Parmesan encrusted Cauliflower

We do like cauliflower, but we found a recipe which we LOVE!!
Cauliflower is roasted in the oven and parmesan cheese is added towards the end and baked a little further.
Amazing starter!
Epicurious has a great recipe and I have my version!! :P

Ingredients:
Cauliflower - 1 whole, cut into flower
Olive oil - 2 tbsp
Salt
Red chilli flakes - 1 tbsp (or more)
Garlic (peeled / unpeeled) - 6 or more cloves
Pepper - 1 tsp
Thyme / orgegano / rose mary - 1 tsp (optional)
Parmesan cheese - 1/2 cup

Garnish : Basil leaf - 1 handful (optional)

Method:
Preheat oven to 200 C.
Mix the cut cauliflower with olive oil, salt, pepper, thyme / oregano / rosemary, garlic and red chilli flakes.

Put this inside the oven for 30 minutes. The cauliflower will sizzle and brown on 1 side.
Take it out of the oven, mix in the parmesan cheese and put it back inside the oven for 10 more minutes.
As soon as you take it out, mix in the basil leaves.

Serve warm.

Arancini

Made with left over Risotto

Rice balls stuffed with mozzarella cheese and deep fried.

This is served with Tomato sauce.

Ingredients:

Risotto

Mozzarella Cheese

Corn flour mixed with water to form a thick syrup

Bread crumbs

Oil for deep frying

Mash the risotto well.

Take a small handful of risotto and start forming a ball.

Stuff each ball with a piece of cheese and cover well on all sides.

Dip each ball in the corn flour slurry and then roll in the bread crumbs.

Deep fry on a medium flame.

Serve with Tomato sauce.

Veg Banderillas

When there is a party and you want to cook in advance an easy fancy colourful dish, THIS is your answer!

Capsicum - 1 each of red , green and yellow
Button Mushroom -  200gms
Olives - 20
Salt
Fresh ground pepper - 2 tbsp
Olive oil - 5 tbsp
Skewer sticks or tooth picks - soak in water for half hour

Cut each capsicum in such a way that each yields 18 large squares.
Put a thick heavy bottomed non stick pan with a long handle on heat.
Mix all the capsicums together and add half the olive oil, salt and pepper. They should not remain marinated for more than 2 minutes. Toss well.
The pan will be hot by now. When it gets real hot, tip the capsicum into it.
DO NOT STIR.
You will here popping noises; now move the vessel around and toss the veggies so that another side of the capsicum rests on the pan.
Repeat this in 1 minute intervals for about 4 minutes, so that the ends and skin get a bit charred but the colour of each capsicum is visible.
Remove from pan and keep aside.

Clean the mushrooms and cut each into 2 pieces.
Coat with olive oil, salt and pepper. Keep aside for not more than 2 minutes.
Heat the pan and add the mushrooms. Cover and cook on low flame for 1 minute and cook on high flame till all the water gets evaporated. Now start tossing them, do not stir ; till the mushrooms start turning golden brown.

Skewer the capsicum, mushrooms and olives in an attractive way.

White sauce (or) Bechamel sauce

This is one of the most used sauces in European / American cuisine (I know it is sweeping statement, but it is used only in Non-Asian recipes!). Mac and cheese and many other pasta recipes like Lasagne, Cannelloni use this sauce.

I have reached the following measurements after much trial and error. My sauce is not too thick. If you wish to use it as a dip, then reduce milk.
The original recipe uses ONLY butter. But since my husband is VERY health concious, I substitute it with olive oil and sometimes a mix of both.
And French chefs swear by Nutmeg as the spice to be used. But me, being an Indian,add an array of spices!!
Cheese can be added to the sauce, if you wish. Just remember to keep aside some of the cheese for decoration.
Similarly the flour can be fried in the butter till it loses it's raw smell or till golden brown or till it turns caramel brown. And depending on the color of the fried flour, your sauces color changes and so does it's name! (Dark brown is Roux.)

Ingredients:
Butter / Olive oil -  5 tbsp
Flour - 5 tbsp
Milk - 2 and 1/2 cup
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Cheese - 1/2 cup grated (optional)
(So the ratio is something like this.... for 1 tablespoon of butter, use 1 tbsp flour  and 1/2 cup milk)

Various spices which may be used:
Pepper - 1/2 tsp
Chilly flakes - 1 pinch
Thyme - 1 pinch
Rosemary - 1 pinch
Nutmeg - 1 pinch

Heat butter  in a thick bottomed pan on a low flame, till it melts and add the flour.
If you are using olive oil, just add in the flour.
Stir constantly.
The raw smell of the flour must go (around 2 minutes on very low flame).
Add the milk slowly while stirring constantly.
No lumps must form. If lumps occur, turn off flame and sieve.
When the mixture starts to boil / thicken, add the salt and rest of the spices you wish to use.
Keep stirring until mixed well and turn off flame.
Add cheese now, if using and stir well.

Pink Soup

Onion - 1 medium , chopped
Garlic - 2 cloves , crushed
Celery - 1 stalk , diced
Potato - 1 medium
Carrot - 1 medium
Pumpkin - 3 cups
Beetroot - 1 large
salt
Pepper - 1 tsp
Rosemary - 1 healthy pinch
Thyme - 1 healthy pinch
Oil - 2 tbsp (olive oil preferably)
Milk - 1 cup
Water -2 cups

Cut all the vegetables into big chunks.
Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan or pressure cooker.
Saute the onion , garlic and celery on a low flame for 5 minutes.
Next add in all the other vegetables.
Saute these for 5 minutes on medium flame.
Add the rest of the ingredients and cook covered.
(Pressure cooker = 4 whistles + 10 minutes on low flame.
Heavy bottomed vessel with lid needs atleast 1 hour on slow simmer.)
All the vegetables must be well cooked.
Cool and puree or use an immersion beater.
Add more water to loosen and adjust seasoning.
Heat the puree again before serving.
Serve topped with croutons and more olive oil.

Easy Pasta

There are some recipes you can always fall back on.
This recipe is one of those. Easy to make and very tasty. I usually pack this in my kids lunch box. But there have been days when I served it for dinner too.
This recipe is an adaptation of Sanjeev Kapoor's. He had written in some magazine years ago promoting some salt brand.

Ingredients:
Pasta - 2 cups

Garlic - 2 cloves , chopped fine

Onion - 1 medium, chopped fine

Capsicum - 1/2, diced

Tomato - 1 big, diced fine

Salt to taste

Chilli flakes - 1 tsp

Mixed dried herbs - 1 tsp (optional)

Olive oil - 2 tbsp

Cheese grated - 5 tbsp

opt: Sweet corn kernels / green peas / mushroom - 3 tbsp

Method:

Cook the pasta 'al dente'.

Heat the olive oil in a pan and add the onion and garlic.
When the onion becomes transparent add the chilli flakes.

After a minute add the capsicum, tomato and any other vegetable, if using, with the salt.

Saute and cook covered, if necessary.
Add the drained pasta and mix well.
Serve with Cheese on top.

Risotto

When my husband comes home from his official trip to Italy, he brings home loads of "gifts".

Mozzarella (fresh, packed in thermocol container and carried as hand luggage!!), parmigiano reggiano (from THE factory in Parma), arborio rice and varieties of pasta unavailable in India....Not to forget the biscotti and chocolates!

Risotto is Italian rice cooked very differently from the way we Indians cook rice. We boil water and add the washed rice to it or add the right amount of measured water to the given quantity of rice and cook in pressure cooker till it becomes mashable by hand.
Italians make a stock and add ladles of stock to "unwashed" rice and wait for it to get evaporated before adding the next ladle. This rice is cooked 'al dente' or 'having bite'. That is when it is mashed between 2 fingers, the inside seems 'just cooked'. So eating risotto is clearly an acquired taste.
At home we love anything Italian and this is my version of risotto.

100gms of Arborio rice is said to be 1 serving.

This is the vacuum packed cheese from Parma.

I have served my risotto with grilled mushroom and colored bell peppers.
You can serve it with bell pepper salad.

First, we have to make a stock.

Risotto

Serves : 3 adults

Onion - 1 big chopped fine

Garlic - 4 cloves minced

Celery - 3 sticks

Olive oil - 5 tbsp

Arborio rice - 300gms

Salt

Vegetable Stock - 3 lts

Saffron - 1 pinch soaked in 2 tbsp hot water

Parmesan cheese - 1 1/2 + 1/2 cups grated

Before you start cooking, warm the stock and keep on low flame.

Heat a heavy bottomed large pan.
Add the olive oil and saute the onion, garlic and celery on a very low flame till transparent (about 10 minutes).

Now add the unwashed rice and saute on high flame.
Keep stirring the rice nonstop from here onwards.("massage" not stir!)

Once it starts to change colour/ pop a bit add the saffron liquid and salt.

This will get evaporated fast.

Now start adding ladles of the stock.One ladle at a time.

When that gets evaporated add the next ladle.

Continue doing this till the rice gets just cooked. There should be no more bite in the rice. 

Turn off flame immediately. If you cook more it will not cool to al dente.

Grate the cheese and keep aside some for garnish.

Now add the cheese and mix thoroughly.

I served this with sauteed mushrooms and capsicum

Cut mushrooms into half and different colored capsicum into thick long strips (remove seeds).

Mix well with some olive oil, salt and hand ground pepper.

 Leave for 2 minutes and stir fry / grill the capsicum.

The mushroom needs to be cooked covered in a vessel. The juices in it will cook it. Then when the mushroom wilts, cook uncovered. The water will get evaporated and the mushroom will get a nice golden color.

If you have left over Risotto, make arancini.

Sweet Corn 'my style' soup

Sweet Corn Cream style - 1 can
Onion - 1 small - thinly sliced
Garlic - 2 large pods
Carrot - thin strips - 2 tbsp
Cabbage - thin strips - 2 tbsp
Capsicum - thin strips - 2 tbsp
Baby corn - 1 - cut into small rounds
Soya sauce - 2tbsp
Olive oil - 2tbsp
Cheese - 2tbsp
Salt
Pepper

1. Heat olive oil and saute garlic and onion for half a minute
2. Add all the vegetables and saute for a further half minute
3. Add the sweet corn cream style and add 1 tin of water
4. Add salt, pepper and soya sauce.
5. Mix well and boil for 2 minutes.
6. Add cheese and mix again.

Serve hot with toasted bread

Pasta with Mushrooms and white sauce

Pasta - 4 cups
Mushroom - 1 pkt
Carrot - 3 tbsp
Onion - 1 big
Garlic - 3 large pods
Mozarella cheese - 100gms
Olive oil
White sauce - 3 cups
salt
thyme
pepper
chilli flakes

1. Boil pasta al dente
2. Mince the garlic , onion and carrot into fine pieces
3. Cut mushroom into thin slices
4. Heat olive oil in a sauce pan and add garlic. Next add the onions, carrots and mushrooms. Saute uncovered on slow flame and add salt, pepper, thyme and chilli flakes. Add this to the white sauce.
5. Take an oven proof vessel. Grease with olive oil. layer pasta then white sauce. Add the shredded cheese on top and microwave high for 4 minutes.

Lasagne

Lasagne sheets - 6

Olive oil - 2tbsp
Onion - 1 large, minced
Garlic pods - 4, minced
Celery - 1 stick , minced
Tomato - 2 medium, diced
Brinjal - 1 large, diced
Tomato ketchup - 2 tbsp
Pepper - 2 tsp
Oregano -1/2 tsp
Thyme - 1/2tsp
Red chilli flakes - 1/2tsp
Salt
White sauce - 1 cup
Cheese grated - 1/2 cup

Heat olive oil and fry the garlic, onion and celery in it till transparent.
Add the brinjal and cook covered on a slow flame till brinjal softens.
Add the tomato with the salt and pepper. Cook till pulpy.
Add the tomato sauce and the spice mixture.
Taste and add some sugar if necessary.

Cook the lasagne sheets as instructed and store on greased baking sheets.

Take an oven proof vessel. Grease with olive oil.
Put a sheet of lasagne and then a layer of brinjal mixture.
Repeat till all the sheets are exhausted.
End with a layer of brinjal on top.
Over the white sauce over this.
Top with the grated cheese.

Bake in a preheated oven at 200C for about 10-15 minutes.

Vegetarian Coleslaw

Making Coleslaw at home is very easy.

Ingredients:
Cabbage shredded - 1 cup
Carrot slivers - 1/4 sup
Eggless Mayonnaise - 3/4 cup
Sugar powder -1/2 tsp

Method:
Mix all the above ingredients well and serve chilled.

Potatoes with oregano

Potatoes - 4 (cut into thick wedges)
Olive oil - 2tbsp
Garlic paste - 1tsp
Salt -1tbsp
Oregano - 2 tsp

In a thick bottomed vessel , add all the above ingredients. Toss well. Cover with aluminium foil and top with a thick tight lid. Reduce flame to minimum and cook for about 20 minutes. Stir once in between. Serve hot.