Pan-fried Potatoes with Browned Onions and Garam Masala

This week, the theme at I Heart Cooking Clubs is, I Am Thankful For...! Which ingredients that I am most thankful for? Potatoes comes to mind instantly! We love potatoes, cooked in any way! 

I've made Nigel Slater's, Pan-fried Potatoes with Browned Onions and Garam Masala. So easy and simple yet so good. Just 3 ingredients ; potatoes, onion and garam masala. Whole potatoes are cleaned and boil till tender, then drain and peel off the skins. Either break up the potatoes in chunks or slice them, I've cut them up in cubes. Recipe uses 1 small onion, but I've used one big onion. Next time I will use 2, as we love caramelized onions, and the quantity is reduced after cooking.  The onion are thinly sliced and cook in oil until they turn rich brown. Then a teaspoon of garam masala is added, (I've used 3 teaspoons), along with some salt to taste. Stir for a few seconds until fragrant, then add the potatoes. Stir briefly for a minute or two, then serve.

The dish may look dull, but trust me, it is so delicious! As the author says, "Brown onions and garam masala is a most magical combination". We ate this dish with rice as a side dish with egg sambal and stir-fry cabbage. Yum!

Pan-fried Potatoes with Browned Onions and Garam Masala
(Real Cooking, Nigel Slater)
4 medium-sized potatoes
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 small onion, thinly sliced
a teaspoon of garam masala (I use 3 teaspoons)

Bring the potatoes to the boil in enough cold water to cover them. Turn them down to an enthusiastic bubble and leave to cook until tender to the point of a knife - about fifteen minutes, depending on their size. Drain and peel off their skin.

Heat the oil in a pan, then add the sliced onion. Cook over a moderate heat until a rich brown. Perhaps darker than you might normally take. Its flavour will be deeper and more aromatic. Add the garam masala and about a teaspoonful of salt. Warm gently in the pan for a few seconds until it is fragrant. Brown onions and garam masala is a most magical combination. Break the potatoes up into chunks(you can slice them but you will lose the lovely rough, crumbly texture of the dish), then stir them briefly with the spiced onion. Cook for a minute or two. Serve hot.

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I Heart Cooking Clubs

Cookbook Countdown #47

A Stir-Fry of Greens and Mushrooms

This week at I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC), we are cooking Greens! 

I'm cooking with Nigel Slater for this week's theme. I have a few bunches of pak choy in my garden containers that are ready to be harvested and they are perfect for this simple stir-fry dish.

Is pak choy a spring green? No idea! Ha! Instead of shredding the greens finely, I've cut them to about 2" or so in lengths. I have used fresh shiitake mushrooms and have omitted the sugar and dark soy sauce.  The pak choy already tastes great without the sugar and they do not need the dark soy sauce to cover their fresh greenness! 😁 

A simple and tasty stir-fry greens. Makes a great side dish with some fried rice and of course, with a fried egg for a complete and filling meal!

A Stir-Fry of Greens and Mushrooms
(The Kitchen Diaries II, Nigel Slater)
serves 2
3 shallots
4 cloves garlic
2 red hot chillies
150gm small closed-cup mushrooms
2 heads spring greens
3 tablespoons rapeseed or other flavourless oil
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 teaspoon caster sugar (omitted)
a little dark soy sauce (omitted)
a handful of roughly torn coriander leaves

Peel and finely shred the shallots. Peel the garlic and slice it finely. Halve the chillies, discard the seeds and cut the flesh into thin shreds. Cut the mushroom in half. Shred the greens finely. This is easier when the leaves are piled on top of one anotheer and rolled up like a cigar.

Get a wok or large, thin-bottomed pan really hot. Pour in the oil and then, just as it starts to smoke, add the shallots, garlic, chillies and ginger. Stir-fry them for thirty seconds or so, till they are fragrant and just beginning to colour. Add the mushrooms and let them colour appetizingly, moving them and the aromatics around the pan regularly. Add the shredded greens and continue cooking till they have softened but are still bright and vibrant in colour - a matter of two or three minutes. Add the fish sauce, caster sugar and soy. Wait till everything is sizzling, then throw in the coriander, toss and stir, and eat immediately.

I'm linking this post with I Heart Cooking Clubs, theme for this week

Monthly Featured Ingredient : Greens !

and 

I'm linking this post with Cookbook Countdown #27 hosted by 

Kitchen Flavours and Emily's Cooking (Makan2) Foray

Hot Thai Stir-Fry

This week, I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC) is cooking with Nigel Slater. He is our featured chef for this week's theme "Monthly Featured Chef : Nigel Slater!".  A few months ago, I've added one more of Nigel's cookbook, Real Cooking, to my cookbook collection. I now have five of his books. And the first recipe that I've tried from this book is a chicken dish, Hot Thai Stir-Fry. 

I have a pot of Thai basil plant, which needed to be pruned, and found just the recipe to use up the leaves. This stir-fry chicken dish comes together pretty quickly, so get everything chopped up and ready. The only part that takes a bit of time is to cook and brown the chicken pieces in oil for a few minutes, which really did not take long at all. Remove the browned chicken pieces to a plate. In the same pan, saute the spring onions, ginger and garlic till fragrant. Add the chopped chillies, then return the chicken pieces to the pan. Stir for a minute, add in the dark soy sauce. Seeing that there is no mentioning of any salt or seasoning in the recipe, I have added a dash of fish sauce and light soy sauce to taste. 

This is quite a fairly dry dish as there are no sauce, but it was delicious, we had it for dinner with rice along with some other dishes. I love simple stir-fry like this!

Fragrant Thai basil leaves.

Hot Thai Stir-Fry
(adapted from "Real Cooking", Nigel Slater)
For 2
a generous handful of basil leaves (at least 20)
groundnut oil
350gm chicken, cut into small pieces but skin left on
4 spring onions, roughly chopped (separate the white and green parts)
small lump of ginger, about the size of a walnut, peeled and shredded
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 hot red chillies, seeded and finely chopped
2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
1 teaspoon fish sauce (my addition)
1 teaspoon light soy sauce, to taste (my addition)

Tear the basil leaves up a bit. Heat a wok or deep frying pan and then pour in enough oil to cover the bottom, probably about two tablespoons. When the oil starts to shimmer and smoke, drop in the chopped chicken. If it lands skin-side down so much the better. Do not touch until the bottom side is golden, then move the chicken around in the pan. Chopsticks are as good as anything for this and will seem appropriate, though any old spoon is fine. Cook until the meat is golden on all sides, Test a piece; it should be juicy and only just cooked through. Tip out into a dish (anything will do, it is going back in the pan later).

Add a little more oil to the pan if there seems little left. Throw in the spring onions (I use the white part of the spring onions), ginger and garlic. Shake it all about a bit. It should sizzle and spit. If it doesn't then your pan isn't hot enough. Add the chillies. When they soften, return the chicken to the pan, throw in the basil and stir for a minute. Slosh in the soy sauce (fish sauce and light soy sauce to taste, with the remaining green parts of the spring onions) and serve on hot plates.

I'm linking this post with I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC), theme for this week,

"Monthly Featured Chef : Nigel Slater!"

Chicken, Spinach and Noodles Broth

It's November Potluck week over at I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC), and I'm bringing another dish. A soupy chicken broth noodle from Nigel Slater's book "Eat".

Originally, the recipe uses asparagus spears which is cut into ribbons. I do not have any asparagus but I do however have a pot of Amaranth (Chinese Spinach) growing in my garden pot, which are just about right for harvest. And these Chinese Spinach are great in soups and stir-fries. So I've used that instead. Instead of chicken thighs, I've used chicken breast fillet. I've followed the cooking instructions for the thighs, but shred the meat to pieces before serving. For the noodles, I've used dried egg noodles which is boiled till softened. 

Round Leaf Amaranth (Chinese Spinach) from my potted garden

This is an easy noodle dish to come together rather quickly. I made this for lunch, with a condiment of light soy sauce mixed with chopped birds eye chillies.


Chicken, Asparagus and Noodle Broth
(adapted from "Eat", Nigel Slater)
For 2-3 servings
Ingredients :
chicken thighs (I use chicken breast)
asparagus (I use homegrown Chinese spinach)
noodles
mushrooms (I use fresh Shiitake)
garlic
chicken stock

Brown 4 chicken thighs in a little oil in a deep pan. Slice 150gm mushrooms, such as large field, portobello or porcini, and peel and slice 2 garlic cloves. Add the mushrooms and garlic to the pan and continue browning, adding more oil if necessary. Pour in a litre of chicken stock, bring to the boil and simmer for about 30 minutes. Lift out the thighs and take the meat off the bones, returning it to the simmering stock. (I've used chicken breast fillet, cook as above, and shredded the meat before serving). Shave 4 asparagus spears into ribbons with a vegetable peeler, then add them to the soup with 200gm noodles (I've used Chinese spinach, cooking it in the soup for just a few minutes). Cook for a minute or two, then divide between deep bowls.

I'm linking this post with I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC), theme for this week,

November Potluck

and 

Cook-Your-Books #28 @ Kitchen Flavours

Roast Chicken, Herb and Asparagus Rice

"Mystery Box Madness : April 2015", the theme for this week at I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC). We are given ten ingredients and are required to select at least three out of the ten, to make a dish using the recipes from any of IHCC featured chefs, past or present.

The ten ingredients for this month are : Scallops, Tarragon, Sour Cream, Walnuts, Capers, Asparagus, White Beans, Gruyere, Yeast and Rice.

My selection for this week's challenge : Rice, Asparagus and Tarragon

Found the perfect recipe from The Kitchen Diaries II by Nigel Slater. I was going thru the recipe and happy to note that there is rice, asparagus and quite a number of different herbs used, but there's no tarragon, and was thinking of adding it in. Upon reading the notes by Nigel Slater at the top of the recipe, he did mention that ".....I would probably swap the gentle aniseed charms of chervil for the more punchy notes of the tarragon. This time I added small leaves of sorrel because I happened to have some, but they should be considered a treat rather than being essential to the recipe".  I was smiling with glee, as this week's MBM is quite challenging, as I am unable to find recipes which uses at least three out of the ten ingredients together in a recipe, except for one more, Donna Hay's "Tarragon Chicken and Ham Pasties", but the recipe uses Gruyere, which I am unable to find and even if I can find it, it will be very expensive!

I made this for our weekend simple dinner and it was delicious. Recipe uses leftover roasted chicken, but since I do not have that, I roasted a whole piece of chicken breast meat, seasoned with olive oil, salt and lots of black pepper. Then I tear it into chunks and used it the recipe. When I was at the supermarket getting the tarragon and thymes, I've forgotten to get some parsley and mint. So I have omitted them. 

This is a really easy rice meal to prepare. Firstly cook the rice ; heat up some butter, stir-fry the bay leaves, and thyme leaves until fragrant, add in the basmati rice. Stir for a minute, add in water to cover, close the pot, and simmer for 15-20 minutes until the rice is done. I cooked two cups of basmati rice using one cup of homemade chicken stock and the balance with water to make 3-1/4 cups of water/stock in total. After 20 minutes of cooking, turn off heat and leave rice undisturbed for 10-15 minutes. 

While the rice is cooking, prepare the asparagus. Cut up the asparagus to short lengths and steam for a few minutes just until tender, refresh in cold water immediately. I have however, microwave them on high for 2 minutes (easier, faster and less pots to wash!), and then refresh in cold water. Drain before use.

Fluff up rice and mix with the rest of the ingredients ; asparagus, chicken chunks and herbs. I've chopped the tarragon leaves and used about 2 tablespoons in total. Tarragon is quite strong in taste, so add accordingly to taste. Season with salt and pepper. Recipe uses lemon olive oil, which I do not have, but I do have olive oil infused with fig leaves, so I used that instead.

There's a yoghurt sauce in the recipe which is supposed to spoon over the rice pilau before serving, but I have omitted the yoghurt sauce.

This is a simple, easy, and delicious rice meal. I love the simplicity of preparing this meal. Any herbs can be added in. I will definitely make this again, and will make sure that I have some fresh corianders around, which I'm sure will add a more fragrant and wonderful taste to this rice meal. If you do not have any leftover roasted chicken, you can roast a large piece of chicken breast (like I did) or a few pieces of thigh meat, seasoned with salt and pepper, the day before, warm it in the oven for a short while before using it in the recipe.

Roast Chicken, Herb and Asparagus Rice
(adapted from "The Kitchen Diaries II", Nigel Slater)
250gm asparagus
120gm brown basmati rice (I use the regular white basmati)
30gm butter
2 bay leaves
whole black peppercorns (I omitted this)
leaves from a couple sprigs of thyme
250gm leftover roast chicken
4 spring onions
3 or 4 sprigs parsley
4 bushy sprigs mint leaves
4 o 5 leaves sorrel (optional)
a few sprigs of chervil (I used tarragon)
3 tablespoons lemon olive oil

Trim the asparagus and cut it into short lengths. Boil or steam for four or five minutes, till almost tender. Drain and cool quickly under running water. 

Wash the rice three times in cold water, moving the grains around in the water with your fingers. Warm the butter in a small-to-medium-sized saucepan, add the bay leaves, peppercorns and thyme leaves and stir them around in the butter for a minute or two, until the fragrance wafts up. Drain the rice and tip it into the warm herbs. Cover with a couple of centimetres' depth of water and bring to the boil. Season with salt, cover with a lid and turn the heat down to a simmer. Leave to cook till the rice is tender but has some bite left in it, about fifteen minutes or so. Set aside with the lid on but the heat off.

Tear the chicken into large, jagged pieces and put them into a large mixing bowl. Trim and finely slice the spring onions. Chop the parsley and mint. If you are using sorrel, shred it finely. Pick the leaves from the chervil and add to the chicken with all the other herbs. Fluff the rice up with a fork. Tip the warm rice into the herbs and chicken, add the steamed asparagus and toss gently with the lemon oil. Correct the seasoning to taste with salt and pepper. The mixture should be light, green and fresh.

I'm linking this post with I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC), theme for this week 

"Mystery Box Madness : April 2015".

and 

Cook-Your-Books #22 @ kitchen flavours

Leek And Mushroom Pie With Skin-On Mash

"Mystery Box Madness : March 2015", the theme for this week at I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC). There's ten ingredients given in the mystery box, where we must select at least three, and we are free to cook with either our present or past featured chefs at IHCC. 

The list for the ten ingredients are Bacon, Mushroom, Thyme, Cucumber, Cumin, Leeks, Apricots, Pistachios, Ricotta, Orange Flower Water. 

For this week, I've cooked with Nigel Slater, made his Leek and Mushroom Pie with Skin-On Mash, using three out of the listed ingredients ;

Mushroom, Leek and Bacon.

Originally Nigel Slater's recipe do not have any bacon, I've added that in, since Bacon is in the list, and also, I would have added in the Bacon anyway even if it wasn't in the list of ingredients! :) We love bacon around here! And I'm so glad I've added that in, the filling is so, so delicious, and bacon always makes a dish tastes so much yummier! I've used streaky bacon which I've cut to pieces.

NS says to use only the white and pale green part of the leek, discarding the green parts. But I have always used the green parts, it seems such a waste to discard. Once the leek has been cooked till softened, the green part would have softened as well, besides the filling looks better with some greens specks in it! I've used a mixture of brown button and Shiitake mushrooms. The leeks are first cooked with a little oil till softened, and kept aside. I fry the bacon pieces till lightly crisp and added in the sliced mushrooms. Return the leeks to the pan. Now, I did not read the recipe clearly and only realized that I need to simmer the leek and mushroom for 30 to 40 minutes. I was rushing for time, and only simmer for about 12 minutes after adding in the flour, white wine (did not have any Marsala) and some chicken stock. Since it was only a short simmer, I have used about 1/4 cup of chicken stock. Season with salt and black pepper to taste. I tasted the filling and it was so delicious! I'm really looking forward to this pie! Spoon the filling into a large baking dish, or into smaller baking dish for individual serving.

I started on boiling the potatoes, before I cook the leeks and mushrooms. I scrubbed the skins of the potatoes (I've used Russets), with a brush as the skin will be mashed together. By the time the filling is done, the potatoes are done too.The potatoes, including the skin are mashed with some butter. Season the mashed potatoes with some salt and black pepper to taste, making sure that they are well seasoned. Spoon the mashed potatoes onto the filling, and according to NS, "don't be tempted to smooth the mash on top". Yes, sir!  :)

Bake for 45 minutes.

I've used three small baking dish for individual serving, and I like it that the filling seems to be bubbling in some corners, and smells so good! Serve the pie while still warm. This is one delicious pie and both my kids love it. The filling is so tasty. And what's not to love about mashed potatoes! Needless to say, there's a request to make this again!  :)

Leek and Mushroom Pie with Skin-on Mash
(adapted from "Kitchen Diaries II", Nigel Slater)
400gm leeks, untrimmed weight
100gm streaky bacon (my addition)
2 tablespoons olive oil
30gm butter
600gm assorted mushrooms
2 lightly heaped tablespoons plain flour
3-4 tablespoons dry Marsala (I replaced with white wine)
300ml vegetable or chicken stock
a small bunch tarragon (omitted)
2 heaped tablespoons creme fraiche (I use heavy cream)

For the potatoes :
1.5kg floury potatoes
50gm butter

Trim the leeks, removing any dark green leaves (anything pale green or white is fine). Warm the olive oil and butter in a large casserole over a moderate heat. Thinly slice the leeks, then add them to the casserole. Cover with a lid and cook at a low to moderate pace for ten to fifteen minutes, until they are soft but not coloured.

Sort the mushrooms, dividing them into firm (chestnut, portabello, button) and the more fragile "wild" vatieties that will take less time to cook. Once the leeks are soft, remove them from the pan and set aside. Slice or quarter the firm mushrooms where necessary, add them to the pan and cook till they are lightly coloured, adding more butter or oil as you think fit. Return the leeks to the pan. Stir in the flour and continue cooking for two or three minutes, then pour in the Marsala, followed shortly by the stock. Leave to simmer for thirty to forty minutes.

Remove the tarragon leaves from their stalks, keeping them whole, and stir them into the sauce with the creme fraiche. Check the seasoning, remove from the heat, then pour the mixture into a large baking dish. Tuck in the raw fragile mushrooms (they will overcook if added during the initial cooking) and set aside.

Set the oven at 200C/Gas 6. Cook the potatoes, unpeeled, in boiling salted water till tender, then drain. Mash roughly, skins and all, with the butter. Place in rough mounds over the mushroom sauce (don't be tempted to smooth the mash on top) and bake for forty-five minutes.

Enough for 6.

I'm linking this post with I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC), theme for this week "Mystery Box Madness : March 2015"

and

Cook-Your-Books #21 @ Kitchen Flavours

Chicken, Leek and Parsley Pie And A Roundup for Cheerio Nigel!

"Cheerio Nigel", the theme for this week at I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC). This is our final week of cooking with Nigel Slater. We will be starting with our new featured chef, Diana Henry, starting Oct 5th next week. Want to join us? Get the full details here. Well, it has been a wonderful six months cooking with Nigel Slater's recipes. But it certainly is not goodbye, as I will definitely be cooking from his books from time to time. 

To say "Cheerio" to Nigel, I've made Chicken, Leek and Parsley Pie, and it was so, so, delicious!

Firstly, let's harvest some leeks from the garden pot! 

I have a few leek plants growing in my small potted garden. Only two leeks are ready to be harvested, the rest are not quite ready to be harvested yet, will reserve that for other recipes :)

First make the filling. I have used chicken breast meat, instead of chicken on the bones, which I've seasoned with salt and pepper (even though Nigel did not season the chicken pieces), and baked in the oven at 200C for 30 minutes until cooked through. Leave to cool, cut into bite-sized pieces and used as directed in the recipe. The 2 leeks from my garden pot is not enough, so I have bought 2 more to add on. The leeks are cooked till soft, then some flour is added in, with some hot stock, cook until the sauce thickens, add in the chicken pieces, bay leaves, chopped parsley, bay leaves, salt and pepper. I have forgotten to add the chopped parsley as I did not take it out from the refrigerator. Obviously, "out of sight, out of mind"!  LOL!

The filling is so yummy, that I can't help thinking that serving this over pasta would be lovely indeed!

This chicken pie is baked in a pie dish as one large pie, but I have used the ramekin moulds to make individual pies, which makes serving easier. Each person has one pie all to themselves. Besides, I don't want to share my pie! Haha!

Brush the top with some egg wash and bake till the the crust is all golden and crispy. I served the pie with some steamed corn and salad greens.

This is so delicious! The filling has that wonderful delicious taste of soft sweet tender leeks and soft, moist, tender chicken chunks. Of course, the crispy buttery puff pastry makes it all the more perfect. Yummy! Will definitely make this again. Now I got to plant more leeks!

Chicken, Leek and Parsley Pie

(adapted from "The Kitchen Diaries II", Nigel Slater)
800gm chicken pieces, on the bone (1-1/2 piece of large chicken breast meat, season with salt and pepper)
4 leeks
a thick slice of butter
3 heaped tablespoons plain flour
650ml hot stock
3 bay leaves
a small handful parsley
375gm sheet all-butter puff pastry
beaten egg and milk, seasoned for brushing

Set the oven at 200C (Gas 6). Put the chicken pieces in a roasting tin and bake for thirty minutes, till golden. Remove from the oven, leave to cool a little, then remove the flesh from the bones in large, bite-sized pieces and set aside. (I used 1-1/2 piece of large chicken breast meat, season with salt and pepper and bake in the oven for 30 minutes).

Thinly slice the leeks, wash them thoroughly, then cook them with the butter and about 100ml of water till soft and brightly coloured. It is essential not to let them colour, so keep a lid on and don't have the heat too high. When they are soft, stir in the flour, leave to cook for a few minutes, then gradually pour in the hot stock, stirring as you go. Continue to cook, letting the leek mixture simmer for ten minutes or so, till you have a thickish sauce. Add the cooked chicken, bay leaves, chopped parsley and some salt and pepper and continue cooking for a good five minutes. Try not to let the chicken break up too much.

Spoon the chicken and leek filling into a pie dish. Unroll the pastry and place it over the top of the dish, letting it overhang the sides. Brush the pastry with the seasoned beaten egg and milk, cut 3 small slits in the top to let out the steam and bake for twenty-five minutes or until the pastry is crisp and golden. (I made in ramekins for individual servings).

Enough for 6.

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Roundup of Nigel Slater's recipes which I've cooked for the past 6 months with IHCC

This post is linked to I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC), the theme for this week "Cheerio Nigel!"

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and 

Cook-Your-Books #16 @ Kitchen Flavours

Pumpkin and Tomato Laksa

"Ladle It Up", the theme for this week at I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC).

For this week, I've selected Pumpkin and Tomato Laksa, recipe from The Kitchen Diaries. I have some leftover pumpkins which I needed to clear, and some tomatoes too in my fridge. In the recipe instructions, the pumpkin is peeled,  and cut into chunks, then steam for a few minutes until tender, where they will be added to the laksa gravy towards the end of cooking time.  I feel that this is an unnecessary step, as pumpkin gets cooked really fast. I omitted the steaming and simply added the pumpkin chunks along with the tomatoes into the laksa gravy, and cooked for about 8-10 minutes until they are soft and tender. 

The laksa paste smells really nice. Made up of red chillies, garlic, ginger, lemon grass, lime leaves, coriander roots and leaves, which are all blended into a fine paste. I've added half a teaspoon of turmeric powder. Nigel has used only half the amount of the paste and he says to keep the other half for another day's use. I have adjusted the amount slightly to cook for only one meal. The paste is supposed to be cooked briefly in a saucepan, and he did not mention about using any oil at all. I have however, cooked the paste in some cooking oil, which I heated first, and fry the paste until they are fragrant, about 5-8 minutes. Then add in some stock and coconut milk (I've added the coconut milk at the last step of cooking). At this stage, I've added in the chopped tomatoes and pumpkins. Season to taste with some lemon juice, fish sauce and salt, let it simmer for 8-10 minutes until the pumpkin are soft and tender. I added in some fish balls during the last few minutes. And the coconut milk is added in, let the gravy come to a simmer, and ladle into bowls of pre-cooked noodles of your choice. I've used rice vermicelli. And garnish with some chopped coriander and mint leaves, and hard-boiled eggs, just because!

Simple and easy to cook. Though it does not exactly taste like our local laksa which is really rich and spicy, this bowl of mild laksa makes a nice meal. This is the first time I'm using pumpkin in a noodle laksa, and it makes such an interesting ingredient. The hard-boiled eggs and fish balls are my addition. Some cooked chicken meat may be added for a more substantial meal.  

Pumpkin and Tomato Laksa
Did not realize how messy the bowl looks after I stirred the laksa until I see this photo much later!

** my changes listed in blue
Pumpkin and Tomato Laksa
(adapted from "The Kitchen Diaries", Nigel Slater)
250gm pumpkin, unpeeled weight
5 small, red bird's eye chillies (I use 4 fresh red chillies)
4 cloves garlic
a lump of ginger the size of your thumb
2 plump stalks lemon grass
6 lime leaves
5 or 6 coriander roots
a large handful coriander leaves
1/2 tsp turmeric powder (my addition)
a little vegetable oil
500ml chicken or vegetable stock
400ml coconut milk
24 cherry tomatoes
2 tablespoons nampla (Thai fish sauce)
the juice of half a lemon
100gm dried noodles, cooked as it says on the packet
a large handful mint leaves

Cut the pumpkin into large chunks and place in the top of a steamer (alternatively, steam them in a colander balanced over a pan of boiling water). The pumpkin should be tender in twelve to fifteen minutes. Remove from the heat. (I omitted this step, I simply add in the pumpkin chunks along with the tomatoes later)

Chop the chillies, removing the seeds first if you wish, peel the garlic and ginger and chop roughly. Put them all into a food processor. Discard the outer leaves of the lemon grass and roughly chop the inner leaves, shred the lime leaves, then add them to the chillies. Scrub the coriander roots and add them to the chillies, along with half the coriander leaves and stems. Blitz them to a pulp, adding a little vegetable oil if the mixture needs it to go round.

Place a fairly deep pan over a moderate heat, add half the spice paste (keep the other half in the fridge for tomorrow) and fry it, moving it round the pan so it does not scorch. Do this for a minute or two, then pour in the stock and coconut milk and bring to the boil. (I heated some oil, fry the spice paste for about 5 minutes until fragrant before adding in the stock)

Cut the tomatoes in half and add them to the soup (together with the chunks of pumpkin), with the nam pla and lemon juice. They will take seven to ten minutes to cook. Add the chunks of pumpkin and continue cooking for a minute or two. (Add the coconut milk, let it some to a simmer). Place a swirl of cooked noodles in each of four bowls, pour over the laksa and add the mint and the remaining coriander leaves.

Enough for 4.

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I'm linking this post with I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC), theme for this week "Ladle It Up"

and

Souper Sundays @ Kahakai Kitchen

and

Cook-Your-Books #16 @ kitchen flavours

Beans On Toast

"Lentils, Legumes & Pulses, Oh My", the theme for this week at I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC). 
Made this simple bean dish, using canned fava beans. 

There's bacon, chopped celery, chopped carrots, onion and canned chopped tomatoes (I've used my last jar of homemade canned chopped tomatoes which I've made a couple of months ago). Nigel has used a teaspoon of black treacle for flavour, and since I do not have any, I have used black molasses instead, of which I've used about 2 teaspoons. I have used canned fava beans and made only half a recipe. This dish is done in 30 minutes. Fast, simple and tasty.

Nigel made this bean dish on a cold windy day, and served it with warm sourdough bread. But since I have some leftover homemade Part Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread from the day before (my previous post), I served it with this bean dish, for my lunch.

I can understand why Nigel is looking forward to have this "Beans On Toast" on a cold day. I served the beans piping hot with bread, and I had a very tasty and really nice lunch. I can just picture how cozy it is to have this hot steaming beans on a cold day!

Beans On Toast

(adapted from "The Kitchen Diaries II", Nigel Slater)
200gm lardons or cubed bacon or pancetta
an onion
a little rapeseed or olive oil
a rib of celery
2 small to medium carrots
two 400gm cans chopped tomatoes
two 400gm canned beans (pinto, haricot, butter beans etc)
1 teaspoon black treacle
a lump of sourdough loaf

Fry the lardons in a deep pan over a moderate heat. Peel and roughly chop the onion. When the lardons and their fat are golden, add the onion, together with a little rapeseed or olive oil if there seems too little fat in the pan. Chop the celery and carrots, add to the pan and leave to cook for a full five minutes, till fragrant and starting to soften. Add the tomatoes, simmer for ten minutes, then stir in the drained beans and simmer for another ten minutes. Season with the treacle, a little black pepper and some salt.

Warm the bread in the oven, tear into chunks and serve with the beans.

Enough for 2.

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I'm linking this post to I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC), theme for this week "Lentils, Legumes & Pulses"

and

Cook-Your-Books #16 @ Kitchen Flavours

Rosemary Croutes

"Bread Ahead", the theme for this week at I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC). We are currently cooking from Nigel Slater's recipes. I was searching for some bread recipes of Nigel when this recipe caught my attention, at least the herb paste did. Originally, this recipe is called Leek and Bacon Soup with Rosemary Croutes, but I have made only the Rosemary Croutes, did not make the soup. 

In the recipe, rosemary needles are weighed at 10 grams. This is the first time I'm weighing rosemary! LOL! I have always seen recipes using either in tablespoons measurement or sprigs, so how much is 10grams of rosemary needles? Snipped two large sprigs from my garden pot, and the above photo is 10 grams of the leaves, about a small bowl. There's really no need to follow the exact measurements, simply get a cupful of rosemary needles, then blend or process it with enough of olive oil until it comes to a spreading paste. Season with salt and black pepper to taste.

The leaves are blended with some olive oil to a paste. Now, I tried to cut down on the amount of oil, from 6 tablespoons to about 3.  But I guess, that is not a good idea! I find that I got to use all the 6 tablespoons in the end, to make the paste really nice. Season with some salt and black pepper. It tastes amazing! I thought that the scent of the rosemary might be overpowering, but it is really, really nice!

This is like a simplified pesto! Minus the cheese and nuts. Maybe next time, I'll try it with cheese and nuts to make it Rosemary Pesto! 

Get a couple of sliced baguettes, spread the Rosemary Paste over it, with some of the oil. I've sprinkled some garlic powder over, and place under the hot grill for about 2 minutes until the bread is crispy.
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Serve it immediately. I made this for my kids after school meal with some eggs, ham and green lettuce.  All of us love the Rosemary Croutes. It's really yummy! I will definitely make this again!

Rosemary Croutes
(adapted from guardian.com)
6 tbsp olive oil
10gm rosemary needles
6 slices bread
some garlic powder for sprinkling (my addition)

Make the rosemary paste by putting the olive oil into a food processor or blender with the rosemary needles. Blitz the herbs and oil, with a little salt and pepper, till all is bright green. Cut 12 long thin slices of bread from the loaf above (Nigel has given a recipe for bread, but I have used store-bought baguette). Place them flat on a baking sheet, then spoon over the rosemary oil. (Sprinkle with some garlic powder). Place under a hot grill till the bread is lightly crisp.

I'm linking this post with I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC), theme for this week "Bread Ahead"

Vegetable Pickle

"In Quite A Pickle", our theme for this week at I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC). I love pickles! Found this recipe in Nigel Slater's book "The Kitchen Diaries II", which he entered on November 26, page 463. He made this pickle for a pork sandwich which he has included in the recipe as well. But I'm only giving the pickle recipe since I did not cook the filling for the sandwich.

For this recipe, Nigel has given a rough amount of each ingredient, so adjust accordingly.

Firstly, the brine is made by heating the rice vinegar and sugar till the sugar melts. He mentioned that he uses a small wineglass of vinegar and equal amount of caster sugar. I do not know how big is "a small wineglass", and since I've used a medium size each of carrot, daikon (to replace the radishes) and cucumber (remove the soft centre core), I used half a cup of rice vinegar and caster sugar. Then 4 slices of fresh ginger and 2 star anise are added in, together with some fish sauce to taste. Take the pan off the heat, and I poured the brine into a heatproof casserole bowl.

Put all the vegetables in the bowl, mix to combine. I could not help adding 2 small red chillies from my chilli plant which is heavily fruiting right now. Besides, I love a little spiciness for pickles like this. Chop the chillies and add to the veggies. According to Nigel, "After an hour in the mixture, they have become crunchy. Two hours and they are full of zingy bite and refreshing crispness".  Now whenever I make pickles, I would place them right in the refrigerator,  for a couple of hours or overnight before eating, where they will become really crisp and still maintain their crispiness even for days. So instead of leaving the bowl  of pickles on the kitchen counter, I have placed it in the refrigerator.

About 4 hours later, I ate the first piece, then the second, then the third....!!!  Oh my! These are so delicious and addictive. You would not stop at just a few pieces. The veggies are so crunchy, sweet, sour and slightly spicy from the red chillies, especially delicious when eaten cold, straight from the refrigerator. These would be great to accompany any roasted meat or sandwiches, though I ate them as a snack! I would definitely make this again! 

Vegetable Pickles
(adapted from "The Kitchen Diaries II", Nigel Slater)

"This morning I make fresh, hot vegetable pickles. I thinly slice a raw carrot, 4 radishes and a quarter of a cucumber. I bring to the boil a small wineglass of rice wine vinegar and the same of caster sugar. In go 4 slices of raw ginger and 2 star anise. I then add enough Vietnamese fish sauce to make it interesting, about 2 tablespoons (everyone's tolerance to fish sauce is different; keep tasting as you go), put in the vegetables and let the mixture cool. After an hour in the mixture, they have become  crunchy. Two hours and they are full of zingy bite and refreshing crispness."

This is what I used :
1 medium carrot
1 medium daikon
1 medium cucumber
1/2 cup rice vinegar
1/2 cup caster sugar
3 tbsps fish sauce
2 star anise
4 slices ginger

I'm linking this post with I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC), theme for this week "In Quite A Pickle"

and

Cook-Your-Books #15 @ kitchen flavours