Home of the House-Proud

Over the last couple of days, we’ve had a great entry to our ‘Home Made Cook of the Year’ competition from Mrs Jill Wade (from Surrey). Jill has sent us a recipe for her favourite Turkey & Pasta Bake with Roasted Vegetables & Rustic Wholemeal Bread; you can see the entry below. The recipe came to £7.50 and Jill read about ‘Home Made Cook of the Year’ in Diabetes UK’s latest edition of Balance.

Ingredients for Rustic Wholemeal Bread (makes 4 small loaves)

100g x Wholemeal Bread Flour

100g x White Bread Flour

100g x Seeds & Grains Granary Bread Flour

2x Tsp Dried Yeast

2x Tbsp Pumpkin Seeds

2x Tbsp Sunflower Seeds

2x Tbsp Sesame Seeds

1x Tsp Salt

300ml x Warm Water

Poppy Seeds to Decorate

Method

• Make bread dough (in breadmaker if available) – after 2^nd proving, divide into four rustic shaped loaves on a baking tray
• Wash with warm water and sprinkle with poppy seeds
• Cover with tea towel for final rising, then bake in hot oven (200c fan) for approx. 20 minutes

Ingredients for Roasted Vegetables

500g x Butternut Squash

4x Medium Parsnips

4x Medium Carrots

½ x Red Pepper

3x Red Onions

8x Garlic Cloves

Sunflower or Olive Oil

Rosemary Sprigs (from garden)

Salt & Pepper

Paprika to Sprinkle

Method

• Peep parsnips, scrub carrots and cut into fingers. Cover with cold salted water and bring to the boil. When cooked through, drain the vegetables
• Cut onions, pepper and butternut squash into chunks and spread onto a baking tray with plenty of sunflower/olive oil. Add the other vegetables and make sure everything is coated well with oil. Season with salt & pepper, paprika and intersperse with rosemary sprigs
• Roast in hot oven (200c fan) for 30 – 40 minutes, turning occasionally to make sure parsnips crisp
• Squeeze garlic cloves and remove garlic cloves and rosemary sprigs before serving

Ingredients for Pasta Bake

300g x Penne Pasta

1x Red Onion

300g x Unsmoked Bacon Rashes

350g x Turkey Breast Fillet

2x Tbsp Plain Flour

Black Pepper

Fresh Thyme (from garden)

1x Stock Cube

25g x Butter

300ml x Skimmed Milk

75g x Grated Cheese

1x Slice (or crust) Wholemeal Bread (made into breadcrumbs)

Method

• Cover penne pasta with plenty of salted boiling water, return to simmer then switch off and leave to swell for approx. 10 minutes
• Chop onion finely and soften chopped bacon rashes in large covered sauté pan on a medium heat
• Cut turkey breast into small pieces then coat in plain flour with a good measure of black pepper and thyme leaves – but no salt. Add a little sunflower oil to the pan if necessary then sauté turkey pieces until flour is absorbed and edges of turkey pieces are beginning to brown
• Crumble stock cube over meat and add boiling water to cover, stirring to mix in and simmer gently for approx. 5 minutes
• Melt butter in a jug in the microwave; add flour and milk (but no seasoning). Heat and whisk thoroughly to make up thin béchamel sauce – add to meat in pan – then check seasoning – probably will not need any salt, but may need more black pepper
• Drain pasta and combine with meat in sauce and transfer baking dish. Sprinkle over ½ cheese then breadcrumbs, then rest of cheese
• Bake in hot oven (200c fan) for approx 20. mins to heat through and crisp topping

This weekend is your final chance to enter ‘Home Made Cook of the Year’, to find out how you could cook your favourite dish for celeb chef Brian Turner and walk away with a kitchen full of the latest gadgets, click here.