Paneer, Pizza and Pasta

Much as I like eating out, I do prefer to cook my own meals. I once had a curry while I was out that was made up of vegetables, and the main component was paneer cheese. I wanted to make something with it, but no shops I knew of sold it. A little while ago, however, the supermarket I do my shopping in started to stock it. I kept meaning to get some, and include it when I planned my menu, but I kept forgetting! This week however, it finally happened. I saw a photo of a lunch that someone had made, which was a naan bread 'pizza' with spinach, tomato and paneer. I decided to have it for lunch today.

The photo is a bit steamy, but I wanted to eat it while it was hot! On it's own, paneer can be a little tasteless, but it soaks up wonderfully the flavours of anything it is cooked with. I used a mini naan as I had some in the freezer... and I have one left, so I might just have to make this again!

I'm not quite sure what happened, but despite careful planning, I ended up without a tea for tonight. It didn't take me long to decide on pasta, as I haven't had it in a long time, so have been sort of craving it. I went through various combinations in my head, and although what I eventuall cooked was nothing like my original idea (as always!), I think I stumbled across a really good combination.

 

 

What we have here is wholewheat penne pasta, mixed with smoked diced ham, quark and wholegrain mustard. I wanted to add some peas, but I couldn't get to the freezer- long story- but I still really liked this combination! I am a big mustard fan (seriously, I can eat it right out of the jar), and I have liked the ham and mustard combination for a long time. So what's not to like about this?! I think peas would be a worthy addition, as I can honestly say it felt weird not having a vegetable included. However, it was still good as is. I think smoked ham was the right choice, but I'm sure unsmoked would be nice as well... feel free to experiment and let me know what you think!