Tag Archives: pork

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

 

No Bratwurst, No Switzerland

There cannot be a sausage tastier than this … not until another sausage proves me wrong!

 

“Laws are like sausages, it is better not to see them being made.” – Otto von Bismarck
The Fact: In 320 AD, because of their association with pagan festivals, Roman Emperor Constantinus I and the Catholic Church made sausage eating a sin and their consumption was banned! This led to sausages going underground until the ban was lifted.
The Journey:The title’s an exaggeration, of course! Switzerland’s famous for its wine, cheese, fondue, raclette, rösti, chocolate and certainly, the Alps, but the one thing I couldn’t dream of leaving Switzerland without was a bagful of vacuum-packed Bratwurst sausages that I’d handpicked from the Christmas markets around Zürich Hauptbahnhof (Zurich HB), the largest railway station in Switzerland. And although these sausages are supposedly available all over the world, there was something about this perfectly cured, steaming-hot Bratwurst pork sausage coupled with the minus temperature around Christmas, the carols playing in the distance and the warm Glühwein I was happily drinking.
Bratwurst sausage packaged
 
Everybody dreams of visiting Switzerland at least once in their lifetime; my dream was no different. As luck would have it, I was given the opportunity when I was asked to visit Zurich to meet a business client, right around Christmas. It was a dream that was getting bigger, brighter and certainly more probable each day in December of 2013.I did everything a lot of what I would have loved to do in the short while I spent in Zurich—I worked of course, walked around in my new boots, window shopped at the super expensive Bahnhofstrasse, took a train ride to Lucerne, briefly walked around Lake Lucerne, took a cable car ride with the most exquisite view, went up Mount Pilates and got a perfect view of the Alps, clicked a lot of pictures all along the way (something I’d do almost anywhere), stayed in a quaint little hotel right off the Enge train station, strolled around the Christmas markets for a good 2 hours, explored Old Town, shopped and almost got broke, and yes, that includes the sausages.
 Christmas markets around Zurich HB
 
 Zurich old town
 
 A view of the Alps
 

Bahnhofstrasse

The Ingredients

1 packet of Bratwurst Sausages

 The Method

So, here’s what I did with the Bratwurst after getting home. You can’t go wrong with this and it’s apparently the best way you could eat a Bratwurst sausage (but I speak only for the pork one since the sausage is also available in veal and beef and not they’re not quite the same)…

  • Thaw the Bratwurst sausage if it’s frozen.

Sausages

 

  • Boil some water; enough to cover the sausage.
  • Drop the sausage in the boiling water and allow it to cook, covered, for 20 minutes.
  • Remove from water, slice it up if necessary, and serve right away.

Bratwurst Sausage

Serving suggestions: Plain ol’ sausage by itself is amazing; however, you could also serve it with toasted brown bread with a little butter, or a salad on the side. Try not complicating the plate with too much stuff, or the sausage won’t get its due.

I think I’m going to make one right now! Bon appétit!

Goan Chouriço Chilli Fry

A must-try Goan delicacy if you’re headed to Goa, India, for a holiday!

 

“To retain respect for sausages and laws, one must not watch them in the making.” – Otto von Bismarck
The Fact: Sausages were called bangers during the Second World War because they contained so much water that they exploded when fried.
The Inspiration: This dish is born of a special sausage that is home to Goa, India, a tourist destination famous for the glorious sun, the myriad beaches, and the lip-smacking Konkani seafood. I’m not sure of the availability of this sausage outside the state, but I’m sure that getting hold of it would be nothing less than an Olympic feat.
Goan chouriço or chorizo are spicy, flavorful, deep red pork sausage links made from pork, vinegar, chili, garlic, ginger, cumin, turmeric and other spices that are stuffed into chitterlings (pigs intestines) and sold in dry or wet forms. Goan chouriço is a traditional food item that has built its way into the “authentic” Goan cuisine lineup, thanks to the 451 years of Portuguese rule.Fortunately, I live in a city that’s not too far from Goa. I also have friends and family visiting the place every second month. So the specialty product is not as much a “specialty” as it is an ordinary ingredient in my kitchen.This dish is my quick fix almost once every month. The recipe’s been handed down from my mother and mother in law, and their mothers, and so on. Besides being a quick fix, it’s also one of Ally’s favourites; him being a true “not-born-but-brought-up-in-Goa” kinda Goan.
Frozen Goan Chouriço

The Ingredients

Serves approximately 6 people
  • 1 packet (250 gms) of Goan chouriço
  • 3 – 4 medium-sized onions; sliced
  • 2 green chillies slit down the centre
  • 1 – 2 tablespoons oil
  • A pinch of salt
  • Optional: 1 large potato; cubed

The Method

  • Heat a skillet or a wok and drizzle with oil.
  • Drop the spit chillies into the oil and stir for a few seconds.
  • Toss in the sliced onions and allow them to cook until they are almost translucent.
  • While the onions are cooking, untwine and cut open the covering or sausage lining. Then, roughly chop up the sausages.
  • Add in the cubed potatoes once the onions are done. Fry them with the onions for about a minute or two.
  • Sprinkle some salt over the mixture. You won’t need any more salt or spice because the sausages are pre-seasoned.
  • Add in the chopped sausages and allow them to cook for about 15 – 20 minutes on medium heat.
  • You’ll notice the pork fat melting and a lot of oil collecting in your skillet. I usually scoop out the oil or soak it up using kitchen roll because it’s a little too much oil for my taste. Pork is a red meat and has a high fat content. If you’re health conscious, this isn’t really a dish for you, but if you have to try it, I suggest removing the oil for sure.
  • Serve the dish, hot, with rotis (Indian flat bread) or any bread of your choice.

The same dish when cooked along with rice forms a more substantial ‘Goan chouriço pulav’ meal.

I would recommend a quick jog or some form of workout the next day 🙂 Bon appétit!