Cannelloni

Cannelloni

Ingredients:

Cannelloni

Béchamel sauce

3 Tablespoons olive oil

½ kilo ground beef

2 cloves garlic (finely chopped)

2 white onion (finely chopped)

1 teaspoon ground cumin seeds

1 ½ cup tomato sauce

4 fresh tomatoes (finely chopped)

2 carrots (finely chopped)

1 red pepper (finely chopped)

Salt and pepper

Grated cheese

Parsley (finely chopped)

Basil (finely chopped)

To prepare filling:

Heat oil in a pan and sauté garlic and onion. Cook until translucent. Add fresh tomatoes, mix thoroughly, and cook until tomatoes are wilted. Add ground beef and cumin. Mix vigorously to get rid of lumps; continue cooking until almost all the liquid has evaporated. Add carrots, pepper and tomato sauce. Bring to boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and set aside.

To prepare Cannelloni:

Boil 1 liter of water. Add 1 teaspoon of salt and 2 Tablespoons of oil. Add cannelloni and simmer until cannelloni is done. Taking care not to over cook them as the easily split when filled if overcooked. Strain with a strainer, place under running cold water. Drizzle with oil and mix carefully without breaking each. Set aside one by one with greased plate.

To prepare béchamel sauce:

4 Tablespoons flour

1 cup milk

2 Tablespoons butter

2 cloves garlic

1 white onion

Bring to boil milk ,onion and garlic. Let stand for 10 minutes. Pass through a sift to get rid of garlic and onion. Discard garlic and onion and keep the milk. Heat butter in a small pan over low heat. When butter has melted, add flour 1 Tablespoon flour and mix vigorously until it forms a paste. Add milk little by little alternately with flour, whilst mixing vigorously to avoid lumps. Continue stirring until all the flour and milk has been added. Remove from heat and set aside.

To assemble:

Carefully fill each piece of cannelloni with cooked meat. Spoon béchamel sauce in an oven dish and arrange the filled cannelloni. Add grated cheese on top and bake at low temperature for 10 minutes or until cheese has melted. Garnish with chopped fresh parsley and basil before serving.

Lasagna Chips

lasagna chips

Lasagna pasta sheets

Oil for frying
Cheese Powder
Water
Salt

Procedure:

Boil salted water in a deep pan and add lasagna, boil for 2 minutes, or until al dente. Do not overcook. Set lasagna one by one by letting them drape over a rim of a deep pan or strainer to get rid of excess water. When cold enough to hold; cut them into strips or triangles. Deep fry and drain in kitchen paper to get rid of excess oil. Put the chips in a container with cover and sprinkle cheese powder. Shake the container to spread the flavor evenly. I had cooked lasagna 2 days back but got excess pasta sheets so I kept in the fridge. Today, I am looking to cook something like cheese puffs and use the lasagna sheets to wrap it but I found out the break easily when folded, so I sliced them and deep fry, instead of throwing them, I remember I have stocked cheese powder! It tastes just like Piatos chips!!! (if u know what I mean, its one of my favorite chips in Phil. I don’t have to worry if I don’t have chips to serve to unexpected guests… I know how to make quickie chips!

Pasta Salad

Pasta Salad

Ingredients:

Ribbon Pasta

Parmesan Cheese (grated)

Dressing:

2 Tomatoes (diced)

1White onion (thinly sliced)

1 clove garlic (crushed)

¼ cup Seedless green olives (sliced)

¼ cup Seedless black olives (sliced)

1 cucumber (peeled and diced)1 Tsp.

Capers

Juice of ½ lemon

Lemon zest

1/2 cup olive oil

Salt & pepper

To prepare pasta:

Boil pasta with salted water or stock until al-dente. Strain in a colander and run a cold water to get rid of excess starch. This prevents pasta from sticking together.

To prepare Dressing:

In a mixing bowl, put garlic, capers, lemon zest and onion. Squeeze in juice of half a lemon, add olive oil and mix thoroughly. Add in tomatoes and olives; mix further. Add the prepared pasta and toss thoroughly to mix the dressing. Sprinkle grated parmesan cheese on top and serve. Could be served at room temperature or chilled.

Fish 'n Eggplant wrap

Fish 'n Eggplant wrap

Ingredients:

4 Tbsp. olive oil

2 Tbsp. butter

1 large Eggplant

6 slices of fish fillet (skinned)

parsley

Salt & pepper to taste Carrots Bell Pepper How to: Slice eggplant lengthwise into thin long slices. Brush with butter unto the surface of the eggplant. In a very hot grill pan or flat pan, pan roast the eggplant until soft and sides turn slightly brown. (with a grilled pan, a horizontal marking can easily be seen as shown in the picture) The eggplant must be soft at this stage. Season with more salt & pepper to taste.Set aside. Season fish with salt & pepper, drizzle with olive oil and place in a very hot pan. Pan-fry the fish until slightly brown and turn over the other side. Remove from pan and set aside. With the roasted eggplant, wrap the fish tightly and tuck the end with toothpick at the end of one side. Bake for 5 – 10 minutes more to enhance flavor. Pan roast slices of carrots and bell peppers to garnish.

Egg Surprize

Egg Surprize

Ingredients:
Oil for deep frying
1 kilo ground pork
1 onion (finely chopped)
Coriander (finely chopped)
Salt & pepper to taste
6 boiled eggs
2 slightly beaten eggs
Bread crumbs

How to:

Season ground pork with onion, coriander, salt & pepper. Place a plastic cling wrap on a flat board. Form a ball of the seasoned ground meat on top of the plastic wrap. Place another plastic cling wrap above the meat and flatten the meat with the palm of your hand. Do this by pressing it slowly until flat forms a round flat meat. (as shown in the picture) Remove the plastic on top and place the egg at the center of the meat. Form the meat into an egg wrapping the egg. (Shown in the picture) Remove the plastic at the bottom or the meat. You now got an egg wrapped with the seasoned meat. Dip into beaten egg and then roll into the bread crumbs for coating. Do this procedure twice (coating) to achieve a firmer coating by dipping the egg formed meat again into the egg and roll again into the bread crumbs. Deep fry until golden brown. You’ll get a crispy crust with tender meat and a soft egg inside.. lots of texture lots of flavor. That is a real egg surprise! Good for outdoor picnic.

Stuffed Pork Rolls

Stuffed Pork Rolls

Ingredients:

Oil for frying

slices of lean pork

Salt & Pepper

Finely chopped parsley

How to:

Flatten slices of pork with a meat tenderizer. Season with salt & pepper and sprinkle finely chopped parsley. Roll the piece of meat and tuck with toothpick. Set aside. In a nice and hot flat pan, pan fry the stuffed rolls of meat setting the sealed side down. (Toothpick removed) When slightly brown, turn the meat over slowly until done. Remove from pan and bake for 10 minutes more at 190 degrees F. This allows the meat at the inner core to be cooked. Remove from oven. Slice and serve with mashed potatoes. Garnish with a tomato rose.

Stuffed Chicken Breast

Stuffed Chicken Breast

Ingredients :
2 Pcs. Chicken Breast (deboned)
6 Tbsp. olive oil
2 pcs. white onion
4 cloves garlic
1/4 Cup All Purpose cream
4 Tbsp. white wine
2 Tbs. onion-tomato sauce
1/4 Cup chicken stock
1 lemon
salt & pepper to taste

Procedure:

Slice a slit into chicken breast, just enough to form a pocket, do not split into two and set aside. Crush garlic and sprinkle with salt. Insert the garlic into the pocket of the chicken breast, season with salt and pepper and rub the rest around the meat. Add onion-tomato sauce into the pocket. Close the pocket with the edges of the meat and rest the sealed down. Heat olive oil in a sauce pan and add gently the stuffed chicken breast with sealed side down. Fry for 3 minutes or until golden brown and turn over until brown completely on both sides. Remove from pan and set aside. With the remaining oil in the pan, add onion and sautee until soft but not brown. Add white wine and juice of lemon. Simmer for 1 minute and add cream. Simmer for another minute and remove from heat. Add the creamy mixture to the fried stuffed chicken breast and serve immediately. This could be served with potato or rice. Enjoy!

Arroz Branco

Arroz Branco

A good alternative to the conventional plain boiled rice..Different aroma, different texture, and slightly different taste. jst give it a bit of twist than usual! Smells great!

Ingredients:
2 Cups Rice
2 Cups Water
1 Pc. white onion (finely chopped)
3 Tbsp. Olive Oil
2 bay leaves
Salt

Procedure :
With a medium fire, heat olive oil in a deep pan, add onion until soft but not brown, add bayleaves, stir-fry for a minute. Add rice and stir vigorously until the flavours are blended well with the rice. Add water and season with salt. Simmer for 15 minutes stirring occationally until the rice is done. Serve with favorite side dish... This gives a different smell and texture of the usual boiled rice.

Fried Potatoe cubes

Fried Potato cubes

Ingredients:
4 Tbsp. oil
4 large potatoes
2 tsp. ginger powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
a dash of cinnamon powder
2 tsp. cornstarch

How to:

Slice potatoes into small cubes set aside. Heat oil in a pan, add potatoes and fry until done. When the sides begin to turn slightly brown, add ginger powder, garlic powder, cinnamon powder, salt and pepper. Toss all together and sprinkle cornstarch. Continue cooking 1 minute more until golden brown. Serve while still hot.

Mash potatoes or grilled potatoes could be boring if used as side dish frequently. I tried other ways of cooking potatoes.

Crispy Pork coated with couscous

Crispy Pork

4 Tbsp. Olive oil
2 thin slices of lean pork

½ Cup Couscous

Ground black & white pepper

Salt

How to :

Season pork with ground pepper (rubbing each side to distribute the flavor) add salt and set aside. Coat the pork with couscous and deep fry.

Fish Cake

Fish Cake

Cooking oil for frying
2 Fish Fillets (medium size)
4 potatoes (medium size)
2 Cups water
½ Cup flour
½ Cup Milk
1 egg (slightly beaten)
salt & pepper

How to:

Peel potatoes and bring to boil with water until tender. While the cooking the potatoes, in another saucepan put the fish and milk, bring to boil with low fire, season with salt to taste, continue cooking until fish is well done. When the potatoes are done, drain them and mash with potato masher or fork while still hot. Drain fish and mash in with potatoes until fish is flaky but not so fine. Season with salt and pepper, (more peppers tastes good and smells good as well). Shape this mixture into round or squares using the hands and set aside. In separate plates, place slightly beaten egg and in another plate place flour for coating (as shown in the photo)

Heat oil in a shallow pan. Dip each shaped potato mixture into each plate with egg first, then flour and fry until golden brown. Remember that the mixture is already cooked, no need to fry too long. Serve immediately.

This recipe is quite messy but its worth it! To enhance your coating with whatever you fry with coating, add breadcrumbs, salt & pepper to the flour. It adds flavor and smells great too. With this recipe, you can use leftover of fish instead of fresh fillet and use the same procedure. Could be a good treat too! And for those who doesn’t like fish very much, this is a good alternative way of cooking… It doesn’t tastes so fishy as it is well blended with the potato. I saw the method of cooking on a TV show but the cook used green peas and potato and mint jelly, which I honestly haven’t encountered yet. It was a bit complicated but it looks nice because the color inside is green and yellow on the outside. But I can’t get fresh green peas here, so I made something similar with different ingredients, but less complicated. Here it is!!!!

Inon - Onan

Inon-unang Isda

Ingredients:

6 pcs. Fish (any kind of fish will do, less bony the better)

½ Cup oil

¼ Cup lemon juice

2 Tbsp. Oyster sauce

2 Tbsp. white wine vinegar

1 onion

3 cloves garlic

bay leaves
salt to taste

How to:

Clean fishes, free of gills and intestines, season with salt, set aside. In a sauce pan, arrange bay leaves at the bottom, add onion and garlic. Add fish by arranging them on top of the spices, add oil, lemon juice and white wine vinegar. Bring to boil and continue cooking with low-medium fire for 20 minutes, add oyster sauce and continue cooking for 5 minutes more. Serve with garlic rice or plain rice. Tip : Avoid using water to keep the flesh of the fish firm and full of flavor. You may be tempted to add water if you wish but do it after the fish is done.

This kind of inon-onan smells less fishy than the traditional inon-onan cooked with vinegar & spices. I lessened the amount of vinegar and used a lot more of lemon juice, so to improve the aroma. The sauce is thicker than usual and its one of my favorite fish preparations.

Mortadella Pizza

Mortadella Pizza

Ingredients:
Pizza crust
Toppings
Tomato sauce

Toppings:
Mortadella (sliced in small and thin triangles)
Black seedless olives (sliced)
Button Mushrooms (sliced thinly)
1 white onion (sliced into cubes)
1 red bell pepper (sliced in small and thin triangles)
1 cup Mozzarella or flamingo cheese (grated)

Tomato sauce:
1 white onion (finely chopped)
4 Fresh tomatoes (diced)
Herbs (thyme and basil)
6 T. tomato sauce
1 T. tomato paste
½ cup water
3 T. olive oil

To prepare sauce:

In a hot pan, add oil and soften onion. Add herbs, stirring occasionally, add fresh tomatoes, tomato sauce and paste. Add water and simmer for about 5 minutes or until water has evaporated and sauce becomes thick.

Pizza crust:

1 tsp. active dry yeast

1/2 tsp. of sugar

2/3 cup warm water

250 g. plain flour

1/2 tsp. salt

4 Tablespoons olive oil

To prepare crust

1. Preheat oven to 190 degrees C (375 degrees F or gas mark 5).

2. In a small bowl, place yeast, sugar and water and mix to dissolve. Set aside in a warm place for 5 minutes or until mixture is foamy.

3. Place flour and salt in mixing bowl and combine. Slowly pour in yeast mixture and oil and process to make a rough dough. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5 minutes or until soft and shiny. Add more flour if necessary. Flatten the dough using a rolling pin and form a flat circle and place on a greased baking tray. For thin crust, divide the dough into two and make to crusts. Let the dough rest for 15-20 minutes

4. Bake for 5 – 10 minutes until crust becomes light brown.To prepare pizza:Spread half of the grated cheese over the crust, then spread the tomato sauce over the cheese, add the rest of the toppings spreading the remaining cheese lastly. Bake for 5-10 minutes or until crust becomes golden brown and cheese is melted.