Posts Tagged ‘cooking’

  1. {Recipe} – Heston Blumenthal’s Spaghetti Carbonara

    February 24, 2012 by Cassie

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    {Recipe} – Heston Blumenthal’s Carbonara

    Rating: 51

    Yield: 4 servings

    {Recipe} – Heston Blumenthal’s Carbonara

    Ingredients

    • 2 tbsp salt
    • 3/4 cup olive oil
    • 2 medium onions, peeled and finely chopped
    • 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
    • 1–2 fresh red chilies (depending on how hot you want it), de-veined, de-seeded and finely chopped
    • 8 oz. pancetta lardons*
    • 14 oz. spaghetti
    • 6 medium egg yolks
    • 1-1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated, plus extra for serving
    • 9 oz. frozen peas
    • Salt and black pepper
    • * You could also replace the pancetta with smoked or nonsmoked bacon or a few anchovy fillets, and the peas with fresh soya beans, broad beans, thinly sliced runner beans or broccoli florets, all pre-cooked.

    Instructions

    1. Fill a large saucepan with 16 cups cold tap water and add the salt. Cover with a lid and place over a medium-high heat to bring to the boil.
    2. In the meantime, put the olive oil, onions, garlic and chili into a large frying pan and place it over a medium-low heat for 5 minutes before adding the pancetta. Cook for a further 5 minutes or until the onion has lightly caramelized.
    3. Once the water comes to the boil, add the spaghetti 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.
    4. A minute or so before the spaghetti is cooked, take the pancetta and onions off the heat and add the frozen peas.
    5. 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 salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.
    6. Stir thoroughly to incorporate everything, then serve with more grated Parmesan sprinkled on top.

    Notes

    Recipe from "Heston Blumenthal at Home".

    **Recipe by Heston Blumenthal**

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    http://www.thesmidy.net/flyingdrunkenmonkey/recipe-heston-blumenthals-spaghetti-carbonara

    * This recipe is by Heston Blumenthal. I am in no way taking credit for this recipe. *

    I am a big fan of pasta and especially creamy type pastas. Of course, my body isn’t a great fan of them and I have to be careful with how much I have, but it’s always great to indulge!

    I gave Mr Monkey the Heston Blumenthal at Home cookbook for Christmas and then went through it and chose some recipes to try out at home. Mr Monkey liked the scientific information at the beginning of the book while I loved the great looking food!

    This recipe is simply but makes an amazing tasting carbonara. It is rather healthy (compared to the heavy cream based carbonaras) and absolutely delicious. I think it may just be the best pasta I ever tasted, and most definitely ever cooked. Actually it may just be up there with THE best meal I’ve ever cooked!

    I know Lily was definitely a fan after she gobbled up a huge bowl-full! This is definitely going to be a recipe to keep.

    Category Recipes | Tags: ,,,, | 2 Comments

  2. {Recipe} Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie

    July 15, 2011 by Cassie

    Recipe from Veggie Mama

    Ingredients:

      • 1 packet veggie mince (I used Quorn in this recipe)
      • 1 onion, chopped
      • 2 cloves garlic, minced
      • 1 carrot, chopped
      • 1/2 cup each peas and corn
      • 1 cup water (you may need more, depending on how thick you want your mince)
      • 1 veggie beef stock cube
      • 1 tablespoon flour or gravy powder
      • 1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
      • 2 tablespoons tomato sauce
      • 1 teaspoon mustard
      • 3 potatoes, peeled and chopped
      • 1/2 sweet potato, peeled and chopped
      • 1 tablespoon butter
      • 1/4 cup milk
      • 1 cup grated cheddar cheese

    METHOD 1.Preheat oven to 220C.

    2. Put the potato and sweet potato in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil and cook 15-20 minutes until soft. Drain, mash, and add butter and milk.
    3. Saute the onion, carrot and garlic in a little oil until translucent. Add mince, peas and corn.
    4. Dissolve stock cube in boiling water and add to the mince. Add all the sauces and cook over a low-medium heat for five minutes. Add the flour or gravy powder dissolved in a little water and adjust the consistency to your liking.
    5. Spoon the mince into a casserole dish and top with the mashed potato. Cover with cheese and bake 15 minutes until cooked through and cheese is golden and bubbling.

    I sometimes put a call out on my Facebook Page for ideas for meal planning. My relative and friend Miss Sparkle from Sparkle Says suggested I try the above recipe from The Veggie Mama.

    I have been trying to cook more vegetarian meals, for health and financial reasons, but had not tried any faux-meat products before. I’ve always simply opted for meatless recipes. But I love a good Shepherd’s pie and this sounded interesting so I thought I’d give it a go.

    I didn’t make too many changes to the recipe as it is above. Instead of using sweet potato in the mash, I used parsnip. I omitted the onion, worcestershire sauce, tomato sauce and stock cube – I hate cutting onion, we don’t have the sauces and I used some frozen leftover stock. I’ll confess that the stock was chicken stock so it wasn’t a truly vegetarian meal. Whoops! I also added some crushed tomatoes instead of the tomato sauce.

    I also added some chick peas, leek instead of the onion and some mushrooms. I used the Quorn that Veggie Mama suggested. It took me awhile to find it tucked away in the frozen section but it seems pretty good. There was no strange taste in the finished meal and you’d probably think it was meat. It was about the same price as mince as well.

    As it was only Lily and I for dinner that night we had a lot leftover. I froze it in a few takeaway containers but haven’t defrosted it yet so we’ll see how it is. But Lily and I both loved it and I’m tucking the recipe away to use again later!

    Category Recipes | Tags: ,,,,,, | 5 Comments

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