Pasta – The Food Wife

Smoked Salmon Pasta Salad with a Lemon & Dijon…

18th June 202518th June 2025
by thefoodwife

Serves 2 for lunch or 1 hungry person

Here is a summery idea for what to do with a packet of smoked salmon trimmings. Arrange the bare salad leaves on the serving dish and then add the dressed pasta salad on top. Itâ€™ll stop the leaves becoming soggy with dressing but theyâ€™ll get a light coating from the pasta on top.

I enjoyed this in the sunshine. Highly recommend.

Ingredients:

100g pasta shells cooked, according to the packet instructions and then drained and immediately cooled by running cold water through the pasta

100g smoked salmon trimmings

4 small tomatoes, cut into chunks

1/2 red pepper, diced

1 spring onion, sliced

2 handfuls of mixed salad leaves

10 basil leaves, torn

For the dressing:

2 tbsp olive oil (ideally half being a lemon infused oil)

1 tbsp cider/white wine vinegar

1/2 lemon, juice only (if not using lemon infused oil also use the zest)

1 tsp Dijon mustard

Black pepper to taste

Step 1: Place the dressing ingredients in a lidded jar and shake until combined (alternatively whisk in a bowl until emulsified).

Step 2: Combine the pasta, tomatoes, red pepper, spring onion, basil and salmon in a bowl. Drizzle over the dressing and toss together.

Step 2: Spread the salad leaves on the serving plate and then add the pasta salad on top. Serve immediately.

Meatballs

3rd March 2025
by thefoodwife

Serves 6

A plate of comfort! This is a family crowd pleaser. Using a combination of the fatty sausage meat and lean beef mince creates a great tasting meatball.

The fennel and chilli flakes are optional but do make a great tasting sauce, but leave one or both out if you like.

Ingredients:

The meatballs:

300g lean beef mince

340g herby pork stuffing mix/sausage meat (ensure this is without gluten if you are making it gluten free)

The sauce:

2 tbsp olive oil

2 red onions, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 red pepper, diced

4 tsp fennel seeds (optional)

2 tsp chilli flakes (optional)

1 litre passatta

2 tsp balsamic vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste

To serve: 500g Pasta (gluten free if necessary) and parmesan

Step 1: Start by making your meatballs by combining the 2 meats in a bowl and mixing well (although messy youâ€™ll get the best results by using your hands, which are going to get messy in the next step anyway!)

Step 2: Roll small amounts of the mixture between your two hands to make balls (the mix will make about 35 small balls although you can make them bigger if you wish).

Step 3: Place the balls on a baking tray and put in a preheated oven at 200c for 25 minutes (bear in mind if you make bigger balls theyâ€™ll take longer).

Step 4: Whilst the meatballs are cooking, make your sauce. On a medium heat, add your oil to a pan and your red onion, garlic and red pepper. Soften for 3-4 minutes, stirring every so often, to make sure the garlic and onion do not burn. Add your fennel seeds and chilli flakes (if using) and stir for a minute or two, before adding your passatta and balsamic vinegar. Season to taste. Cook the sauce on a low heat for 10-15 minutes. Whilst this is simmering cook your pasta according to the packet instructions.

Step 5: Remove your meatballs from the oven and add to your sauce.

Step 6: When you are ready to serve, add cooked pasta to the sauce and coat evenly. Use some of the pasta cooking water to loosen if necessary. Serve with freshly grated Parmesan.

Feed Your Family for a Fiver

7th May 20248th May 2024
by thefoodwife

I promised Lisa at West Wilts Magazine that I would do a few recipes where you could feed a family of four for a fiver. Iâ€™ve gone with three meals with a Â£15 spend (priced using one of the big supermarkets beginning with T).

Where Iâ€™m using basic store cupboard ingredients I have assumed you already have these at home; salt, pepper, dried herbs and spices, oil and vinegar.

You wonâ€™t be using all the pasta, honey, mayo, salad cream, garlic, cabbage and carrots so although this was 51p over my Â£15 spend youâ€™ll have some ingredients left for another dayâ€¦

Shopping list:

500g Spaghetti Â£0.75

2x tins of Tuna Â£1.70

2 onions Â£0.28

Garlic Â£0.55

2x 500g Passata Â£1.10

12 Sausages Â£2.85

1kg Small Potatoes Â£0.99

Honey Â£1.20

1-1.2kg chicken wings Â£2.09

4 Baking potatoes Â£0.75

Cabbage Â£0.80

1kg Carrots Â£0.68

Mayonnaise Â£0.86

Salad cream Â£0.91

Â£15.51

Tuna Spaghetti

Serves 4

Iâ€™ve been making a version of this for the last 25 years. So simple to make and itâ€™s delicious – a crowd pleaser! Add chilli flakes if you like a little kickâ€¦

Ingredients:

1 tbsp (Olive) Oil

300-400g of spaghetti depending on appetites (gluten-free if required)

2 tins of tuna in Springwater, drained

1 red onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic sliced or crushed

1 tsp Herbes de Province/mixed herbs

1/2 tsp dried chilli flakes (optional)

salt and pepper to taste

2Ã—500g passata or 1x passata 1x tin of chopped tomatoes

1 tbsp Balsamic vinegar

Chopped Parsley to serve (optional)

Step 1: Add 1 tablespoon of oil into a heavy-based saucepan or frying pan, over a medium heat. Next add the garlic and onion and cook until softened.

Step 2: Add the dried herbs, chilli flakes (if using) and cook for 30 seconds. Add the passata (and chopped tomatoes if using) along with a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar. Cook down for five minutes. During this time, get on with cooking the spaghetti according to the packet instructions.

Step 3: Add the tuna to the tomato sauce and stir through, cooking for a further five minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Step 4: Drain the cooked pasta, reserving a little of the cooking water, add the pasta to the sauce adding a little of the reserved pasta water to loosen. Stir until everything is combined and then serve with a garnish of freshly chopped parsley, if desired.

Balsamic Glazed Sausage Tray Bake

Serves 4

I do love a â€˜shove it in the oven and then itâ€™s ready and deliciousâ€™ meal. Especially on a weeknight. Yes you do have to visit the oven a couple of times to add things but this only takes a minute.

You can serve this as it is, or add some extra veg if you like. We had it with a cauliflower cheese dish Iâ€™d picked up reduced to 29pâ€¦ bargain!

Ingredients:

10-12 sausages

800g small potatoes, quartered or large votaries cut into small chunks

4 carrots, cut into 1cm thick slices

1 tbsp oil

Salt & Pepper

1 tbsp honey

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 190c fan and get a high-edged baking dish ready.

Step 2: Spread the potatoes and carrots in a baking dish. Drizzle with the oil, salt and pepper. Bake for 25 minutes.

Step 3: give everything a shake or mix with a spoon, spread back out and then add the sausages. Bake for a further 20 minutes.

Step 4: Mix the honey and balsamic vinegar together and then drizzle over everything and bake for a further 10 minutes.

Wings, Wedges and Slaw

Serves 4

We often have this winning combination, it such a crowd pleaser! The cat always has to be shut out of the room as he cannot resist trying to be a participant in the meal!

The great thing about this is that the wedges and the wings cook simultaneously while you make the slaw. You can just season the wings and wedges with salt and pepper but the world is your oyster for flavour if you desire. Add some dried herbs or spicy Cajun seasoning. I decided to use Cajun spices in both the chicken and the potatoes but added a big splodge of bbq sauce to the wings too.

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1kg chicken wings

1/4 white/red cabbage

2 carrots

1 small red onion

2 heaped tbsp mayonnaise

1 heaped tbsp salad cream

4 baking potatoes, cut into wedges

Salt and Pepper

Vegetable oil

Step 1: Prepare two oven trays and preheat the oven to 200c (fan).

Step 2: Season the wings and wedges separately. Drizzle the wedges with 1tbsp of oil and use your hands to ensure theyâ€™re coated. Spread the wings and wedges on a tray each. Bake in the oven for 40 minutes.

Step 3: Meanwhile make the slaw. Finely slice the cabbage, carrots and onions. In a bowl combine the mayonnaise and salad cream. Stir through the chopped vegetables, until coated.

Serve everything at the table and dig in!

One-pot Penne Puttanesca

2nd April 20242nd April 2024
by thefoodwife

Serves 2 (but easily scaled up)

Iâ€™ve become a big fan of one-pot pasta cooking. Essentially the pasta cooks in the sauce and the end result is a wonderfully flavoured pasta in about 20 minutes. And only one pan needs to be washed upâ€¦ result!

This sort-of Puttanesca can easily be adapted to be gluten-free and suitable for vegetarian or vegan diets (by omitting the anchovies/cheese).

Ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil

4 anchovy fillets (leave out if making this vegetarian or vegan)

3 cloves of garlic, crushed or finely chopped

1/2 – 1 tsp dried chilli flakes

1 tin of cherry tomatoes

150g penne (gluten-free if required)

3 tbsp pitted olives

2 tbsp capers

Chopped parsley and grated Parmesan/Grana Padano to serve

Step 1: Heat the oil in a large pan (which also has a lid) over a medium heat. Add the anchovies and cook for one minute, moving around the pan so they break up. Add the garlic and lower the heat slightly. Continue to stir. After another minute add the chilli.

Step 2: Add the tomato purÃ©e and cook for a further 30 seconds and then the tinned tomatoes. Add the dried pasta and 300ml of recently boiled water. Stir, bring to a simmer, lower the heat and cover with a lid. Set a timer for 10 minutes. Stir occasionally.

Step 3: After 10 minutes add the olives and capers. Stir well, and replace the lid. Continue to cook, stirring and checking the pasta every 3-4 minutes. When the pasta is cooked (for me it took 18 minutes with the gluten-free pasta I was using) sprinkle with chopped parsley and then serve. Top with the grated cheese if you like.