Beef Lasagne

 

As Mr G was clearing the dishes after dinner, he started whinging about how he's always clearing the dishes. I told him "I've always offered you the chance to cook while I babysit and clean up, but you always say that I'm the cook". Well, I knew he would rather "clean up" than cook anyway, and dare I say that I trust my cooking more? Haha. I have to give him credit for some of his culinary skills. Let's see now... Mr G's forte lies in his famous Hainanese chicken rice. Famous because anyone who is invited to our home for the first time is usually treated to this Singaporean favourite. Oooh...he bakes a good pineapple-glazed Christmas ham, and roast beef too. We'll be looking forward to that soon! And last but not least, he does a pretty good lasagne. I say "pretty good" because the recipe is in his head, and sometimes it can be a little inconsistent. The last lasagne he made had too much béchamel and mozzarella cheese in it. He blamed it on the brand of cheese he used. However, little H loved the cheesiness and sauciness of the lasagne.

 

I decided that I would have a go at making lasagne this time, and I have made it in the past before. The only thing was that I forgot which recipe I used, and it wasn't on my blog either. Basic lasagne recipes are quite similar, with differences in the amount of meat it contains, and whether béchamel sauce is used.  I love mine with the creamy béchamel, and so here's a simple recipe for delicious lasagne that you can try at home.

 

Beef Lasagne

Serves 8

 

Ingredients

 

1 1/2 tbsp olive oil

1 large onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, chopped

120g bacon, diced

600g beef mince

1 large carrot, diced

4 tbsp tomato paste

800g canned diced tomatoes

1 cup red wine

1 bay leaf

2 tsp dried oregano or Italian herbs

2-3 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp sugar

Salt and black pepper

 

250g lasagne sheets

1/2 cup grated parmesan

1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese

 

Béchamel sauce:

80g butter

1/3 cup plain flour

3 cups milk

3/4 cup grated parmesan

Salt and black pepper

 

Method

 

In a large deep pan, heat oil and fry the onions until softened. Add garlic and bacon and fry for 2 minutes. Add the beef mince and break it up with the spatula. Mash it up if you can so that it doesn't form large clumps when cooked.

Next, add the carrot, followed by tomato paste, diced tomatoes, red wine, bay leaf,  herbs, vinegar and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil and simmer, covered, for 2 hours until it's slightly reduced but not runny. Add sugar, salt and black pepper to taste. By then, it should taste rich and aromatic, so you know it's ready. Turn off heat and set aside.

 

Preheat oven to 180C (350F).

 

Prepare béchamel sauce. In a saucepan, melt the butter and then stir in the flour. Continue stirring for 2 minutes until it's cooked. It shouldn't smell of raw flour. Gradually add milk and stir to mix into a paste, until you get a smooth white sauce. Continue stirring for a few minutes until it starts to thicken and coat the back of the spoon. Stir in parmesan and season with salt and pepper. Don't let the sauce get too thick, as it will continue to thicken upon standing. Turn off heat and set aside.

In a large deep rectangular casserole dish, spoon a thin layer of the meat sauce over the bottom. Place a layer of lasagne sheets on top. Ladle some meat sauce over, followed by a layer of béchamel. Repeat layering with the lasagne sheet, meat sauce and béchamel until you reach the top. Finish off by scattering the grated parmesan and mozzarella over the béchamel layer.

 

Cover the dish loosely with aluminium foil, and bake in oven for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking for another 15 minutes until the top of the lasagne browns.  Serve immediately with a side of salad and garlic bread.

 

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Lamb Kofta Kebab

 

In my previous post, I wrote about my first time dining at a Lebanese (or Middle-eastern) restaurant, Al Aseel. I had ordered the "Mixed Plate", comprising an array of dips and a three types of grilled meats on skewers - chicken, lamb and kafta. I wasn't a fan of the chicken as I found it a little dry. The lamb was not bad, but my favourite was the kafta.

 

Kofta generally refers to savoury balls of ground meat (or vegetables, potatoes, lentils etc) mixed with spices, herbs or other ingredients. In Lebanese cuisine, it's called kafta and is usually made with ground beef, allspice, parsley and onions. I decided to make a lamb kofta kebab instead by placing the lamb mince on skewers and then grilling them on the barbecue. You can use either beef, lamb or a combination of both.

You may serve this with some Lebanese bread (or any flatbread), hummus and tahini sauce with tabouli as a salad.  I also made some beef kebabs which is simply taking some good quality beef steaks (I used scotch fillet), cut into chunky cubes and skewered with alternating onions (or use bell peppers). Brush with oil and season with salt and pepper before grilling them on the barbecue. Serve together with the bread, dips and salad.

 

Lamb Kofta Recipe

Ingredients

500g lamb mince
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 tbsp chopped coriander
1 1/2 tbsp chopped parsley
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (or substitute with chilli powder), or more to taste

Vegetable oil for brushing
6 metal skewers

Method

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients (except oil) and mix well using your hands until it becomes pasty and sticks together. Refrigerate for an hour until firm. This makes it easier to skewer the meat without it falling apart.

Take a handful of the mixture and "mould" it onto the metal skewer to form a long sausage-shape. Try to do this in one go and not move the mixture around the skewer too much. Otherwise it might not stick onto the skewer properly. Repeat until you finish the mixture.

Prepare a barbeque grill. Brush some oil over the lamb skewers and place them on the grill. Cook, turning occasionally until it's charred outside. Once cooked, transfer onto a serving plate. Serve immediately with pita bread, dips and tabouli.

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Falafel Wrap

 

Never judge a book (or falafel) by its cover. Before this, I never gave much thought to falafels. They are the round brown balls that look like croquettes or arancini, and are commonly displayed in kebab stalls at the food courts here. I love kebabs, but those falafels just never looked appetizing to me. That was then.

A few weeks ago, a friend decided to introduce me to Lebanese food at Al Aseel, where I ordered the mixed plate, consisting of grilled chicken, lamb and kofta with a variety of dips and tabouli. These were served with some pickles and a side of Lebanese bread. I wasn't a fan of the bright neon-coloured pickles, but everything else was superb. It wasn't until I had almost finished eating that my friend commented how I was not eating it the "proper" way. So, what is the proper way? Well, first you tear off a small triangular piece of bread. With the bread between your fingers, use it to grab some onions and meat, and then scoop up some dip before shoving the whole thing in your mouth. Apparently, the pieces I tore off were too big or the wrong shape, and I wasn't supposed to scoop up the tabouli either, which was supposed to be a salad. Go figure. Well, at least I learnt something new. And my favourite part of the meal? The falafel! Crunch and nutty, it reminded me of Gateaux Piment (a Mauritian snack made with yellow split peas). If I dine there again, I'll remember to order a whole plate of them, as an appetizer of course.

 

Falafel is a traditional and popular street food in the Middle East, and is generally a ball or patty made with chickpeas, fava beans or both, mixed with herbs and spices, then deep-fried until brown and crisp. There are slight variations between the falafels among the different countries. For example, Egyptian falafels are made with fava beans, whereas Lebanese ones are made with both chickpeas and fava beans (please correct me if I'm wrong!). They also vary in terms of the spices and herbs used.

 

The recipe that I've adapted is based on the super-tasty falafel at Al Aseel. Super crunchy and super addictive. Serve them with a tangy tahini sauce, or make your own falafel wrap/roll for a complete meal. So good. I will never look at a falafel the same way again.

 

Click here to continue to the Falafel Wrap recipe.

 

 



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Movida braised beef cheeks in Pedro Ximenez with cauliflower puree

My sister thinks that my posts are long and verbose at times. Well, I don't deny that. I guess I enjoy reliving the gastronomic experience and want to describe every chewable aspect of it. Maybe I should explore how to incorporate sound effects in my posts/photos next time. Crunch! Crackle! Slurp! Ahh....

Now, what would best describe these meltingly tender beef cheeks and that silky smooth cauliflower cream?

OMG....Simply awesome.

Movida Slowly braised beef cheeks in Pedro Ximenez with cauliflower puree
Source: Movida Spanish Culinary Adventures

Ingredients

1.5 kg (3 lb 5 oz) beef cheeks
125 ml (4 fl oz/½ cup) olive oil
3 carrots, roughly chopped
1 garlic bulb, halved
1 brown onion, sliced
500 ml (17 fl oz/2 cups) Pedro Ximenez sherry
500 ml (17 fl oz/2 cups) red wine
3 bay leaves
3 tablespoons thyme leaves
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 head of cauliflower, broken into florets
185 ml (6 fl oz/¾ cup) cream
40g (1 ½ oz) butter

Method

1. Trim the beef cheeks to neaten them up and remove any sinew and silver skin. Season well.

2. Heat half the olive oil in a large heavy-based saucepan over high heat. Brown the beef cheeks for 2 minutes on each side, or until golden, then remove from the pan.

3. Add the remaining olive oil, then add the carrot, garlic and onion and sauté over high heat for 12-15 minutes, or until well browned. Stir in the sherry, wine, bay leaves, thyme, sea salt and 500 ml (17 fl oz/2 cups) water.

4. Reduce the heat as low as possible, add the beef cheeks, then cover and cook for 3-4 hours, or until the cheeks are beginning to fall apart.

5. Meanwhile, put the cauliflower, cream and butter in a saucepan, season to taste with salt, then cover and cook over low heat for 35 minutes, or until very tender. Place the cauliflower mixture in a blender and process until smooth. Keep the puree warm.

6. The sauce from the beef cheeks should by now be reduced and glaze-like. If it needs further reducing, remove the cheeks from the pan, cover with foil to keep them warm and simmer the sauce over high heat until nicely reduced. Strain the sauce through a fine sieve and return to the pan; gently reheat the cheeks in the sauce if necessary.

Serve the cheeks and their sauce on warm plates with the cauliflower puree on the side.

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Hokkaido Cheesecake (Farm Design Choco Moo Cheesecake)

 

I brought this cheesecake to my uncle's housewarming party last Saturday. My aunt took a look and said "I think I've seen this cake before, with the cow-pattern. Wasn't it on TV recently?". Yes! It was on Destination Flavour Japan on SBS. "The show with that Adam Liaw guy from Masterchef..." she says. I was thinking, gee, she must have REALLY wanted to eat that cheesecake to have remembered it so well. I guess it is a rather unique-looking cake. And it tastes absolutely heavenly. Velvety smooth and silky, not too rich, not too sweet. It's really the perfect cheesecake. It's the Choco Moo cheesecake, made popular by Farm Design Hokkaido Cheesecake.

What makes this cheesecake so special is the use of Jersey milk that has high butterfat content, although you can also substitute with regular milk. The inside of the cake has little balls of chocolate ganache. The chocolate really shouldn't be oozing out like the picture above. I didn't let it chill long enough before slicing into the cake. I mean, can anyone out there who's made cheesecake before admit that they could actually wait until the next morning (or even a few hours) before cutting into the cake? I didn't think so.

 

>> Click here to continue to the RECIPE

 

 

 



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Crème Brûlée and Announcement

Hi everyone. Just a little announcement that I've migrated my website to a new domain name www.tofoodwithlove.com. Any previous links from the old blogger website will be automatically redirected to the new one.

For those who absolutely love crème brulee (my favourite too!), here's a simple recipe that I've tried and tested, and you will never have to order crème brulee at the restaurant again :) Just make sure you have a blowtorch handy. Enjoy!

Crème Brûlée Recipe
Adapted from SBS

Ingredients

300 ml pure cream
200 ml milk
1 vanilla bean, split lengthways, seeds scraped
5 large egg yolks
1/4 cup caster sugar
2-3 tbsp demerara or caster sugar

Method

Preheat oven to 160°C.

 

Place the cream, milk and vanilla seeds in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring to the boil and remove from heat.

 

Whisk together the yolks and caster sugar in a large bowl until just combined. Continue whisking while pouring the hot cream mixture over the top until combined. Strain the mixture through a fine sieve then pour into four 180 ml ramekins.

Cover with foil and bake the brûlées in a bain marie lined with a tea towel for 60 minutes or until set but with a slight wobble. Remove and rest for 30 minutes at room temperature before refrigerating for 4 hours or until cold.

To serve, sprinkle each brûlée with Demerara/caster sugar and caramelise using a blowtorch. Serve immediately.
 

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Lipton High Tea @ Masterchef Dining and Bar (plus Lipton Pyramid Giveaway) - Closed

This post is sponsored by Nuffnang. So, here I am at my computer, typing away while enjoying a freshly brewed cup of Russian Earl Grey tea, compliments of Lipton. I attended the ‘High Tea Brewed By Lipton’ event on 8 September as an invited guest, held at the Masterchef Dining and Bar pop-up restaurant at First Fleet Park, Sydney. In celebrating the release of its new Lipton Pyramid tea range utilising an innovative, pyramid-shaped teabag, Lipton conducted a tea-tasting session, hosted by Lipton Master Tea Blender, Kurush Bharucha. The afternoon's menu featured an array of exquisitely crafted desserts and high tea classics, from Waldorf sandwiches to Vegemite Caramel Chocolate Cups (yes, Vegemite!). It was definitely one sweet afternoon! Read on and find out how you can sample these delicious teas with our giveaway.

 

Feast your eyes ....

 

Being a fan of the Masterchef series, I was really looking forward to dining at the pop-up restaurant. I felt like a kid going to the carnival for the first time. The hostess at the door showed us into the restaurant and led us up the stairs onto the second level of the room. I was pleasantly surprised that it was quite a small and private function. I brought Mr G along and we were seated at a quiet corner with a lounge chair, right next to the railings. It had a great bird's eye view of the entire room. I managed to snap some pictures of the kitchen below and admired the entire setup from floor to ceiling.

Kitchen and dining area

Moments later, Mr G turned to me and whispered "Look, there's Julia". I turned to look and there she was, making her entrance. I was kind of star-struck for a minute, and the initial thoughts running through my  head were "I have to get a picture with her". I was also thinking, how does someone like her who makes desserts everyday manage to stay so slim? If you've watched Masterchef 2012, you would remember Julia Taylor as the Dessert Queen, famous for her sweet creations, and more notably, her Melting Moments. I have made them countless times and have garnered quite a huge following for them at work. She stopped by at each table to chat with the guests, and I was thrilled to finally meet her in person. And I had a picture taken with her too! Meeting her was definitely one of the highlights for me.



Each table was laid out with 5 glasses and 5 different teabags on either side. In between sat a row of tiny porcelain dishes displaying the contents of each teabag under mini glass domes. I could see how the new pyramid shape allows the bag to hold larger leaves, real fruit pieces, petals and herbs. It also gives the tea more space to swirl around and release a fuller taste and aroma. In essence, it's like brewing with loose tea leaves, but with the convenience of a tea bag!

Green Gunpowder tea

There were five specialty blends of tea up for tasting, and Tea Master Kurush walked us through each one of them in detail:

- English Breakfast (lovely with a splash of milk)
- Russian Earl Grey (delicately flavoured black tea with orange and lemon peel and blue petals)
- Forest Fruits (black tea blended with a medley of berries - smells amazing)
- Fruit and Herbal Collection (black tea with berries and lemongrass)
- Green Gunpowder (a well-rounded green tea with natural pear flavour)

Lipton Master Tea Blender happily at work

Love the pretty colours

I enjoyed all the teas, with my favourite being Russian Earl Grey, which has an exquisite aroma of bergamot and citrus. I think it was Julia's favourite too, and reminded her of lemon myrtle. I did like the Green Gunpowder tea as well, which was smooth and delicate. The name "Gunpowder" is a description of the manufacturing process which rolls and twists the leaf until it looks like little balls of Gunpowder. One interesting tip I learnt from Tea Master Kurush (who has almost 30 years of tea-tasting experience under his belt) was that green tea is best brewed in water that is well below boiling temperature, and should be infused for only a short time for best results. At home, I usually have black tea with milk, as I sometimes find the tannins from the tea a little bitter without it. I was pleasantly surprised that with these Lipton pyramid teas, there wasn't the slightest hint of bitterness, even without milk.

With a splash of milk

Pretty blue petals in the Russian Earl Grey

After we were done with tea-tasting, it was time to indulge in some sweet treats (another highlight for me!). We each received a menu describing the food along with recommended tea pairings. I opted for the Green Gunpowder tea, which complemented everything really well. It also served as a great palate cleanser in between each of these sweet little bites, which all tasted divine. I only wish we had more time to slowly savour each one and try a few more of the teas.

The High Tea selection

Waldorf Sandwiches; Friands with tea-infused raisins; Adriano Zumbo's Passionfruit Tart;
Julia's Vegemite Caramel Chocolate Cups;
Zumbaron (macarons in flavours of Bread and butter pudding, Cherry Pie, Finger Bun)

Sink your teeth into one of these divine Zumbarons!

This was afternoon tea and dinner all in one for me!

Overall, we had a wonderful time learning about Lipton's process of tea selection and how tea is blended to create the very best experience for it consumers. We also enjoyed meeting and chatting with Julia and Kurush, and sampling some of Adriano Zumbo's famous and quirky creations. Before we left, they gave out gift bags containing a box of Russian Earl Grey and a variety of Lipton tea samples, which was a nice way to end a lovely Sunday afternoon.

Gift bag with lovely tea samples

The new Lipton Pyramid range consists of 16 different blends of tea that caters to all tea lovers out there. Some people love fruity-flavoured teas, some prefer theirs with a dash of milk, and others just want a caffeine-free tea for that last relaxing cuppa before bed. Whatever your preference is, I'm sure one of these tantalizing teas will entice your tastebuds!

Lipton Fruit Flavoured Black Teas - for those who want the flavour without the sugar or milk:

Forest Fruit, Peach and Mango, Passion Raspberry

Lipton Flavoured Green Teas - Ideal for those seeking the health benefits of green tea without the bitter taste, with refreshing flavours from fruits and herbs:

Intense Mint, Jasmine Petals, Mandarin Orange, Aromatic Lemon

Lipton Herb and Fruit Infusions - Caffeine-free, with strong flavours without sugar/milk; Calming and uplifting, refreshing and delicious:

Calming Chamomile, Uplifting Lemon Ginger, Refreshing Mint, Temptation Summer Fruits

Lipton Discovery Collection of Premium Teas - presented in a silk-like pyramid bag and delivers amazing flavours:

Mild Ceylon, English Breakfast, Green Gunpowder, Orange Jaipur, Russian Earl Grey

***************** ****************** *****************

**Lipton Pyramid Giveaway**

I have FIVE Lipton Pyramid sample packs to give away to five lucky winners!

To win, simply leave a comment on this post with your answer to the following question:

Which Lipton Tea flavour would you try first, and why?

 
This giveaway is open to Australian residents age 14 years and above. I will be choosing the FIVE most creative entries as winners. Each winner will receive a tea sample pack containing eight different flavours from the Lipton Pyramid range. 

So enter now and submit your entries by 5:00 pm AEDST on Friday, 27th September 2013. Terms and conditions apply.

Good luck everyone!



Julia Taylor and Kurush Bharucha

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