Better pan fried in olive oil after coating with salt, rinsing and drying as per moussaka.
2 Likes
Quick and Tasty Eggplant Trifolate.
Trifolato is a way of cooking using olive oil, garlic, and parsley. Usually used for mushrooms, it also makes a tasty eggplant dish.
Unlike SautĂ© the heat is not on High, and the cooking is until âsoftened â, usually about 15 min.
The eggplants are cut into cubes, the garlic minced (or whole and then removed) and the parsley finely chopped.
How much garlic and parsley we add depends entirely on our own taste, as we do with seasoning.
Method:
In a frypan heat the oil, add the garlic to soften, add the eggplants, stir, cook on medium heat for about 5min.
Season, add parsley, stir.
If getting dry, add a little more oil, and a little water, and turn down the heat to gentle.
Stir often, cook until softened, usually about 15 min.
Serve hot or cold.
Bon Appetit!
3 Likes
With winter just around the corner and me being a lover of pasta has anybody got a good recipe for pasta sauce ?
4 Likes
Bolognese Sauce.
Itâs my favourite pasta sauce, named after the city of Bologna, in northern Italy.
The following traditional recipe has been registered with Bolognaâs Chamber of Commerce by the Italian Academy of Cuisine, on the 17th of October, 1982.
Tomatoes are not the main ingredients of this sauce. Itâs colour is brown, not red, the intense flavour comes from the minced meat.
Originally it was made without tomatoes, and going back in the times of Ancient Rome it was similar to a stew preparation.
There are no herbs in it, nor any garlic, and the only spice is pepper.
In Italy it is not usually a spaghetti condiment, but it is a rich sauce reserved for fresh pasta like tagliatelle or for creamy lasagne.
Needless to say that we cook and eat the way that we like it, and if we can have pineapple on our pizza, then âanything goesâ!
Ingredients:
300g minced beef
150g pancetta (pork belly meat salt cured)
300g ripe tomatoes
50g carrots
50g celery
50g onion
100ml white wine
100ml milk
3 Tbsps oil
300ml meat stock
Salt and pepper to taste.
Preparation:
Wash and peel and very finely chop veggies.
Cut pancetta in small cubes.
In a deep saucepan sauté pancetta for about 10 min.
Add Oil and veggies and cook until soft and translucent, stirring frequently.
Add minced beef, cook liquid down on med/high heat.
Turn heat on High and add wine, stir and let evaporate.
Add tomatoes, season, stir, cover.
Turn heat to low.
Simmer on low heat for 2 hours.
(The 4 hours or more, were needed for the very tough beef meat used in the past. Not necessary nowadays).
If getting dry add some of the stock, as needed.
Towards the end, add milk, to balance the acidity of the tomatoes and to add creaminess. (Optional)
4 Likes
Pasta and Ricotta.
A comforting, quick and easy,
Pasta sauce.
Ingredients:
Any Pasta you like. My grandmother preferred the Mafalda: a wide, flat ribbon with undulating edges.
Ricotta.
Salt.
Black Pepper (lots)
Nutmeg (Optional)
The proportion is 1/2 the amount of ricotta to the pasta
Method:
Cook the pasta al dente.
Drain, but save about a cup of the water.
Add the water to the ricotta a little at a time, as much as needed to make a smooth sauce.
Season.
Serve.
Bon Appetit!
4 Likes
I heve been eating Laksa for dinner most nights over the past fortnight.
I make the sauce with a jar of Ayam Malaysian Laksa Soup Paste and a 270mL can of Ayam Pure Coconut Cream, and I have been eating it with prawns or scallops along with wombok and fried shallots.
Yesterday, I bought a pack of Golden Wok Grandmaâs Duck Gyoza on special at half price, $3.75, and ate them with the Laksa, wombok and fried shallots.
https://shop.coles.com.au/a/national/product/grandma-s-golden-wok-duck-gyoza
They were delicious and are actually Australian made and owned. I will get another pack for dinner tonight.
PS. The other nights I have been eating the laksa with some Fantastic Singapore Noodles, which I will also be eating tonight with some slices of cooked Luv-a-Duck breast.
3 Likes
Semolina gnocchi.
My grandmotherâs comfort food for me, a lovely baked dish crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside.
Ingredients:
200g Semolina.
Knobs of butter and as much melting and grated cheese as you like.
Salt and pepper.
Method:
Cook the semolina in milk as you would a thick porridge.
When cooked, let cool down a little before adding one egg yolk, and as much butter and melting cheese as you like, and salt and pepper to taste.
Mix well.
Spread it about 1â thick on a sheet of baking paper.
When cold: cut into 2â diameter disks (or smaller or bigger as you wish), and place, slightly overlapping, in rows in a greased oven-proof dish.
Top with knobs of butter and grated
cheese.
Bake in a 200âąC preheated oven for about 20 min or until golden brown and bubbly on top.
Let cool down a bit before serving.
Bon Appetit!
4 Likes
Quick and easy Polenta.
A creamy dish loved ever since Christopher Columbus brought corn back from the New World.
Polenta is naturally gluten-free, but could have come in contact with grains containing gluten during the manufacturing process; if it matters to you, choose one with the gluten-free label.
It can now be bought in âInstantâ form, cutting down on the long cooking time of the traditional one.
The ratio is usually 4:1 but 5:1 can give a better result.
If not enough liquid the polenta will have a coarse texture and a slightly bitter taste. If thereâs a bit too much liquid it can be cooked until all is absorbed and the texture will be very fine. A good finish is a creamy, thickish, smooth, sweet tasting mixture.
Ingredients
5 cups of water
1 cup instant cornmeal
Salt to taste
Preparation
In a heavy, deep saucepan bring the water to the boil, add salt to taste.
Add the polenta slowly while whisking constantly.
Reduce heat to low, stirring frequently.
When it looks thick and smooth, and tastes creamy and sweet (about 15 minutes) add a few knobs of butter, stir in.
Polenta can be topped with a rich pork and tomato ragĂč and grated Parmesan. Or simply served with butter, or oil, and grated cheese on top.
Serve hot, spoon in a large dish.
Leftovers, when cold, can be cut into slices and pan fried, or grilled, and topped with your favourite sauce or cheese.
Bon Appetit!
3 Likes
Sounds yummy. Sadly, carb loaded 
2 Likes
Yes, I understand, @SueW
Although itâs fairly sugar friendly and rich in antioxidants, it is high in complex carbs.
www.healthline.com suggests a small
portion (3/4 cup).
Served with veggies and your fav salmon?
2 Likes
Nah, I really am trying to stay very low carb (<50g daily) and that isnt even as low as some recommend.
3 Likes
We are cooking Moussaka for dinner for the next few nights and I bought the best eggplants I have ever seen from our local Supa IGA yesterday. They are greenhouse grown.
I had been planning to buy a mandolin capable of cutting thick and wide slices so I could slice the eggplants lengthways instead of messing around with a lot of small circles when cut crossways or making a mess by trying to cut them straight length ways with a cooksâ knifeâŠ
I could not get anything suitable at Robins Kitchen despite them once again having a ârenovation saleâ, or at Big W, but I found the perfect unit at King Of Knives which works perfectly.
It is a German made Borner V3 Trendline
Whilst Big W did not have a suitable mandolin, they did have this amusing special.
Looks like maths is not their strong point.
4 Likes
Hi Fred the Borner is a good Mandolin . I use a German Bergner BG-1589 and a Genius Nicer Dicer Plus quite a lot . They have both given good service .
5 Likes
I just finished slicing 5 eggplant weighing over 1.8kg in a matter of minutes, all cut lenghtways and perfectly even.
It will be much easier to cook the sclices and assemble the Moussaka instead to fiddling around with small circles of eggplant.
I should have thought of it years ago.
2 Likes
OKLAHOMA FRIED ONION BURGER
My favourite burger . Born out of the 1930âs Depression in the US I was first introduced to this Burger whilst in High School . All my teachers were American and on a camp out one of them from Oklahoma cooked this burger recipe .
Below I will put a link to Kent and Shannon Rollins YouTube Channel to take you through prepping this Burger . If you enjoy watching them show some love and subscribe to their channel as they have some great recipes .
ENJOY
5 Likes
I enjoyed the video very much @vax2000. Such a simple, every day, way of cooking with lots of humour thrown in!
4 Likes
Bread making.
Melbourne went into lockdown recently for the fourth time!
What to do when youâre only allowed out for a few hours, shops and venues are closed, and no visiting is allowed? You need a hobby to occupy your time at home, and I decided to take up bread making again. I was baking during the lockdowns last year, for the first time in my life, and it did take a few failures before I could make a decent bread loaf. But it is a very rewarding job, and the scent of freshly baked bread is so very comforting.
This is my recipe:
Bread flour ( high protein) 500g, plus 5g bread improver (2 tsp).
Dry yeast ( I sachet, 7g )
Lukewarm water 320ml ( to make lukewarm water: 130 hot + 190 cold)
Oil 30 ml
Salt 1 tsp
Sugar 1/2 tsp
In a bowl, dissolve the dry yeast in lukewarm water + the sugar to feed the yeast. To make sure the yeast is active wait about 6-8 min to see if it bubbles slightly on top.
Add oil and flour, incorporate by hand, then go in with a mixer.
I use a Breville hand mixer with dough hooks for kneading until smooth and elastic, and I add the salt midway.
I place the bowl in the oven, with a container of warm water in the bottom shelf, and close the door. The dough usually doubles in about an hour.
I transfer the dough to a greased and floured tin and place it in a sink half filled with warm water, and cover the top with a chopping board and tea towels.
When doubled, it goes in preheated 200*C oven, about 20 minutes.
I would love to hear suggestions on how to improve my bread making, and general tips and how-to from other bakers in the forum.
4 Likes
Try other flours. Wholemeal, rye, soy, besan and spelt all make tasty additions. Note that wholemeal doesnât rise quite as well as plain white and the others less again as they lack gluten and the texture is heavier. I might substitute 50% wholemeal for white for a loaf that rises well and has more flavour and texture. Try 20% rye or besan or 10% each. Even if your loaf is heavier you can cut it thinner and have a very tasty slice of bread. High rising fluffy soft white is popular with children but adults might prefer variety so experiment.
Try leaving your dough to work for longer say overnight or even two in a covered bowl the fridge. When you take it out you can then prove and raise the loaf as usual once it warms up. This process allows the yeast to grow, the yeasty flavour and aroma that many people like are its metabolites so this process makes more yeasty bread. It will also make the crust more crunchy - I am unsure why I suspect due to greater absorption of the water by the starch.
Once you have a mix you really like try varying the shape. For example instead of cooking it in a tin make (say) 8 rolls. Cook them on an oiled slide about 8-10 minutes at 240C. In general the smaller the bread the higher the temperature and the shorter the cooking. Try serving hot with melted butter.
You can decorate loaves or rolls with your favourite seeds, sesame, poppy and black cummin (aka kalongi or nigella) seed are traditional. Glue on with eggwash or in a pinch just water.
Cheese is popular. Cut your dough into long strips, twist them and lay them down side by side on your slide. Sprinkle with a nice grated tasty cheddar. Bake as for rolls. Hot cheese sticks with soft centres, crunchy crusts and gooey bubbly cheese will walk off the plate at any party. Speaking or parties, if you are making fresh bread or rolls for your guests do not shut the kitchen door! The smell of hot bread will have them drooling or eating out of your hand, whatever turns you on.
We think that Eastern food uses rice as the staple starch but in fact many cultures, especially in cooler climates where rice doesnât grow, use wheat and have local bread styles. Try replacing some water with unsweetened yoghurt. Look up recipes for naan, chapatis etc. You will not get a home oven up to the temperature of a tandoor but you can do some nice variations nonetheless.
Are you a fan of middle eastern food or just dips in general? Then make your own flatbread - itâs dead easy. I use 100 %wholemeal or 70% wholemeal and 30% rye. Leave out the yeast and improvers. It still needs to be kneaded and to rest to develop gluten and hydrate the starch. Cut into balls about the size of a golf ball and roll out very thin into a circle the size of the base of your heavy cast iron pan. Fry dry in the pan on fairly high heat turning quickly until toasted on both sides and cooked through, only a couple of minutes, serve warm in a clean tea-towel. The loose flour will smoke so turn on fans etc. Chewy and tasty, quite unlike supermarket flatbread.
2 Likes
Thanks @syncretic
So many interesting tips!
Being a city girl all of my life, itâs been so easy for me to just buy bread etc., As youâd be aware Melbourne is a very multicultural place and we are spoiled for choice, Asian and Middle eastern and French bakeries and cake shops are just a short walk away, and if you take the car and travel for 5 min you can even get to a South African bakery!
So it is a new experience for me to bake bread, although my kitchen is small, hasnât got a lot of working space, and thereâs a lot of mess to clean-up, but when youâre living the life of a prisoner: only allowed an hour out for exercise, no visitors in your home etc,. anything helps to pass the time 
3 Likes
