Angelic pudding

I am preparing for Master Chef. Yes, my dream is to actually get in J I know that this season is already closed (I was too busy with other things) but hopefully next season I will make it.

One of the things that you need for Master Chef are quick but tasty dishes. The judges always throw a surprise challenge your way. You just HAVE to be prepared.

This one is a pudding that, unlike rice pudding, is made with Angle Hair pasta (Vermicelli) and cardamom. Cardamon in Arabic and Hebrew is called הל (Hel – pronounced like Hell just with a long E). It can also mean halo or aurora …. Thus the name

I personally use a light cardamom infusion as I am not the biggest fan of cardamom…

You can eat it both warm or chilled – which makes it great to take with you to work or a pot luck.

Prep Time: 10 Minutes Cook Time: 15 Minutes            Ready In: 40 Minutes

Servings: 4

  

1  l milk

5 tbs white sugar

5 cardamom seeds

1 (500gr ) package Angel Hair/vermicelli pasta, broken into small pieces

1 handful of raisins

Mix the milk together with the sugar and the cardamom seeds (slightly crack them if you want a stronger taste) in a saucepan. Bring to a near boil (careful that the milk will not over boil) then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 5 minutes (make sure that the milk will not burn at the bottom). Stir the pasta and raisins and continue to simmer until pasta is tender and the cream sauce has thickened, about 5 more minutes. Remove from heat and let stand until warm, about 15 minutes. If the pudding is too thick you can stir in a little bit more milk

Please tell me what you think of it.

Great Pasta Budget Dinners

Enjoy some real delicious, fresh and absolutely affordable pasta meal ideas

Creamy Asparagus Linguine

Cut 1 pound trimmed asparagus into 1-inch pieces; saute with olive oil and minced garlic until just soft, 2 minutes. Add 1/2 cup cream and heat through. Toss with 1 pound cooked linguine, lemon zest, salt, and red pepper flakes. You can use brokolli instead of the asparagus

Baked Ravioli and Spinach

Toss together one 15-ounce bag frozen ravioli, 6-ounce fresh spinach, and one 24-ounce jar marinara in a 2-quart baking dish. Bake, covered, at 400 degrees F. until cooked through, 25 minutes. Top with grated mozzarella.

Tuna and Lemon Spaghetti

Gently toss 1 pound cooked spaghetti with 1 can tuna, some sliced red onion, lemon zest, a splash of lemon juice, olive oil and a bit of fresh dill. Season with salt and pepper.

Gemelli with Tomato, and Yellow Squash (pictured)

In a skillet, heat a little bit of olive oil and cook 2 diced yellow squash until just tender. Add 1 pint grape tomatoes and heat through. Toss everything with 1 pound cooked gemelli, salt, pepper, and Parmesan.

Fusilli with minced Meat, Avocado, and Black Olives

Dry fry 1/2 pound minced turkey or beef, season with Italian seasoning, making it a bit spicy if you want to. Toss 1 pound cooked Fusilli with 1/4 cup chopped black olives, half a diced avocado, 2 cups baby spinach or arugula, and the meat. Add some Italian vinaigrette.

Zucchini and Sage Penne

Saute a few sage leaves in 5 tablespoons butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil until crisp, about 4 minutes. Remove sage and cook 3 zucchini, sliced, until tender. Stir into 1 pound cooked penne with the sage, salt, and pepper.

Eggplant Marinara Rigatoni

Saute 4 cups diced eggplant in olive oil until tender, about 8 minutes. Stir in a little minced garlic, some chopped olives, and a 24-ounce jar marinara. Heat and serve with 1 pound cooked rigatoni and mozzarella.

Spicy Tomato TunaLinguine

Saute 1 finely chopped onion and some minced garlic in olive oil until soft. Add 2 cans Tuna, one 24-ounce jar marinara, and some red pepper flakes; simmer 15 minutes. Season with salt; toss with 1 pound cooked linguine and chopped parsley.

If you don't want to buy marinara sauce, you can make it yourself (see the recipe)

Quick Beef & Pasta One-Pot-Wonder

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef
1 large onion, chopped very fine
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
1 small can (15 oz) tomato paste
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups dry small pasta, e.g cork screw or elbow macaroni

Preparation

Brown ground beef in a large pot (no oil is needed). Once the meat is brown add the onion and continue cooking it. Cook over medium heat until soft (about 5 min).
Add garlic, tomatoes, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper to the beef mixture. Take the can that the tomato paste came in, fill it twice with water and add the water to the meat mixture. Reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes.

While the beef mixture cooks, boil the pasta al dente, drain.

Add the macaroni to the beef mixture and stir well.

Those who don't keep kosher can serve it sprinkled with a little bit of cheese.

Zuchini Lasagne

White sauce is extremely fattening. Try this lasagna where you use a mixture of cheese and cottage cheese in stead. I also make the tomato sauce myself. It is fast and I know what I put into my food.

250gr cooked lasagna noodles
3/4 cup shredded mozzarella
1.5 cups cottage cheese (I use 3%)
4 Tbs grated Parmesan cheese
2 zucchinis, sliced
1 large can crushed tomatoes
1 small package tomato paste
6 fresh basil leaves, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed

Preheat oven to 175C. Lightly oil a 20 by 30 cm baking dish with oil.
In a small bowl combine 1 Tbs Parmesan with 2 Tbs Cottage cheese. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine the remaining mozzarella, cottage and Parmesan.
In a blender, mix together the crushed tomatoes, the tomato paste, water which you measure with the pack the tomato paste came in, do that twice, the basil leaves, onion and garlic. Pulse until the whole mixture resembles tomato sauce.
Spread a thin layer of the sauce in the bottom of a baking dish. Add about a third of the noodles in a single layer. Spread half of the cheese mixture on top, layer with half of the zucchinis. Repeat this process once. Finally, add a thin layer of sauce. Top with the noodles, sauce and reserved cheese mixture. Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil.
Bake for about 40 minutes. Enjoy with a light side salad.

TIP: If you like to freeze this, wrap it tightly in aluminum foil BEFORE baking it. On the day you want to make it, you can either defrost it first and then bake it for 40 minutes, or just put it straight from the freezer into the oven, increasing the cooking time to about 1 hour.