Tag Archives: pepper

Lockdown Recipes, Non-vegetarian Nonchalance, Sumptious Main Courses

Spaghetti tossed with Spinach, Mushrooms & Minced Beef

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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

 

Lockdown Recipes, Non-vegetarian Nonchalance, Sumptious Main Courses

Baked Fish in Lemon Garlic Butter Sauce

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Happy Easter and welcome back! So, this Easter, while I decided to send all my readers on that delicious roast chicken chase, I decided to go fish. And what a lovely dish it turned out to be!

 

“A fishnet is made up of a lot more holes than strings, but you can’t therefore argue that the net doesn’t exist. Just ask the fish.” – Jeffrey Kluger
The Fact: Most fish can see in color and use colors to camouflage themselves or defend themselves. Most fish also have the best eyesight for their habitat and can see you peering at them in a fish tank. Some fish can even see polarized and ultraviolet light.
The Inspiration: Since Christmas was all about chicken, this Easter, I decided to restore the balance and go fish.
My Easter meal wasn’t extended to the entire family; it was restricted to Ally and me, and so a single Black Pomfret worked perfectly. Sunday started off with a quick trip to the fish market, a quick stop at the vegetable market, a lovely lunch with mum and dad, and finally, destination “Home” to cook the lovely fish. 
It was one of the simplest and quickest meals. And so, for those of you who hate the long kitchen hours and are looking for something fancy yet quick, you’ve found just the thing. I certainly enjoyed the lazy cooking style, the lovely flavours, and the fishy mélange of a formal meal and silly company (Ally and me, of course; I’d have it no other way 🙂 )
Happy Easter, everyone! And don’t forget to ‘Go Fish’.

The Ingredients

This meal serves 2–3 people.
  • One Black Pomfret (locally known as halwa) weighing approximately 600 gms (Adjust weight to feed more/fewer people)

You can use any other fish, such as the Red Snapper, White Pomfret, Basa, the John Dory and so on. I love the taste of this particular local favourite; blame it on the relatively high oil content if you please, but in case you’re concerned, note that 2- 3 portions of oily fish a week is recommended to help maintain heart health.

Fresh black pomfret

  • 2 big lemons
  • 1 medium-sized onion
  • Quarter cup orange juice (optional)
  • A palmful of peeled garlic cloves (approx 25 – 30 cloves) Note: I love garlic and usually use a lot of it.
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • Freshly ground pepper
  • Fresh or dried parsley (I couldn’t find any fresh parsley, so used the dried version)
  • Kosher or rock salt to taste
  • Any veggies of your choice (I used mushrooms, red and yellow peppers and carrots)

Baked lemon garlic fish ingredients

The Method

The Preparation and the Marinade

  • Preheat the oven to 190C or 374F.
  • Make sure that your fish is scaled, cleaned thoroughly, and the innards removed. I usually get the fish cleaned at the fish market itself. It’s an easier and quicker solution.
  • Wash the fish well and pat it dry with a kitchen towel. Season it with half a fistful of rock salt, freshly ground pepper (as much as you like) and some parsley. Remember to rub the seasoning into the fish, on the outside and lightly on the inside by making a fine slit at the bottom, on both sides.
  • Leave the fish to rest in a baking dish as you prepare your lemon garlic sauce.

Making the Lemon Garlic Butter Sauce

  • Pound the garlic cloves using the mortar and pestle; I don’t really think that the finely ground garlic paste works, but if you like the taste of whole cloves, go ahead and use them whole.
  • Slice the onion.
  • Squeeze the lemon juice from one and a half lemons; the remaining can be used for decoration.
  • Add the butter, the freshly squeezed lemon juice and the orange juice to a saucepan on medium heat and allow it to simmer.
  • Add a pinch of salt, a little bit of ground pepper and a sprinkling of sugar to the sauce. The sugar and the orange juice balance out the sourness of the lemon juice that can sometimes become a little overpowering. Taste and adjust the flavour as per your liking. Allow the sauce to simmer for a minute.

Lemon butter sauce

  • Simultaneously, place a frying pan on medium heat. Add about 2 tablespoons of the sauce to the frying pan. (Hope you’ve turned off the sauce by now. The sauce should smoothly coat the back of a tablespoon; it shouldn’t be thicker or thinner than that.) Once the sauce in the frying pan simmers, toss in the pound garlic. Some chefs prefer adding the garlic directly in to bake, but I found the outcome a little too raw for my liking.
  • After sautéing the garlic for a few seconds, add the onions.

Onions and garlic mixture

  • Sauté the mixture until it is slightly brown. Don’t burn it.

Cooking the fish

  • Allow the mixture to cool for a bit and then rub it over and into the fish.

Marinated fish

  • Chop your veggies anyway you like them and place them around the fish.
  • Pour the sauce over the fish and the veggies.

Ready to bake fish

  • Bake for about 25 – 30 minutes. Use a small knife or fork and check to see if you can easily separate the fish flakes. If yes, your fish is done. The fish meat should be opaque white and not transparent.
  • If you want a browner top, use the grill or the overhead flame in your oven for about 2 – 3 minutes; not more.
  • Remove from the oven and serve hot.

Ready to bake fish

You can serve the fish with plain or garlic toasted bread. Don’t complicate the meal any further. Cut as you like. Note that if you use fillets instead, they should cook in about 15 – 20 minutes, are easier to serve and simpler/neater to eat if you’ve got company.

In case of any leftovers, refrigerate, but not for more than a day or two. Tuck in. Bon appétit!

Baked fish in lemon garlic butter sauce

Lockdown Recipes, Non-vegetarian Nonchalance, Sumptious Main Courses

Lemon Pepper Chicken

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Grilled chicken cooked with the combined fragrance and flavour of freshly ground black pepper and freshly squeezed lemon… hmmmm…

 

“The disparity between a restaurant’s price and food quality rises in direct proportion to the size of the pepper mill.” – Bryan Q. Miller
The Fact: It is believed that when the Goths defeated Rome in 410, they demanded a ransom of 3,000 pounds of pepper, along with other valuables such as silk.
The Inspiration: Although we live a hop, skip and jump away from my parents and my in-laws, a Sunday family meal with them does not take place that often. This Sunday was different.
We had a late and well-deserved, fun Saturday night and a mild hung-over Sunday morning; nothing that a hot cup of coffee and a quick shower couldn’t fix. On a day like this, when you’re expecting your in-laws for lunch, a quick meal, like this one, was just perfect. So that’s my inspiration for this addition—a quick, homely and simple recipe.

The Ingredients

Serves approximately 6 people
  • 1 kg chicken cut into roughly 8 – 10 pieces
  • 5 tablespoons barbeque sauce
  • 1 tablespoons soya sauce
  • 1 tablespoon oyster sauce (optional)
  • 1 medium or ½ large lemon
  • 3 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 – 2 tablespoons of olive oil

The Method

  • Wash well and drain the chicken pieces. Dry the chicken pieces using a kitchen towel.
  • Mix all the above ingredients (except the olive oil) for the marinade.
  • Slit the chicken pieces so that the marinade permeates the meat.
  • Apply the marinade to each chicken pieces carefully, remembering to massage the marinade into the slits as well. Place chicken pieces in a baking dish and pour the remaining marinade over it.
  • Allow the chicken to sit covered on the counter or in the refrigerator for about 20 – 30 minutes. Refrigeration is preferred if your kitchen is warm and not at room temperature.
  • Ten minutes before your marination time’s up, preheat your oven to 375°F / 190°C.
  • Drizzle the dish with the olive oil and pop it into the oven for about 30 – 40 minutes.
  • Your chicken’s done when the meat seems to leave the bone easily and the meat doesn’t look pink and raw. You can prick it with a skewer or fork to check. Remove the chicken from the oven and serve while it’s hot.

Note: I used chicken on the bone; if you’re using boneless chicken, your meal should be done in 20 minutes.

You could serve the chicken with a salad on the side. I also added a lovely garlic-flavoured potato mash (mashed potato) with it. A light white wine will make for a great drink to go with the meal.

lemonpepperchicken2

A lovely Jacob’s Creek Chardonnay, some country music in the background, a few sways in the kitchen, a lovely sit-down meal, followed by a cosy nap! A perfect end to the weekend!

Lockdown Recipes, Non-vegetarian Nonchalance, Sumptious Main Courses

Pepper Chicken Noodles

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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…!