Jamie's Italian, Leeds

As part of my friend Emma's hen celebrations, our party of nine hens took a trip to Jamie's Italian in Leeds to line our stomachs before killing ourselves with consumption!

I was the only one in the group who had eaten there before, and had enjoyed the experience both times so I was looking forward to my third visit.

As usual the queue for the restaurant had begun to snake around the building and it was only 6.00pm! Luckily groups of 8 or more are able pre book a table which saved us from having to queue. Cut to lots of stares and tuts from people who were waiting to get in! The table wasn't quite ready when we arrived, and the restaurant bar resembled a can of sardines, so we decided to go for a drink elsewhere and return later.

When we did return we were promptly taken to our table which was situated upstairs and away from most of the chaos, which was great. I have a feeling that the staff are trained to channel their inner Jamie Oliver persona, very friendly, very informal. Our waitress was just this, but it wasn't a bad thing. She was very  knowledgeable about the menu and confidently answered any questions we had.

After spending an age deliberating what to order, I settled on the crispy squid with chilli, lemon and garlicky mayo for starters and the scallop and squid ink angel hair pasta for mains.

The squid was soft on the inside and light and crispy on the outside, with a nice kick of chilli. The mayo added a massive smack of garlic.

When my main arrived, the contrast in colour of the pale scallop and the black pasta was stunning (the awful photo really doesn't do it justice) Again I was hit with an almighty whack of chilli and garlic, but the sweetness of the scallop held its own against the strong flavours.

Some of the other lovely looking dishes were the rabbit ragu parpadelle - rabbit in a marscapone sauce and also the pumpkin panzerotti - a stuffed pasta dish. Definitely a couple of dishes I want to try next time.

We decided against a pudding and leave room for the shots of tequila, sambucca and Jagermeister that were to be had!

In total the bill for 9 of us, including wine was just over £200. A bargain I think you'd agree!

Our hen had a great evening...cue singing, dancing and blisters (on my part!)...Can't wait for the wedding!!

Meal for One

The Husband has been working strange shifts for the past few days and also over weekends so I have often been cooking just for me in the evenings. Because it's just cooking for one, I tend to make something that's quick, but I also try to be relatively healthy too.


Continuing on a fishy theme, this week I made a very quick but tasty prawn linguine with chilli, lemon and parsley.

Prawn Linguine with Chilli, Lemon and Parsley (Serves 1)


Ingredients
200g raw tiger prawns (you can use pre cooked if you can't find any)
1-2 cloves garlic, chopped finely (depends on how much you like)
1 red chilli, chopped (seeded or deseeded depending on preference) 
Zest and juice of half a lemon
2-3 tbsp chopped tomatoes or a small handful of cheery tomatoes, chopped roughly
1 tbsp Olive oil
Small bunch or parsley, chopped
100g linguine

Cook the linguine in a large pan of salted boiling water until al dente (approx 8-9 mins).


Whilst the pasta has about 4 minutes to go, get another pan on a high heat and add the olive oil. once the oil is hot, turn it down slightly and then add the chilli, garlic and lemon zest. Be careful they don't burn in the heat of the oil and after 30 seconds throw in the prawns and cook until they turn pink. Add the lemon juice and the tomatoes, season to taste and then throw in the parsley. Take off the heat as you don't want the prawns to overcook. 


NB - if you are using cooked prawns, throw these in at the end of making the sauce and warm through.


Drain the pasta, then add to the sauce.


Serve with or without parmesan (I do) and maybe some crusty bread (I didn't). A nice dry white would also go really well, perhaps a Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc.

How I met your Father....

My husband often tells me that the reason he married me was because of my meatballs. They are one of his favourite things to eat and I often end up making them at least a couple of times a month. My usual ones are of the Italian variety and I serve them with tagliatelle or spaghetti.

I have to say that I never really tend to stick to a tried and tested recipe, I like to try different variants every time, just to see if I can make them that little bit better.

This time, I made a few tweaks, namely the inclusion of breadcrumbs to the meatball mix (I have never really seen the point of using them before but have heard these really keep them tender) baking the meatballs rather than frying them off, and the addition of a bay leaf to the sauce.

Spiced Meatballs in Tomato Sauce

For the meatballs
2-3 cloves garlic, crushed (depends if you like garlic!)
500g minced beef / pork or a mixture of the two
60g breadcrumbs (I used an old pitta bread and blitzed it)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 a freshly grated nutmeg
Grated zest of 1 lemon
small bunch of parsley, finely chopped (I used parsley because I had some in my fridge, but feel free to use whichever herbs you choose, I often use basil).

For the tomato sauce
1 large jar (650g?) passata
1 med - large onion, finely chopped
2 sticks celery, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic,
a few sprigs of thyme, leaves picked (Again or use whichever herbs you have at hand)
1 bay leaf
1 chilli (optional) - deseeded if you don't want too much heat or leave them in if you do. 
glug of olive oil
1 tbsp sugar

To serve
Tagliatelle or spaghetti
Chopped parsley
Grated parmesan

Preheat the oven to 200°C / gas mark 6

Firstly, make the meatballs. Simply mix all of the ingredients into a bowl (or whiz up in a food processor like I do) and season well. Form the mixture into walnut sized balls and place on a greased baking tray.

Then place the meatballs in the oven for about 10-15 mins or until golden brown. (They don't need to be cooked through)

Whilst the meatballs are in the oven, make a start on the sauce. Add a glug of olive oil to a large pan and add the onion and celery. Soften for around 5 minutes, taking care not to brown them too much. Then add the garlic, herbs, chilli and bay leaf. Stir and soften for another 3 minutes and then add the passata and the sugar. (The sugar takes the acidity away from the tomatoes). Then fill the passata jar  a third full with water and add that too.

Allow the sauce to come to a simmer then add the meatballs to the sauce.

Leave the meatballs and sauce to rumble away on a low heat until the sauce has thickened. (This can take from 30 - 45 mins, but it's worth the wait!)

Cook the pasta and stir it into the sauce and meatballs. Serve in a large, heated shallow bowls and scatter with parsley and serve with grated parmesan

Enjoy with a glass of red (or white or pink of you prefer!)