Linguine with Tuna, Chilli and Capers

This simple pasta dish is easy to prepare and does not take up much time in preparing it. I was busy with my gardening and lost track of the time, and realized that the kids would be back from school in a little more than an hour, and have not made any lunch yet. So I quickly glanced through Delia Smith's website and came across this pasta dish, which is quick and simple to make.

I have all the ingredients required except for the main ingredient, that is canned sardines in olive oil. But I do have a can of tuna in olive oil so that was what I used.

Firstly, get the water for the pasta boiling, add some salt, and cook the pasta until al dente. While waiting for the water to boil, snip some basil leaves from the garden, grab that can of tuna and chopped tomatoes, some capers from the jar, chopped up one red chilli and garlic, and get ready to cook. Heat some oil in a saucepan, saute the chopped garlic and chilli, add in the rest of the ingredients, except for the basil, season with salt and black pepper. When the pasta is done, drain the pasta and add the sauce to the pasta and toss till evenly coated. Add some pasta water if it appears dry. Serve with torn basils sprinkled over.

If you have a can of tuna and canned chopped tomatoes in your pantry, then you are good to go! Easy, quick, simple and kids like it!

Linguine with Sardines, Chilli and Capers
(adapted from deliasmith.com)
8 oz (225 gm) dried linguine
1 x 120gm tin of sardines in olive oil, well drained and the fish flaked into bite-sized pieces
(I replaced with flaked tuna in olive oil)
1 tablespoon sardine oil, reserved from the tin for frying
1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
1 tablespoon salted capers, rinsed and patted dry
1 clove garlic, chopped
7 oz (200 gm) tinned Italian chopped tomatoes, well drained, or 4 medium, ripe tomatoes, skinned and diced (I used 400gm canned chopped tomatoes)
a few fresh basil leaves, roughly torn, to garnish
salt and freshly milled black pepper

First of all you need to cook the pasta. Always use a large cooking pot and make sure you have at least 4 pints (2.25 litres) of water for every 8 oz (225 gm) of pasta and 1 level tablespoon of salt. Bring the water up to a good fierce boil before the pasta goes in and cook it for 8-12 minutes without a lid, until al dente.

Meanwhile, heat the tablespoon of sardine oil in a small frying pan, fry the garlic and chilli for about 4 minutes, until softened, then add the tomatoes, sardines and capers, and gently heat them through, stirring occasionally. Taste and season with salt and freshly milled black pepper.

When the pasta is ready, drain it into a colander, then quickly return it to the saucepan. Add the sauce, toss it around thoroughly for 30 seconds or so, then serve in hot pasta bowls with the torn basil sprinkled over.

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I'm linking this post to Cook Like A Star, All-Stars Anniversary Party, hosted by Zoe of Bake For Happy Kids, Mich of Piece of Cake and Joyce of Kitchen Flavours.

(click on any of the hostess blog for further info and to link your posts)

All-Stars Anniversary Party featured chefs :  Ina Garten, Jamie Oliver, Nigella Lawson, Curtis Stone, Ree Drummond, Bill Granger, Masterchefs, Martha Stewart, Delia Smith, Donna Hay

Cheddar, Capers and Sun-dried Tomato Scones : Cook Like A Star

It has been quite a while since I last made any scones, and when I saw this recipe at Delia Smith's website, I thought I'll give it a try. Besides, this is where my Homemade Sun-Dried Tomatoes in Olive Oil comes in handy, and the amount used is not much, but the scones are so full of flavour from the tomatoes, a little goes a long way!

Lovely golden brown!

The original recipe is actually called Feta, Olive and Sun-Dried Tomato Scones, the ingredients used are, feta cheese, black olive and fresh thymes. I have replaced three three ingredients with what I have, cheddar cheese, capers and dried thymes. And they worked out great. 

I made half a recipe, and only need to use a piece of my homemade sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil, with the oil drained off, chopped the tomato to chunky pieces. And I have used about 1 tablespoon of capers, drained. This recipe uses a small amount of the flavoured olive oil taken from the jar of sun-dried tomato. 

There's a small amount of wholewheat flour and some self-raising flour used. After everything has been added in and form into a soft dough, taking care not to over-knead the dough, the dough is rolled out, (I just spread them with my fingers), to about 1" thickness. I have used a 2" round fluted cutter for two pieces and decided to just gather the balance of the dough to made triangle scones instead of having bits and pieces leftover. I got 2 round scones and 5 triangle ones from half a recipe. These scones are rather small. 

Place the scones on a greased or lined baking tray, brush the top with some milk and top with some cheddar cheese. Bake in a preheat oven at 220C for 12-15 minutes at the topmost rack in your oven. I baked mine at 200C for exactly 12 minutes.

Transfer them to a wire rack to cool a little. Eat them while they are still warm, so good!

Nice and golden, with bits of the sun-dried tomatoes, capers and cheese. 

The texture is light, and so tasty! All the flavours from the tomatoes, capers, cheese and the oil blends together perfectly. I had these for my lunch with a cup of warm tea. Yums! 

This post is linked to Cook Like A Star, where this month's featured chef is Delia Smith, an event organised by my baking buddy, Zoe from Bake For Happy Kids together with co-hosts, Baby Sumo from Eat Your Heart Out and Mich from Piece of Cake.

and...

I'm linking this post with Little Thumbs Up, where the ingredient for this month is Tomato, organised by Zoe from Bake For Happy Kids and hosted by my little favourite DIY.

Feta, Olive and Sun-dried Tomato Scones
(source from : deliasmith.com)
Makes 12
3 oz (75 gm) Feta, cubed small (I use cheddar)
10 black olives, pitted and roughly chopped (I used capers)
2 oz (50 gm) sun-dried tomatoes, drained of oil and chopped, reserve 1 tablespoon oil
6 oz (175 gm) self-raising flour
2 oz (50 gm) whole-wheat flour
1/4 level teaspoon baking powder
1/4 level teaspoon cayenne pepper (I use paprika powder)
1/4 level teaspoon mustard powder
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1-1/2 level teaspoons chopped fresh thyme (I use 1/2 tsp dried thyms for half recipe)
1 large egg
2 tablespoons milk

For the topping :
milk for brushing
2 oz (50gm) Feta, crumbled (I use Cheddar)

Equipment :
You will also need a 2-inch (5cm) cuter and a small baking tray

1. First sift the flours and baking powder into a large, roomy bowl, tip in any bran left in the sieve, then add the cayenne and mustard powder and, using a knife, work in the 2 tablespoons of olive oil, plus the reserved tablespoon of oil from the sun-dried tomatoes.
2. When the mixture looks like lumpy breadcrumbs stir in the chopped thyme, cubed Feta, olives and sun-dried tomatoes.
3. Now in a separate bowl beat the egg with the 2 tablespoons of milk and add half the mixture to the other ingredients. Using your hands, bring the mixture together to form a dough, adding more of the egg and milk as it needs it - what you should end up with is a dough that is soft but not sticky.
4. Now on a floured board, roll the dough out to a depth of 1 inch (2.5 cm). Then stamp out the scones using a 2 inch (5 cm) cutter, either plain or fluted. Put the cut-out pieces on a baking tray and brush them with the milk.
5. Finally top each scone with the crumbled Feta, and put the tray on the highest shelf of the oven to bake for 12-15 minutes or until they've turned a golden colour. Then remove them to a wire rack until they are cool enough to eat.

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Home-made Lemonade : Cook Like A Star

Home-made Lemonade anyone? A glass of refreshing, thirst quenching, delightful, icy-cool lemony-fragrant glass of Home-made Lemonade! Usually when I made lemonade, I would just simply squeeze out the juice from a couple of lemons, add honey, and top with lots of ice. But for this recipe, you've got to prepare it a day earlier. The lemons are zested and juiced. Next mix in some sugar and hot boiling water. Keep covered overnight in a cool place. The next day, strain, chilled and enjoy with lots of ice.

There are a few variations to this lovely drink. Some soda water may be added if you want to, but my kids prefer to add on some honey, as these are really tangy!

Lemons, such a wonderful citrus! Lovely scent of lemony citrus lingers in the kitchen, a natural air-freshener!

Soooo refreshingly good! Go and make some today!

This post is linked to Cook Like A Star, where this month's featured chef is Delia Smith, an event organised by my baking buddy, Zoe from Bake For Happy Kids together with co-hosts, Baby Sumo from Eat Your Heart Out and Mich from Piece of Cake.

I'm sharing this too with :
See Ya In The Gumbo hosted by Ms. enPlace
Recipe Box hosted by Bizzy Bakes



Home-made Lemonade
(source from : deliasmith.com)
6 large lemons
about 150gm granulated sugar
some honey to taste (my addition)

First scrub the lemons in warm water, then thinly pare the coloured outer zest from 3 of them using a potato peeler or zester. After that any white pith will need to be pared from the strips of zest with a sharp knife - this is important to prevent the lemonade tasting bitter. Now put the zest in a large bowl and add the squeezed juice of all the lemons (don't bother to strain the juice at this stage) and the sugar.

Next pour in 2-1/2 pints (1.4 litres) of boiling water, then stir well, cover and leave overnight in a cool place. Next day stir again and taste to check the sweetness, adding a little more sugar if it needs it. Now strain through a fairly coarse sieve, as it's nice of some of the lemon remains. Pour it into bottles, using sterilized corks, then chill thoroughly.

Serve the lemonade either straight or diluted with soda water, with lots of ice.


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Slimmers' Scrambled Eggs : Cook Like A Star

What's for lunch today? Scrambled eggs, sausages and corns. Hubby bought some fresh sweet corns from a friend who got them from a farm in Cameron Highlands. The corns are very sweet and juicy. I planned on steaming the corns for the kids' after school lunch, and thought of something else to go with it. I was looking out of my kitchen window and saw my little pot of chives, and scrambled eggs immediately came to mind.

Since Cook Like A Star for this month is featuring Delia Smith as the featured chef, I browsed thru her website for some scrambled eggs inspiration! 

Easy to make and delicious to eat. The interesting method is, the pan is heated and coated with a spoonful of milk to moisten it! But be careful, the best way is when the pan is just hot, take it off the heat and add in the milk, swirling it all over to moisten the pan. Put the pan back on the heat, add in the beaten eggs which are seasoned with a little salt and pepper (the eggs are best beaten, just before cooking, to trap in the air for fluffier eggs). Using a wooden spoon, keep scrambling the eggs until three-quarter set, add the cheese and chives, continue to scramble until barely set. Serve immediately.

The usual method of cooking scrambled eggs is to add in the milk together with the eggs. And also a little amount of oil is needed to coat the pan first before cooking the eggs. But this recipe did not use any oil at all! The milk acts as the coating and it is incorporated into the eggs during cooking. Simply wonderful! Of course the addition of cheese gives a creamier taste to the eggs. I would definitely use this method of making scrambling eggs from now on!

The eggs are really good, creamy, fluffy and very tasty.  I served the scrambled eggs with steamed corns and some sausages. Would be great too if served with slices of toasted bread.

This post is linked to Cook Like A Star, where this month's featured chef is Delia Smith, an event organised by my baking buddy, Zoe from Bake For Happy Kids together with co-hosts, Baby Sumo from Eat Your Heart Out and Mich from Piece of Cake.

Slimmers' Scrambled Eggs
(source from : deliasmith.com)
Serves 1
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon milk
1 heaped dessertspoon quark or cottage cheese (I use cheddar cheese)
1 level tablespoon fresh snipped chives
salt and freshly milled black pepper

Begin by beating the eggs in a bowl, together with a good seasoning of salt and pepper. Now place the saucepan over a gentle heat, then add the milk to moisten the pan, whirling it around the edges.

Add the eggs and, using a wooden fork or pointed wooden spoon, briskly stir backwards and forwards through the liquid egg. Keep on scrambling until three-quarters of the egg is a creamy, solid mass and a quarter is still liquid.

Now add the quark or cottage cheese and chives and continue to scramble, then remove the pan from the heat and continue scrambling until no liquid egg is  left. Serve immediately, as the egg will continue to harden.