Autumn recipe list :: Week 3

It's time for another seven days of Autumn chow for the family. Here's what will be scoffed down (with not a whisper of the word "yucky" I hope) around our dinner table this week:
:: Tuna Patties with Green Bean & Lentil Salad
It's amazing what kids will eat when it's squashed into a rissole shape!
For the patties:
425g can tuna
2 potatoes
1 garlic clove
1 carrot
1 stick celery
parsley
1 egg
Make it:
Peel and steam potatoes until soft then mash in large mixing bowl. Drain tuna and mix in with potato. Add crushed garlic clove, grated carrot, finely chopped celery and 1/4 cup chopped parsley. Break egg into bowl and mix everything together really well. Shape mixture into 8 patties and place on a tray, cover and pop in the fridge for at least 1/2 and hour.
When it's time to cook your patties dust them in a little flour and either cook as is or crumb them and cook. To cook heat 2 tblspns olive oil in a large fry pan over medium-high heat and cook patties for approximately 5 minutes each side.
The salad is from the Women's Weekly Complete Book of Modern Entertaining.
:: Lemon Chicken
Another Bill Granger family favourite. This is the best lemon chicken I have ever eaten!
:: Vongoli Linguine
Okay, so we really shouldn't be eating shell fish this far from the coast but as it's our daughter's absolutely favourite meal and her birthday falls in Autumn we had to put this one on our recipe list.
Ingredients:
500g fresh or dried linguine
1kg vongoli
6 cloves garlic
parsley
1 lemon
Make it:
Get your water on to boil for your pasta and then finely dice your garlic cloves (go for 6-8 depending on the size of them). You'll need a big bunch of parsley. Pick all the leaves off and put aside then finely chop your parsley stems. Heat 2 tblspns olive oil in a large fry pan over medium-low heat. Add garlic and parsley stems and cook for about 5 minutes. You want them to soften but not brown.
Get your pasta on. Now add washed vongoli and increase heat to high. Cooking until all your little clams have popped open. You can put a lid over to steam them open if they are taking too long as you really only want to cook them for 8 minutes maximum.
Drain pasta and return to pot. Season with sea salt and the juice of a lemon. Scrape in vongoli, garlic and parsley stems from your fry pan along with any cooking juices and mix well. Plate up and finish with a squeeze more lemon and a generous sprinkle of parsley leaves.
:: Minestrone
This is from a Women's Weekly Kids Cookbook, with just a few minor adjustments of my own. It's a quick and easy soup for a busy week night.
Ingredients:
2 eschallots
1 garlic clove
4 bacon rashers
1 celery stalk
2 carrots
2 zucchini
410g tin of tomatoes
2 cups vegetable stock
1 litre water
1/2 cup small alphabet pasta
1 tin butter beans
1/4 cup basil
Make it:
Heat 2 tblspns olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat and cook finely chopped eschallots, diced bacon, crushed garlic and chopped celery for about 6 minutes. Add tin of tomatoes, water, stock, pasta and grated carrot and bring to the boil. Reduce heat, season with salt and pepper and cover. Let soup simmer for about 10 minutes. Add grated zucchini and butter beans and return to the boil. Top with chopped basil and some thin slices of parmesan cheese.
:: Bow Tie Creamy Pasta
An easy-peasy end of the week dinner.
Ingredients:
6 bacon rashers
1 garlic clove
500g bow tie pasta
1 cup fresh peas
8 mushrooms
1/2 cup cream
Make it:
Get your water on to boil and then pop in your pasta.
Remove rind from bacon rashers, roughly chop and cook in a fry pan over medium-high heat. Crush in garlic clove after a couple of minutes and allow to cook for a few more minutes then add chopped mushrooms. When mushrooms are almost cooked add 1 cup fresh or frozen peas and let cook for a further minute or two. Stir in cream and season with a little salt and pepper. Remove from heat after a minute.
Drain pasta and plate up. Top with creamy sauce and grated parmesan.
:: Brown Rice Pilaf
Another one from The Weekly.
:: Roast Pork
This wasn't on my master list for Autumn but my husband picked up a very tasty looking roast at the markets from our favourite free-range pork people so he'll be on duty to get the crackling crunchy and I'll be making some stewed apples, roast sweet potato and steamed green beans on the side.