus leftovers the next day)

for the sauce:
2 cups (480 ml) plain yogurt
juice of 1 lemon
1 clove garlic, grated or minced
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt

for the meatballs:
2 lb (900 g) ground turkey or chicken (mix of light and dark meat)
1 small yellow onion, minced
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup (15 g) finely chopped cilantro (coriander)
1 cup (100 g) chopped walnuts or pine nuts
1 cup (160 g) golden raisins, roughly chopped if they’re large
1 cup (100 g) panko or breadcrumbs
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
olive oil
cooked couscous, for serving

To make the yogurt sauce, combine the yogurt, lemon juice, garlic, cumin, and salt in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside at room temperature to let the flavors develop while you make the meatballs.

To make the meatballs, gently mix all the meatball ingredients except the olive oil and couscous together in a bowl, using your hands. Take care not to overmix the meat (which would make the meatballs tough), but make sure all the ingredients are evenly mixed. Form the mixture into 1 1/2‑inch balls and set aside on a large plate. (Raw meatballs can be covered and refrigerated for up to 1 day. Alternatively, place them, not touching, on a rimmed baking sheet and freeze until hard, then transfer them to a heavy-duty plastic bag and freeze for up to 2 weeks.)

Heat a thin film of olive oil in a heavy skillet over a moderate heat and saute the meatballs in batches (don’t overcrowd them in the pan). As they begin to color, turn them gently with tongs so that they’re golden on all sides. They should be done when they’re evenly browned and feel medium firm (but not hard) to the touch. Place on a paper towel to drain. Add additional oil to the skillet if it looks dry and cook the remaining meatballs. Serve hot, warm, or cold with yogurt sauce and couscous.

30-minute meals, Beans, Mexican food, Vegetarian main dishes

Chili Bean Burritos with Corn Salsa

I love having visitors, not least because I get to pull out all the stops and feed them well. We had some vegetarian friends over from the US for a long weekend visit last week, so I turned to some of my tried-and-true favorites: polpette di melanzane, ratatouille, lemon and pea risotto, and Moorish crunch salad with naan bread, plus roasted peaches with amaretti and Eton mess for dessert. My friend (the same friend who cracked his fridge shelf last year with a heavy pot of soup) was lamenting the fact that they’re tired of making the same old things from their small cookbook collection, so Adrian, here’s another fast and easy vegetarian recipe for you to add to your repertoire.

Chili Bean Burritos with Corn Salsa
adapted from Every Day by Bill Granger

Serves 4

When serving this to my small children, I give them a tortilla on the side (because they still like to have what the grown-ups are having) and just put the bean mixture in a bowl with some corn salsa on top, which they can easily spoon up.

for the chili bean burritos:
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
1 red pepper, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 red chili, deseeded and finely chopped
pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 x 14 oz (400 g) cans of kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 x 14 oz (400 g) can of chopped tomatoes
zest and juice of 1 lime
a small handful of fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
freshly grated cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese, to serve
tortillas, to serve
natural yogurt or sour cream, to serve

for the corn salsa:
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups (300 g) corn, either fresh or frozen
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
1 small red onion, finely chopped
1 red chili, deseeded and finely chopped (optional)
a small handful of fresh cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
zest and juice of 1 lime
salt and freshly ground black pepper

To make the bean burritos, heat the oil in a large, heavy-based pan over a medium-low heat. Add the celery, onion and red pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, for 7 to 10 minutes, until the vegetables have softened. Add the garlic, chili and spices and cook for 1 minute more. Add the kidney beans and tomatoes and stir well. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to very low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes, until thickened. Stir in the lime zest and juice and the cilantro.

While the bean mixture is cooking, make the salsa. In a separate large pan, heat the oil over a high heat. Add the corn and cook, stirring frequently, for 3 to 4 minutes. Tip the corn into a large bowl and stir through the celery, onion, chili, coriander, lime zest and juice. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Set aside.

To serve, spoon some bean mixture down the middle of each tortilla, sprinkle with the grated cheese and wrap up firmly. Serve with the corn salsa and a spoonful of yogurt.

30-minute meals, Beans, Cookies, Italian food, Pork, Salads

White Bean, Salami and Spinach Salad and Italian Chocolate Fridge Biscuits

I’m a little jealous of all the heat waves in America lately. After the best June in years here in Ireland, July is turning out to be cold and rainy a lot of the time and we’re lucky to even hit 70°F. But last month, when we had proper warm weather, I was making salads for dinner almost every night and this is one of my favorites. Served with some crusty bread, it’s a perfect main course for a hot (or even not so hot) summer’s night.

And if you’re being good and eating salad for dinner, it’s as good of an excuse as any to splurge a little with one of these biscuits. If you can rouse yourself from the heat enough to melt some butter on the stovetop, then all you have to do is press the dough into a baking dish and leave it in the fridge overnight, making this ideal for summertime baking. I made them for the Irish foodies’ cookie bake-off* at the start of the month, and while at first I was a little disappointed in them (I’d been expecting more flavor from the coffee and Crunchie bars), they grew on me. They’re a grown-up kind of cookie, the kind of thing that’s perfect with a cup of coffee after dinner (or anytime).

White Bean, Salami and Spinach Salad
adapted from The Kitchen Diaries by Nigel Slater

Serves 2 as a light main course

for the salad:
7 oz (200 g) baby spinach (or about 4 big handfuls)
1/2 lb (225 g) salami, thinly sliced
a handful of basil leaves, cut into ribbons
2 x 14 oz (400 g) cans of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup (100 g) black olives, halved
freshly grated Parmesan shards, to serve
crusty bread, to serve

for the dressing:
5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, chopped (or 1 teaspoon dried)
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Put the spinach into a large serving dish. Cut the salami into thin strips and add to the spinach along with the basil, beans and olives.

To make the dressing, whisk the olive oil, vinegar, mustard, thyme and salt and pepper together until thick and creamy (or shake to combine in a screw-top jar). Pour the dressing over the salad and toss everything together gently. Grate over some thick shards of Parmesan cheese and serve with plenty of crusty bread.

***

Italian Chocolate Fridge Biscuits
adapted from Avoca Café Cookbook

Makes one 9 x 13 inch tray

3/4 cup (175 g) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups (150 g) cocoa powder
1 cup (200 g) sugar
3/4 cup (75 g) ground almonds
3/4 cup (75 g) ground hazelnuts
1 tablespoon espresso or strong black coffee
1 egg and 1 egg yolk, beaten together
6 oz (175 g) Petit Beurre, high-quality butter cookies or digestive biscuits, roughly chopped
6 oz (175 g) honeycomb, such as Crunchie bars, roughly chopped
1 1/4 cups (175 g) hazelnuts, roughly chopped

Put the butter, cocoa, sugar, ground almonds and ground hazelnuts in a large pot and heat gently, stirring, until the butter has melted. Beat the coffee, egg and egg yolk into the mixture, then stir in the cookies, honeycomb and chopped hazelnuts. It will be very crumbly and rough looking at this stage.

Lightly oil a shallow 9 x 13 inch baking dish and firmly press the mixture into it (the mixture should be about 3/4 inch thick). Leave it to set in the fridge overnight, then turn out and cut into squares. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.

*Looking for more cookie inspiration? Check out all these recipes from some other Irish foodies:

30-minute meals, Beans, Italian food, Salads, Seafood

White Bean and Tuna Salad with Lemon Pepper Dressing

When you travel, what do you remember afterward? I remember the food. I have a better memory of eating quiche Lorraine for breakfast on a bench by the Seine in Paris than I do of seeing the Mona Lisa in the Louvre. Of course I remember the big-name sightseeing highlights, but I also remember the Nutella and banana crepe we bought from a stand near the Eiffel Tower; a brioche aux praline in Lyons that was so good we changed our return travel plans back to Paris just so we could eat it one more time; chocolate mint gelato in Florence served by a man in what looked like a crisp white lab coat and perfectly Brylcreemed 1950s hair; kriek cherry beer in Amsterdam, glögg in Copenhagen and a harsh, peaty whiskey in Edinburgh that I downed after (foolishly, in my case) taking the ghost tour of the city; conch chowder in the Bahamas; hot chocolate and a gingerbread man with my little girl in London; and a ploughman’s pub lunch in Canterbury. In Barcelona we spent more time eating tapas and drinking sangria than sightseeing. In the US, I still have clear memories of bratwurst being grilled on the Memorial Union Terrace in the summertime in Madison, Wisconsin; whole crabs in Baltimore, complete with a newspaper-covered table and hammers; lobster in Boston with flimsy plastic bibs and pitchers of beer; a post-wedding brunch at the Ritz in Washington, DC with scallops and bacon, caviar and waiters who seemed to top up my glass of mimosa after every sip; sopapilla and honey in Santa Fe; scoops of ice cream in waffle cones so freshly made on the spot in Bellingham, Washington that they were still warm; and a nondescript hot dog somewhere outside of Charlottesville, Virginia that I remember only because I couldn’t understand a single word the man behind the counter said when he rattled off all the toppings because his Southern accent was so thick, so I just said I’d have what my friend was having.

As for this salad, I had it for lunch on a rooftop café in Tuscany on my honeymoon eight years ago, looking out over rolling countryside that was hazy in the middle of the heat wave they were having at the time. Earlier during that trip, walking across the city on our way to stand in line in the hot sun for an hour to see Michelangelo’s David in Florence and wilting just at the thought of it, I turned to my husband and said, “Will seeing David really make us better people? How about we just go back to the garden at the hotel and drink beer and eat olives instead?” Which is exactly what we did.

What are some of your memories of food and travel?

White Bean and Tuna Salad with Lemon Pepper Dressing
adapted from How to Cook Book Two by Delia Smith

Serves 4 as a light main course or 6 as a starter/light lunch

for the salad:
2 x 14 oz (400 g) cans of cannellini beans
salt and freshly ground black pepper
a few handfuls of arugula (rocket), stalks removed
2 x 7 oz (200 g) cans of tuna, drained
1 red onion, peeled, sliced thinly and deflamed
crusty bread, to serve

for the dressing:
2 cloves garlic, peeled
2 teaspoons Maldon sea salt
1 heaped teaspoon mustard powder, such as Colman’s
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
zest and juice of 1 large lemon (3 tablespoons juice)

To make the dressing, first crush the garlic and salt using a pestle and mortar until the garlic is pulverized into a paste, then work in the mustard powder and pepper. If you have a large pestle and mortar, add the olive oil, lemon zest and juice directly into it and whisk everything together thoroughly. If your pestle and mortar is small (like mine), then scrape the garlic paste into a larger bowl and whisk in the olive oil, lemon zest and juice in that.

Place the beans in a bowl and pour the dressing over, stirring to make sure all the beans are coated. Season generously.

To serve the salad, arrange three-quarters of the arugula (rocket) leaves over the base of one large serving dish (or you could assemble the salad on individual plates), spoon the beans on top and add the tuna fish in chunks. Add the rest of the arugula, pushing some of the leaves and chunks of tuna right in amongst the beans. Arrange the onion slices on top and serve straight away.

30-minute meals, Pasta and noodles, Seafood

Pasta with Tuna, Tomatoes and Olives

Last Tuesday was one of those days that turned out to be warmer than predicted (not that I’m complaining!), so much so that whatever it was that I had planned to cook that night, I suddenly didn’t want to anymore. Add to that the fact that I had a plumber and a loss adjuster in my kitchen while I was trying to make dinner, talking about having to rip up and replace all the flooring throughout the house because of a mysterious water leak we have, and I wanted to cry, not cook. But this is one of those recipes that takes almost no time to cook and is made of pantry staples that I always have around, so I was able to quickly change my plans, throw this together and avoid resorting to takeout.

A well-stocked pantry can be a busy cook’s best friend, as Anita writes in her Dinner on a Deadline series. (And check out this well-stocked, well-organized pantry — it makes my Virgo heart happy just to look at it.) Some of the things you’ll rarely find me without are canned chickpeas, cannellini beans, black beans and tomatoes (whole and chopped), rice, pasta, couscous, tortillas, onions, garlic, lemons, olives, tuna and a jar of pesto in the pantry, as well as a good variety of dried herbs and spices and all the staples for baking; some fresh herbs, chorizo, eggs, Parmesan and cheddar cheese, potatoes, carrots and apples in the fridge; and frozen peas, frozen berries, chicken breasts and homemade chicken stock in the freezer. With just that short list of ingredients, I can make pasta with Marcella Hazan’s tomato sauce, pasta e ceci, roasted garlic and pea soup, red chile chicken and rice with black beans, chicken bouillabaisse, a white bean and tuna salad, a ploughman’s lunch, homemade pizza, cheese quesadillas, a potato frittata or this dinner with hardly any planning ahead.

What pantry staples do you always have on hand? What are your store cupboard stand-by dinners? Let us know in the comments or come join the discussion on our Facebook page, under the Discussions tab! 

Pasta with Tuna, Tomatoes and Olives
adapted from Apples for Jam by Tessa Kiros

Serves 4

If you don’t have fresh herbs, just use some dried basil instead. Olives can become bitter if cooked too long, so you should add them in at the end of a recipe.

14 oz (400 g) pasta, such as penne, farfalle or spaghetti
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 x 14 oz (400 g) can of chopped tomatoes
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 x 6 oz (170 g) can of tuna, drained
3 basil leaves, torn
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
a few handfuls of black olives, halved

Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water according to the packet instructions.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium-low heat. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and season well with salt and pepper. Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, then add the tuna, breaking up any large chunks with a wooden spoon. Add in the basil, parsley and olives and simmer for a few minutes more, then remove from the heat.

Drain the pasta and reserve some of the cooking water. Add the pasta to the sauce. Add some of the pasta cooking water to help the sauce coat the pasta if necessary. Serve immediately.

30-minute meals, Pasta and noodles, Seafood

Creamy Penne with Smoked Trout and Peas

When I attended the Bord Bia Irish food bloggers event last month, I first and foremost met loads of fantastic people, some of whom are bloggers I’ve been reading for awhile, and some who I happily discovered thanks to this event. I also saw a few cooking demos, including a don’t-try-this-at-home handsaw-wielding butcher; heard talks on raising your blog’s profile from Damien Mulley and how to land a book deal from Eoin Purcell; learned some tips on food styling from Erica Ryan and food photography from Jocasta Clarke; and ate pork belly and its fabled crackling for the first time.

And I got some free grub.

I left the Bord Bia offices laden down with potted thyme and sage plants from Living Flavour; a jar of chutney for cheese from Sheridans Cheesemongers; a box each of Pu-erh and South African Roobios tea from Barry’s Tea; a pack of Biltong Irish beef jerky; a pack of lentil, pea and bean shoots from Good4U; a homemade Macroom oatmeal ginger biscuit made by fellow blogger Lilly Higgins; and last but not least, two fillets of hot smoked Irish trout from Goatsbridge. (And not forgetting, of course, the 4 lb pork loin sent out by Bord Bia before the event that I brined and served with a rhubarb compote.)

We scoffed most of the lot fast enough, but I let the trout sit in the fridge for a week while I decided what to do with it. I can’t claim to be the first of the Irish bloggers to come up with the idea of pairing the trout with pasta and peas — Darren at Supper Satisfaction and Aoife at Babaduck Babbles have both posted similar versions already, and I was inspired by Gizzi Erskine’s recipe for spaghetti with smoked salmon and peas that Donal Skehan featured on his blog last month and which my kids loved when I made it. The top-quality trout did most of the work for me in this recipe, but some lemon, crème fraîche and white wine didn’t hurt either. If you can’t find smoked trout, this recipe would work just as well with smoked salmon.

But I left with more than just a bag full of free food. I came away from the event inspired to try some new recipes thanks to the producers’ generous donations, with new friends and with a sense that I’m part of a buzzing little Irish food blogging community. Now that’s what I call a good day out.

Creamy Penne with Smoked Trout and Peas

Serves 4 to 6

The folks at Goatsbridge suggested adding a pinch of dried chili flakes to this recipe for a little kick. If you can’t get crème fraîche, try taking a leaf out of Gizzi Erskine’s book and using 1/2 cup (120 ml) heavy cream and 1/2 cup (120 ml) Greek yogurt instead, in which case you might not need to add the pasta cooking water at the end.

1 lb (450 g) penne
2 cups (200 g) frozen peas
1 tablespoon (15 g) butter
4 small shallots, finely chopped
juice of 1 large lemon
1 cup (240 ml) white wine
1 cup (240 ml) crème fraîche
salt and freshly ground black pepper
7 oz (200 g) smoked trout (or smoked salmon), roughly chopped
1/4 cup (10 g) chopped fresh dill
freshly grated Parmesan, to serve

Cook the penne in a large pot of boiling salted water according to the packet instructions. Five minutes before the end of the cooking time, add the frozen peas in with the pasta.

Meanwhile, melt the butter over a medium-low heat in a large frying pan, one that’s big enough to eventually hold all the cooked pasta. Add the shallots and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until softened. Add the lemon juice and wine and bring to the boil. Turn the heat down to low and simmer for about 10 minutes, until the lemon and wine have reduced a little. Add in the crème fraîche and stir well, then season with salt and pepper. Add in the smoked trout and continue to simmer until the trout is heated through.

Drain the pasta and peas, reserving some of the cooking water. Add a ladleful of the pasta cooking water to the sauce to thin it a little. Add the pasta and peas directly to the sauce in the frying pan, stirring well to coat the pasta evenly with the sauce. Add more cooking water if needed. Sprinkle with fresh dill and toss to combine. Serve immediately with freshly grated Parmesan cheese on top.