Winter Greens Pasta in a Creamy Mint Sauce

Winter Greens Pasta in a Creamy Mint Sauce

No man is lonely eating spaghetti; it requires so much attention. (Christopher Morley)

I don’t know if you are the same but sometimes I get fed up of preparing the same meals each week and so challenge myself to try something completely different with the ingredients I have in stock. During winter, I find myself increasingly hankering for warm and wholesome dishes and this has become one of my recent favourites (particularly when served with a warm bread roll- delicious!) I came up with this recipe and we both adored it so I hope you like it too.

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 large courgette
1\2 a large leek
2 handfuls of frozen peas
A little butter for frying
300 – 400 gr of Spaghetti
100 gr soft cream cheese
2tbsp. mint sauce
Salt and pepper to season

Method

1. Put a pan of water on to boil. Once the water is boiled, add the spaghetti and cook to the packet’s instructions. I normally break the spaghetti in half before putting it in the pan.
2. Chop up the courgette and leeks into long thin slices, as thin as you can get them
3. Melt some butter into a large frying pan or wok on a medium heat and then add the courgettes and leek and fry until soft.
4. In the meantime, microwave the frozen peas to your packet’s instruction and add to the wok once they are ready.
5. In a small bowl, mix the cream cheese and mint sauce together.
6. Turn the heat down on the pan and add the cream cheese mixture.
7. Stir the cream cheese mixture into the vegetables until it becomes a creamy sauce texture.
8. Once the pasta is ready, drain and add to the frying pan.
9. Mix until it has all combined.
10. Season with salt and pepper to taste. I tend to add a lot of black pepper.

Suzy says:-

• If you want more of a minty taste, just add more mint sauce
• You could also experiment with different tastes, such as lemon or garlic or different herbs
• If you want to reduce the calorific content, you could try using a fat free Greek yoghurt.

Suzy’s Spag Bol

Suzy’s Spag Bol

Everything you see I owe to spaghetti. (Sophia Loren)

It’s an age-old favourite and I am sure you all have your own tweaks (which I would love to hear about!) but please do take a look at my version. I have made it healthier by using turkey mince and a selection of my favourite vegetables. My husband uses gluten free pasta with his. It is also a great for a packed lunch and you can make a big batch and freeze in advance for the working week ahead.

(Serves 6)

Ingredients

500 gr. turkey mince
2tbsp. worcester sauce
2 tbsp. tomato ketchup
1 chicken Knorr stock pot
1-2 tbsp. dried basil
Approximately 220 grams frozen mixed peppers
1 large carrot
1 large courgette
1 clove of garlic
1/2 a large onion
2 x 400 gram cans of peeled plum tomatoes
1-2 tbsp. tomato purée
A little oil for frying
Salt and pepper

Serve with approximately 75-100 grams of pasta of choice (follow cooking instructions on packet)

Method

1. Start by heating some oil in a high sided large non-stick frying pan.
2. Whilst the oil is heating up, mix the Worcester sauce, tomato ketchup, chicken stock pot, 1 tbsp. of dried basil, some salt and pepper into the turkey mince until well incorporated. (I wear food gloves and mix with my hands.) don’t overwork the meat too much.
3. Add the turkey to the pan and chop up as much as you can with a wooden spoon so the mince covers the pan.
4. Leave it to cook for a few minutes and keep turning it until it browns.
5. Add the peppers to the pan and leave to cook. In the meantime chop the carrots, courgette and onion into small pieces and add to the pan.
6. Crush and chop the garlic as small as you can and add to the pan.
7. Fry the veg for about 10 minutes.
8. Add the two cans of plum tomatoes, break up the tomatoes with a wooden spoon and stir so all the veg are covered in the tomato sauce.
9. Add the tomato purée. (At this point you may wish to add more basil, tomato ketchup, salt and pepper but that will be down to your own taste!) If the veg are not covered, add some more water.
10. Leave to simmer until the sauce has reduced down as much as possible, stirring occasionally. At this time the sauce will cling to the meat, forming the thick Bolognese that you are used to enjoying.
11. Serve with your cooked pasta of choice.

Suzy says:

• Sprinkle some cheese over the mixture and as a treat make your own garlic bread to eat with your meal. You can make this by mixing finely chopped garlic with butter and spread over toast (add a bit of parsley if you like).
• I always use food gloves so my hands don’t get too messy!
• I also make a vegetarian version using Quorn mince and a vegetarian stockpot. I take out the Worcester sauce (as it contains anchovies) and add some more basil and parsley.

PS. Enjoy!!