Creamy tagliatelle with mushrooms

This was the first time I used fresh pasta! I'd say in terms of flavour, I did not taste much of a difference. It does cook much quicker though, only about 2 minutes in boiling water. I haven't had tagliatelle for some time now although it ranks pretty high on the list of my favourite pasta. 

Creamy tagliatelle

I had this for dinner some time ago, I was craving for a creamy dish, and wanted something simple and quick after work. This did the trick.

Cooking the mushrooms and asparagus. Note the pasta on the left ready to go :)

 

With the chopped parsley

Ingredients

(Serves 2 as a main)

200 grammes of fresh tagliatelle
75 grammes of button mushrooms, sliced
75 grammes of asparagus, sliced at an angle
1 brown onion, chopped
a splash of single cream
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
salt and pepper to taste
a handful of parsley, roughly chopped

Method

• Heat the oil in a deep saucepan. Add the onions and sweat until soft.
• Add the garlic and the mushrooms. Cook for about 2-3 minutes until almost done. 
• Add the asparagus and cook for another 2 minutes or until tender. At the same time, cook the tagliatelle in a pot of boiling water according to the instructions on the packet.
• Remove the saucepan from the heat and let it cool slightly. Drain the pasta, and add it to the saucepan with the asparagus and mushrooms.
• Add the cream, and season to taste. Stir in the chopped parsley and serve. I added only a little cream as I didn't want the sauce to be too heavy. If you prefer a thicker sauce, add more cream.

Ricotta stuffed mushrooms, sweet peppers and roast chicken

I had some ricotta in the fridge that I needed to use up. Hence on my trip to Tesco, I purchased some large flat mushrooms and some sweet pointed red peppers. I've never cooked stuffed mushrooms before or even had the dish! It was a success! I should have tried this way earlier, I have definitely missed out.

Ricotta Stuffed Mushrooms
(Serves 2 as a side dish, or 1 as a main meal)


150g of ricotta
1 green chilli (Adjust according to how spicy you would like it to be)
Some grated cheddar
1 teaspoon of lemon zest
Juice of half a lemon
1 teaspoon of dried sage
Salt and pepper to season

• Clean the mushrooms; I rinsed mine lightly, and wiped them dry.
• Mix the ricotta and the rest of the ingredients (except cheddar) until well combined. Season well, as ricotta can be quite bland.
• Stuff the mushrooms with the mixture, and add some grated cheddar at the top.
• Cook in a fan assisted oven ( 180 degrees) for about 10-15 minutes. Then put them under the grill until they're crispy and golden brown.

I also stuffed a sweet pointed pepper with the mixture. In this case, I added some spinach as well (just some frozen spinach, defrosted using a microwave oven). The pepper needed a bit longer to cook. The sweetness of the roasted pepper complemented the ricotta very well.

Checking out the insides of the stuffed mushroom

I reckon, adding some roasted garlic, or sauteed red onion to the dish will add even more flavour. There are so many ways to jazz up this dish, the options are endless! 

I has the mushroom with some roasted chicken, marinated in jerk sauce. I added some red onions at the bottom of the roasting pan, and squeezed some lemon juice. Yums! If you have the chance to marinate it overnight, the flavours will be more intense; absolutely yummy :) 

Glistening! I couldn't wait to tuck in when I was taking this photograph!