Power Pasta to prepare you for the long run!!
Power Pasta Plates to prepare you the Long Run…
- Ireland’s rising chef star Donal Skehan creates delicious high-energy pasta dishes exclusively for the Cork City Marathon-
The energy requirements of someone doing a marathon or long work out is about 15 times resting values so food plays a big part of getting fit and healthy and pasta in particular is massively popular for essential carbo-loading.
With this in mind, high profile food blogger and cook book author Donal Skehan has teamed up with the Bord Gáis Energy Cork City Marathon to create five brand new and delicious ‘Power Pasta’ recipes to help give participants a head start in their training for the marathon, taking place on Bank Holiday Monday 7th June 2010.
With 10,000 athletes expected to take part and raise €3 million for over 150 charities this year, the marathon is one of the biggest sporting events in the country. Donal’s dishes like Speedy Spaghetti Amatriciana and Rocket Fuelled Pasta are sure to get athletes of all levels fuelled up and ready to take part whether they are running the full 26.2 miles or walking/jogging a leg of the course as part of a relay team.
Donal’s recipes will appeal to foodies and fitness enthusiasts and are available to download for FREE on www.readysteadycork.com, alongside several fitness schedules and training guides designed to help a wide range of people – from experienced athletes to first-time marathoners.
Donal’s Power Pasta recipes are packed with foods and ingredients rich in protein and ‘good fats’ such as avocados, salmon, chicken and olive oil, providing vital nutrients and ensuring that there is plenty of variety in runners’ diets!
Donal says “Done right, carbo-loading gives the body the slow-release energy needed to power them through a sustained work-out. My recipes are designed to be super tasty and nutritious as well as giving you enough power to fuel you over 26.2 miles.” Donal added that “athletes who are short on time will find these recipes indispensible as race day nears since they can be put together quickly and easily by even the most inexperienced chefs who may have less time on their hands as their training intensifies”
Donal’s Power Pasta Recipes
- Perfect pick- me- up Penne! -Roasted garlic and tomato Pasta with Chorizo Chicken
This is a really gutsy pasta dish which is just bursting with flavours and will most definitely leave you full! I absolutely love garlic not just for it’s flavour but because it is also a really healthy ingredient. There is a lot of garlic in this dish but by roasting the bulb it really mellows out the flavour so you won’t clear the room when you eat this one! When looking for chorizo, try and pick it up in its thick sausage form rather than the thin slices, then you can slice it into nice chunky bitesize pieces.
Serves 4
1 large bulb of garlic.
1 punnet of cherry tomatoes.
1 large red onion.
1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar.
3 tablespoons of olive oil.
A good pinch of sea salt and ground black pepper.
An extra glug of olive oil.
250g of wholewheat penne pasta.
For the chicken and chorizo:
150g of chorizo, in chunky slices
4 chicken breasts
3 cloves of garlic
2-3 sprigs of rosemary
1 tablespoon of olive oil
A good pinch of ground black pepper
A good pinch of sea salt
Preheat the oven to 200°C/Gas 4.
Slice the top off the bulb of garlic so that almost all the cloves are exposed. Place the garlic in a large roasting tray. Prepare the cherry tomatoes by slicing them in half.
Place the tomatoes in the roasting tray. Prepare the red onion by peeling and cutting into thick slices, place alongside the tomatoes and set aside. In a separate bowl, mix together the balsamic vinegar and olive oil and pour over the tomatoes, the red onion, and the garlic bulb. Sprinkle everything with a good pinch of sea salt and black pepper.
Roast the tray in the oven for 30-35 minutes or until the tomatoes have reduced to half their size.
While the tomatoes, onions and garlic are roasting, cook the pasta according to the instructions on the pack.
In a pestle and mortar or with the back of a knife, crush the garlic cloves with a little sea salt, until you have a fine paste.
Remove the leaves from the sprigs of rosemary, and add them with the mushed garlic, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and the chicken breasts to a bowl and allow to marinade while you fry off the chorizo.
In a large hot pan, fry the chorizo pieces on each side until they are crisp, remove and set on a plate lined with kitchen paper.
You should have lots of oil left in the pan from the chorizo but if not you can add a drop of olive oil. Fry the chicken breasts in the chorizo oil for 3-4 minutes either side, depending on the size, but just make sure they are cooked through. Remove and slice thinly.
When the tomatoes, garlic and onion are cooked remove from the oven and using a fork remove the garlic from its skin and mash with all the rest of the ingredients until you have a thick mushy sauce. Tumble the cooked pasta, chicken, and chorizo into the roasting tray and mix everything together until it’s all combined. Add a little extra drizzle of olive oil and another pinch of black pepper if needed!
Serve and enjoy!
Tasty Tagliatelle for Training
Creamy Smoked Salmon and Sunblushed Tomato Tagliatelle
Salmon is low in calories and saturated fats, yet high in protein which is good news for those looking for a healthy, post-run supersnack. It’s got the right mix of protein, carbs and nutritious ingredients to help repair damaged muscles too.
This is a really great meal to throw together in just minutes and it’s really filling. You can pick up sun blushed tomatoes in the supermarket and they are a little less intense than sun dried.
Serves 4
250g of tagliatelle
2 tablespoons of olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
200g of low fat crème fraiche
200g of smoked salmon, sliced
80g of sun blushed tomatoes, roughly chopped
A good handful of dill, freshly chopped
A good pinch of sea salt and ground black pepper
Juice of half a lemon to serve
Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the packet.
In a large frying pan, heat the oil over a medium heat and fry the garlic gently for 1 minute.
Add the crème fraiche to the pan and heat through.
Then add the dill, tomatoes, sea salt and black pepper and stir through.
Finally add the salmon and tagliatelle and toss everything together to coat.
Serve each portion with a generous squeeze of lemon juice.
Tuna and Garlic Spaghetti with a spicy kick
Tuna is a fantastic healthy store cupboard ingredient which is perfect for quick dishes just like this. You can use tinned tuna, but I really love the tuna you can buy in jars stored in olive oil.
Serves 4
250g of wholemeal spaghetti
2 tablespoons of olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, finely minced
1 teaspoon of dried chilli flakes
A good handful of parsley, roughly chopped
230g jar of tuna fillets in olive oil
A good pinch of sea salt and ground black pepper
Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the packet
In a large frying pan heat the oil over a medium heat and add the garlic and chilli flakes. Fry gently until golden.
Add the cooked pasta and the parsley to the pan and toss until the pasta is nicely coated.
Break the tuna into rough chunks, add to the pasta and stir through.
Season with a little sea salt and black pepper and serve straight away!
Rocket Fuelled Pasta with Avocado and Parmesan
Avocados are packed with healthy nutrients and vitamins so all the more reason to eat them. Look for avocados which are slightly soft to the touch when you press them with your fingers. The only thing to remember about avocados is that, unless you give them a spritz of lemon juice they tend not to like sitting around, so always prepare them last.
Serves 4
250g of wholemeal pasta
70g of rocket leaves, roughly chopped
1 handful of spinach
2 avocados
1 clove of garlic, minced
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon of balsamic vinegar
A good handful of grated Parmesan cheese
A good pinch of sea salt and ground black pepper
Cook the pasta according the instructions on the pack.
While the pasta is cooking, add the rocket, Parmesan, garlic, salt and pepper to a mixing bowl and set aside.
When the pasta is cooked, drain it and then add it to the bowl.
Pour in the vinegar and olive oil and stir the pasta until it is nicely coated. You should end up with stringy cheesy green pasta- YUM!
Slice the avocados in half and remove the stones, slice thinly and add to the pasta.
Serve straight away and devour!
Healthy Herby Amatriciana
This is one my absolute favourite classic Italian dishes, and this recipe is inspired by the fantastic Lorraine Fanneran who runs the equally fantastic La Cucina in Limerick with her Italian husband Bruno. It’s a really easy little supper dish which is packed with flavour and delicious ingredients!
Serves 4
250g of wholemeal spaghetti
2 tablespoons of olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 onion, finely chopped
280g of pancetta or bacon bits
2 x 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
A handful of fresh basil, roughly chopped
A handful of fresh parsley, roughly chopped
A good pinch of sea salt and ground black pepper
A small handful of grated parmesan
Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the packet.
Heat the olive oil in a large pan over a medium heat and fry the garlic and onion slowly until soft.
Add the bacon and chilli flakes fry until crisp.
Stir in the chopped tomatoes, bring to the boil then lower the heat and cook at a gentle simmer for 15 minutes or until the sauce has reduced by half. Season with sea salt and ground black pepper. When the sauce is cooked, stir through the parsley and basil.
When the pasta is cooked, add it to the spicy tomato sauce and toss until it is nicely coated.
Serve straight away with a little grated parmesan.
