Today The Hubby wanted to have some lamb. We got half a kilo of lamb chops at the market which amounted to about five small slices. Sigh. A few days ago, my aunt texted me on this marinade she tried for lamb chops so I followed the recipe. It was lovely. The problem was, I overcooked the lamb chops in the oven so we didn’t get to really taste the flavours in the meat. Next time I cook lamb chops using the frozen ones at Giant (cheaper and better) I’ll use this marinade again.
Recipe
1. Blend garlic, salt, olive oil, mint leaves, paprika, cumin powder, lemon juice, black pepper.
Marinade lamb chops.Bake in the oven and serve with a side of meslun.Lamb chops.
I have no idea how a real honest to goodness pesto sauce should taste like. I know how it’s made. I’ve tasted the one in the jar before. But still, I’ve no idea what a good pesto sauce should taste like. I read Jamie Oliver’s recipe for pesto sauce. And several other websites and books and the ingredients are all the same. This is how I made pesto sauce today. It tasted good but I’m still unsure if it’s the right thing. Anyway, the family loved it. I like it too but I’ll continue experimenting and trying out pesto recipes till I figure out what’s a perfect pesto.
In a blender, blend a handful of Italian basil leaves. Toasted pine nuts. Salt. Olive oil. Parmesan Cheese. Adjust to taste by adding more oil or more cheese or salt till it's perfect.Spoon sauce over meat of choice. Here, over baked salmon. Yummmmy...
I think if it’s meant to be mixed with pasta, my pesto sauce may be a bit too ‘basil-ly’. I don’t know. But over salmon, it was divine. Try some pesto today. 😀
Bechamel Sauce. The base for moussaka and lasagna. Without bechamel sauce, these dishes won’t be tasty at all. It’s easy to make but hard to master. I always have some trouble when making it. To make for one dish, use a litre of milk. Today, I used 2 litres of milk and hence, I have leftovers in the fridge.
Start by making a roux. That's mixing equal parts butter with flour and cooking till it browns slightly.Slowly pour in milk. Keep stirring. You have to stir and not stop. Let the milk thicken till it coats the back of a wooden spoon. Season with salt, nutmeg and pepper. Voila, white sauce!
I first learnt of this Greek/Turkish dish from my aunt when she was staying in this lovely house in Pasir Ris. I fell in love with this dish. I’m sure many would like this dish too. What’s there not to like? Beef bolognaise? Check. Eggplant? Check. Bechamel sauce? Check. Cheese? Double Check.
Of course, there are some, like The Hubby, who don’t like eggplants. And there are some, like my friend W_, who doesn’t normally eat eggplants except for the ones in my moussaka dish 😀 December holidays I’ll make some for you W_. For those who don’t eat eggplants, you can use sliced potatoes instead. Or you can be like my other friend S_ who will eat the top layer (the one with the potatoes and cheese) and leave out the bottom layer. Hmmm…seems like a lot of people I know don’t eat eggplants.Â
This is my shortcut moussaka recipe.
Start by making a bolognaise sauce. Brown meat in olive oil.
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Cheat by adding a bottle of ready made pasta sauce.
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I used this today. I like this brand.
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Fry sliced potatoes and sliced eggplants in olive oil.
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Layer bolognaise sauce with eggplant slices. Last layer are the potatoes. Top with bechamel sauce and sprinkle some mozzarella and parmesan cheese. This is the potato only version.
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Moussaka fresh out from the oven.
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Moussaka half gone.
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The moussaka unfortunately though tasty wasn’t a hit today. The hit dish was my salmon pesto. Unfortunately, I only had four slices of salmon and so it was very unsatisfying for my guests. I’ll post the recipe for bechamel sauce too. I hope you’ll try making moussaka. It’s exactly the same as making lasagne so if you want to make lasagne, just omit all the vegetables and layer the bolognaise with lasagne pasta. Happy cooking!
I’ve been having a craving for hummus since like forever. But you can’t make hummus without a tahini- a sesame seed paste only available at Mustafa. Of course, there is a brand of hummus sold in NTUC and Cold Storage under their health food section, but they cost a bomb. Luckily for me, a few days ago, The Hubby brought me to Mustafa 🙂
I decided to follow The Australian Women’s Weekly version of hummus. Unfortunately, they use whole cumin and thinking that cumin could be blended perfectly with the other ingredients in the food processor, against my better judgement, I added them in whole. How wrong I was. Although my hummus tasted fine, the whole cumin was a spoiler. I kept biting into them with every mouthful. Upon closer inspection of the picture featured in the Australian Women’s magazine, I noticed that some hummus did have black spots in them. Darn the Aussies.
This is how I made my hummus.
In olive oil, sweat onions and garlic. Add in cumins. Next time, I'll just use powdered cumin.
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In the food processor, add two cans of chickpeas, tahini, juice from two lemons, paprika and the fried onion mixture. Oh, and salt.
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Serve with olive oil and paprika. Garnish with mint leaves.
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Traditionally eaten with pita bread or any Arabic flatbread. Since being on a diet, I ate this with cucumber strips.
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Today, I cooked lunch for my family and they said the hummus was good. Next post, the recipes I made for today’s lunch. 🙂
The Occasional Cook 