Attempt #67: Prawn & courgette spaghetti

Courgettes or zucchini or if you are like me, I substitute them with local cucumbers if I can't find zucchinis available from the grocer. And I attempted this recipe as my mom who is visiting have never thought that one could fry zucchini and it will taste nice. 

The Result: 

I replaced chillies with tomatoes as I had to make this dish kids-friendly. And I added some chicken slices. Make sure that you brown the zucchini as they will taste so much nicer! 

Jamie's version:

The full recipe can be found on his website link here: 

http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/pasta-recipes/prawn-courgette-spaghetti/#z2uUeBGcUulKphwt.97 

Attempt #61: Gennaro's butternut squash & pancetta penne

I was not able to get butternut squash, hence I replaced it with pumpkin. And I replaced pancetta with bacon. Penne was also replaced with Tagliatelle by a dear friend and her hubs! 

The result: Equally balanced with the right sweetness from the pumpkin and saltiness of the bacon, making it a wonderful pasta dish that warms up the tummy.

Jamie's version: 

The recipe as below in this link:

Attempt #58: Simple summer spaghetti

Jamie calls it Summer Spaghetti, most likely due to the ingredients are harvested in summer. For me, this is an all year round pasta. First, it is vegan which is a good recipe to keep in mind especially when one wants to go meat free for the meal. 

It's really simple and amazingly yummy. I love mushrooms, hence I stir fried some Tuscan Brown mushroom to go with the dish. 

Result of my attempt as below: 

Jamie's version:

Ingredients

500 g mixed red and yellow cherry tomatoes, halved

150 g black olives, stoned

1 clove garlic, peeled and finely chopped

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

1 bunch fresh lemon basil, leaves picked

1 bunch fresh marjoram, leaves picked

10 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

400 g spaghetti or linguine

sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

Method:
In a large bowl, scrunch the tomatoes with your hands to slightly mush them. Mix in the olives, garlic and vinegar. Tear in the basil and marjoram leaves and pour in the olive oil. Allow to sit for 10 minutes. 

Cook your pasta in salted boiling water according to the packet instructions until al dente. Drain and quickly toss in with the tomatoes. Call your guests around the table, then taste the juice at the bottom of the bowl and adjust the seasoning if you feel it needs it. Serve right away.

Attempt #40: Tagliatelle with asparagus, crispy pancetta & Parmesan

This recipe is certainly quick and easy as Jamie had introduced it in his website. While you can’t go wrong with this recipe as it is really so easy, I find it lacking in sufficient taste. It doesn’t call for garlic or onions and you have to solely rely on the quality of your olive oil, parmesan cheese in (which too much isn't that healthy) and the freshness of your pasta. In this case I can now understand why the recipe calls for FRESH egg tagliatelle pasta. Note the word FRESH. J

NOTE: Tagliatelle pastas are long, flat ribbons that are similar in shape to fettuccine and are typically about 6.5 mm to 10 mm (0.25 to 0.375 inch) wide. Tagliatelle pastas are usually made from egg and can be served with a variety of sauces, though the classic is a meat sauce or Bolognese sauce.

The result of my attempt as below:

 

Not a recipe that I will try again unless I am ill in bed and need a mild concoction of carbohydrate J

Jamie’s rendition:

 

Ingredients (Serves 4)
1 bunch asparagus

• 12 thin slices higher-welfare pancetta, sliced into small strips
• 500 g fresh egg tagliatelle
• 40 g Parmesan, grated
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• extra virgin olive oil

Method

Snap the woody bottoms off the asparagus stalks and throw them away.

Cut off the top 4cm of each stalk, put to one side and finely chop the remaining stalks. Heat a wide frying pan and gently fry the chopped asparagus stalks in a little olive oil with the pancetta. When the asparagus softens slightly turn the heat off and mash them roughly with the back of a fork.

Cook the tagliatelle in plenty of boiling salted water, according to pack instructions. Add the asparagus tips for the last 2 minutes of cooking time.

Drain the pasta, reserving a cup of the cooking water, and toss with the mashed asparagus and pancetta.

Stir in most of the Parmesan cheese and season with salt and pepper. If needed loosen the pasta with a little of the cooking water. Serve with the last of the Parmesan sprinkled on top.

Tip: Cooking your asparagus with the pasta is a clever way to save on time and washing up.

Attempt #23: Quick sausage meatballs with a tomato and basil sauce, spaghetti and sweet raw peas

Ok, this is indeed as quick as the recipe described. It is pretty much a very straight forward pasta – simple and quick to make. One of the key items that is good to have to make this pasta is that it helps if you have 3 stoves, 2 pans and 1 pot. If you are working with less than 2 pans and a pot, omit the meatballs. J

The result:

I bought Oxford Pork Sausages for this pasta. From the various types of sausages that I have tried for my Jamie Oliver’s cooking till now, this is the least of my favourite. Unlike Italian sausages, the Oxford Pork Sausages doesn’t seemed to have sufficient herbs mixture to make it as fragrant or tasty. Unlike the recipe, I omitted green peas as I am not a fan of them.

ingredients

• olive oil
• 8 good-quality pork sausages
• 500g spaghetti
sea salt
• 300g fresh peas, in their pods
• a block of Parmesan cheese, to serve
• a few sprigs of fresh marjoram, thyme or rosemary, leave picked

for the tomato sauce
olive oil
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely sliced
• a small bunch of fresh basil, leaves picked, stalks finely chopped
• 2 x 400g tins of good-quality plum tomatoes
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• good-quality balsamic vinegar

Method:

Heat a large saucepan and add a few glugs of olive oil. Snip the sausages apart, then squeeze and pinch the meat out of the skins so that you get little meatball shapes – don’t make them too big or they will take too long to cook. Try to get at least three balls out of each sausage. Don’t worry about rolling them into perfect balls and making them look all fancy – rough and rustic is good! Put them into your pan. Keep frying and turning the meatballs until they’re golden brown and cooked through.

Meanwhile, put the spaghetti into a large pan of salted boiling water and cook according to the packet instructions until al dente.

To make your tomato sauce, heat a separate pan and pour in some olive oil. Add the garlic and the chopped basil stalks and move them around the pan for a couple of minutes. Put some small basil leaves to one side for later, and sprinkle the rest into the pan. Add the tomatoes and season carefully to taste. Bring to a simmer, break up your tomatoes a bit more with a spoon and add a swig of balsamic vinegar – it’s lovely for adding sweetness to the sauce.

Add the herbs to the pan of sausage meatballs, tossing everything in all the lovely flavours. Cook for around 30 seconds. When your spaghetti is cooked, drain it and divide the pasta and meatballs between four bowls. Spoon over the tomato sauce. Sprinkle over the reserved basil leaves and serve with a handful of fresh peas per person in the middle of the table, so that everyone can have a go at podding their own, and a little Parmesan for grating and shaving over the top.

Jamie's rendition of the pasta:

 

Attempt #13: Chicken and Mushroom pasta bake

This recipe came out really nice. But can’t really have this often as with the cream and the cheese, it doesn’t help with the calories J

As usual, I replaced white wine with apple juice and porcini mushrooms with just brown mushrooms as it was more accessible than porcini mushrooms here in our country.

Result:

By baking the pasta with the parmesan, this makes the dish a little unique as the melted cheese enhanced the creaminess and yet provides you that little tinge of crispiness.

 

The ingredients:

·         20g/a small handful of dried porcini mushrooms
• olive oil
• 4 chicken thighs, boned, skinned and cut into bite-sized pieces
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely sliced
• 350g/2 handfuls of mixed fresh mushrooms, cleaned and torn
• 200ml white wine
• 455g dried spaghetti
• 500ml double cream
• 200g Parmesan cheese, grated
• a sprig of fresh basil, leaves picked

The method:

Preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF/gas 6. Put your porcini mushrooms in a bowl and pour over just enough boiling water to cover them (approx. 150ml/5½fl oz). Put to one side to soak for a few minutes. Heat a saucepan big enough to hold all the ingredients, and pour in a splash of olive oil. Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper and brown them gently in the oil. Strain the porcini, reserving the soaking water, and add them to the pan with the garlic and fresh mushrooms. Add the wine, with the strained porcini soaking water, and turn the heat down. Simmer gently until the chicken pieces are cooked through and the wine has reduced a little.

Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti in plenty of boiling salted water according to the packet instructions and drain well. Add the cream to the pan of chicken, then bring to the boil and turn the heat off. Season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add the drained spaghetti to the creamy chicken sauce and toss well. Add three-quarters of the Parmesan and all of the basil and stir well. Transfer to an ovenproof baking dish or non-stick pan, sprinkle with half the remaining cheese and bake in the oven until golden brown, bubbling and crisp. Divide between your plates, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with the rest of the cheese before serving.

Jamie’s rendition:

Attempt #2: Sausage Carbonara

Thought that it will be good and easy enough to try out pasta in my second attempt.

The recipe for Jaime’s Sausage Carbonara looks so, so simple and the photo shot of the dish look so, so yummy! Here’s how I see it:

 

Simple + Yummy = Good idea for a Chef Wannabe

 
 

But, here’s what went down:

(First) 5 min : I stared at the pasta.

Any of you ever had problems of trying to gauge how much pasta to cook? Or am I the only one? Here's the thing...too little, you get too much sauce leftover. Too much, you have pasta going to waste. Perhaps it is time I invest in a pasta measurer.  

(Next) 10 min : I stared at the Italian sausages.

Recipe says ‘With a sharp knife, slit the sausage skins lengthways and pop all the meat out. Using wet hands, roll little balls of sausage meat about the size of large marbles and place them to one side.’

Firstly, I have never thought that I could actually make use of those sausages that we get from the Deli and make them into meatballs.

Then, I was questioning if the sausage skins were that easy to slit. How much pressure do I have to use?

(Next) 15 min :

Tried slitting the sausage skins. OMG!!! Miracle!!! It actually slit opened perfectly!

It was like an Eureka moment for me! What a great way of making meatballs. The sausages were already pre-mix with herbs and best of all, it stays together easily. The ball making was really easy and fun!

See the before picture and after pic of the Italian Sauages. 



BEFORE = I AM A SAUSAGE

AFTER = I AM A MEATBALL

 (Next) 30 min :

The cooking process started. I followed the step by step guide provided in the recipe. Some learnings to look out for in future:  

1.  Never grate the lemon beyond the yellow part of the lemon peel (skin) as the white inner part is actually bitter.

2.  When I tossed the cooked pasta into the egg mixture directly, it did not thicken as described in the recipe. So, I had to heat up the pan. Only then it helped to thicken the mixture well.

3.  The Italian sausages/ meatballs should not be fried in the pan for too long as they become hard. My mistake was that I was afraid they were not cooked and I usually like my meat well done. Hence, the meatballs were not as juicy as it should be.

The Result:

Overall, the pasta was quite yummy. The taste of the lemon zest was a perfect touch to the salty cheese mix and cream. The lemon also provided an amazing bitter sweet fragrance to the sauce and dish.

Attaching Jamie's Sausage Carbonara below:

 

Ahem...I did replace linguini with angel eye pasta and pancetta with mushrooms. Figured too much meat.

But linguini does make the dish look 'sexier' and the pancetta added colors to the dish which is definitely lacking in mine.

 

 

FUN FACTS: Did you know? The word carbonara is derived from the Italian word for charcoal, and its origins are as a sauce served with pasta to the coal miners in Italy in the mid-1900’s.