Fusilli with Tomato and Rice Vinegar Sauce

I've often pondered many ways to incorporate vinegar into my dishes without introducing an over-bearing flavor;the recipe you now see listed accomplishes just that. I'm a big fan of rice vinegar, and I feel that it is a great addition to this dish. As most of you know my forte is in European cuisine strapped with a strong Italian influence. Although my European roots may be the reason I carry this style of cooking, I'm also a big fan of reaching across ethnic styles/ingredients and incorporating them into my creations. This dish isn't difficult to make and cooking its unique taste is truly rewarding. Give this dish a whirl; I doubt you'll be disappointed.

Preparation

Place the canned and sun dried tomatoes in a medium sized saucepan with garlic, olive oil, and sugar. Bring to a boil while stirring, then simmer for 30 minutes uncovered until reduced.

Meanwhile cook the pasta in salted boiling water until al dent.

Add the rice vinegar to the sauce and stir to make the sauce uniform. Cook for 2 minutes and then remove from heat, and season to taste.

Drain pasta and place into a bowl. Pour the sauce over the pasta and toss.

Serve immediately with the baby spinach salad and shaved Parmesan cheese.

Enjoy your fusils!

Fusilli With Tomato And Rice Vinegar Sauce

I've often pondered many ways to incorporate vinegar into my dishes without introducing an over-bearing flavor; the recipe you now see listed accomplishes just that. I'm a big fan of rice vinegar, and I feel that it is a great addition to this dish. As most of you know my forte is in European cuisine strapped with a strong Italian influence. Although my European roots may be the reason I carry this style of cooking, I'm also a big fan of reaching across ethnic cooking styles/ingredients and incorporating them into my creations. This dish isn't difficult to make and it's unique taste is truly rewarding. Give this dish a whirl, I doubt you'll be disappointed.

Serves: 6-8
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients

2 cans (14 ounces) chopped plum tomatoes
4 sun dried tomatoes in olive oil - thinly sliced
2 cloves of garlic - minced
4 tablespoons of olive oil
1 tablespoon of granulated sugar
1 pound of dried fusilli
3 tablespoons of rice vinegar
salt - to taste
pepper - to taste

coarsely shaved Parmesan cheese with baby spinach salad to serve

Preparation

Place the canned and sun dried tomatoes in a medium sized saucepan with garlic, olive oil, and sugar. salt and pepper to Season with taste. Bring to a boil while stirring, then simmer for 30 minutes uncovered until reduced.

The Best Indulgent Chocolate Dessert Ever

A friend recently told me that she has a particular love for praline in white chocolate, which is not easy to find, she says, so she’s pleased that we sell it (Princess, a heart shaped chocolate in gold foil).

Because my busy little mind is always working on new dessert recipes, I wrote this one and dedicated it to her; so Sarah, this one's for you!

It’s an easy recipe, shouldn’t take you more than 30 minutes to make, and will dirty about 2 pans, 1 bowl, 1 cake tin and 3 spoons (the amount of washing up a recipe calls for is important to me because I’m lazy and don’t have a dishwasher!) The total cost of the ingredients was about £3.77, and it makes 8 smallish servings, so 47p each.

If you are making this dessert for a special occasion, you might like to garnish the top with some extra chopped roasted nuts, or chocolate curls to pretty it up. (I haven't included amounts for these in my ingredients though, as I think it looks very attractive as it is).

people refuse to acknowledge white chocolate as chocolate, and it’s certainly true that some forms of white chocolate on the market these days are very poor quality - aimed towards children, over-sweet, and with cheap vegetable fats substituted for some of the cocoa butter. Check the quality of the product you’re buying by reading the label – check the list of ingredients, and the total cocoa solids and this will help to give you a guide to the best product.