Kale and Vegetable Linguine - The Weekend Cook Review

I love a good cook book hence why I love being a Parragon Book Buddy. Every month Parragon send me one of their delicious Love Food books to read and review. Last month I was sent a copy of The Weekend Cook.

This book is full of mouth watering recipes that will make you want to entertain all weekend simply so that you have a good excuse to cook some meals that you normally would not have. However there are also plenty of recipes that can be made with less fuss and in less time which leaves you with plenty of time to enjoy the weekend.

This book has seven chapters which cover everything from take away style meals which are perfect for a Friday night to breakfast, brunch and lunch, from breads to Monday morning boosting smoothies.

There really is something for everyone. What I love about this book is the added extras which it contains. It is not simply a recipe book. Within the chapters are pages of information to help you not only cook an outstanding meal but it also tells you how to create the perfect menu, top ten garnishing tips, top ten styling tips and winning wine tips. I know that this will be a book that will be used often, if not for the recipes then definitely for the added information that is included.

To give you a taste of this book I decided to cook the Kale, Lemon and Chive Linguine. Except I decided to make it a little more child friendly and bulk it out with added vegetables. This really is a great mid week meal as well as a weekend treat. It is such a quick and easy dish to make and it is sure to go down well with the whole family. I was delighted to see that there were clean plates all round after I gave this to my family!

This is what I did...

Kale and Vegetable Linguine

Ingredients

200g kale, stems removed and leaves chopped

1 onion, chopped

1 red Romano pepper, finely chopped

1 leeks, quartered and thinly sliced

150g sweetcorn

150g petit pois peas

500g linguine

3 tbsp fresh chopped chives

3 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese plus extra for serving

Spray olive oil

Method

1 - Bring a large pan of water to the boil and blanch the kale for 2 - 5 minutes or until it has wilted

2 - Drain the kale and leave on one side

3 - Cook the linguine as per instructions and drain

4 - Using a deep saute pan, spray enough oil to line the base and gently fry the onions, pepper and leeks for 5 minutes or until the onions are starting to soften

5 - Add the peas and sweetcorn and fry for a further 5 minutes

6 - Add the kale, chives and the linguine, mix thoroughly and cook for a further 5 minutes

7 - Stir in the Parmesan cheese, remove from the heat and serve

I knew that if I served my children the original recipe, which had the kale as the main vegetable, they probably would not eat it but with the vegetables that they love they all cleaned their plates.

This is not only a quick and easy dish to make but it is also tasty and a healthier choice.

Enjoy x

Disclosure: I am a Parragon Book Buddy. I am sent a book each month to review. No cash payment was received. All words, views and opinions are my own and 100% honest.