Classic Lasagna with a Side of Roasted Vegetables

I think this is perfect for an indulgent and filling weeknight meal. For me, indulgent weeknight meals are those which COOK ON THEIR OWN! Where you have to let something simmer for 45 minutes, let it bake for an hour... roast it for two.. That way you've cooked, you have a good meal, and you have time to do other things while it cooks on its own.

The following is a classic lasagna served with roasted potatoes and carrots a la herb (yeah I invented that last bit).

I love the messy, splattered effect you get when you bake something big like this. Such a homey feel.

Classic Lasagna


Ingredients
2 tablespoons oil
30g butter
1 onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 celery stick, finely chopped
500g lamb mince
2 tablespoons tomato paste
400g can diced tomatoes
250ml cranberry juice
2 tablespoons fresh coriander, chopped
One packet instant lasagna sheets
60g butter
40g plain flour
560ml milk
100g grated Parmesan cheese


Procedure
-Heat the oil and butter in a heavy based pan and cook the onion, carrot, and celery over medium heat until softened, stirring constantly. Increase the heat, add the mince and brown well, breaking up any lumps of fat. Add the tomato paste, can tomatoes, juice, and parsley and season to taste. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 45 minutes.
- To make the bechamel sauce, melt the butter in a medium pan over low heat. Add the flour and stir for 1 minute. Remove from heat and gradually stir in the milk. Return to heat and stir constantly until the sauce boils and thickens. Simmer for another minute. Add the nutmeg and salt and pepper, to taste. Place a piece of plastic wrap on surface of sauce.
-Preheat the oven to 180C.
-Take a large, ovenproof dish and place a thin layer of the meat mixture over the base, top with bechamel sauce and layer the lasagna sheets over that. Repeat the process until all the ingredients have been used up and the final layer is bechamel.
-Spread the grated Parmesan cheese on top and bake in the oven for around 30 minutes until top is golden and cheese has melted.

Roasted Potatoes and Carrots with Fresh and Dried Herbs


Ingredients
2tbsp olive oil
Two medium potatoes, roughly chopped
Two medium carrots, cut into chunks
30g butter
Salt and pepper
1tbsp mixed dried herbs such as basil and chives.
2tbsp fresh coriander, finely chopped

Procedure
Grease an overproof dish with half the olive oil.
Arrange the cut potato and carrot chunks onto the dish and drizzle with remaining olive oil.
Cut the butter into chunks and scatter around the dish.
Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with dried herbs.
Bake in an 180C oven for one hour or until vegetables have softened and cooked through.
Before serving, scatter coriander over dish.

Vegetarian Paella

I love the idea of paella..it seems so delicious...in those huge vats, with wonderful red and yellow colors- and to be honest, rice mixed with meat and vegetables is almost always good. Risotto, biryani, and... paella! I've never had it though since I'm allergic to shellfish and I've been looking for a vegetarian recipe for quite a while. Yesterday at 5AM, I was flipping through some cookbooks and came across this one and immediately decided to make it.

I was quite happy with the result (although I forgot to season! did that at the end >_<) but somehow I feel as though adding diced tomatoes would enhance the flavor.. that and some pieces of chicken. I knew that paella used arborio rice but I was concerned when the recipe said to leave the stock and rice mixture to simmer without stirring- continuously- like you have to with risotto.. I kept on thinking it would stick to the bottom of the pan but it didn't!

The recipe is fairly simple and quick and can be ready in an hour and a half, maximum.

Ingredients
750ml vegetable stock
500ml water
1/8 tsp saffron threads
2 tbsp olive oil
120g baby eggplants, quartered
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 onion, chopped finely
2 tomatoes, seeded and chopped finely
1 green capsicum, chopped finely
1 red capsicum, chopped finely
1 yellow capsicum, chopped finely
2 tsp paprika
250g arborio rice
150g frozen peas
120g green beans, chopped and trimmed
1/4 cup black olives
1/4 cup fresh coriander, chopped.
1 tbsp pine nuts

Procedure
Bring stock and water to a boil. Add saffron threads and remove from heat.
Heat oil in a saucepan and cook the eggplants until softened and browned. Remove from pan and set aside.
In same pan, cook onion, garlic, tomatoes, capsicums, and paprika until onion softens.
Add arborio rice and stir to coat in oil mixture.
Pour in the stock and water mixture and bring to the boil.
Reduce heat, and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally until water is absorbed and rice is tender- around 30 minutes.
Add peas and beans and cook, covered for 10 minutes- stirring occasionally.
Add coriander, olives, and pine nuts and stir through.
Stand, covered, 5 minutes before serving.

As you can tell, I didn't spend any time food styling- too eager to try it haha

Chicken and Tomato Curry

This reminds me of home-cooked food. The kind of food I grew up eating. Salan, chawal, daal, biryani, kabab, pulao. In other words, desi khana. I don't cook subcontinental food that much because I often want to try making things I haven't eaten a lot while growing up. New, different food- unchartered territory; and so I submerged myself into the world of risotto, tofu, pastry, and mousse. But ever so often, it's nice to go back to your roots and eat something which reminds you of your childhood- and to add a little something of your own in it. Whenever I do cook desi food (or subcontinental food for all of you who don't know what desi is), I thoroughly enjoy it. I find it extremely simple to prepare (maybe that's because I'm half Pakistani) and the house ends up smelling wonderful. I never, ever get that aromatic smell when I cook other dishes such as Italian, Chinese, Mexican, or Thai.

And so here is the extremely simple chicken tomato curry I made today. You can serve it with rice, or naan, or just on its own really (which is what I did). It's a curry without the whole swimming in gravy thing going on. It's moist and will do wonderfully to mix with rice but is fine enough to eat on its own.

Ingredients
6tbsp peanut oil
1 onion, chopped finely
1 green capsicum, chopped finely
2 tsp cardamom pods
2 bay leaves
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 can diced tomatoes
2 garlic cloves, crushed
350g chicken mince
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp paprika
600ml chicken stock

Procedure
Heat half the oil in a saucepan, add the onion and capsicum and stir until softened. Add the bay leaves, cardamom pods, and cumin seeds and stir until fragrant. Season. Add the diced tomatoes and stir on medium heat for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat the garlic cloves in a separate saucepan with the remaining oil. Add the chicken and spices and stir continuously, breaking up any lumps. Cook for around 10 minutes until chicken is cooked through. Transfer chicken mixture to saucepan with tomato mixture and add chicken stock. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and allow to simmer for 45 minutes, covered.

Grilled Chicken Burgers with Caramelized Onion

Very simple. Most of this dish is just assembling to be honest. And it's so good for you. It ticks all the boxes: vegetables, carbohydrates, protein, good fat (olive oil)...

You can omit the cheese and mayo if you want to make this healthier.

Ingredients
4 hamburger buns
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 onions, sliced thinly
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons water
500g chicken mince, seasoned
4 Boston lettuce leaves
4 slices of tomato
4 dill pickles, sliced
Mayonnaise, ketchup, and mustard

Procedure
Slice open the hamburger buns and toast them cut side down on a heated but not oiled grilled plate.
Remove and set aside.
Shape the seasoned chicken mince into four, not too thick (otherwise they won't cook that well on the inside while burning on the outside), patties. Grease the grill plate with half the olive oil and cook the patties until cooked through... around 15-20 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat the remaining olive oil in a pan and fry the sliced onions. Once they're cooked, add the balsamic vinegar, water, and brown sugar. Stir until onion caramelizes.
Arrange one lettuce leaf and one slice of tomato on each bottom half of hamburger bun. Top with cooked chicken patty, and pile the sliced dill pickles and caramelized onion on top. Spread mayonnaise on top half of the bun and place over the burger. Serve with mayonnaise and ketchup.

The Ultra Candlelit Dinner

I decided to have a small dinner gathering last Friday. I missed setting the table, choosing a theme, deciding on a menu, and cooking a million things. The last time I did it was in August. There's nothing like sitting down to a good homecooked meal with a bunch of people you love. And especially when that meal has been cooked by you. There's something so fulfilling about feeding those you care for. There's nothing to compare.

Aaanyways, everyone asked me to just make three dishes.. Two main courses and one dessert. I said OK, but secretly made seven things... that's just me. I don't know why. I can never just cook ONE thing. Well, I do, sometimes.. for a quick dinner... but most times I cannot.

I chose to make leek, rice, and parmesan frittatas and basil pesto and semi dried tomato crostini for starters. Then, I made seven-vegetable tagine with couscous and roast chicken with dumplings for main course. For dessert, I had fruit salad with orange sugar syrup and rich chocolate mousse.

The recipes were all fairly simple. I loved the main courses the best.

For the roast chicken with dumplings, all you had to do was chop up some potatoes and carrots and put them in a roasting tin with some pieces of chicken breast. Of course, don't forget to season. Making the dumplings are fairly easy, too. Fry some onion with butter. Once softened, put in a bowl and add a cup of breadcrumbs, add as many eggs as needed to make the mixture a dough that will be easily shaped into round balls.

The tagine was also just as easy to make. Chop some zucchini, carrots, sweet potato, parsnips, capsicum, fennel, and eggplant and toss together in a roasting tin with some freshly cracked pepper and sea salt. Add some cumin seeds and let the whole thing cook in the oven for about one hour on medium heat. For the sauce, heat some canned crushed tomatoes, add some freshly squeezed orange juice and cranberry juice. Place the couscous in a large bowl and fill with boiling water, cover with a plate. After 3-4 minutes, fluff with a fork, add lemon juice, raisins, and chopped dried apricots.

The crostini was VERY easy.. just because instead of guacamole on the ciabatta bread, I spread basil pesto. What happened to the guacamole? Well, it never happened. This was my second attempt at making guacamole.. and it never works with me! Very irritating. I need to figure out what I'm doing wrong. I placed one semi dried tomato on each crostini (is the singular crostino?) and ta-da, it was done! .. sans guacamole.

For the table decor, I didn't use any flowers. Very rare for me not to do so since I'm always using roses and carnations in pinks and reds.. ( like here and here and here) Instead, my centerpiece was candles. Lots and lots of them. All over the table, actually. It was made possible because instead of placing all the dishes on the table family style, I brought the courses out one by one with the food already arranged on a plate. Fun.

I don't think my photographs captured the candles that well, but they looked magical.