Yasmin’s Spaghetti Carbonara

Carbonara is one of the most impressive pastas you can make, fortunately it’s also one of the easiest!  Below is the most basic recipe I can come up with which will get you on the right track, once you have made it a few times start to play with it, you can add all sorts of things to it, bacon, spinach, mussels, it’s a really good dish to learn and can be made in minutes so there is no reason to ring the local take away if you have had a long day!

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon butter

200g/7 oz button mushrooms, sliced

1 cup cream

2 eggs

125g/4 oz parmesan cheese, grated

1/3 cup finely chopped chives

400g/14 oz dried spaghetti

200g/7 oz ham, chopped

Method:

1.       Get some water boiling an cook the pasta according to the instructions on the pack.  Its best to use home made, but that isn’t applicable for a quick meal, try and by fresh egg pasta from the shops but dries will work fine, remember to put a few pinches of salt into the water once it has boiled.

2.       Once the pasta is almost done, melt butter in a non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat and add mushrooms. Cook them for 5 minutes, or until tender, remember to keep stirring them.  Remove from the pan and put under some foil to keep warm.

3.       Combine cream, eggs, three quarters of the parmesan, chives, and a pinch of salt and few turns of pepper in a bowl.

4.       Drain cooked pasta into a saucepan. Add egg mixture, mushrooms and ham. Toss over low heat until sauce thickens. Season. Serve with remaining parmesan.

Ant

Mushroom Sauce

There is no better way to finish the week than with a nice steak, this sauce makes it even better, and it’s so simple, which is perfect for a Friday night!

Ingredients:

30g butter

1 medium brown onion, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, crushed

200g mushrooms, thinly sliced

1/2 cup dry white wine

300ml pure cream

Metho:

1.       Melt butter in a frying pan over medium heat. Add onion. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until softened. Add garlic and mushrooms. Cook, stirring, for 3 to 4 minutes or until softened.

2.       Add wine. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in cream. Bring to the boil. Simmer for 10 minutes or until reduced by half. Season with salt and pepper.

Ant

Veggie Week Part 4 - Souffle Omlette with Mushrooms

Veggie Week took a brief holiday while my wife was working late - I didn't see much point in cooking that way for myself so I have mostly been surviving on a diet of chips and cider for about a week. Normal service resumes now with this delicious, moreish fluffy omlette. Be prepared to make extra though, anyone who smells it will want one too!

Ingredients (serves 1)

For the Omlette:

2 Eggs, seperated

1 tbsp Butter

Flat Leaf Parsley or Coriander (to garnish)

For the sauce:

1 tbsp Butter

1 clove of Garlic, finely chopped

75g Mushrooms, sliced

1 tbsp Plain Flour

85-90ml Milk

1 tbsp Chopped Fresh Parsley

Salt and Pepper

Method

Make the mushroom sauce. Melt the butter in a good sized pan and add the garlic and sliced mushrooms. Fry gently for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionaly. Any liquid released will mostly be reabsorbed so don't worry too much. Stir in the flour, then gradually add the milk stirring all the time. Cook until the sauce boils and thickens. Add the parsley (if using) or experiment with some of your favourite other herbs. Season and keep warm.

Make the omlette next. Beat the egg yolks with 1 tbsp of water and season. Whisk the egg whites until stiff, then fold into the egg yolks. Meanwhile, pre-heat your grill. Melt the butter in an omlette pan and pour in the egg mixture. Cook over a low-medium heat for 3-4 minutes, then place under the grill for a further 3-4 minutes until the top is golden brown.

Slide the omlette onto a warm serving plate, spoon over the sauce, then fold the omlette over the top. Season again and sprinkle with chopped fresh herbs. Devour the lot before someone steals it!

Hope you enjoy, feel free to post any variations you try!

All the best, more updates soon

Tony

Tomato and Basil

A simple tomato and basil sauce can be the best thing to have in your fridge.  This can be used in a pasta, lasagne, pizza, the list is endless.  I promise once you make this you will never buy a jar of sauce again!

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 5 garlic cloves, sliced very thin
•  2 cups of canned, whole tomatoes, with their juice, coarsely chopped
• salt
• 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, torn into small pieces

Directions:

1. Pour all but 1 tbsp. of olive oil and the garlic in a large pan over a medium-high heat and cook until the garlic begins to sizzle, but doesn't brown.
2. Add the tomatoes and cook over a medium-high heat until the tomatoes have reduced and separated from the oil. This will be about 15 minutes.  Season with salt.
3. Add the basil at the end and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
4. Pour direct onto pasta or into a sterilised jar.  Once cool put it in the fridge.

Ant

Honey BBQ Sauce

A nice simple sauce tonight, but I don’t think anyone can have a BBQ without this one, this is a typical 'simple is best' recipe!

3/4 cup of honey
1/2 cup of ketchup
1/4 cup of butter
1 tbsp. vinegar
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
2 tbsp. brown sugar                                                  
1 tbsp. soy sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
Chilli powder optional

Combine all the ingredients in a sauce pan and simmer the mixture for 5 minutes.  This should make about one and a half cups of sauce.

Tip:  Try adding some finely chopped onion to this, sweat it down first and mix it in to the mix.

Ant

Hot and Sweet Tomato Sauce

Tonight’s addition is a hot and sweet tomato sauce, combining 2 of my favourite foods, tomato and chili!

Ingredients

5 kg firm and ripe tomatoes, washed and halved

2 onions, roughly chopped

4 tart apples, roughly chopped

1kg brown sugar

1 bird's eye chilli, minced

1 tsp ground cayenne pepper

1 tsp ground paprika

1 tsp freshly cracked black peppercorns

1 ½ cups malt vinegar

salt to taste

1 Tbs corn flour dissolved in ½ Tbs water

Method

1. Place the tomatoes, onion and apple in a food processor.  Blend until smooth.  Pour into a large saucepan on a medium heat, add the rest of the ingredients.
2. Stir to dissolve the sugar. Let the mixture bubble and keep stirring to avoid the fruit mixture sticking on the bottom of the pan. When the mixture is reduced and the colour is darker, have a taste. You can add more spices, salt or sugar, to give the correct balance.
3. Prepare a jug lined with muslin cloth or use a colander placed over a bowl.  Remove the saucepan from the heat, then, pour the hot sauce through the muslin or the colander.  Press to get more moisture from the sauce.
4. Put the saucepan back on the stove and simmer on a low heat until the remains left from the mixture is bubbling again.  Add the cornflour and cook another 10 minutes to thicken. Pour immediately into the prepared sterilised jars or bottles.

Tip: Keep the tomato mix that you strained and use it in a bolognaise etc as it will add a great depth of flavour!

Ant

Harissa Paste

While not really a sauce, Harissa is a fantastic paste that can be added to the most common dishes and make into something completely new and exciting!  Adding a spoonful of harissa to a bolognaise is a fantastic example of elevating a tired old favourite to a new level!

Ingredients:

·         10-12 dried red chilies.  For hot use something like birds eye chili, of for a milder flavour maybe try a anaheim chili.  If you really like it hot, like I do, maybe throw a scotch bonnet in the mix!

·         3 cloves garlic, minced

While not really a sauce, Harissa is a fantastic paste that can be added to the most common dishes and make into something completely new and exciting!  Adding a spoonful of harissa to a bolognaise is a fantastic example of elevating a tired old favourite to a new level!

Ingredients:

·         10-12 dried red chilies.  For hot use something like birds eye chili, of for a milder flavour maybe try an Anaheim chili.  If you really like it hot, like I do, maybe throw a scotch bonnet in the mix!

·         3 cloves garlic, minced

·         1/2 teaspoon salt

·         2 tablespoons olive oil

·         1 teaspoon ground coriander

·         1 teaspoon ground caraway seeds

·         1/2 teaspoon cumin

Preparation:

1. Soak the dried chilies in hot water for 30 minutes. Drain. Remove stems and seeds.

2. In a food processor combine chili peppers, garlic, salt, and olive oil.

3. Add remaining spices and blend to form a smooth paste.

This will keep well in the fridge, a quick tip is to cover the surface with a layer of olive oil as this will last a lot longer.  I would suggest buying already dried chilies but if you are like me and want to do everything yourself, the easiest and most convenient way I found was, the next time you cook a roast etc once its finished turn the oven off and put some chilies in on a tray, then just leave the door ajar a little, after an hour or so (depending on the size etc) they will be dried and ready to go.  If it looks like they are not yet dry and the oven is losing heat, take them out and heat the oven back up, then turn off and repeat the process until they are dry enough for you!

This paste i find works best in tomato based recipes.  But experiment with it, im sure this one will be one you always go back too!

Ant

Getting Saucy

Good Evening all!  My apologies for the lack of blogging recently, I have not had much time in the evenings and not really been cooking anything of note, mainly just throwing together a quick salad or something along those lines.  To make up for it, this week I'm going to be adding a new sauce recipe every day of the week.  I'm going to try and make them sauces that you can add to dishes rather than a finishing sauce etc.  I hope you enjoy, and if anyone has a request on a sauce they have had or would like to make let me know and ill try a few out and make a recipe for you!!

Ant