Jamie Oliver Proper Blokes' Sausage Fusilli

Confession: I've made this dish many times before. But that's why I decided to blog about it. It's actually one of my all-time favs. The flavours are just beautiful. There's a perfect balance between savory, spicy and citrus freshness. And just in case you didn't know, Jamie Oliver is my secret boyfriend. I love his recipes so much. I know some people hate the way he never gives you the proper measurements, but I love that. A wineglass of wine or a handful of parmesan cheese, it just speaks to my cooking style. And the flavours of his dishes never disappoint. He knows the way to my heart.

Note: please listen to my boyfriend and only use good quality sausages. If you're a Torontonian, you can get your sausages at MEATing on Queen, the best sausages in the city in my humble opinion. I usually get the Moraccan Pork or Moraccan Chicken sausages for this dish because the spices in the recipe are simple enough to let the sausages be the star. And they really should be, they are phenomenal. I mean look at them, gorgeous no?

Last note, I couldn't find any dried chili peppers so I used 2 small fresh chili's, deseeded, which worked perfect.

Proper blokes' sausage fusilli

This is a real blokey, gutsy yet simple pasta dish – but saying that, girls tend to like it as well! It hasn't really got a sauce of any description because all the flavour that comes out of the ingredients will stick to the pasta and that's enough. I will even go so far as to say that this is one of my top ten pasta dishes! Remember to buy the best sausages you can afford – if you get cheap, dodgy sausages it just won't work.

Serves 4

Ingredients
2 heaped teaspoons fennel seeds
2 dried red chillies, crumbled
olive oil
400 g quality coarse Italian or Cumberland sausages
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 small wineglass white wine
zest and juice of 1 lemon
320 g good-quality fusilli or penne
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
olive oil
1 small handful Parmesan cheese, freshly grated, plus extra for serving
1 small bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked and chopped

Method
Bash up the fennel seeds and chillies in a pestle and mortar or Flavour Shaker until coarsely crushed, then put to one side. Heat a splash of olive oil in a heavy-bottomed frying pan. Squeeze the meat out of the sausage skins and put into the pan, really breaking it up using the back of a spoon. Fry for a few minutes until the meat starts to colour and the fat has rendered slightly, then crush it once more so it resembles coarse mince. Add the bashed-up fennel seeds and chillies and cook on a medium heat for around 10 minutes until the meat becomes crisp, golden brown and slightly caramelized.

Stir in your oregano, then pour in the white wine and allow it to reduce by half. Add the lemon zest and juice. Turn the heat down to low while you cook your pasta in a large pan of salted boiling water according to the packet instructions. When the pasta has cooked al dente, drain it in a colander, reserving some of the cooking water, and toss it in the pan with your sausagemeat. Coat the pasta in all the lovely flavours then add a lug of olive oil, the Parmesan, chopped parsley and a few spoonfuls of the reserved cooking water. This will give you a lovely loose, shiny sauce. Taste and check for seasoning, then serve immediately with a little extra grated Parmesan sprinkled over the top.

Onion Rye, Mushroom, Gouda & Ham Grilled Cheese

This Sunday was my father-in-laws birthday and being that we'd be travelling to hubby's hometown for a spaghetti dinner, I decided to make lunch. 

This recipe is super easy, but it was really tasty. It's from the LCBO Food & Drink guide. 

I used normal bread as DH is not a fan of rye bread and I added thyme to the mushrooms because that's how I roll. And of course my favourite dijon mustard on the planet, Kozlik's. If you ever come to Canada, you must find this mustard. It's the best I've ever had, like off the charts yummy. My fave, that I used for this recipe, is Antons Secret Bordeaux. But I suppose any dijon mustard will do. :P

ONION RYE, MUSHROOM, GOUDA & HAM GRILLED CHEESE

AUTUMN 2009
By: Heather Trim

Thunder Oak Gouda from Thunder Bay has been at the forefront of great cheese making for several years. Not only does the company make an excellent traditional Gouda, it also offers flavoured goudas such as cumin or jalapeño. Available in specialty cheese stores or on-line at www.cheesefarm.ca.

4 tsp (20 mL) butter, at room temperature
1 cup (250 mL) mushrooms, sliced
Salt and freshly ground pepper
4 slices onion rye or light or dark rye, with or without caraway seeds
Honey Dijon or regular Dijon mustard
4 oz (125 g) Ontario Gouda or cheddar, thinly sliced
2 thin slices black forest ham

1. Melt half the butter in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. When it starts to sizzle, add mushrooms. Stir frequently until softened and browned, about 3 minutes. Stir in pinches of salt and pepper. Remove from heat. Turn mushrooms into a bowl. Wipe pan clean.

2. Spread remaining butter over 1 side of each slice of bread. Spread 2 slices with mustard followed by half the Gouda, a slice of ham, folding to fit if needed, mushrooms, remaining Gouda and bread, butter-side out.

3. Return large frying pan to medium heat. Add sandwiches to pan. Cook until cheese is melted and bread slices are golden, 3 to 4 minutes a side. Press with spatula to help sandwiches stick together better.

Makes 2 sandwiches

Mushroom Spinach Stuffed Shells

I missed last week because I was on vacation. I had planned on cooking and posting from my aunt's house in Florida, but Carrabba's Italian Grill got in the way. And for a chain restaurant it was pret-tay pret-tay good.

While there I picked up a copy of Food Network Magazine's Cheese Issue. As a self-proclaimed cheese fiend, it only seem appropriate that my next post come from the mag. They had a section presenting a single dish two ways: light and rich. I choose the light option, but only because my husband preferred mushrooms over the sausage being offered in the rich version. And then I made it unhealthy because that's how I roll. Lots and lots of cheese. Oodles in fact. Yummy dairy goodness.

The recipe calls for a 10 oz package of frozen spinach. You can do that, but I didn't think I'd have time to thaw the spinach so instead I bought two 8 oz packages of fresh spinach that I cooked down until the moisture was gone with garlic, marjoram, butter and a slight sprinkle of freshly grated nutmeg.  And of course the other change I made was to up the cheese factor to heart-attack level. Otherwise I followed the recipe below. It was delicious. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Mushroom-Spinach Stuffed Shells

Ingredients

For the stuffed shells:

Kosher salt8 ounces (20 to 24) jumbo pasta shells2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling and brushing1 small onion, finely chopped2 cloves garlic, minced12 ounces white mushrooms, thinly sliced1 10-ounce package frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry1 1/2 cups low-fat small-curd cottage cheese1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese1 large egg, lightly beaten1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

For the sauces:

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced1 teaspoon fennel seedsLarge pinch of red pepper flakes1 28-ounce can whole plum tomatoes, crushed by handKosher salt1/4 cup low-fat small-curd cottage cheese1/4 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese1 large egg, lightly beaten

Directions

Make the stuffed shells: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta shells and cook until slightly softened but still firm, about 7 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water. Drizzle with olive oil and toss; set aside.

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, 30 seconds. Add the mushrooms and cook, undisturbed, until golden in spots, about 2 minutes. Add 1/4 teaspoon salt and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are soft, about 5 more minutes. Add the spinach and stir until heated through, about 2 minutes. Let cool completely.

Finely chop the spinach-mushroom mixture and combine in a bowl with the cottage cheese, mozzarella, parmesan, egg, basil and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Stuff each shell with about 2 tablespoons of the filling; set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Make the tomato sauce: Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, fennel seeds and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, until lightly golden, about 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes, then rinse out the can with 1 cup water and add to the skillet; add 1/4 teaspoon salt. Bring to a simmer and cook until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a blender and puree until smooth. Return to the skillet and rinse out the blender.

Make the cheese sauce: Combine the cottage cheese, mozzarella, parmesan and egg in the blender and puree until smooth.

Brush a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with olive oil and pour in half of the tomato sauce. Add the stuffed shells, then top with the remaining tomato sauce. 

Cover with aluminum foil and bake 25 minutes; uncover and continue baking until bubbly, 15 to 20 more minutes. Turn on the broiler; drizzle the shells with the cheese sauce and broil, about 2 minutes.

See you next week!