What a way to pasta time

Looking for something to do in lockdown? Many of us have taken to cooking up a storm in the kitchen and baking to a bake-off standard (or at least having fun in the process).

Last week my daughter decided to make pasta from scratch. Not having a pasta maker it was a long and laborious process resulting in aching wrists from all the rolling! She made butternut squash filled ravioli which was absolutely delicious.

Find a basic pasta recipe and away you go.

The filling was butternut squash roasted with sage leaves in olive oil. Keep half for stuffing inside the ravioli and mash and add the other half to a bechamel sauce made using butter, flour, milk with a grating of nutmeg and a pinch of mustard powder. Add grated cheese of your choice.

Fill the ravioli with the squash and cook in boiling salted water for a few minutes.

Drain and place in an open ovenproof dish and pour over the sauce, adding torn mozzarella, grated hard vegan cheese, sage leaves and a drizzle of truffle oil.

Bake in the oven for 30 mins on gas 7, 200C fan, 220C.

Easy peasy pizza

This week I tried to buy flour. Luckily I have plain and self raising but wanted extra strong for pizza dough. There wasn't a bag to be seen on the shelves. I'm guessing, with more time to spare, people are baking, cooking, pasta, pizza and bread making.

We could have ordered a Dominos but decided it was time to think outside the box (haha)! When the children were younger we used to make naan-bread pizzas, letting them add their own toppings. I managed to buy some naans at the supermarket and had plenty of topping ingredients at home so this is what I created:-

A Picasso Pizza! This was just a tomato base of choice (mine was Seeds of Change Tomato and Basil) plus grated cheese (or veggie alternative) and caramelised onions. So tasty served with salad and coleslaw. The world is your oyster when it comes to toppings - seriously anything goes so let your imagination go wild.

Next week I may try doing Edvard Munch's The Scream.