Wednesday 10 August 2016

Pesto crumb cod with roasted Mediterranean vegetables


After last night's pesto pasta, I have, as usual, got some leftovers. Today I have enough pesto leftover for 2 people for dinner. However, it's dull to have the same thing two nights in a row, right? So I was racking my brains at work this morning (I was in work at 4am so by 11am it was basically dinner time in my head) and thought about having a delicious piece of cod with a pesto crumb and Mediterranean vegetables.

I also have some wine left over from last night (hello, Sauvignon Blanc!) so this fish recipe is perfect and quick for tonight; it's actually cooking away quite happily while I type this.

So here it is; Pesto crumb cod with roasted Mediterranean vegetables.

What you'll need
2 x cod fillets
2 tablespoons green pesto
1 slice of bread (white/brown, whichever you have in stock), blitzed into breadcrumbs
1 bell pepper (any colour), cut into chunks
1 red onion, cut into chunks
Approx. 12 asparagus spears, rough ends cut off
Aprrox. 7 plum tomatoes, halved
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons olive oil
Chilli flakes (this is personal preference for the vegetables so add as much or as little spice as you like)
Salt & pepper to season

How to cook it

Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees celcius. Place the pepper and onion onto a roasting tin and drizzle with half the olive oil and half the balsamic vinegar. Then give a quick dusting with salt and pepper.

When the oven is hot, pop the pepper and onion onto the middle shelf. Cook for 20 minutes (give them a shake about 10 minutes in to the cooking time)


In the meantime, combine the pesto and breadcrumbs with a little olive oil (around 1 tablespoon) and spread onto the cod fillets; press down to make sure that there is a relatively compacted layer of the pesto crumb on the cod.


After the 20 minutes has lapsed on the vegetables, put the asparagus and the tomatoes on the same tray as the pepper and onion and drizzle the rest of the olive oil and balsamic vinegar on the vegetable and sprinkle the chilli flakes over all the vegetables. Put the vegetables and the cod into the oven and cook for around 15 minutes, or until the asparagus is tender and the cod's pesto crumb is lightly golden.

Serve in a wide bowl with the veg underneath and the cod resting on top. Serve and enjoy!


Let me know what you think of this recipe. Follow me on twitter @AsWarmAsToastUK or find me on Instagram aswarmastoast. Or subscribe to my blog.

Enjoy!

R x

Tuesday 9 August 2016

King prawn pasta with homemade pesto, tomatoes and chilli


So, FINALLY I have managed to do a new blog post...it's only taken 6 months! Shameful, I know.

In the midst of working and working out and general life getting in the way I have been incredibly bad at keeping the blog updated.

Anyway, all day at work in between the stress of doing two jobs and training someone new, all I could think about was how I couldn't wait to get back into my kitchen and what I would make for dinner. Don't get me wrong, that kind of feeling is a daily recurrence but today the thought of finally getting home was the only thing getting me through a day of interruptions, investigations and letters...the endless letters!

I bought a new basil plant last week so thought I'd go for a pasta dish with some fresh pesto...and if I was doing pasta it would have to also include a tomato sauce and king prawns. So here it is, King prawn pasta with pesto, tomatoes and chilli. This is so easy and it's a perfect midweek dinner. This serves 2 adults so just adjust the quantities for how many mouths you have to feed.

What you'll need:
Pesto:
A good handful of fresh  whole basil leaves
50g pine nuts (toast in a frying pan until lightly golden)
2 cloves of garlic, peeled
50g Parmesan, grated
Around 3 - 4 tablespoons of olive oil

Pasta sauce:
180g raw king prawns
230g tin chopped tomatoes
3 whole salad tomatoes, cut into eigths
Salt & pepper to season
Approx. 150g wholewheat spaghetti
1 x finely sliced chilli (optional)

How to make it
First of all, make the pesto. Add the toasted pine nuts, garlic, basil, Parmesan and olive oil to a food processor and blitz until...well, until what I'd describe as "bitty" - so in between chunky and smooth. Set aside.

Next, put some water on to boil and once it reaches boiling point put the spaghetti in. When the water reaches boiling point again, turn it down to a moderate heat (it will need around 9 -10 minutes on a simmer to cook)

Whilst the pasta is cooking, heat about a tablespoon of olive oil in a pan and add the salad tomatoes. Cook for about 1 minute and then add the chopped tomatoes. Give the tomatoes a good stir and cook for about 2 minutes (if you want to, you could always add some fresh, chopped red chilli if you want to add a bit of a kick to the dish)


Add about 2 tablespoons of the pesto you made earlier and stir. When the pesto is combined, add the king prawns and the salt and pepper. The sauce will then cook on a moderate heat for about 5 minutes, or until the prawns are cooked through.

Add the spaghetti to the sauce, give it a good stir and then serve in some bowls, topped with some more grated Parmesan and some fresh basil leaves.

Then scoff!

Enjoy! - follow me on Twitter @AsWarmAsToastUK or find me on Instagram by searching for aswarmastoast

You can subscribe to the blog as well (I promise I'll start keeping it more up to date from now on!)

R x