Tag Archives: Noodles

Spaghetti tossed with Spinach, Mushrooms & Minced Beef

Trust me. This dish smells delicious, looks even better, and tastes like something I’d want to be served in Heaven! I almost felt like a professional chef making this one.

 

“No man is lonely eating spaghetti; well… it requires that much attention.”—Christopher Morley
The Fact: 212,595 miles of 16-ounce packages of spaghetti, stacked end-to-end, is enough to circle the earth’s equator nearly nine times.
The Inspiration: My sister, Janice, literally.  So while I poked fun at her for growing her own spinach in a little pot in her terrace garden, she went and created this amazing dish with it. She made the vegetarian version of this dish with spinach and mushrooms, and posted pictures on her Facebook page. Of course, it took only one look at the pictures to decide what to make for dinner. I could literally taste the dish—the spaghetti, the spinach, the mushrooms and the meat. And I absolutely loved it. It was quick, ridiculously simple, and just delicious! Thank you, JanaRose 🙂
For those of you who wanted something quick and easy and yet, sophisticated, this is it.

The Ingredients

Ingredients for Spaghetti tossed in spinach, mushroom and minced beef

Makes 6 servings
  • 250 g spaghetti
  • 200 – 250 g or 8 cups lightly-packed spinach leaves; washed, drained, and roughly chopped into large bits (not finely chopped)
  • 200 – 250 g mushrooms; chopped into large bits
  • Optional: 250 g minced beef
  • Optional: 4 slices of salami or ham; roughly cut up into 1-inch bits
  • A palmful of garlic cloves, skinned and pounded using a mortar and pestle (chopping it takes forever and the grinder makes it too pasty and fine)
  • ½ cup milk
  • 50 g butter or 4 tablespoons of olive oil
  • Optional: 3 tablespoons Oyster sauce
  • 2 tbsp dried or finely chopped basil
  • 1 soup cube
  • Freshly ground pepper
  • Salt to taste
  • Rock salt
For a vegetarian/vegan dish, simply drop the minced beef and salami/ham bits.

The Method

  1. Place a large pot of water on the stove and season it with some rock salt for the spaghetti. The easiest way to remember the right water to salt ratio is through the ratio formula 1:10:100, which is, 1 litre water to 10 g salt to 100 g spaghetti.
  2. Add a tablespoon of oil to the water to prevent the spaghetti from sticking (I honestly don’t know if this really works, but I’ve been doing it since I learnt to cook pasta and the pasta’s turned out fine). While the water comes to a boil, make the sauce (it’s not really a sauce, but then, what do I call it? 🙂 )
  3. Take another skillet or pan and place it on the fire, on medium heat.
  4. Add the butter or the olive oil. When the oil is warm enough, toss in the pounded garlic and sauté.Minced garlic in olive oil
  5. Sprinkle the dried/finely chopped basil over it and stir. For the vegetarian version, jump to Step 7.
  6. When the garlic begins to turn golden brown, add the minced beef in the centre of the pan and fry well for about 10 minutes. Frying the minced beef in the centre of the pan, which is the hottest part of the pan, gets rid of the meaty smell.Burning off the meat smell
  7. In between stirring the beef, make sure that you wash and cut up the spinach and leave it to drain in a sieve.Spinach
  8. Season the minced beef with about half a teaspoon of salt, the soup cube, the oyster sauce (which is optional), a generous addition of freshly ground pepper and a sprinkling of sugar. Mix well with the garlic, stir from time to time and cook for about 15-20 minutes.For the vegetarian version, in this step, simply add the seasoning and move on to cooking the spaghetti in the next step. Minced beef with all the spices and sauces
  9. While the beef cooks, check on the water for the spaghetti. If the water has begun to boil, take the spaghetti and without breaking it, place it in the water, at an angle. It’s alright if only half of the spaghetti is in the water. Spaghetti in waterAs the spaghetti softens, you can gradually push the remaining half into the water. Spaghetti should cook in boiling water for about 20 minutes, after which, you should drain it using a sieve. The spaghetti should be ‘al dente’ or at just the right softness at which you can bite into it, not any softest or it’ll get mashy. Once the spaghetti is cooked, keep it aside. If the water hasn’t yet boiled, wait a little longer and then perform this step.
  10. Now, back to the errr…sauce. Toss the chopped mushrooms into the skillet containing the minced beef and garlic. Mushrooms release a lot of water. Sauté until the water dries up.
  11. Optional: Add the chopped bits of salami/ham and stir. Garlic, minced beef, mushrooms and salami
  12. Next, add the milk and allow the mixture to thicken a little. If you’re health conscious and find this becoming too rich for you, skip the milk altogether.Garlic, minced beef, mushrooms and salami with milk
  13. Add another generous dash of freshly ground pepper. Stir well.
  14. Your spaghetti should have cooked by now and should be sitting in a sieve to drain.
  15. Only if your spaghetti has drained well, add the spinach to the mixture. If you add the spinach too early and it cooks for too long, it’ll become soggy and that’s something you certainly don’t want. This dish is wonderful when the spinach is still a lovely, vibrant green and is still chewable.Spinach, meat and the mushrooms in a garlic base
  16. After about a minute, add the spaghetti.Spaghetti over the spinach, mushroom and minced beef base
  17.  Toss it up well, allow it to cook for about 3-5 minutes and serve piping hot.Spaghetti mixed with spinach, mushroom and minced beef base

Avoid storing this meal in the refrigerator because the spinach gets soggy and does not make a very pretty plate later. Eat it all up, while it’s still hot. It’s really not that difficult. Bon appétit! 🙂

A serving of spaghetti tossed with spinach, mushroom and minced beef

 

Pepper Chicken Noodles

Noodles. Pepper. Chicken. What more can I ask for on a pleasant, laid-back Sunday afternoon?

 

“Noodles? I can’t eat noodles; there’s too many of them. No matter how hungry I am, 1000 of anything is too many.” – Mitch Hedberg
 The Fact: Contrary to popular belief, Marco Polo did not discover pasta; was only the first to write about it.
The Inspiration: Ghostly silence until 11am (to allow you to stay under the covers); cheerful country music to wake you up; a mindless, laid-back, workless day; un-put-down-able Pepper Chicken Noodles for when the stomach growls; your favourite people for company… that’s what Sundays are made of! 
… and yes, also the fact that I hadn’t stocked up on my regular supplies for the week, and so, apart from two packets of Hakka noodles, 2 frozen chicken breasts, 1 carrot, 1 red pepper, and 1 yellow pepper, I pretty much had nothing to cook …

The Ingredients

Approximately 6 servings
  • 2 packets of vegetable or egg noodles of your choice (approx 300 – 350gms)
  • 150 gms boneless chicken
  • 2 green chillies (de-seed the chillies if you can’t tolerate spice)
  • A thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger
  • 1 large or 2 medium-small onion(s)
  • 2 medium-sized peppers (use different coloured peppers for a more colourful dish)
  • 1 large carrot
  • 2 soup cubes
  • 4 tablespoons Dark Soy sauce (I used Ching’s Secret)
  • 4 tablespoons All-In-One Stir-Fry sauce (I used Ching’s Secret; you can use any brand that’s easily available)
  • 2 tablespoons tomato ketchup
  • 2 tablespoons vinegar
  • Butter or olive oil (olive oil being the healthier option)
  • Salt to taste
  • Freshly ground black pepper

The Method

Boil the noodles as per instructions on the packet. Drain the noodles, run cold water through them to stop them from cooking further and then, drizzle some oil on them to prevent them from sticking. Set aside.

In the meantime, slit the chillies, finely chop the garlic, julienne the carrots and capsicums, slice (not chop) the onions, and dice the chicken into medium-sized bits.

Heat a wok with about 3 tablespoons of butter or olive oil (use olive oil as the healthier option). When the oil is hot, drop the chillies and chopped ginger into the oil. Without letting the ginger burn, quickly add in your onions.
Sauté the onions for about 2 – 3 minutes. When the onions appear translucent (don’t let them lose their crunch), toss in the carrots and stir for about 2 minutes. Then, toss in the capsicum briefly for about a minute.

Add 1 soup cube, half a teaspoon of salt and about 3/4th tablespoon of freshly ground pepper.

peppernoodles2

Stir the veggies and empty them into a plate.

Heat the wok again and add a sliver of butter or a drizzle of oil to it. When the butter/oil has heated, add the diced chicken and stir continuously till the pink of the chicken is no longer visible (about 1 – 2 minutes). Scoop out the chicken bits and set aside.

In the same wok, stir in all the sauces—the soy, stir-fry sauce, ketchup and vinegar. Toss in the noodles for a few seconds (do not stir to prevent the noodles from breaking or becoming a mash). Sprinkle the noodles with the second soup cube, salt to taste, and 1 tablespoon of freshly ground pepper. Feel free to add more pepper if you enjoy spice or then, tone down the pepper to your liking. Toss again for a few seconds. Add in the veggies and the chicken bits. Toss once more and voila, you’re done.

And since I don’t believe in reheating noodles (though I will if I absolutely have to), enjoy the dish while it’s hot! Add a glass of white wine or even a coke to your meal and maybe, the book you’re reading or a movie of your liking, and you’re pretty much set.

Bon appétit! Here’s hoping the door bell doesn’t ring 🙂 … at least not just yet…!