A Bolognese Outside Bologna

It was during one of those weekends that my husband suggested that we have a spaghetti dinner that this plan of having it with a Bolognese sauce was cooked up.  Indeed, this menu suggestion was well received since it will only require a few ingredients.  And really, a pasta dish is easier and therefor faster to prepare for dinner.

 

A Bolognese sauce refers to a meat based dish (usually beef and pork) dressed up with a little tomato sauce and red wine with origins from the city of Bologna in Italy.  It is usually called ragu alla Bolognese or simply ragu.  For anyone who has had a taste of the Filipino spaghetti, the Bolognese sauce is the basis for it.  Of course, we have made it our own by removing the wine and adding ham and hotdog slices, and as perfected by Makati Supermart, added red and green bell peppers and may I guess, a lot of pickles to reach that sweet-sour-salty taste we always look for in a meat sauce. 

 

But I digress. 

 

Here is my recipe for the Bolognese sauce that evening.  I can safely say that I stayed true to the Italian recipe, although the wine I used was something that I had on hand.  There isn't any particular wine that one should use actually, but do follow the rule that the wine you should use for cooking should be something you also drink.  In my case, it was a rioja (Proximo by Marques de Riscal 2010). 

 

For the pasta, I used spaghettini and made sure that I cooked it al dente.  This means that you should take out the pasta from the simmering water when it is almost cooked through, not when it is entirely cooked.  No need to worry about it since even when you are able to get the pasta out, it continues to cook through because of the residual heat from the pot, and by the time you mix it with the sauce, it'll just be ripe enough to soak in the flavors of the Bolognese.  Perfetto.

 

 

The Recipe

 

1 kilo ground lean beef

5-6 strips bacon

1 medium white onion, chopped finely

1 medium carrot, chopped finely

1 celery stalk, chopped

2 bottles passata, or pureed tomato

1/3 cup red wine

salt & pepper to taste

 

1 500-gram long pasta of your choice, cooked al dente

 

1.  Make a sofrito by heating your sauce pan with a little water, then cook your bacon strips in it until water evaporates and oil from the bacon comes out.  Continue cooking until crisp, then take out the bacon and set aside.  With the bacon fat, sauté the onion, carrot and celery until fragrant.  This is equivalent to gisa in Filipino cooking.

 

2.  Add the ground beef and cook until brown.  Meanwhile, chop the cooked bacon into large bits.  When the beef has browned, add back the bacon followed by the pureed tomato then season with salt and pepper, and cover, braising the meat for 15 minutes.

 

3.  Uncover, stir in the wine, and continue cooking until it starts boiling.  Check seasoning.

 

4.  Pour sauce over pasta, grate fresh parmesan over it and serve with heated baguette.

A Low-Calorie Day

After eating out  on several occasions, it was time to balance it with some lower calorie, low carb options.  For economies of scale and a more efficient use of the kitchen, the same dish was offered for Heaven's Country Kitchen's (my food business) low calorie meal delivery.  [Hey, I eat what my clients eat.  ;-)]

For today, I tried out this new recipe for steak rub using coffee (my favorite drink) called Coffee and Paprika-Rubbed Sirloin Roast served with Buttermilk Dressing and simply accompanied it with Pan-Grilled Japanese Tofu, Tomatoes and Bell Peppers.  In this instance, I used local beef sirloin with some fat left on it to help give it additional flavor.  In any case, the fat was later dissolved and left at the bottom of the oven because I roasted it using the turbo broiler (or halogen-powered oven).  But this will cook equally well in a conventional oven but place the meat in a roasting tray atop a rack to allow even browning all over.

As for the side dish, I just sliced the tofu into cubes, and the vegetables into chunks then pan-grilled it with just a teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil until lightly browned.  This meal has  236 calories.

 

What's good about this recipe is that the prep time is short, and cooking it is hassle-free - you just need to put it in the broiler and keep your time.  The roast came out flavorful by itself, actually, but the dressing gave it added punch.  Enjoy!

The Recipe

1       T. brown sugar
1 1/2 t. instant coffee powder
3/4   t. Spanish paprika
1/2   t. garlic powder
1/2   t. salt
1/8   t. freshly ground black pepper
1 kilo   whole beef sirloin

Score beef all over in a criss-cross pattern Combine the spices and rub all over beef and leave in a covered container in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or overnight.  When ready to cook, pre-heat conventional oven to 250 deg. Celsius for a few minutes and maintain heat when starting to roast the beef.

For the turbo broiler, place beef at 3-4 inches from heat source and set temperature at the same level (250 deg. Celsius) and timer at 50 minutes.  This will produce a medium-well roast which is ideal for local beef.  If using imported beef, and you'd like it medium rare, cook for 30 minutes.

In both instances, turn beef once half-way through its cooking times.  Once beef is done, transfer the roast to a cutting board and let rest for 5 minutes.  After that, slice beef thinly across the grain and serve with Buttermilk Dressing.

Buttermilk Dressing

2   T. low-fat buttermilk
2   T. light mayonnaise (I used Lady's Choice Mayo Lite)
1   T. snipped fresh chives
1    t. apple cider vinegar (I used Bragg's)
1    t. Dijon-style mustard
1/4 t. sugar
1/8 t. garlic powder
1/8 t. each salt and black pepper

Whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl until blended well.  Cover and chill in the refrigerator.  This dressing is good for up to 2 days.  (recipe for beef and dressing from low-carb cooking magazine issue 2013)

Dinner in a Hurry

Its been quite a few months since I have not even peeked at any internet site. And that includes this site too. However, now that I am able once more to go to these pages, I thought it only apt that I share a few of the dishes I have prepared for my family considering the busy busy hours at the office. While I sometimes fall back on certain familiar Filipino dishes, and thank God, I have someone I can rely on to cook these dishes when all I want to do is sit back and relax, there were times that I felt that there should be something healthier and faster presented at the table even if I’m already at my wits end or would just rather raise my feet and watch pre·dinner tv.

After noting that I have a tray of pomelo sections in my fridge, and there were really fresh, succulent shrimps available, I thought of preparing a Thai style salad to accompany our pork dish. It’s quite easy to prepare.



Shrimp Pomelo Salad

pomelo sections from 1/2 fruit
1/2 kilo shrimps
1 cup vegetable or chicken broth
handful cilantro sprigs, chopped
Dressing:
2 tsp. white sugar
2 Tbsp. fish sauce (or patis)
juice from 5 calamansi (Philippine lemon), seeds removed
1/4 cup toasted peanuts, crushed, for garnish


1. Peel half a kilo of shrimps of their heads and shell, leaving the area of the tail intact, sprinkle & toss in a dash of rock salt.
2. Poach in vegetable broth for just a few minutes, or as soon as the shrimps turn pink in just boiled broth.
3. Take the shrimps immediately out of the hot water and dip in ice cold water to stop them from overcooking. Drain the water and set aside.
4. Meanwhile, tear the pomelo sections into bite size chunks and place in a bowl.
5. Prepare the dressing by mixing all ingredients together in a smaller bowl. If you dont have calamansi, you may use 3 Tbsp. lemon juice. You may adjust these ingredients according to preference.
6. To assemble, add the shrimps and chopped cilantro in the bowl of pomelo chunks and toss with the fish sauce mixture until all flavors are incorporated.
7. Garnish with additional sprigs of cilantro and sprinkle with toasted peanuts.

It took me around 15 minutes to assemble the ingredients and prepare the salad, so it’s a real time saver. The salad can be a refreshingly light meal on its own or can be a side dish to balance any fried or saucy meals.

Another time saver is this quite popular Japanese beef soup, the Beef Sukiyaki. There were occasions when we would eat out in Japanese restaurants and I thought how complicated this dish might be. Then I thought of trying to make my own when I came across a recipe for this in a local cooking magazine and saw the multiple steps that are necessary to go through to get to your sukiyaki. But when it was time for me to cook it, I lost the copy of the recipe and so decided to just go with whatever is on hand instead and just simply guided myself with how the picture looked like from memory for the list of the ingredients. Two things that saved me were the packets of hondashi soup base, which is essential, of course, and my bottle of Kikkoman Tempura & Noodle base, which is my impromptu ingredient. These can be found in the Asian/Imported section of supermarkets.



Beef Sukiyaki

1 white onion, sliced in strips
2 stalks onion leeks, sliced in match sticks, light green to white part only
250 grams beef, cut sukiyaki style (or beef belly sliced thinly)
250 grams fresh shitake mushrooms, whole or sliced, stems removed
1 tub Japanese silken tofu, cubed
200 grams vermicelli or rice thread noodles
1/4 cup carrots, sliced into coins
2 cups cabbage, sliced roughly
3 packets hondashi soup base
200 ml Kikkoman Tempura & Noodle Base
2 liters beef broth
1 egg

1. After assembling the ingredients, soak vermicelli noodles in water for 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.
2. In a casserole or deep saute pan, saute white onion followed by onion leeks in 2 Tbsp. cooking oil until fragrant.
3. Add the beef broth, hondashi and Tempura & Noodle Base and let boil.
4. Lower heat and add carrots. At five minute intervals, add the mushrooms, noodles and slowly add tofu to prevent breaking.
5. When noodles are almost cooked, add the cabbage leaves then the beef. Season with pepper and salt according to taste.
6. Just before serving, add one raw egg into the casserole while still cooking and slowly distribute the egg into the soup.
7. Garnish individual bowls with sliced onion leeks.

Well, my little diversion had really good results, considering that I was in a fix as to what to serve my family. The assembly of ingredients, from a look on the list, would seem too many, but its actually quite easy to have them all together. The actual cooking didnt even take too much time (the benefit of a one pot dish) and we were able to have it for dinner in less than 30 minutes. If you ever decide to take this up as part of your menu plan, this can served by itself but some would prefer eating it with plain rice regardless of the presence of the noodles in the pot.

However, if all energy fails, there is always the reliable sandwhich and potato chips. I took a bit more effort by adding greens in the bread for added bite and less guilt especially since I am trying to make healthy choices. A cup of tea also helped freshen my palate.

Celebration Dish

What better way to celebrate the Philippines' 113th Independence than preparing a Filipino celebratory dish?

Beef Caldereta is usually one of the dishes that comprises a Filipino household's menu during parties, get-togethers, potlucks and fiestas. While this stew may show traces of Spanish influence, it has become a truly Filipino dish all its own. This version I'm sharing is one that my father developed over the years when there are parties to be held at home and which our guests would usually gush over and pour compliments at how very tasty it is. It was a good thing that I finally sat him down and dictated the recipe to me.

Ingredients:

3 kilos beef cubes
5 pcs. hotdogs/sausages
1 cup grated cheese
1/2 cup green olives
2 big onions, quartered
2 cloves garlic
few thin slices of ginger for sauteing
2 T tomato paste
1 sm. can liver spread
3-4 large green & red bell peppers
4 T Knorr liquid seasoning
1/2 kilos potatoes, quartered
2 large carrots, sliced

Procedure:

1. Marinate beef in 1 cup beer & Knorr seasoning for 30 mins.
2. Saute beef, onions, garlic, ginger & black pepper until beef is partially cooked.
3. Add 1 cup water (or as desired depending on how thick you want the sauce to be). Cook under slow heat. Cover until juice of beef comes out and until tender.
4. Add liver spread. Mix then season with salt & soy sauce to taste.
5. Add all other ingredients, last being the grated cheese, and let simmer until vegetables are just cooked. Serve and enjoy.