From the category archives:

dinner

Za’atar and Feta Pizza

August 23, 2009

A few weeks ago I discovered a new local restaurant with a wood fired oven. With the quality of ingredients on the pizza and the smoky flavour from the oven, I was sold. Since then, I’ve been having sporadic bouts of pizza craving.

When I’m low on supplies, I just stand in front of my refrigerator and stare at it, hoping something materialises. This time around I gaped until my mind paired the tub of feta with the za’atar. Perfect! I’d mix the za’atar with some extra virgin olive oil until it is spreadable then brush it on some pizza dough (oh, the craving!) top it off with some crumbled feta. Why didn’t I so this sooner?! I used the whole wheat pizza dough recipe I got off Oprah’s website and made two thin crust pizzas. After taking a bite from the first one, I realised it needed a kick, so I added some chopped jalapenos to the next one I made and finally achieved the flavour I was looking for.

Za’atar and Feta Pizza
Yield: 2 thin crust pizzas

Pizza dough (your favoruite recipe)
Cornmeal for sprinkling
4 tbsp za’atar
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
8-10 pickled jalapenos (depending on how spicy you like your pizza)
200g/ about 8 oz. feta cheese, crumbled

Roll out the pizza dough thinner than you’d like your pizza crust, because the bread’s going to rise.
Transfer the dough to the baking stone or a thick baking sheet sprinkled with cornmeal.
In a small bowl, mix together the olive oil and za’atar. Add enough olive oil until you get a spreadable mixture (since sometimes the za’atar contain roasted wheat which tends to absorb the oil).
Generously brush the rolled out pizza dough with the za’atar mixture.
Dot the pizza with crumbled feta.
Bake for 8-10 minutes in a preheated oven set at 250°C/500°F or as high as your oven can go (if it’s higher make sure to watch the pizza closely because it’ll be done in no time!)
Slice it and serve.

{ 29 comments }

Zucchini and Goats Cheese Pizza

July 24, 2009

Just when I was making the garlicky twists, I realised that I didn’t really want to make those twists that end up being just plain dough at the edges. You know how the bread near the corner always turns out to have much lesser seasoning, herbs and cheese? You feel like you have to eat it with a straight face and pretend to enjoy it as much as the flavourful herb one? I’m sure you’re nodding along right now. Instead, I thought I’d just cut off the dough at the ends and use it up where it shines through instead of being a ho-hum twisty.

What I did was put together the dough that was leftover from the sides while I was making those incredible garlicky twist to make a zucchini and goat’s cheese pizza! I had seen this pizza on Smitten Kitchen when it was posted and when I was left with the scraps of dough, it so happened that I had some zucchini and goat’s cheese waiting for me in the fridge. And to top that I had some fresh basil that I’d grown a few months ago, now in full bloom (much thanks to Deeba, who sent me the seeds all the way from Gurgaon! =))

Fresh basil

The pizza was so delicious. The herb filled dough and the fresh slivered basil made the cut for me. I can’t tell you how packed with flavour fresh herbs right from the pot can be. Had it not been for such happy coincidences I wouldn’t have made this pizza. But you shouldn’t wait for coincidences to get you to make this. Go on, make it and thank me later.

Zucchini and Goat’s Cheese Pizza
Adapted from: Smitten Kitchen
Yield: 1 10 inch pizza

10oz / 300g pizza dough (add in your favourite herbs for a flavourful pizza crust)
4 oz / 113g goat cheese, at room temperature
Few leaves of fresh basil, cut into thin slivers
1/2 medium yellow zucchini, sliced thinly
1/2 medium green zucchini, sliced thinly as well
Drizzle of olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 450F/230C degrees. Roll your pizza dough into a thin 10 inch circle and lay it on a tray or stone that has been dusted lightly with cornmeal.
With an offset spatula (more use than just icing cakes!) spread the cheese on the pizza dough. Sprinkle over salt and freshly ground pepper and scatter the fresh basil slivers over the cheese.
Arrange the zucchini coins in concentric circles over the goat cheese spread, overlapping them (alternate their colors to make it look pretty!) Drizzle with olive oil and finish with more salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Bake in preheated oven for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the edges of your pizza are golden brown and the zucchini looks roasted and a little curled up at the edges.
Transfer to plate, slice it up and share if you can.

{ 33 comments }

Six Cheese Mac and Cheese

June 15, 2009

Six cheese macaroni does sound over the top. But you’d do this too if getting your hands on some good cheese was as big an event for you as it was for me. This past week, I stumbled upon a variety of cheeses at my local supermarket. A dull day suddenly became a lot more exciting as I kept throwing in slab after slab of cheese into my cart. Soon enough I began thinking of all the ways I’d use my cheese. Cheddar biscuits had been on my mind so I got down to making them first. A good mac and cheese was on my list next.

Of course I didn’t start with six cheeses in my mind. When I began thinking about how I’d make my mac and cheese, a three cheese pasta was where my heart was first. But as I put together all my cheese on the table, I realised I could be a wee bit dramatic and instead make a six cheese mac. Just thinking about this, made me a happy, happy girl. I made a sauce that would combine my favourite cheeses and be tossed with some rigatoni and baked until golden with a sage, breadcrumb parmesan crust.

Six Cheese Mac and Cheese
Serves 4 hungry people

Pasta:
250g dried pasta (elbow macaroni/penne/rigatoni)
Salt
Water

Cheese sauce:
3 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp chilli flakes/red chilli powder
2 tbsp all purpose flour
2 cups/500ml Cups milk
1oz/25g Blue cheese (you could use more, I ran out of it)
10z/50g Goat’s cheese (mine had added herbs)
2oz./50g Smoked gouda
2oz./50g Colby cheddar
20z./50g Sharp cheddar
Salt and pepper to taste

Sage, toasted breadcrumb and parmesan crust:
2 oz./50g Parmesan
½ cup Bread crumbs, lightly toasted for 1-2 minutes.(sometimes, I add 1 tbsp butter)
5-6 sage leaves, chopped (you can sub it with your fave herb as well)

In a large pot, boil the pasta till just about done or al dente. Drain. Set aside.
In a saucepan heat the 2 tbsp of the oil and then saute the onions for 3 minutes. Add the garlic. Continue to saute until the onions are translucent, 2 more minutes.
Add in the remaining 1 tbsp of olive oil and add in the flour and stir till all the oil has been absorbed.
Whisk in the milk, a little at a time, until all the milk has been incorporated and the sauce is thick enough to coat a spoon. Stir frequently for about 5 minutes.
Stir in the cheeses until uniformly blended.
Toss the pasta in the cheese sauce and add salt and pepper as desired.
Toss the parmesan, sage and breadcrumb together for the crust topping.
Transfer this to a buttered5″x3″ glass baking dish or a gratin dish and top it with the bread crumb mixture.
Bake it in a preheated oven at 375F/190C for 30 minutes or until topping is golden brown in colour.
Let it sit for 5 minutes before serving.

{ 23 comments }

Parmesan Risotto with Pine Nuts

May 23, 2009

Parmesan risotto with zucchini and broccoli

I ~~like~~ love a good risotto – rich and creamy with the characteristic bite of arborio rice. It so wonderfully comforting to sit with a bowl of risotto and it’s even more fun when you’re not thinking *carbs*carbs*carbs* in your head.. I’d been craving for risotto for a while but wasn’t quite willing to toil over a hot stove in this weather we have here. Instead I went for lunch to my favorite place here. I loved their risotto with pine nut, broccoli and zucchini so much that I felt compelled to replicate it. So I was back at the stove, anyway.

Give this a go, I totally loved how this turned out!

Parmesan Risotto with Pine Nuts
Yield: 3-4 servings

2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion
3-4 cloves garlic
1 1/4th cup/250g arborio rice
1 quart/1 litre chicken or vegetable stock
4 tbsp butter
1/4th cup/50 ml heavy cream (optional)
Few sprigs of your favourite herb.
1/2 cup/40-50g parmesan cheese, freshly grated
2 tbsp pine nuts, toasted

parmesan, zucchini, broccoli and pine nuts

Let the chicken stock simmer on a low heat right next to the skillet that is being used to make the risotto. Keeping the stock hot will reduce cooking time.
In a large, heavy skillet, saute the onions in the olive on a medium heat until soft and translucent; about 3 minutes. Add in the minced garlic and continue to cook for another 2 minutes.
Add the rice and stir till it is nicely coated with the olive oil, another 5 minutes. Keep stirring, making sure the rice doesn’t stick to the pan.
Pour in a ladleful of the stock and stir until it has been absorbed by the rice. Then add another ladelful or two. Continue adding the stock as the rice has taken it all up. Also, keep stirring. Use up all, but a ladeful of the stock.
After about 20 minutes of cooking time, check rice for texture – the risotto is ready when the rice is al dente, which means it has a nice bite to it, just like pasta. For me, it was a little over 25 minutes when this texture was achieved.
Also check for seasoning, but do note that the chicken stock as well as the cheese have a lot of salt already, so add salt sparingly, lest you end up with something way to salty.
Now it’s time to add the cheese, butter and/or heavy cream and chopped herbs. I used thyme.
When it looks nicely blended add the vegetables of your choice – I sauted some zucchini in butter briefly and blanched broccoli in the chicken stock before it was used up.
Turn off the heat and the reserved chicken stock. I like the last addition to keep the risotto from looking to thick and stuck together.
Serve immediately and dot with pine nuts.

Other good things to add to the risotto:
• Try hazelnuts or spiced walnuts instead of the pine nuts.
• Blanched or grilled asparagus, with extra parmesan shavings on the rice.
• Mushrooms with strips of grilled chicken

As much as I’d wish, the risotto does not keep too well and has to be consumed right off the stove. Since it continues to absorb the liquid, it will not retain the bite. So just make sure you eat it up right away!

Need something richer? Try the Three Cheese Risotto. Decadence.

{ 12 comments }

Grilled Chicken and Vegetable Pasta

January 20, 2009

I’ve been on a sugar high of late and I’m slowly, but surely realising that this is not a very good thing. Although I keep telling my mum that I will be a more conscious eater once I hit the 25 mark, I know that starting sooner could only hold me in good stead. To move forth in this direction I cooked up some with grilled chicken and vegetable pasta, using very little oil and that too extra virgin olive oil.

Pasta with cream is not the ideal light food, but then I used only a few spoonfuls and lots of vegetables!

Grilled Chicken and Vegetable Pasta

Yield: 4 servings

250g dried durum wheat pasta, boiled according to package instructions
300g tomatoes
A few sun dried tomatoes, chopped up
250g, baby aubergines, sliced
A splash of balsamic
300g chicken, boneless
5 tbsp cream (3 for marinating the chicken and 2 for the pasta)
1 onion, chopped coarsely
3 tbsp parsley, chopped
Extra virgin olive oil, a little at a time as required
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
Parmesan shavings, more for the table

For the chicken:

Poke the chicken with a fork, rub it with sea salt and then add 3 tbsp cream. Let it sit for an hour on the counter top or in the fridge overnight.
Next, heat the pan or a ridged grill pan if you have one (not necessary, but I *love* the beautiful lines that appear) and add a little oil. Place the chicken in the pan. Do not keep turning – let it cook through for a few minutes.This keeps the chicken moist and will help achieve uniform, distinct lines when using a grill pan. Let it cook for a few more minutes, until it’s not pink anymore.
Remove from heat, and then slice the chicken into bite sized pieces or strips. Reserve for later.

For the vegetables:
Tomato: Peel (you have an aversion for skins like me) and deseed the the tomatoes and grill them until slightly tender, but still hold shape.

Aubergine: Wash the sliced aubergine with salt – I think I do this because gramma said it helps get rid of the bitter flavour that exists sometime. In a grill pan, heat a little oil and spread the sliced aubergine to cook. Sprinkle with sea salt and pepper and a splash of balsamic vinegar.
Once both are done, reserve for later.

Finally, for putting it all together:

In a large pan or Dutch oven, heat 2 tbsp oil and add the chopped onion. Let it cook till it’s translucent.
Add the reserved chicken and vegetables and the pasta and toss everything together.
Sprinkle the chopped parsley. Season to taste. And serve with Parmesan shavings!

And that’s how you get yourself a healthy meal! My lil’ sis polished off her plate of pasta although she’s not an aubergine fan.

{ 25 comments }

← Previous Entries

Next Entries →