Pasta Primavera

Mom decided to be a little adventurous one day and cooked this simple but very delizioso pasta dish. 

Taken off the Asian Food Channel's website. Chef Wan's recipe.

Ingredients:-

1 packet pasta (Rigatoni) cook ”Ala Dente”
4 tbsp olive oil
3 pieces of garlic minced
1 red chilly chopped
2 tbsp of pesto
2 anchovies chopped
2 tbsp of capers
A handful of asparagus
1/2 each of red and green bell peppers cut into a bite size
3 leaves spring onions sliced
8 button mushrooms sliced
1/2 cup chicken stock
Salt
Fresh cracked black pepper
 

Method:

1. Heat olive oil. Fry garlic and red chilly, add capers, anchovies before adding the vegetables.
2. Add the chicken stock, pesto and pasta stir for about 2-3 minutes.
3. Add pepper and salt (Optional to serve with grates parmesan cheese).

You see, I told you it was easy. 

Choc Orange Cupcakes

Mom tried this recipe a few days ago and turned out to be a hit. Disclaimer : The size of the cakes become pretty small though, as the hazelnut weighs down the mixture and shrinks them in the process.

Ingredients
60g semi sweet milk chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 tsp orange rind, finely grated
2/3 cup orange juice
90g butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2/3 cup self-raising flour
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1/3 cup almond meal/hazelnut meal
1. Preheat oven 175°C.
2. Place chocolate, orange rind and juice in small saucepan.
3. Stir till melted and smooth.
4. Beat butter, sugar and eggs in mixer bowl till light and fluffy.
5. Sift flour and cocoa into butter mix. Add almond meal and chocolate mix.
6. Mix well till just combined. Fill cases till 1/2 full.
7. Bake for 25 mins.
Makes 12 cakes

Sardine Rolls

One thing I dislike – puff pastry. Don’t you find it so darn troublesome to eat it while keeping the stuff from falling apart into a million flakes? It is so unnecessary, not when you have the choice of having the rich, solid pastry like I had with these rolls.

Ingredients
Pastry
250 g butter
500 g flour
pinch of salt
cold water
1. Fold all ingredients together in a mixing bowl. Bind with cold water.
2. Leave in fridge for a while.
Filling
1 can sardine (do not use all the liquid)
chopped onions
chopped chilli
1 squeeze of lemon juice
pinch of salt
1. Roll out dough thinly. Cut into rectangles.
2. Place filling on dough and roll. Make little cuts on rolls before brushing them with egg yolk.
3. Bake for 40 mins at 175°C.

Iced Fairy Cakes

Tried this recipe a few days ago to satisfy our cupcake cravings. Not difficult, should be pretty easy for experienced bakers (unlike myself).  Turned out surprisingly good. Very buttery (just the way I like it) with an incredibly moist texture. Not at all oily. Plus, we got to unleash our inner artists and decorate the cakes ourselves. You just gotta love cupcakes.

(not actual results)

Ingredients

115 g/4oz unsalted butter

115 g/4oz caster sugar

2 eggs, beaten

115 g/4oz self-raising flour

Icing and decoration

200 g/7oz icing sugar

about tbsp warm water

a few drops of food colouring (optional)

sugar flowers, hundreds and thousands, glace cherries, and/or chocolate strands, to decorate.

1. Preheat oven to 190°C/375°F/Gas mark 5. Place 16 paper bun cases into a shallow bun tin.

2. Place butter and caster sugar in a large bowl and cream together with a wooden spoon or electric mixer until pale and fluffy.

3. Gradually add the eggs, beating well after each addition. Fold in the flour lightly and evenly using a metal spoon.

4. Divide the mixture evenly between the bun cases and bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

5. For the icing, sift the icing sugar into a bowl and stir in just enough water to mix to a smooth paste that is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. Stir in a few drops on food colouring, if using, then spread the icing over the fairy cakes and decorate as desired. (for the last batch, I got adventurous and added some coffee powder into the mixture for a coffee-flavoured icing)

Makes 16.