Leeks are a favourite of mine; not only do I think they taste great but they’re a national symbol of Wales. I have to admit that on St David’s Day I tend to wear a daffodil instead but I do eat my fair share of leeks!

They’re a really versatile vegetable and carry other flavours well, such as chilli. I usually steam leeks and have them as part of a roast dinner but in this recipe I stir fry them to add colour and flavour to a pasta dish.

Ingredients

4 Lincolnshire sausages
1 large leek
1 red pepper
1/2 an onion
2 cloves of garlic
2 red chillis
a pinch of dried thyme
a knob of butter
a small bit of grated cheese
pasta shapes

Serves 2-3 people

Method

Begin by cooking the sausages under the grill. They’ll take around 20 minutes so you can stir fry the other ingredients while they’re cooking. You could also begin to boil your pasta too.

Chop the vegetables then melt the butter in a warmed frying pan or wok. Add the onion and red pepper. Cook until the onions begin to brown then add the dried thyme, garlic, chillis and leek.

When the vegetables have softened take the cooked sausages and chop them into small chunks. Stir them into the veggie mixture and cook for a further two-ish minutes.

Just before serving, stir a small amount of cheese into the sausages and vegetables.

Enjoy your tasty and colourful pasta meal!

My other half, Jimmy, loves pasta and curry. Being the genius he is, he combined the two to make curried pasta!

This pasta dish is great hot or cold and goes well with almost everything!

Ingredients

pasta shapes
a large dollop of mayonnaise
a dollop of curry paste (we used Rogon Josh in this example)
a handful of fresh coriander, chopped
the juice from half a lemon

Method

Cook and drain the pasta. If you want to make this as a cold side dish (great for BBQs and parties) run cold water over the cooked pasta.

Place pasta in a large bowl and add the mayonnaise and curry paste. Mix together well then stir in the coriander and lemon juice. Done!

Pasta is one of my other half’s favourite dishes so he always suggests it when I’m at a loss for dinner ideas. We usually end up deciding to have some sort of “pasta tomato thing”.

This sauce is fantastic for a quick and easy (not to mention cheap) pasta meal.

Ingredients

2 chicken breasts (optional if you fancy a veggie meal)
1 green pepper
1/2 an onion
2 cloves of garlic
2 red chillis (or as much as you want)
1 tin chopped tomatos
a handful of green beans (aka haricots verts)
a handful of okra (optional)
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Enough for two or three people

Method

Chop the chicken breasts, pepper, onion, garlic and chillis however you want to (not too finely chopped).

Fry the onion and garlic until slightly browned in a large frying pan or wok, then add the chicken, chilli and green pepper.

When the chicken is looking as if it’s nearly cooked through, chop the ends off the green beans and add to the pan. Cut the (optional) okra into smallish pieces and add this too.

I added okra because I had a load of it in the fridge which desperately needed using up – feel free to add any other vegetables you fancy (sweetcorn, mushrooms, aubergine or chickpeas all work well).

After a few minutes add the tin of chopped tomatos and the cayenne pepper. You may want to boil off some of the liquid from the tin of tomatos. Stir for a few minutes until the chicken is cooked and the tomatos are nice and warm!

Serve with any type of pasta you fancy and perhaps a bit of garlic bread too!