Back in the kitchen: Roasted Aubergines

Back in the kitchen and it feels pretty good!

It’s been a while since I tried out a new recipe for an intimate dinner party.  Taking advantage of the May Day public holiday, I decided to break out the Ottolenghi Recipe book that we’ve been kindly gifted by friends who were staying with us for a couple of days.

The Man picked the Oven-Roasted Pork Belly recipe to try while I settled on the Roasted Aubergine with Saffron Yogurt recipe to try as I managed to score a really nice piece of aubergine at the market earlier that morning.

The Man was rather skeptical about this dish for aubergines have never been a favourite vegetable of his. But for good measure, he gave it a try nonetheless and proclaimed it pretty yummy. 

And guess who couldn’t resist getting in on the action while I was trying to photograph the dish.  Again, it’s been a while since I indulged in any food-styling pix.  Thought it would be good to jump in on the action and get my creative juices pumping.  In order to capture the natural lighting, I had to take the shots in the garden.  Passerbys who peered into my home thought I was crazy trying to photograph a plate with my camera perched on a tripod.  @-@

But if I may add, this aubergine dish as a starter was really, really good!  This recipe is definitely going into my book and will be appearing on our dining tables soon enough if we start our little dinner parties. 

Roasted Aubergine with Yogurt [Recipe adapted from Ottolenghi's Roasted Aubergine with Saffron Yogurt starter]

Ingredients:

• 1 medium aubergine cut into slices, 2cm thick
• olive oil for brushing
• 2 tbsp toasted pine nuts
• a handful of pomegranate seeds
• a handful of basil leaves
• coarse sea salt and black pepper

Yogurt dressing:

• 150g of Greek yogurt
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 2 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
• 3 tbsp olive oil

Method:

1. For the sauce, whisk yogurt, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil and some salt well to get a smooth golden sauce,  Taste and adjust the salt, if necessary, then chill.  This sauce will keep well in fridge for about 3 days.  [Note: the original recipe calls for saffron which I did not have on hand.  But if you are interested, simply add a small pinch of saffron strands and infuse them into 3 tbsps of hot water in a small bowl for 5 minutes. Pour the infusion into the bowl containing the yogurt and additional ingredients and follow as mentioned above.]
2. Pre-heat the oven to about 220 degrees Celsius.  Place the aubergine slices on a roasting tray, brush with plenty of olive oil on both sides and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
3. Roast for about 20 – 35 minutes, until the slices take on a beautiful light brown colour.  Let them cool down.  The aubergines will keep in the fridge for 3 days; just let them come to room temperature before serving.
4. To serve, arrange the aubergine slices on a large plate, slightly overlapping.  Drizzle the yogurt dressing over them, sprinkle with the pine nuts, pomegranate and finally, lay basil on top.

Simply tuck in and enjoy, you won’t be sorry!

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Check out what’s cooking in my kitchen or my culinary adventures as an expat-wife in Geneva.

Spiced-up comfort food

Whenever the Man ain’t feeling all too dandy (usually after a hard night of drinking), he would crave for mouse noodles 老鼠粉.  Yikes, what are mouse noodles?  They are actually called Mee Tak Mak, rice noodles shaped like a mouse’s tail.  Sounds and looks gross but trust me, it’s good.  After a hard night of partying, these mouse noodles are best served in a hot chicken broth.  Totally clears the system and immediately you’ll feel better as well.

When I popped over to my cousin’s place earlier this week, she kindly cooked lunch before we proceeded to whip up some macarons.  Her creation of the Mee Tak Mak all spiced up was so-so good!  This was more like comfort food for me rather than the soupy version for I love spicy stuff.  So I decided to recreate this spicy dish for the Man and the family last night.

Verdict?  The family loved it!  Even the helper who usually can’t quite take spicy stuff gave this a thumbs up. 

Spicy Mee Tak Mak with Korean sauce (Serves 4)

Ingredients:

• 2 packets of Mee Tak Mak (got the packet ones from NTUC)
• 1 medium red shallot – diced
• 2-3 tablespoons of Korean Gochuchang paste
• 1/2 cup of water
• 4-6 pieces of Taiwan Sausages
• Handful of bean sprouts
• Salt – to taste
• Chinese parsley – coarsely chopped, for garnish (OPTIONAL)
• Century egg – coarsely chopped, for garnish (OPTIONAL)

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a medium pan over medium heat. Add shallots and sweat them till it turns soft and translucent.
2. Add Gochuchang paste and stir paste into shallots.  Add water.
3. Add Mee Tak Mak and stir-fry the noodles till desired texture is achieve (I like my noodles abit firmer than soft).
4. Add Taiwan Sausages and bean sprouts and mix them well with noodles.  If noodles are too dry, you can also add a little more water.
5. Add salt to taste.
6. Turn off heat and add chopped Chinese parsley at this point.  Remember to mix parsley well with noodles before dishing it up.
7. (OPTIONAL) Adding the century egg gives the dish another flavour, so if you are a fan of century eggs, you could add this to the dish.

Miso Yummy Pasta

Some days I really can run out of inspiration on what to cook for dinners.  The Man isn’t that fussy to cook for, just on some days, he needs his rice intake coupled with some home-cooked Chinese dishes.  Also, cooking for 2 isn’t as simple as it seems.  The portions that we get here are often too big for 2.  A friend once commented that a packet of vegetables that she buys can sometimes feed her and her hubby for at least 2-3 meals.

Last evening, I had one of my uninspired dinner days moment [Hmm.. you kinda don't want me to cook on those days for I can come up with a really funny menu ].  I had marinated some chicken wings the night before and knew that there were some leftover French beans which I’d probably just par-boil.  We needed carbs and I thought whipping up a pasta should do the trick except that I wanted to challenge myself and try making a pasta using Asian flavours.

Started texting my cousin who’s kinda a genius of a cook and she started telling me how to put together a pasta sauce using Miso paste as a key ingredient. As I started chopping the ingredients and prepping for the pasta dish, I was actually excited on how it would turn out…

And, the verdict?  A MISO Yummy Pasta indeed!

Miso Yummy Pasta (Serves 2)

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons of Miso paste
• 1/2 red onion (thinly sliced and diced)
• 2 cloves of garlic (minced)
• 6-7 fresh portobello mushrooms (slice)
• 4-5 tablespoons of sugar
• 3-4 tables of Hua Tiao Wine (Chinese cooking wine)
• 1/2 teaspoon – 1 tablespoon of Sesame Oil
• Pasta for 2 (cooked al dente)
• Garnish: Parsley (optional)

Method:

1. Add miso paste, sugar and Hua Tiao wine in a small bowl.  Stir paste.
2. Put bowl over a pot of boiling water and stir paste till sugar melts.
3. Remove from heat, add the sesame oil and set marinade aside to cool.
4. Prepare and cook pasta for 2.  Set aside pasta and remember to retain 1/2 bowl of the pasta water to cook the sauce.
5. In a pan, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil.  Saute minced garlic and onions till translucent.
6.  Add in mushrooms and stir-fry till it’s almost cooked.
7. Start to add miso paste into the cooked ingredients.
8. Slowly add the cooled pasta water to the pan and stir in miso paste until desired consistency.
9. Add in pasta and ensure that you cover pasta with the sauce.
10. Leave pasta in pan so that it can absorb the sauce before serving.
11. Add parsley as garnish and serve warm.

Here are some additional tips:

• Miso paste is generally salty, so the sugar and the Chinese cooking wine helps to balance and add a little sweetness in the sauce.  Feel free to add more sugar and adjust the miso sauce marinade to your taste.
• If you do not have the Chinese cooking wine, you could substitute with Mirin.  If that’s the case, you do not need to add sugar.
• If you eat chilli with just about everything, that you’d be pleased to know that you could also add in some sliced chilli into the miso marinade.
• The marinade could also go very well with chicken and fish.  So you can prep a larger quantity of the marinade and keep the rest in the refrigerator to be used for another time.

Well, I hope you do get to try out this Japanese-inspired pasta dish and let me know what you think of it.  As for me, I’m going to be making this simple and rather versatile marinade again.  The next time round, it’s going to go on to some chicken wings I think or even aubergines.  Mmmmm…. This recipe is definitely for keeps.

Cheater’s recipe: Oyako Donburi (親子丼)

I love Japanese food and am always in search of simple enough Japanese recipes to replicate in the kitchen.  While thinking of what I should be cooking up for tonight’s dinner, I suddenly had a craving for something Japanese.  I knew I had to feed the Man with rice and since we are watching out our throats (so no fried stuff), I decided to make Oyako Donburi (親子丼) for it was rather simple – just chicken, onions, egg served with sauce over rice.

Most of the recipes that I found online called for Dashi stock but I didn’t have any.  So, I improvised a little using the cold noodle soba dipping sauce as a replacement and it turned out tasting just as good.  The Man’s standards are pretty high and if he says it’s good, then it really is – I’m not blowing my own trumpet.  Hehe.

So, enjoy a taste of Japan with this modern and cheater’s recipe to home-made Oyako Donburi that you can easily whip up for a quick dinner.

Simple Oyako-Don (親子丼) Recipe

Ingredients:

• Cooked Japanese rice (or plain white rice if you ain’t fussy) for 1
• 1 boneless chicken thigh (150g), cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1/2 small white onion, sliced thinly
• 1 egg, beaten lightly
• 1/2 cup Zarusoba cold noodles dipping sauce (you can easily purchase this at most Japanese supermarkets)
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 teaspoon of Mirin
• Coriander for garnish (optional)

Method:

1. In a small shallow pan, mix Zarusoba cold noodles dipping sauce, water and mirin and bring to boil.
2. Add in chicken and onions, cook until almost done.
3. Pour in the lightly beaten egg over the chicken pieces.
4. Cover the pan and allow the egg to slowly simmer till it is almost cooked.
5. Scoop rice into a plate or bowl.
6. Gently slide the chicken and egg on top of rice.
7. Add coriander for garnish and serve immediately.

 

 

Leftovers

When we moved to Geneva, we thought the easiest way to deal with the appliances was to just gett everything here.  So, we obviously didn’t think of shipping a rice-cooker here.  Kind of a big mistake!  Yes, while the rice cooker can be found here but the brands available here aren’t even heard of (by me, at least).

Since we were only going to be here for a year, we thought we’ll get the cheapest rice cooker.  Well, the cheapest here cost us CHF 39.95.  You pay for what you get, for the cheapest rice cooker we got was not the best in the market of course (for obvious reasons).  That’s not all, the rice cooker actually ‘spurts’ out water while cooking the rice, making such a mess in the kitchen.  As you can imagine, cleaning up is now a CHORE!

I can go without carbs for most days but the Man can’t. So, whenever he craves for rice, I’d make sure I cook enough for 2 days so that I don’t have to go through the ‘spurting water’ ordeal.  I can always use the leftovers as fried rice the next day.

That’s what I did for one of our meals.  I used the leftover rice and made Garlic Fried Rice with it.  Other than chopping up loads of garlic and having my fingers smelling like garlic, it’s really quite simple.

Garlic Fried Rice (Makes 2 portions)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 bulbs of garlic (chopped finely)
• Leftover rice (portion for 2)
• 2 eggs (beaten)
• Chives for garnish

Method:

1. Heat frying pan and melt 1 1/2 tablespoons of butter.
2. Add garlic and fry garlic till it turns golden brown.  Remove garlic and set aside.
3. Add 1 tablespoon of butter to frying pan.  Wait till butter melts before adding the rice.
4. Stir-fry the rice and then add the eggs to the rice.
5. Continue to stir-fry the rice until the egg mixture is fully absorbed into the rice.
6. Add the fried garlic and stir-fry the rice further.
7. Add salt and pepper to taste.
8. Serve rice warm, and add chopped chives as garnish.

It’s really that simple but yummy!!  I just wished I knew how to get rid of the garlic-ky smell from my fingers after making this dish.  Any ideas?

Well done!

I apologise for the influx of cooking blog-posts that I have been putting up of late.  You see, I’m just a little fixated on getting this food styling-cum-photography thingy right.  So, I’ve been literally cooking up a storm in our kitchen plus massively googling online for recipes and researching many sites for ideas on food styling.

I guess it’s in my nature. When I become hooked on a hobby, it can sometimes turn quite into an obsession – usually with me wanting to just learn everything or to better myself.  I have a couple of other posts to blog about but once I get over this little food-photo-craze, I promise I will return to normalcy (ie: posts on travels/fashions/daily rantings will follow).

Actually, I do have some “Wardrobe Raids” posts to share but I’m kinda camera shy for now as I am battling adult acne.. Yes!  You read right!  Adult acne!    I thought the air here in Geneva is supposed to be all fresh and I will have excellent skin but no… this didn’t happen to me!  So, I have to wait for the acne to clear up before standing in front of my wardrobe to take peek-tures of the stuff I wear.

End of the week and while we are used to heading out for a nice dinner.  I thought I will whip the Man up a hearty Roast Beef complete with sides and some lovely Swiss cheese to finish the meal with.  All he needed to do was to open the bottle of Red vino while I cooked the entire meal.

After our visit to London where our friends cooked us some really good Roast Beef (recipe courtesy of Gordon Ramsay) I thought I could replicate this.  It seemed pretty simple while L described the steps to me.  So I googled and researched the simplest way to get a Roast Beef out of the oven.  Eventually, I settled on Jamie Oliver’s Perfect Roast Beef recipe and simplified it further.

I followed the instructions to the tee… popped the roast beef into the oven for about 50 minutes at 200 degrees.  The Man loves his roast beef medium rare, so I was hoping that it would turn out fine (fingers crossed). But as he stuck his knife into the roast beef and I anxiously peeked over his shoulder to check out the colour of the meat.  Arh well!  Well-done!

Well, not all was lost for the Oven Roasted Beef with Rosemary, Thyme and Garlic for we did enjoy the beef and thankfully, the wine made it all better.    I’ll definitely give this recipe another go and hopefully will have better luck the next time round.  If that happens, I will share the recipe.

And since we are in Switzerland, we decided to start trying the different dairy products that the country has to offer.  Tonight’s cheese selection was this Black Truffle cheese and Wild fruits & nuts cheese.  The later was such a delight to eat for every bite was infused with the flavorful fruits and nuts.

Here’s to a great start to the weekend!  We’re expecting sunshine this weekend so we maybe doing a day trip! 

[Ooh and update:  This post is featured on Photograzing. ]