Saturday, November 16, 2013

Irish Stew

The second one in the stews. soup series from the weekend. Not exactly what purists would call an Irish stew, but inspired from it.


Ingredients (Serves 3):


  • Mutton- 200 gm (I actually was buying mutton for a kebab recipe, when I chanced upon the idea to do a stew with the bony parts. So dressed the meat away from the bone for kekab's and used the remainder for the stew)
  • Carrot- 1 large, diced
  • Potato- 1 large, diced
  • Raddish- 150 gm
  • Onions- 1 large, chopped
  • Garlic- 4 large cloves, chopped
  • Pepper- 2 tsp 
  • Parsley- 1 handful, chopped
  • Salt- To Taste



Preparation ( 1.5 hrs):

Cut mutton into small pieces. For the bony pieces, leave a little meat around the bones while dressing. In a large sauce pan, add  mutton, potatoes, onions, pepper, garlic and salt. Boil on high for 1 hr.











Add in raddish and chopped carrots. You could use turnips (didn't get them at the supermarket, hence used raddish). Simmer on medium heat for 1/2 hour. Throw in parsley for flavour and your stew is ready to serve.





Pumpkin and Mushroom Stew


Tis' the season for warm stews and soups. This post and the next one are stews done over the weekend. As usual, my recipes are not for purists, but just everyday take on good food inspired by eating out, reading or just a flight of fantasy. Don't follow strict recipes, but cook with what's at hand, trying to recreate flavours with what I have, can be done easily, is cost-effective. This one was inspired by a lovely Pumpkin Soup with Truffle Oil from the al Nahda Resort last month. Unable to locate truffle oil in Muscat, I substituted with sesame oil. Not a bad outcome, I would say.


Ingredients (Serves 1):

  • Pumpkin- 150 gm, diced
  • Mushrooms- 4 large, chopped
  • White Onion- 1/4 chopped
  • Pepper- 1 tsp
  • Salt- to taste
  • Sesame Oil- 1 tsp
Preparation (25 mins):
Microwave chopped pumpkin, white onions in 3cups of water at a high setting for 10  mins. Add pepper, salt, chopped mushrooms. Microwave for 5 mins on high. Add in sesame oil and microwave for a further 5 mins.
Serve hot with bread rolls. If you want you could add a dollop of butter for taste. (Was so hungry that I started eating before I realized I had to take a pic of the finished stew. :) )



Sunday, November 10, 2013

Veggie Bake

Quick dinner recipe for the nights you really don't feel like something heavy.


Ingredients (Serves 2):
  • Eggplant- 3 small, tender, thinly sliced
  • Zucchini- 4 small, thinly sliced
  • Pumpkin- 100 gm, thinly sliced
  • Mushrooms- 6 button mushrooms, sliced
  • Olive oil- 2 tbsp
  • Basil- 1 tsp
  • Black pepper- 1/2 tsp, coarsely crushed
  • Oregano- 1 tsp
  • Salt- to taste

Preparation ( 1 hr 10 mins):

Layer veggies in a baking dish starting with eggplants on bottom, followed by zucchini, pumpkin and mushrooms. Sprinkle salt, basil, oregano, pepper and olive oil. Wrap dish in foil. Pop into pre-heated oven at 135 C for 1 hr.














 







 Serve hot.
 

Tips:

  •  If you want to make it a bit more savory you could crumble in a little Roquefort into the mix.





Sunday, November 03, 2013

Baked Potato with Cream of Anchovies

Quick one when you really don't feel like cooking. Just want some comfort food to curl up on the sofa.

Ingredients (Serves 1):
  •  Potato- 1 medium sized baked
  • Anchovies in oil- 50 gms
  • Cream Cheese- 100 gm
  • Parsley, Cilantro, Black pepper for a twist.
  • Salt to taste
Preparation (35 mins):

Wrap potato in foil bake at 180 C for 25 mins. Mash, keep aside. Shred anchovies, fold in cheese, microwave at  180 C for 5 mins. Mix anchovy sauce thoroughly, add onto potatos. Add a twist of parsley/ cilantro, black pepper. Add salt. Turn around. And you are ready to go.

Tips:
  • You could also add in mushrooms to the sauce. Forgot to buy them myself.