Week 51 - Vatican City and Yeman

We loved Rome when we visited 5 years ago, and ate some wonderful food. The Vatican city was an experience, we are religious, although not catholic, it was deeply moving. So I was surpised to learn that there was a meal that could be attributed to the Vatican city. Obviously, it was Pasta but as they say when in rome....

As for Yeman, well I know we had a dish from there, but I cannot for the life of remember what it was - let alone find it. I think it was a biryani, so I have gone 

The Pope's Fettuccine, Fettuccine alla papalina

 Serves 4

Ingredients

3Tbsp butter

1 onion, finely chopped

4oz proscuitto, diced

3large eggs

2Tbsp heavy cream

1 1/2cups Parmesan(Reggiano)

1lb fettuccine noodles

cracked black pepper, as desired but a lot 

Instructions

Whisk together the eggs, heavy cream, and parmesan cheese. Set the mixture aside. Boil your noodles, drain, and toss them with a bit of oil or butter to keep them from sticking.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, fry the onion in butter until totally soft. Typically, the onion in this pasta dish doesn’t take on colour. Be sure to adjust the heat lower so that the onion doesn’t take on colour as it cooks. Add in the proscuitto and heat it for a few moments until fragrant. Toss hot, drained noodles and turn off the heat.

Dump the egg mixture onto the hot noodles and toss thoroughly with fresh cracked pepper (or you can let your guests add their own). As you stir the ingredients together, the eggs will thicken and the cheese will melt, all thanks to the residual heat of the pasta. Be sure to add a lot of pepper. That’s half the fun of papalina.

Source: http://globaltableadventure.com/recipe/the-popes-fettuccine-fettuccine-alla-papalina/

Lamb Biryani

4 pounds of lamb–cut into medium sized pieces.
3 medium onions thinly sliced
5 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered
4 tblsp of Oilive oil
1 tsp of minced garlic
1tsp of minced ginger
optional 1-2 green chilly peppers–cut lengthwise
2 medium tomatoes finely diced
3 tblsp of chopped cilantro, the more the merrier–for garnish
2 tbslp of yogurt [plain–whole or fat free]
Turmeric, Paprika, Red Chilli, Dill Seeds, Green Cardamom, Black Pepper, Clove, Brown Cardamom, Cumin, Allspice, Ginge a mixture of all these spices!
few threads of Saffron
3 cups of rice–half boiled.

Boil the meat in water–you can add a bay leaf to it if you like–until almost tender. In a deep pan add the oil, and once warn sautee the onions until golden brown. Then add the potatoes and let cook for 2 minutes. Add the lamb, 2 tblsp of the Shan mix spice, garlic, ginger, tomatoes, green chilly pepper, yogurt, and 1 tblsp of the cilantro. Let the flavors blend under medium heat for about 5 minutes. Then add a cup and a half of water, and let simmer for another 3 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. Place in an  oven dish, big enough for the sauce and the rice. Place the sauce at the bottom, layer the rice on top, sprinkle with the saffron and about 1/4 cup of water.  Cover well with foil, and place in oven for 20-30 minutes when the rice is cooked through. Garnish with the rest of the cilantro and serve with yogurt and cucumber salad, chutney [blend a tomato, green chilly pepper, 3 tblsp of cilantro, lemon juice and salt] and a green salad.

Week 50 - United Kingdom

Well, what could you cook from your own country - this was easy in our house, it has to be a roast. Roast chicken, with stuffing, chipolates, bacon, roast Potatoes, brussells, carrots and gravy. Lovely... and then if you have room some wonderful apple crumble, with maybe some raisins and cinnamon or some chopped plums.

Apple and Plum Crumble

8oz flour
4oz marg
4oz light brown sugar
Fruit: cooking apples, eating apples, plums

Rub the fat and flour together, and then mix in the sugars. Put to one side.
Roughly chop the fruit to, not to small and not in chunks, I quarter the apples, then slice them lengthways into 4 then chop in half.

Put the fruit mixture in the bottom of a dish, cover with crumble and put in the oven on 180 for about 35 - 40 mins, this allows the fruit to cook and the crumble to cook, without burning. Serve with either custard or ice-cream. Lovely and simple....

Week 49 - Ukraine and Vietnam

I found a recipe that I thought would be good from Ukraine, unfortunately I could not find a reliable source of how to make it. All I knew was that it was a 'meat roll with vegetables'. I discovered that the preferred meat was pork, so I went down that path with my version.

Kruchenyky
I beat up some pork loin chops with a rolling pin, to make them flatter. Then I put in some fried onion, grated carrot and finely chopped mushroom mixture. (In the boys I added some cheese, as that seemed to be a common theme) then I fried the rolled meat, and then put them in a casserole dish in the oven for 30 -40 mins in some broth.

Despite the odd method, they worked a treat!


As we have 'visited' Vietnam before, I re-did one of those dishes. I should have picked the one that I didn't manage last time, but instead I did a high scorer; to prove that we do have some of these dishes again - Spiced Chicken Meatballs, with noodles, basil and broth. Very nice second round time too...

Week 48 - Turkey and Uzbekistan

Turkish meatballs; well I used a recipe I found in my local Tesco mag! It seemed to tie in with research, and tasted lovely. Was nice to read a booklet, rather than follow the recipe on an ipad. We love meatballs, and so far have enjoyed Swedish, Spanish and now Turkish. I am sure there is an 'around the meatball world' book out there. Come to think of it, there could be one for Mac'n'cheese too!

The Balish may not have looked as good as the recipe photo, but they tasted really nice. We all enjoyed these; I think they would have been nice with some baked beans....

Turkish Meatballs

Ingredients

500g (1lb) lamb mince

1 medium egg, beaten

2 onions, finely chopped

2 tbsp ground cumin

2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tbsp paprika

4 garlic cloves, crushed

1 x 30g pack fresh dill, most of it chopped

1tbsp virgin olive oil

2 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes

1 tbsp honey

1 x 400g tin chickpeas

handful toasted pine nuts, to scatter over the top

Greek-style yogurt, to serve

Read more at https://realfood.tesco.com/recipes/turkish-meatballs.html#to109FiTrRqHhtSM.99

Ingredients

500g (1lb) lamb mince

1 medium egg, beaten

2 onions, finely chopped

2 tbsp ground cumin

2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tbsp paprika

4 garlic cloves, crushed

1 x 30g pack fresh dill, most of it chopped

1tbsp virgin olive oil

2 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes

1 tbsp honey

1 x 400g tin chickpeas

handful toasted pine nuts, to scatter over the top

Greek-style yogurt, to serve

Read more at https://realfood.tesco.com/recipes/turkish-meatballs.html#to109FiTrRqHhtSM.99

Ingredients

500g (1lb) lamb mince

1 medium egg, beaten

2 onions, finely chopped

2 tbsp ground cumin

2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tbsp paprika

4 garlic cloves, crushed

1 x 30g pack fresh dill, most of it chopped

1tbsp virgin olive oil

2 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes

1 tbsp honey

1 x 400g tin chickpeas

handful toasted pine nuts, to scatter over the top

Greek-style yogurt, to serve

Read more at https://realfood.tesco.com/recipes/turkish-meatballs.html#to109FiTrRqHhtSM.99

Ingredients

500g (1lb) lamb mince

1 medium egg, beaten

2 onions, finely chopped

2 tbsp ground cumin

2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tbsp paprika

4 garlic cloves, crushed

1 x 30g pack fresh dill, most of it chopped

1tbsp virgin olive oil

2 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes

1 tbsp honey

1 x 400g tin chickpeas

handful toasted pine nuts, to scatter over the top

Greek-style yogurt, to serve

Read more at https://realfood.tesco.com/recipes/turkish-meatballs.html#to109FiTrRqHhtSM.99

Ingredients

·         500g (1lb) lamb mince

·         1 medium egg, beaten

·         2 onions, finely chopped

·         2 tbsp ground cumin

·         2 tsp ground cinnamon

·         2 tbsp paprika

·         4 garlic cloves, crushed

·         1 x 30g pack fresh dill, most of it chopped

·         1tbsp virgin olive oil

·         2 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes

·         1 tbsp honey

·         1 x 400g tin chickpeas

·         handful toasted pine nuts, to scatter over the top

Greek-style yogurt, to serve

Preheat the oven to gas 3, 170°C, fan 150°C. Put the lamb and egg into a large bowl, and add half the onions, spices, garlic and chopped dill. Season. Using your hands, mix well. 

Shape the mixture into 16 satsuma-sized balls. Heat a wide casserole dish, add the meatballs and cook for 10 minutes until golden. Set aside, leaving the fat and juices in the pan. 

Add the oil to the pan and cook the remaining onion and garlic for 5 minutes until softened. Tip in the remaining spices, fry for 1 minute, then add the tomatoes, honey and the rest of the chopped dill and season generously. Return the meatballs to the pan, loosely cover, and cook in the oven for 1 hour 30 minutes until the sauce is thick and rich. When there is 15 minutes cooking time left, stir the chickpeas into the sauce.

Season to taste, then scatter with the pine nuts and remaining dill fronds. Serve with spoonfuls of Greek-style yogurt and warmed pitta bread.  

Read more at https://realfood.tesco.com/recipes/turkish-meatballs.html#to109FiTrRqHhtSM.99

Preheat the oven to gas 3, 170°C, fan 150°C. Put the lamb and egg into a large bowl, and add half the onions, spices, garlic and chopped dill. Season. Using your hands, mix well. 

Shape the mixture into 16 satsuma-sized balls. Heat a wide casserole dish, add the meatballs and cook for 10 minutes until golden. Set aside, leaving the fat and juices in the pan. 

Add the oil to the pan and cook the remaining onion and garlic for 5 minutes until softened. Tip in the remaining spices, fry for 1 minute, then add the tomatoes, honey and the rest of the chopped dill and season generously. Return the meatballs to the pan, loosely cover, and cook in the oven for 1 hour 30 minutes until the sauce is thick and rich. When there is 15 minutes cooking time left, stir the chickpeas into the sauce.

Season to taste, then scatter with the pine nuts and remaining dill fronds. Serve with spoonfuls of Greek-style yogurt and warmed pitta bread.  

Source: https://realfood.tesco.com/recipes/turkish-meatballs.html#33GA2LrWHyWjlMEG.97 Accessed Dec2017)

Balish - Baked Meat Pies

1 kg or 7 1/2 cups flour, 1 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup oil, 30 g (1 oz) yeast, 1 kg (2 1/4 lb meat, 500 g (18 oz) onions, salt and spices to taste.
For the filling, combine finely diced (or minced) meat with chopped onions, salt and pepper. To make dough, combine water, oil, salt, sifted flour and yeast, let stand for 2-2 1/2 hours. Divide into 40-50 g (1/2-2 oz) balls. Roll out to a thickness of 3 mm (1/7 in) and place minced meat in the center. Fold dough up aroun filling, leaving a circular opening at the top. Place on greased pan, open side up, and let rise another 5-10 minutes. Coat with beaten egg and bake in pre-heated oven (200-240 C) for 8-10 minutes. (Sourec: http://uzbekcuisine.com/breads.html [accessed Dec 2017])

Ingredients

500g (1lb) lamb mince

1 medium egg, beaten

2 onions, finely chopped

2 tbsp ground cumin

2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tbsp paprika

4 garlic cloves, crushed

1 x 30g pack fresh dill, most of it chopped

1tbsp virgin olive oil

2 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes

1 tbsp honey

1 x 400g tin chickpeas

handful toasted pine nuts, to scatter over the top

Greek-style yogurt, to serve

Read more at https://realfood.tesco.com/recipes/turkish-meatballs.html#to109FiTrRqHhtSM.9

Ingredients

500g (1lb) lamb mince

1 medium egg, beaten

2 onions, finely chopped

2 tbsp ground cumin

2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tbsp paprika

4 garlic cloves, crushed

1 x 30g pack fresh dill, most of it chopped

1tbsp virgin olive oil

2 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes

1 tbsp honey

1 x 400g tin chickpeas

handful toasted pine nuts, to scatter over the top

Greek-style yogurt, to serve

Read more at https://realfood.tesco.com/recipes/turkish-meatballs.html#to109FiTrRqHhtSM.99

Ingredients

500g (1lb) lamb mince

1 medium egg, beaten

2 onions, finely chopped

2 tbsp ground cumin

2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tbsp paprika

4 garlic cloves, crushed

1 x 30g pack fresh dill, most of it chopped

Ingredients

500g (1lb) lamb mince

1 medium egg, beaten

2 onions, finely chopped

2 tbsp ground cumin

2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tbsp paprika

4 garlic cloves, crushed

1 x 30g pack fresh dill, most of it chopped

1tbsp virgin olive oil

2 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes

1 tbsp honey

1 x 400g tin chickpeas

handful toasted pine nuts, to scatter over the top

Greek-style yogurt, to serve

Read more at https://realfood.tesco.com/recipes/turkish-meatballs.html#to109FiTrRqHhtSM.99

1tbsp virgin olive oil

2 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes

1 tbsp honey

1 x 400g tin chickpeas

handful toasted pine nuts, to scatter over the top

Greek-style yogurt, to serve

Read more at https://realfood.tesco.com/recipes/turkish-meatballs.html#to109FiTrRqHhtSM.99