We Love Cooking!:
courgette

I have a few winter warming dishes coming up but this recipe is actually taken from the book and was featured on Georgina Campbell's Ireland Guide website. Plus I got a request in the comments section so I just couldn't resist!

Hearty Minestrone Soup
This is a perfect winter meal solution, full of tasty vegetables, and filling thanks to the
pasta. I use wholewheat spaghetti, but feel free to add other shapes like fusilli or pasta elbows instead. If you don’t have any paprika, you can get a bit of spice by adding a dash of tabasco sauce, or a good pinch of dried chilli flakes.

Serves 4
1 courgette, chopped into small chunks
1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
2 x 410g tins cannellini beans
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped
2 large carrots, chopped into small chunks
2 litres/4 pints homemade chicken stock
75g/3oz wholewheat spaghetti, broken into 1-inch pieces
2 tablespoons of olive oil
A good pinch of paprika
A good pinch of sea salt

In a large pot, heat the olive oil and fry the garlic cloves and onion for 2
minutes or until they become soft.
Stir in the celery, carrots and courgette and cook for five minutes. Add the
chopped tomatoes and chicken stock, and bring to the boil, then reduce the
heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
Add the wholewheat spaghetti, paprika and cannellini beans. Give the
soup a good stir and cover. Cook gently for a further 10 minutes or until
the pasta is cooked.
Season with a little sea salt and serve straightaway with a good chunk of
wholemeal bread and enjoy!

I have to admit that I am a little bit obssessed with bulgar wheat at the moment, which is probably why you're getting a second recipe using it here in two weeks. I have already raved about it's health benifits, but have I mentioned it is so easy to make, and goes with practically everything? Well maybe not everything, but it still is one of my favourite ingredients! Have you tried it yet?

Mediterranean Roast Vegetables with Bulgar Wheat
Roast vegetables are delicious enough to be eaten on their own with just a little sea salt, but pair them up with some bulgar wheat and you have the makings a really delicious meal. You can use any roast veg here really, stuff like carrots, beetroot, or asparagus all work, but I really love the combination of aubergine, courgettes, red onion, and red pepper.

Serves 4-5 generous portions.
200g of bulgar wheat.
1 teaspoon of vegetable bouillon powder.
1 aubergine chopped into bitesize chunks.
2 courgettes chopped into bitesize chunks.
2 red onions chopped into bitesize chunks.
1 red pepper chopped into bitesize chunks.
2 tablespoons of olive oil.
A good pinch of sea salt and ground black pepper.

Place the bulgar wheat in a large bowl and cover with boiling water. Stir through the vegetable bouillon powder, cover with a cloth or cling film and allow to sit for about 30 minutes or until all the water is soaked up. Preheat the oven to 200oC. Add all the prepared vegetables to a large bowl and toss with the oil, sea salt and black pepper. Arrange the vegetables on a large non-stick low sided roasting tray, making sure not to overcrowd it, as this will make the vegetable pieces become soft. Place the roasting tray in the oven for approximately 40 minutes or until the vegetables become slightly scorched on the edges. Remove the tray from the oven and allow to cool. Add the roast vegetable pieces to the bulgar wheat and stir gently to combine. You may want to season with a little extra sea salt and black pepper at this point. Serve the bulgar wheat as tasty side dish or a super lunch box filler.