Because wheat-based pasta dishes are so much heavier to digest than gluten free pasta they give the illusion of a filling meal, particularly the ones with vegetarian sauces such as this one with cauliflower, peas, mint and quinoa. So the challenge was to find another ingredient that would “beef up” these dishes and also increase the quantity of vegetables.

This recipe is based on one from Matt Moran’s When I Get Home—which originally included panko breadcrumbs (to give a crunchy texture to the dish)—but replaces the breadcrumbs with quinoa to make it gluten free and also adds cream to make more of a sauce.

We think it’s pretty tasty.

Ingredients

1 tbs butter
¾ cup quinoa flakes
250g gluten free pasta (we like San Remo spirals made with maize, potato, soy and rice flours)
½ large cauliflower, cut into small florets
1–1½ cups peas
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
¾–1 cup cream
2 tbs olive oil
Handful of mint leaves, finely chopped
1 cup finely grated pecorino cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Melt the butter over medium heat in a large sauté pan and add the quinoa flakes. Fry till golden brown and crispy. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Bring some water to the boil for the pasta and cook to the directions on the packet.

Heat the olive oil to the pan and add the cauliflower florets. Cook until golden brown and softened (around 8 minutes). You can add a couple of tablespoons of water to the pan to help soften the cauliflower. Stir through the garlic and peas, and cook for 1 minute. Add the cream and bring to a simmer. Add the cooked pasta, toasted quinoa flakes, mint and pecorino cheese. Stir until all the cheese has melted.

Season with freshly ground salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

This dish is not Genovese sauce but it is inspired by those simple flavours, and a lot more filling.

Ingredients
1 tbs olive oil
2 chicken breast fillets
10 medium-sized mushrooms (Swiss browns are good)
½ cup pesto
1 cup cream, marscarpone or crème fraiche

Method

Cut the chicken into small pieces and fry in olive oil on medium heat until golden.

Slice the mushrooms and add to the pan. Mix through until coated with pan juices and starting to cook through.

Reduce the heat to low, and stir the pesto through. Heat through until fragrant.

Add the cream and bring to a simmer. Stir until thickened, leaving enough liquid to coat freshly cooked pasta.

 Bellissimo!

I’ve come up with a recipe that satisfies both our food needs. Like all good lasagne, it takes a bit of time and effort to make but you end up with ample delicious leftovers.

First, make the tomato sauce:

1 tbs olive oil
2 x 400g canned tomatoes
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tbs rosemary, chopped
¼ cup basil, chopped
1 tbs oregano, chopped
1 bay leaf
Splash of red wine

Fry the garlic in oil until transparent. Deglaze the pan with red wine. Add the other ingredients and simmer gently for 45 minutes to thicken.

While that’s simmering away, start preparing the filling for the layers.

200g pumpkin
½ sweet potato
1 eggplant
2 zucchinis
12 mushrooms, sliced
fresh spinach or silver beet, roughly chopped
250g ricotta
350g mozzarella, grated
50g parmesan, grated
Lasagne sheets

Cut the pumpkin and sweet potato into 5mm slices and parboil. Set aside.

Slice the zucchinis and eggplant lengthways and grill for five minutes on each side. Set aside.

When the tomato sauce is ready, take off the heat, remove the bay leaf and set aside.

In a large ovenproof dish, cover the bottom with layer of tomato sauce and place lasagne sheets on top, covering it to the edges. Cover with a layer of eggplant, then mushrooms, then spinach. Dollop some of the ricotta around and sprinkle with some of the mozzarella.

Place another layer of lasagne sheets in the dish and cover with tomato sauce. Cover with a mixture of pumpkin and sweet potato, then add a layer of zucchini. Dollop with some more of the ricotta around and sprinkle with some more of the mozzarella.

Place another layer of lasagne sheets and cover with tomato sauce and another layer of mushrooms. Dollop the remaining ricotta and sprinkle with a thick layer of mozzarella and the parmesan cheese.

Bake at 140­­-160°C for an hour until cheese is golden with crunchy bits on top.

The days are getting shorter, the light is paler and there’s a definite chill in the air. Winter is coming and that means perfect weather for soup.

Proper, hearty (and healthy) soup made from fresh vegetables and simmered gently on the stove top, filling the house with a gorgeous aroma that makes you salivate the minute you walk through the door. Mmmmm, so good you can hardly wait to eat it with a few slices of crusty bread.

We make a lot of soup in winter but the all-time favourite would have to be minestrone. It’s a delicious way to dish up a big serve of vegetables. The leftovers are even better the next day and it also keeps well in the freezer.

We can’t take full credit for it. It’s based on a Jamie Oliver recipe but, over time, we’ve adjusted the quantities to suit our taste.

1 tbs olive oil
6 slices rindless shortcut bacon, chopped
1 Spanish onion, finely chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 sticks celery, chopped
1 bulb fennel, chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
½ a bunch basil, leaves and green stalks chopped
800g canned Roma tomatoes
175ml red wine
2 zucchinis, chopped
3 to 4 leaves silverbeet, roughly chopped stalks and all
400g canned cannellini beans, drained and rinsed thoroughly
500ml chicken stock
2 handfuls of short pasta
Parmesan cheese to serve

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan and add the chopped bacon. Fry gently for a minute then add onion, carrots, celery, fennel, garlic and basil. On a very low heat and with the lid slightly ajar, allow the bacon and vegetables to sweat for around 20 minutes until soft. The heat should be low enough that nothing browns.

Add the zucchini, tomatoes and wine, and simmer gently until it thickens slightly. Add the silverbeet, chicken stock, cannellini beans and pasta. Simmer until the pasta is cooked.

When ready, season with salt and pepper and sprinkle freshly grated Parmesan cheese on top.

Mmmmm, this is a favourite in our household. We usually have it when we’re feeling too lazy to make anything else.

It’s so simple to make with minimal preparation time (about 10-15 minutes), then leave it to gently simmer until thick and rich (at least an hour).

Bolognese sauce
1 tbs olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
8 medium Swiss brown mushrooms, sliced
500g lean beef mince
400g tinned tomatoes
2 tbs tomato paste
½ cup red wine
½ cup beef stock
2 tsp dried mixed herbs
¼ cup fresh basil, finely chopped
1 tbs fresh oregano, finely chopped
1 tbs parsley, finely chopped
2 tsp thyme
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oil then add the onions and garlic. Fry on low until onion softens, add the mushrooms. Continue to fry until mushrooms are soft, then add the beef mince. Brown the mince, breaking up large pieces as it cooks through.

Once the mince is cooked through, add the tomatoes, tomato paste, stock, wine and herbs (fresh and dried). Stir through and bring to a rapid simmer, then turn the heat down to a slow simmer, stirring occasionally, and cook until thickened. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve on al dente spaghetti (or your choice of pasta) and sprinkle with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Belissimo!

Leftovers
The Bolognese sauce freezes well. If you’re making it in advance to freeze, leave a bit of extra liquid so you can reheat it in a saucepan. We do this when we’re planning to go camping.

Jim really loves to have the leftovers for breakfast the next morning. He does this by reheating in a small frypan. When heated he pushes the meat sauce to the edges and breaks an egg to fry in the middle, then serves it on toast.