It’s Christmas Eve, you’re busy with last minute gift wrapping, and don’t have time to spend hours in the kitchen cooking dinner? We hear you! Here is a super quick and easy dish that the whole family can enjoy this Xmas Eve!  

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“”the collective promotion in favour of pasta received a powerful impulsion thanks to the outcome of the World Pasta Congress…”

WORLD PASTA CONGRESS!

The streets of Bunol, Spain were filled with 120 tonnes of squished tomatoes yesterday for La Tomatina, but where do they all go? It got us thinking about our most loved tomato dish:

Pasta Arrabbiata – Serves 4

From Beginners Step-by-Step

Ingredients:

 _1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil,

8 plum tomatoes, diced,

_2/3 cup dry white wine,

1 tablespoon sun-dried tomato paste,

2 fresh chiles,

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped,

¼ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley,

14 ounces dried penne,

salt and pepper,

fresh percorino cheese shavings, to garnish.

Method:

1) Heat the oil in a skillet over high heat until almost smoking. Add the tomatoes and cook, stirring frequently, for 2-3 minutes.

2) Reduce the heat to low and cook for about 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Using a wooden spoon, press through a nonmetallic strainer into a saucepan.

3) Add the wine, tomato paste, whole chiles, and garlic to the pan and bring to boil. Reduce the heat and simmer gently. Then remove the chiles. Check and adjust the seasoning, adding chiles back in for a hotter sauce, then stir in half the parsley.

4) Meanwhile, bring a large saucepan of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the pasta, bring back to the boil, and cook according to the package directions, or until tender but still firm to the bite. Add the sauce to the pasta and toss to coat.

5) Sprinkle with the remaining parsley, garnish with cheese shavings, and serve immediately.

There is nothing more comforting and homely than Macaroni Cheese, so why not make it your Meat Free Monday dish this week? For a little texture, sprinkle some wholemeal breadcrumbs over the cheese before placing under the grill.

Macaroni Cheese, serves 4.

Ingredients:

250g/9oz dried macaroni pasta

55g/2oz butter, plus extra for cooking the pasta

600ml/1 pint milk

½ tsp grated nutmeg

55g/2oz plain flour

200g/7oz mature Cheddar cheese, grated

55g/2oz Parmesan cheese, grated

200g/7oz baby spinach

salt and pepper

1. Cook the macaroni according to the instructions on the packet. Remove from the heat, drain, add a small knob of butter to keep it soft, return to the saucepan and cover to keep warm. 

2. Put the milk and nutmeg into a saucepan over a low heat and heat until warm, but don’t boil. Put the butter into a heavy-based saucepan over a low heat, melt the butter, add the flour and stir to make a roux. Cook gently for 2 minutes. Add the milk a little at a time, whisking it into the roux, then cook for about 10-15 minutes to make loose, custard-style sauce. 

3. Add three quarters of the Cheddar cheese and Parmesan cheese and stir through until they have melted in, then add the spinach, season with salt and pepper and remove from the heat. 

4. Preheat the grill to high. Put the macaroni into a shallow heatproof dish, then pour the sauce over. Scatter the remaining cheese over the top and place the dish under the preheated grill. Grill until the cheese begins to brown, then serve.