Tag: Pasta

Prawn Aglio Olio & A Wine Giveaway {Winners Announced}

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Prawn aglio olio with Taylors Estate Pinot Gris

Good evening my dear readers! (: I hope that all of you had a wonderful weekend especially if you had a long one because of the Anzac Day holiday. I’ve got some exciting news to share with all of you! (: A week back, I received an email from  Taylors Wines who wanted me to do a wine giveaway on my blog. Of course, I said yes! hehe I was also so lucky to received not one, but two bottles of Pinot Gris to taste! How generous are they? Couldn’t be happier!

Pinot Gris came in the mail

Before I go into more details of the wine and the giveaway, I would like to tell me my thoughts about the Pinot Gris! Pinot Gris has always been one of my favourite type of wine. hehe I had a glass before bed one night, and really love how clean and crisp it tasted with tones of pear and apple. I knew instantly what would pair with it perfectly – seafood. My dearest husband read my mind, and made an amazing prawn aglio olio with pan seared scallops for dinner the following night!

Prawn aglio olio with seared scallops paired with a glass of pinot gris

He even used some of the wine in the sauce and it was so good! I wanted more (: The prawn and scallops were so sweet & succulent, it just complimented the wine perfectly.

Prawn aglio olio with seared scallops

Prawn Aglio Olio with Pan Seared Scallops (The mr’s original recipe, serves 2)

5 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

3 small chillies, de-seeded and finely chopped (you can increase or reduce the amount of chilli depending on how spicy you like your dish to be!)

2 tbs fresh basil, finely chopped

1/2 cup white wine (I used Taylors Estate Pinot Gris)

2 tbs olive oil (plus an extra tbs for the scallops)

Salt & pepper, to season

12 prawns, peeled and cut into chunks

6 scallops, left whole

Pasta of your choice

Freshly grated parmesan cheese, to garnish

Steps :

1) Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the package. Strain and run under cold water so that the pasta will not stick together. Set aside while cooking the sauce.

2) In a heavy based pot, heat the olive oil on medium fire and fry the garlic and chilli till fragrant.

3) Add the prawns, and fry till it’s coloured and no longer translucent. Add the chopped basil and white wine. Allow this to simmer for about 5 minutes.

4) Pour the pasta into the sauce and mix it well. Set aside, and keep it warm.

5) Pat dry the scallops and season with sea salt. Heat a non-stick pan on low-medium fire and add 1 tbs of olive oil. Place the scallops into the pan and flip every 30 seconds. Repeat each side for about 3 times, or until the scallops have a nice golden brown sear.

6) Place the pasta on a plate and top with 3 scallops per person. Garnish with some freshly grated parmesan cheese. Serve with a glass of Pinot Gris. ENJOY!

Prawn aglio olio with seared scallops

And now, the part that you’ve been waiting for so patiently…. the giveaway! (:

Taylors Wines is a family-owned wine company, in South Australia’s stunning Clare Valley, that was born from a passion of producing exceptional,  hand crafted wines. They are “Bringing great wines to life” and would love to give two lucky readers two bottles of their beautiful Taylors Wine –  Taylors Estate Pinot Gris 2011 and Taylors Estate Shiraz 2010.

Taylors Estate wines

How do you win these amazing wines?

To enter this giveaway:

  • All you have to do is to leave a comment at the end of the post to let me know : What is your favourite wine and what do you like to pair it with? 
  • Open to Australian residents only! (So sorry!)
  • Please make sure you’re of a legal drinking age and be able to provide a proof of age (it is needed to be sent to the company before they can send you the wine)
  • The winners will be drawn on the 5th of May 2013, Sunday at 10pm (Melbourne time).
  • You may reenter daily, one entry a day (YAY!)
  • Winner will be picked via random.org and announced on this blog and notified via email

Good luck and have a great week ahead! (:

Remember to always cook and bake with love!

This is a sponsored post by Taylors Wines. I tasted the Pinot Gris with compliments of Taylors Wines, however, the review, opinions are honest and based on my personal taste and preference. The recipe is a Food Made With Love original.

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And the winners are….. Diana and Coco!! (: Congratulations!

Winner - Number 4

Diana

Winner - Number 13Coco

Congratulations you two! (: Will be dropping you an email or a reply soon! Hope you enjoy the wines! hehe Have a great week ahead! xx

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Update : Unfortunately, I can’t get hold of Diana and Ross (who was picked after not hearing from Diana) so I had to pick another winner! Congrats Zoe!! (: Hope you will enjoy this wine with Jeff!

New winner

comment number 20

Seafood Mentaiko Pasta

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Seafood Mentai Pasta

Happy Monday everyone! I hope you had a good start to the short week and no one had the Monday blues! (: Even if you did, hopefully this post would brighten up your day a little bit! hehe Recently, I chanced upon a small packet of flying fish roe (toboki) and just had to buy it! There was one dish I’ve been wanting to get, but couldn’t get hold of any fish roe to make it! So you can imagine when I saw it, I knew what I was going to make for dinner that day – seafood mentaiko pasta! Mmmmm (:

Flying fish roe

Mentaiko is just a cream-based fish roe sauce that is so delicious and not overly heavy. I know many a times, when you have cream-based pasta, it tends to be a little too thick and you end up not being able to finish the plate. But trust me, this is one creamy pasta which you would want to slurp every single drop and be tempted to lick the plate! hehe I first had this pasta many years back in Singapore at a Japanese cafe. It was the first time I had pasta at a Japanese cafe and I totally loved it! Just couldn’t have enough! Till this day, I could still remember the taste of it, and that to me means it was one super-awesome-yummilicious dish!

Seafood in mentaiko cream sauce

So I headed to my favourite Japanese blog, Just One Cookbook, that always had amazing recipes ( do head to her blog and look at her beautiful bento boxes for her children, so so detailed and I can just imagine how excited they are when they see it! ).  I changed it up a little bit but the sauce was delicious! In fact, the sauce wasn’t thick or heavy at all, which was great! hehe To add a little more richness to the dish I added a soft boiled egg so the runny yolk would flavour the sauce too. The mr and sister-in-law loved it! So I urge you to give this a try, especially if you like cream-based pastas! hehe

seafood mentaiko pasta

Seafood Mentaiko Pasta (adapted from Just One Cookbook, serves 6)

1kg seafood marinara

1 packet (about 50-100g) of tobiko (flying fish roe)

3 tbs japanese mayonnaise (kewpie)

3/4 cup of thickened cream

30g unsalted butter

2 small onions, finely chopped

4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

1 cup fish stock

salt & pepper, to taste

shredded nori (seaweed), to garnish

6 soft boiled eggs, to serve

250g pasta (I used linguini but you can use any you fancy)

Steps :

1) In a large bowl, mix the tobiko, mayonnaise and cream gently until well combined. Set aside.

Tobiko, cream and mayonnaise

2) Boil a pot of water and cook the pasta according to the instructions on the packet. Drain and run it under cold water to make sure they don’t stick together. Set is aside.

3) In a heavy based pan or pot, add the butter and allow it to melt completely before adding the chopped onions and garlic. Fry till fragrant, with caution not to burn it or it will taste bitter.

Frying the onion and garlic

4) Add the seafood marinara and mix it well to make sure it is coated with the buttery onion and garlic mixture. Add the fish stock and allow it simmer for 15 minutes or until the seafood is completely cooked through.

Adding in the seafood

5) Use a strainer to take the seafood out and place them in the creamy tobiko mixture, reserving the liquid in the pot. Give it a good stir and make sure the seafood is well coated with the creamy sauce. Bring the liquid in the pot to a boil and reduce it till about around 1/4 cup and add that to the seafood mixture. Then add the pasta and slowly stir to combine everything together. Season with salt and pepper, careful not to over salt it as the tobiko can be quite salty (depending on how much you put)!

6) To serve, place some pasta and seafood on a plate, and add some mentaiko sauce. Top the pasta with a soft boil egg and sprinkle with some shredded nori. Cut through the egg and allow the egg yolk to flavour and thicken the sauce. ENJOY!

PS : Just found out mentaiko is different from tobiko! But you can use either and it will still be delish I’m sure! Sorry about that! (:

Have a great short week ahead dearest readers and remember to always cook and bake with love! (:

Fusion Friday : Seafood Green Curry Penne

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TGIF everyone! (: I’m sure everyone is as thankful as I am that the weekend is here and if you’re as lucky, you would have Monday off and thus having a long weekend! Hurray! To celebrate, I’m going to share with you the recipe I promised from my last post of the Fresh Food Market at Highpoint!

I have to say, I’m not a huge fan of fusion food, but I will never turn down the chance to try it when it is presented in front of me. So as I was walking around the Fruit & Vegetable market and bouncing ideas off the Mr, he suggested that I should do an asian flavoured pasta dish! WAH! Why not, yes? So the first thing that came to my mind was green curry! I see this less fusion, more a pasta with an asian flare! hehe

I do apologise that I didn’t quite have the patience or time to make my own green curry paste, but I did find one that I’ve used before, so I knew it would taste yummy. If you have a green curry paste recipe to share with me, I would be more than happy to try it during my holidays! (:

So these were the ingredients I used for my dish. Which includes fresh ingredients that I got from the market, and a few that came in the hamper given by compliments of Highpoint and Mango! (: I am sure you have some things in the pictured stored in your pantry. I realise I didn’t place the onion and garlic that I used from my pantry in the picture. hehe But I’ve definitely written them in my recipe, so fear not!

This pasta dish definitely has a kick to it. It might most definitely be the green curry paste I used but I do love a dish with that leaves my tongue tingly and tummy warm and fuzzy! hehe So if you do like spicy food, and want to try something different, I urge you to give this a try! The Mr and I both loved it and would definitely make this again soon! (:

Seafood Green Curry Penne (a Food Made With Love original recipe, serves 4)

1/2 large onion, finely chopped

3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

5 shiitake mushrooms, cut into quarters

3 green thai eggplant, cut into quarters

4 purple thai eggplants, cut into wedges

3 small Adelaide tomatoes, cut into chunks

5 grape tomatoes, sliced into half

50g fish cake, cut into strips

100g green curry paste

400ml light coconut milk

300ml water

500g supreme marinara mix

400g dried penne (or any type of pasta you prefer)

2 tbs olive oil

handful of Thai basil leaves

fried shallots and coriander, to garnish

Steps :

1) In a large pot of water, add some salt and bring it to a boil. Cook pasta according to the directions on the packet. Drain and run it under cold water. Set it aside while preparing the green curry.

2) In a frying pan/wok, heat the olive oil on medium heat and fry the green curry paste till fragrant. Add the chopped onion and garlic and fry till it’s soft. Be careful not to burn the garlic, as there would be a bitter after taste.

3) Carefully add the coconut milk into the pan. Stir it until the paste is mixed well and combined with the coconut milk.

3) Add the eggplants and cover the pan, allowing it to simmer for 10 minutes. Then add the tomatoes and mushrooms and return the lid on the pan. Simmer for another 10 minutes or until the tomatoes are soft.

4) Add the water, fish cake and seafood and allow it to come to a boil. Careful not to boil it for too long, as the seafood might over cook and get tough! Add the thai basil leaves and stir it into the sauce.

5) Pour in the cooked pasta and toss it well, making sure every single penne is coated with the sauce. If it’s looking a little dry, add a bit more water and give it a good stir.

6) Garnish with fried shallots and chopped coriander before serving.

Enjoy! (: I know it seems like alot of preparation to go through, but do give this a try and let me know what you think and if you added other things! Would definitely love to try other combinations. Have a great weekend everyone! (:

Remember to always cook and bake with love!

Prawn Mac N Cheese

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It’s Friday people! And to welcome the weekend, I decided to go all out and make an indulgent (and sinful) dish – Prawn Mac N Cheese! (: Ever since we had mac n cheese at the Sharing house a few weeks back (a post that will come soon, I promise!), I have been wanting to make some. Especially after seeing Neil Perry’s version of truffle mac n cheese. That was definitely a push factor!  So there was no better day to make it but on a Friday!

And what better way to enjoy a Friday night in with a comforting bowl of cheesy pasta, with a glass of wine and the plan of having a Batman movie marathon with the mr? Absolutely, nothing! (:

This was a really simple recipe and you definitely could start cooking and end up indulging on your couch in less than 1 hour! Sounds good? Here’s the ultimate winter warmer!

Prawn Mac N Cheese (an original recipe)

250g dried macaroni

60g butter

1 whole onion, finely chopped

2 carrots, finely chopped

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

320g prawns, diced into chunks

1 cup shredded gouda

1 cup shredded cheddar

1/4 cup grated parmesan

1/2 tbs dijon mustard

450 ml cream

100 ml milk

1 cup sliced mushrooms

1/4 cup bread crumbs

salt and pepper, to season

Steps :

1) Cook the macaroni in a pot of boiling salted water for 7-8 mins, or until al dente.  Drain and refresh in cold water before draining again and set it to one side.

2) In a large pot, melt the butter then add the onion, carrots and garlic. Fry till they get fragrant and soft. Do keep an eye on the garlic and be careful not to burn them.

2) Add the cream and allow it to boil and reduce by 1/4. Add the mushrooms, dijon mustard and milk and boil it for another 10 minutes. Add the prawns and cook the mixture on a low simmer until liquid thickens.

3) Take the cream mixture off the heat, and slowly add the gouda and cheddar. Stir it gently, till the cheeses have all melted and combined with the cream. Put the pot back on a low heat, then add the macaroni and stir it till it’s well combined.

4) Season with salt and pepper, then add the grated parmesan. Place the macaroni and cheese in a baking tray, then top it with bread crumbs and more parmesan if you want. Under a hot grill, grill until the top is golden and crispy.

Serve and enjoy on a couch with your favourite movie! (:

So what is your ultimate comfort food? Do share! hehe

{Quick & Easy} Smoked Salmon Pasta

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Aren’t there days that you just want to whip something up in the kitchen as quickly as possible? We came back way past lunch time and just needed to get some food in our system. So I looked into our fridge and found a packet of smoked salmon. Perfect! (: I got the dish plated in less than 30 minutes! Talk about quick aye?

Cream and Tomato Smoked Salmon Pasta (serves 2)

100g smoked salmon

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

1/2 onion, finely chopped

6 sundried tomatoes, finely chopped

2 tbs tomato paste

50ml dry white wine

100ml thickened cream

50g butter

salt & ground black pepper, to season

chopped parsley & chilli flakes, to garnish

100-125g dried pasta (cooked according to the packet, drained and set aside)

Steps : 

1) Place a heavy-based pan over medium heat and melt the butter. Add the garlic, onion and sundried tomatoes and fry till the onions soften. Careful not to burn the garlic, as it will turn bitter.

2) Add the white wine and cream and allow it to come to a boil. Add the tomato paste and mix till well combined. Pour the pasta into the pan and mix it well, making sure the pasta is coated well with the sauce.

3) Take the pan off the heat, and put in the smoked salmon. Fold the salmon into the pasta and bring it back onto the heat for a further 2-3 minutes. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

4) Serve and garnish with parsley and chilli flakes. ENJOY! (:

Easy peasy, quick & easy!

Veal Goulash

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I never had veal. Not that I can remember. It just never hit me that maybe I should give it a try. Maybe it’s just the thought that veal is the meat from young calves that made me not want to try them at first. But after watching Italian Food Safari and seeing how they cooked a veal osso bucco. I really wanted to try veal, at least once. And so I did. Of course I didn’t know what was the best way to cook the veal and so I decided, veal goulash!

So off I went to the supermarket to get the ingredients for a goulash. I walked the aisles of Woolies and just couldn’t think of what to compliment the veal goulash. Mash? Greens? But in the end, I decided that the stew would be perfect with egg tagliatelle. With the delicious gravy coating every single strand of the pasta. What could be better? And might I add, more comforting on a cold night after a day of work?

I cheated today and adapted from the recipe that was found on the packaging of the veal stew meat I bought from Woolies. Was a bit apprehensive because they put the juice of a whole orange in the stew. Something sweet in savoury? Will it work? Then I remembered the winners of MKR (Leigh & Jennifer) who used pineapple juice when cooking their massaman curry (so going to try it!), making Judge Manu Feildel go “OMG!” I immediately decided to give it a shot. And I am so glad I did! It was delicious!

As it cooks, the smell of the orange gets stronger. But when you actually taste it, there is only a subtle taste of the orange and it actually works beautifully!  With the saltiness of the parmesan cheese, everything just went so well together. We loved it!

Veal Goulash (adapted from Woolworths Recipe)

400g veal stew cut, diced

1 red onion, sliced into small wedges

1 heap tbs plain flour

1 tin (400g) diced tomatoes

1/2 cup green split olives

Juice of 1 orange

Rind of 1 orange, grated

250ml beef stock

1 tsp paprika (can add more if you like the spice!)

1 heap tbs thickened cream

salt and pepper, to taste

Steps :

1) Heat a heavy-based pot over medium-high heat with 1 tbs of olive oil and brown the veal. Brown them in 3 batches so that it will give the stew a nice dark colour. Take them out and put them aside.

2) Add another tbs of olive oil and the onions. Fry till the onions start to break down and soften. Add the plain flour and stir until the onions are well coated.

3) Slowly add the beef stock, olives, diced tomatoes, orange juice, orange rind and paprika. Allow the stew to simmer for at least 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Pop the lid on but do not cover the pot completely. Give a small gap to allow some of the liquid to evaporate, thickening the stew. Season with salt and pepper.

4) Just before you serve, add the cream and stir it well. If serving with pasta, cook the pasta according to the package and add it into the goulash coating the pasta well. Top it with shaven or grated parmesan and ENJOY! (:

If you ask me, a messy plate is a yummy plate. haha (: If you have any good veal recipes, please point me to the direction! Would love to learn more ways to cook this gorgeous meat!

Crab, Prawn & Cherry Tomato Linguini

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Yes, I know. I’m proclaiming my love for Italian food again. But I am not going to apologise for that. I really do love Italian. If not cause of the carbs, I would eat pasta every single day. haha. But I have limit to once a week. The most! That’s okay, right? haha

Well. I didn’t intend to have Italian until my bestie sent me photos of what she was having at Da Paolo @ Rochester last night and I knew instantly what I wanted to try making : Crab meat linguini. That’s the only thing I order when I head to Da Paolo. Just saying the name of the place is making me want to have their crab meat linguini again. That’s how much I LOVE it. and how delicious it is!

Sorry bad lighting cos of the ambience!

I attempted to make a healthier version. Well by healthier, I mean leaving out the cream. As you will be able to see soon, everything else is healthy and not that sinful, really. Well without or without the cream, my version is nothing close to the one from Da Paolo though it was still satifying and yummy (The mr finished every single drop in the pot! hehe). But it was still a recipe worth blogging about! Hope you all will give it a try and enjoy it as much as we did!

Crab, Prawn & Cherry Tomato Linguini (an original recipe by Food Made With Love)

Ingredients :

1 canned crab meat (170g, 120g drained)

10 pieces of prawns, shelled & deveined and cut to small pieces

10 cherry tomatoes

2-3 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 chilli, deseed and chopped finely

5 pieces of sundried tomato, chopped finely

3 tablespoon of olive oil

1 tbs tomato paste

1 tsp dried oregano

120ml dry white wine

300ml fish stock

salt & pepper, to season

grated parmesan, to serve

300g pasta, cooked according to the back of the packaging and drained

Steps :

1) Season the cherry tomatoes with a bit of the chopped garlic, 1 tbs olive oil and dried oregano and place them on a baking tray. In a 180 degree celcius preheated oven, bake the tomatoes for 15 mins.

2) Heat a deep dish pan over moderate heat, add the olive oil, garlic, chilli and sundried tomatoes and fry till soft and fragrant. Careful not to burn the garlic, or it will taste bitter.

3) Add the prawns in the mixture and fry till they turn from opaque to white. Add the baked cherry tomatoes (including all the juices) and the tomato paste. Mix it well but gently, not to mash the cherry tomatoes. Add the white wine and allow it to reduce by half.

4) Add the fish stock and allow it to simmer over low-medium heat for 15-20 mins. Season with salt and black pepper and add the crab meat at this point. (Don’t add it too early, as it might break down and you won’t be able to taste it).

5) Toss in the cooked pasta and mix well. Serve with grated parmesan and ENJOY!

Tip :

Instead of chopping garlic when you need it, chop it before hand and place it in a air tight glass container. Cover it with olive oil and you’ve not only got garlic-infused olive oil to use whenever you need to, you have chopped garlic all ready to go! (: Place them in the fridge and you should be able to keep it for up to a month! I would recommend not making too huge a container. Maybe prepare a container every 1-2 weeks depending on how big a fan you are of garlic!

A Come Back : Ragu

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I do apologise sincerely for my lack of posts since the end of last year. For those who don’t know, I was really busy with my wedding preparations and that’s really all I have been up to the past 3 months! and yes, I am married! (:

And after the wedding, it was our amazing honeymoon in Bali and then it was Chinese New Year. Not sure about you guys, but CNY is a time to just spend with family and feast! haha

Well. I am back! And for the first post of 2012, I am blogging about one of my favourite cuisines. Italian.

Who doesn’t like Italian? I love love love love pastas. Creamy, tomato-y, squid ink. You name it, I love it. haha. That’s how much I love pastas. A habit of mine (a good one I think!) is to try out some of the yummy dishes I had in restaurants/cafes. So far, I’ve tried making lasagne, gnocchi, risottos. One thing that I’ve always wanted to try is ragu.I remember watching the Italian Food Safari and said to myself “You really gotta try to make this one day”

Tonight was the night. I took out my “Simply Italian” cookbook bought by my mummy (underused in my opinion) and flipped through the book from the first page to the last and found a ragu recipe! So I decided to swing by Springvale Market after work & got the ingredients and whipped it up for dinner.

A keeper. This recipe is definitely a keeper. I could just eat the ragu without any pasta. The flavour was amazing. I use to think it’s like a bolognese. But it’s so much more. A pity I didn’t have time to cook it a little longer, I’m pretty sure it would taste even better when the meats have all broken down into the tomato base. mmm.

Ragu (adapted from Simply Italian by Sophie Braimbridge)

Ingredients :

60g butter

90g pancetta, finely chopped

1 onion, finely chopped

1 celery, finely chopped

1 carrot, grated

250g minced beef

200g minced pork

200g chicken livers, trimmed and finely chopped

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

125ml milk

125ml dry white wine

250ml beef stock

400g tin chopped tomatoes

2 heap tbs tomato paste

salt and pepper

grated Parmesan, to serve

Steps :

1. Heat the butter in a heavy based saucepan and add the pancetta. Cook until lightly brown and add the onion, celery and carrot. Cook over moderate heat for about 8 mins or until soften, stirring from time to time.

2. Add the minced beef, pork and oregano to the saucepan. Season with the nutmeg, salt and pepper.

3. Cook for about 5 mins, or until the meat has changed colour but not browned. Add the chicken liver and cook till it changes colour.

4. Stir in the milk and simmer for a couple of minutes. Pour in the wine and increase the heat and allow it to boil for 2-3 minutes or until the wine is absorbed. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

5. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste and half of the stock, partially covering the pan and allow it to cook for a minimum of 1 hour (optimally, 3 hours). Add more stock as it is needed to keep the sauce moist.

6. To serve, cook pasta of your choice according to the package, drain and toss the pasta with the ragu sauce and serve with grate Parmesan.

ENJOY! (:

ps : store leftovers in the fridge up to 3 days or in the freezer for a month (:

Let’s Celebrate!

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There are many ways to celebrate but for this household, the way to celebrate is cooking up a good meal and enjoying it together! (:

And the things to celebrate about might be something as small as doing well for a piece of assignment; or as big as getting a job. But tonight, we celebrated 2 things : the start of my school holidays and the mr coming back to melbourne! hehe Actually I think it’s just an excuse for me to get back in the kitchen (my comfort zone) and cook up something yummy for everyone. (: And so I did!

Went to Footscray market this morning, without having a clue about what I wanted to cook for dinner. This often happens to me haha. Getting inspiration by walking up and down the meats and seafood aisle. and I saw these gorgeous osso buccos that I just had to get them.

These gorgeous things are huge! haha So I bought 2 big ones for the boys and 1 small for me! Personally, I love to cook this over a low heat for at least 2 hours, or until the meat falls off the bone. I think any longer than that, you would actually lose the marrow which the mr would be quite disappointed about. So I say, 2 hours tops!

Let’s do this!

Osso Bucco With Pasta (A Food Made With Love Original)

Ingredients :

3 beef/veal osso buccos

2 carrots, chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

2 tomatoes, chopped

1 onion, finely chopped

4 cloves garlic, fine chopped

1 tbs plain flour, and extra to dust

1 tsp chilli powder

2 tbs tomato paste

1 can (400g) of tinned chopped tomatoes

2 cups beef stock

1/2 cup white wine

2 tsp dried mix herbs

4 tbs of olive oil, and extra to coat

salt and pepper, for seasoning and taste

Pasta, cooked according to the directions on the packet and drained

Steps :

1. Season the osso buccos with salt, pepper and chilli powder. Rub a bit of olive oil on the meat and coat with plain flour.

2. Heat 2 tbs of olive oil in a deep pan on medium-high heat and sear the meat for 2-3 minutes on each side till nice and brown. Take them off the heat, and set aside.

3. Heat the remaining 2 tbs of oil, and add the onion and garlic and cook till soft and fragrant. Add the carrots and celery and cook for a further 5 mins. Add the chopped tomatoes and tomato paste and stir till well combined.

4. Add the flour and the mixed herbs and make sure you stir till there are no lumps. Add the tinned tomatoes and the wine and allow it to reduce by 1/4 before adding the beef stock. Bring to boil and reduce to low heat. Season with salt and pepper.

5. Place the osso buccos back into the pan and cover to allow it to simmer for 1 hour. Remove the cover and continue to cook it over low heat for another hour (uncovered). The meat should be falling off the bone at this point.

6. Remove the osso buccos and place the cooked pasta in the pan and toss it to coat.

7. Plate  it as you like it! I prefer to have my pasta at the bottom and finish the dish with the osso buccos on top! (: of course, don’t forget the thick yummy gravy!

ENJOY!

PS: Remember to cook this with enough time to spare, so that your family or loved ones wouldn’t have to wait too long for dinner!

Bon Appetite! (: My mr. enjoying the marrows. hee

So how do you celebrate with your loved ones and friends? SHARE please! Would love to hear about it!

Beef Stroganoff : Masterchef Recipe

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Sorry for the lack of posts! Uni just started for me, and the amount of readings I have to do is unbelievable! Haven’t had much chance to cook or bake. But yes! I’m back!

Have you been catch Masterchef when it was on tv? I have! I caught as many episodes I could when I’m home and if I missed one, I would load it on the Masterchef website and watch it at my own free time! (: One dish that caught my eye and tummy was the beef stroganoff! the orangy creamy texture of the dish, topped on pasta, I think it’s a match-made in heaven.

so I got down to business. I didn’t have creme friache or the usual substitute of sour cream, so I “cleaverly” used thickened cream which wasn’t too good an idea, cause it became very starchy. But other than that, the flavours were really yummy and my baby really enjoyed it! (:

so here’s the recipe that is from this Masterchef series

Ingredients :

2 tbs sweet paprika
100g flour
500g piece beef eye fillet (from the tail end), sliced into strips
¼ cup olive oil
40g butter, plus extra to serve
200g Swiss brown mushrooms, thinly sliced
3 eschalots, finely diced
2 tbs tomato paste
½ cup brandy
1 cup beef stock
2 tbs Worcestershire sauce
1 cup crème fraiche (or light sour cream)
2 tbs extra virgin oil, to serve
baby parsley, to garnish

Steps :

1. For the beef stroganoff, combine paprika, flour and 1 teaspoon of sea salt in a bowl. Toss beef in the mixture to coat.

2) Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large frying pan over high heat and sear the beef for 1-2 minutes or until browned. Remove and set aside.

3) Reduce heat to medium-high; add half the butter and remaining the olive oil. Cook the mushrooms until caramelised. Reduce the heat to medium, add remaining butter, eschalots and cook for a few minutes until softened.

4) Add the tomato paste, brandy, stock, Worcestershire sauce and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium, stir in crème fraiche, reserved beef and juices, then season with salt and pepper.

5) Serve with either rice or pasta. DONE! (: