Saturday 28 February 2015

Farfalle with Carbonara and Spring Peas

Well look at that, a recipe that actually does use half a pot of cream!

I found myself with some leftover cream this week so turned to my blog first of all for some inspiration, however there was none to be found! Shameful considering it's name! I've posted about plenty of sweet recipes calling for cream but I was looking for something savoury. Ideally something that could be used to feed the whole family.

Luckily Jamie O came to the rescue with this recipe which turned out to b exactly what I was after. It uses precisely the amount of cream I had left in the fridge and I had pretty much everything else to hand in the fridge and freezer.

As with most of Jamie's recipes, the portion sizes are generous so I cooked a little less pasta than the 455g stated in the recipe. It still seemed a like lot but luckily it went down very well and by the end of the meal it had all been demolished.

The original recipe includes some freshly chopped mint, however I didn't have any in the house and I'm not that keen on it anyway. I didn't feel like the recipe was lacking without but you might want to give it a try if you like fresh mint.

All in all this was a great success. It was very easy to prepare and the simple creamy pasta mixed with salty bacon was a hit with the whole family.



Farfalle with Carbonara and Spring Peas
(adapted from Jamie's Dinners by Jamie Oliver)

14-16oz/400-455g farfalle pasta
1 egg
100ml/3 1/2 fl oz double cream
salt and pepper
12 rashers of pancetta or smoked streaky bacon, roughly sliced
3 handfuls of fresh podded or frozen peas
2 handfuls of freshly grated parmesan cheese

1) Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and cook the pasta according to the pack instructions.

2) Fry the bacon in a large frying pan until golden and crispy

3) Whisk the egg, double cream and some salt and pepper in a bowl.

4) When the pasta is nearly cooked, add the peas for the last couple of minutes.

5) When the pasta is cooked, reserve a cupful of the cooking water then drain in a colander and add to the bacon pan.

6) Add the egg and cream mix to the pasta and stir well to combine. Add the parmesan and check for seasoning. If the sauce seems a little dry add some of the reserved pasta water.

Serves 4

Friday 6 February 2015

Bury St Edmunds Clandestine Cake Club - 31st January 2015

This month's Clandestine Cake Club saw us meeting at another new and wonderful venue in the heart of Bury St Edmunds. Oakes Barn is a fairly recent addition to the town and can be found tucked away down St Andrews Street South. Wooden beams and floors, and brick walls give it a cosy feel and their upstairs room is a perfect meeting place for local groups.

So this is where we found ourselves last Saturday, with a fantastic array of cakes based on the theme "Out with the old...in with the new". In keeping with the New Year (which feels like months ago now) we had to bake a cake using something new, such as a new recipe or new ingredient.

Let's have a look a what we had to choose from....

My Coffee & Walnut Cake



Rene's Lemon Polenta Cake



Nicola & Ed's Dundee Cake



Nicola & Ed's Blood Orange Pound Cake



Chrissi's White Chocolate & Passion Fruit Cake



Helen's Fruity Tea Loaf














Sophie's Fudgy Raspberry Cake


Kate's Cherry & Pistachio Cake



Megan's Jaffa Cake












Thanks again to Oakes Barn for being such great hosts. For more information about Clandestine Cake Club events near you have a look here.