Linguine with Rocket (Arugula) and Prawns (Shrimp)

After a quick trip to a running club, I was desperate for something quick, fresh and tasty.

Broccoli and Anchovy Pasta

I realise this may not sound delicious to everyone but for the 5% of the population who are with me that both broccoli and anchovies are delicious, it's great!

If you're not keen on fish, don't discount anchovies because they tend to have a lovely savoury flavour rather than an overly fishy one like in this pasta dish.  They also work brilliantly with lamb.

Day 7 of 7 a day

My last day of eating 7 fruits and vegetables in a day.  It's been a journey.  I am thoroughly bored of my kitchen scales and the crushing realisation that, (a rare situation in modern life), my portion sizes were normally too small.

Still it's been a journey.

Crayfish and Spinach Linguine

I was so hungry.  I had done a 3 mile run after breakfast of yogurt and I was so hungry.  I love linguine, love it, love it, love it.  It has a delicious way of being easy to cook but still keep al dente.  I always think we should rethink pasta as well.  It doesn't have to be covered in thick gloopy sauces, it can be light, fresh and super quick.

I came up with this idea realising I wanted to eat within 10 minutes (my linguine were cooked in 6) and wanting a bit of something tasty and lovely.  The small crayfish I used were inexpensive and so tasty and juicy.  You could always use prawns though if you prefer.

Green Bean and Crayfish Pasta

I love including a vegetable into pasta or rice dishes.  Rather than going for something wacky like cauliflower rice, which, let's face it, doesn't taste like rice, why not bulk out your starches with a vegetable?  I often put peas into rice and this pasta dish is no exception.  The quantity of pasta is quite small but that's because I've used green beans to bulk it out.

Of course your tastebuds aren't fooled that the green beans are really pasta (but why would you want them to when green beans taste so great?)  What it does is make the plate look like a big portion while only using 50g of dried pasta.  Result!

Roast Vegetable Pasta

I am a meat eater but I am welcome to eating vegetarian and vegan food.  In my book, it's just tasty food.  I think everyone should be open to eating something a bit different and a bit less meat.

This is also handily 3 of your 5 a day.  More than half!  But most of all, it's delicious.  The pepper goes really sweet, the tomato adds a slight amount of sauciness, the courgette absorbs the flavours, the roasted garlic is stunning, the herbs... You won't miss the meat.

Although this is one of my longer cooking time recipes, it's a sling it in the oven job.  Great if you're a parent because you could put this in the oven and with only one stir, have it ready by the time you've got your little darlings in bed.

80g might seem an odd amount to suggest but the quantities aren't vital and the reason why is that 80g is considered by the UK government to constitute 1 of your 5 a day.  Recent research indicates that 7 a day may be more healthful and today I actually managed 7!  I had raspberries and blueberries on my breakfast bowl in the morning.  I had a tomato salad and some grapes as part of my lunch and then this for my evening meal.

If you like a more substantial portion, just have more pasta.

Pasta with Seafood

Pasta with Seafood started out life as Spaghetti ai Frutte di Mare except I had no spaghetti and no clams so I decided to put together what I thought might work, and you know what?  It did, it was delicious.

Vegetarian Pasta Bake

Meat free week day 5.  A busy day with my son, starting with some toast with butter and ginger jam, lunch was a picnic (hospital clinic) of cucumber, pepper and carrot dipped into hummus and a piece of sweetcorn pizza followed by half a bag of crisps  and half of my son's apple.  I also had some melon in the afternoon.

For tea, my son and I then ate a vegetarian pasta bake together.  It was a simple mix of cooked wholemeal pasta, home made (made previously and frozen) pasta sauce and fried courgette (zucchini) and mushrooms.

This was all topped with white sauce and vintage cheddar then served with green vegetables (beans and peas).  Five vegetables on one plate.  I hesitate to call it a recipe because it's my go to use up stuff and get my son (and me) eating vegetables kind of meal.  It's also good with meat, prawns, anchovies, chorizo, bacon, cooked chicken etc if you are a meat eater.

Creamy Mushroom Pasta

Creamy Mushrooms with lovely pasta.  This is a simple dish and something I used to make at university.  It's a great way to use up cream going out of date (or even one day over as you're cooking it) and contains one of your 5 a day.

Stilton and Spinach 'pesto'

Pesto obviously should not contain, well, any of the ingredients I've included here but I'm currently playing around with pasta and different ways to make it super quick.  I love a bit of Stilton and it occurred to me that Stilton and Walnuts are such a classic combination.  Basil though would be far too much and would overpower the blue cheese flavour so I plumped for spinach.

I liked it, see what you think.  Obviously this is Italian food via the English Midlands!

Beef Ragu

I am currently running down my freezer stock because I need to move it in a few days time as I'm getting the paint brush out.  I had the idea for this after defrosting some beef and thinking I wanted to do something different with it than the usual stewed beef in beer.  If it seems odd having chunks of meat with pasta, think of it like a chunkier bolognese.

Don't dismiss slow cookers when cooking for one, almost everything you make in a slow cooker reheats well and this is no exception.  Also you won't get that "I'm bored" feeling because you could eat this as a stew or with pasta, or mix with pinto beans and tabasco for a cheats chilli.  If you do get bored, stick leftovers in the freezer.

Prawn and Chilli Linguine

I love prawns.  It might seem decadent to cook raw prawns 'just' for yourself but you can get some pretty good value raw prawns in the freezer section.  Look out for when they're on offer and they're a great thing to have as a standby meal which feels anything but a standby; it even feels pretty luxurious.

I've been cooking more pasta without tomato based sauces recently; like my mackerel pasta.  The great thing about them is they taste so fresh and light.  Perfect for the last days of summer and they're so quick to make, they're ideal for eating after a hard session with an exercise DVD (damn you Bob Harper!)  Let's face it, we're all busy people.  When you have a child to put to bed, exercise to do, the last thing you want to do is spend ages preparing a meal.

By including the courgette, you cut down on the carbs a bit and introduce a vegetable.  The courgette is very lightly cooked so it still has a bit of bite which works well with the al dente linguine.  I like it that way but if you prefer it softer, just cook it a little longer.  The chilli adds a touch of zing without being massively hot and the wine lends a slight hint of acidity.  So all very simple but a lovely balanced flavour.

Mackerel and chilli pasta

Fresh mackerel is a lovely but much underrated fish.  It's a great source of Omega 3 but unless you get it straight from the sea, it does have a tendency to have that excessively 'fishy' flavour some people don't like.  I have a solution; buy it frozen.  One of the major UK supermarkets does excellent packs of frozen mackerel fillets for a very inexpensive price and if I'm honest, it's the only reason I go in there nowadays for a once a month / two month shop.  Because it's frozen, it will last for ages so you can make this when the cupboards are pretty much bare and also you know it's always going to taste fresh.

I tend to make my pasta 'sauces' more saucy than this but I also think it's really nice sometimes to have something which tastes fresher and lighter.

Parsley is very easy to grow in the garden or in a pot.  Even the 'growing herbs' you can buy in supermarkets do very well transferred to a border.

If you want some vegetables with this, a good seasonal salad of grated or shaved courgette (zucchini) dressed with lemon juice and olive oil would be nice.