LIKE everyone who shops for Christmas food, I always get a few bits extra ‘just in case’. This year, even though visitors to the house were vastly reduced for everyone, I still ended up buying food items I didn’t use.

Raking through the cupboards for a dinner idea, I came across a bag of walnut halves which were going to be used for baking but ending up getting forgotten. I also found an unopened pack of tagliatelle, a pasta I love for its sophistication and elegance on the plate. A quick ransack through the fridge revealed an unopened pack of gorgeous Roquefort I bought between Christmas and New Year. The brain cogs were beginning to whirl as I realised I had the basics for a pretty sassy pasta dish which could be on the plate in no time.

This weekend’s recipe is the result. A beautiful mound of tagliatelle with a topping of chopped nuts, herbs and Roquefort bathed in good extra virgin olive oil for moistness. Very fast - very tasty!

Roquefort is a French blue cheese from just outside the village of the same name in Southern France. Made with sheep’s milk, this cheese is matured in caves. Legend tells us that a young local man eating a of sheep’s cheese and bread in a local cave spotted a beautiful young woman, and abandoned his meal to follow her. Returning several months later, he found his plate still intact and the cheese had developed blue veins from the natural moulds of the cave.

If we are ever allowed to travel again, you can visit the caves where Roquefort is still aged today. The closest equivalent in Irish farmhouse cheese is Tipperary’s delicious Crozier Blue, made by the Grubb family of Cashel Blue fame, from milk of their own flock of Friesland sheep.

JUST DESSERT

For those still being good and sticking to no sweet things for January, this week’s dessert is packed with colour and freshness and no sugar. So you’re not really cheating - just eating fruit in a different way!

Tagliatelle with Roquefort and Walnuts

Ingredients (Serves 4) 400g tagliatelle nests Extra virgin olive oil 2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed 150g walnut pieces, chopped 2 tsp fresh thyme leaves Few sage leaves, finely shredded 100g Roquefort or Crozier Blue cheese, crumbled, plus extra to taste for finishing Method:

Cook tagliatelle in a large pan of boiling slightly salted water with a dash of olive oil added, till its just al dente.

While pasta is cooking, heat a good splash of extra virgin olive oil in a pan and add garlicand walnuts.

Cook very gently over low heat till the walnuts are just lightly brown, stirring. Add herbs and season. Remove from heat and reserve.

When the pasta is ready, drain well. Return to pan.

Add cheese to walnut mix and pour over the hot pasta.

Toss with two forks to coat the pasta in the sauce.

Spoon into warmed bowls and scatter over some extra crumbled Roquefort to finish.

Winter Fruit Parcels

Ingredients 4 clementines 2 ripe pomegranates 2 tbsp semi-dried apricots, snipped (optional) 4 tsp almond butter Chopped pistachios for serving (optional) Methods:

Peel and segment the clementines.

Halve pomegranate and scoop seeds from each half into a bowl.

Cut four squares of paper large enough to hold a portion of fruit each and enclose.

Divide clementines, pomegranate and semi dried apricots if using between the paper squares.

Add knob of nut butter to each one and squeeze over the juice of half an orange.

Gather the edges of the parcel together and fold to enclose.

Place on a baking sheet and bake in a pre-heated oven, Gas 4 350F 180C for 15 minutes or until the fruit is tender.

Pop parcels onto four plates and carefully open each one a little at the top to allow steam to escape before serving.

Serve with pistachio nuts for scattering. Natural yogurt is a good accompaniment.

TAGLIATELLE RECEIPT

Tagliatelle 400g pack €1.15 Walnut pieces 2x100g packs €1.70 Roquefort cheese 150g €4.90 Thyme pack €1.19 Sage pack €1.19

Total: €10.13

WINTER FRUIT PARCELS

Organic Clementines 500g €1.99 Pomegrante x 2 pcs €1.78 Almond butter 170g €4.79 Oranges x 4 pack €1.69

Total: €10.25

GRAND TOTAL: €20.38