Sundried Tomato Pasta Sauce

This sauce has a real tomatoey kick to it!

It is also my pantry go to sauce when I need a quick dinner, it is seriously tasty, just adjust the sugar, salt and pepper to your own taste.

To make this gluten free just use gluten free pasta, to make it dairy free and  vegan just omit the mozzarella.

Serves 4-6.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons oil from the sun dried tomatoes

1 onion, diced finely

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon dried oregano

a pinch of chilli flakes

150g sundried tomatoes, roughly chopped

750mls passata/sieved tomatoes

1 tablespoon tomato paste

caster sugar

salt and pepper

100g fresh mozzarella, drained, dried and torn

Method

Heat a large frying pan over a medium flame.

Add the oil and once hot add the onions and cook until soft.

Add the garlic and cook for a couple of minutes.

Add the chopped sundried tomatoes, oregano and chilli flakes followed by the passata and tomato paste.

Season well and bring up to a simmer.

Simmer gently until thickened, check seasoning and add a little sugar if needed.

Cook your pasta as per instructions, drain and tip into the frying pan, stir well and tear some fresh mozzarella, if using, over the top.

 

Urid Dhal With Cinnamon And Cloves

This is a variation on my black dhal recipe.

We all seem to have head colds at the moment so I wanted to add some spicy warmth to the dhal using cinnamon and cloves, it worked really well, soothing and calming!

This makes a BIG pot of dhal but I freeze leftovers for another night, defrost fully, heat gently, you might need to add a little water or cream to loosen it up again.

Serves 12-14.

Ingredients

50g ghee

3 cloves garlic

60g ginger, peeled

5 large tomatoes

1 red onion, peeled and quartered

400g urid dhal

2 large dried chillies

4 x 5cm cinnamon sticks

8 cloves

750mls water

600mls cream

200g tomato paste

Method

Preheat the oven to 150degrees Centigrade.

In a processor, process the garlic, ginger, tomatoes and onion with a little water until lump free.

In a large oven proof pan with lid, heat the ghee.

Add the processed paste to the pan and cook gently until it has thickened, this can take 30-40 mins, it should darken in colour too.

Add the dhal, chillies, cinnamon stick and cloves, mix well.

Pour in the water, cream and tomato paste, again, stir well.

Pop in the oven and bake for three and a half to four hours, stirring occasionally.

You may need to add a little water if it is thickening up too quickly.

Season with salt towards the end of the cooking time.

The Ultimate Butter Chicken

  This is an absolute favourite in our house.

A long list of ingredients I know, but, they will reward you with an amazingly rich dish and lots of it! This freezes really well so I always make this large quantity to give me a night off another night.

Please note, the tomato paste is not a typo! I use a large jar of the triple strength paste that we can buy here in Australia. The tomato paste, paprika and Kashmiri chilli will give you the amazing colour so associated with butter chicken.

Start this recipe the day before.

Serves 12.

Ingredients

1.8kg chicken thighs, diced

250mls natural yoghurt

40mls lemon juice

2 tablespoons garam masala

4 teaspoons paprika

1 tablespoon ground cumin

50g fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated

100g ghee

2 onions, thinly sliced

4 large cloves garlic, minced

2 cinnamon sticks/quills

4 green cardamom pods, seeds removed and crushed

16 black peppercorns

1 teaspoon Kashmiri chilli powder

2 teaspoons turmeric powder

3 teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons brown sugar

80g raw cashew nuts

450mls cream

500mls tomato paste

250mls water

fresh coriander to serve

Method

In a large zip lock bag, combine the chicken, yogurt, lemon juice, garam masala, paprika, cumin and ginger. Seal the bag and give it a good squish around to make sure all of the chicken is covered. Pop in the fridge for 24hours.

In a large pan, I use a very large shallow pan,  heat the ghee.

Once hot add the cinnamon, cardamom seeds and black pepper, once fragrant add the chilli, turmeric, garlic and onions and cook over a medium heat until the onions are very soft, around 30mins.

Add the chicken and marinade to the pan, stir well.

Process the cashews and water, add to the chicken, along with the cream, tomato paste, salt and sugar.

Bring up to the boil and gently simmer for 30-40 mins until the sauce has reduced and thickened. Check the seasoning, you may want to add more salt and or sugar.

To serve, just sprinkle over a little fresh coriander.

Black Dhal

This is my all time favourite dhal. Much richer than my usual every day style dhal it is a real treat!

I make a large batch and freeze leftovers in takeaway boxes for another night. I also have a little weakness of having this for breakfast with rice, it tastes even better the next day, who says gluten free breakfasts should be boring!

Traditionally, this would be cooked slowly overnight. This version still achieves that same great taste but with a few cheats, stove top cooked and tinned tomatoes and tomato paste instead of fresh tomatoes.

Serves 10-12

Ingredients

300g Urad/Urid dhal, split

1.5litres water

1 x 400g tin, chopped tomatoes

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon Kashmiri chilli

4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed

5cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated

300mls cream

120g butter

salt to taste

Method

Wash the dhal, several times in cold water.

In a large pan, combine the dhal, water, tomatoes, paste, cumin, chilli, garlic and ginger.

Bring to the boil, cover and simmer gently for 3 hours.

Add the cream and butter and simmer, uncovered, for 1 hour.

Season with salt and serve.