Tag: spaghetti

Delicious Spaghetti and Meatballs.

On By WanjoroIn RecipesLeave a comment

Moist, flavorful beef meatballs simmered in a thick sauce of tomatoes and other vegetables will have your children eating their plates clean and you get to fill them in with hidden vegetables they may not otherwise agree to eat.

Win. Win.

Smells, looks and tastes amazing!

Let’s get started.

Our ingredients for the meatballs are:- 500 g beef mince (not lean), one grated onion, 1 egg, 4 minced garlic cloves, salt and black pepper, 1/ cup of breadcrumbs, 1 tsp mixed herbs (basil, oregano,thyme and parsley) and 1 tbsp of freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Preheat your oven at 200 ° C and line a baking tray with parchment paper.

Mix all the above ingredients together and scoop a tablespoon rolling into balls. I made 20 balls.

Place on the baking tray and bake for 20 minutes after drizzling with some olive oil. Turn / flip them after ten minutes.

Note: A lot of people fry the meatballs to lock in the juices and get a nice char or crispness to the meatballs’ exterior. Baking them as I did gave the same result without the frying up. The balls crisp up well on the outside but are juicy and tender on the inside. Well cooked, full of flavour and oh so tasty. The fat in the mince and the cheese inside work well to ensure they remain moist inside.

As the balls bake, you can get started on the sauce. You will need:-

  • One onion chopped
  • 4 minced garlic cloves
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 celery stalk
  • Four tomatoes, sliced
  • Grated mixed vegetables- I used one carrot, one eggplant and one courgette.
  • 1 teaspoon of dried mixed herbs.
  • One can tomato sauce
  • A pinch of sugar.
  • A teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce.
  • One cup hot water
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Grated Parmesan cheese to serve.

Method.

Heat your pan and add the olive oil as well as the minced garlic.

Let it cook in the oil and release it’s lovely aroma, before adding the onion and celery.

Mix well and cook till onion is softened, then add the herbs.

Let cook a while then add the sliced tomatoes and a pinch of salt. Let them cook on low till mushy, before adding the grated mixed vegetables.

Let them also cook a bit. Add the Worcestershire sauce, the canned tomato sauce and a pinch of sugar. Mix well as it cooks and thickens. Add the hot water, lower heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

Sauce will be smelling so good. Check seasoning and thickness before adding the baked meatballs. Still on low, let them simmer for another 20 or so minutes on low.

Once the sauce is ready. Serve with your spaghetti and some grated Parmesan on top.

Dig in and enjoy this tasty, filling and colorful dish.

This is comfort food as its best. Definitely worth a try.

Love,

Wanjoro.

Ossobuco and Spaghetti.

On By WanjoroIn Recipes, Uncategorized2 Comments

A simple way to enjoy your beef ossobuco. I like this dish as it has its own flavour and whichever spices or flavourings you use, are really just to enhance its richness.

The trick is to cook it low, slow and with love.

Ingredients:-

  • 4 beef shanks.
  • 1 large sliced onion.
  • 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped.
  • I green pepper.
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste.
  • A pinch of sugar.
  • 1 tablespoon spice blend of equal parts ground cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg.
  • 2 tbsp of all purpose flour
  • Salt and pepper to taste.
  • A splash of Worcestershire sauce.
  • A splash of balsamic vinegar.
  • 2 chopped tomatoes.
  • Cooking oil.
  • 1 small bunch of coriander chopped and some lemon zest.

Method.

Mix the flour, spice blend and salt and pepper on a wide plate.

Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a large saucepan.

Dry the ossobucco pieces and dredge them in the flour mixture. Shake off excess flour and fry in the oil till brown all round then set aside.

In the same pan, fry your onion and mix well till soft, before adding the garlic and green pepper. Add the tomato paste and the sauce and vinegar as well as the sugar, stir well.

Add the ossobuco pieces to the pan…

…and some water to just cover them.. then add the chopped tomato on top.

Cover and simmer on low for 2 hours, till the meat is ready and tender. Once ready, sprinkle with the coriander and lemon.

Cook your spaghetti as per the pack instructions and plate.

The sauce is thick, the meat is tender, succulent and full of flavour.

Worth a try right?

You can also check out these other tasty beef ossobuco recipes already on the blog:-

. Instant Pot Ossobuco.

.Curried Beef Shank.

. Naan and Ossobuco.

All Pumpkin Pasta!

On By WanjoroIn Recipes, Things I love about KampalaLeave a comment

Pumpkins are very common in Uganda. I prefer it to butternut as I find it much sweeter and a little does go a long way. Peel it. Chop it up, pack in ziplock and freeze in your preferred portions. You can roast the seeds, dry and grind the peel and flesh to make flour, use it to make porridge, soups or cook it in curries, stews, breads, and its leaves can be sautéed as a side to ugali, mashed potatoes or used in mashing food like mūkimo, which I already shared here. The green pumpkin is what we get here and its bright orange flesh lends beautiful colour and taste to chapatis and fried cabbage too.

Photo by Lovefood Art on Pexels.com

Pumpkins have lots of antioxidants, are a great source of fibre, and best of all; one of the best sources of beta carotene that supports eye health, is converted to Vitamin A in the body and has been touted by some to slow down cognitive decline.

You may find however that your kids do not like it. So here is an easy peasy way to consume it without having to see it. The reason I call this ‘all pumpkin pasta’ is we use both the pumpkin flesh and the leaves to create this creamy sauce that surprisingly goes well with pasta. If you have some toasted pumpkin seeds, go ahead and garnish with them to make a ‘completely pumpkin’ pasta sauce!

Let’s get started shall we? First preheat your oven to 200°C , chop your pumpkin and gather your spices of choice. I used a blend of mixed spices I have shared previously on my ossobuco recipe here. It matches really well with the pumpkin.

Toss your whole head of garlic with chopped pumpkin (about 4 cups) with olive oil, salt, some coriander seeds and 1 tbsp of the mixed spices blend. Mix well and bake for about 30 minutes, let cool a bit.
Meanwhile, sauté about a cup of your chopped pumpkin leaves with some butter until cooked through. Set aside.

You can also be making your pasta at this time. You can use any pasta, I used spaghetti then reserved a ladle or so of the pasta water.

Peel your roasted garlic, and puree together with the roasted pumpkin and the pumpkin leaves. Return to a sauce pan and heat through.

If too thick, add some more of the pasta water. Grate a cup of cheddar cheese, add half to the sauce and reserve the rest to garnish when serving.

Toss your pasta in the creamy sauce, garnish and serve immediately.

Tasty, Healthy and Beautiful to look at! This dish will have your kids trying to guess what is in it and how the pasta has turned green. LOL.

Another easy peasy spaghetti dish that will satisfy your family’s taste buds, doesn’t take long to make and loads them up with healthy benefits too. Try it!

Quickie Meal-Avocado Pasta with Roasted Vegetables

On By WanjoroIn Recipes, Things I love about Kampala2 Comments

You’ve had a long weekend and Monday is here! You want an easy dinner that will fill your family’s tummies fast.

Pasta will always come to the rescue, my friends. Always a hit with the kids. And the best thing is pasta goes with pretty much anything. Even avocado! And these are in plenty here. Beautiful, big, creamy and delicious!

Preheat your oven to 200 degrees Celsius and line the baking tray, gather your veggies. I used courgette, green pepper, onion, butternut and garlic. Chop them in more or less equal pieces. Toss the butternut in olive oil, mixed herbs and salt then bake for about 20 minutes. Toss the other vegetables with olive oil, salt, pepper and dried mixed herbs, you can add some balsamic vinegar to the oil mix if you want. Then add to the butternut and bake for another twenty minutes.

I added some balsamic vinegar and paprika to the oil mixture when tossing the vegetables.

As the veggies bake, you can get started on your pasta. I used spaghetti. Remember the golden rules of making spaghetti. Do not cut! Salt the water! Water should be at a rolling boil before adding the pasta! and whatever other instructions that could be on the pack 🙂

As the spaghetti cooks, you can get started on your ‘pasta sauce’. Blend one ripe avocado, a few almonds, herbs, lemon juice, salt and black pepper, and a tbsp of olive oil. Blend till creamy.

Remember, use what is on hand. This is a very quick meal.
Your vegetables are now ready, I like the colour and flavour the balsamic vinegar adds to them.
Once spaghetti is ready and drained, toss in the creamy avocado ‘sauce’. It gives a lovely tinge to the pasta and get the kids guessing as to what’s in it.
Final plate: Creamy avo spaghetti and roasted vegetables. Yum!