Monday, 30 June 2008

Brazilian fish stew



Ingredients

8 (6-ounce) pieces skinless hake or Pacific cod fillet (1/2 to 1 1/4 inches thick)
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon finely chopped bottled malagueta peppers or 1/4 teaspoon dried hot red-pepper flakes
2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic (3 cloves)
2 teaspoons salt
1 pound extra-large shrimp in shell (16 to 20 per pound)
1 1/2 pound tomatoes, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/3 cup chopped yellow bell pepper
2 yellow plantains, peeled and each cut diagonally into 8 pieces
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Pat fish fillets dry and put in a bowl. Stir together lime juice, malagueta peppers, 1 tablespoon garlic, and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, then pour over fish and toss to combine. Marinate, covered and chilled, 30 minutes. Add shrimp and chill at least 30 minutes but no longer than 1 1/2 hours more.

Put tomatoes in bottom of a wide 5- to 6-quart heavy pot. Top with onion and remaining tablespoon garlic, then sprinkle with bell peppers. Place plantains on top of vegetables. Sprinkle evenly with remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Arrange fish in 1 layer on top of plantain. Sprinkle cilantro and parsley over fish, then arrange shrimp in 1 layer over herbs, reserving marinade. Pour oil and marinade evenly over mixture in pot.

Bring to a simmer, then cover pot. Adjust heat to gently simmer until vegetables are softened and have released liquid and fish is just cooked through, about 20 minutes.


Bananas and fish. l's first reaction when I told her about it was: eeewwwwkkkk. Surprisingly, it turn out pretty well. The bananas gave the stew a faint fruity taste which distinguishes it from the typical tomato based fish stews. My mom is quite happy with this dish as well, aside from the fact that she likes the taste: fresh, wholesome and healthy, she is impressed by the fact that the dish is simple to make and clean to prepare. No stains on the stove as it's just a matter of simmering in the pot for 20 minutes.

Oh and I didn't know what plantains are. I had to use wikipedia to work out what it is: a kind of banana!

Tuesday, 24 June 2008

Tomato soup



This is one of the first things I cooked for l and J. Took a previous photo of it but this photograph of the soup seems better so I decided to put it up again.

Fry diced onions, carrots and celery until they have softened. Add tomatoes quartered (as ripe as possible), garlic, a bay leaf, some mixed herbs and fry for a while. Add some chicken stock and simmer for 30 minutes. Puree the vegetables and return to the soup. Serve with basil leaves and warm bread.

Sunday, 22 June 2008

Curry noodles



Fry diced shallots with sambal chilli, then add in pork ribs marinated with salt and curry powder. Fry it for a while till you see the oil released from the pork ribs. Add in potato chunks which have been fried with some salt. Mix it all together. Add water and simmer till the pork is cooked. Pour in some coconut milk and season. Serve with noodles and lettuce.

My mom's curry recipe. Normally, no one uses pork in curry for I guess religious reasons. My grandmother just threw in pork ribs one day while cooking curry, probably because she wanted to use whatever's in the fridge and realised that it goes really well as a meat for curry. So this tradition of using pork ribs in curry passed on to my mom and now to me.

Italian bread salad


Ingredients:

6 cups cubed (3/4-inch) country bread (about 1/2 lb)
1/2 seedless cucumber
1 celery rib, thinly sliced (1 cup)
1/2 cup chopped scallion
1/2 cup chopped pitted Kalamata olives
1 Tbsp drained capers, chopped
3/4 cup packed flat-leaf parsley leaves
3/4 cup packed basil leaves, torn
1/3 cup fine-quality extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup red-wine vinegar

Preheat oven to 300°F with rack in middle.

Spread out bread in a 4-sided sheet pan and toast in oven, stirring occasionally, until pale golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool completely.

While bread cools, halve cucumber lengthwise, then core and thinly slice.

Toss together bread, cucumber, remaining ingredients, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper and let stand, tossing occasionally, 30 minutes. Season with additional oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper.


USE FOCCACIA FOR THIS SALAD!!!

Thursday, 12 June 2008

Warm spinach salad with bacon and shallot dressing



Ingredients

6 slices bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 medium shallots, halved and thinly sliced lengthwise (3/4 cup)
1/4 cup olive oil
6 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
Scant 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 lb curly spinach (about 20 cups), coarse stems discarded

Preparation

Cook bacon in a 12-inch skillet over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until golden and crisp, about 8 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain. Add shallots and oil to bacon fat in skillet and cook over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until softened and browned, about 3 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and add vinegar, stirring and scraping up any brown bits.

Stir in salt and pepper and immediately pour dressing over spinach, tossing to coat. Serve sprinkled with bacon.



I modified the recipe by using balsamic vinegar (because it's the only vinegar in my fridge) and dijon mustard. I am so in love with the small potato and thyme foccacia bread that I bought from Borough market. It goes very well with this salad.

Saturday, 7 June 2008

Chorizo and chicken pasta



Ingredients

1 handful of cherry tomatoes
10 thin slices of chorizo, chopped
1 packet of washed rocket leaves
1 chicken breast, chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
sundried tomatoes, finely chopped

Season the chicken with salt and paprika. Pan fry the chorizo, onions, chicken and garlic until the chicken is cooked. Add cooked pasta and cherry tomatoes. Cook at low heat for 1-2 minutes. Add the rocket leaves, mix well and serve.

Made up this recipe after having another dose of my favourite fix, chorizo sandwich at Borough market. Actually, I have been having that a lot as my groupmates and I have frequenting the market during the examination period. Any excuse to avoid studying.

Sunday, 1 June 2008

Tuna pasta salad



Ingredients

2 cans of tuna
2 tbsp of capers
1 can of olives
cherry tomatoes
long beans
anchovies

Was at Carluccio's my favourite Italian franchise at Russell Square and I decided to get a light meal since I had lessons later that day. I picked the pasta salad and I fell in love with it. After that, I decided to make my own version of it and this is what I have done. Cook the long beans and the pasta. When cooked, add the remaining ingredients with lots of olive oil and a bit of black pepper. Mix well. This was my lunch for the last four days and I am still not sick of it. Ok, maybe a little now.