Creamy pasta with brocoli and onion rings

It is winter and sometimes you feel like eating something warm and crispy. This is when the idea of making some deep-fried onion rings popped in my mind. This is easier to cook than I thought. I love the crunchy texture and the soft cooked onion in the middle. This is to definitely try.

ONION RINGS RECIPE

Ingredients:
1 large onion, sliced about 1cm thick

For the batter-
1/2  cup all-purpose flour
1 egg
1tsp dried parsley
1tsp garlic powder
1tsp paprika
1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup breadcrumbs (or panko)

Vegetable oil, for frying

Method:
1. Separate the onion rings from the sliced onions and dust with cornstarch. Make sure all the rings are well coated.
2. Prepare the batter by mixing all the batter ingredients. Whisk until there is no lumps.
3.As in a production line, place each onion rings in the wet batter, drain excess batter and then mix in with the breadcrumbs.
4. Heat oil, and make sure it is hot before frying the onions in batches for about 3 minutes or until golden and crispy.

 

These accompanied my bacon and mushroom pasta, and broccoli.

 

 

 

To finish off this indulgent dinner, we have, of course, some fruits - oranges, apples and kiwis.

Achard de Légumes (Pickled vegetables)

Achard is among one of my favourite Mauritian cuisine dishes. This is vegetarian dish and tastes so good. It normally made with cabbage, carrots and green beans. The vegetables are cooked in a mustard-tumeric mix which gives it a yellowish finish.

ACHARD RECIPE

Ingredients:
1/2 cabbage, shredded
1 carrot, peeled and julienned
1 handful of green bean, sliced half way lengthwise
2 cloves of garlic
2 tsp of mustard grain
2 tbs of vegetable oil
2 tsp tumeric powder
Salt and pepper
1 tbs of vinegar

Method:
1. With a pestle and mortar, pound the garlic with 1 tsp of mustard grain. Mix in with the tumeric, the other tsp of mustard grain and oil.
2. In a pan, heat the mixture. When hot, add the vegetables and cook until they are nearly wilted.
3. Season with salt and pepper.
4. When cooled, stir in the vinegar.
5. Serve.

Note: I did not have green beans on hand, but it would have add a lovely green colour to the dish.

 

Throwback Thursday

Throwback. I have not posted on this in a long time. I will begin with a few snaps of foods that I ate from last week, to last month and more.

This is Agedashi tofu with miso soup from Taka in the city. I love tofu (no discussion here) and I thoroughly enjoyed the crispy outside of the tofu. It feels like a dish I could eat regularly.

 

Vegetarian noodles (with noodles made from spinach) from Noodle Bar in the city. This was actually my first time seeing green noodles, so this raised my intrigue and I decided to go for it. The noodles were thin and had that natural green coloured. I really enjoyed the combination from the crispy tofu, green vegetables, mushrooms and bean sprouts. I completely forgot about the dish being meatless. Only one downside was from the wonton skins which were almost soggy and not crispy, which left me quite disappointed.

 

This is now a fact. Cherries are the most addictive fruit ever. Well, at least, it is for me. They are so sweet, without being overly sugary, with that perfect tint of acidity. I am not trying to discriminate all the other fruits around there (since I am a complete fruit-friendly person) but these are so delicious. I just can't get enough.

Marble cake from IGA. Who are you and what have you done to K? Nah, alright I am not used to buy cakes from the supermarket but after church, being hungry and all, this cake looked too mouth-watering to resist. I am glad it turned out to be the case. I appreciate the fact that the marble effect was quite spot on like on the packaging photo, so high five.

Almond fingers from IGA. I bought it for the same reason as above. These were good, but too sugary to my liking. It would go perfectly with a hot cup of unsweetened tea though
. 

Oreo with peanut and choc cream filling: sounds like a match made in heaven, doesn't it? Well the cookies were super crunchy, but I was not too engrossed with the fillings; it was nothing amazing. Still, it's oreo. Who doesn't like like OREOs? 

Choux pastry (custard puff)

To begin with this long overdue post, I'm going to post the recipe of the choux I made this week.
After contemplating the idea of making this dessert over and over, I finally grasp enough courage to go ahead with the idea. Thank you Masterchef- I now know how to make choux and it is hard to believe how easy it is. So this was my first time making choux pastry and I am extremely happy to say that it was a successful attempt. You know how baking slightly bends towards the trial and error path, so either it is good or a disaster. What a relief to find out that your pastry rose and turn out to be the way it is meant to be! Alright my choux were not uniform and all that, but they taste wonderful. I made custard instead of creme patissiere as the filling (I keep this for next time). Note: Some recipes ask for both water and milk in the dough, but I figured there is already enough butter in it, so I used the water based recipe and to be honest it was definitely good- who needs milk!

RECIPE: CHOUX PASTRY

Makes: 15 choux

Ingredients:
55g cup unsalted butter (1 half stick; 57 g)
120 ml cup water (120 ml)
A pinch of salt
75g all-purpose flour
2 eggs

 Method:
1. In a saucepan, on medium heat, melt butter and water, pinch of salt.
2. Once the mixture comes to the boil, remove from heat and stir in the sifted flour all at once.
3. Whisk until well combined.
4. Put the pan back on the stove and continue stirring for another two minutes, until there is a film layer forming at the bottom of the pan.
5. Let the mixture cool for about 5 to 10 minutes. Preheat oven to 180 degrees (fan-forced)
6. Once cooled, crack in one egg at a time, incorporating well each time.
7. Your choux pastry is now ready. Put filling in a piping bag and pipe on baking paper.
8. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until puff and golden.
9. Once out of the oven, poke a small hole at the bottom of each choux using a pointed knife.
This will release any excess air inside and also be useful for inserting the filling later.
10. Pipe your filling until it comes out (this is how you know the puff is full).
Dip the top with chocolate if desired et voila:

Pizza Night

Pizza it is. I know I already have a handful of pizza photos, but these pizzas were looking so delectable and appetising that I had to take yet some additional ones before savouring some slices.

Bon appetit!