Ingredients (serves 4)

 
3 tbsp olive oil
1 small-ish butternut squash, chopped into small pieces
2 leeks, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
Small handful fresh sage leaves, roughly chopped
350g risotto rice
200ml white wine
800ml vegetable stock, hot
25g butter
50g vegetarian Parmesan, grated
100g goat’s cheese, crumbled

Method

 
1. Place the butternut squash in a roasting tin with 2 tbsp of the oil. Roast in the oven until browned at the edges – you can do this in advance of needing it if you wish.

2. Heat the oil in a heavy-based pan over a medium heat. Add the leek and fry until slightly soft. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more, before adding the rice and stirring for another 1-2 minutes.

3. Turn up the heat, add the wine and bubble for a few minutes to cook off the alcohol. Add the stock, a ladleful at a time, waiting until each one is absorbed before adding the next.

4. Take the risotto off the heat and stir in the butter, the Parmesan and the goat’s cheese.

Enjoy! If you’d prefer the version with bacon in it, click here!

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I have always wanted to make gnocchi – it has been one of those things on my food bucket list for a long time now. It takes a little while but it well-worth the effort, and I’ll definitely do it again! But you can always just use the ready made gnocchi if you don’t have the time and this recipe will still taste just as good.

The gnocchi recipe I used here comes from Delia Smith (although there is a really good tutorial with great photos here). The squash recipe comes from BBC Good Food.

Ingredients

For the gnocchi
10 oz (275 g) King Edward potatoes (about 2 medium-sized potatoes)
3½ oz (95 g) plain flour, sifted, plus a little extra for rolling
1 large egg, lightly beaten
salt and freshly milled black pepper

For the squash
450g butternut squash, peeled and cut into small chunks
1 garlic clove
2 tbsp olive oil
500g pack gnocchi
200g young leaf spinach
100g goat’s cheese

Method

1. First place the potatoes, with their skins on, in a suitably sized saucepan, almost cover with boiling water, add some salt, then put a lid on and simmer for 20-25 minutes, until tender.

2. Then drain well and, holding them in your hand with a tea cloth, quickly pare off the skins using a potato peeler. Then place the potatoes in a large bowl and, using an electric hand whisk on a slow speed, start to break the potatoes up, then increase the speed and gradually whisk until smooth and fluffy. Now let them cool.

3. Next, add the sifted flour to the potatoes, along with half the beaten egg, season lightly and, using a fork, bring the mixture together. Then, using your hands, knead the mixture lightly to a soft dough – you may need to add a teaspoonful or so more of the egg if it is a little dry.

4. Transfer the mixture to a lightly floured surface, flour your hands and divide it into quarters. Now roll each quarter into a sausage shape approximately ½ inch (1 cm) in diameter, then cut it, on the diagonal, into 1 inch (2.5 cm) pieces, placing them on a tray or plate as they are cut (but don’t stack them as they will stick together!). Cover with clingfilm and chill for at least 30 minutes, but longer won’t matter.

5. Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Tip the squash into a roasting tin with the garlic and oil, salt and pepper and mix well. Roast for 20 mins, shaking the pan halfway through, until tender and golden.

6. To cook the gnocchi, firstly bring a large, shallow pan of approximately 6 pints (3.5 litres) of water to a simmer. Then drop the gnocchi into the water and cook for about 3 minutes; they will start to float to the surface after about 2 minutes, but they need 3 altogether.

7. With a few seconds to go, throw in the spinach, then drain the gnocchi and spinach together. Tip into the roasting tin, then mix everything together well, mashing the softened garlic. Spoon onto warm serving plates, then crumble over the cheese to serve.

Enjoy!

The post Gnocchi with roasted squash and goat’s cheese appeared first on Hello! Hooray!.

I often decided to make up a recipe when I have a particular ingredient that needs using up, and this recipe came out of one of those occasions. We had a little bit of goats cheese left and, after feeling uninspired following a quick internet search, I decided to get a few simple ingredients and go for it! You don’t need much of the goats cheese at all – if you don’t like really rich food then you could probably just leave it out. We used some salami Napoli here, which is optional too if you would prefer a meat version.

This recipe uses the creamy basil pesto recipe that I’ve already posted, so you’ll need to make a batch of that before cooking the rest of the ingredients.

Ingredients (serves 2-3)

Linguine (cook enough for 2-3 people)
Olive oil
1 small red onion, chopped into fairly small pieces (but not finely chopped)
A handful of cup mushrooms, quartered
8 slices of salami Napoli (optional)
Ground black pepper
100g baby leaf spinach
1 batch of creamy basil pesto (click on link above)
25-50g goats cheese to serve (optional)

Method

1. Add some boiling water to a pan and cook the linguine according to the packet instructions.

2. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large pan, and add the onions. Cook until softened and beginning to brown before adding the mushrooms.

3. If adding the salami, tear each slice in half and add to the pan. Leave for a few minutes to cook.

4. Just before the pasta is ready, add the spinach to the onion and mushrooms, along with some ground black pepper. Allow the spinach to wilt a little.

5. Drain the pasta and stir the pesto through. Then add the vegetables and stir again. Plate up and then crumble a little goats cheese over the top, with a little more black pepper.

Enjoy!

The post Linguine with creamy pesto, caramelised red onion and spinach appeared first on Hello! Hooray!.

This is a really delicious risotto and it only takes 30 minutes to cook (plus 10 minutes preparation), so it can easily be made on a weeknight for a treat! Tom isn’t a massive fan of cheese but he loved this – we put extra leek in instead of celery as neither of us are celery eaters.

This recipe originally comes from the Delicious Magazine website and serves 4.

Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil
2 leeks, finely sliced
2 celery sticks, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
6 rashers streaky bacon, chopped
Small handful fresh thyme leaves or lemon thyme leaves
350g risotto rice
200ml white wine
800ml chicken stock, hot
25g butter
50g Parmesan, grated
100g goat’s cheese, crumbled

Method
1. Heat the oil in a heavy-based pan over a medium heat. Add the leek and fry until slightly soft. Remove and set aside. Add the celery, garlic and half the bacon, and fry for 5 minutes.

2. Return the leek to the pan (keeping back a spoonful). Add the thyme and rice and stir for 1-2 minutes.

3. Turn up the heat, add the wine and bubble for a few minutes to cook off the alcohol. Add the stock, a ladleful at a time, waiting until each one is absorbed before adding the next.

4. Meanwhile, fry the remaining bacon in a pan until crisp. Drain on kitchen paper and set aside. Take the risotto off the heat and stir in the butter, the Parmesan and half the goat’s cheese.

5. To serve, divide among 4 plates and top with the reserved leeks, remaining goat’s cheese and bacon. Enjoy!

The post Leek, goat’s cheese and crispy bacon risotto appeared first on Hello! Hooray!.