This couscous recipe was brought to you by the letter C and the number 1/2 (as made for one person):
Ingredients:
1/2 cup of couscous
Feta cheese
1/2 carrot
1/2 courgette
1/2 onion
1 clove of garlic
olive oil
ginger
cinnamon
cumin seeds
coriander
salt
Instructions:
Chop the onion into small pieces and place in a saucepan with some olive oil on a low heat. Chop the clove of garlic into even smaller pieces and add to the onion, along with small amounts of ginger, cinnamon, cumin seeds, and coriander.
Slice the carrot very thinly and add to the saucepan. Cut the courgette into little sticks (since they lose their stiffness more slowly than slices, so you minimise the overcooked-courgette-effect, which is the main thing that makes me dislike courgettes). Add the courgette to the pan and leave to cook for a minute or two, stirring regularly.
Now that you have a saucepan full of tasty vegetables covered in spices, we want to impart this flavour to the couscous. We do this by cooking it risotto style (see Mushroom Risotto below). First add the couscous to the saucepan and stir. Then add water little by little as the previous amounts of water are absorbed by the couscous. Couscous cooks much faster than rice, so you get the risotto effect of blended flavour in considerably less time.
Now cut the feta cheese into little squares. Put the couscous mixture in a bowl and add the feta cheese on top. Stir and enjoy.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Nutmeat Cheese Balls
A while back I bought a tin of nutmeat, on a whim. It was sitting in my cupboard for ages until I decided I should do soemthing with it, and realised I didn't even know what Nutmeat was for - beyond eating, of course. I stumbled across this recipe, which makes enough for about 3-4 people. I thought it was only ok, and wouldn't have posted it here, except that Matt really liked it - the only way I could convince him not to eat all the left-overs straight away was to tell him he could have them for lunch the next day.
Nutmeat Cheese Balls:
1 tin nutmeat (mashed)
1 grated or finely chopped onion
1 cup grated cheese
2 eggs
1 cup breadcrumbs
chopped mint (optional)
(Optional: Diamond Coat'n'Cook stuff)
Mix ingredients all together. Put in refrigerator to set (or not - either way works). Form into balls and roll in flour and gravy powder (or Diamond Coat'n'Cook stuff, which works goodlier, imo). Leaving them to soak up some of the coating and then re-coating them is also a good idea. Fry until golden brown.
Very easy! The hardest thing was mashing the nutmeat and trying to make them round...
Come on, post recipes!! I need more foods!
Nutmeat Cheese Balls:
1 tin nutmeat (mashed)
1 grated or finely chopped onion
1 cup grated cheese
2 eggs
1 cup breadcrumbs
chopped mint (optional)
(Optional: Diamond Coat'n'Cook stuff)
Mix ingredients all together. Put in refrigerator to set (or not - either way works). Form into balls and roll in flour and gravy powder (or Diamond Coat'n'Cook stuff, which works goodlier, imo). Leaving them to soak up some of the coating and then re-coating them is also a good idea. Fry until golden brown.
Very easy! The hardest thing was mashing the nutmeat and trying to make them round...
Come on, post recipes!! I need more foods!
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Mushroom Risotto
I've been meaning to make this over here. Maybe if I post it, it will help me to get a move on. Here's my favourite version as I used to make it in New Zealand:
Ingredients:
(for one, as usual)
Half a cup of rice
(Arborio would be best, I'm sure, but long grain white will work if you cook this for long enough.)
3-4 swiss brown mushrooms
(They're sweetest, though white or portabello or a mixture will give you something yummy, too.)
Feta cheese
Half an onion
Small amount of oil
Thyme
Pepper
Salt
Instructions:
Chop the onion into small pieces and add to a saucepan (not a frying pan) with the oil. Add a largeish pinch of thyme. Slice the mushrooms and add to the saucepan after the onions are just starting to go clear. Don't be afraid to use extra mushroom. Cook the mushrooms until they have gone limp, then add the rice.
Leave the rice in the saucepan for a bit until at least some of it is starting to go clear-ish. Now you must add water slowly, bringing it to the boil each time you add a little more and then not adding any more water until you are about to need it to stop the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pan. The rice will taste the way the water it was cooked in tastes. You want the rice to taste like mushroom and onion and thyme, not like a weak watery mixture that had a little bit of mushroom and onion and thyme in it. So go slowly.
When the rice is well cooked (i.e. completely soft and starting to stick together -- this can take a while, especially with long grain, but it will happen, trust me), take it off the element and add some chopped feta cheese. Stir it into the rice mixture until it has all melted. Now add salt and pepper to taste. You now have something which looks like mulched paper, but tastes like mushrooms at their best, all sweet and nutty. If the disparity between looks and taste bothers you, I suggest using parsley as a garnish. However, by this stage, I'm usually hungry enough to just eat it. It's very filling and works well with carrot sticks.
Ingredients:
(for one, as usual)
Half a cup of rice
(Arborio would be best, I'm sure, but long grain white will work if you cook this for long enough.)
3-4 swiss brown mushrooms
(They're sweetest, though white or portabello or a mixture will give you something yummy, too.)
Feta cheese
Half an onion
Small amount of oil
Thyme
Pepper
Salt
Instructions:
Chop the onion into small pieces and add to a saucepan (not a frying pan) with the oil. Add a largeish pinch of thyme. Slice the mushrooms and add to the saucepan after the onions are just starting to go clear. Don't be afraid to use extra mushroom. Cook the mushrooms until they have gone limp, then add the rice.
Leave the rice in the saucepan for a bit until at least some of it is starting to go clear-ish. Now you must add water slowly, bringing it to the boil each time you add a little more and then not adding any more water until you are about to need it to stop the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pan. The rice will taste the way the water it was cooked in tastes. You want the rice to taste like mushroom and onion and thyme, not like a weak watery mixture that had a little bit of mushroom and onion and thyme in it. So go slowly.
When the rice is well cooked (i.e. completely soft and starting to stick together -- this can take a while, especially with long grain, but it will happen, trust me), take it off the element and add some chopped feta cheese. Stir it into the rice mixture until it has all melted. Now add salt and pepper to taste. You now have something which looks like mulched paper, but tastes like mushrooms at their best, all sweet and nutty. If the disparity between looks and taste bothers you, I suggest using parsley as a garnish. However, by this stage, I'm usually hungry enough to just eat it. It's very filling and works well with carrot sticks.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Vegetarian Cannelloni
(Recipe for 4 people)
Ingredients
Pasta:
Either 8-12 cannelloni tubes (the dried kind of pasta) or 4-6 fresh lasagne sheets
Tomato Sauce:
About 500-800ml tomato sauce (I like lots, but some people only use a small amount.)
Premade tomato pasta sauce is easiest
OR you can make it using canned (1-2 tins) or fresh tomatoes (4-8 large), onions and whatever else you want - adding half to a cup of red wine instead of some of the water is nice. It needs to be reasonably runny.
Filling:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon finely chopped or minced garlic
1 onion chopped finely
300-500g cottage cheese or ricotta (ricotta is nicer, but so much more expensive that I use cottage cheese)
Spinach, either 1 bunch fresh spinach, washed and chopped, or 1 pkt (250g or so) frozen spinach, which has been defrosted. You can double this amount for a more spinachy effect if you wish too, just use the smaller amount of cottage cheese and make sure you include an egg or two as noted below.
Seasoning: cottage cheese has salt in it, so if you are worried about such things add very little extra. Pepper is always good with spinach. A little nutmeg and 1/2 teaspoon of dill is also nice, but optional. Hmmm you could try a little basil pesto too...
Optional 1: 1-2 eggs to make the mixture stick together more
Optional 2: You can add mozzarella or parmesan to this filling if you want to, but it isn't really necessary.
Optional 3: Pine nuts or (chopped) Pistachios are a nice, but expensive addition. 1/4 cup would work - as would 3/4 cup if you wanted to emphasise the nuts.
Optional 4: You can add things like a grated courgette or finely sliced capsicum too, although I tend not to bother.
Topping:
1 1/2-2 cups grated Mozzarella and with about 1/4 cup parmesan, or to taste.
If you are worried about cost or fat content, cheat by substituting something like edam cheese.
Preparation:
Make tomato sauce if you want to do that rather than buy it. As it needs to be runny, you need to cook it until the tomatoes are completely broken down, so to allow time, and start with the sauce.
Filling:
Cook onion in oil for about 5 minutes, add garlic and cook for about another 5 minutes. Add spinach and cook for a short time to wilt (if fresh) or evaporate some of the liquid (if defrosted frozen). Add cottage cheese and seasoning, and optional things like eggs, extra mozzarella or nuts.
Either stuff cannelloni tubes with filling, or cut lasagne sheets in half, then place filling on sheets and roll, so you have a tube of pasta filled with the filling - it should be about 2-3 cm thick, with about 1 cm pasta overlap.
Grease a pan big enough to hold the pasta tubes laid side by side. I put a little tomato sauce on the bottom as well, but some people don't. Place the cannelloni tubes in the pan. Cover with tomato sauce and top with cheese.
Bake in a preheated oven at 200 C (400 F) for 30 minutes.
Ingredients
Pasta:
Either 8-12 cannelloni tubes (the dried kind of pasta) or 4-6 fresh lasagne sheets
Tomato Sauce:
About 500-800ml tomato sauce (I like lots, but some people only use a small amount.)
Premade tomato pasta sauce is easiest
OR you can make it using canned (1-2 tins) or fresh tomatoes (4-8 large), onions and whatever else you want - adding half to a cup of red wine instead of some of the water is nice. It needs to be reasonably runny.
Filling:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon finely chopped or minced garlic
1 onion chopped finely
300-500g cottage cheese or ricotta (ricotta is nicer, but so much more expensive that I use cottage cheese)
Spinach, either 1 bunch fresh spinach, washed and chopped, or 1 pkt (250g or so) frozen spinach, which has been defrosted. You can double this amount for a more spinachy effect if you wish too, just use the smaller amount of cottage cheese and make sure you include an egg or two as noted below.
Seasoning: cottage cheese has salt in it, so if you are worried about such things add very little extra. Pepper is always good with spinach. A little nutmeg and 1/2 teaspoon of dill is also nice, but optional. Hmmm you could try a little basil pesto too...
Optional 1: 1-2 eggs to make the mixture stick together more
Optional 2: You can add mozzarella or parmesan to this filling if you want to, but it isn't really necessary.
Optional 3: Pine nuts or (chopped) Pistachios are a nice, but expensive addition. 1/4 cup would work - as would 3/4 cup if you wanted to emphasise the nuts.
Optional 4: You can add things like a grated courgette or finely sliced capsicum too, although I tend not to bother.
Topping:
1 1/2-2 cups grated Mozzarella and with about 1/4 cup parmesan, or to taste.
If you are worried about cost or fat content, cheat by substituting something like edam cheese.
Preparation:
Make tomato sauce if you want to do that rather than buy it. As it needs to be runny, you need to cook it until the tomatoes are completely broken down, so to allow time, and start with the sauce.
Filling:
Cook onion in oil for about 5 minutes, add garlic and cook for about another 5 minutes. Add spinach and cook for a short time to wilt (if fresh) or evaporate some of the liquid (if defrosted frozen). Add cottage cheese and seasoning, and optional things like eggs, extra mozzarella or nuts.
Either stuff cannelloni tubes with filling, or cut lasagne sheets in half, then place filling on sheets and roll, so you have a tube of pasta filled with the filling - it should be about 2-3 cm thick, with about 1 cm pasta overlap.
Grease a pan big enough to hold the pasta tubes laid side by side. I put a little tomato sauce on the bottom as well, but some people don't. Place the cannelloni tubes in the pan. Cover with tomato sauce and top with cheese.
Bake in a preheated oven at 200 C (400 F) for 30 minutes.
Basic Quiche Recipe
1. Make a pie crust of some kind.
2. Put in cubed or grated cheese, about 250-300 grams worth
3. Put in your choice of filling
a) Spinach: 500g chopped steamed/sauteed spinach, with sauteed onions, dry mustard and nutmeg
b) Mushrooms: I won't go there for your sake, Hannah
c) Broccoli: 1 large stalk of broccoli, chopped and steamed with lemon juice and garlic
d) Fresh herbs (marjoram, thyme, basil, dill, chives, parsely) with sauteed onions and capsicums
e) whatever you want
4. Make a custard and pour over the top
Beat together 3 eggs and 1 cup milk (4 eggs and 1.5 cups of milk for a large pan) Can add sour cream or buttermilk for some or all of the milk
Top with a little extra grated cheese and/or dust top with paprika if you wish.
Bake 35-40 mins at 180 C
2. Put in cubed or grated cheese, about 250-300 grams worth
3. Put in your choice of filling
a) Spinach: 500g chopped steamed/sauteed spinach, with sauteed onions, dry mustard and nutmeg
b) Mushrooms: I won't go there for your sake, Hannah
c) Broccoli: 1 large stalk of broccoli, chopped and steamed with lemon juice and garlic
d) Fresh herbs (marjoram, thyme, basil, dill, chives, parsely) with sauteed onions and capsicums
e) whatever you want
4. Make a custard and pour over the top
Beat together 3 eggs and 1 cup milk (4 eggs and 1.5 cups of milk for a large pan) Can add sour cream or buttermilk for some or all of the milk
Top with a little extra grated cheese and/or dust top with paprika if you wish.
Bake 35-40 mins at 180 C
Friday, December 12, 2008
Lasange
When I've collected enough of the ingredients through the weeks and stored them in the freezer, and when there are vegetables in quantity that can be used, or I want to have something ready for a large number of people, I make these. Please note the plural. Lasange is fiddly and time consuming since it has layers of at least three mixtures. There's no point in making just one when making four only takes a bit more time than making one. Almost always there are different culinary references to accommodate and it tastes better after the flavours have blended anyway: left-overs rock! Sometimes I put one or more cooked lasanges back in the freezer. Then all you need to do is remember to take it out in time to thaw(over night) and reheat (30 mins). I sometimes remember in time.
Vegetable Lasagne (Evolved from Mrs Bianco's recipe via Gran.)
Pasta:
Fresh or frozen lasange sheets, (or make your own if there are enough cooks and that's the desired activity) Most supermarkets have specials from time to time which can be frozen.
A box or two of dried lasange sheets. Two frozen packets and a box plus a little for 4 lasange dishes of various sizes usually does the job.
Vegetables:
onion, pumpkin, kumara, parsnip, carrot, mushrooms, capsicum, etc.
Peel, slice and bake in oven separately with the spices or herbs desired for each.
eg, cumin with pumpkin, coriander with parsnip, nutmeg, ground pepper, salt to taste.. The fun is in the experimentation and no two batches ever taste the same.
I also like a couple of packets of supermarket frozen spinach microwaved with a little butter, but as with the mushrooms and pumpkin, not on all dishes.
Tomato mixture:
onion, garlic, canned tomatoes, tomato paste or spaghetti sauce collected when on special, red or brown lentils, grated carrot to bulk it up somemore etc.
Fry diced onion in olive oil, add chopped (or prepared crushed) garlic, with mixed herbs(basil, oreganum etc. and ground pepper and salt to taste, add cans of tomatoes with a little sugar, more fresh herbs if you have them, canned spaghetti sauce if you have that, add a couple of cups of red lentils and enough water or stock to ensure lentils can cook properly. Simmer for as long as it takes or about 45mins/hour.
Dairy layer:
A selection of pots of sour cream, cottage cheese, ricotta, yogurt, a couple of eggs, whatever herbs or spices appeal in a cheese sauce. This is where I really like nutmeg and ground pepper. Grate in lots, a cup or so, of tasty cheddar and at least 3/4 of a cup of grated parmesan.
Putting things together:
Lightly oil enough (2,3,4)deep baking dishes and line the bottom and sides with fresh pasta. This is a mathematical exercise of considerable creativity and skill that can provide much satisfaction for the cook when there is clearly enough pasta for between (dried is fine)layers and for the tops left. (otherwise you need a runner/to run...to the supermarket).
Starting with the tomato mixture, spoon or tip the share available for each dish in and spread to even depth over whole (better taste and add what ever seems to be required if you need reassurance: last chance for this layer). Cover with sheets of (dried..cheaper and doesn't need to bend )pasta. Build other layers from vegetable and dairy mixture to the various tastes being catered for, with pasta between each. Need to ensure there is enough of the dairy mixture for over the last (fresh) pasta layer. Grate extra tasty cheddar and parmesan on top of whole.
Bake all together in oven, say, 180 C, for 45mins or so until bubbly and golden on top and looks cooked through. Smaller dishes and those at the top of the oven may need to come out earlier.
Easy to make a couple of portions in a loaf type dish for one or two people, by reducing the quantities to suit and using a smaller oven. But left over portions can be frozen when cooked, and you might suddenly find there aren't any left over portions anyway. Bon appetit.
Vegetable Lasagne (Evolved from Mrs Bianco's recipe via Gran.)
Pasta:
Fresh or frozen lasange sheets, (or make your own if there are enough cooks and that's the desired activity) Most supermarkets have specials from time to time which can be frozen.
A box or two of dried lasange sheets. Two frozen packets and a box plus a little for 4 lasange dishes of various sizes usually does the job.
Vegetables:
onion, pumpkin, kumara, parsnip, carrot, mushrooms, capsicum, etc.
Peel, slice and bake in oven separately with the spices or herbs desired for each.
eg, cumin with pumpkin, coriander with parsnip, nutmeg, ground pepper, salt to taste.. The fun is in the experimentation and no two batches ever taste the same.
I also like a couple of packets of supermarket frozen spinach microwaved with a little butter, but as with the mushrooms and pumpkin, not on all dishes.
Tomato mixture:
onion, garlic, canned tomatoes, tomato paste or spaghetti sauce collected when on special, red or brown lentils, grated carrot to bulk it up somemore etc.
Fry diced onion in olive oil, add chopped (or prepared crushed) garlic, with mixed herbs(basil, oreganum etc. and ground pepper and salt to taste, add cans of tomatoes with a little sugar, more fresh herbs if you have them, canned spaghetti sauce if you have that, add a couple of cups of red lentils and enough water or stock to ensure lentils can cook properly. Simmer for as long as it takes or about 45mins/hour.
Dairy layer:
A selection of pots of sour cream, cottage cheese, ricotta, yogurt, a couple of eggs, whatever herbs or spices appeal in a cheese sauce. This is where I really like nutmeg and ground pepper. Grate in lots, a cup or so, of tasty cheddar and at least 3/4 of a cup of grated parmesan.
Putting things together:
Lightly oil enough (2,3,4)deep baking dishes and line the bottom and sides with fresh pasta. This is a mathematical exercise of considerable creativity and skill that can provide much satisfaction for the cook when there is clearly enough pasta for between (dried is fine)layers and for the tops left. (otherwise you need a runner/to run...to the supermarket).
Starting with the tomato mixture, spoon or tip the share available for each dish in and spread to even depth over whole (better taste and add what ever seems to be required if you need reassurance: last chance for this layer). Cover with sheets of (dried..cheaper and doesn't need to bend )pasta. Build other layers from vegetable and dairy mixture to the various tastes being catered for, with pasta between each. Need to ensure there is enough of the dairy mixture for over the last (fresh) pasta layer. Grate extra tasty cheddar and parmesan on top of whole.
Bake all together in oven, say, 180 C, for 45mins or so until bubbly and golden on top and looks cooked through. Smaller dishes and those at the top of the oven may need to come out earlier.
Easy to make a couple of portions in a loaf type dish for one or two people, by reducing the quantities to suit and using a smaller oven. But left over portions can be frozen when cooked, and you might suddenly find there aren't any left over portions anyway. Bon appetit.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Spinach and Onion Pasta
Like all my favourite recipes, this one has evolved. While spinach and onions have been the only constant ingredients, often it's the other ingredients that I add that really give it the flavour. I've been making it in California in somewhat Mediterranean style:
Ingredients:
Half an onion*
Half a red pepper
Frozen spinach
Oregano
Black olives
Feta cheese or pine nuts
Olive oil
Pasta of some sort (I normally use spirals)
Instructions:
Bring a saucepan of water to the boil and add the pasta. While the pasta is cooking, chop onion into small pieces. Put olive oil in a frying pan, and add the chopped onion and oregano. Slice the red pepper and add to frying pan, then add the frozen spinach. If using pine nuts, add these when the spinach is no longer frozen. You can chop the olives and add them to the frying pan, or just put them on the top when you're done (I tend to alternate depending on whether I want their flavour to be separate or blended with the rest).
When everything is cooked, put spinach mixture on top of pasta and add olives or feta or neither, depending on what you decide to put in and when.
Variations:
The original version of this recipe called for nutmeg rather than oregano, possibly with a little basil added, and it didn't have the red pepper or the olives. I called it my green pasta dressing and I liked to eat it with lime juice cordial (helps you absorb the iron, after all).
*The recipe in its current form is designed for one person, so take that 'half an onion' with a grain of salt. Metaphorical salt.
Ingredients:
Half an onion*
Half a red pepper
Frozen spinach
Oregano
Black olives
Feta cheese or pine nuts
Olive oil
Pasta of some sort (I normally use spirals)
Instructions:
Bring a saucepan of water to the boil and add the pasta. While the pasta is cooking, chop onion into small pieces. Put olive oil in a frying pan, and add the chopped onion and oregano. Slice the red pepper and add to frying pan, then add the frozen spinach. If using pine nuts, add these when the spinach is no longer frozen. You can chop the olives and add them to the frying pan, or just put them on the top when you're done (I tend to alternate depending on whether I want their flavour to be separate or blended with the rest).
When everything is cooked, put spinach mixture on top of pasta and add olives or feta or neither, depending on what you decide to put in and when.
Variations:
The original version of this recipe called for nutmeg rather than oregano, possibly with a little basil added, and it didn't have the red pepper or the olives. I called it my green pasta dressing and I liked to eat it with lime juice cordial (helps you absorb the iron, after all).
*The recipe in its current form is designed for one person, so take that 'half an onion' with a grain of salt. Metaphorical salt.
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