Pumpkin & Bacon Lasagne

Here's another nostalgic recipe from the other side of the family. It's loosely based on one of my husband's family favourites. His mum had created the recipe, but it was just something she kept in her head, not a written thing. I got the gist of it, added a few of my own bits and bobs, and have written up the recipe for sharing.
At first I was highly skeptical about how the pumpkin and tomato would mesh, but this wonderful marriage of flavours has to be tasted to be believed-it's honestly even better than a meat lasagne-and I have a wonderful recipe for that too! The bacon pieces scattered through the golden cheesy white sauce that tops this great family meal really makes it sing.  You could easily leave out the bacon for a vegetarian meal if you so desired.

PUMPKIN & BACON LASAGNE

800g-1kg pumpkin, peeled, deseeded and cubed
1/2 cup sour cream or cream
3x chicken stock cubes
1/2 cup hot water
700g jar tomato passata
400g can diced tomato
1 tsp garlic, crushed
1 tsp mixed herbs
1-2 boxes dried lasagne sheets
2 tbsp butter
3 tbsp plain flour
1 cup cheese, grated
2 cups milk
3 tbsp Parmesan cheese
80g diced bacon


Place diced pumpkin in a saucepan with water covering the top. Cook until soft. Strain the water and place the pumpkin in a blender with the sour cream, chicken stock and water. Puree until smooth.
In a saucepan heat up the passata, diced tomatoes, garlic and herbs until warm.
Heat the oven to 180C.
Place a layer of the pasta sheets on the bottom on the 9x13 inch lasagne dish. Top with a layer of the tomato mixture. Place another layer of the pasta sheets over the tomato mixture. Spread a layer of the pumpkin puree over these pasta sheets. Repeat, alternating the tomato mixture with the pumpkin puree between the layers of pasta until exhausted (the ingredients, not you!)
The last layer should end with pasta sheets.
To make the white sauce which covers these pasta sheets, place the butter and flour in a saucepan on low heat. When the butter melts, quickly whisk the butter into the flour while pouring in a little of the milk at a time, to make a smooth paste. Add the remaining milk and heat through. Add the grated cheese and stir through, and continue stirring until it has melted, and the white sauce is thick.
Pour this white sauce over the final pasta layer. Sprinkle with Parmesan and cooked bacon pieces.
Cook in preheated oven for approximatey one hour, or until the top layer forms a golden cheesy crust.
Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Serves 8

 

Spanish Chickpea & Spinach Stew (Garbanzos con Espinacas)

I totally love my sweets and processed foods, but you only realise how they lack when you eat something that is delicious, nutritious and made of good, unprocessed natural ingredients. I find myself taking a spoonful and sitting up a little straighter, and thinking "Why the heck don't we eat like this everyday?"
It's the type of food that fills you with a sense of nurturing your system. You find yourself thinking on this food often, wanting more of it in the future, yet being completely satisfied and not needing more after a serve. All that processed food leaves you feeling momentarily satisfied, then almost instantly wanting more. It's like a drug. It doesn't fill you.
That's why I usually don't buy cereals for my kids, but give them porridge made on milk instead. After a bowl of cereal, my kids are asking me for snacks. After a bowl of porridge, I don't hear the word snack for a few hours.
This is one of those high fibre, super nutritious and utterly delicious meals that eaves your tummy feeling happy for a long time. If you're vegan or vegetarian, this is also the perfect meal for you and will leave you with a happy face as well.
It's great for meat free Fridays if you're Catholic like I am. (In case you where unaware, we traditionally don't eat meat on Fridays. Fish is permissible.) If you totally need your meat in every meal, shredded roast chicken is perfect in this dish too.
Whip this up and your house will be smelling amazing, with infusions of garlic, onion, paprika and cumin. You can serve with rice or cous cous- pasta would probably go well too! Buen provecho!

SPANISH CHICKPEA AND SPINACH STEW (Adapted from Lazy Cat Kitchen)

2 tbsp oil
2 heaped tsp crushed garlic
1 medium red onion, finely chopped
3 tsp ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
salt and pepper to taste
2 tsp brown sugar (optional)
2x 400g tins diced tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas
100g baby spinach, stalks removed
1/4 cup almond flakes

Heat up the oil in a large fry pan. Add the onion and cook on medium with the lid on, until almost translucent. Add the garlic and cook, stirring a little, for two minutes.
Add the spices and stir through the onion and garlic mix, careful not to burn these ingredients.
Add tomato paste, combine thoroughly.
Pour in the tomatoes, and season with salt and pepper to your taste. (At this point you can add the optional sugar if your tomatoes are very tangy, or just leave out.)
Turn the heat to low and let the sauce thicken, with no lid on. Stir it from time to time so that it doesn't burn.
Stir in the chickpeas. Lastly, add the spinach and heat until wilted. Garnish with the almonds. Scoop generous serving on rice and enjoy!

SERVES 4

French Vinegar Chicken-Poulet saute au Vinaigre

I have never been silent about my love of the french. Clothing, style, decor, food, and of course, the people. Every time I eat french food it strikes me at the simplicity of the ingredients and the surprisingly exquisite taste. They have the art of blending complimentary flavours down pat, with so little fuss. Except for macarons-now there's a bit of fuss for you!
I used to live with a darling French girl. The chicken she brought home from her sister's house is forever imprinted in my mind. It looked like butter chicken, with thick, creamy, tomatoey sauce running down it, but it tasted so very different from the Indian curry I was so familiar with. To my surprise it was tangy and sweet all at once, explosive on the taste buds, smooth and creamy, and the chicken moist-delicious! My mouth literally waters just thinking about it.
So I had to try my hand at it, and it was simple, and the end result fabulous. I wondered how my children (4, 2 and 1 years old) would go with the tangy flavour and a new dish, and even the baby went crazy for it. We served it with cous cous, but I hear it's great over mashed potato, and I imagine it would also go well with rice and a side of beans. Don't be put off by the unappetising name! I imagine it sounds better in French- Poulet saute au Vinaigre.

FRENCH VINEGAR CHICKEN(Poulet saute au Vinaigre)

2 large chicken breasts, cut into 8 pieces (or 5-6 chicken thighs)
1 tsp butter
salt and pepper to taste
3/4 cup red onion, chopped finely
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 cup white wine (I used Rose Moscato)
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar (or red-wine vinegar)
1 cup boiling water
2 chicken stock cubes
1 tbsp honey
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp corn flour
2 heaped tbsp sour cream
1 tbsp fresh parsley chopped

 Melt the butter in a fry pan. Add the chicken and fry for 5 minutes on one side, then turn over and cook the other side until the colour of both sides match. Season the chicken, then remove the chicken from heat and set aside.
Add the onion and garlic to the fry pan and fry on high heat for one minute. Deglaze with the wine, scraping any sticking residue from the bottom of the pan. Add the vinegar. In a small bowl, combine the boiling water and the stock cubes, and stir until well combined. Add this to the saucepan, along with the honey and tomato paste.
Whisk until combined, then return the chicken back to the pan. Place heat on low-medium. Cook with the lid on for 20 minutes. Take 4 tbsp of the sauce from the pan and place in a small bowl with the corn flour. Combine until it forms a smooth paste. Add to the pan and stir through thoroughly. Keep the pan on the heat until the sauce reaches desired thickness.
Stir through the sour cream.
Serve garnished with fresh parsley, over mashed potato, cous cous or rice.

Serves 4