This is delicious yet soooo fattening. I can feel all the weight I’ve lost piled on instantly.
It’s easy to make. I followed a recipe from the Internet but it turned out fabulous.
In a metal bowl, whisk 4 egg yolks with 1 tbsp lemon juice. And then place the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and slowly add in half a stick of melted butter in a slow stream. Remember to continue whisking. When the sauce has reached the right consistency, take it off the heat and then whisk in salt and cayenne. ( I used smoked paprika).
On the last week of term, some chef came to the school to conduct a cooking workshop for teachers and their children. It sounded interesting so I signed up for the course even though it would end at half past eight. The menu for the day was …
The other was chicken piccata which I’ll post. What interested me most was the tomato sauce. It really was delicious. The spaghetti dish itself was so-so. He used Italian canned tomatoes, olive oil, very finely chopped carrots, onions, cabbage I think? And loads and loads of garlic. The result was really good and he said we could use this to serve with breaded calamaris. Mmmmm..that got me even excited. Such a simple recipe yet I was too lazy to make my own tomato sauce, preferring to buy bottled or ready canned ones instead.
Sausages (it was supposed to be turkey breast. hmph), zuchinni, chicken thighPour two cans of Italian peeled tomatoes and mash with a fork till, well, mashed.In a rather large saucepan, add in a lot of olive oil. Add finely minced garlic and fry till golden brown. Add in very finely chopped vegetables and fry till fragrant. Pour in the tomatoes and cook for a few minutes. Season with salt and pepper. At this stage, you can season with any Italian herbs you want or throw in a bay leaf etc.
The sauce was the bomb. Then, we had to cook that spaghetti dish. Simply boil spaghetti, add them into the fried sausages and zucchini and then pour about half of the tomato sauce in. I didn’t like the dish. It tasted insipid. Bleah. But the rest of the teachers were so famished (it was half past eight before we could eat our dinner!) that I didn’t get a chance to ask what they thought of the dish. However, you’ve got to try the sauce. And serve it with fried calamari or mushrooms! Yums!
I have no idea how a real honest to goodness pesto sauce should taste like. I know how it’s made. I’ve tasted the one in the jar before. But still, I’ve no idea what a good pesto sauce should taste like. I read Jamie Oliver’s recipe for pesto sauce. And several other websites and books and the ingredients are all the same. This is how I made pesto sauce today. It tasted good but I’m still unsure if it’s the right thing. Anyway, the family loved it. I like it too but I’ll continue experimenting and trying out pesto recipes till I figure out what’s a perfect pesto.
In a blender, blend a handful of Italian basil leaves. Toasted pine nuts. Salt. Olive oil. Parmesan Cheese. Adjust to taste by adding more oil or more cheese or salt till it's perfect.Spoon sauce over meat of choice. Here, over baked salmon. Yummmmy...
I think if it’s meant to be mixed with pasta, my pesto sauce may be a bit too ‘basil-ly’. I don’t know. But over salmon, it was divine. Try some pesto today. 😀
Bechamel Sauce. The base for moussaka and lasagna. Without bechamel sauce, these dishes won’t be tasty at all. It’s easy to make but hard to master. I always have some trouble when making it. To make for one dish, use a litre of milk. Today, I used 2 litres of milk and hence, I have leftovers in the fridge.
Start by making a roux. That's mixing equal parts butter with flour and cooking till it browns slightly.Slowly pour in milk. Keep stirring. You have to stir and not stop. Let the milk thicken till it coats the back of a wooden spoon. Season with salt, nutmeg and pepper. Voila, white sauce!
The Occasional Cook 