I hope you’ll forgive me for bastardising the Italian language in an effort to create my own culinary delight, but when it comes to any made-up pasta dish, the corresponding name must simply be Italian. Thus, last night’s pasta creation which was filled with all of the bits of veg I had in the fridge that were on their last day of usefulness became the infinitely more appetising “Pasta di Rimasuglio.”

It translates to “Leftover Pasta.”

Apt.

So basically this recipe is something that can be adapted in a million different ways, simply by changing up the vegetables. I’m sure you have all done something similar when faced with nothing for dinner and a lot of expired produce, right?

Anyway, Mark and I proclaimed jointly that this was the best pasta dish I’ve ever made. And the good news is it only took about 20 minutes.

Ingredients:

1/2 pound of pasta (I used the quick cook spirals I had on hand)
2 medium white onions
1 orange pepper
1/2 punnet of fresh mushrooms
3/4 C of pancetta
1 large spring onion
5 TBSP Boursin cheese (choose your favourite flavour)
salt & pepper to taste

Instructions:

Cook your pasta as per the instructions. Make sure to salt the water and add a bit of olive oil to keep it from clumping.

Fry up the pancetta in a bit of olive oil, allowing the meat to brown and the oils to release.

Chop up the onions and add them in, frying long enough for them to become translucent.

Chop the pepper into small cubes and add that to the pan as well.

Slice the mushrooms up and add them to the mix. Make sure you stir the veggies every once in a while to prevent any of them getting brown and hard.

Chop the spring onion and add that to the pan as well.

All of the veggies should be soft and squishy. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Finally, just as your pasta is finishing cooking, add in the Boursin cheese to the veggies and stir until it forms a lovely creamy sauce.

Drain the pasta and add to the veggies, stirring until the pasta is coated in the cheesy vegetable sauce.

Voila!

I served mine with a bit of shaved parmasean on top and a crusty white roll.

This is a great way to use up any veggies that are about to expire, and it’s cheap and easy to make. And while Mark and I liked it, Dexter was able to enjoy it, too, as it wasn’t salty, spicy or too chunky.

Enjoy! And if you try it yourself, let me know how it turns out! I will definitely be doing it again.

Like Nigella before me, I am a big fan of the flavour that comes from the leg of the duck. Rather than choose the pricier and far shallower taste that comes with the breast, I adore digging in to a gorgeously roasted leg.

So when I saw that my local Sainsburys had two-packs of duck legs on sale for only £2.50, I grabbed a couple and jumped right in to create my own masterpiece.

And it really was very very simple.

Ingredients:

2 duck legs
4 sweet potatoes
salt
pepper
fresh thyme

 Instructions:

Place the duck legs, skin side down, into a frying pan (no oil necessary) for about 2 – 4 minutes on medium-high heat to sear the outside. It should be a nice golden brown. Flip it over and sear the other side as well.

The fat from the skin will leak out into the pan, so don’t throw it away!

Meanwhile, chop up your sweet potatoes into cubes. I was pleasantly surprised to have a WHITE sweet potato in my bag. I’d never run across one before and had to look it up to be sure it wasn’t some sort of mutant. Apparently, a white sweet potato is not a sweet as an orange one, but it’s not as savoury as a regular potato. I found it to be REALLY nice!

Once potatoes are chopped up and legs have seared nicely, place the duck legs (and all that luscious fat) into a roasting pan and put all the sweet potatoes in around them. Again, no need for oil as the natural duck fat is going to roast the potatoes nicely.

Add some salt and pepper all over everything and then place a few sprigs of fresh thyme on top.

Now place the whole thing in the oven at 180 C for about 90 minutes (1 hr 10 for fan assisted).

When it’s done, plate it up and serve with your favourite green veg. I chose some chopped up baby leeks cooked in italian seasoning.

The best part? This only cost £2.30 per person and left us with lots of left over potatoes!