Broccoli and Mushroom Pasta

This is a rather simple dish but oh so yummy. I used whole wheat fusilli and I prefer its nuttier crunch to plain white pasta.

This recipe serves 3.

Ingredients:
2 cups broccoli florets
1/8 cup olive oil
114 grams shiitake mushrooms ; sliced
3 large garlic cloves ; minced
3/8 cup whipping cream
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme ; crumbled
128 grams fusilli ; freshly cooked
Salt ; to taste
Freshly-ground black pepper ; to taste
3/8 cup freshly grated Parmesan ; (or enough to sprinkle)
Fresh parsley

Instructions:
Steam broccoli florets until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes (to check). Rinse under cold water. Drain.

Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and garlic and saute until mushrooms are almost tender, about 5 minutes.

Add cream and thyme and bring to boil. Add pasta and broccoli and cook until pasta is coated, tossing gently, about 3 minutes.

Transfer to large bowl. Sprinkle with Parmesan and garnish with parsley.

Eggplant Lasagna

I feel quite nostalgic towards food I had during my university days. The eggplant lasagna, moussaka, curry on rice, hot chocolate, kebabs, muffins, orange poppy seed cakes, curry laksa (Australian style), creamy pasta, delicious chips, and so on.

In an attempt to experience a bit of nostalgia, I chose this lasagna recipe by John Ash. I made a beef lasagna with my sisters when I was younger and I do believe the pasta was not thoroughly cooked and the beef might not have been either (although everyone who tried it said it was fine).

Having learned and experimented with cooking a lot more since, this lasagna turned out great. There wasn't any one flavour which jumped out, as you would get with beef lasagna. It was just a terrific melding of pasta, eggplant, cheese, tomato, herbs and spices.

This recipe makes for 6 servings.

Ingredients:
2 large Eggplants - ; 1 1/2 lbs ea
~~ -- Tomato Sauce -- ~~
1 tablespoon Olive oil
1 cup Finely-chopped onions
340 grams Sliced Crimini or Shiitake mushrooms ; abt 4 cups
1 tablespoon Slivered garlic
1/2 teaspoon Fennel seed ; crushed
1 cup White wine
794 grams Italian tomatoes - ; 1 can chopped (use the sauce as well)
3 tablespoons Chopped sun-dried tomatoes ; optional
1/4 cup Chopped fresh basil ; OR
2 teaspoon dried basil
~~ -- White Sauce -- ~~
2 tablespoons Olive oil
1/4 cup Minced shallots or green onions ; white part only
1/3 cup Flour
2 1/2 cups Milk
1/4 teaspoon Freshly-grated nutmeg
1/3 cup Freshly-grated fontina cheese ; or smoked or regular mozzarella cheese
Salt ; to taste
Freshly-ground black pepper ; to taste
~~ -- To Assemble -- ~~
454 grams Fresh lasagna noodles ; cooked
8 cups Loosely-packed spinach leaves ; washed well, stems removed, dried
3/4 cup Freshly-grated Parmesan cheese
Seasoned Bread Crumbs ; (recipe below)

Instructions:
Remove stems from eggplants and slice lengthwise in 1/4-inch thick slices. Arrange in a single layer on a lightly oiled baking sheet or two and roast in a preheated 220°C/425°F oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until eggplant is lightly browned and cooked through but not mushy. Set aside.

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a saute pan over moderately-high heat and add onions, mushrooms, garlic and fennel seed. Continue to cook until mushrooms release their liquid. Add 1/2 cup white wine and continue to cook until liquid has mostly evaporated and mushrooms are beginning to brown. Stir in tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes and basil and simmer uncovered until sauce has thickened, 20 to 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

While tomato sauce is cooking make the white sauce. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a sauce pan and add shallots and cook until shallots are soft but not brown. Add flour and cook over moderate heat stirring regularly for 3 to 4 minutes. Add milk and remaining 1/2 cup wine whisking constantly until sauce thickens. Continue to cook for 4 to 5 minutes to cook out starchiness. Season with nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste. Stir in fontina and set aside. Sauce should be fairly thick but pourable-- thin if necessary with additional milk or wine.

To assemble lasagna: Lightly oil an 8- by 12-inch baking dish. Spread 1/2 cup or so of tomato sauce on bottom. Add layers of noodles, eggplant, spinach, white sauce and a sprinkling of 2 tablespoons or so of Parmesan cheese over top. Continue layering in this manner. Cover loosely with foil and bake in a preheated 190°C/375°F oven for 35 to 40 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle with Seasoned Bread Crumbs and bake for 10 to 15 minutes longer or until crumbs are golden brown. Let lasagna rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.



Seasoned Bread Crumbs
Ingredients:
170 grams Good Italian or French bread ; (crust removed)
1 1/2 tablespoons Olive oil
3 tablespoons Grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons Minced fresh parsley
1 tablespoon Dried thyme
Salt ; to taste
Freshly-ground black pepper ; to taste

Instructions:
In a food processor or by hand, coarsely chop fresh white bread crumbs (be careful not to get them too fine -- should be about the same size as oatmeal).

Toss crumbs with oil, cheese, herbs, salt and pepper and spread out on baking sheet. Place in a preheated 190°C/375°F oven and bake for 5 to 8 minutes or until crisp, dry and very slightly colored. Store air tight.

Spaghetti Carbonara

I usually prefer spaghetti with a tomato-based sauce to creamy ones. However, I jazzed up this one from AllRecipes and it wasn't as bland as I thought it would be. This serves 8.

Ingredients:
340 grams spaghetti
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 slices Bacon ; diced
A handful of ground mild Italian sausage
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 Onion ; chopped
1 clove Garlic ; minced
1 handful mushrooms
1/4 cup dry white wine ; (optional)
4 eggs
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese ; grated
1/4 teaspoon Nutmeg
milk ; if too dry
1 pinch salt and freshly ground pepper ; to taste
2 tablespoons Fresh parsley ; chopped
2 tablespoons parmesan cheese ; grated

Instructions:
1. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook spaghetti pasta until al dente. Drain well. Toss with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and set aside.

2. Meanwhile in a large skillet, cook chopped bacon until slightly crisp; remove and drain onto paper towels. Reserve 2 tablespoons of bacon fat; add remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, and heat in reused large skillet. Add chopped onion, and cook over medium heat until onion is translucent. Add minced garlic and mushrooms, and cook 1 minute more. Fry ground sausages. Add wine if desired; cook one more minute.

3. Return cooked bacon to pan; add cooked and drained spaghetti. Toss to coat and heat through, adding more olive oil if it seems dry or is sticking together.

4. Combine beaten eggs with the grated Parmesan cheese and nutmeg, together with milk, if mixture seems too dry. Once spaghetti has cooled slightly (still hot but not enough to cook eggs), pour egg mixture onto it. Toss constantly with tongs or large fork until eggs are barely set. Add salt and pepper to taste (remember that bacon and Parmesan are very salty).

5. Serve immediately with chopped parsley sprinkled on top, and extra Parmesan cheese at table.

Chicken Noodle Soup

It's flu season again. That means if you're down with it, you would have no appetite for anything that might be too rough on your throat. Second only to a nice soothing bowl of chok (congee), chicken noodle soup is packed with nutrients and flavour.

This recipe yields 5-6 bowls.

Ingredients:
- Vegetable oil
- 1 turnip, cut into chunks
- 2 carrots, cut into chunks
- 1 onion, peeled and cut in half
- 2 skinless chicken breasts, rinsed and pat dry
- 4-6 whole peppercorns
- 4-6 whole cloves
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme, marjoram, or tarragon
- 1 large bay leaf
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled and mashed
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 7-8 cups chicken broth
- 1 carrot, cut into chunks
- 1 celery, cut into chunks
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 cup corn kernels
- Pasta, homemade (recipe follows) or store-bought

Method:
1) Heat vegetable oil in a large pot. Add turnip, carrots and onion. Saute, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are lightly browned, being careful to avoid burnt spots. Transfer them to a bowl or dish and set aside.
2) Add in more vegetable oil and heat on medium-­high heat. Add chicken and saute, turning often, until lightly browned. Cover the pot, reduce heat to low and cook about 10 minutes.
3) Return vegetables to the pot. Add peppercorns, cloves, herbs, garlic, salt and enough broth to cover contents about two inches. Bring mixture to a boil and immediately reduce heat to a simmer. While the soup is simmering, occasionally skim off the foam that accumulates on top of the broth.
Add more broth if the liquid no longer covers the chicken and vegetables. Simmer until chicken is tender and almost falling off the bone, about 2
hours.
4) Transfer cooked chicken to a large dish. Strain broth into a large pot. Transfer any pieces of chicken in the strainer to the pot. Discard vegetables, garlic, spices and herbs.
5) Add carrot, celery, onion and corn kernels to the chicken broth. When chicken is cool enough to handle, remove from the bones, cut into bite-sized pieces and add, along with any juices, to soup. Bring to boil and simmer until vegetables are cooked. Lastly, add in the cooked pasta.

Serve hot.

Homemade Pasta
Ingredients:
- 100g all-purpose flour
- 1 egg
- some olive oil

Method:
1) Place flour in a bowl. Make a well and crack the egg into the well.


2) Using your fingers, break the egg and slowly incorporate the flour into the egg until everything is combined. If the dough feels tough, trickle in some olive oil.
3) Knead for about 8-10 minutes until dough becomes smooth and silky.


4) Cover the bowl and leave the dough for at least 30 minutes.
5) Using a pasta machine, roll it out to your desired thickness and cut it into the shape your want. I used the fettuccine setting for mine. I then cut it into shorter strips so that I can just scoop up the noodles with a spoon instead of using chopsticks.
6) Boil them in water for about 3-4 minutes.

Set aside.

Aglio e Olio

I like pasta dishes and this one is one of the simplest to make. It consists of just pasta, olive oil, garlic and hot pepper flakes. There are a lot of recipes on the web which has additional ingredients such as shrimps. However I came across Emeril Lagasse's which is just what I wanted. Very simple, basic aglio e olio.

This recipe yields 4-6 servings.

Ingredients:
- 1 pound dried pasta (spaghetti, linguine, or your favorite pasta)
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes

Instructions:
1) Cook pasta in boiling, salted water until al dente.
2) Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and red pepper flakes and cook until garlic is lightly browned. Remove from heat.
3) Drain pasta, reserving 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid, and place in a bowl for tossing and serving. Add olive oil mixture and toss. Add the reserved cooking liquid if mixture seems dry.

Serve immediately.