Lasagna alla Bolognese

Another lasagna dish using a minced beef/tomato-based Bolognese sauce in between layers of pasta and Béchamel sauce.  I recommend that you make your own Béchamel sauce from scratch because homemade sauce tastes much better than the store-bought ones.

Ingredients (serves 4):
500 g minced beef
2 carrots, to be peeled and finely chopped
1 stalk celery or 1/4 celery root, to be cleaned and cut into fine cubes
1 medium-sized onion, to be peeled and finely chopped
2 pips garlic, to be peeled and finely chopped
125 ml instant vegetable stock OR red wine
4 tbsp tomato puree
1 can (400 ml) chopped tomatoes
salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 tsp dried thyme
a pinch of sugar
3 tbsp olive oil

Ingredients for Béchamel Sauce:
70 g butter
1 medium-sized onion, to be peeled and finely chopped
60 g flour
500 ml fresh milk
250 ml instant vegetable stock
75 g grated Emmental or Gouda cheese
salt & white pepper to taste
ground nutmeg

one packet (250 g) lasagna sheets
100 g grated Emmental or Gouda cheese
a casserole tray (28 x 24 cm)

Method:
In a medium-sized pot, heat olive oil over medium heat.  Add chopped onion, carrots, celery and garlic. Sauté until onion is translucent before adding the minced beef. Sauté until beef changes colour. Season lightly with salt and pepper.  Then, add vegetable stock and cook until all liquid has evaporated.  Add canned tomatoes and tomato puree.  Simmer for about 10 minutes.  Add dried thyme, sugar and check seasoning again.  Remove from heat and leave aside.

In a saucepan, heat butter over medium heat.  Add chopped onion and sauté until translucent.  Then, add flour and by using a small whisk, stir until well blended.  Add milk and vegetable stock a little at a time and keep stirring until there are no lumps. Bring to a slight boil.  Then, remove from heat and add the grated cheese.  Season with ground nutmeg, salt and white pepper to taste.

Add a few spoonfuls of Béchamel sauce onto base of casserole tray and spread well. Then, arrange a layer of lasagna sheets on top.

Spread half of Bolognese sauce over lasagna sheets.

Then, arrange a layer of lasagna sheets on top.

Spread half of Béchamel sauce on top.

Repeat procedure until all ingredients are used up.  Lastly, sprinkle grated cheese on top.  Bake in a preheated fan oven at 150° C for about an hour or until golden brown.

Once done, remove from oven and leave aside for about 10 minutes before serving.

Bon Appetit!

Filet Wellington with Périgord Sauce

I prepared this exravagant dish for our Christmas Day's Lunch.  A whole beef filet piece covered by a farce mixture, which is made of mushrooms, shallots, chopped parsley & goose liver pâté, and enveloped with puff pastry.  The preparation is a bit time consuming but it is worth the effort.  I served this dish with Potato Gratin and Steamed Brusselsprouts & Carrots.

Ingredients (serves 4 - 6 persons):
1 beef filet (about 1.5 kg) - middle piece, if possible
3 tbsp olive oil

3 shallots, to be peeled and finely chopped
500 g brown or white mushrooms, to be cleaned and finely chopped
a handful fresh parsley, to be washed, dried and finely chopped
30 g butter
3 tbsp Madeira wine (optional)
3 tbsp fresh cream
80 g goose liver pâté
salt & ground black pepper to taste

2 rolls of fresh puff pastry or 2 pkts (à 300 g) frozen puff pastry, to be thawed
1 egg white
2 eggyolks

Worchestershiresauce
200 ml fresh cream
4 tbsp Madeira wine (optional)
125 ml water
1 tsp instant beef stock granules

Method;
In a medium-sized pot, heat butter over medium heat and add chopped shallots.  Stir-fry until translucent before adding the chopped mushrooms.  Cook until all liquid has evaporated.  Then, add cream and Madeira wine.  Cook further until completely dry i.e. until all liquid has evaporated again. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper before adding the chopped parsley.  Remove from heat and leave aside to cool down completely.  Once cooled down, add goose liver pâté and mix thoroughly.

Season beef filet with salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Heat olive oil in a large pan and sauté until brown on all sides for about 10 minutes.  Remove to a tray and let it cool down completely.  Pour the juices from pan into a small pot for the sauce.

Place both layers of puff pastry on the worktop with two ends overlapping each other - brush the two ends with beaten egg white first).  Pat dry beef filet with kitchen paper before placing in near to end of puff pastry closer to you - slightly towards to the centre.  Cover beef filet with farce mixture all around.

Bring the lower end of pastry to cover beef filet and then the two sides to overlap as shown below:

Keep rolling until you get a perfect parcel.  Cut off excess puff pastry and cut into decorative strips to be arranged on top.  Then, brush with eggyolks all over and by using a small skewer, prick all over the pastry in order that the air can escape during baking.  Bake in a preheated fan oven at 180° C for about 30 minutes.  Once baking time is over, switch off oven and leave the Filet Wellington for another 10 to 15 minutes with the oven door ajar.

Before serving, slice the Filet Wellington to serving portions.  Serve with gravy.

To make the Périgord Sauce:  add fresh cream and bring to a slight boil.  Season with salt & freshly ground black pepper.  Thicken gravy with a mixture of cornflour/water if preferred.

Bon Appetit!

Potato Gratin

A simple side potato dish which can be served with any kind of main meal.  It is easy to prepare and tastes excellent.  This recipe was taught to me by my dear mother-in-law.

Ingredients (serves 4):

500 g potatoes, to be peeled and finely sliced

200 g fresh cream

salt & pepper to taste
butter

Method:

Arrange potato slices in a buttered casserole dish.  Season with salt and pepper after each layer.  Then, add fresh cream and a few cubes of cold butter on top.  Bake in a preheated fan oven at 180° C for about one hour.

Once done, serve hot!

Bon Appetit!

Our Christmas 2013 Cookies

Presenting our selection of cookies for this year.  From top (clockwise):  Lebkuchen, Zimtwaffeln (Cinnamon Wafers), Kokosmakronen (Coco-Macaroons), Gewürzte Herzen (Spiced Heart Cookies), Ingwer-Mandeln-Taler (Ginger-Almond Cookies), Vanillekipferl, Zimtsterne (Cinnamon Stars), Florentiner, Mandelhäufchen (Crunchy Almonds) and Bethmänchen.

All recipes can be found here.

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas!

Lammrücken mit Kräuterkruste (Saddle of Lamb with Herbs Crust)

A tasty roast lamb dish for today's dinner.  The crust is made of chopped parsley, breadcrumbs, melted ghee and minced garlic.  Of course, any kind of herbs i.e. thyme, rosemary, etc. may be used according to your preference.

Ingredients (serves 4):
1.5 kg Lammrücken (saddle of lamb)
1 tbsp mustard (with herbs flavour or plain)
2 pips garlic, to be peeled and minced
30 g ghee (butter or Butterschmalz), to be melted

30 g breadcrumbs
45 g ghee (butter or Butterschmalz), to be melted
1 pip garlic, to be peeled and minced
3 tbsp chopped parsley
salt & pepper to taste

1 kg waxy potatoes (festkochende), to be peeled
1 tbsp chopped parsley
1 pip garlic, to be peeled and minced

Method:
In a medium-sized pot, boil potatoes and water with a little salt for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and drain.

Remove fat from lamb and made a few deep cuts in order that the meat retains the mustard flavour.  In a small bowl, add mustard and minced garlic.  Mix well to a paste. Season meat with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Rub garlic/mustard paste onto meat and arrange in a baking pan.  In a small pot, heat 30 g ghee to a smoking point.  Pour over meat and bake in a preheated fan oven at 200° C for 10 minutes.

Then, add half-cooked potatoes to baking pan and bake for a further 10 minutes.  Turn over the potatoes regularly.

In a bowl, add 45 g melted ghee, breadcrumbs, minced garlic, chopped parsley, salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.

Spread mixture onto meat and bake for another 15 minutes.

Then, sprinkle remaining parsley and minced garlic over potatoes.  Bake for another 5 minutes before removing from oven.

Remove roasted potatoes to a serving bowl.

Serve lamb sliced with roasted potatoes and steamed vegetables i.e. broccoli.  To prepare the gravy, pour the roast oil (without residue) into a small pot.  Add 200 g fresh cream and bring to a slight boil. Season with salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste.  Thicken the gravy by adding a mixture of cornflour and water, if preferred.

Bon Appetit!

Pan-Fried Octopus

One of our favourite seafood dishes in our home.  This recipe uses only four ingredients, namely octopus, onions, garlic and parsley.  It is simple to prepare and tastes great when served with baguette.

Ingredients (serves 2):
1 fresh octopus (about 1 kg), to be washed clean
2 big onions, to be peeled and sliced into rings
3 pips garlic, to be peeled and finely sliced
a handful of parsley, to be washed, dried and plucked
2 tbsp olive oil
salt & ground black pepper to taste

Method:
In a medium-sized pot, place octopus.  Add water to about 2 or 3 cm high (from bottom of pot) and add 2 tsp salt.  Bring to a slight boil and put on lid.  Simmer over medium heat for about 40 minutes.  Once done, remove octopus to a bowl and leave it aside.  Once cooled down, cut the tentacles away from main body.  By using a small knife, scrape the skin off.  Then, cut the main body to bite pieces.

In a medium-sized pan, heat olive oil over medium to high heat.  Add octopus pieces and stir-fry for about two minutes.  Then, add onion rings.

Stir-fry until onion rings started to brown.  Then, add sliced garlic and parsley.

Stir-fry over high heat for a minute of two.  Season with salt & ground black pepper to taste.  Serve hot with baguette.

Bon Appetit!

Football Muffins

Our youngest son celebrated his 14th birthday today and I prepared some muffins for him to bring to school tomorrow.  He requested for his favourite Banana-Chocolate Muffins - each to be decorated with a ball and a football shoe which are made of chocolates & sprinkled with green desiccated coconut.

Recipe can be found here!

Happy Baking!

Stuffed Dates Pralines

These are dried dates filled with a mixture of marzipan, pistachios and icing sugar. Lastly, they are partly dipped in dark chocolate couverture.  Another praline addition to my christmas cookies selection this year.

Ingredients (yields 30 pieces):
30 dried dates (deseeded)
50 g icing sugar
50 g pistachios, to be finely chopped
150 g marzipan
1 tsp Curacao liqueur (optional) - I added rose essence instead

2 tbsp castor sugar
200 g dark chocolate couverture

Method:
In a mixer bowl, add icing sugar, chopped pistachios, marzipan and liqueur.  By using the dough hook, knead until well mixed.  Divide marzipan dough into 30 oval shape pieces.  Then, roll them in sugar and set aside.  Insert a marzipan piece into each date.  Repeat until all ingredients are used up.

In a bain marie, melt couverture over low heat.  Dip each date piece into couverture half way.  Remove to a baking tray which is lined with baking paper.

Leave to dry overnight before storing in tin with each layer lined with pergament paper.

Bon Appetit!

Gewürzte Herzen (Spiced Heart Cookies)

Another new cookie addition to my christmas cookies collection this year.  I added Lebkuchengewürz or gingerbread spices to the dough to give this cookie a subtle taste.  Once baked, I glazed the tops with icing glaze made up of beetroot juice and decorated with sugar pearls.

Ingredients (yields 60 pcs):
250 g brown cane sugar (Rohrzucker)
200 g cold butter, to be cut into cubes
1 packet Lebkuchengewürz or 15 g gingerbread spice
200 g rye flour (Roggenmehl), to be sifted
300 g plain flour. to  be sifted
1 tsp (heaped) baking powder, to be sifted
3 eggs ("M" size)

Glaze Ingredients:
150 g icing sugar, to be sifted
100 ml beetroot juice (taken from bottled beetroot), to be boiled until concentrated - only 3 tbsp are needed OR 3 tbsp fresh orange juice
sugar pearls for decoration

Method:
In a bowl, knead cubed butter, cane sugar, both types of flour, baking powder, gingerbread spice and eggs together.  Wrap dough in cling film and store in fridge for about 30 minutes.

On a floured worktop, knead dough again.  Take a portion of dough and roll it out to a thickness of 5 mm.  By using a heart shape cookie cutter, cut dough out and place them on a baking tray which is lined with baking paper.  Repeat until all dough is used up.

Bake in a preheated conventional oven at 180° C (fan:  160° C) for about 18 minutes. Once done, remove from oven and leave to cool down completely.

For the glaze, mix icing sugar with concentrated beetroot juice or orange juice until smooth.  By using a small brush, glaze the tops and decorate with sugar pearls. Leave to dry overnight before storing in the tin - each layer to be lined with pergament paper.

Happy Baking!

Chocolate Cream Truffles

Specially requested by our youngest son who is a Truffles monster.  To make him happy, I made them and they came out well on my first try.  These truffles have a filling which is made of fresh cream, glucose syrup and milk chocolate couverture.

Ingredients (yields 63 pcs):
150 g fresh cream
40 g glucose syrup
300 g milk chocolate couverture

a layer of Pralinenhohlkörper (chocolate hollow cups)
300 g dark chocolate couverture
pralines paper cases

Method:
In a pot, add fresh cream and glucose syrup.  Bring to a slight boil and quickly remove from heat.  Add milk chocolate couverture and by using a whisk, stir well until no lumps can be seen.  Leave mixture to cool to a temperature of 25° C.

In the meantime, these are the Pralinenhohlkörper:

By using a filler, fill each of the Pralinenhohlkörper to the brim.  Leave them aside overnight.

In a bain marie, melt the dark chocolate couverture over low heat.

By using a special spiral spoon, dip each truffles into couverture and place on a wire rack.

Roll the truffles on the wire rack around in order a design is formed on the surface. Remove to a baking tray which is lined with baking paper and leave to dry completely.

Place each truffles into a praline case before storing in a tin with each layer lined with pergament paper.

Bon Appetit!

Ginger-Walnut Pralines

This year, I decided to make a few pralines to add to my christmas cookies selection. This particular pralines are made up of ground walnuts, marzipan and icing sugar, coated with chocolate and decorated with a slice of candied ginger.

Ingredients (yields about 40 pcs):
100 g icing sugar, to be sifted
100 g walnuts, to be finely chopped
400 g marzipan
1 tsp rum (optional) - I added rose essence instead

400 g milk chocolate couverture
candied ginger, to be cut into sticks

Method:
In the bowl of an electric mixer, add icing sugar, marzipan, chopped walnuts and rum. By using the dough hook, knead mixture to form a dough.

Roll out marzipan dough to a thickness of 1 cm.  By using a sharp knife or a cookie cutter, cut shapes of your choice.  Arrange on a baking tray which is lined with baking paper.

In a bain marie (Wasserbad), melt couverture over low heat.  By using a special praline fork, place a marzipan piece on it and dip into the couverture.  Remove and place on a wire rack.  Place a candied ginger on top and leave overnight to dry.

Once the couverture has set, remove and store in cookie tin where each layer is lined with pergament paper.

Bon Appetit!

Ingwer-Mandeln-Taler (Ginger-Almond Cookies)

A new cookie addition to my christmas cookies collection this year.  I added ground almonds and chopped ginger in the dough, cut them into rounds and placed each on a wafer before baking.  Finally, each cookie is glazed with icing sugar and topped with a candied cherry wedge and sliced almonds.

Ingredients (yields about 60 pcs):
130 g butter
130 g honey
120 g sugar
1 egg yolk
300 g plain flour, to be sifted together with gingerbread spice and baking powder
10 g Lebkuchengewürz or gingerbread spice
2 tsp baking powder
50 g ground almonds
150 g marzipan, to be cut up into small pieces
50 g candied ginger, to be finely chopped

Backoblaten (5 cm in diameter) or baking wafers
candied cherries, to be cut into wedges
almond sticks
100 g icing sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice

Method:
In a saucepan, heat honey, butter and sugar until melted. Remove from heat and leave aside to cool down completely.  Pour into a mixing bowl and add egg yolk.  Mix well.  Then, add flour mixture and ground almonds.  Knead well before adding marzipan and candied ginger.  Knead again until all are well combined.

On a floured worktop, roll out dough to a thickness of 5 mm.  By using a cutter with a diameter of 5 cm, cut circles and place them on Oblaten.  Arrange on a baking tray which is lined with baking paper. Bake in a preheated conventional oven at 175° C (fan oven:  155° C) for about 12 to 15 minutes.  Once done, remove from oven and leave to cool down completely.

In a small bowl, mix icing sugar and lemon juice to a thick consistency.  Glaze cookies with icing and arrange a cherry wedge with 2 almond sticks on top as shown in above photo.  Leave to dry overnight before storing in the tin - each layer to be lined with pergament paper.

Happy Baking!

Kuih Bakar Berlauk

A popular malay savoury snack in both Singapore and Malaysia.  This kuih has minced beef and red chilli slices topping and is normally baked in an aluminium mould over charcoal fire.  My mum used to prepare them this way during our kampong days but nowadays, they can be baked in the oven (even in the aluminium mould) and taste as good.

Ingredients:
250 g plain flour
1 egg
1 tin (400 ml) coconut milk
about 200 ml water, it all depends on the required thickness of the batter

150 g minced beef
1 small onion, to be peeled and finely chopped
a little cumin powder & salt to taste
1 tbsp cooking oil

1 spring onion, to be finely sliced
1 twig parsley, to be finely sliced
2 - 3 stalks red chillies, to be finely sliced
yellow food colouring
salt to taste

Method:
In a small pan, heat oil and stir-fry chopped onion until translucent.  Add minced meat and stir-fry until it changes colour.  Season with salt and cumin powder to taste. Remove to a bowl and leave aside. Variation:  One may use curry powder instead of cumin powder.  A little minced fresh ginger may be added for the extra umph!

In a bowl, whisk egg lightly.  Add in a little flour and coconut alternately until the required consistency is reached.  Then, add enough water to reach a not too thin or too thick consistency.  Bear in mind that if the batter is too thin, the kuih will be too soft or if the batter is too thick, it will be hard after baking. Then, add a little yellow colouring and mix well.  Season with salt to taste and add sliced spring onion and parsley.

Since my aluminium mould is still not "seasoned", I used my silicone mould from Tupperware below. This silicone mould does not need to be greased.

Add about a tablespoon of batter into the mould, sprinkle minced beef on top and place a slice or two red chillies.

Bake in a conventional oven at 180° C for about 20 to 25 minutes.  Once done, remove from oven and let if cool slightly before removing the kuih.

Serve warm or cold.

Bon Appetit!