Recipes - Stuffat tal Fenek

Stuffat tal Fenek, Rabbit Stew, may be Malta's nation dish.  As there is not a lot of land mass in Malta, and therefore not a lot of room for grazing animals, rabbit is a popular protein on the island.  In Australia, and many other western cultures, rabbit is not considered to be a popular meat to cook with.  Most people I've encountered do not even have the inclination to try it, thinking of rabbit as a pet not a source of food.  For me, I grew up eating rabbit stew and it has always one of my favourite things that my Nan prepares.  I felt so honoured when she gave me her recipe 5 years ago.  This is awesome.  Enjoy.

NB: Wild rabbits are available at select butchers, however, wild rabbit can be tough, with a gamey flavour.  Farmed rabbits have a much milder flavours, are usually more tender and are the best choice for cooking.  It can be difficult to get your hands on farmed rabbit but is well worth the effort.

Ingredients

1 rabbit, cut into 12-15 pieces
3/4 cup red wine
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 1/2 tsp mixed spice
3/4 tsp all spice
3/4 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
500g pork spare rib, cut into 1 inch pieces
2 onions, finely diced
3 potatoes, chopped
1 1/2 tbs tomato paste 
1 tsp white sugar
1 cup beef stock
1.5 cups water
3/4 cup peas
1kg spaghetti, parmesan cheese and bread - to serve

Step 1 - Place rabbit pieces and offal in a large bowl.  In a small bowl, combine garlic, 1/2 cup red wine, 1/2 tsp mixed spice, and a 1/4 tsp each of all spice, garam masala, nutmeg and cinnamon.  Combine well and pour over rabbit.  Cover with glad wrap and marinade for at least two hours, stirring every half an hour or so.
Step 2 - Heat a good whack of olive oil in a large, heavy bottomed sauce pan.  Add a single layer of pork spare rib pieces and fry for about a minute on each side.  Remove from pan and place on a large plate.  Fry off remaining pork spare ribs in as many batches as necessary.  Remove from pan and place on plate.

Step 3 - In small batches, fry rabbit pieces and offal in pan for about 1-3 minutes on each side, depending on the size and thickness of the piece, until well browned.  Set aside on the plate with the pork.  Reserve marinading liquid.
Step 4 - Throw onions into pan and cook until soft and translucent.  Add a little more oil if necessary.  Throw spices in the pan and cook well, stirring until spices are fragrant.  
Step 5 - Add tomato past and sugar, and cook, stirring, until tomato paste has darkened in colour significantly.  Remove from heat and pour in marinading liquid and remaining wine.  Stir until well combined then add potato, beef stock and water and return to heat.  Bring to boil, cook for 2-3 minutes, then reduce heat to low.   
Step 6 - Return rabbit and pork to the pan, season well with salt and pepper and slowly simmer for 2-3 hours, until sauce is thick and meat is falling off the bone.  In the last 5 minutes, add peas to the pot.
Step 7 - When ready to serve, cook spaghetti as per packet instructions.  Place spaghetti on serving plate, top with one or two pieces of rabbit and spoon over a generous amount of sauce.   Serve with parmesan cheese, fresh cracked black pepper and thick slices of crusty bread on the side.

Recipes - Veggie-ful Bolognese

What is one thing kids can not have too much of?  Vegetables.  And what is one thing kids never get enough of? Vegetables.  My kids eat their veggies, usually without a fight, but I still struggle to get enough veggies in their diet.  So, I am always looking for ways to veggie-pack recipes and have discovered that there is a great utensil, that is a standard in all kitchens, that makes veggie-packing meals a lot easier.

The humble grater.  

Grating vegetables helps them breakdown faster, leaving no visible sign that they were ever there.  This trick works really well in tomato based sauces such as nachos, beef stew, beef stroganoff, my own Mexican Chicken recipe and pasta sauces such as this bolognese.  It can also be used when preparing soups, stews, casseroles and curries.  I like to aim for a minimum of five or six vegetables per dish.  Slow cooking on a low heat produces the best results.  

Ingredients

500g beef mince

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 onion, finely diced

8 button mushrooms, peeled and finely diced

2 carrots, grated

2 zucchini, grated

4 celery stalks, finely diced

1 red capsicum, finely diced

1/2 butternut pumpkin, grated

2 x 400g tins diced tomatoes

2 tbs tomato paste

1 tsp sugar

1 cup water

salt and pepper to season

Step 1 - Heat a good what of olive oil in a large frying pan over high heat.  Fry garlic, onions and mushrooms for 1-2 minutes until cooked. Add beef and fry until browned.

Step 2 - Throw in carrot, zucchini, celery and capsicum and fry for another 2 minutes.  Add tomato paste and sugar and cook, stirring frequently, until tomato paste is darker in colour and well cooked.

Step 3 - Reduce heat, add tin tomatoes and water.  Season well, cover with lid and slowly simmer for 3-5 hours.

Step 4 - With an hour to go, add pumpkin.  Check seasoning and adjust if necessary.  Cover with lid and slowly simmer until sauce is thick and vegetables have melted into the sauce.  If sauce looks like it is drying out, add a little more water. 

Step 5 - Cook pasta.

Step 6 - Mix pasta into sauce and serve w grated parmesan cheese.


Notes:


Mushrooms will not break down into sauce, however, will go undetected if diced very finely.

Recipes - Spaghetti w Beef and Lentils

A few of my friends have asked me to post some 'single serve' recipes for people who want to cook delicious dinners for one.  This is one of my favourite recipes to cook when I am home alone (mind you, I usually make a double serve a have it for lunch the next day). By the way, I use the words 'single serve' lightly.

Ingredients

1 x thick cut beef rib steak on the bone (or similar)

1 small clove garlic, chopped finely

6 cherry tomatoes, halved

1/2 capsicum, sliced thinly

50g tinned lentils, drained and rinsed

20g rocket

100g spaghetti

salt and pepper, to season

Step 1 - Preheat oven to 200°C.  

Step 2 - Cook spaghetti.

Step 3 - Heat a little oil in a frying pan.  When hot, seal beef for 30 seconds on each side.  When sealed, scatter capsicum around beef and place pan in oven for 15 minutes*, turning beef halfway through.

Step 4 - Remove pan from oven and return to stove top.  Remove beef and set aside to rest on a plate.  Heat pan over high heat and add a little more oil.

Step 5 - When pan is hot, add garlic and toss with capsicums, cooking until garlic is fragrant.  Add lentils, tomatoes and cooked spaghetti, season well with salt and pepper and combine.

Step 6 - Remove from heat and mix rocket through pasta. Serve spaghetti in a bowl with beef on top.   

Notes:

*Beef cooking times will vary depending on cut of beef, thickness of cut and your preference as to how you like your beef cooked. 

This meal should only take 15 minutes to cook, 20 minutes at the most, it's all about time management.  Put the water onto boil for the pasta and while it is heating, chop the capsicum and seal the beef.  When the beef is in the oven, throw the pasta into the boiling water then chop garlic, slice tomatoes, drain lentils.  That way, you'll have everything ready when the beef comes out of the oven.  

Recipes - Antipasto Pasta

This is a great way to use up leftover bits and pieces in your fridge, or after a picnic or barbecue (do most people serve antipasto at a picnic or barbecue?  I know I do).  Because there isn't a 'sauce' as such, this dish is perfect for spring and summer as it's not as heavy as creamy or tomato sauce pasta dishes.  

Ingredients

1 clove garlic, finely diced

150g salami, roughly chopped

1/2 cup olives, halved

1/2 cup roasted capsicum, sliced

1/2 cup chargrilled eggplant, sliced

1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup marinated mushrooms, halved

50g feta, crumbled

50g rocket

1 pkt pasta eg spaghetti, fettuccine, angel hair
balsamic glaze, to serve

Step 1 - Cook pasta 
Step 2 - While pasta is cooking, heat a good whack of oil in frying pan.  When hot add garlic and salami and cook for 1-2 minutes.
Step 3 - Add olives, capsicum, sun-dried tomatoes, eggplant and mushrooms, toss with salami and cook until heated through.  Turn heat off.
Step 4 - Add pasta, feta and rocket and mix together.
Step 5 - Serve immediately with freshly ground black pepper and a drizzle of balsamic glaze and olive oil.

Notes:

Ingredients can be altered to suit your taste.  I often add finely sliced chili, diced fresh tomato, chargrilled zucchini,  even stuffed bell peppers.  Capers or caperberries can also be used and salami can be substituted for prosciutto or ham.  Most importantly, leave out ingredients you are not fond of.  Herbs such as parsley, basil and oregano are a great way to add extra flavour and freshness, simply mix them through at the end. 

Recipes - Prosciutto and Pea on Angel Hair Pasta

I created this recipe at a time in my life when money was very very tight.  One fateful day I had people coming for dinner and all I could find in my pantry was angel hair pasta, frozen peas and two lemons.  I had $8 and decided to blow all my cash on sundried tomatoes, cream and prosciutto.  I also stopped by my Mums place and picked up some garlic and some parsley.  Dinner was delicious and my guests proclaimed that I needn't have gone to such great trouble and expense.


While there is cream in the sauce it is there to bring the sauce together and coat the pasta but it is not a heavy cream sauce.

Ingredients
6 thin slices prosciutto, diced
2/3 cup peas
1/2 cup sundried tomatoes
1 lemon, zested
1 clove garlic, crushed
2/3 cup cream
250g angel hair pasta
pepper, to season
gremolata, to serve

Step 1 - Put a large pot of water onto boil. When boiling, add pasta and cook to packet specifications. 
Step 2 - Heat a good whack of olive oil in a frying pan.  Add garlic and prosciutto and fry until prosciutto is crispy.
Step 3 - Pour in cream and simmer until thick and reduced, about 1-2 minutes
Step 4 - Add peas, sundried tomato and lemon zest.  When peas are tender, remove from heat and season with pepper.
Step 5 - Toss cooked pasta through sauce and serve immediately sprinkled with gremolata. 


Notes:


Have all your ingredients ready and ensure your pan is hot before making the sauce as it should only take 3-4 minutes to cook.  If you prep your ingredients while the pasta water is coming to the boil the sauce can be made in the time the pasta cooks and you'll have an amazing meal from start to serve in ten minutes.  

   

Top 5 - Pasta Dishes

There is so much you can do with pasta, it can be eaten hot or cold, baked, used in salads and soups, even fried.  Ingredients used in pasta dishes range from the most expensive in the world, to those anyone can afford.  For a quick meal, my Nan likes to mix vegemite, butter and grated parmesan through cooked spaghetti, it's actually quite tasty. 

It was difficult for me to narrow the list down to my top 5 but here it is! 

• Prosciutto and Pea on Angel Hair
• Maltese Spaghetti
• Pesto Fettuccine w Slow Roasted Romas 
• King Prawn Puttanesca on Spaghetti  
• Antipasto Pasta 

Recipes - Slow Roasted Romas w Basil Pesto Pasta

When I asked my friends husband for this recipe he said 'I can tell you, but then I'd have to kill you.'  So it has to stay a secret, shhh don't tell anyone.  Slow cooking is required for this dish but it is well worth it.  

Ingredients 

Roma tomatoes

Brown Sugar

Basil pesto

Fettuccine 

Step 1 - Preheat oven to 140°C. 

Step 2 - Halve tomatoes and place, cut side up, in a baking dish lined with baking paper. Sprinkle generously with brown sugar. Bake for 4-6 hours until tomatoes start to blacken around the edges

Step 3 - Transfer tomatoes and caramel in the pan to a bowl and cover with cling wrap.

Step 4 - Cook fettuccine, drain and mix through basil pesto. 

Step 5 -  Serve by piling a mound of pesto pasta on a plate and top with a few slow roasted tomatoes.  Drizzle with the tomato caramel syrup.






















  

Recipes - King Prawn Puttanesca

This is one of my favourite pasta dishes as it contains some of my favourite things; olives, capers, anchovies, tomatoes, pasta, chili - need I say more?  It takes five minutes to throw together and can be left to simmer for a few hours.  I served this as the main of my Vegetarian Feast. 

Ingredients

300g Green Prawns, peeled

2 x 400g tin tomatoes

2 tbs tomato paste

1 tsp sugar

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 small red chilies, seeds & pith removed & finely sliced

1 cup kalamata olives, pitted

1/2 cup capers, drained & rinsed

12 anchovy fillets 

Step 1 - Heat oil in a large frying pan.  Add garlic, chili, olives, capers and anchovies.  Fry until garlic is cooked but do not allow to colour. 

Step 2 - Add prawns and fry for 1 minutes, then add tomato paste and sugar.  Cook for 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently to avoid burning.

Step 3 - Add tin tomatoes and 1 cup water and stir well. Season with freshly ground black pepper, put lid on pan and simmer slowly for 1-4 hours.

Step 4 - Serve on spaghetti with parmesan cheese on the side.

Notes:

If you like some heat to your chili, do not remove seeds and pith. 

The anchovies are really important in this dish and they 'melt' into the sauce so you won't be eating chunks of anchovy.  The flavour they provide adds a great depth of flavour.  As anchovies are salty, do not season with salt to start with.  Towards the end of the simmering time, taste sauce for seasoning and adjust as required.

For those who cannot eat prawns, omit them from the sauce.  To please everyone, prawns can be fried in a grill pan just before serving and placed on top of the dishes for those who can eat them.  

Spaghetti Success!

Fourth time lucky.  Four's a charm!  My fourth pasta attempt was successful.  And now I have delicious spaghetti, fresh from the pot.  Apologies for the poor picture but I had to be quick!

How To - Cooking Pasta

While I have not mastered the art of making pasta, I do know the secrets to cooking it.  


What you'll need:

• A big pot with a tightly fitting lid
• Water
• Salt
• Pasta

Step 1 - Fill the pot with water and add a decent whack of salt.  Put the lid on and place on the largest burner of your stove top.   

Step 2 - Turn the burner on the highest heat setting and bring water to a fast boil.

Step 3 - Put pasta in the water and stir immediately. When you add the pasta, the water temperature will drop and you need to bring it back to a boil as quickly as possible.  This is done by putting the lid back on.  Remember to take the lid off again once the water has been  brought back to the boil. 

Step 4 - Cook until pasta is al dente, stirring every minute or two as required, and drain immediately in a colander or use a slotted spoon to transfer pasta to the sauce. 

Some people believe they need to add oil to the water in order to stop the pasta sticking together, however, all the oil does is stops the sauce sticking to the pasta once they are mixed together.   So what's the secret to pasta that doesn't clump?  A REALLY BIG pot of water that is brought back to the boil very quickly after the pasta is added.  

Pasta has different cooking times, depending on whether it is fresh or dried.   Fresh pasta will cook in as little as 2-3 minutes and dried pasta can take anywhere from 7-12 minutes.

Al dente describes pasta that is 'slightly under cooked' so it retains its shape and integrity without being crunchy.  There is a very small window between under cooked and over cooked pasta and the best way to know if the pasta is cooked properly is to take some out of the pot and try it!  

Another way to know if pasta is cooked al dente is to throw it at a wall, if it sticks, it's cooked!  This is also a great way to strip a spaghetti sized piece of paint from the wall, as I discovered to my mother's horror when I was 15.  

Pasta

A week ago I decided to learn how to make pasta.  For many people, making pasta is easy, even therapeutic, however my first three attempts have been unsuccessful.  I am determined to unlock the secret to making pasta!

Some recipes call for 1 egg to 100g flour.  Other recipes say 3 eggs to 2 cups flour.  Some recommend adding salt and olive oil to the mix and others suggest using lukewarm water to reach the correct consistency.  

Many recipes and youtube videos show the pasta dough being mixed in a food processor before being taken out to be kneaded.  While using this machine would remove part of my problem I am determined to learn to make pasta from scratch by hand! 

I am not used to failing when cooking but it is not in my nature to admit defeated...