Beef and beet borscht soup

Taken from Bowl Food

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion chopped
2 cloves, garlic crushed
500g beef chuck steak, cut into 2cm cubes
1 litre beef stock
2 small beetroots
200g canned crushed tomatoes
1 carrot diced
2 potatoes, diced
2 1/2 cups finely shredded cabbage
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp sugar
2 tbsp chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
2 tbsp chopped fresh dill
1/3 cup sour cream

Preheat the oven to moderately hot 200 degrees. Heat the oil in a large saucepan, and cook the onion and garlic over medium heat for 3-5 minutes. Add the beef, stock and 1 litre water, and bring to the boil. Reduce the hat and simmer, covered for 1 hr 5 minutes, or until the meat is tender. Remove the meat.

Trim the beetroot just above the end of the leaf stalks. Wrap in foil and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until tender. Unwrap and leave to cool.

Return the stock to the boil and add the tomato, carrot and potato, and season with salt. Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes. Add the cabbage and cook for 5 minutes. Peel and dice the beetroot. Return the meat to the pan and add the beetroot, lemon juice, sugar and 1 1/2 tbsp of parsley and dill each. Cook for 2 minutes, or until heated through. Season to taste.

Remove from the heat and leave for 10 minutes. Serve with a dollop of sour cream and garnish with the remaining dill and parsley.

Pasta and turkey in cheese sauce

Taken from Chicken – the best ever recipe collection
Ingredients

75g butter
350g turkey breast fillet, cut into thin strips
2 pieces of bottled roasted pepper
175g spaghetti
900ml hot milk
115 grated parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp mustard powder

Melt about a third of the butter in a saucepan, add the turkey and sprinkle with a little salt and plenty of pepper. Toss the turkey over a medium heat for about 5 minutes until the meat turns white, then add the roasted pepper strips and toss to mix. Remove from the pan using a slotted spoon and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil, add the pasta and cook until al dente.

Meanwhile, melt the remaining butter over low heat in the pan in which the turkey was cooked. Sprinkle in the flour and cook, stirring for 1-2 minutes. Increase the heat to medium.

Add the milk a little at a time, whisking vigorously. Bring to the boil and cook, stirring until the sauce is smooth. Add two thirds of the grated parmesan, then whisk in mustard salt and pepper to taste. Remove from the heat.

Drain the pasta and return it to the clean pan. Mix in half the cheese sauce then spoon the mixture around the edge of an oven proof dish. Stir the turkey mixture into the remaining cheese sauce and spoon into the dish.

Sprinkle the remaining parmesan over the top and bake for 15-20 minutes until the topping is just crisp.

The roasted peppers is key to this dish. Turkey on its own is bland, and the taste of the cheese requires something to complement it and that’s the roasted peppers. And don’t bother if you don’t have any parmesan available, cheddar will do just as well. Any pasta will do too so you don’t have to use spaghetti; as you can see I didn’t use it.

Rainbow trout with garlic and herbs

Taken from the BBC website

Ingredients

For the fennel oil
1 tsp fennel seeds
3 bird’s-eye chillies
250ml/9fl oz extra virgin oil
For the fish
2 large rainbow trout, gutted and cleaned
1 head of garlic, cloves roughly chopped
3 banana shallots, sliced lenthways
2 sprigs of rosemary
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. To prepare the fennel oil, lightly toss the fennel seeds in a dry frying pan over a high heat until they release a lightly toasted aroma – don’t let them burn or even colour. Pour into a small tightly sealed bottle with the olive the oil and the chillies.

2. Get your barbecue going a good half an hour before you want to use it. You want the flames to have died down and a strong generalised heat to be emanating from the coals.

3. Wash the fish inside and out. Place the garlic and shallots inside the cavity of the fish with the rosemary and plenty of salt and freshly ground black pepper. Drizzle the fennel oil inside the fish and secure the edges with a small skewer. Smear some of the oil on the outside of the trout, season generously and place on the grill. Cook each side until the flesh is only just cooked through. The skin should be crispy and golden brown.

I don’t have a BBQ and so the solution to this is the grill. Same timing and at the highest setting (at least for my grill) I love the salty crispy skin of the fish which goes along so well with the zingy olive oil dressing. It’s also quite a revelation for me that rosemary goes well with trout. The fish was easily consumed with yesterday’s braised red cabbage as a side dish.

Pork braised with red cabbage

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Recipe Source: The Vintner’s Table Cookbook: Recipes from a Winery Chef by Mary Evely (Simi Winery)

Ingredients:

3 pork tenderloins
1 cup Pinot Noir
1/2 cup olive oil
1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 bay leaves, crumbled
2 cloves garlic, mashed
Ground cloves
2 Tablespoons olive oil
3 thick slices bacon
1 large red onion, thinly sliced
4 medium carrots, peeled, sliced or julienned
1 (2-pound) red cabbage, cored, thinly shredded
1/2 cup beef stock (homemade or canned)
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Steamed baby carrots, for garnish
Preparation:

Trim the tenderloins of all fat and silver skin.

Combine the Pinot Noir, 1/2 cup olive oil, balsamic vinegar, bay leaves, garlic, and a pinch of ground cloves in a noncorrosive bowl and whisk to mix well. Add the pork tenderloin and turn to coat well. Marinate, covered, at room temperature for 1 hour, or in the refrigerator for 8 hours or longer, turning 2 or 3 times.

Remove the tenderloins to drain on paper towels, reserving the marinade. Cut the tenderloins into halves. Brown in 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large, heavy saute pan. Remove the pork.

Cut the bacon into 1/4-inch strips. Add to the saute pan. Cook over low heat just until light brown. Add the onion and sliced or julienned carrots. Cook for 3 or 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the cabbage. Cook until it begins to wilt. Add the reserved marinade with the garlic, beef stock, salt and pepper; mix well. Add the pork, covering with the cabbage. Cook, covered, over low heat for 10 minutes, turning the pork once.

Remove the pork to a plate. Cook the cabbage, uncovered, until any remaining liquid is reduced to syrup. Adjust the seasonings. Slice the pork.

Spoon the cabbage onto plates and arrange the pork on top. Garnish with steamed baby carrots.

Well, I couldn’t find any pork tenderloin at Tesco, probably because I had to work late yesterday. So instead I used pork ribs which is good in a way because you don’t have to remove the pork ribs from the pot while the cabbage is braising.

The taste of the pork ribs wasn’t spectacular but I love the braised red cabbage!

Vegetarian dumplings

Inspired by vegetarian Tibetan Momos, I made some dumplings with tofu, chives and dried mushrooms.

Jeff wanted some soup as it was cold and rainy today..so we poured some miso soup over the dumplings.

Heartwarming!

Ingredients
1) a block of tofu (well it actually depends on how big your block is right? sighs, just estimate – this recipe is all about estimation. I actually use half a block of trader joe’s tofu
2) 10 dried mushrooms (soaked overnight in water, chopped finely)
3) a bunch of chives (chopped finely)
4) sesame oil
5) finely ground white pepper
6) soy sauce (generous dose, because tofu is quite tasteless)
7) 1 egg
black vinegar for dipping
9) wanton skins (I was sad when there was more filling than skins)

Steps:
1) mix tofu, mushrooms, chives together – mash the tofu till ground-up. You can do that with a fork
2) add sesame oil, pepper, soy sauce and egg, mix thoroughly
3) wrap tightly in wanton skins.
4) In the meanwhile, bring a pot of water to boil. Add salt and a little oil.
5) When water boils, add the dumplings.
6) They are cooked when they float to the top.
7) Serve with vinegar as dipping sauce, or pour your choice of hot, clear soup over it. (We did it with Miso, which tasted really good, I reckon chicken broth would be nice too.)

Cardamon-infused Dark Chocolate Truffles

I got the recipe off my favourite dessert blogger, La Tartine Gourmande, who is French and based in Boston! This particular recipe of hers made it to the Boston Globe. I made mini-changes:

1) Instead of using two kinds of chocolate, I just used Trader Joe’s Dark Baking Chocolate.
2) Instead of using an electric mixer, I decided to just mix using a fork for convenience’s sake. Just mix really hard and well I guess.
3) I waited 3 hours but the ganache was still rather soft, which is why I couldn’t shape them well, but the next day, they were fine. So I’ll prob chill overnight the next time. I actually re-shaped the truffles and rolled them in cocoa powder a second time.

I know the shape’s a bit weird, gotta try to make them nice for the next batch so that i can bring it to Jeff’s party. But…they are the richest and most delicate things ever! Yummy! Love the cardamon flavour!

Garlic Chicken with Herbes de Provence

Taken from Waitrose recipes

Ingredients
15g pack fresh tarragon, chopped
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
½ bulb of garlic cloves
6 Waitrose Fresh Organic British Free Range Chicken Legs
2 tbsp dry white wine
6 bay leaves
15g pack fresh rosemary
15g pack fresh thyme
300ml chicken stock
Method
In a pestle and mortar, pound the tarragon with ¼ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon black pepper, 1 tablespoon oil and 3 cloves garlic into a paste.

Make a little pocket under the skin at the top of each chicken thigh and stuff 1 teaspoon of the tarragon mixture into it. Spread the rest over the legs.

Place the chicken pieces in a plastic food bag with the wine and remaining garlic, thickly sliced, and expel as much air from the bag as possible. Marinate in the fridge for about an hour. Then remove the chicken and pat dry on kitchen paper. Strain the marinade and reserve the garlic, but discard the wine. Preheat the oven to 180°C, gas mark 4.

In a large flameproof casserole, heat the remaining olive oil over a medium-high heat and fry the chicken legs skin-side down in 2 batches until the skin is golden brown. Remove and set aside.

Allow the pan to cool down, then place the herbs and reserved garlic in the casserole. Add the chicken pieces, skin-side up, then pour in the stock.

Cover with greaseproof paper. Place in the oven, then immediately turn the temperature down to 140°C, gas mark 1. Cook for 1 hour 30 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and there is no pink meat. Serve the casserole, minus the herb sprigs, with the mixed bean and rocket salad.

Baked rainbow trout with a dill crust

Ingredients

1 rainbow trout
2 slices of brown bread
1 tbsp dried dill
1 garlic clove

Blend the garlic, dill and bread. Season well with salt and black pepper.

Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes.

Place the trout on a baking tray (covered with foil). Season with salt and pepper. Stuff the fish with the bread mixture. Spread the remaining bread mixture over the fish. Drizzle some olive oil over the crust.

Another purchase on a whim at Tesco (this is becoming a pattern). Was actually thinking of steaming it in a Chinese (Cantonese?) style: spring onions, chilli, ginger, soya but my mom said that I should do it in a “western” style and so I ended up with this recipe which I made up with the ingredients I have at home. I like crust on fish as it keeps the flesh wonderfully moist and adds a nice crunchy bite to it.

Honey and mustard roast gammon

Ingredients
2.75kg gammon, joint (middle cut)
1.5 tbsp Dijon Mustard, or English mustard
2 tbsp clear Honey
To decorate:

2 handfuls whole cloves

Method

1. Put the gammon joint into a large bowl (or spotlessly clean bucket), cover with cold water and leave to soak for 24 hours. Drain well.

2. Set the oven to 160°C/gas 3. Lay a sheet of kitchen foil in a roasting pan that is large enough to take the joint with some room to spare. Lay a second sheet across it, at right angles. Sit the gammon joint square in the middle; bring the silver foil up around the gammon, sealing edges together neatly and comprehensively, to form a loose, airtight wrapping around the gammon.

3. Roast for 2 hours. Increase the oven temperature to 220°C/gas 7. Open up that foil and lift the gammon out onto a large chopping board. Drain off all the juices. Make a couple of long cuts through the outer layer of skin (but not the fat underneath). Peel the fat off in strips, taking care, as it will be extremely hot.

4. Mix the mustard and honey together, and then smear thickly all over the layer of fat. Next score the fat with parallel lines first in one direction and then at an angle to it, to cover the joint in a pattern of diamonds. Push a clove into the centre of each diamond.

5. Return the joint to the oven for a final 25 minutes or until richly browned and glazed. If you are serving the joint hot, let it rest in a warm place for 20-30 minutes before carving. For cold gammon, leave it to cool in its own time.

Serve with buttered brown bread and rocket.

I still remember my first encounter with gammon in university hall and it was just eating an extremely thick piece of bacon. Not exactly a very good memory. Ten years later, I saw a gammon joint in Tesco and on a whim I decided to buy one and see what I can do with it (which is quite surprising because I normally plan my recipes before I buy the ingredients). Anyway, as you can see, I managed to find a recipe on the uktv website and you can actually WATCH the cook make this dish. Ah the wonders of technology. The weblink is: http://uktv.co.uk/food/recipe/aid/516007.

Oh and the gammon tastes heavenly, the salt has been drained out of the gammon joint from the soaking, the resulting balance of the sweet and savoury, absolutely heavenly.

Seafood bake with leeks and cider

Taken from Waitrose recipes

Serves 4

Ingredients

250g Icelandic cod fillet, skinned
250g haddock fillet, skinned
100ml vegetable stock
300ml Waitrose Vintage English Cider (from 500ml bottle)
250g fresh mixed seafood or prawns
2½ tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
25g softened butter
50g plain flour
20g fresh parsley, finely chopped

For the topping
500g waxy potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
2 leeks, thinly sliced
Method

Place the fish fillets in a pan, add the stock and cider, and bring to a very gentle simmer. Poach for 5 minutes, then remove the fish with a slotted spoon. Reserve the poaching liquid.
Preheat the oven to 200°C, gas mark 6. Flake the drained fish into 4 x 500ml individual pie dishes (or use a 2-litre square ovenproof dish) and mix with the seafood or prawns.
Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a pan and fry the onion for 3-4 minutes over a low heat to soften. Pour in the poaching liquid. In a small bowl, mix the butter and flour together to form a smooth paste. Add this to the hot liquid, a little at a time, whisking constantly until the paste is completely incorporated and the sauce is thick and smooth. Stir in the parsley, then divide the sauce evenly between the pie dishes.
For the topping, rinse the potato slices in cold water to remove excess starch. Drain and pat dry with kitchen paper. Place the potato slices over the fish, scattering the sliced leeks evenly among them as you go. Drizzle the remaining oil over the potatoes and bake for about 35 minutes, until they are golden and soft.