donal skehan

Give your shop-bought tortellini a gourmet twist via this classic combination of brown nutty butter, crisp sage leaves and sweet pumpkin from Donal Skehan. It will brighten even the darkest of winter days. Or, try a creamy comfort-food spin on Spanish omelette with this pumpkin, sage and ricotta tortilla. For more of Donal&#8217;s recipes, visit donalskehan.com &nbsp; &nbsp;

Tortellini with pumpkin, brown butter and sage

pumpkin,

thyme

olive oil

spinach and ricotta tortellini

butter

blanched hazelnuts, roughly chopped

sage sprigs, leaves picked

cashel blue to serve (see Know-how)

extra-virgin olive oil

Heat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/gas 4. Put the pumpkin on a large baking tray with the thyme sprigs and sprinkle with the olive oil. Season generously with sea salt and ground black pepper, then roast in the oven for 40 minutes or until tender and caramelised at the edges. Once cooked, keep warm.

Towards the end of the pumpkin cooking time, bring a large pan of water to the boil and season generously with salt. Once boiling, add the tortellini and cook until tender but still with some bite. Drain and reserve a cup of the starchy cooking water to use in the sauce.

While the pasta cooks, put a large heavy-based frying pan over a low-medium heat and add the butter. Add the hazelnuts to the pan, tossing to coat them evenly in the warm butter. Cook for 4-5 minutes until the hazelnuts have toasted. Stir in the sage leaves and allow to toast in the golden butter mix.

Toss the roasted pumpkin and tortellini into the pan, adding a splash of reserved pasta cooking water to loosen, if needed.

Serve the pasta on warmed plates. Crumble over some blue cheese along with a generous drizzle of the best quality extra virgin olive oil you have to hand. Finish with a sprinkle of salt and a grinding of black pepper.

We love a comforting veggie recipe. And do you know what we love even more? Minimal washing up! Donal Skehan&#8217;s incredible one-pan vegetable lasagne ticks all the right boxes and can be made in a pan, instead of in the oven, in just 30 minutes. For more of Donal’s recipes, visit donalskehan.com

One-pan vegetable lasagne

onions,

garlic cloves, crushed

courgettes, chopped

button mushrooms, sliced

tin chopped tomatoes

baby leaf spinach

fresh lasagne sheets,

basil leaves, torn

parmesan (or vegetarian alternative), grated

mozzarella balls, sliced

You’ll also need…

hob-safe

Heat the oil in the pan. Add the onions and fry over a medium heat for 5-10 minutes, then add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more.

Add the courgettes and mushrooms, increase the heat and fry for 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Add the tomatoes and 400ml boiling water, then season. Bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes over a medium heat.

Heat the grill to high. Stir the spinach and pasta into the pan in batches. Once the spinach has wilted, stir in the basil, most of the parmesan and half the mozzarella. Scatter over the rest of the cheese, then grill for 3-5 minutes until melty and bubbling. Leave for a few minutes before serving.

Donal Skehan&#8217;s indulgent Italian-American slow-baked meatballs, with a rich tomato sauce and melting mozzarella, will liven up the week. Make them tonight! Or, try this versatile baked meatballs recipe, with smoke-scented chipotle and polenta. For more of Donal&#8217;s recipes, visit donalskehan.com. &nbsp;

Slow-baked meatballs

For the meatballs

British beef mince

outdoor reared pork mince

pancetta, finely chopped

onion,

buttermilk

breadcrumbs

oregano

parsley,

egg,

parmesan, finely grated, plus extra to serve

For the tomato sauce

Olive oil

garlic cloves,

passata

dry red wine

tsp chilli flakes

mozzarella ball, sliced

You’ll also need

Large ovenproof frying pan

In a large mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients for the meatballs. Season with salt and pepper and mix until well combined.

Form golf-ball-size meatballs by rolling the mixture in your hands, then transfer to a large baking tray. Keep a small bowl of cold water to dip your hands in to prevent things from getting too sticky. Repeat with the remaining mixture, cover and leave in the fridge to firm up for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Put the frying pan/casserole over a medium-high heat and add a glug of olive oil. If all the meatballs don’t fit in the pan, fry half the meatballs until browned on all sides (8-10 minutes), then transfer to a plate lined with kitchen paper. If doing two batches, wipe out the pan with kitchen paper, add another glug of oil and fry the remaining batch.

Heat the oven to 150°C/130°C fan/gas 2. For the tomato sauce, drain any excess oil from the pan and put back on a low heat. Add the garlic and slowly simmer for a minute until just golden but not browned.

Pour in the passata and red wine and stir in. Add the dried oregano, chilli flakes and some salt and pepper. Bring to a steady simmer and allow to cook for 5-6 minutes before returning the meatballs to the pan and gently turning to coat them in the sauce. Cover the pan with a lid and transfer to the oven.

Cook for 1 hour and 30 minutes. Towards the end of the cooking time, turn up the oven to 220°C/200°C fan/gas 7, dot the meatballs with the mozzarella and a little extra parmesan, then return to the oven.

Serve the baked meatballs with spaghetti cooked in a pan of boiling water until tender but still with some bite, and sprinkle generously with grated parmesan.

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Tortellini with pumpkin, brown butt...

One-pan vegetable lasagne

Slow-baked meatballs

Top 3 donal skehan recipes from across the web

The most viewed donal skehan recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Tortellini with pumpkin, brown butt...

One-pan vegetable lasagne

Slow-baked meatballs

The most viewed donal skehan recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine