6 medium potatoes
1/2 cup (125 ml) hot milk
1 cup (250 ml) cheddar cheese, grated
1/2 cup (125 ml) yogurt, low-fat, plain
1 tsp (5 ml) salt divided
1/2 tsp (2 ml) pepper, divided
1 tbsp (15 ml) butter or margarine
2 onions, chopped
2 celery stalks, sliced thinly
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup (50 ml) flour
2 cups (500 ml) low fat milk
1 tsp (5 ml) basil
1 tsp (5 ml) lemon juice
2 cups (500 ml) cooked, cubed chicken or turkey
1 cup (250 ml) sliced cooked carrot
1 cup (250 ml) fresh or frozen peas
1 cup (250 ml) corn, frozen or canned
Method
Peel potatoes and cut into 2-inch (5 cm) pieces. Cover and cook in boiling lightly salted water (3/4 inch or 2 cm depth) for 15-20 minutes until fork tender. Drain, then mash potatoes, stir in hot milk, grated cheese, yogurt, and half the salt and pepper.
In ovenproof skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Cook onion, celery and garlic 6 minutes. Sprinkle with flour and stir. Gradually add milk, stirring constantly. Cook several minutes until thickened. Stir in remaining salt and pepper, basil, lemon juice, chicken, carrots, peas and corn. Reduce heat and let simmer for 5 minutes or until heated through, stirring occasionally. Spread potatoes on top and bake at 200ºC (400°F) for 10 minutes.
Olive Oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 cup short-grain rice
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Diced pumpkin
Directions
Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.
Add the onion and cook until tender
Add the garlic and rice and saute for about 1 minute.
Add 1 cup of warm chicken broth, the salt and pepper
Cook, stirring often until the liquid is almost all absorbed
Add the pumpkin
Continue stirring and adding stock one cup at a time until the stock is all absorbed and the rice is tender
Serve immediately.
Boneless skinless chicken breast
Italian breadcrmbs
1 beaten egg
Grated Parmesan Cheese
Fresh mozzarella
Tomato sauce
Salt & Pepper
Method
Preheat oven 425F
Mix parmesan cheese + breadcrumbs + salt + pepper
Season both sides of chicken with salt and pepper
Dip seasoned chicken to beaten egg, then to the breadcrumbs
Place onto baking tray
Place in oven and bake chicken for about 8 mins on each side
Pour tomato sauce on each chicken cutlet and top up with mozzarella cheese and place in oven for about 10 mins until the cheese has melted
Serve with spaghetti
1 recipe pie dough (see Pâte Brisée recipe)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium shallots, thinly sliced
1 pound assorted mushrooms, quartered or sliced
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
3 large eggs
Pinch nutmeg
6 ounces Gruyère cheese, grated (1 1/2 cups)
Method
On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a 12-inch circle. Fit into a 10-by-1 1/2-inch round tart pan (with or without a removable bottom), pressing dough into corners. Transfer to freezer to chill for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350°. Line pastry with parchment paper, wax paper, or aluminum foil, pressing into the corners and edges. Fill at least two-thirds with baking weights - dried beans, rice, or aluminum pie weights. Bake first for 15 minutes, remove from oven and let cool a few minutes. Carefully remove parchment paper and weights. Poke the bottom of the pie pan with the tongs of a fork and return to oven and bake an additional 10 minutes or until lightly golden. (Fork holes are for any air to escape.) Transfer to a wire rack to cool while making filling.
Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add shallots, and cook, stirring, until translucent but not brown, about 1 minute. Add mushrooms, and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until mushrooms first release their liquid and then liquid evaporates and mushrooms are dark golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes.
Place tart pan on a baking sheet to catch any run-off there might be (especially if you are using a pan with a removable bottom.) Sprinkle half the cheese evenly over the bottom of the crust. Spread mushrooms over the cheese and then top with remaining cheese. In a medium bowl, whisk together milk, cream, and eggs. Season with nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Pour over cheese. Transfer to oven, and bake until just set in the center, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes before slicing.
Peel and quarter potatoes, boil in salted water until tender (about 20 minutes).
While the potatoes are cooking, melt 4 Tablespoons butter (1/2 a stick) in large frying pan.
Sauté onions in butter until tender over medium heat (10 mins). If you are adding vegetables, add them according to cooking time. Put any carrots in with the onions. Add corn or peas either at the end of the cooking of the onions, or after the meat has initially cooked.
Add ground beef and sauté until no longer pink. Add salt and pepper. Add worcesterchire sauce. Add half a cup of beef broth and cook, uncovered, over low heat for 10 minutes, adding more beef broth as necessary to keep moist.
Mash potatoes in bowl with remainder of butter, season to taste.
Place beef and onions in baking dish. Distribute mashed potatoes on top. Rough up with a fork so that there are peaks that will brown nicely. You can use the fork to make some designs in the potatoes as well.
Cook in 400 degree oven until bubbling and brown (about 30 minutes). Broil for last few minutes if necessary to brown.
2 whole chicken breasts, split
coarse salt
freshly ground pepper
1/4 tsp thyme
1 bay leaf
1/2 onion, peeled
1 sprig parsely
1 egg, beaten
bread crumbs
oil for frying
Bechamel sauce:
5 tbsps butter
6 tbsps flour
3/4 cup milk
salt
freshly ground pepper
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
Method
Remove the small rib bones from the chicken, leaving the large breast bone intact.
Cook the breasts in water to cover with the salt, pepper, thyme, bay leaf, onion, and parsley. Add also the bones that have been removed. Cook about 15 minutes - do not overcook.
Remove the chicken and continue cooking the broth another 30 minutes. Reserve 3/4 cup of the broth for the bechamel sauce. cool, then chill the chicken.
To make the bechamel sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan, add the flour, and cook a minute or so. Stir in the reserved broth, the milk, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Cook until the sauce is thickened and smooth. cool, stirring occasionally.
Dip the cold chicken pieces in the bechamel sauce, coating them completely on all sides.
Place the breasts on a plate and refrigerate until the sauce hardens, at least 1 hour.
Dip the breasts in the beaten egg, then into bread crumbs to coat. Fry immediately in hot oil, at least 1″ deep, until the chicken is golden on all sides. drain.
The trick lies in chilling the bechamel so that during frying it clings to the chicken.
1 (16 ounce) package dried penne pasta
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cubed
1/2 cup frozen peas
1 bunch cilantro
3 sprigs fresh dill weed, chopped
1 (6 ounce) can Italian-flavored tomato paste
1/2 cup water
salt and pepper to taste
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil, cook the penne pasta 10 to 12 minutes, until al dente, and drain.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat, and saute the onion, green bell pepper, and garlic until tender. Stir in the chicken, and cook until almost done. Mix in the peas, cilantro, dill, tomato paste, and enough water to make a thick sauce. Continue to cook and stir until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear, and all the ingredients are heated through. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
To prepare the bechamel sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Dissolve the chicken bouillon cube in the melted butter. Stirring constantly, blend in the flour until smooth. Mix in the milk, season with pepper, and continue to cook and stir until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
In a bowl, mix the cooked pasta with 1/2 the bechamel sauce. Place 1/2 the pasta in a baking dish, layer with 1/2 the chicken mixture, and 1/2 the mozzarella cheese. Layer with the remaining pasta, remaining chicken mixture, and remaining bechamel sauce. Top with remaining mozzarella cheese.
Bake 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until bubbly.
1200 grams whole fish (whiteflesh)
2-4 tablespoons cornstarch
4 tablespoons curry powder
1 medium onion finely chopped
450 grams can of finely crushed tomatoes
1 tablespoon thyme finely chopped
2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves
1 teaspoon crushed garlic
1 teaspoon crushed ginger
5-6 curry leaves
3 cups water
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
oil to deep fry fish
salt and pepper to taste
Method
Buy fish whole and scaled. Cut into slices (serve sizes), clean fish, remove gills, intestines etc. You may separate the fish head into halves lengthwise. Wash in cold running water, pat dry with kitchen towel paper. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle fish slices with the corn flour to ensure an even coating. Put the fish head pieces aside. Alternatively, toss the fish pieces in a large plastic bag with the corn flour. The corn flour will give the fish a crisp golden texture when fried.
Deep fry the fish slices to a crisp golden finish. Do not fry the fish head pieces. Drain the fried fish slices on kitchen paper. Retain 3 tablespoons of the vegetable oil. Put in a deep thick bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in the crushed garlic, crushed ginger, finely chopped onion and thyme. Stir fry until the onions become transparent and cooked. Add the curry leaves (alternatively use kaffir lime leaves), stir in and cook for 2 minutes. Put in the finely crushed tomatoes and simmer until the tomatoes are cooked and the sauce is well blended. Add hot water to the sauce to prevent burning if necessary. Stir at intervals. When the sauce is nearly cooked, stir in 1 tablespoon of the finely chopped coriander leaves.
Add 4 tablespoons of curry powder into the tomato sauce. Stir in and simmer for a further 2-3 minutes. Progressively add 1 cup of hot water and allow to simmer to obtain a creamy curry sauce. Add the raw fish head pieces and gently stir into the curry sauce. Progressively, add 2 cups of hot water into the sauce and mix carefully. Cover and allow to simmer for 20-25 minutes or until the fish head pieces are cooked. Stir at intervals and turn over the fish head pieces once. You may adjust the sauce consistency to your preference by either adding more hot water (little at a time) to have more sauce or simmer without cover to thicken the sauce.
Taste sauce and season with salt & pepper to your preference. Carefully remove the fish head pieces and place in a warmed serving dish. Carefully put into the sauce the fried fish slices. Stir gently into the sauce and allow to simmer for a further 10-15 minutes. Make sure that the fish slices are fully immersed into the sauce.
Remove from heat and allow the fish slices to rest in the sauce for at least 30 minutes. Warm over low heat just before serving. Carefully transfer the fish slices and sauce into the serving dish with the fish head pieces. Sprinkle with the remaining chopped coriander leaves.
4 medium green (or white) chokoes 3 egg yolks 2 tablespoons flour 2 cups milk 2 tablespoons butter 3 tablespoons chopped parsley 1/2 teaspoon salt salt and pepper to taste Optional: Replace chokoes with cauliflower.
Method
Peel and cut chokoes into 3 cm pieces.
Boil in enough water with half teaspoon salt, to cover choko pieces until tender, but not soft.
Remove from pan, strain and place in deep serving dish. Allow to cool.
Melt butter in a sauce pan and add flour. Mix well and cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat.
Add milk gradually to the flour and butter mix.
Blend gradually. Bring back to boil stirring constantly.
Simmer for 2-3 minutes.
Beat egg yolks in a bowl. Beat in a few tablespoons of hot sauce. Return to remaining sauce. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Pour over choko pieces. Sprinkle with chopped parsley.
For cooking fish prior to serving with bechamel sauce:
650grams white flesh fish (whole) 1/2 cup white wine bouquet garni (thyme, parsley & coriander leaves) 5 cups water 1 medium onion minced 2 slices lemon salt and pepper to taste
For the bechamel sauce, you may adjust ingredients to suit the quantity of sauce required.
Clean and scale fish while keeping the whole fish in one piece. Take care while cooking to ensure that the fish is not overcooked.
Bechamel sauce for serving cooked fish with:
4 tablespoons butter 6 tablespoons plain white flour 2 cups milk 2 bay leaves freshly grated nutmeg salt and pepper to taste 2 parsley sprigs for decoration
Method
Place the fish in a large and deep saucepan with all the ingredients listed for cooking the fish. Bring to the boil over medium high heat. Make sure there is enough water to keep the fish immersed at all times.
Allow the fish to simmer until it is cooked to your preference. Make sure that the fish is not overcooked. Check at regular intervals until fish is just cooked without breaking into pieces.
Carefully remove the fish in one piece and transfer to a serving dish. The bechamel sauce will be poured onto the fish. Melt the butter for the bechamel in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and cook until just golden, stirring constantly to ensure a smooth blend.
Pour in half the milk, stirring vigorously until smooth, then stir in the remaining milk. Add the bay leaves. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste. Reduce heat to medium low, cover and simmer gently for about 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Make sure that the sauce consistency is neither too thick nor too liquid.
Pour on top of the cooked fish in the serving plate and serve immediately. Decorate with the parsley sprigs. Serve with salad and freshly cooked bread. Ideal as an appetiser before the main course.
