Were you lucky enough to pick up a steak this week in the pantry or do you prefer a pasta dish? Share your valentines meal with us in the comments,

Have you still to decide? Remmeber Inverclyde and Ruchazie pantry are open on a saturday, you’ve still got time to make valentines day special.

Here are a few of our favourite recipes :

Winter Ratatouille

Ingredients needed

1 onion – cut in to quarters

2 carrots – Peel, cut into 2cm dice

1 Sweet potato – Peels,; cut into 2cm dice

2 parsnips – Peels, cut into 2cm dice

Bulb of Garlic

Spring of rosemary

Bay leaf

Salt pepper

Olive oil

Black pepper

500g of pasta

2 tins of tomatoes

Place all the vegetables and the garlic on an oven tray and drizzle with the olive oil. Add the sprigs of rosemary and season well.

Cook for about 20 minutes until all the vegetables are tender

While the vegetables are in the oven, cook the pasta according to packet instructions.

Remove vegetables from the oven, squeeze the cloves of roasted garlic over the vegetables and tip everything in a saucepan.

Add the tin tomatoes, bring to the boil and allow simmering gently for a minute or two.

Serve on top of the pasta and garnished with chopped rosemary

spaghetti Bolognese

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 400g/14oz beef mince
  • 1 onion,
  • 2 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 100g/3½oz grated carrot,
  • 2 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
  • 400ml beef stock
  • 400g/14oz dried spaghetti
  • salt and pepper

Method

  1. Heat a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add a tablespoon of olive oil and once hot add the beef mince and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook the mince until well browned over a medium-high heat (be careful not to burn the mince. It just needs to be a dark brown colour). Once browned, transfer the mince to a bowl and set aside.
  2. Add another tablespoon of oil to the saucepan you browned the mince in and turn the heat to medium. Add the onions and a pinch of salt and fry gently for 5-6 minutes, or until softened and translucent. Add the garlic and cook for another 2 minutes. Add the grated carrot then pour the mince and any juices in the bowl back into the saucepan.
  3. Add the tomatoes to the pan and stir well to mix. Pour in the stock, bring to a simmer and then reduce the temperature to simmer gently for 45 minutes, or until the sauce is thick and rich. Taste and adjust the seasoning as necessary.
  4. When ready to cook the spaghetti, heat a large saucepan of water and add a pinch of salt. Cook according to the packet instructions. Once the spaghetti is cooked through, drain and add to the pan with the Bolognese sauce. Mix well and serve.
The Scottish Pantry Network