Tag: broccoli

• 

  How To Prepare Abalone

  Abalone are considered a delicacy world-wide and for good reason. The bit we eat is the foot that they anchor onto the seabed with. 

  Preparing them may seem hard at first but it really is quite straight forward and worth the effort. You also get some ‘Mother of Pearl’ at the end of the process!

  Source: CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=203608

  Preparation

  Here is how I go about preparing abalone meat.

  I use a spoon to prise the foot out slightly.

  

  Then I use my fingers to pull the foot off the shell, pinching it where the digestive track meets the foot. This way the tract stays behind.

  

  

  

  Then I trim the curled edges off and slice the foot into thin horizontal slices.

  

  Now comes the fun part. Cover the slices with cling film or baking paper and bash them.

  

  

  

  Cooking

  My favourite way of cooking them is a quick pan fry either as is or coated in flour or breadcrumbs.

  Here I have cooked them with some brocolini in sesame oil and garlic. At the end I mix in oyster sauce and serve with rice.

  

  

  

  

  Enjoy,

  PK

  If you liked this post you might like these too. 🙂

  Asian cusine:

  Using stock:

  Written by

  PK

  ·

  December 25, 2019

• 

  PK’S Broccoli Filled Beef Meatloaf

  Meatloaf is a great way to make a little go a long way. I use minced beef, vegetables and cheese to hook my fussy little eaters (lamb, pork, chicken work a treat too). My wife loved it as well, mostly as it is a ‘one pan’ dish!

  The broccoli filling was supposed to stay hidden but they were too smart for me. It still worked though thanks to the grilled cheese. 🙂

  

  Steps

  1. Preparing everything
  2. Making the loaf
  3. Cooking and grilling the loaf
  4. Serving

  Ingredients

  • 500g beef mince
  • 1 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
  • 1 egg
  • 1 small broccoli head, chopped into bite sized pieces
  • 1/2 brown onion, diced
  • 1 cup cheddar cheese, grated
  • 1 handful of parsley, rough chopped
  • 1 garlic clove, finely diced
  • 1/4 cup breadcrumbs (panko would go a treat)
  • Cracked black peppercorns and salt to taste
  • Olive oil spray

  Equipment

  • 1 chef’s knife
  • 1 chopping board
  • 1 mixing bowl
  • 1 non stick baking tin

  Preparing everything

  1. Beat the egg and mix in the 1 Tsbp Worcestershire sauce.
  2. Chop the broccoli into small pieces and microwave for 1 minute.
  3. Dice half of a brown onion, store the rest for another day.
  4. Grate enough cheddar cheese to get 1 cup.
  5. Roughly chop a handful of parsley and finely dice the garlic clove.
  6. Mix the above ingredients together in a bowl, sprinkling with salt and pepper as you go.

  

  Making the loaf

  1. Preheat your fan-forced oven to 180C.
  2. Put half the mince mix into the bottom of baking tin that you have sprayed with olive oil.
  3. Tamp it
  4. Layer the broccoli over this, leaving a gap right around the edges.
  5. Add a similar layer using half of the grated cheese.
  6. Top this with the rest of the mince and press down around the edges to make a bit of a seal.

  

  

  

  Cooking and grilling the loaf

  1. Pop the tin into the oven and cook for 30 minutes.
  2. Cover the mince loaf rest of the grated cheese and grill it until golden brown.

  

  

  

  Serving

  You could just serve it as is thanks to the broccoli filling but we try and use fresh greens from the garden with every meal. 🙂

  It makes for the best leftovers and  frozen lunches by the way.

  

  Enjoy,

  PK

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  YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE

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   MORE ONE PAN RECIPE

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  Written by

  PK

  ·

  June 27, 2018

• 

  PK’s Easy Sesame Broccoli

  Many Asian main meals will pair well with this dish of broccoli tossed in sesame oil and sesame seeds. I could even eat this as a main course it is so light and tasty. It also couldn’t be easier to make. 🙂

  Dietary Info: Great for vegans and is gluten free.

  Simply

  Steam or boil your broccoli florets, making sure you don’t over cook them. I like them to have a tiny bit of crunch still.

  While you are doing that, heat a generous amount of sesame oil in a pan. Toss the now cooked broccoli in until they are well coated in oil. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and you are done.

  More broccoli means a bit more oil and seeds. Have a bit of a play to get the ratios you prefer.

  

  Enjoy,

  PK

  ---

  YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE

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  OUR OTHER CHINESE CUISINE RECIPES

  NAGI’S ‘CHINESE RESTAURANT’ SATAY CHICKEN

  VEGAN, VEGETARIAN AND GLUTEN FREE INGREDIENTS

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  Written by

  PK

  ·

  March 28, 2018

• 

  PK’s One Pan Cheddar, Bacon And Broccoli Pasta Bake

  I have been cooking a really tasty cheese and broccoli pasta bake dish from http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/ for years and everyone in the family loves it.

  However, recently my wife challenged me to make it using one pan. Let’s just say I am not usually economical when it comes to using plates, pans, knives etc :).

  So this uber tasty, bacon enhanced, one pan pasta bake is the result. You and your guests are going to love it and in the unlikely event there is anything left, it freezes well so your bank account will love it too.

  You will be:

  1. Getting everything ready.
  2. Cooking on the hob.
  3. Cooking in the oven.
  4. Serving.

  You will need:

  • Ingredients:
    • 500g of your favourite dried pasta (I used fusilli) –
    • 200g bacon rashers (chopped) –
    • a large brown onion (finely chopped) –
    • 1/2 cup green beans (chopped) –
    • 300g broccoli florets (chopped) –
    • 2 Tbsp salted butter or butter blend –
    • 1/4 cup white plain flour –
    • 2 cups milk (I used skim) –
    • 1 cup PK’s Slow Cooker Chicken Stock –
    • 2 cups cheddar cheese (grated) –
    • a good handful of Parmigiano-Reggiano or parmesan cheese (shaved)
    • 1/4 cup breadcrumbs
    • ground rock salt to taste
    • cracked black peppercorns to taste
    • olive oil spray
  •  Equipment:
    • a chopping board
    • a long sharp knife
    • a wooden spoon
    • a large saucepan for the dried pasta
    • a large oven dish that can also be used on the hob

  Steps:

  Getting everything ready

  1. Start cooking the 500g of dried pasta in a large pot of boiling water. I always add a slug of oil and a big dash of table salt to the pasta water. Hey, not a health blog :).
  2. Finely chop the large brown onion.
  3. Rough chop the:
     1. 200g bacon rashers.
     2. 1/2 cup green beans.
     3. 300g broccoli florets.
  4. Grate the 2 cups cheddar cheese.

  The first time I cook something I like to get everything together first:

  

  Cooking on the hob

  1. Spray a bit of oil in the oven dish, pop it over two of the hob’s burners and turn them on low.
  2. Add the 200g of chopped bacon and keep it moving around.
  3. After a few minutes add the 2 Tbsp of butter and the chopped brown onion.
  4. Keep everything moving until the butter is melted and the onion has started to soften.
  5. Add the 1/4 cup white plain flour and mix in.
  6. Add the 1 cup of chicken stock and bring to the boil. Keep cooking until the sauce has reduced a bit.
  7. Add in the:
     1. 2 cups milk
     2. 2 cups grated cheddar
     3. 1/2 cup chopped green beans
     4. 300g chopped broccoli florets
  8. Chuck in the now al dente pasta and mix everything.
  9. Sprinkle the top with the breadcrumbs and shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano.

  Everything is better with bacon:

  

  Mixing in the other ingredients.

   

  Mix in the dairy and the greens:

   

  Mix in the pasta, sprinkle the breadcrumbs, Parmigiano-Reggiano or parmesan cheese:

   

  Cooking in the oven

  1. Put the oven tray into a preheated fan-forced oven set to 190C and cook for about 20 minutes.
  2. You can optionally then use a chef’s torch or the griller to brown the cheese a bit.

  Perfection:

  

  Serving

  You don’t need anything else other than a glass of your favourite red :).

  

  Enjoy,

  PK

  Written by

  PK

  ·

  February 20, 2017

• 

  PK Makes Rick Stein’s Chettinad Chicken

  This is by far my favourite recipe from the TV series and book, ‘Rick Stein’s India’ (see BBC link here).

  In my family’s version we keep the heat factor low and serve it with lightly steamed vegetables to keep it kid friendly. Well that is what my wife (who hates chili and curries in general) tells everyone but you didn’t hear it from me. Also in my defence, she shouldn’t have bought me a book full of curry recipes :).

  

  Despite the shameful lack of chili and heat, our version of this dish is still amazingly dry, peppery and oh so flavoursome. I think it loses some of the colour that so defines these type of curries however. I hope I am forgiven though as the result is very tender, sticky chicken calling out for some rice and sides of your favourite green vegetables :). Edit: I now use ground annato seed to impart a natural red colouring but one without the heat of chillis.

  A couple of recipe notes:

  • This dish calls for the use of a lichen called dagarful and I beg you to try it. I used cinnamon as a substitute originally but I have used the real deal in this post and there is no going back.
  • I use my home-made chicken stock instead of water.
  • Please check out my masla making tips in PK’s Curry Paste Kit before you start.

  You will be:

  1. Making the dry masala.
  2. Cooking the chicken.
  3. Serving.

  You will need:

  • Ingredients:
    • Dry Masala
      • 1 Tbsp fennel seeds
      • 1 Tbsp cumin seeds
      • 1 Tbsp coriander seeds
      • 1 Tbsp black peppercorns
      • 1 tsp kashmiri chili powder (go 1 Tbsp or more if allowed)
    • Chicken
      • 1kg skinless boneless chicken thighs, chunky sliced, short ways
      • 200g red shallots, diced
      • 200ml home made chicken stock
      • 50ml olive oil
      • 1 tsp fennel seeds
      • 8cm cinnamon stick
      • 1 Tbsp dagarful, rinsed and rough chopped (or an extra 3cm cinnamon stick)
      • a very large handful of curry leaves (the more the better)
      • 4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
      • 4cm ginger, peeled and grated
      • 1 tsp raw sugar
      • 1 tsp table or ground rock salt
  •  Equipment:
    • a chopping board
    • a long sharp knife
    • a frypan
    • a dry mixer
    • a deep frypan for the chicken

  Steps:

  Making the dry masala

  1. In a frypan, dry roast the 1 Tbsp fennel seeds, 1 Tbsp cumin seeds, 1 Tbsp coriander seeds and 1 Tbsp black peppercorns.
  2. Allow to cool and then and to your dry spice mixer.
  3. Add 1 tsp kashmiri chili powder as well and then give it a quick pulse.

  Spice heaven:

  

  Coarsely ground dry masala (looks and smells amazing):

   Cooking the chicken
  

  1. Peel and dice the 200g of red shallots.
  2. Chop the 1kg of chicken thighs short ways to get roughly 2.5cm chunks.
  3. In a deep frypan heat the 50ml olive oil.
  4. Add the 1 tsp fennel seeds, 1 Tbsp dagarful and the 8cm of cinnamon stick and stir for a few minutes.
  5. Add a very large handful of curry leaves and the 200g of red shallots. Stir until the latter are soft.
  6. Add the 1kg of chicken and stir for a few minutes.
  7. Add and stir for a few minutes the:
     1. dry masala
     2. 4 cloves garlic
     3. 4cm ginger
     4. 1 tsp raw sugar
     5. 1 tsp table salt
  8. Add the 200ml chicken stock.
  9. Cook for about 45 minutes or until the sauce is much reduced and sticky.

  I love the colours of this dish’s ingredients:

  

  Sauté the spices, red shallots and curry leaves:

  Add the chicken, stir and then add the garlic, ginger, sugar, salt and dry masala:

  Cook until the sauce is thick:

  

   

  Serving

  1. Cook your favourite rice, mine is basmati :).
  2. Steam some green vegetables for a splash of colour.

  

  Enjoy,

  PK

  Here are more Indian cuisine posts and Rick Stein recipes:

  Written by

  PK

  ·

  December 13, 2016