Guest post: Mr Thapa's Breakfast Noodles

Happy new year!!! 2012 has now officially been and gone, and the challenge of 12 for 2012 was met. Points to me for actually following through for once - wooooooo. To celebrate the new year and the end of the official challenge, I bring to you a present. It's like a late Christmas present or alternatively just a present to me, which says that I've done enough and it's high time to let someone else take a shot. Either way, today I would like to share with you my family's breakfast noodle extravaganza...

In late October, we had a Nepali gentleman staying with us for just under a week. Mr Thapa was over in Scotland participating in an 'educational exchange' between our school and his school in western Nepal. It really was the best week - we actually had breakfast around the table together (obviously attempting to cultivate the impression that we are civilised - that's a joke, but anyway...) and we left for school at a slightly more civilised time than normal. All good things!

On the last morning, Mr Thapa said that he would cook us breakfast - a typical meal that he would eat at home. I don't know what I was expecting, but noodles was most certainly not it!

It's not a secret that I am not exactly a spice fiend. In fact, it's not a secret that I am a complete and utter spice wuss and cry 'uncle' at the first hint of peppery-ness, let alone the chilli powder that went into these noodles. Chilli powder, onion, and some kind of chicken seasoning at seven o'clock in the morning. Imagine my shock, and to a certain extent, abject horror!

Not too different from the instant noodles that I would normally favour, but just a tad hotter. The flush staining my cheeks served only to amuse my parents as they watched the steam pour from my ears with every bite. That said, it was a surprisingly palatable treat for breakfast, and a far cry from the normal Weetabix mulch of school mornings.

Fresh pasta

Yes, that's right... I made pasta! With my own fair hands!

With mum out of the country and a few days off post-exams (highers ma lyf!)  what else was I to do! Admittedly, it may not have been the best idea as by the time I was finished, flour was covering every single surface and I was heading out the door straight after dinner, leaving dad to clean up. (Mwahahahaha - simple pleasures, people, simple pleasures!)

One slight problem that I didn't take into account. That expanding pasta thing. The recipe said that a pasta roller was necessary. Naturally, I decided that a simple rolling pin would do a good enough job, but alas, that was not the case! When they cooked, the majority turned into chewy, starchy doughballs, while there were a few which although initially appearing too thin, were actually pretty nice!

Taken straight from bbc food, apart from the lack of pasta roller (oops)

Ingredients:
300g plain flour
3 eggs
1 tbsp olive oil

Place the flour, eggs and oil in a food processor and pulse until combined.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead briefly until smooth. Cut the dough aside in half and set one piece aside.
Roll out one piece until 1cm thick and then feed it through a pasta machine. Start on the thickest setting, passing the sheet through several times and lowering the setting until it reaches the thinnest setting. Slice the pasta sheet into ribbons 1cm wide. Repeat the process with the rest of the dough.
Rather than cutting into strips, I used a flower cookie cutter instead, to try and make some kind of a shell shape, which didn't quite work, but it wasn't completely awful! 
Cook until, well, cooked.

UPDATE - I got a pasta roller for Christmas. Attempt 2 to follow!! 

Meaty cheesy pasta bake

Due to the time-constraining effects of prelim revision, this quick and easy dish was feasted on by us last week but is only now finding its rightful place on the blog. According to the official Delia recipe it is technically supposed to have bacon and leeks but as it was a last minute decision, there was a serious lack of wintery vegetation in the fridge. As a result, this two meat pasta was created. Yes, that’s right – two types of meat!

On another note, napkin folding may soon become a new hobby...

Originally from one of the many Delia books in the house.

Serves 8 (or 4 for 2 nights – handy!)

500g pasta (personally I like using penne, but other pastas like macaroni or fusili would would just as well)

6 or 8 slices of bacon

1 smoked sausage (cabanossi from Lidl works really well)

50g butter (either unsalted or salted will do, but I used unsalted due to the saltiness added by the sausage)

50g plain flour

200g cheddar cheese with extra for topping

850ml milk

3 tbsp double cream

some nutmeg (which I didn’t bother with)

roughly 50g ready salted crisps

Melt the butter in a pan, and mix in the flour. Add the milk to this mixture gradually until the sauce thickens. Then add the cheese, grated, to the sauce until it’s melted through.

While the sauce is thickening, cut up the bacon and chop the sausage and fry them together.

Boil the pasta for 10 minutes and then put it straight in the dish.

Mix the meat through and pour the sauce over.

Lastly, add the smashed-up crisps and sprinkle cheese over the top and pop it in the oven at approximately 180.C – it should take about half an hour to forty-five minutes until the cheese is crispy on top (should really be a bit darker than in the photo, but we were running to a deadline...)