Braised eggs with beef, smoked aubergine and tomato

For a long time, I have been wanting to make this braised eggs for sometime. You are right, I'm quite a sucker for eggs if you get what I mean :) Eggporn does get me really excited with the oozing of the egg yolk. Yums!!

This post is one of the few backposts I have and should have posted sometime back already. Yes I'm trying to get to them. Be patient, they will come shortly.

This recipe is from Yotam Ottolenghi. Although Ottolenghi was born in Jerusalem, he resided in UK but yet his cooking style is very much rooted in his Middle Eastern upbringing. Think mediterrean, you are probably somewhere there.

Ingredients:

4 aubergines
1 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
1 large onion, finely chopped
6 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1/2 tsp chilli flakes
1/2 ground cinnamon
1/2 ground cumin
2 tsp tomato paste
300g minced beef
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
2 tsp finely chopped preserved lemon
4 eggs
3/4 tsp sumac paprika as I didn't have sumac
1 tbsp chopped parsley
salt and pepper

Tahini sauce:

40g tahini
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 garlic clove, crushed

Method:

1. Pierce the aubergines with a sharp knife in a few places and place each directly over a naked flame on your stovetop. Cook on medium heat for 20 minutes, turning occasionally with metal tongs until the outside is totally burnt and the aubergine starts to collapse on itself. (I didn't think this method is safe enough so I used the oven baking method) Alternatively, place the pierced aubergines on a tin foil lined tray under a hot grill in the oven for an hour, turning every 20 minutes. Remove from and place in a colander. Cut a single slit in each aubergine, from top to bottom and allow the juices to strain. Once cool enough to handle, scoop out all the flesh, avoiding all black skin, and set aside. You should have about 370g aubergine flesh. 
2. Prepare the tahini sauce by simply whisking together all the ingredients with ¼ teaspoon of salt and 1 tablespoon of water. It needs to be thick and rich, but you may need to add a splash of water if it is stiff or too dry. 
3. Next heat up the olive oil in a medium, heavy-based frying pan. 
4. Add the onion, garlic, chilli, cinnamon and cumin and tomato paste and sauté on a medium–high heat for 6 minutes to soften and colour a bit. 
5. Add the minced beef, 1 teaspoon of salt and some black pepper and brown well, 5–6 minutes, stirring, on high heat. 
6. Mix in the tomatoes, preserved lemon and aubergine flesh and cook for a further 5 minutes. Add up to 90ml of water if the sauce is becoming very thick. 
7. Make 4 small wells in the mix and break an egg into each. Cook the eggs on low heat for about 10 minutes, until the egg whites are cooked but the yolks are still runny. 
8. Covering the pan with a lid will hasten the process but make the yolks look a bit cloudy. 
9. Remove from the heat and dot with dollops of tahini sauce, sprinkle with sumac paprika and finish with the parsley and a drizzle of olive oil. Serve at once.

As you might have guessed it, this did knock Mr G's socks off a little. It was really good and moist with the tomato paste and tahini sauce and the egg porn all over. I will definitely attempt this again. It is perfect for a lazy Sunday brunch if you ask me :) Try it. I'm sure you won't regret.

I'm submitting this post to Simply Eggcellent #13 - a celebration of eggs organized by Dominic of Belleau Kitchen.

I'm also submitting this post to Cooking with Herbs - March - Easter and Spring Herbs organized by Karen of Lavender and Lovage.

Filomena's Apple Cake

When I first saw this recipe, I fell in love with how pretty it looks. In fact, it resembles a cake my mum brought back from work one day. Apparently, her co-worker made it. I thought it tasted really good and also, look good as well.

I liked this recipe by Tessa Kiros' friend's mother. Apparently, her friend was pretty pleased at how her cake looks. With a glance at the recipe, I knew it would taste very yummy and soft too. So I'm going to try out this pretty looking cake for the 7th day of Chinese New Year. In Chinese traditions, it is also known as 人日 which is known as the day human beings are created. This simply means that it is everyone's birthday on that day!! This means that this cake is going to be everyone's birthday cake! What a good excuse to make a cake :)

This recipe is from Tessa Kiros' Limoncello and Linen Water. Please see my modifications in blue.

Ingredients:

150g butter, softened (you can use unsalted butter and add 1/4 tsp salt)

150g caster sugar plus 2 tbsp caster sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

3 eggs, separated

250g plain flour

2 tbsp potato flour or starch or almond flour

2 tsp baking powder

3 tbsp milk

3 rennet apples (or other large red apples) about 220g each

Icing sugar (for dusting)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 170 degrees celsius. Butter and flour a round 24cm springform cake tin.
2. Using an electric beater, whip the butter and sugar until creamy. Add the vanilla extract, then add the egg yolks one at a time, whisking well after each addition.
3. Whisk in the flour, potato flour/starch and baking powder, adding the milk as the mixture thickens to make a very thick batter. Scrape the mixture off the beaters into the bowl, then wash and dry them.
4. Use clean beaters to whip the egg whites to snowy peaks. Using a metal spoon, fold a scoop of the egg whites into the cake batter until evenly dispersed, then gently fold in the rest of the egg whites.
5. Scrape into the prepared tin and level the surface.
6. Peel, core and halve the apples. Cut across the halves into slices of 4-5mm thick.
7. Starting at the centre of the cake, arrange the slices slightly obliquely, pushed halfway into the batter. Pack them tightly together, working your way outwards like petals of a rose. It may seem like too much apple but it will look lovely later. Scatter the extra tbsp sugar evenly over the top. 
8. Bake until the apples begin to get golden and some of the edges are dark, about 45 minutes, then cover with foil and continue baking for about a further 15 to 20 minutes or until the cake is ready. The middle should look ever-so-faintly gooey.*
9. Remove the foil and cool before removing from the tin. Serve dusted lightly with icing sugar.

*It is important that the cake is not overcooked as the edges and bottom will dry out.

Check out how the cake looks. Not too perfect or much like Filomena's I would say. Perhaps I need to polish up on my fruit cutting skills. I don't even have much to begin with =S

I would say that on a whole, this cake should be pretty moist. I happily put it into the oven and then realised after a good half hour or so, OOPS!! I forgot to scatter the sugar over the top. @@ Then I made the mistake of scattering it just before I covered the cake with foil. I should have just left it alone. Overall, I think the cake is not too bad but can be a little more moist.

I'm submitting this post to I Heart Cooking Clubs - Monthly Featured Chef Tessa Kiros. 

I'm also submitting this post to Simply Eggcellent#12 organized by Dominic of Belleau Kitchen.

Mini dark chocolate brownies

This week is Nibbles and Noshes at IHCC. Although for me, nibbles always come in savoury form, this time round I would like to have a sweet dessert nibble. I decided to make Ellie Krieger's dark chocolate brownies but in a mini version. I have bookmarked this recipe for a long time but didn't know why I just never managed to make it. Finally I did!! I didn't regret it for sure.

This recipe is from Ellie Krieger's Comfort Food Fix. See! I told you I like this book already!! Hehe! See my modifications in blue.

Ingredients:

Nonstick cooking spray

227g bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

28.35g unsalted butter (I used salted butter and omitted salt)

100g whole-grain pastry flour or whole-wheat flour

29.5g unsweetened natural cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

4 large eggs

200g packed light brown sugar (I used only 180g)

120g plain low-fat yogurt

54.89g canola oil

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3/4 cup chopped walnuts, optional (I used chocolate chips instead)

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 9X13-inch baking pan with cooking spray.
2. Melt the chocolate and butter in a double broiler or heatproof bowl set over a pot of barely simmering water, stirring occasionally.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar until smooth. Add the yogurt, oil, and vanilla and whisk to combine. Add the chocolate-butter mixture and whisk until blended. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing just enough to moisten.
4. Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan and sprinkle with nuts, if desired. Bake until the wooden toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs, 20 to 25 minutes. Allow to cool completely in the pan on a wire rack before cutting into 24 pieces.

 

 

These mini brownies did look like cookies right? Trust me, after taking them out from the mini moulds, the rest were history. So hence, I didn't have a better picture than this one.

 

I'm submitting this post to I Heart Cooking Clubs Nibbles and Noshes.

 



Olive Oil Pumpkin Bread

This week is Any way you slice it at IHCC. In case you are wondering what is ''any way you slice it", it just simply means any recipe that made that allows your final produce to be sliced or you can simply slice ingredients.

This time round, I decided to make Ellie Krieger's Olive Oil Pumpkin Bread (published by Washington Post) after hearing good reviews about it. Also, it would mark the 1st of desserts with Ellie Krieger as well.  

Indeed, already the words 'olive oil pumpkin bread' spells all of its goodness that you know you just have to try it right? Yeah, it ticked me that way too.

Ingredients:

71.7g plus 2 teaspoons olive oil

129.6g whole-wheat pastry flour or regular whole-wheat flour (I used buckwheat flour)

62.5g unbleached all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon salt

220g pure pumpkin puree

170g honey

50g packed light brown sugar

2 large eggs

2 tablespoons shelled, unsalted pumpkin seeds

 Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Use 2 teaspoons of the oil to grease the inside of a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan.
2. Whisk together the flours, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and salt in a mixing bowl. 
3. Beat the pumpkin, honey, brown sugar, the remaining 1/3 cup of the oil and the eggs in a separate bowl until well combined. 
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir just until evenly incorporated.
5. Pour the batter into the pan, smoothing it into the corners evenly. 
6. Sprinkle the top with pumpkin seeds, pressing them down lightly. 
7. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until the top is browned and a wooden skewer inserted into center comes out clean. 
8. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then transfer the pumpkin bread to a wire rack to cool completely before serving or storing.



It did looked dense, does it? You are right and wrong. It is very moist and yet, packed with loads of pumpkin flavour. This might make pumpkin lovers cringe at the moment. But trust me, it's really good. Mr G who isn't a big fan of pumpkin, tried it and he had 2 more slices after that. Enough said right? Best of all, it is just so easy to make. Best for a brekkie with a cup of hot tea.

I'm submitting this to I Heart Cooking Clubs.

I'm also submitting this to Cook-Your-Books#28 organized by Joyce of kitchenflavours.

I'm also submitting this post to Simply Eggcellent #6 organized by Dominic of Belleau Kitchen.





Chocolate Fudge Cake

There were 2 upcoming birthdays and I thought of baking a cake that would be a crowd pleaser. Immediately Nigella came to mind. Nigella always reminds me of a good ol' chocolate cake and with her recipes, you will usually be spot on ;)

Incidentally, I have a few chocolate cakes from Nigella's collection that I have bookmarked for a long time. Now I'm able to bake this recipe from Nigella Bites. I'm delighted and hope the cake will turn out well. Please see my modifications in blue.

Cake ingredients:

• 400 grams plain flour
• 250 150 grams golden caster sugar
• 100 50 grams light brown muscovado sugar
• 50 grams best-quality cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 3 large eggs
• 142 ml sour cream
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 175 grams unsalted butter (melted and cooled)
• 125 ml corn oil
• 300 ml chilled water

Fudge icing

• 175 grams dark chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa solids)
• 250 grams unsalted butter (softened)
• 275 180 grams icing sugar (sifted)
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4/350ºF. I used 160 degrees celsius instead.
2. Butter and line the bottom of two 20cm / 8 inch sandwich tins. I poured the batter equally into 3 round sandwich tins instead.
3. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugars, cocoa, baking powder, bicarb and salt. 
4. In another bowl or wide-necked measuring jug whisk together the eggs, sour cream and vanilla until blended. 
5. Using a freestanding or handheld electric mixer, beat together the melted butter and corn oil until just blended (you'll need another large bowl for this if using the hand whisk; the freestanding mixer comes with its own bowl), then beat in the water. 
6. Add the dry ingredients all at once and mix together on a slow speed. 
7. Add the egg mixture, and mix again until everything is blended and then pour into the prepared tins. And actually, you could easily do this manually; I just like my toys and find the KitchenAid a comforting presence in itself.
8. Bake the cakes for 50-55 25 minutes, or until a cake-tester comes out clean. Cool the cakes in their tins on a wire rack for 15 minutes, and then turn the cakes out onto the rack to cool completely.
9. To make the icing, melt the chocolate in the microwave - 2-3 minutes on medium should do it - or in a bowl sitting over a pan of simmering water, and let cool slightly.
10. In another bowl beat the butter until it's soft and creamy (again, I use the KitchenAid here) and then add the sieved icing sugar and beat again until everything's light and fluffy. I know sieving is a pain, the one job in the kitchen I really hate, but you have to do it or the icing will be unsoothingly lumpy. Then gently add the vanilla and chocolate and mix together until everything is glossy and smooth.
11. Sandwich the middle of the cake with about a quarter of the icing, and then ice the top and sides too, spreading and smoothing with a rubber spatula.

 

 

 

What do you think of my cake? I thought it was pretty rustic like Nigella's who doesn't excel in beautifully decorated cakes. For me, it is good because it looks pretty homemade in that case. A good tip for this is, you may want to crumb coat a layer of the fudge on the cake first and put it in the fridge to let it set for about 15 to 30 minutes. Thereafter, the fudge will go on the cake easily.

 

I thought the cake tasted pretty good just a tad dry maybe I didn't take out the cakes immediately. Apart from that, this cake is quite good. Next, I want to try the Devil's Chocolate cake from Nigella ;) You can tell I'm beginning to get more ambitious LOL!!

 

I'm submitting this post to Cook-Your-Books#26 organized by Joyce of kitchenflavours.

 

 

I'm also submitting this post to Simply Eggcellent #6 organized by Dominic of Belleau Kitchen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This post is linked to Little Thumbs Up (August 2015: Brown Sugar and Molasses) organised by Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids and Doreen of My Little Favourite DIY, and hosted by Jess from Bakericious.

 





Gruyere Cheese Soufflé

I realised that in my blog, I don't have many breakfast recipes. You are right, I don't really cook breakfast except for scrambled eggs and frittata. Perhaps I need to learn how to cook breakfast more, afterall, they did say that you should eat breakfast like a king.

This week at IHCC, our theme is "Reveille-toi" which means wake up in french. Have you woken up in the morning only to feel really hungry and need a real boost in the morning? I do, ok I always do. I definitely need a good breakfast to get me started for the long day ahead. I'm not sure what is your kind of good breakfast. For me, it is definitely something savoury like sausage and eggs, sandwich with savoury filling, etc.

Today, I'm going to attempt a dish which I never thought I would dare to attempt for a long time. Yes as the title states, it is going to be a soufflé *GULPS* Have you tried to bake a soufflé? I do know that even restaurants do have soufflés that can disappoint and it is not a surprise to me. This delicate baby is one that should be on every chef wannabe's repertoire for sure. Ok, wish me all the best as I try to make it. Let's hope that Mr G will get his breakfast hehe!!

One of Jacques Pepin's tips are that as metal interacts with the egg whites, this will make the egg whites more stable structurally as they take on air. He also mentions that whilst beating egg whites by hand, you must start fast to make them more liquid, then slow down, not forgetting to lift them with the whisk but yet not touching the bowl too much. However, the crux of making a perfect soufflé is the timing where you have to use the egg whites right away. For this gruyere cheese soufflé, Pepin uses a wide, shallow gratin dish and then creates a lattice on top with thin slices of American cheese. He also mentions that a soufflé ramekin would work just as well.

This recipe from Jacques Pepin is from Food and Wine magazine, January 2014. 

Ingredients:

3 tbsp unsalted butter, plus more for greasing
2 tbsp freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
3 1/2 tbsp all purpose flour
244g whole milk
5 large eggs, separated
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
85g Gruyere cheese, shredded (1 cup)
2 tbsp chopped chives
2 slices American yellow cheese, each cut into 6 strips

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees celsius. 
2. Grease a 1-quart gratin dish with butter and dust with the Parmigiano; refrigerate. 
3. In a saucepan, melt the 3 tablespoons of butter over moderate heat. Whisk in the flour and cook, whisking, for 1 minute. Whisk in the milk, bring to a boil and cook, whisking, until thickened, 1 minute. Remove the béchamel from the heat, then whisk in 4 egg yolks along with the salt and pepper; reserve the remaining yolk for another use. 
4. In a clean bowl, beat the whites until firm peaks form. Whisk one-third of the whites into the béchamel, then fold in the remaining beaten whites. 
5. Fold in the Gruyère and chives; scrape into the prepared dish. 
6. Arrange the American cheese strips on top in a crisscross pattern. 
7. Bake for 25 minutes, until puffed and golden. Serve.

Would you like to see how my soufflé turned out? 

Frankly, I thought my egg white mixture did split a little due to no agent to hold the egg white structure. However, when I folded the béchamel in, it seemed to be much better. I love the taste of this light, cheesy and a tad eggy soufflé. I will try to master more soufflés in time to come! I think this gives me a bit more confidence now as a home cook. Mr G is sitting there savouring his breakfast now. I guess that means it is a pass!! Try to make a soufflé if you dare ;)

I'm submitting this post to IHCC's Reveille-toi.

I'm also submitting this post to Cook-Your-Books#26 organized by Joyce of kitchenflavours.

                                

I'm also submitting this post to Cooking with Herbs organized by Karen of Lavender and Lovage.

                                  
I'm also submitting this post to Simply Eggcellent #6 organized by Dominic of Belleau Kitchen.