Chinese New Year Recipe – Bak Kwa
It’s Chinese New Year , I’m in Singapore and there’s so much information to take in about the uses and traditions of this special day. To avoid any faux pas, I kept it simple and decided to make at home one of the best known delicacies in Singapore and Malaysia. Bak Kwa (Chinese barbecued pork jerky) is often given as a present for CNY, and it is usually bought at one of the various stores that are famous for having a long tradition or an old family recipe for it. But as we all know, the best present to give is time, and I love spending time in cooking or baking something special for friends, so I followed this recipe from The Burning Kitchen and it was absolutely spot on! Continue reading “Chinese New Year Recipe – Bak Kwa”
Fish al Cartoccio
Chinese New Year is approaching and you can definitely feel a seafood fever in the air when you go to the local wet markets in Singapore. Far from boasting any authority on the matter – I’ll leave this to the Chinese household of Blender&Basil – I’ll limit myself to show you how I cook fish, which is a rather common method used in Italy. The method is called al cartoccio, and it consists of cooking a whole fish (a sea bass, a sea bream, or like in this case, a mackerel) with its own steam inside a parcel made of aluminium foil. Continue reading “Fish al Cartoccio”
Chinese Big Plate Chicken Stew (Dapanji) with Homemade Flat Noodles
A big plate of chicken is a great dish to share for a festive gathering, and for winter, this stew really warms you up! The name, Dapanji, literally means a big plate of chicken, and, as you can probably imagine with a name like that, there are many variations of this recipe. Dapanji is actually a fusion dish between Sichuan and Xinjiang cuisine, so it’s definitely spicy! We’ve made it here with a poussin as we didn’t have that many mouths to feed, but as you can imagine, it’s easy to scale up. Continue reading “Chinese Big Plate Chicken Stew (Dapanji) with Homemade Flat Noodles”
Walnut and Pomegranate Chicken – Fesenjoon
I don’t need to tell you again how much I love Middle Eastern food, and this time I’ve indulged in a festive Persian dish of Moorish origins, often eaten at special occasions such as weddings. Fesenjoon is a stew made with pomegranate molasses and walnuts reduced to a cream. If you don’t fancy chicken, this recipe works perfectly with duck, or you can make a vegetarian version using butternut squash or aubergines. This Persian recipe, taken from the book Saffron Tales, doesn’t really require a lot of work (if you don’t count peeling a pomegranate as work), it just needs patience and time for the walnuts to reduce into a dark, velvety sauce, and then for the chicken to cook in it: the final touch, pomegranate seeds, add a refreshing flavour as well as a touch of glamour to this visually stunning dish. Continue reading “Walnut and Pomegranate Chicken – Fesenjoon”
Aubergine/Eggplant and Beans Stir-Fry (Qiezi Doujiao)
We’re starting January with a simple Chinese veggie recipe, as we’re probably all nursing some headaches and watching the scale. Aubergine and spice also makes a very warming combination, so it’s good for the winter months! The recipe does require oyster sauce, but if you can making a vegetarian version then you can get vegetarian oyster sauce made from mushrooms instead. Continue reading “Aubergine/Eggplant and Beans Stir-Fry (Qiezi Doujiao)”
Classic Italian Lasagna
Before starting the new year’s resolution diets, in Southern Europe there is one more event that closes the winter holidays, corresponding to the arrival of the wise men bearing gifts to the new born baby Jesus, this is known as Epiphany, or the kings (Los Reyes). For the last winter feast with the family, here’s a classic Italian recipe: homemade lasagna al forno. It’s a favourite throughout the holidays, and a homemade staple when it comes to Sunday lunch all year round. We made it for dinner on Christmas Eve and it was a great success, even though, I must admit, it will never be as good as mamma’s. Continue reading “Classic Italian Lasagna”
Old Fashioned Gingerbread
Christmas means plenty of gingerbread – gingerbread men, gingerbread house… I’ve always wanted to make a gingerbread cake, as I like the flavours in there more so than Christmas pudding, and wanted a scrumptious gingerbread-like dessert to wrap up Christmas dinner.
This year, I found the favourite old fashioned gingerbread recipe and decided to adapt it by reducing the sweetness and doubling the spice, and also adding a layer of mascarpone cream icing on top. The result? Delicious! The cream and gingerbread taste worked really well together! Continue reading “Old Fashioned Gingerbread”
(The) Christmas Recipe – Panettone
Christmas is around the corner and I couldn’t avoid to get carried away with a Christmassy baking challenge: this year it’s traditional Italian Panettone. The original recipe for this sweet bread is usually made with sourdough starter or beer yeast and usually has long proving times. Keeping the ingredients as per the original recipe, I decided to use a slightly easier method that only requires dried yeast and overnight chilling so that the proving time is reduced to once only for three hours. The ingredient amounts would have required an 18cm panettone tin, but mine were 15.5cm, so I made two – perfect for a last minute Christmas present! Continue reading “(The) Christmas Recipe – Panettone”
Christmas Recipe: Hazelnut and Beer One Pot Duck and Potatoes
The festive season is all about poultry – turkey mainly, but also duck (if you want an bird that fits more easily in the oven). When we tasted the Cake Boy Hazelnut Ale during our mince pie making masterclass last year, it reminded us of beer braised duck. This time, we wanted to modify the beer and duck combination to make it more of a Christmas recipe, and at the same time, we wanted to make sure that it’s going to be easy to make.
This is more or less a one pot recipe, although you will need to transfer the pot on the hob into the oven. The key flavours are honey and hazelnut, and as we like rosemary a lot, we’ve added quite a lot to this recipe. You can choose to use less. Continue reading “Christmas Recipe: Hazelnut and Beer One Pot Duck and Potatoes”
Polenta Chips Recipe
For the busy time of the year when you will be hosting drinks and dinner parties before everyone leaves for the Christmas holidays, polenta chips is an easy recipe to enjoy with simple dips and other finger foods. Make a pesto dip, a baba ganoush, a veggie mayonnaise, or serve them sprinkled with rosemary and grated pecorino or parmesan cheese, like we did. Polenta is essentially a very nutritious corn flour, so you can rest assured that no one will be left hungry. We baked them in the oven, but for a golden finish fry them in sunflower oil and you’ll have a great result as well. Continue reading “Polenta Chips Recipe”
Blender & Basil 