Pasta and Sausage in Garlic , Olive Oil and Balsamico Cream

Since I still have the pesto sauce for the black pasta the other day, i have to cook something so that i do not throw anything away. The pesto stayed overnight in the fridge, and the aroma of garlics had been developed in the olive oil very well. I just need more chopped parsley so the pasta will look fresh. I just heat the pesto mixture for 1 minute ( do not let the garlic burnt ), and add the chopped parsley and additional chilli flakes, and pour half cup of vegetable broth in it. Simmer for a while, then put the al dente pasta in it and toss well. I serve the pasta with lightly grilled sausages and add a dash of balsamico cream. If you like it hot, you can add chopped chilipadis.

insalata pomodoro con formaggio di feta e basilico

I need to have a salad plate that can go with my black pasta. It should be fresh and crunchy. I was thinking to make insalata di caprese, tomato with basil and mozarella balls, but then i have to change it with Feta Cheese, since I couldnt find the mozarella.
I just need very fresh tomato, wedged, combined with fresh basil and chunks of Feta Cheese. I then drizzled the salad with olive oil, lemon juice and pinch of salt.

Pasta nero con il pesto ed il calamaro

A friend of mine brought this black pasta called Nero di Seppia, directly from Holland as a gift. He even gave me a nice recipe to try today. It is amazing that we only need very fresh ingredients to make this wonderful pasta. The squid was cooked very fast using olive oil and pinch of salt, so that it is not overdone. And for the sauce, he suggested to make a pesto using a handful of finely chopped parsley, finely chopped garlic, cup of olive oil, cherry tomatos, a teaspoon of chilli flakes, squeezed of lemon and a dash of balsamico and salt. After the pasta is cooked al dente, toss with the sauce quickly when the pasta is still hot, and topped with the squid. It is so easy... but very tasty. Thank you, friend....

Escargot de Bourgogne

I dare to write this recipe in this blog, altough it might seems not so original. We bought a canned escargot at supermarket in
Singapore and plan to make baked escargot with garlic butter. Ham used to cook this dishes using the escargot shells. I prefer to use something simpler that the shells since it is difficult to wash them afterwards. Then i found this small plate at daisho, which looks like a painting plate. But it seems right to bake the tiny escargot in it. It looks good and neat with the plate. I regret i only buy 4 of them. I couldnt find it anymore. However, I found very small ramekins at IKEA the other day, which also perfect for this.


Ingredients :
1 canned escargot ( 3 dozens )

Combine to make Garlic Butter :
1/2 cup of Soft Butter
1 clove Garlic
2 tsp finely chopped fresh parsley
Black Pepper and Salt to taste.

Methods :
Put 2 escargots in each shell or tiny ramekin, and 1/2 tsp of garlic butter.
Bake for 10 minutes.
Serve with Bread and Garlic Butter.

Erwten Soup ( Green Pea Soup )

When Mingco and Budong were back from Amsterdam last November, they brought me some packages of Gelderse Rockworst from Albert Heijn and UNOX. Ham and I love this sausages, and we plan to cook erwten soup with rockworst sausage. Ham cooked this soup and I watch. I thought it is difficult, but it seems that this is very simple. I share you his secret recipe...

Ingredients :
1 package ( 250 grams ) gelderse rockworst ( i found it at kemchiks ) or we can change it with Soluna Sausages ( bockworst ), Cut into 1 cm width.
500 gram babyback ribs ( pork )
500 gram green split peas
2000 ml boiling water.
1 block knoor vegetable stock.
500 gram leeks, chopped.
250 gram celery sticks, chopped.
fresh parsley.

Method :
Boil the babyback ribs and water and simmer until soft ( around 1 hour )
Add green split peas, simmer for 1 hour until softened.
Take out the Babyback ribs, deboned and cut the meat into chunks. Return the meat to the pan.
Add chopped leeks, celery sticks and whole fresh parsley ( about 1 cup ), simmer for 30 minutes.
10 minutes before it is ready, add the sausages to the pan, simmer with the whole soup.
Add salt and pepper to taste and serve with chopped fresh parsley.

Roast Pumpkin Soup

I got this copied recipe book from Budong so long time ago, as she recommended some of the recipes to me. I never fancied pumpkin soup before, but then last christmas, Ham asked me to 'contribute' one meal for our xmas's eve dinner, to match with his meat dishes and salad. I gave it a try and everybody loved it. Nice try !! ... :)

Ingredients :
1 Medium pumpkin, or yellow kabocha or butternut pumpkin ( around 1 kg ), cut into chunks.
2 tbs olive oil
1 large onion
2 tsp ground cummin
1 large carrot, chopped.
1 celery sticks, chopped.
1 litre chicken stock
sour cream to serve
finely chopped fresh parsley, to serve.
ground nutmeg, to serve.


Preheat the oven to 180 C and put the pumpkin on a greased baking tray and lightly brush with the olive oil. Bake for 25 minutes, until softened and slightly browned.
Heat 1 tsp of olive oil and cook the onion and cummin until soft, add carrot and celery sticks and cook for 3 minutes more.
Add the roasted pumpkin and stock, bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
Allow to cool for a while.
Puree in batches using blender.
Return the soup in a pan and reheat. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
To serve, top with sour cream, sprinkle with chopped parsley and ground nutmeg.

Rendang

Ahaaa... i cooked rendang finally. It was after Lebaran Holiday when my colleagues brought Rendang to the office. Rendang is a common meal for the lebaran festives. All my female friends were busy planning to cook rendang a week before lebaran. Nurul even cooked 5 kgs of Rendang by herself.

After several discussion with my 2 padang friends, i tried their rendang recipes. Comparing to what they did, i think i made it really easy. I did not even buy the real coconut for my rendang. ohh geezzz... for 1 kg of beef, they used 3 coconuts for the coconut milk and 1/2 kg of Red Chili. However, I choose Kara. And the hardest part is that i have to simmer the rendang mix for 4 hours to get the real rendang.

Ingredients :
1/2 kg Beef ( tenderloin preferably )
1 box Kara ( 200 ml ), mix with 1,000 cc water.

Blend until smooth :
1/4 kg Red Chili, deseed.
15 cloves of Shallots
10 cloves of Garlic

2 Turmeric Leaves
5 Bay Leaves
3 Kaffir Limes Leaves
3 Lemongrasses
1 cm ginger

Method :
Boil the coconut milk, and stir occasionally.
Meanwhile, sautee the blended spices with 1 tbsp of oil until fragrant and mix with the boiling coconut.
Add beef and keep boiling.
Add the Turmeric Leaves, Bay Leaves, Kaffir Limes Leaves, Lemongrass and ginger.
I add 1 tbsp of curry powder. This is optional for stronger taste.
Season with Salt and Pepper, and simmer the mixture with very low heat, stirring occasionally.
After approximately 4 hours, the mixture gets thick and dry.