EASY RICOTTA, HAM & SPINACH LASAGNE

This could be the last family meal I cook in a while - Arabella is off to her father's for the start of the summer holidays and I am 10 days away from my due date. Obviously Pascal and Arabella wanted pasta so I decided to give this recipe a go - it is from Olive magazine and took around 40 minutes.

Ingredients for 4 people:

200g baby spinach
250g tub of ricotta
4 tablespoons of mascarpone
4 large or 8 smaller fresh pasta sheets
2-3 tablespoons of fresh pesto
200g cooked shredded ham hock
5 heaped tablespoons of grated Parmesan

Preheat the oven to 220 C / 200 C fan / gas mark 7.

Put the spinach in a colander and pour a full kettle of boiling water over the spinach to wilt it (you could also microwave the bag of spinach). Cool and then squeeze out as much liquid as possible and chop - there was a lot of liquid!

Mix the spinach, ricotta and mascarpone and season well.

Cook the pasta sheets in boiling water for 3 minutes until tender and drain well.

Now layer up the pasta and the filling - I greased the baking dish with fry light to start - then added a sheet of pasta, a quarter of the ricotta mixture, a few blobs of pasta and a quarter of the ham. Repeat all of this until all the ingredients are used up.

Finish with the Parmesan and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until golden and bubbling - I did 23!

Tuck in and enjoy! 

This was totally different to normal lasagne but it made a nice alternative. I thought Arabella was going to turn her nose up at the spinach but she didn't even mention it - I think she just thought it was part of the pesto. The only thing we would do slightly differently next time would be to add some grated cheddar cheese to each layer - yes we are cheese addicts so it might be a little over the top for some - but I think it would be a delicious addition! However we did really enjoy it and the recipe wasn't too time consuming. It is a dish you could also prepare ahead and would be great with a green salad. I look forward to our leftovers tomorrow!!

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CHEAT'S LASAGNE

I love a lasagne but it is quite time consuming to make so I jumped for joy when I found this recipe in Olive magazine. Even though it takes 40 minutes, it is simple and easy and doesn't use too many ingredients. However it wasn't easy to find the beef and red wine ravioli, after looking in M&S, Sainsburys and Tescos, I finally found it in Waitrose.

Ingredients for 2 people:

2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1-2 tablespoons of olive oil
400g tin of chopped tomatoes (mine actually had basil in them too)
A small handful of basil, chopped (I used a pinch of dry basil as that is all I had)
250g beef and red wine ravioli
4 tablespoons of mascarpone
4 tablespoons of Parmesan, plus extra for the top (obviously I went to town)!
1 ball of mozzarella, sliced

Preheat the oven to 200 C / 180 C fan / gas mark 6.

Cook the garlic in 1 tablespoon of olive oil for a couple of minutes and then tip in the tomatoes. Simmer for 10 minutes until thickened and then season and stir in the basil (as I mentioned my chopped tomatoes already came with basil and then I just added a pinch of dry basil).

Meanwhile cook the ravioli in boiling water until almost tender but drain before it's done as it will continue cooking in the oven. This meant that I literally cooked it for one minute.

Mix together the mascarpone and the Parmesan - mine didn't mix that well to be honest and was quite "sticky".

Oil a small baking dish - I used fry light oil spray. Spoon a little tomato sauce (about a third) on the bottom, add half the ravioli and then dollop over half the mascarpone mix.

Add some more tomato and then repeat the process with the ravioli, mascarpone mix and then the remaining tomato sauce.

Top with the mozzarella and Parmesan. Bake for at least 20-25 minutes until golden and bubbling and then serve.

This was a great, easy version of lasagne and would be perfect with a green salad and even some garlic bread if you are feeling particularly naughty! Perfect for a midweek supper - I will definitely be cooking this again. I reckon you could do a "veggie" version and use spinach and ricotta ravioli instead of the beef and it would still be delicious. Arabella also gave it the thumbs up!

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LEMON SHORTBREADS

I needed to bake something last week as my ex mother in law was coming for tea but I was totally limited on time. Thankfully I found this recipe is Fay Ripley's first book. These biscuits are quite quick and easy to make plus they don't need too many ingredients. They took about 30 minutes to make and cook and 30 minutes chilling time.

Ingredients for 15-20 biscuits (depending on size):

175g soft butter - don't forget to take it out of the fridge beforehand
90g caster sugar
zest of 1 unwaxed lemon, finely grated
1 large egg yolk
250g plain or white spelt flour, sifted
1 large egg, beaten
Granulated sugar, to sprinkle

Start by creaming the butter, sugar and lemon zest until light and fluffy-ish using an electric whisk. It took a few minutes in total. This is why you definitely need soft butter!

Add the egg yolk and gently combine.

Then gradually whisk in the sifted flour until it comes together into a dough. This took around 5-10 minutes as you need to do it slowly. Towards the end, it might be easier to use your hands - I certainly did although it really gets under your nails. Wrap in cling film and pop into the fridge for half an hour (or into the freezer if you are using for another day).

Preheat the oven to 180 C fan, 200 C, gas mark 6.

When it has firmed up just a little, roll out the dough to 5mm-ish thickness. I don't have a rolling pin so just used my hand and I did half the dough at a time. I scattered flour on the chopping board first as otherwise it was too sticky.

Using the top of a jar or a cookie cutter, cut the biscuits into shapes.

With a wide knife or spatula, scoop the shortbreads up and place them on a lined baking sheet. Brush with the beaten egg and then sprinkle with sugar.

Bake for 10 minutes or until golden.

Eat as they are or serve with a dollop of creme fraiche and some berries or with ice cream, yoghurt or mousse. The options are endless! These are yummy - they didn't look as good as Fay's but the taste made up for it. Arabella liked them so much I had to stop her at 4! She has had the rest of them as her afternoon snack, even though they are sugary, at least I know exactly what is in them. A real winner - perfect for adults and children alike.

QUICK SALMON & GOATS CHEESE TART

I am all about quick recipes at the moment and nothing too heavy - there is not much room left in my tummy and I prefer to fill it with sweets and ice cream!!

Anyway this is a very simple tart which tastes delicious - it takes about 5 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to cook. It is from Fay Ripley's first cook book.

Ingredients for 4 people:

375g pack ready rolled puff pastry sheet

4-6 large tomatoes, thinly sliced

150g French goat's cheese

300g smoked salmon, sliced

A handful of chopped chives

Preheat the oven to 180 C (fan), 200 C, gas mark 6 and take the pastry out of the fridge for ten minutes.

Line a roasting tray with baking paper and unroll your pastry onto it.

Start by adding the sliced tomatoes, then the goat's cheese and finally the smoked salmon.

Pop in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until the pastry is golden.

Use the paper to slide the tart onto a chopping board and then scatter with chives and serve.

This was yummy - really easy yet so tasty - I think it will definitely be a regular for us over the summer when my hands are full with the new baby. It is perfect on it's own or you could serve with a green salad. You could even make little individual tarts. Arabella and I both love this recipe, smoked salmon and goat's cheese are delicious together.

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