INGREDIENTS

500 gms beef cut into 2.5cm x 2.5cm cubes

About 1kg potatoes
1/4 onion
1 green pepper
1 clove garlic
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp paprika
2 Maggi beef cubes
1 litre water
1 small glass “white wine” (we use a non-alcoholic wine like Carl Jung)
1 cap sherry vinegar 1.5 tbsp black peppercorns
2 tbsp olive oil

DIRECTIONS

Heat the olive oil in a pressure cooker and sauté the beef on medium to high heat. Move them around the pot so that they don’t stick and burn.

Cube the green pepper and onion and chop the garlic. When all the water is gone and the meat is browned, add the chopped ingredients and mix well. Let it cook slowly until fragrant and soft. Add the “wine” and sherry vinegar, tomato paste and paprika. Mix well and bring back to the boil.

Add the water, beef cubes and peppercorns. Mix well and close the pressure cooker. Pressure-cook for 20 minutes.

Peel the potatoes and cut into cubes about 2cm x 2cm. After 20 minutes when the meat is soft, open the pressure cooker and add the potatoes. Pressure-cook for 6 minutes.

Serve hot with bread. Don’t forget to “mash” the potatoes and the meat when eating!

– Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Anyhow, the chicken cooked this way not only smells good, it tastes really good. Now I need to figure out how to keep the chicken from getting dry. There must be a way…

By the way, the best Caesar Salad of all time is at the Terrace Grill in the Marriott Hotel in Kuwait. They make it right in front of you and it is simply sumptuous!

INGREDIENTS
Serves 4 

400 gms Romaine lettuce, cleaned and cut
4 skinless boneless chicken breast halves
Fresh Parmesan cheese, sliced

Cajun Chicken Marinade:
1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon oregano
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Drizzle olive oil
Salt to taste

Combine everything in a bowl and taste for salt. Make some cuts across the chicken breasts so the marinade penetrates. Mix chicken breasts with the marinade and place in an airtight bag overnight for extra spicy flavour. Otherwise at least an hour will be fine.

Grill 15 minutes each side then remove to cool. Slice and put aside.

Caesar Dressing:

4 tbsp light mayonnaise
1 tbsp white vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp anchovy paste (comes in a tube) or 4 – 5 anchovies without the oil
Salt to taste

To prepare the dressing, mix everything using a fork. Taste for salt. Add 2 – 3 tbsp water and mix well.

To serve the salad:

Mix the salad with dressing and put in individual plates. Arrange Parmesan and chicken slices. And serve!

INGREDIENTS

150 gms dry red beans or pinto beans – soaked in water overnight
2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium sized onion, chopped finely
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne powder or chilli powder
1 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp tomato purée
1/2 tsp dried oregano
4 oz can chopped tomatoes
2 vegetable cubes
1 litre water

DIRECTIONS

Drain the beans and boil in 1 litre of water, 2 vegetable cubes and a bay leaf in a pressure cooker for 15 – 20 mins.

Heat the oil in a large pan and add the onions and garlic. Cook for 4 – 5 minutes until soft. Add the cumin, cayenne and paprika and cook for one minute on a low fire. Stir frequently.

Add the tomato puree and cook for a few seconds, then add in the oregano. Add chopped tomatoes and cook slowly for 15 – 20 mins.

When the beans are cooked, add the sauce to the beans and cook through for 5 minutes.

Serve hot with bread or eat on its own.

– Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

So I guess from now on, this is how we make Bolognese sauce for spaghetti Bolognese, lasagne or cannelloni.

450 gms 85% fat minced beef

1 stalk celery

1/2 medium-sized onion

3 cloves garlic

1 can stewed tomatoes

2 tsp oregano

salt to taste

Fry the minced beef till all the water is gone. Mince all the vegetables in food processor and add to the meat when all the water is gone.

Puree the stewed tomatoes and add to the pan when the vegetables are cooked. Add salt to taste and simmer till all the liquid is gone from the tomatoes.

INGREDIENTS

Serves 2

2 eggplants (240 gms)

If you like zucchini, you can substitute 1 eggplant for 120 gms zucchini

1 1/2 medium-sized green peppers or a mixture of different coloured peppers (200 gms)

1 large tomato (180 gms)

1/4 large onion (85 gms)

2-3 cloves garlic

2 tsp tomato puree or tomato paste

Olive oil (minimum of 1 tbsp, use up to 3 tbsp if you like)

1 tsp herbes de Provence (If not available, substitute with 3/4 tsp McCormick’s “Mixed Herbs” + 1 large dried bay leaf crushed)

Salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

Cut the eggplant into cubes, throw them in a bowl with some salt to get rid of the bitter taste.

Heat a heavy wok or frying pan – add the olive oil. Peel and cube the onion, put it into the pot and let it cook slowly on medium heat. Mince the garlic and add it to the onions.

Wash the bell peppers, rib and de-seed. Cut into cubes and stir it in.

Wash the salt off the eggplant, rinse well and drain all the water. Throw them in the pot. If using zucchini, wash and cut into big chunks and throw them in.

Wash the tomato, cut it up into big chunks, and throw them in. Add the tomato paste, herbes de Provence or its substitute as above, and salt and pepper to taste.

Mix well and cover.

Let it cook slowly for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Its done when you see that the oil has separated.

Serve hot. Goes well with couscous and Moroccan baked fish and keeps well in the fridge for up to a week. Also nice eaten on its own or with bread.

Browsing through I found Martha’s “Perfect Roast Chicken” recipe. I was dying to try out our new oven so it was a great opportunity! We found all the ingredients especially the all-important fresh rosemary. It was easy to make. We also threw in potatoes and carrots around the chicken, and everything turned out perfect! The chicken was juicy and full of flavour, and so were the potatoes and carrots.

INGREDIENTS

Serves 4

1 six-pound roasting chicken
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 medium onions, peeled and sliced crosswise 1/2 inch thick
1 lemon
3 large cloves garlic, peeled
4 sprigs fresh thyme
1 cup Chicken Stock, or canned low-sodium chicken broth, skimmed of fat

DIRECTIONS

Let chicken and 1 tablespoon butter stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Remove and discard the plastic pop-up timer from chicken if there is one. Remove the giblets and excess fat from the chicken cavity. Rinse chicken thoroughly under cold water, inside and out, then pat dry the chicken thoroughly with paper towels making sure the cavity is as dry as possible. Tuck the wing tips under the body. Sprinkle the cavity of the chicken liberally with salt and pepper, and set aside.

In the centre of a heavy-duty roasting pan, place onion slices in two rows, touching. Place the palm of your hand on top of lemon and, pressing down, roll lemon back and forth several times. This softens the lemon and allows the juice to flow more freely. Pierce entire surface of lemon with a fork. Using the side of a large knife, gently press on garlic cloves to open slightly. Insert garlic cloves, thyme sprigs, and lemon into cavity. Place chicken in pan, on onion slices. Cut about 18 inches of kitchen twine, bring chicken legs forward, cross them, and tie together.

Spread the softened butter over entire surface of chicken, and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. If desired throw in halves of peeled potatoes, and chunks of carrots around the chicken.

Place in the oven, and roast until skin is deep golden brown and crisp and the juices run clear when pierced, about 1 1/2 hours. When chicken seems done, insert an instant-read thermometer into the breast, then the thigh. The breast temperature should read 180 degrees.and the thigh 190 degrees.

Remove chicken from oven, and transfer to a cutting board with a well. Let chicken stand 10 to 15 minutes so the juices settle. Meanwhile, pour the pan drippings into a shallow bowl or fat separator, and leave onions in the pan.

Prepare the pan sauce: Leave any brown baked-on bits in the bottom of the roasting pan, and remove and discard any blackened bits. Using a large spoon or fat separator, skim off and discard as much fat as possible. Pour the remaining drippings and the juices that have collected under the resting chicken back into the roasting pan. Place on the stove over medium-high heat to cook, about 1 minute.

Add chicken stock, raise heat to high, and, using a wooden spoon, stir up and combine the brown bits with the stock until the liquid is reduced by half, about 4 minutes. Strain the gravy into a small bowl, pressing on onions to extract any liquid. Discard onions, and stir in the remaining tablespoon of cold butter until melted and incorporated.

Untie the legs, and remove and discard garlic, thyme, and lemon. Carve, and serve gravy on the side.

Goulash, originally from Hungary, is a stew or a soup, usually made with beef, red onions, vegetables, spices and ground paprika powder. The name originates from the Hungarian gulyás (pronounced goo-yash), and means cattle stockman or herdsman.

Goulash is usually made with beef shank, shin or shoulder or veal and derives its thickness from tough, well-exercised muscles rich in collagen, which is converted to gelatin during the cooking process.

Meat is cut into chunks, seasoned with salt, and black pepper and then browned in a pot with oil or lard with sliced onions. Paprika, water or stock is added and left to simmer. After cooking a while garlic, caraway seeds or ground caraway seeds and even soup vegetables like carrot, parsnip, peppers like green pepper (or bell pepper), celery and a small tomato may be added. Other herbs and spices could also be added, especially hot chili peppers, bay leaf and thyme. Diced potatoes may be added, they provide starch as they cook, making the goulash thicker and smoother. A small amount of white wine or a very little wine vinegar can also be added near the end of cooking to round the taste.

Goulash may be served with thin soup pasta, made of a dough with flour and egg, thinly rolled out on a board. called csipetke. The name Csipetke comes from pinching small fingernail size bits out of the dough, (csip =pinch), adding them to the boiling soup.

More about Hungarian Goulash here.

There are may ways to prepare and eat goulash.

Our version is simple and uses local ingredients – in Malaysia we used to buy beef bones at the wet market. In Kuwait we use chuck steak. We also use a pressure cooker to cook the dish in under an hour.

We like to eat it with Fusilli pasta or a nice bread.

INGREDIENTS

Serves 3 – 4

400 gms chuck steak

1/2 large onion

2 cloves garlic

1/2 green pepper

1/2 can peeled or stewed tomatoes

4 – 5 guindilla (Spanish dried chillies)

1 small potato, cubed (optional)

1 1/2 tbsp paprika powder

1/2 tsp marjoram

1 – 2 tbsp sour cream (optional)

1 Maggi beef cube

1/2 litre water

olive oil

DIRECTIONS

Cut the steak into chunks of approximately 3cm by 3 cm. Chopped the onions, mince the garlic and cube the green peppers. Puree the canned tomatoes.

Heat olive oil in the pressure cooker and fry the beef until medium brown. Remove. Add a little more oil if necessary and when hot, saute the onions and garlic until they are translucent. Add the green peppers and stir fry for approximately 5 minutes.

Add the meat, pureed tomato, paprika powder, beef cube and water. Crush the dried chillies using your fingers and add them to the pot . Add salt to taste and pressure cook on medium heat for approximately 25 minutes. Check it make sure it doesn’t burn in the pressure cooker.

Add the cubed potatoes, if using them, and the marjoram. Let it simmer slowly until the meat and potatoes are tender. Alternatively, you can boil the potatoes separately and add them to the goulash when the beef is tender.

Fifteen minutes before serving, reheat the goulash and add the sour cream if using it. Just let it boil through and remove from heat.

Serve hot with pasta or bread.

When I’m cooking this in Kuwait, it actually reminds me of Malaysian-style spicy noodles that I eat it with a pair of chopsticks. LOL

INGREDIENTS

For one serving

80 gms spaghetti

3 cloves garlic

5 guindilla (Spanish dried chilli)

70 gms peeled, deveined shrimps

3 leaves fresh basil

15 gms fresh parseley

1 tsp tomato puree

2 tbsp olive oil

DIRECTIONS

Fill a saucepan with water and bring to the boil. Add the spaghetti and boil according to instructions on the packet until al dente. Check when it has been boiling for 6 minutes by biting a piece of the spaghetti. If not al dente enough, let it boil for another minute or two until the right firmness is reached.

Peel the garlic, smash it with the blade of a knife the cut into 1/2 cm widths, Mince the parseley and shred the basil.

In a pan, heat the olive oil on medium heat. Add the garlic and saute it – don’t let it become crispy. Lower the heat. Crush the guindilla between your thumb and index finger and add to the garlic. Fry a little on this low heat then add in the spaghetti. Fry the spaghetti mixing it well with the garlic and the guindilla to let it absorb the flavours and get coated in the olive oil. Add salt to taste and the herbs.

Add the tomato puree and stir well for 2 minutes or so.

Increase the heat, make a well in the centre of the pan – i.e. move the pasta to the sides of the pan – and add the shrimps. It should only take a while to cook on the high heat. Stir well and move the pasta around to spread out the shrimps.

 

Bolognese sauce made with 1/2 kg minced beef (See Spaghetti Bolognese)

9 lasagne leaves

Shredded Parmesan cheese

For the Béchamel:

3 – 4 tbsp butter

1 1/2 tbsp flour

400 – 500 ml fresh or UHT milk

salt to taste

Prepare the Bolognese sauce first.

While the sauce is cooking you can pre-boil lasagne leaves according to instructions on the package. Drain and lay them flat on a plate so they don’t stick to each other.

Lay 3 lasagne leaves on the base of an over-proof casserole dish or Pyrex. Pour 1/2 of the Bolognese sauce and spread evenly over the leaves. Lay three more lasagne leaves and add the balance of the sauce. Lay the last 3 lasagne leaves.

Pre-heat over to 180 degrees Centigrade.

Prepare the Béchamel:

• Heat the butter over a medium fire and when melted, add the flour. Stir for approximately 5 minutes on a slow fire. DON’T LET IT TURN BROWN OR BURN.
• Add a little milk and stir. Keep adding the milk and stirring until a smooth consistency is achieved. You may need 400ml milk or more. Add some salt and remove from heat.

Pour the Béchamel over the lasagne leaves, sprinkle with shredded Parmesan and bake in the oven for 30 – 40 minutes until the cheese has turned golden brown.

Update: TM6 version

Preparation time 30 minutes

INGREDIENTS

Serves 3

1/4 cup arborio rice or jasmine rice

500 ml fresh milk or UHT milk (you can also use low-fat milk)

2 tbsp sugar

Rind of 1 orange

Cinnamon stick

Cinnamon powder to serve

DIRECTIONS

Lightly wash the rice and place in a non-stick saucepan together with the orange rind, sugar, cinnamon stick and half the milk and cook on medium heat.

Stir often and keep adding the rest of the milk making sure that its always “SOUP not CONGEE”. Simple explanation – don’t let it get thick. If it becomes congee, it will stick to the pan.

When all the milk is used up, allow to gently boil for about 15-20 minutes until the rice is soft. It should be soupy – once it has cooled down it will be come thicker. If its not soupy, add more milk and heat again for awhile.

Remove cinnamon stick and lemon peel and allow it to cool. Once it has cooled down, place in a serving bowl or individual dessert bowls and chill in the fridge for at least an hour.

To serve, sprinkle cinnamon powder and decorate with a piece or orange rind or cinnamon stick.