I wanted to cook something “wholesome” for family dinner on Sunday – something which the whole family could enjoy and something I hadn’t cooked before — and something which would go with Focacia and brocolli soup – so I asked my AI helper and this was the result!!

It was really great and everyone enjoyed it so m uch, I just had to add it to my collection.

Ingredients:

• 225 g penne pasta
• 450 g chicken tenders
• 30 ml olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 240 ml heavy cream
• 120 ml chicken broth
• 50 g grated Parmesan cheese
• 5 ml (1 tsp) Italian seasoning (or mix 1 tsp each dried oregano, basil, thyme, ½ tsp each rosemary, parsley)
• 100 g fresh broccoli florets
• Salt, to taste
• Black pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Cook 225 g penne pasta in a pot of boiling salted water until al dente, adding 100 g fresh broccoli florets in the last 2 minutes of cooking. Drain and set aside.
2. Season 450 g chicken tenders with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, heat 30 ml olive oil over medium heat. Cook tenders for 4 minutes per side until golden and internal temperature reaches 74°C. Remove, slice thinly, and set aside.
3. In the same skillet, sauté 1 minced garlic clove for 30 seconds until fragrant. Add 240 ml heavy cream, 120 ml chicken broth, 50 g grated Parmesan, and 5 ml Italian seasoning. Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens.
4. Add the cooked pasta, broccoli, and sliced chicken to the skillet. Toss to coat evenly in the sauce.
5. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper if needed.

Serves: Approximately 4 people (100-120 g cooked pasta and 100-120 g chicken per portion).

It goes really well with Cous Cous or even roasted potatoes and a fresh salad to give a fusion taste.

Prep Time 30 mins
Cook Time 1 hr 30 mins
Total Time 2 hrs 

Number of Servings: 4
Calories 358

Source Carol | From A Chef’s Kitchen

Ingredients

(1) For the Stew

900 gms chuck roast, trimmed and cubed into approximately 1-inch cubes
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 stalks celery chopped
1 medium onion chopped
2 large carrots sliced
4 cloves garlic sliced
2 cups beef broth
3 small plum tomatoes coarsely chopped
1 cup dried apricots coarsely chopped

Celery leaves for garnish.

(2) For the Harissa

2 dried chipotle peppers
4 dried New Mexico chili peppers
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
4 cloves garlic
1/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
Salt to taste

Instructions

Combine flour, salt and pepper on a plate and coat the beef pieces in the mixture.

Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a non-stick pan and brown beef evenly in batches. Pour off excess drippings.

Combine the paprika, coriander, turmeric, cumin, ginger and cayenne and sprinkle over the beef. Add the onion, garlic and beef broth.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and cook 1 ¼ hours to 1 ½ hours.

If using a pressure cooker, combine the ingredients in the pressure cooker and cook on high for 22 minutes. Check the tenderness of the beef, and add time if necessary. If beef is almost tender, add the carrots and celery.

While the stew is cooking, prepare the Harissa.

Add the apricots and tomatoes and cook an additional 15 minutes on the stovetop or 1 more minute on high in the pressure cooker.

Garnish with celery sprigs and serve with harissa on the side.

Harissa

Place peppers in a small saucepan with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil. Turn off heat and let stand 20 minutes.

Remove stems and seeds and transfer to a food processor or blender.

Combine cumin and coriander in a dry, nonstick skillet and toast briefly until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Add to the peppers along with garlic, olive oil and red wine vinegar. Blend to a smooth paste. Season to taste with salt.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 | Calories: 358kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 15g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 1664mg | Potassium: 850mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 24g | Vitamin A: 7902IU | Vitamin C: 15mg | Calcium: 87mg | Iron: 3mg

The meatballs, Köttbullar, are light, delicate and a real treat. They are best served in the traditional style, with potato purée, sweetened lingonberries and pressed cucumber. With this recipe, we never have to wait to go to IKEA to have Swedish meatballs It’s a great recipe and not too difficult to make.

Is this recipe authentic? The short answer is that there isn’t an authentic method. If you asked ten Swedes about making köttbullar you would get ten different answers. They would be similar for sure, but most Swedish cooks will have their own way and so will use a bit more or a bit less of this or that. Nonetheless, I think most Swedes would agree that these meatballs are pretty good.

Opinions about gräddsås (cream sauce) are even more divided. The recipe below is adapted from Vår Kok Bok (Sweden’s most popular cookery book) and is said to strike a good balance, but of course you can tweak it to suit your own preferences and still feel it is genuinely Swedish. Some add more cream, sometimes a lot more cream(!), and some add some white wine vinegar or a tablespoon of redcurrant jelly. Nonetheless, the gräddsås recipe below a good starting point.

Serve them the traditional way or serve them up the fine-dining way with pasta and asparagus.

Ingredients (Serves 4)

For the Meatballs / Köttbullar

4 tbsp fresh white breadcrumbs
4 tbsp milk or water
450 gms minced beef
2 tbsp grated or finely chopped onion
1 egg lightly beaten
2 whole allspice, crushed
Salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste

2 tbsp butter, for frying

Cream sauce

300 ml hot water
1/2 to 1 beef stock cube
2 tbsp plain flour or all-purpose flour
100 ml milk or water
1/2 to 1 tsp soy sauce
2-3 tbsp cream

Directions

For the Meatballs / Köttbullar

Put the breadcrumbs in a large bowl and add 4 tablespoons of milk or water. Leave them to absorb the liquid for about 5 minutes.

Add the mince, grated onion, egg, allspice (optional) and seasoning. Mix with your hands or a wooden spoon until evenly mixed. Don’t over mix or the meatballs will be heavy.

Take a tablespoon of mixture and roll it until it is nice and round. (Rinse your hands in cold water if the mixture is too sticky.) Repeat until you have used up all the mixture, by which time you should have between 30 and 40 meatballs.

Heat a tablespoon of butter in a frying pan over medium high heat until the butter stops sizzling. Fry half the meatballs, shaking the pan frequently when you first add them. When they are nicely browned, turn down the heat and cook for a further 10 minutes. Remove the meatballs from the pan and keep warm. Add another tablespoon of butter and fry the remaining meatballs in the same way.

The Sauce / Gräddsås

When the meatballs are cooked, remove the pan from the heat and add the warm water and use it to scrape up all the meaty bits in the pan. Bring it up to the boil and let it simmer for a minute or two. Sieve the mixture into a saucepan, add the stock cube and stir until dissolved.

Mix the flour with the milk or water and stir until dissolved. Pour into the saucepan, whisking continuously as you do so. Simmer the sauce for 5 minutes.

Add the soy sauce and cream. Heat for another couple of minutes, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon. (Use a whisk if you like a little foam, as shown above. If you like lots of bubbles, use an immersion blender with the blade half in and half out of the sauce.) Taste and adjust the seasoning.

Serve the meatballs with rårörda lingon, mashed potatoes, pressed cucumber and a light coating of the sauce. Pour the rest of the cream sauce into a jug for people to help themselves to if they want more.

Julköttbullar

For julköttbullar (Christmas meatballs) the breadcrumbs and milk/water are replaced with grated potato and cream and the onion is finely chopped and lightly fried first.

For a large party

For a large party, julköttbullar are normally cooked in an oven. Add the butter to a large pan and put it in a hot oven at 250°C until the butter is melted and a light brown colour. Add the julköttbullar and cook in the middle of the oven for 8-12 minutes until nicely browned, shaking the pan a few times to ensure that the balls are evenly browned.

Since then, I have found this recipe on the internet and recipised it for use on my Thermomix 6 and within minutes, I can have homemade Laksam!

INGREDIENTS

150 gms white fish meat

1/4 medium sized white onion

2 cloves garlic

1″ peeled ginger

1 tsp black pepper

25 gms Santan powder

Salt to taste

1 piece dried tamarind

1 packet Udon noodles (or homemade Laksam noodles)

Ready made sambal belacan

INGREDIENTS FOR GARNISHING TO SERVE

Taugeh – cleaned and tailed

Long beans – sliced thinly

Bunga kantan (ginger flower) – quartered lengthwise and sliced thinly

Daun kesum – sliced thinly

Cabbage – sliced thinly

DIRECTIONS

Wash the fish and place in Thermomix mixing bowl with 500 gms water and salt to taste. Cook with measuring cup — 15 minutes, temperature 95 centigrade, speed 0.5

Pour into a bowl to cool, and once cool, remove bones, head if any, and skin if desired. Do not throw away the fish water!

Place onion, garlic, ginger and black pepper into mixing bowl, add back 100 gms of fish water, cover with measuring cup and blend — 2 seconds at Turbo. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl and repeat 2 more times until the ingredients are pureed.

Add the balance of the fish water and the fish and blend — 2 seconds at Turbo. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl and repeat to desired thickness.

Add santan powder, cover mixing bowl and with measuring cup — cook for 15 minutes, temperature 95 centigrade and speed 1. Taste the sauce for salt, add tamarind and cook for 10 minutes more.

To serve, place Udon noodles in shallow bowl, spread shredded veg and herbs on top, and ladle the fish gravy generously. Add sambal belacan as required.

1kg lean minced beef
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion finely chopped
4 cloves garlic crushed
2 x 660g jars passata with basil
400g dried cannelloni tubes

For the topping

50g butter
50g plain flour
600ml whole milk
140g soft cheese with garlic and herbs
140g parmesan grated

Directions

For the filling, dry-fry the beef in a non-stick pan on a medium-high heat, breaking up with a wooden spoon until browned – about 10 mins. Remove and set aside. Add the oil and cook the onion for 5 mins, until soft. Add the garlic for 1 min more, then tip in the beef and 1½ jars of the passata sauce and the sugar. Simmer for 20 mins while you make the white sauce.

Heat the butter in a small pan. When foaming, stir in the flour for 1 min. Add the milk gradually, stirring all the time to achieve a lump-free sauce, then bubble for 2 mins while stirring. Remove from the heat and stir in the soft cheese with seasoning until dissolved. Set aside, covered with cling film to stop a skin forming.

To assemble, pour the remaining tomato sauce into the base of 2-3 large baking dishes or 12 individual ovenproof dishes or foil containers. Spoon the beef into the cannelloni tubes using a teaspoon and lay on top of the sauce. Pour on the white sauce, then sprinkle with Parmesan.

If freezing, allow to cool, then freeze wrapped well in cling film.

To eat straight away, heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6 and cook for 40-45 mins until the pasta is tender and topping golden. Defrost frozen cannelloni thoroughly, then cook as above for 50 mins-55 mins (or see tip).

Recipe Tips

To cook from frozen, cover with foil and cook at 180C/160C fan/gas 4 for 1 hr 15 mins (at this stage it should be defrosted). Then remove foil, increase oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6 and cook for 30 mins more until piping hot. If you froze single portions, check 15 mins before the end of each stage – they may cook quicker.

INGREDIENTS

For the chicken patties:
Chicken mince
1 egg
1/3 medium sized onion, chopped
Fresh coriander leaves, chopped
Cumin powder
Grated parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Breadcrumbs
Canola oil for frying

For the sauce:
1 box of button mushrooms, sliced
2/3 medium onion, chopped
6 – 7 garlic, minced
Stems of coriander leaves, chopped
Fresh basil leaves
Balsamic vinegar
1 can stewed chopped tomatoes
Chicken cube
Water
Olive oil

DIRECTIONS

Beat the egg, add all the other ingredients except the chicken mince. Mix well and taste if desired. Add the chicken mince and mix well using your hands. Add a little flour if necessary.

Form into 40 gm rough balls then roll in breadcrumbs to form a round or square patty shape. Fry in shallow oil over medium heat until golden brown.

Prepare the sauce while the patties are cooking.

Heat olive oil and sauté the onions and garlic. When soft, add coriander stems then after a while add the mushrooms and cook till soft. Add the balsamic vinegar and cook through. Add the chopped tomatoes, basil, chicken cube  and the water. Cook until the liquid dries  and taste for salt. Add more water to get the desired amount of sauce, heat through and remove from heat.

To serve, pour sauce into a deep casserole dish, arrange patties on top. Great with a salad or some brown rice.

650 gms medium lean ground beef
1/4 large onion, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 beef cube
1 tsp cayenne or chilli powder
2 tsp paprika powder
2 tsp cumin powder
1 1/2 tsp coriander powder
1 heaped tablespoon fried tomato paste or tomato puree
1 tablespoon Canola oil
Salt to taste

DIRECTIONS

Heat Canola oil in a non-stick pan then fry the ground beef. Continuously turn them over using two spoons so that they don’t form lumps of meat. Keep frying until all the liquid is gone then add the minced onion and garlic. Fry on medium heat until fragrant then add the beef cube, paprika powder, cayenne or chilli powder, cumin powder and coriander powder. Mix well and taste for salt.

Add the fried tomato paste or tomato puree and heat through.

Serve with romaine boats and fresh salsa.

500 gms squid rings
1/2 medium sized onion, minced
6 – 7 cloves garlic, mince
3 – 4 guindilla
2/3 pack tomato paste
1 cap Sherry vinegar
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup water

DIRECTIONS

Mix the tomato paste with 200 ml water. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a small pan and slowly fry the tomato paste until it is reduced and you can see the oil. Cover or the tomato will splatter. This should take 20 – 30 minutes on a slow fire.

In a saucepan, heat the remaining 1 tbsp of olive oil and sauté the minced onions and garlic, then cover and let it sweat on a low fire. When the onions are transparent and soft, add the guindilla and mix well. Once the tomato paste is reduced, add it to the saucepan with salt to taste and 1/2 cup water. Let simmer.

Boil some water and blanch the squid rings for exactly 45 seconds. Any more and they will become rubbery. Remove and let drain.

When the sauce is reduced, switch off the fire and add the squid rings, mixing through.

Serve hot with bread or rice.

NOTE: This sauce is pretty universal! Use this to cook clams (fry the clams first to remove all the fluid) or serve as a sauce for grilled fish or chicken.

But when you’re thousands of miles away from home, you just have to cook it!  Not that people don’t cook these dishes at home in Malaysia, they do (well, maybe except for roti canai which is easily bought frozen) especially at the weekend.

Having lived away from home all these years, I’ve been on a mission to continually perfect my own rendition of chicken rice which had no recipe really ?. So I learned to cook it the way my mum did…And my mum’s chicken rice is  simply THE best! It is so good I can eat it on its own!” Sounds almost like the Malaysian radio commercial for Gardenia bread!

Hainanese chicken rice usually comes “steamed” or “roasted” and since I’m not at all fond of the steamed version, my recipe here is for the roasted chicken. 

INGREDIENTS

For the chicken soup
Chicken bones from 1 chicken carcass
5cm chunk of ginger
2 cloves garlic
1.5 litres water

For the chicken rice
2 cups (rice cooker cup) jasmine rice
1/4 medium-sized onion or 4 shallots
2 cloves garlic
1.5 cm chunk of ginger
1 tbsp Canola oil
5cm long cinnamon stick
1 Maggi chicken cube

For the roast chicken
1 kg whole chicken
1 tbsp ginger juice
1 tbsp dark soya sauce
2 tsp honey
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp white pepper powder
1/2 tsp 5-spice powder (optional)
Canola spray oil

For the chilli sauce
6 red chillies
3 cm chunk of ginger
2 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp salt

Garnishing
A sprig of spring onions
A bunch of fresh coriander leaves
Cucumber
Lettuce

DIRECTIONS

Marinade the chicken
Remove excess skin at the neck and bottom of the chicken and cut into quarters. Wash well and drain. Prick with a fork all over, then dry with a paper towel. Place all the marinade ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Taste the marinade for salt then add the chicken quarters to the bowl and rub the marinade all over. Cover the bowl with cling film and set aside in the fridge to marinade for at least an hour.

Prepare the chicken soup
Wash the chicken bones and place in a pot with the water. Peel the ginger and garlic and smash with the sides of a large knife. Add to the pot of water and chicken bones. Bring to the boil on high heat, then let it simmer for 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand.

Prepare the chilli sauce
Wash the chillis, cut into 3 cm pieces and boil in 1 cup of water until chilli turns orangey. Drain and set aside. Peel the ginger and garlic and slice into small pieces. Place boiled chillis, ginger, garlic and salt into a container, add 1/2 cup of the chicken soup prepared earlier and blend using a hand blender until fine. Set aside.

Prepare the roast chicken
Preheat the oven at 180C. Spray Canola oil onto a baking dish. Remove chicken from the fridge and arrange the chicken quarters onto the dish spreading any marinade left in the bowl all over the chicken pieces. Spray the tops of the chicken with Canola oil. Roast in the oven for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, turn the chicken pieces around and roast for a further 15 – 20 minutes till brown and crispy but not burnt. Turn again and roast for a further 5 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand for 10 minutes covered in foil.

Prepare the chicken rice
While the chicken is in the oven, prepare the rice. Wash the rice under the tap to remove as much of the starch as possible. Drain and leave in colander to dry. Peel the onions or shallots, garlic and ginger. Slice the onion and garlic thinly lengthwise and julienne the ginger. Heat the oil in a non-stick pot. When hot, fry the cinnamon then add the sliced onions, garlic and ginger. Fry on medium heat till fragrant and the onions brown. Add the washed rice and fry till the rice is covered in the oil. At this point I usually just touch the edge of a knife in the Paella seasoning (basically saffron powder) then dip it in the rice to get a lovely light yellow colour. Add 3 cups (rice cooker cup) of the chicken soup prepared earlier and one Maggi chicken cube. Mix everything well and let the rice cook on medium heat. Taste for salt when most of the liquid is gone and add salt if necessary according to your taste. Turn the fire to low and insert a heat diffuser between the pot and and the gas fire to cook the rice slowly until all the liquid is dry without burning it.

TO SERVE
Cut each chicken quarter into two or three pieces and arrange on a bed of lettuce. Garnish on the side with sliced cucumbers and top with fresh coriander.

Add salt and pepper to the soup and serve with diagonal slices of spring onions.

Serve the rice, roast chicken and soup hot with chilli sauce on the side.

I knew I wanted to marinade quartered chicken pieces and grill them so I was very patient as I did my search. I didn’t have much time if I was going to make this for dinner.

This recipe from Kimba’s Kitchen was perfect. My chicken pieces were already defrosted and drained so I had enough time to marinade it for around 2 hours. The result was amazing – the chicken was crisp on the outside and succulent and tasty on the inside, not dry at all. Next time though, I will marinade it overnight and it should be much more sumptuous!

INGREDIENTS
1 kg whole chicken cut into quarters, with skin and bone
3 tsp minced garlic
2 tsp grated ginger
2 tsp chilli flakes
2 tbsp dried parsley
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Salt to taste
1 tbsp Nando’s Hot Peri Peri Sauce (optional, for that extra “kick”)
Spray Canola

I also added 1 tbsp of the amazing Lea & Perrins’s garlic sauce.

DIRECTIONS
To make the marinade, combine the garlic, ginger, chilli flakes, parsley, olive oil and lemon juice. Stir to mix thoroughly. Add salt and taste.

Dry the chicken pieces using a couple of sheets of kitchen paper and place in a bowl. Prick them with a fork all over. Add the marinade and rub onto the chicken pieces generously. Cover the bowl and seal with glad wrap. Leave to marinate in the fridge for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight.

When the chicken is ready to be cooked, preheat oven to 200C or 180C fan forced. Spray the surface of a baking dish with spray cooking oil, place the chicken pieces onto the baking dish, and lightly brush the surface of the chicken skin with Nando’s Hot Peri Peri Sauce if desired. Spray the surface of the chicken skin lightly with the spray cooking oil.

Place baking dish into the oven and cook for approx. 35-40 minutes. The chicken is done when a metal prick inserted reveals clear liquid. If desired to get a more crispy skin, place under a the grill for around 5 minutes.

Serve hot with chips and salad, grilled or steamed vegetables or a rice pilaf.