Spaghetti with lobster in a creamy tomato sauce

Spaghetti with lobster in a creamy tomato sauce

Truth be told, I did not want to use any recipes from a certain foul mouthed chef, however, my son told me that his restaurants have more Michelin Stars than Heston Blumenthal's restaurants have.

 

 So here is Gordon Ramsay's recipe of spaghetti with lobster in a creamy tomato sauce.  Oh dear, it is definitely a recipe to use again. This feeds 4.

 

 

 Ingredients:

 

1 freshly cooked lobster (I used 4 small tails) about 1 kg

600g cherry tomatoes, quartered

1 onion finely diced

1 chilli, deseeded and chopped (optional)

1 clove garlic

50 g butter

salt, pepper

1 glass dry white wine

500 g spaghetti

1 tbsp olive oil

100 ml double cream

handful of basil leaves, chopped

freshly shaved Parmesan to serve

olive oil to serve

Method:

 

1. To extract the lobster meat, cut through the body shell and take out the meat in one piece, pulling out the dirt sac from the third disc.  Cut up the meat into bite-sized pieces and set aside.
2. 
   Put the cherry tomatoes, onions, chilli, garlic and butter in a heavy based pan and cook over a medium heat until soft but not coloured.  Season with pepper, add the wine and cook until it has evaporated.
3. 
   Add the spaghetti to a large pot of boiling salted water with the olive oil and cook until al dente (tender but firm to the bite).
4. Meantime, add the lobster to the sauce and stir in the cream and chopped basil.  Warm through gently for a couple of minutes.
5. Drain the pasta and toss with the lobster sauce.  Divide between warm plates, scatter the Parmesan over and drizzle with a little olive oil.  Serve immediately.
6. Enjoy!

Sous Vide Salmon with Crushed Potatoes

Sous Vide Salmon with Crushed Potatoes

A few good friends were coming over for dinner.  What does one cook?  Heston Blumenthal's Sous Vide Salmon with Crushed Potatoes from his book Heston Blumenthal at Home, of course!  My son has just purchased another sous vide-r, and has been cooking sous vide-d salmon.  Well, if he can cook, mary can cook too.

Ingredients:

4 salmon fillets, skin on

80 g olive oil

groundnut oil or grapeseed oil

salt

Preheat the water bath to 50 degrees Celcius.

Place the salmon fillets in individual sous-vide bags with 20 g olive oil in each bag.  Seal under full vacuum and place the bags in the water bath for 15 minutes.

Heat a thin layer of oil in a non-stick frying pan over a medium-high heat.  Remove the salmon fillets from the sous-vide bags and pat dry with kitchen paper.

Season the fillets with salt and place them, skin-side down, in the hot pan.  Cook for approximately 30 seconds until the skin turns golden and crisp.  Serve on top of crushed potatoes with 2 tablespoons of sauce per portion.

Crushed Potatoes

Potatoes are cooked until soft, then dressed with a shallot and oil mixture before being crushed with a fork.  It's a recipe with plenty of potential variations.  You can add rosemary, thyme, onions, shallots, garlic and even smoked bacon to the cooking water.

Ingredients:

750 g potatoes, washed and halved

4 cloves garlic, peeled, and bashed with the flat part of a knife or by hand

Salt

4 shallots, peeled and finely diced

150 g olive oil

2 tsp wholegrain mustard

15 g white wine vinegar

sea salt and black pepper

Put the halved potatoes and garlic in a saucepan, cover with water and add a teaspoon of salt.  Bring to the boil, reduce to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are soft.  (Approximately 20 mins).

In a frypan, cook the shallots gently in the olive oil for 5 minutes and set aside.

When the potatoes are done, drain them, discarding the garlic.  Place the potatoes in a bowl, and pour over the shallot and olive oil mixture.  Add the grain mustard and vinegar and crush with a fork until the potatoes are roughly broken up but not fully mashed.

Generously season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.

Make a stock with the salmon bones together with a carrot and an onion.  Reduce and strain.  Add truffle salt to taste.

Serve salmon on top of crushed potatoes, boiled beans, with 2 tablespoons of salmon stock.

Enjoy!

Heston Blumenthal's Carbonara

Carbonara

I really enjoy Heston Blumenthal's recipes especially from his book Heston Blumenthal at home.  You don't have to use the full amounts of oil, but we don't really eat this way all the time.  We indulged.  Onions, chilli and peas were added for flavour, colour and texture.

Ingredients:

40 g salt

75 g olive oil

2 medium onions, peeled and finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped

1 red chilli, deveined, deseeded and finely chopped

250 g lean bacon

400 g spaghetti or pasta

6 medium egg yolks

100 g parmesan cheese, grated, plus extra for serving

250 g frozen peas

black pepper

Fill a large saucepan with 4 kg cold tap water and add the salt.  Cover with a lid and place over a medium-high heat to bring to the boil.

In the meantime, put the olive oil, onions, garlic and chilli into a large frying pan and place it over a medium-low heat for 5 minutes before adding the bacon.  Cook for a further 5 minutes or until the onion has lightly caramelized.

Once the water comes to the boil, add the spaghetti/pasta and stir it every few minutes to prevent it from sticking together.  

After approximately 7 minutes, whisk the egg yolks and parmesan together in a bowl and add a ladle of the pasta water.

 
A minute or so before the spaghetti/pasta is cooked, take the bacon and onions off the heat and add the frozen peas.

Drain the pasta and return it to the pan.  Add the contents of the frying pan along with the egg and cheese mixture, and mix together.  Allow to sit for 2 minutes.  Season with freshly ground pepper to taste.

Stir thoroughly to incorporate everything, then serve with more parmesan sprinkled on top.

Yum!

Enjoy!

Beef Wellington

Beef Wellington 

 

 

 

Crepes
2 cups (300g) plain flour
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups (625ml) milk
1 tablespoon melted butter
1 tablespoon finely chopped chives
1 tablespoon finely chopped flat leaf parsley
1 teaspoon finely chopped tarragon
50g butter, chopped
             
Sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
500g small beef bones
2 eschallots, thinly sliced
6 black peppercorns
4 sprigs thyme
1 clove garlic, bruised
1 bay leaf
80ml port
200ml red wine
500ml veal stock
80ml veal glace
40g chopped butter
             
Mushroom filling
80g dried porcini mushrooms
2 tlbs (40ml) olive oil
30g butter, chopped
2 eschallots, finely chopped
200g swiss brown mushrooms, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons finely chopped flat leaf parsley
1 tablespoons finely chopped tarragon
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
             
Beef Fillet
500g beef fillet
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 large sheet puff pastry approx (30 X 32cm)
Eggwash: 3 egg yolks mixed with a pinch of salt
4-5 slices Iberico Ham            
 

For the crepes: sift flour into a bowl, add a pinch of salt. Make a well in the centre of the flour and add the eggs and a quarter of the milk. Whisk vigorously from the middle incorporating the flour, add a little more milk and continue to whisk to form a smooth thick batter, whisk in the remaining milk and melted butter to form a loose smooth batter the consistency of thick cream.  Set aside to rest for 15 minutes. Stir in herbs.
Heat a little chopped butter in a large non-stick frying pan, Ladle some of the crepe batter into the pan and quickly swirl around to cover the base to make a crepe about 25cm in diameter. Cook until the crepe is a slight golden brown, turn over and cook until golden. Remove from the pan and set aside. Repeat using the remaining mixture. You must have at least 4 crepes.

Meanwhile, start the sauce. Preheat the oven to 200C. Place a non stick roasting pan onto the stove top over a moderate heat, add oil and the beef bones, colour evenly, place into the oven for 20 minutes until caramelized and golden. Remove from the oven and tip the bones into a colander to drain away excess fat.

For the mushroom filling: Place dried mushrooms in a bowl and add just enough boiling water to cover, stand 15 minutes, drain. Rinse under running water to remove grit.
Meanwhile, heat oil and butter in a large frying pan over a high heat. Add eschallots, fresh mushrooms and garlic, cook until soft and golden. Stir in re-hydrated mushrooms, season with salt and pepper. Tip the mushrooms into a colander allow to cool to room temperature. Process mushroom mixture, parsley, tarragon and mustard in a food processor until finely chopped but not a paste.

             
For the beef fillet: Season the beef fillet with salt and pepper. Heat a lightly greased large frying pan, add beef and cook until all sides are well browned. Set aside to cool. Brush with the Dijon mustard.
             
To assemble the Beef Wellington:
Preheat oven to 200C.
Place a 40cm length of baking paper on bench top. Lay the Iberico ham slices slightly overlapping onto paper.

Place an even layer of mushroom mixture over the ham slices, then place the beef fillet on top.

Roll over to encase the beef tightly. Square off two sides of each crepe. Lay crepes, slightly overlapping on bench top, top with beef roll and roll to encase tightly.

Wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Rest in the freezer for 10 minutes, making sure it is cool and firm making it easier to handle.

Remove plastic wrap from beef roll, place beef roll in the centre of the pastry sheet. Cut four small corners out of the pastry so it creates a large thick cross shape, ensuring it is long enough on all sides to enclose the fillet completely. Carefully lift side flaps of pastry up over the beef roll so they just overlap, trimming as necessary. Seal with egg wash. Carefully lift remaining pastry flaps, so they just overlap, trimming as necessary. Seal with egg wash. Place on a baking paper-lined non stick roasting tray, making sure that the seam is at the bottom. With extra pastry, cut a 6cm disc and place in center of beef roll. Cut a 1cm whole in top of pastry for air.. Egg wash the top and sides evenly removing excess egg wash with the pastry brush, place in freezer for 10 minutes to cool the pastry. Repeat eggwash and freezer process. Bake for about 35 minutes. Use a meat thermometer to check the temperature of the fillet inside. It should be around 46-52C or just warm to the top lip for a perfect medium rare. Allow the beef wellington to rest for 15 minutes before carving.
Meanwhile finish the sauce. Place the drained bones into a large saucepan add the sliced eschallots, peppercorns, thyme, garlic, bay leaf and season with salt. Cook, stirring until eschallots are golden. Add the port and red wine and reduce by two thirds. Add the veal stock and glace. Bring to the boil and skim away any scum or impurities that rise to the surface. Turn the heat down to a gentle simmer and cook for 20 minutes or until reduced to a sauce consistency; season to taste. Strain the sauce through a muslin-lined sieve into a clean saucepan to remove any sediment. The sauce should be viscous enough to sit on the plate well without being too runny but not too thick to be sticky, you may need to reduce it further after straining. Then slowly whisk in enough small cubes of butter to add shine.
To serve, carve beef wellington and serve with the sauce.

Enjoy!

Pandan Chiffon cake

Pandan Chiffon Cake

 

 

Chiffon cake is loved in Malaysia. Pandan is the vanilla of South East Asia and is used in Malaysian cooking.  Put these two together, and Pandan Chiffon Cake is much loved by most Malaysians!

 

My good friend, Monique, gave me this recipe that she learnt from a famous Chiffon Cake Bakery.

 

My daughter has been providing the family with cakes in the past year, however, she has been under the weather. She asked me to make her an ombre pandan chiffon cake, for her last birthday in her twenties.

 



Pandan Chiffon Cake:

Ingredients:
7 egg whites
75 g castor sugar
1/2 tsp cream of tartar

6 egg yolks
75 g sugar
90 g corn oil
130 g santan/coconut milk
1 tsp pandan paste (from Asian grocery)
175 g flour
2 1/2 g baking powder
pinch of salt

Whisk the first 3 ingredients together till firm.

Mix the remaining ingredients to form a paste. 
Gently fold in 1 tablespoon of the whisked egg whites into the green paste. 
Then carefully fold in the rest of the paste into the egg white mixture, until well folded.

Pour into a 19 cm chiffon cake tin (with a tube in the middle, and with a removable base).  Make sure that the tin is not greased, as the mixture adheres to the sides.

Bake at 170 Celcius, for 35 mins or until cooked.

When ready, turn the cake upside down till cool. (Make sure that the cake is very cool before leaving it the right way up, or else it will sink rapidly). It will rise approximately 9 cm.

Push a pliable knife around the wall of the cake tin, as well as around the centre tube.  Remove the cake (still on the base), from the cake tin.  Run the knife along the base of the tin.  Turn out the cake on a plate.

For ombre cake, I used:
5 small egg whites
2 oz castor sugar
1/4 tsp cream of tartar

4 small egg yolks
2 oz corn oil
3 oz santan
pandan paste
1 1/2 oz castor sugar
4 oz flour
pinch of salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder

As I wanted a flatter cake, I used a larger cake tin (24cm), and half the initial ingredients.

I repeated the process 4 times, increasing the amount of pandan paste used, to give the shading of colours.

I used whipped cream with vanilla in between the cakes, as well as to cover the cakes.  I used fresh roses from the garden, as I am not the world's most creative person!

It actually looked fabulous, and tasted great.

Enjoy!

Bolognese sauce

Bolognese Sauce

Spaghetti Bolognese is one of Australia's comfort food.  Anything that resembles noodles entices my salivary glands.  This recipe from Ferran Adria's (from the legendary elBulli restaurant)  'The Family Meal' is my favourite.  It has a great depth of flavours.  Absolutely triple yum!  Howevever, I forgot to take a photo of the finished product. 

Ingredients
225 g butter
1.2 kg minced beef
350 g pork sausage meat
500 g onions
150 g celery
400 g carrots
150 ml extra virgin olive oil
12 g tomato puree
1.6 g chopped tomatoes
1 pinch sugar


Method:

Put a large pan over a medium high heat, then add the butter and let it melt.  Add the beef mince, fry until it has changed colour, then add the sausage meat.

Cook for a few more minutes, season with salt and pepper, then cook for 15 minutes longer, stirring frequently, until dark golden brown.

In the meanwhile, finely chop the onions and celery.  Finely chop the carrots.  Or if you have a thermomix, throw them together on speed 8, 30 seconds.

I had a big harvest of yellow bell tomatoes, so I processed them in the thermomix speed 8, 30 seconds.

Put another pan over a low heat, then pour in the olive oil.  Fry the vegetables gently until softened, about 12 minutes.

Add the meat to the vegetables and mix everything together well.

Add the chopped tomatoes with the tomato puree.  Season with salt, pepper and sugar.  Simmer the sauce for 1 1/2 hours until the meat is very tender.

This bolognese sauce will go well with spaghetti or lasagna.

Do try this.  It is very delicious!