Monday, 30 January 2017
Sunday, 29 January 2017
Friday, 27 January 2017
Diet.
Intermittent fasting is not a diet, it’s a pattern of eating.
It’s a way of scheduling your meals so that you get the most out of them.
Intermittent fasting doesn’t change what you eat, it changes when you eat.
16:8
This involves daily fasting for 16 hours.
Sometimes this is also referred to as an 8-hour eating ‘window’.
You eat all your meals within an 8-hour time period and fast for the remaining 16 hours.
Generally, this is done daily or almost daily.
For example, you may eat all your meals within the time period of 12:00 am and 8:00 pm.
Generally, this means skipping breakfast.
You generally eat two or three meals within this 8-hour period.
5:2 fast
Dr. Michael Mosley popularized this variation in his book ‘The Fast Diet’.
This involves 5 regular eating days and 2 fasting days.
However, on these two fasting days, it is permitted to eat 500 calories on each day.
These calories can be consumed at any time during the day – either spread throughout the day, or as a single meal.
Here are the nine top tips, briefly:
Drink water
Stay busy
Drink coffee or tea
Ride out the hunger waves
Don’t tell anybody who is not supportive that you are fasting
Give yourself one month
Follow an LCHF (a low-carb, high-fat - you minimize your intake of sugar and starches: potato, rice, bread, pasta) diet between fasting periods. This reduces hunger and makes fasting much easier. It may also increase the effect on weight loss and type 2 diabetes reversal, etc.
Don’t binge after fasting
It’s a way of scheduling your meals so that you get the most out of them.
Intermittent fasting doesn’t change what you eat, it changes when you eat.
16:8
This involves daily fasting for 16 hours.
Sometimes this is also referred to as an 8-hour eating ‘window’.
You eat all your meals within an 8-hour time period and fast for the remaining 16 hours.
Generally, this is done daily or almost daily.
For example, you may eat all your meals within the time period of 12:00 am and 8:00 pm.
Generally, this means skipping breakfast.
You generally eat two or three meals within this 8-hour period.
5:2 fast
Dr. Michael Mosley popularized this variation in his book ‘The Fast Diet’.
This involves 5 regular eating days and 2 fasting days.
However, on these two fasting days, it is permitted to eat 500 calories on each day.
These calories can be consumed at any time during the day – either spread throughout the day, or as a single meal.
Here are the nine top tips, briefly:
Drink water
Stay busy
Drink coffee or tea
Ride out the hunger waves
Don’t tell anybody who is not supportive that you are fasting
Give yourself one month
Follow an LCHF (a low-carb, high-fat - you minimize your intake of sugar and starches: potato, rice, bread, pasta) diet between fasting periods. This reduces hunger and makes fasting much easier. It may also increase the effect on weight loss and type 2 diabetes reversal, etc.
Don’t binge after fasting
Potato, leek and ham hock soup.
Serves 4
50g butter
1tbsp olive oil
2 banana shallots, peeled and finely chopped
2 leeks, sliced
1 stick of celery, finely chopped
1-2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
2 large or 3 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
A large sprig of thyme
1 bay leaf
180g pack shredded ham hock (Waitrose)
750ml-1ltr chicken stock
A handful of parsley and/or tarragon
Bread to serve
Melt the butter and oil and sauté the shallots, leeks and celery for 8-10 minutes until soft.
Add the garlic and cook for a couple of minutes.
Add the potatoes, thyme and bay leaf and cook for 1-2 minutes with the buttery vegetables.
Stir in the ham hock, pour over the chicken stock and simmer, covered, for 25 minutes or until the vegetables are cooked through.
Season and sprinkle over the herbs and serve with the bread.
Scrumptious!
Thursday, 26 January 2017
Miso.
BBC - Food - Miso recipes:
Miso paste is a hugely useful pantry staple.
Miso, like yogurt, is a live food packed with bacteria that’s good for you.
The are lots of varieties of miso.
When buying miso, choose the unpasteurised, live, enzyme-rich product that will need to be stored in the fridge.
This type is loaded with beneficial microorganisms.
After opening, the texture, colour and flavour may change so keep an eye on it.
Some can be kept for quite a long time without any concerns or variations to quality.
Buyer's guide
The range of miso varieties available can be daunting for the novice buyer, but many supermarkets and most specialist shops in Britain will stock a basic selection.
The most common types are:
- Light-yellow miso (Shinshu miso), which ranges in colour from light yellow to yellow-brown.
It's the most common type of miso and is relatively mild in flavour.
It's very versatile and can be used in all types of dishes.
- Red miso (often sold as aka miso), which actually ranges from red to dark brown in appearance and has a strong, salty flavour.
It too is very versatile and suited to all types of dishes, from soup to dressings and dips and in cooked dishes.
- Sweet white miso (usually sold as shiro miso) is sweeter and lighter in taste, colour and texture.
It's always smooth in texture and is more suited to use in salad dressings, spreads and marinades.
It's fermented for a much shorter time (two to eight weeks) than other miso types, which are usually fermented for three years or more.
- Light-yellow or red miso should not be substituted in recipes that call for sweet white miso.
- Another type of miso, called hatcho miso, is perhaps the most highly regarded (and expensive) miso.
This rich, dark, thick variety is made only from soya beans and a special type of koji.
Other types you might see are mugi miso, which is made from barley and soya beans.
It often has a chunky texture and is good in soups and stews.
Genmai miso (brown rice miso), made from brown rice and soya beans, has a rich, earthy, slightly nutty flavour.
Korean grocers will sell a spicy type of bean paste called kochu jang (or gochujang), which is flavoured with red chilli and is great for giving a kick to sauces and marinades.
Miso paste is a hugely useful pantry staple.
Miso, like yogurt, is a live food packed with bacteria that’s good for you.
The are lots of varieties of miso.
When buying miso, choose the unpasteurised, live, enzyme-rich product that will need to be stored in the fridge.
This type is loaded with beneficial microorganisms.
After opening, the texture, colour and flavour may change so keep an eye on it.
Some can be kept for quite a long time without any concerns or variations to quality.
Buyer's guide
The range of miso varieties available can be daunting for the novice buyer, but many supermarkets and most specialist shops in Britain will stock a basic selection.
The most common types are:
- Light-yellow miso (Shinshu miso), which ranges in colour from light yellow to yellow-brown.
It's the most common type of miso and is relatively mild in flavour.
It's very versatile and can be used in all types of dishes.
- Red miso (often sold as aka miso), which actually ranges from red to dark brown in appearance and has a strong, salty flavour.
It too is very versatile and suited to all types of dishes, from soup to dressings and dips and in cooked dishes.
- Sweet white miso (usually sold as shiro miso) is sweeter and lighter in taste, colour and texture.
It's always smooth in texture and is more suited to use in salad dressings, spreads and marinades.
It's fermented for a much shorter time (two to eight weeks) than other miso types, which are usually fermented for three years or more.
- Light-yellow or red miso should not be substituted in recipes that call for sweet white miso.
- Another type of miso, called hatcho miso, is perhaps the most highly regarded (and expensive) miso.
This rich, dark, thick variety is made only from soya beans and a special type of koji.
Other types you might see are mugi miso, which is made from barley and soya beans.
It often has a chunky texture and is good in soups and stews.
Genmai miso (brown rice miso), made from brown rice and soya beans, has a rich, earthy, slightly nutty flavour.
Korean grocers will sell a spicy type of bean paste called kochu jang (or gochujang), which is flavoured with red chilli and is great for giving a kick to sauces and marinades.
Turmeric Tea.
Turmeric Tea Recipe - NYT Cooking:
Turmeric milk is a simple infusion of warm milk with turmeric that exists with countless variations in homes across India, where it's known as haldi doodh.
The drink might include black pepper, and a touch of jaggery or honey to sweeten it.
This hybridized version lies somewhere closer to a masala chai with a dose of black tea and a spoon of fresh grated ginger.
The recipe makes two dainty portions, or one robust one, but it's in the spirit of things to play with the ratios to suit your own taste, to use your sweetener of choice and even to replace the milk entirely with almond or cashew milk.
Cooking with powdered turmeric is less messy than with fresh, and won't require gloves to keep your fingers from staining.
Qption 1:
Ingredients
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon dried turmeric (or a 1/2-inch piece fresh turmeric, peeled and grated)
4cm piece ginger, peeled and grated
1 cardamom pod
1 cinnamon stick
3 black peppercorns
1/2 tablespoon honey
1 cup milk (or nut milk)
1 black tea bag
In a small pan over low heat, add the water, turmeric, ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, peppercorns and honey.
Bring to a simmer, then pour in milk, and add the tea bag.
When milk is steaming, use a spoon to taste, and add more honey if you like.
Pour through a fine-mesh strainer right into a cup, and drink while hot.
Qption 2:
Turmeric Tea Recipe:
This one is very simple and very effective.
As you acquire a taste for turmeric tea, you may find you can tolerate and enjoy increasing the amount of turmeric you use.
- my Today's option and I unexpectedly enjoyed the tea!
Ingredients:
1 tsp cinnamon
pinch of clove
pinch of nutmeg
tsp fresh ginger (optional)
pinch of fresh ground black pepper (optional)
- As much turmeric as you can handle! Start with a teaspoon and go up from there.
1-2 cups of water (I use regular milk)
Raw honey to sweeten
Milk sub of choice (I went with fresh coconut milk, but almond and hemp would both be delicious - I use regular milk)
Slow and steady stove top method:
Simmer herbs and water together for 10 mins.
Strain out and add honey and milk.
Fast and furious blender method:
Boil water in your kettle and add to blender (a blender with gradual speed increase will reduce likely hood of pressure from steam of boiled water exploding out of your blender).
Add in spices and blend until smooth and unified in colour.
Strain out tea and add milk and honey.
Qption 3:
Makes 2 cups
Ingredients:
4 cardamom pods
400ml unsweetened milk (oat, coconut, almond or anything you like - I use regular milk)
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp runny honey
- Bash the cardamom pods in a pestle and mortar and put them into a small saucepan with the milk, turmeric and cinnamon.
Heat gently until almost boiling, no hotter – if you are using a non-dairy milk, it may split.
- Pour into a mug – or strain it if the cardamom seeds bother you – and, once it has cooled a little, stir in the honey.
Make sure you don’t spill any, as the lovely yellow colour can be rather persistent.
Note:
Allowing the milk to cool a little before you add the honey will stop the heat damaging the honey’s nutrients.
I also make a peppy morning version with a little grated ginger.
- Turmeric Tea Recipe:
- BBC Two - Trust Me, I'm a Doctor, Series 5, Episode 3 - Does turmeric really help protect us from cancer?:
'via Blog this'
Turmeric milk is a simple infusion of warm milk with turmeric that exists with countless variations in homes across India, where it's known as haldi doodh.
The drink might include black pepper, and a touch of jaggery or honey to sweeten it.
This hybridized version lies somewhere closer to a masala chai with a dose of black tea and a spoon of fresh grated ginger.
The recipe makes two dainty portions, or one robust one, but it's in the spirit of things to play with the ratios to suit your own taste, to use your sweetener of choice and even to replace the milk entirely with almond or cashew milk.
Cooking with powdered turmeric is less messy than with fresh, and won't require gloves to keep your fingers from staining.
Qption 1:
Ingredients
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon dried turmeric (or a 1/2-inch piece fresh turmeric, peeled and grated)
4cm piece ginger, peeled and grated
1 cardamom pod
1 cinnamon stick
3 black peppercorns
1/2 tablespoon honey
1 cup milk (or nut milk)
1 black tea bag
In a small pan over low heat, add the water, turmeric, ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, peppercorns and honey.
Bring to a simmer, then pour in milk, and add the tea bag.
When milk is steaming, use a spoon to taste, and add more honey if you like.
Pour through a fine-mesh strainer right into a cup, and drink while hot.
Qption 2:
Turmeric Tea Recipe:
This one is very simple and very effective.
As you acquire a taste for turmeric tea, you may find you can tolerate and enjoy increasing the amount of turmeric you use.
- my Today's option and I unexpectedly enjoyed the tea!
Ingredients:
1 tsp cinnamon
pinch of clove
pinch of nutmeg
tsp fresh ginger (optional)
pinch of fresh ground black pepper (optional)
- As much turmeric as you can handle! Start with a teaspoon and go up from there.
1-2 cups of water (I use regular milk)
Raw honey to sweeten
Milk sub of choice (I went with fresh coconut milk, but almond and hemp would both be delicious - I use regular milk)
Slow and steady stove top method:
Simmer herbs and water together for 10 mins.
Strain out and add honey and milk.
Fast and furious blender method:
Boil water in your kettle and add to blender (a blender with gradual speed increase will reduce likely hood of pressure from steam of boiled water exploding out of your blender).
Add in spices and blend until smooth and unified in colour.
Strain out tea and add milk and honey.
Qption 3:
Makes 2 cups
Ingredients:
4 cardamom pods
400ml unsweetened milk (oat, coconut, almond or anything you like - I use regular milk)
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp runny honey
- Bash the cardamom pods in a pestle and mortar and put them into a small saucepan with the milk, turmeric and cinnamon.
Heat gently until almost boiling, no hotter – if you are using a non-dairy milk, it may split.
- Pour into a mug – or strain it if the cardamom seeds bother you – and, once it has cooled a little, stir in the honey.
Make sure you don’t spill any, as the lovely yellow colour can be rather persistent.
Note:
Allowing the milk to cool a little before you add the honey will stop the heat damaging the honey’s nutrients.
I also make a peppy morning version with a little grated ginger.
- Turmeric Tea Recipe:
- BBC Two - Trust Me, I'm a Doctor, Series 5, Episode 3 - Does turmeric really help protect us from cancer?:
'via Blog this'
Wednesday, 25 January 2017
Anelletti Al Forno. Oven Baked Pasta.
Anelletti Al Forno (Ring-shaped Pasta With Meat Sauce, Peas And Cheese) – Sicilia
1. Make Soffritto/odori/battuto (onions, celery, and carrots in a 1:1:1 ratio)
gently sauteed in olive oil:
- 1 onions finely chopped
- 1 carrot finely chopped
- 1 stalk celery finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2. Make the Ragu
add to Soffritto:
- 250 grams Ground meat (ground veal or a mix of minced veal and pork)
- half glass (1/2 cup) red wine (or marsala)
- 250 mls tomato sauce (passata)
- 1 bay leaf
- salt
- chili pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 200 grams peas
let the Ragu cook for 20 mins at medium heath.
3. Boil the pasta (I use Fusilli Short) in salted water to a very al dente consistency, drain.
Mix cooked pasta with the ragù until coated and well-combined.
If the mixture is a bit dry or sticky, add some liquid (milk or broth or just some water).
Mix generously with grated Parmigiano/cheddar/pecorino cheese.
- 150 gr grams anelletti/“little rings” pasta (or risoni pasta - also Orzo - “big rice"- a form of short-cut pasta, shaped like a large grain of rice, OR Stelline Pasta - any soup pasta.)
- 100 grams Sharp provolone cheese tastes very similar to cheddar or parmesean.
4. Assemble the Pasta:
Cover generously the bottom of a baking dish with olive oil and breadcrumbs,
line pan with slices of fried eggplant,
spread over the top half the quantity of ragù with pasta,
place on top some fontina cheese (gruyere, gouda cheeses may be substituted for fontina cheese) or...mozzarella,
spread the rest of the pasta over the top and press it down firmly.
top with the remaining breadcrumbs!
- 1 eggplant, fried
- 15 grams breadcrumbs
Bake in a pre-heated oven at 190°C-200°C for 30-45 minutes, or until it is golden brown.
Serve a slice of Anelletti al forno and enjoy!
Tip: use a kitchen scissors to cut through the top layer of cheese and pasta, and then use a spatula or a knife to cut through to the bottom or the pan.
----------
OR Make the Ragu differently:
Heat 4-6 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pot and sautèe the celery, onion and carrot previously diced;
sweat over medium heat until the vegetables are translucent and soft but not browned, about 10 to 15 minutes.
Add minced beef over a high heat, stirring to keep the meat from sticking together until browned.
Add the wine and when it has evaporated, add salt and pepper, then the tomato paste and passata and bay leaves.
Mix well, put a lid on and let it simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
And the video of Anelletti Al Forno from:
- BBC iPlayer - Rick Stein's Long Weekends - 10. Palermo: OR
- BBC - Rick Stein's Long Weekends: Series 1 - Palermo - Animmex: watch from 22:45!
There are tens of hundreds of baked pasta recipes across Italy!
Another recipes of Pasta al forno:
- Pasta al forno (Baked Pasta) | Memorie di Angelina: with short, dried pasta such as penne or rigatoni and bechamel sauce.
There are many versions of pasta al forno, many of which are vegetarian.
A typical southern baked pasta dish is zitoni al forno con le polpettine, known among Italian-Americans as Baked Ziti.
But to mind, this version will always be the pasta al forno, the one to master first before trying anything else.
About: Pasta al forno (Sicilian baked pasta).
One of the typical dishes of the Sicilian tradition, also called “pasta al forno” (literally, pasta in the oven), is prepared with “anelletti”, special shape of paste in a ring-like form, that was used to be prepared on Sundays and holidays.
The tradition says that the first such Timballi/Timballo were introduced by Arabs and soon become widespread all over the island for their easiness of transportation.
In addition to the classic recipe with a meat and peas ragout, Sicilian usually add diced hard eggs, fried aubergine, cheese and diced ham.
It is similar to a casserole and is sometimes referred to in English as a pie or savory cake.
Anna Del Conte wrote that Béchamel is the most consistently used ingredient in timballos.
1. Make Soffritto/odori/battuto (onions, celery, and carrots in a 1:1:1 ratio)
gently sauteed in olive oil:
- 1 onions finely chopped
- 1 carrot finely chopped
- 1 stalk celery finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2. Make the Ragu
add to Soffritto:
- 250 grams Ground meat (ground veal or a mix of minced veal and pork)
- half glass (1/2 cup) red wine (or marsala)
- 250 mls tomato sauce (passata)
- 1 bay leaf
- salt
- chili pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 200 grams peas
let the Ragu cook for 20 mins at medium heath.
3. Boil the pasta (I use Fusilli Short) in salted water to a very al dente consistency, drain.
Mix cooked pasta with the ragù until coated and well-combined.
If the mixture is a bit dry or sticky, add some liquid (milk or broth or just some water).
Mix generously with grated Parmigiano/cheddar/pecorino cheese.
- 150 gr grams anelletti/“little rings” pasta (or risoni pasta - also Orzo - “big rice"- a form of short-cut pasta, shaped like a large grain of rice, OR Stelline Pasta - any soup pasta.)
- 100 grams Sharp provolone cheese tastes very similar to cheddar or parmesean.
4. Assemble the Pasta:
Cover generously the bottom of a baking dish with olive oil and breadcrumbs,
line pan with slices of fried eggplant,
spread over the top half the quantity of ragù with pasta,
place on top some fontina cheese (gruyere, gouda cheeses may be substituted for fontina cheese) or...mozzarella,
spread the rest of the pasta over the top and press it down firmly.
top with the remaining breadcrumbs!
- 1 eggplant, fried
- 15 grams breadcrumbs
Bake in a pre-heated oven at 190°C-200°C for 30-45 minutes, or until it is golden brown.
Serve a slice of Anelletti al forno and enjoy!
Tip: use a kitchen scissors to cut through the top layer of cheese and pasta, and then use a spatula or a knife to cut through to the bottom or the pan.
----------
OR Make the Ragu differently:
Heat 4-6 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pot and sautèe the celery, onion and carrot previously diced;
sweat over medium heat until the vegetables are translucent and soft but not browned, about 10 to 15 minutes.
Add minced beef over a high heat, stirring to keep the meat from sticking together until browned.
Add the wine and when it has evaporated, add salt and pepper, then the tomato paste and passata and bay leaves.
Mix well, put a lid on and let it simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
And the video of Anelletti Al Forno from:
- BBC iPlayer - Rick Stein's Long Weekends - 10. Palermo: OR
- BBC - Rick Stein's Long Weekends: Series 1 - Palermo - Animmex: watch from 22:45!
There are tens of hundreds of baked pasta recipes across Italy!
Another recipes of Pasta al forno:
- Pasta al forno (Baked Pasta) | Memorie di Angelina: with short, dried pasta such as penne or rigatoni and bechamel sauce.
There are many versions of pasta al forno, many of which are vegetarian.
A typical southern baked pasta dish is zitoni al forno con le polpettine, known among Italian-Americans as Baked Ziti.
But to mind, this version will always be the pasta al forno, the one to master first before trying anything else.
About: Pasta al forno (Sicilian baked pasta).
One of the typical dishes of the Sicilian tradition, also called “pasta al forno” (literally, pasta in the oven), is prepared with “anelletti”, special shape of paste in a ring-like form, that was used to be prepared on Sundays and holidays.
The tradition says that the first such Timballi/Timballo were introduced by Arabs and soon become widespread all over the island for their easiness of transportation.
In addition to the classic recipe with a meat and peas ragout, Sicilian usually add diced hard eggs, fried aubergine, cheese and diced ham.
It is similar to a casserole and is sometimes referred to in English as a pie or savory cake.
Anna Del Conte wrote that Béchamel is the most consistently used ingredient in timballos.
Tuesday, 24 January 2017
Pasta al forno Siciliana.
Pasta al forno Siciliana recipe - Telegraph:
This mouth-watering recipe for a typical Sicilian Sunday lunch was passed on to the London-born food writer Tessa Kiros, who lives in Tuscany having travelled, and cooked, all around the world.
The recipe is very versatile, and it’s delicious warmed up later.
Eat it, as the Sicilians do, with a green salad.
Ingredients:
3 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1.2kg (2lb 10oz) minced beef
1/2 tsp chopped oregano
1/2 tsp chopped thyme
1 bay leaf
250ml (9fl oz) red wine
500ml (17fl oz) tomato passata (puréed tomatoes)
200g (7oz) frozen peas
450g (1lb) rigatoni pasta
150g (5½oz) thinly sliced ham, torn up
250g (9oz) mozzarella, roughly chopped
About 4 tbsp grated Parmesan, plus extra for serving
Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
Heat the oil in a deep frying pan and sauté the onion until golden.
Add the garlic and sauté until it smells good, then add the minced beef.
Brown the beef over quite a high heat, stirring often to break up any lumps.
Stir in the oregano, thyme and bay leaf, and season with salt and pepper.
Stir through the wine and when that has been absorbed add the passata and 250ml (9fl oz) water.
Cover and simmer for an hour, stirring now and then.
It must be a lovely loose ragù, so add a little water towards the end of the cooking if necessary.
Toss in the peas and remove from the heat.
Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5.
Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil and cook the rigatoni for a couple of minutes less than the instructions on the packet. Drain.
Scoop a couple of ladlefuls of the ragù on to the bottom of 30 x 22 x 6cm (12 x 8½ x 2½in) baking dish.
Add half the pasta, pressing it along to level it.
Ladle over half the remaining ragù and top with all the ham.
Scatter half the mozzarella over, then follow with 2 tbsp of Parmesan.
Now add the rest of the pasta and press it down firmly.
Scrape out the rest of the ragù over the top.
Scatter the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan over.
Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, until it is a bit crusty on top here and there, and golden around the edges.
Scoop out portions and serve with extra Parmesan.
'via Blog this'
This mouth-watering recipe for a typical Sicilian Sunday lunch was passed on to the London-born food writer Tessa Kiros, who lives in Tuscany having travelled, and cooked, all around the world.
The recipe is very versatile, and it’s delicious warmed up later.
Eat it, as the Sicilians do, with a green salad.
Ingredients:
3 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1.2kg (2lb 10oz) minced beef
1/2 tsp chopped oregano
1/2 tsp chopped thyme
1 bay leaf
250ml (9fl oz) red wine
500ml (17fl oz) tomato passata (puréed tomatoes)
200g (7oz) frozen peas
450g (1lb) rigatoni pasta
150g (5½oz) thinly sliced ham, torn up
250g (9oz) mozzarella, roughly chopped
About 4 tbsp grated Parmesan, plus extra for serving
Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
Heat the oil in a deep frying pan and sauté the onion until golden.
Add the garlic and sauté until it smells good, then add the minced beef.
Brown the beef over quite a high heat, stirring often to break up any lumps.
Stir in the oregano, thyme and bay leaf, and season with salt and pepper.
Stir through the wine and when that has been absorbed add the passata and 250ml (9fl oz) water.
Cover and simmer for an hour, stirring now and then.
It must be a lovely loose ragù, so add a little water towards the end of the cooking if necessary.
Toss in the peas and remove from the heat.
Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5.
Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil and cook the rigatoni for a couple of minutes less than the instructions on the packet. Drain.
Scoop a couple of ladlefuls of the ragù on to the bottom of 30 x 22 x 6cm (12 x 8½ x 2½in) baking dish.
Add half the pasta, pressing it along to level it.
Ladle over half the remaining ragù and top with all the ham.
Scatter half the mozzarella over, then follow with 2 tbsp of Parmesan.
Now add the rest of the pasta and press it down firmly.
Scrape out the rest of the ragù over the top.
Scatter the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan over.
Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, until it is a bit crusty on top here and there, and golden around the edges.
Scoop out portions and serve with extra Parmesan.
'via Blog this'
Sunday, 22 January 2017
Frittata.
How To Make a Frittata — Cooking Lessons from The Kitchn | Kitchn:
Frittata Pans:
I do recommend a cast iron or oven-safe nonstick skillet.
Stainless steel pans will work, but you'll need extra oil to make sure the eggs don't stick to the pan.
Heat the oven:
Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and heat to 200°C/400°F.
Sauté the ingredients: If the meat is raw, cook that first in a large nonstick frying pan or cast iron skillet and then remove it from the pan to add back in later.
Cook the vegetables with a little oil over medium-high heat, starting with the longer-cooking veggies like onions and potatoes and ending with softer veggies like red peppers, until cooked through.
Add any meat or tofu and cook just enough to warm through.
Season the ingredients:
Add oregano, basil, thyme, smoked paprika, cumin, chili powder, minced garlic.
Add the cheese:
Spread the vegetables into an even layer.
Sprinkle the cheese on top and let it just start to melt.
Add the eggs:
Whisk the eggs (4-6) together and pour them over the vegetables and cheese.
Tilt the pan to make sure the eggs settle evenly over all the vegetables.
Cook for a minute or two until you see the eggs at the edges of the pan beginning to set.
Bake the frittata:
Put the pan in the oven and bake until the eggs are set, 8 to 10 minutes.
To check, cut a small slit in the center of the frittata.
If raw eggs run into the cut, bake for another few minutes; if the eggs are set, pull the frittata from the oven.
Cool and serve: Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then slice into wedges and serve.
Leftovers will keep refrigerated for a week.
Recipe Notes
Storage: Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
For a browned, crispy top: Set the frittata under the grill for a minute or two at the end of cooking.
Frittata Pans:
I do recommend a cast iron or oven-safe nonstick skillet.
Stainless steel pans will work, but you'll need extra oil to make sure the eggs don't stick to the pan.
Heat the oven:
Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and heat to 200°C/400°F.
Sauté the ingredients: If the meat is raw, cook that first in a large nonstick frying pan or cast iron skillet and then remove it from the pan to add back in later.
Cook the vegetables with a little oil over medium-high heat, starting with the longer-cooking veggies like onions and potatoes and ending with softer veggies like red peppers, until cooked through.
Add any meat or tofu and cook just enough to warm through.
Season the ingredients:
Add oregano, basil, thyme, smoked paprika, cumin, chili powder, minced garlic.
Add the cheese:
Spread the vegetables into an even layer.
Sprinkle the cheese on top and let it just start to melt.
Add the eggs:
Whisk the eggs (4-6) together and pour them over the vegetables and cheese.
Tilt the pan to make sure the eggs settle evenly over all the vegetables.
Cook for a minute or two until you see the eggs at the edges of the pan beginning to set.
Bake the frittata:
Put the pan in the oven and bake until the eggs are set, 8 to 10 minutes.
To check, cut a small slit in the center of the frittata.
If raw eggs run into the cut, bake for another few minutes; if the eggs are set, pull the frittata from the oven.
Cool and serve: Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then slice into wedges and serve.
Leftovers will keep refrigerated for a week.
Recipe Notes
Storage: Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
For a browned, crispy top: Set the frittata under the grill for a minute or two at the end of cooking.
Saturday, 21 January 2017
Cookbook Recipe Database
About CBRDB | Cookbook Recipe Database:
The Cookbook Recipe Database is a free site where cooks, both amateur and professional, can easily search though the recipe indexes within a large collection of cookbooks. The site contains some complete recipes but it is not a source for every recipe in every cookbook.
It is a reference to find them, so if you are looking for a certain recipe within a book in your library, or one you would like to own, then this site will help you find it.
'via Blog this'
The Cookbook Recipe Database is a free site where cooks, both amateur and professional, can easily search though the recipe indexes within a large collection of cookbooks. The site contains some complete recipes but it is not a source for every recipe in every cookbook.
It is a reference to find them, so if you are looking for a certain recipe within a book in your library, or one you would like to own, then this site will help you find it.
'via Blog this'
Moroccan harira soup.
Moroccan Chickpea & Lentil Soup.
Serves 4–6
Ingredients
1-2 tbsp rapeseed oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped into 1cm pieces
2 fresh red chillies, deseeded and finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
Spices:
1 tbsp cumin seeds
2 tsp ground turmeric
2 tsp smoked paprika
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
A good pinch of saffron fronds (optional)
3 bay leaves
450g lamb, cut into 1cm pieces (optional)
3 tbsp tomato purée
1.2 litres chicken or vegetable stock
2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes
400g can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
150g brown lentil
two handfuls of chopped coriander
Instructions:
Heat oil in large pot over medium heat.
Add onion, celery, carrot, red chillies, garlic cloves.
Saute 5 minutes or until onion is soft.
Stir in all Spices and bay leaves - saute 5 minutes.
Stir in tomatoes and tomato purée - saute 5 minutes more.
Stir in meat and stock bring to a boil and reduce heat to low and simmer 1.5 hour.
Stir chickpeas, lentils and simmer 30 min more or until lentils are tender, stirring occassionally.
Add salt and pepper to taste if you prefer it spicier.
Stir in the chopped coriander and serve in bowls.
This soup tastes even better the next day as the flavors have had time to deepen.
Serves 4–6
Ingredients
1-2 tbsp rapeseed oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped into 1cm pieces
2 fresh red chillies, deseeded and finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
Spices:
1 tbsp cumin seeds
2 tsp ground turmeric
2 tsp smoked paprika
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
A good pinch of saffron fronds (optional)
3 bay leaves
450g lamb, cut into 1cm pieces (optional)
3 tbsp tomato purée
1.2 litres chicken or vegetable stock
2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes
400g can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
150g brown lentil
two handfuls of chopped coriander
Instructions:
Heat oil in large pot over medium heat.
Add onion, celery, carrot, red chillies, garlic cloves.
Saute 5 minutes or until onion is soft.
Stir in all Spices and bay leaves - saute 5 minutes.
Stir in tomatoes and tomato purée - saute 5 minutes more.
Stir in meat and stock bring to a boil and reduce heat to low and simmer 1.5 hour.
Stir chickpeas, lentils and simmer 30 min more or until lentils are tender, stirring occassionally.
Add salt and pepper to taste if you prefer it spicier.
Stir in the chopped coriander and serve in bowls.
This soup tastes even better the next day as the flavors have had time to deepen.
Friday, 20 January 2017
Thursday, 19 January 2017
No-Knead Ciabatta.
No-Knead Ciabatta - Budget Bytes: (with Step By Step Photos).
Ciabatta bread, which according to Wikipedia literally means, "carpet slipper".
The recipe and technique in the video are a little different from the basic no-knead recipe.
The dough is wetter, it ferments for 18 hours at room temperature and is shaped into a long, fairly flat, ciabatta shaped loaf.
If you can’t time the dough just right to ferment for 14-18 hours, you can actually slow the fermentation by putting it in the refrigerator for a few hours.
When I need to leave it for about 24 hours, I pop it in the fridge over night (8 hours), then let it come to room temperature before continuing.
Ingredients:
4 cups bread flour (I used 3 1/2 cup white and 1/2 cup wheat)
Note: you can use All-purpose flour if you want
1/4 tsp/teaspoons yeast
2 cups water
1 1/2 tsp/teaspoons salt
OR for make a “half batch” loaf:
2 cups all-purpose flour (plus some for dusting)
1/8 tsp/teaspoons instant or "bread machine" yeast
3/4 tsp/teaspoons salt
1 cup water
1/2 Tbsp/Tablespoon olive oil
2 Tbsp/Tablespoon corn meal
I made a “full batch” loaf!
In a large bowl combine the flour, salt, and yeast.
Stir the dry ingredients well until they are evenly combined.
Add the water and stir it until a wet, sticky ball of dough forms and no flour remains on the bottom of the bowl.
Loosely cover and let sit at room temperature for 14-18 hours to ferment.
After fermentation, the dough should be wet, sticky, very bubbly, and fluffy.
Dust the top of the dough and your hands with flour.
Carefully scrape the sticky dough from the bowl, adding a small amount of flour if needed to keep your hands from sticking.
Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and stretch it into a long, 12-16 inch loaf.
It's okay if the loaf is lumpy and uneven.
The dough will be very soft and sticky, so don't worry too much about the shape.
Prepare a baking sheet by smearing olive oil over the surface and then sprinkling with cornmeal.
Carefully pick up the loaf and transfer it to the prepared baking sheet, reshaping it as needed.
Let the dough rise for 2 hours.
Preheat the oven to 220C/425F.
Make sure the oven is fully preheated before the bread goes in, because it needs that sudden blast of hot air to really puff up.
Put in preheated oven (220C/425F) and bake the loaf for 35-45 minutes (for half batch - 25 minutes, or until it is golden brown.
Let the bread cool on a wire rack before slicing.
Note:
- An interesting thing about this bread is that you use only 1/8 tsp of yeast!
- how to time no-knead bread:
If you wish serving a meal with bread around 5PM - 6PM.
Start the loaf at 5PM.
The first rise is 12-18 hours (longer rise=tastier bread) so that would take you to 11AM.
The second rise for 2 hrs, which takes you to 1PM/13:00.
For baking ~1 hr - 14:00.
You need at least 2-3 hr to cool cover it with cloth before slicing - the famous health reformer Sylvester Graham said bread shouldn’t be eaten until at least twelve hours old!
Bread fresh out of the oven needs time for the gluten to set completely.
Breads is best when they are completely cooled to room temperature.
So, I'm serving a meal with bread around 17:00!
Ciabatta bread, which according to Wikipedia literally means, "carpet slipper".
The recipe and technique in the video are a little different from the basic no-knead recipe.
The dough is wetter, it ferments for 18 hours at room temperature and is shaped into a long, fairly flat, ciabatta shaped loaf.
If you can’t time the dough just right to ferment for 14-18 hours, you can actually slow the fermentation by putting it in the refrigerator for a few hours.
When I need to leave it for about 24 hours, I pop it in the fridge over night (8 hours), then let it come to room temperature before continuing.
Ingredients:
4 cups bread flour (I used 3 1/2 cup white and 1/2 cup wheat)
Note: you can use All-purpose flour if you want
1/4 tsp/teaspoons yeast
2 cups water
1 1/2 tsp/teaspoons salt
OR for make a “half batch” loaf:
2 cups all-purpose flour (plus some for dusting)
1/8 tsp/teaspoons instant or "bread machine" yeast
3/4 tsp/teaspoons salt
1 cup water
1/2 Tbsp/Tablespoon olive oil
2 Tbsp/Tablespoon corn meal
I made a “full batch” loaf!
In a large bowl combine the flour, salt, and yeast.
Stir the dry ingredients well until they are evenly combined.
Add the water and stir it until a wet, sticky ball of dough forms and no flour remains on the bottom of the bowl.
Loosely cover and let sit at room temperature for 14-18 hours to ferment.
After fermentation, the dough should be wet, sticky, very bubbly, and fluffy.
Dust the top of the dough and your hands with flour.
Carefully scrape the sticky dough from the bowl, adding a small amount of flour if needed to keep your hands from sticking.
Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and stretch it into a long, 12-16 inch loaf.
It's okay if the loaf is lumpy and uneven.
The dough will be very soft and sticky, so don't worry too much about the shape.
Prepare a baking sheet by smearing olive oil over the surface and then sprinkling with cornmeal.
Carefully pick up the loaf and transfer it to the prepared baking sheet, reshaping it as needed.
Let the dough rise for 2 hours.
Preheat the oven to 220C/425F.
Make sure the oven is fully preheated before the bread goes in, because it needs that sudden blast of hot air to really puff up.
Put in preheated oven (220C/425F) and bake the loaf for 35-45 minutes (for half batch - 25 minutes, or until it is golden brown.
Let the bread cool on a wire rack before slicing.
Note:
- An interesting thing about this bread is that you use only 1/8 tsp of yeast!
- how to time no-knead bread:
If you wish serving a meal with bread around 5PM - 6PM.
Start the loaf at 5PM.
The first rise is 12-18 hours (longer rise=tastier bread) so that would take you to 11AM.
The second rise for 2 hrs, which takes you to 1PM/13:00.
For baking ~1 hr - 14:00.
You need at least 2-3 hr to cool cover it with cloth before slicing - the famous health reformer Sylvester Graham said bread shouldn’t be eaten until at least twelve hours old!
Bread fresh out of the oven needs time for the gluten to set completely.
Breads is best when they are completely cooled to room temperature.
So, I'm serving a meal with bread around 17:00!
Wednesday, 18 January 2017
Caldo Verde, Green Kale Soup with Chorizo & Potato.
From Rick Stein’s long Weekends.
This recipe is inspired by a traditional Portuguese dish but with extra heat courtesy of chilli flakes and an abundance of chorizo, perfect for a winter warming meal!
1 onion, finely chopped
1 large clove garlic, finely chopped
100g chorizo or chouriço (sausage), cut into chunks
3 tbsp olive oil
400g potatoes, preferably floury, peeled and cut into 4 chunks each.
1 litres water or Vegetable stock
100g spring greens or kale, finely shredded
1 tsp salt
6 turns black peppermill
Large pinch chilli flakes
Fry the onion, garlic and chorizo or chouriço in the olive oil in a large pan over medium heat until the onions and garlic are soft and translucent, 5 to 8 minutes.
Add the potatoes and the stock and let this boil until the potatoes are cooked, about 20 minutes.
Pulverize the potatoes in the broth with a potato masher.
Add the kale, bring back to the boil and simmer for 4 to 5 minutes until the kale is cooked but still a vibrant green.
Season with salt and pepper and serve in warmed bowls with chilli flakes sprinkled on top.
Enjoy!
This recipe is inspired by a traditional Portuguese dish but with extra heat courtesy of chilli flakes and an abundance of chorizo, perfect for a winter warming meal!
1 onion, finely chopped
1 large clove garlic, finely chopped
100g chorizo or chouriço (sausage), cut into chunks
3 tbsp olive oil
400g potatoes, preferably floury, peeled and cut into 4 chunks each.
1 litres water or Vegetable stock
100g spring greens or kale, finely shredded
1 tsp salt
6 turns black peppermill
Large pinch chilli flakes
Fry the onion, garlic and chorizo or chouriço in the olive oil in a large pan over medium heat until the onions and garlic are soft and translucent, 5 to 8 minutes.
Add the potatoes and the stock and let this boil until the potatoes are cooked, about 20 minutes.
Pulverize the potatoes in the broth with a potato masher.
Add the kale, bring back to the boil and simmer for 4 to 5 minutes until the kale is cooked but still a vibrant green.
Season with salt and pepper and serve in warmed bowls with chilli flakes sprinkled on top.
Enjoy!
Better No-Knead Bread Recipe.
Better No-Knead Bread Recipe | Serious Eats:
Today bread!
Let's take a quick look through a time lapse of the dough as it sits overnight.
- 0 Hours: dough is still lumpy. Gluten formation is minimal.
- 4 Hours: Enzymatic action has broken down some proteins, causing the dough to slacken and spread.
- 8 Hours: Yeast has produced quite a bit of carbon dioxide. As these bubbles slowly grow, their stretching causes proteins around their edges to align with each other.
- 12 Hours: Slowly but surely, the bubbles moving through the dough, effectively forming the same gluten that would be formed by manual labor.
- 16 Hours: The yeast have completed their task, both leavening and kneading the dough for you. Thanks guys!
After allowing it to rise at room temperature overnight, I'll stick mine directly into the refrigerator for three days. There's another advantage built into this as well: cold dough is much easier to handle. Gluten gets stiffer as it cools, which means that refrigerated dough will be much simpler to shape into a ball or a long loaf, or whatever shape you wish to bake it in.
After shaping, cover is with a bowl or a flour-coated kitchen towel and let it rise at room temperature for a couple of hours to take the chill off it and leaven for the final time before slashing it with a sharp knife (this allows it to expand faster in the Dutch oven, and makes it look pretty), and baking.
If you want to make your life even easier, get yourself a good gram scale to allow you to easily calculate ingredients without having to dirty up measuring spoons, cups, or bowls. Using a scale and a metal bowl, you can make bread and end up with only a single bowl to wash!
Here's the basic method I use:
To 100 parts flour,
add 1.5 parts salt and
1 part instant yeast.
Whisk those together.
Add 70 parts water, and stir to combine.
Cover, then let rise overnight.
Transfer to the fridge, let ferment for three days, then turn dough out on to a well-floured surface.
Shape dough, sprinkle with flour, and cover with a floured cloth.
Let it rise for at least two hours and up to 4 at room temperature.
Slah, then bake in a preheated 230°C/450°F Dutch Oven for 15 minutes with the lid on.
Remove the lid, and continue baking until it hits around 100°C209°F, 30 minutes or so.
Let it cool.
Today bread!
-
- Better No-Knead Bread Recipe | Serious Eats:
- The Food Lab: The Science of No-Knead Dough | Serious Eats:
- Bread baking in a Dutch oven - Flourish - King Arthur Flour:
'via Blog this'
Today bread!
Let's take a quick look through a time lapse of the dough as it sits overnight.
- 0 Hours: dough is still lumpy. Gluten formation is minimal.
- 4 Hours: Enzymatic action has broken down some proteins, causing the dough to slacken and spread.
- 8 Hours: Yeast has produced quite a bit of carbon dioxide. As these bubbles slowly grow, their stretching causes proteins around their edges to align with each other.
- 12 Hours: Slowly but surely, the bubbles moving through the dough, effectively forming the same gluten that would be formed by manual labor.
- 16 Hours: The yeast have completed their task, both leavening and kneading the dough for you. Thanks guys!
After allowing it to rise at room temperature overnight, I'll stick mine directly into the refrigerator for three days. There's another advantage built into this as well: cold dough is much easier to handle. Gluten gets stiffer as it cools, which means that refrigerated dough will be much simpler to shape into a ball or a long loaf, or whatever shape you wish to bake it in.
After shaping, cover is with a bowl or a flour-coated kitchen towel and let it rise at room temperature for a couple of hours to take the chill off it and leaven for the final time before slashing it with a sharp knife (this allows it to expand faster in the Dutch oven, and makes it look pretty), and baking.
If you want to make your life even easier, get yourself a good gram scale to allow you to easily calculate ingredients without having to dirty up measuring spoons, cups, or bowls. Using a scale and a metal bowl, you can make bread and end up with only a single bowl to wash!
Here's the basic method I use:
To 100 parts flour,
add 1.5 parts salt and
1 part instant yeast.
Whisk those together.
Add 70 parts water, and stir to combine.
Cover, then let rise overnight.
Transfer to the fridge, let ferment for three days, then turn dough out on to a well-floured surface.
Shape dough, sprinkle with flour, and cover with a floured cloth.
Let it rise for at least two hours and up to 4 at room temperature.
Slah, then bake in a preheated 230°C/450°F Dutch Oven for 15 minutes with the lid on.
Remove the lid, and continue baking until it hits around 100°C209°F, 30 minutes or so.
Let it cool.
Today bread!
-
- Better No-Knead Bread Recipe | Serious Eats:
- The Food Lab: The Science of No-Knead Dough | Serious Eats:
- Bread baking in a Dutch oven - Flourish - King Arthur Flour:
'via Blog this'
Tuesday, 17 January 2017
Cannoli pound cake.
cannoli pound cake – smitten kitchen:
Verdict: a little sweet for my liking.
Next time I will try Orange Ricotta Pound Cake - Baked Bree:
'via Blog this'
Verdict: a little sweet for my liking.
Next time I will try Orange Ricotta Pound Cake - Baked Bree:
'via Blog this'
Sunday, 15 January 2017
Homemade Sauerkraut. Eastern European style.
Homemade Sauerkraut. Eastern European style.
Sauerkraut is row fermented product.
I have:
1400g thinly and long cut raw white cabbage (1 big cabbage)
210g largely grated row carrots
28g sea salt (I use Malden flakes)
7g sugar
1,5 teaspoon caraway seeds
Homemade Sauerkraut red cabbage Russian.
Sauerkraut is row fermented product.
I have:
1400g thinly and long cut raw white cabbage (1 big cabbage)
210g largely grated row carrots
28g sea salt (I use Malden flakes)
7g sugar
1,5 teaspoon caraway seeds
Homemade Sauerkraut red cabbage Russian.Saturday, 14 January 2017
Blueberry Buttermilk Cake.
raspberry buttermilk cake – smitten kitchen
You can just ignore the word “blueberry” up there and swap it up with any which berry you please, like blackberries or raspberry or bits of strawberries or all of the above. This is a good, basic go-to buttermilk cake!
Perfect everyday cake!
You can just ignore the word “blueberry” up there and swap it up with any which berry you please, like blackberries or raspberry or bits of strawberries or all of the above. This is a good, basic go-to buttermilk cake!
Perfect everyday cake!
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