Ilse's Kitchen - culinary adventures of a girl who loves to eat

Every now and then you have to indulge. This is an indulgence pasta dish. There’s nothing light about it, but sometimes that just doesn’t matter one bit: the heart - and belly - want what they want. I like to give in, especially on rainy days. My belly was grateful. Ingredients (serves 2): 120g fettuccini (or other pasta of your choice) 300g shrimp, peeled and deveined. 200g cherry tomatoes 1 tablespoon Cajun spices 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1 tablespoon butter Alfredo sauce 120g cream cheese 250ml whole milk 50g butter 1 cup finely grated parmesan 1/2 teaspoon Italian herbs 1 tablespoon freshly minced garlic freshly ground black pepper to taste fresh parsley to garnish Instructions: 1. Cook the fettuccini according to the instructions on the packet. When it’s ready, set aside to use in step 4. 2. Rub the shrimp in Cajun spices, salt and pepper. Melt the tablespoon of butter in a skillet and add the shrimp. Cook for 3-4 min...

Ready made gnocchi is just about the fastest dish you can make. That’s what’s so amazing about it - it’s fast, and almost always good. I have a couple of white sauce gnocchi recipes up on this site - like my pastas I have a penchant for cream-based over tomato-based sauces, but today I decided it was time for a red sauce. So I made this gorgeous, super easy chorizo mozzarella gnocchi. Ingredients (serves 2): one 125g ball mozzarella, torn into shreds 60g chorizo, diced 1/2 onion, finely chopped 1 clove garlic, minced 300g gnocchi 400g tomato sauce 1 teaspoon basil 1/2 teaspoon oregano 1/2 teaspoon sugar freshly ground black pepper 1 tablespoon fresh mozzarella and oregano, chopped, plus a bit extra to garnish Instructions: Preheat the top grill function of your oven. 1. Toss the onion and garlic in a saucepan together with the olive oil and heat for about 5 minutes until softened. Add the chorizo and cook for another 5 minutes. 2. Add the tomato sauce, sugar and...

The first time I had gorgonzola and spinach together was when Paulijn, a former housemate, made me gorgonzola spinach pasta - about a hundred years ago. At the time I wasn’t very experimental when it came to food, and I was not a fan of gorgonzola. Too blue, too strong, too smelly. I was decidedly sceptical, but tried to be well mannered and keep my mouth shut about it. And glad I did, for what she made wasn’t strong or smelly at all. What I learned that day was not too judged too quickly - ingredients change when you combine them with others, and things you never thought you’d like may surprise you in all kinds of wonderful ways. I also learned that spinach and gorgonzola make a lovely pairing. Here’s a lovely gorgonzola spinach gnocchi recipe, adapted from Brandy at Nutmeg Nanny.  Ingredients (serves 2): 250g gnocchi 1 shallot, thinly sliced 120ml cup heavy cream 120g crumbled gorgonzola cheese, plus some for topping 85g fresh spinach 1/2 teaspoon fresh oregano, minc...

Recently, I shared a rocket pesto recipe with you. Here’s an example of what you can do with it. :) Ingredients (serves 2): 120g penne 1 small red onion, finely chopped 300g cherry tomatoes 2 handfuls arugula (rocket lettuce) 15g shaved parmesan 6-8 tbsp rocket walnut pesto Instructions: 1. Prepare the pasta according to instructions. 2. Place onion in a large skillet and sauté for 3-4 minutes, then add the cherry tomatoes and sauté for another 2 minutes. 3. Add the penne and the pesto and mix over low heat for a couple of minutes, then remove from heat. 4. Toss in some fresh arugula, divide over two plates and serve topped with parmesan shavings.

It’s not for nothing that an entire page on this blog is dedicated to risotto & pasta. Let there be no doubt: if there’s a team pasta, I’m on it. I like the versatility, and being able to throw in whatever inspires me. I like how little time it takes. I like that I can go for whole-wheat, and feel like I’m being somewhat healthy despite the carbs. I like carbs. Ingredients (serves 2): 120g whole-wheat spaghetti 300g spinach 100g Parma ham (or another cured ham), shredded into smaller pieces. 100g sun dried tomatoes, chopped 2 shallots, chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced 100mL cream 20g parmesan cheese 2 tbsp butter pinch of nutmeg salt and pepper to taste Instructions: 1. Boil the spaghetti according to the instructions on the package. 2. In the meantime, bring water to a boil in a large pan. When boiling, add the spinach and stir for 30 seconds or so, until the spinach is all wilted. 3. Drain, and cool the spinach in icy cold water to bring the boiling process...

My go-to easy meals are almost always pastas - I can think of few feel-good meals that are easier and less time consuming to make. What I love most is that you can add just about anything you like. It doesn’t matter if you stray from the traditional, just combine the flavours that make your heart sing.  Here’s a lovely smoked salmon and cherry tomato penne.  Ingredients (serves 2): 120g penne (use 50-60g per person for dried pasta, or 90g per person if you use fresh pasta) 100g smoked salmon 250g cherry tomatoes, halved 1 small red onion 1 clove garlic 250 mL cream Dash of white wine 1 tbsp Olive oil Salt, pepper and parmesan to taste Instructions: 1. Chop the onion and sauté for 3-4 minutes. 2. Press the garlic over the onion mixture and add the cherry tomatoes. Sauté for another 2-3 minutes, then add a dash of white wine. 3. Sauté for a 2-3 minutes more, then add the cream. Heat, stir and add almost all the salmon (reserve a tiny bit for the en...

Asparagus cream pasta - this has got to be one of my favourite recipes. When I come home from a long day at work I don’t always feel like spending hours in the kitchen preparing dinner. Life gets a little dreary when all there’s time for is work and cooking. There’s more to be done.  So I look for quick fix solutions. Solutions that don’t imply me necessarily eating the same thing every day. Pastas generally make pretty good ones - this under-fifteen minute meal is one. Luckily quick in no way means less tasty. But I’ll let you be the judge of that ;)  Ingredients (serves 2): 220 mL cream 3 cloves garlic 16 large green asparagus spears dash of dry white wine 200g tagliatelle Chunk of parmesan cheese freshly ground black pepper to taste Instructions: 1. Peel the garlic cloves. Put cream and whole garlic cloves into a saucepan and bring to a boil. As soon as the cream starts to bubble, remove from heat and set aside. 2. Peel the asparagus. C...