Mini Penne with Swiss Brown Mushrooms, Bacon and Eggs

I don't usually buy swiss brown mushrooms (well, make that never) as I am quite contented eating regular button mushrooms (which are cheaper by the way). The reason why I bought swiss browns was because there were some available for sampling at the markets the other day, and they were juicy and delicious cooked with garlic and lemon thyme. Apparently, these are the smaller versions of portobello mushrooms. They have a more intense flavour than button mushrooms and have a firmer, meatier texture as well.

I decided to use the mushrooms in my pasta dish along with some bacon, asparagus and mashed egg. I used mini penne rigate for the pasta as I find them tiny enough that I don't need to cut them into bite-sized pieces for the kids to eat. I added vegetable stock and simmered the mushrooms in it to bring out the rich earthy flavour that swiss browns have. For the herbs, I used thyme because I simply love thyme (and I really think everyone should plant some thyme at home...they are really useful!). And the mashed egg (I love eggs too) just makes the dish a little more complete. H loves this, especially when I serve it with teddy-bear shaped pasta, which is her favourite!

H's favourite Teddy pasta!

Mini Penne with Swiss Brown Mushrooms, Bacon and Eggs

Ingredients

250g penne, cooked and drained

2 eggs, hard-boiled and roughly chopped

3-5 asparagus spears, cut into 2-inch lengths and blanched for 3-5 minutes

3 slices bacon rashers, chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 tbsp butter

1/2 red/spanish onion, sliced

1 1/2 cup swiss brown mushrooms, sliced

A few sprigs of thyme, leaves removed (about 1 tbsp)

1 cup vegetable stock (chicken stock is fine too)

1-2 tbsp lemon juice

2/3 cup cream

1/4 cup grated parmesan, plus extra for serving

2 tbsp olive oil

Salt and black pepper

Method

1. Heat up oil in pan and fry bacon for 3 minutes, then add garlic and fry for 1 minute.
2. Add butter, then onions, mushrooms and thyme. Fry until mushrooms start to soften. Add stock and simmer for 5 minutes.
3. Add lemon juice and cream. Stir and bring to a simmer. Add salt and pepper to taste.
4. Add the asparagus and stir in the parmesan. Turn off the heat and mix in the chopped egg.
5. Toss the pasta with the sauce and serve with addtional grated parmesan.

Spanish Chicken & Corn Croquettes

It has been almost 10 years since G bought me this Spanish Tapas cookbook for my birthday (he figured I'd be happier receiving a cookbook with mouth-watering photos of food rather than flowers, and that still holds true to this day). It's interesting that food that may not have appealed to you (or me) a few years back suddenly appears more interesting and relevant when you revisit the cookbook, especially when you go, "Oh yeah, I know those herbs go really well with that meat" or "I've made something similar before and this sounds pretty easy to make"...etc.

Well, these croquettes are easy to prepare with simple basic ingredients, and as such, you can add in your favourite spices, herbs, vegetables, bacon and so on. I tweaked the recipe a little and added some parsley, corn and peas (peas weren't a good idea because the kids started picking them out one by one! But corn is good, sweet and adds some texture to the creamy chicken filling). When I took a bite of these, it instantly reminded me of the deep-fried Japanese Korokkes, and they are so soft and creamy on the inside. This Spanish version of the croquette uses a roux in lieu of potatoes to bind the meat together, and I like the idea of cooking the chicken first before blending it finely, as this gives it a smooth velvety texture. There are many variations you can make to the recipe, and I think next time I might try making a curry croquette, and use mashed potatoes and onions instead. These ones I've made, however, are totally delicious and addictive. Serve them with a drizzle of lemon juice, and perhaps dipped in some barbecue sauce or mayonnaise. Yum!

Here is the recipe below:



Chicken Croquettes

Ingredients

2 tbsp butter

1/4 cup plain flour

2/3 cup milk

1 tbsp olive oil

1 chicken breast fillet, with skin on (approx 250g), diced

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 tbsp corn/peas

1 small egg, beaten with 1 tbsp milk

1 cup panko crumbs (or fresh breadcrumbs will do too)

Vegetable oil for deep frying

Salt and black pepper

1 tbsp Italian flat-leaf parsley, plus extra for garnish

Lemon wedges, to serve

Method

1. Melt butter in a small saucepan. Add flour, stir and cook for 1-2 minutes. Gradually beat in the milk until the sauce is thick and smooth. Cover with a lid and remove from heat.
2. Heat oil in a frying pan and cook chicken with the garlic until chicken is lightly browned and cooked through.
3. Pour contents of the frying pan (remove liquid if any) into a blender and process until finely chopped. Stir into the sauce together with the chopped parsley, corn and peas. Season with plenty of salt and pepper. Let cool completely and refrigerate for at least half an hour to firm up.
4. Wet both hands with water and shape the mixture into small sausages, then dip in egg and then breadcrumbs. Deep fry in hot oil until crisp and lightly golden (about 4 minutes). Drain on paper towels and serve with lemon and garnish with parsley.

Note: You can refrigerate the shaped "sausages" before crumbing them so that they are easier to handle.

Raspberry Semifreddo: A" No-Churn" Ice-cream

When I saw the photo of this in Belinda Jeffery's cookbook, I knew I had to try it out! It was a timely decision as the past few days have been really hot, and it's not even summer yet. Our air-conditioning had also broken down, so all the more reason to make ice-cream! I only wished we had a blast chiller so that we didn't have to wait for it to freeze overnight before eating it.

I used frozen raspberries for this, and I find that a 500g pack was just enough to yield the required amount, including extra for the ripple. I must have pureed the heck out of it and pushed every last bit of raspberry flesh through the sieve (because nobody likes gritty raspberry seeds stuck in the teeth). You might need to use some elbow grease for this, otherwise, it might be a good idea to have some extra raspberries on stand-by (the recipe called for 900g, with extra to serve as topping) in case you can't get enough puree out of the sieve.

For those who don't know what a semifreddo is, it's a partially frozen dessert that never becomes really hard and icy due to the incorporation of air through the addition of whipped cream or meringue to it. If you don't have an ice-cream maker, this is an easy way to make ice-cream as it rarely needs churning. It's creamy, yet not too rich and simply bursts with such intense flavour from the raspberries! The most delicious raspberry semifreddo!

Here is the recipe below:

Raspberry Semifreddo

(serves 4-6)

900g fresh or frozen raspberries (I used 500g frozen raspberries which was just enough to yield about 400ml of puree)

4 egg whites, at room temperature

250g caster sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)

300ml double thick cream, very softly whipped

Extra caster sugar (add this to any extra puree to serve as a topping)

To serve (optional):

Nectarines or figs

Extra fresh raspberries

Method:

1. Puree raspberries in a blender and then pass it through a large fine sieve to remove the seeds.
2. Using a hand-held electric beater, beat egg whites in a large heatproof bowl until just fluffy, then slowly add 1/4 cup of the sugar, a little at a time, and beat well between each addition.
3. Put the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and continue beating, adding the rest of the sugar a little at a time until the sugar has dissolved and mixture is thick and fluffy. This takes about 6 minutes.
4. Remove the bowl from the heat and stand it in a larger bowl filled with plenty of ice. Continue beating until the mixture is cool. Add vanilla extract (if used) and whisk in 300ml of the raspberry puree until well blended, and then fold in the whipped cream.
5. Spoon the mixture into a freezer container, splotching a little of the reserved puree here and there as you go. When all the mixture is in, swirl a knife blade through it a couple of times to make a ripple. Cover the container and freeze overnight.
6. To serve, scoop it into chilled bowls or glasses. Serve with summer fruits and berry topping if desired.

Caramelized Chicken with Sweet Pineapple and Balsamic Vinegar

This recipe is adapted from Luke Nguyen's book called "The Songs of Sapa". The original recipe uses pork, but since I didn't have any pork, I substituted it with chicken instead. The recipe also called for fresh pineapples. Well, I didn't have any of that either, so I simply used up the leftover canned pineapples from the previous day (when I made pineapple fried rice). I added balsamic vinegar to the dish towards the end of cooking to bring out the flavours and give it a little tanginess and acidity. I suppose if using fresh pineapples, the vinegar may not be necessary, depending on whether the pineapples are sweet or sour.

We loved this, and so did the kids, but of course, we omitted the chilli for them. It goes perfectly with steamed jasmine rice (make sure to ladle lots of gravy over the rice), and the sliced bird's eye chillies together with the sweet, salty and sour gravy and pineapples are sure to set your tastebuds dancing!

Caramelized Chicken with Sweet Pineapple and Balsamic Vinegar

Ingredients:

500g chicken thigh fillet, diced into 3cm cubes
1 tbsp garlic, chopped finely
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp oyster sauce
1 tsp dark soy sauce
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cornflour
1 tbsp palm sugar (optional)
3/4 tbsp balsamic vinegar (or to taste)
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup canned pineapple pieces, drained (or use fresh if available)
3-4 bird's eye chillies, sliced
4 spring onions, white part only, halved crossways
2 tbsp vegetable oil

Method:

1. Marinade chicken with half the garlic, 2 tbsp sugar, 1 tbsp fish sauce, oyster sauce, soy sauce, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp black pepper and cornflour. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
2. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat and brown the chicken, for about 3-5 minutes.
3. Add remaining garlic and spring onions and mix well.
4. Add pineapple, remaining 1 tbsp fish sauce and 1/2 cup water. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for about 15 minutes or until chicken is cooked and sauce slightly thickened.
5. Add balsamic vinegar to taste (if using fresh pineapples, vinegar may not be necessary if there is sufficient acidity from the pineapple).
6. Check for seasoning and add more sugar or vinegar if necessary. Transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with sliced chilli. Serve with jasmine rice.

Pineapple, Coconut and Turmeric Fried Rice

The area where we live is dotted with many Thai and Italian eateries, which is why when we order take-out, it's usually pizza or stir-fried rice noodles. We just had Thai the other day, and we love the spicy basil rice noodles. As the kids do not take chilli, we ordered a pineapple fried rice for them (which was fortunately a large portion, so I had a share of it too). I'm usually a little wary of ordering pineapple fried rice as they are pretty bland most of the time, looking like plain fried rice. This one was not bad, with a hint of sweetness from the pineapple, with juicy raisins and crunchy roasted cashews. The rice had a lovely yellow tinge that made it more convincing to the eye and palette that it IS pineapple rice. Well, I did have some canned pineapple in the pantry, so I thought why not try making it at home, which is what I did two days later (after cooking some extra white rice the following night). I had already conjured up the idea of what to put in it, although I did forget to garnish it with pork floss (another one of those things sitting on my pantry shelf) as I originally intended to, just for the extra sweetness, flavour and texture. I also boiled down the pineapple juice (I used a 400g can of pineapples in unsweetened pineapple juice) and reduced it to a thick syrup before adding it to the rice.

Coconut Pineapple Fried Rice

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked jasmine rice, refrigerated

1 chicken breast fillet, thinly sliced

3 eggs, beaten and seasoned with soy sauce and pepper

2 tbsp butter

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1/2 onion, chopped

2 tbsp dried shrimp, finely chopped and fried in oil for 2-3 minutes.

Handful of peas

1 tbsp light soy sauce

1 tbsp fish sauce

1 tsp ground turmeric

1/2 cup pineapple pieces

1/2 cup pineapple juice, boiled and reduced to a syrup

1 tbsp sugar (or to taste)

1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)

1/4 cup dessicated coconut, toasted in pan till golden brown

1 tomato, halved and quartered

1/4 cup raw cashews, fried in oil till golden brown

Sliced red chilli, fried shallots, coriander leaves, pork floss (optional) for garnish

Wedge of lime/lemon

Vegetable oil, for frying

Marinade for chicken:

1/2 tsp ground turmeric

3/4 tsp ground cumin

1 tbsp light soy sauce

1 tbsp pineapple juice

1 tsp sugar

Pinch of salt

Dash of pepper

Pinch of soda bicarbonate

1 tsp cornflour

Method:

1. Marinade the chicken for an hour, then fry in oil till cooked. Dish out and put aside.
2. Scramble the eggs in wok and cut up into small pieces, dish out and put aside.
3. Heat up 2 tbsp oil and 2 tbsp butter in a wok. Fry onions till softened, then add garlic, fry for half a minute. Add dried shrimp and peas.
4. Break up the rice with a fork and add to the wok and fry till well mixed. Add soy, fish sauce and the pineapple syrup and stir into the rice. Sprinkle turmeric over the rice and mix.
5. Mix in the chicken, eggs, pineapple, coconut and tomatoes. Season with salt and sugar. Toss in the cashews.
6. Transfer to a plate and garnish with coriander leaves, pork floss, fried shallots and sliced chilli, and a wedge of lime/lemon.