Hey friends,
It's been a long time since I posted anything and I have no one to blame other than my procrastination. Alipurduar has made me lazy, well, lazier than usual. I promise a regular update from now on because I really need some discipline in my life - like posting a new recipe every Monday or something like that - because everybody knows Mondays are the worst and you need a pick-me-up. And what better pick-me-up is out there other than food! I, at least, whole-heartedly believe in the philosophy of 'we live to eat' rather than the other way round.
So, here it is (and though it's not Monday), a brand-new recipe - Swedish meatballs with Italian spaghetti - a relatively easy recipe which looks as well as tastes wonderful. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did on a wintry evening along with Bhutanese peach wine Zumzin. Ah...that's heaven right there :)
Ingredients:
Italian spaghetti (for two people I took two around 100 grams. I measured it by hand, making a ring with my thumb and forefinger. Remember pasta of any kind tends to be heavier than noodles. If you want to know more about how to measure spaghetti or any dry pasta by hand, visit here)
Minced chicken (150 grams)
2 white bread (without crust)
1 cup of full-fat milk
1 egg
2 cups of chicken stock (See my recipe for chicken stock here)
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning (I use Keya)
1/2 teaspoon fresh black pepper powder
1 sprig of Italian parsley (finely chopped)
1 large onion (finely chopped)
1/4 teaspoon red chilly flakes
1/4 teaspoon white flour
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
4-5 button mushrooms cleaned and sliced into half centimetre thick pieces (optional, but highly recommended)
Salt to taste
2 tablespoon of any flavourless cooking oil
1/2 teaspoon butter
1 teaspoon good quality olive oil and a few drops more for garnishing
Preparation:
First, prepare the meatballs. Heat one teaspoon olive oil in a deep pan and cook the onion on low flame. As soon as they are caramelised a little, remove them from the pan and keep aside. Don't wash the pan as you will need it soon.
Dip the white bread in 3-4 tablespoon of milk and let it rest until soft. Combine the minced chicken, half of the cooked onions, Italian seasoning, pepper powder, salt, white bread and 1 egg and mix with hands.
Heat oil in the same pan that you have cooked the onion in. Clean your hands and keep a small bowl of water handy. Dip your fingers in it from time to time to moisten them; this way the meat will not stick to your fingers while making the meatballs. The meatballs should be of small size (bite-size, that is you can have one in a single bite) so that there are lots of them and they cook evenly. Shallow fry them in the oil, keeping in mind they don't have to be cooked on all sides. 3-4 minutes on both sides on low flame will do that will make them nice and caramelised. Don't overcook the meatballs as that will make them dry and chewy.
Now, remove them with a slotted spoon or a pair of tongs. Add the mushrooms to the remaining oil and sweat it for about a minute before adding the rest of the cooked onions. Now add the chicken stock and half a teaspoon of salt. Bring it to boil. Add the spaghetti and let it simmer on a gentle heat for 10 to 12 minutes or until the spaghetti is cooked. Remember, pasta of any kind is always cooked al dente which literally means 'to the tooth.' It basically means the pasta should be ever so slightly undercooked because the remaining cooking process will soften it further.
The liquid in the pan should reduce a lot and if not, bring it to boil for a couple of minutes until there is about a 1/2 cup of liquid left in the pan along with the pasta. Add the remaining milk. Now sprinkle the flour all over the surface. Add the butter, meatballs, salt, chilly flakes, chopped parsley and half of the grated cheese. Check the seasoning and if needed, add more salt. Switch off the gas when everything is well-combined. Portion them into two serving bowls (preferably ceramic) and garnish with a few drops of olive oil and grated parmesan.
Serve piping hot with a drink on the side (fresh lime soda or white wine) and watch your date/spouse's jaw drop to the floor ;)
It's been a long time since I posted anything and I have no one to blame other than my procrastination. Alipurduar has made me lazy, well, lazier than usual. I promise a regular update from now on because I really need some discipline in my life - like posting a new recipe every Monday or something like that - because everybody knows Mondays are the worst and you need a pick-me-up. And what better pick-me-up is out there other than food! I, at least, whole-heartedly believe in the philosophy of 'we live to eat' rather than the other way round.
So, here it is (and though it's not Monday), a brand-new recipe - Swedish meatballs with Italian spaghetti - a relatively easy recipe which looks as well as tastes wonderful. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did on a wintry evening along with Bhutanese peach wine Zumzin. Ah...that's heaven right there :)
Ingredients:
Italian spaghetti (for two people I took two around 100 grams. I measured it by hand, making a ring with my thumb and forefinger. Remember pasta of any kind tends to be heavier than noodles. If you want to know more about how to measure spaghetti or any dry pasta by hand, visit here)
Minced chicken (150 grams)
2 white bread (without crust)
1 cup of full-fat milk
1 egg
2 cups of chicken stock (See my recipe for chicken stock here)
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning (I use Keya)
1/2 teaspoon fresh black pepper powder
1 sprig of Italian parsley (finely chopped)
1 large onion (finely chopped)
1/4 teaspoon red chilly flakes
1/4 teaspoon white flour
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
4-5 button mushrooms cleaned and sliced into half centimetre thick pieces (optional, but highly recommended)
Salt to taste
2 tablespoon of any flavourless cooking oil
1/2 teaspoon butter
1 teaspoon good quality olive oil and a few drops more for garnishing
Preparation:
First, prepare the meatballs. Heat one teaspoon olive oil in a deep pan and cook the onion on low flame. As soon as they are caramelised a little, remove them from the pan and keep aside. Don't wash the pan as you will need it soon.
Dip the white bread in 3-4 tablespoon of milk and let it rest until soft. Combine the minced chicken, half of the cooked onions, Italian seasoning, pepper powder, salt, white bread and 1 egg and mix with hands.
Heat oil in the same pan that you have cooked the onion in. Clean your hands and keep a small bowl of water handy. Dip your fingers in it from time to time to moisten them; this way the meat will not stick to your fingers while making the meatballs. The meatballs should be of small size (bite-size, that is you can have one in a single bite) so that there are lots of them and they cook evenly. Shallow fry them in the oil, keeping in mind they don't have to be cooked on all sides. 3-4 minutes on both sides on low flame will do that will make them nice and caramelised. Don't overcook the meatballs as that will make them dry and chewy.
Now, remove them with a slotted spoon or a pair of tongs. Add the mushrooms to the remaining oil and sweat it for about a minute before adding the rest of the cooked onions. Now add the chicken stock and half a teaspoon of salt. Bring it to boil. Add the spaghetti and let it simmer on a gentle heat for 10 to 12 minutes or until the spaghetti is cooked. Remember, pasta of any kind is always cooked al dente which literally means 'to the tooth.' It basically means the pasta should be ever so slightly undercooked because the remaining cooking process will soften it further.
The liquid in the pan should reduce a lot and if not, bring it to boil for a couple of minutes until there is about a 1/2 cup of liquid left in the pan along with the pasta. Add the remaining milk. Now sprinkle the flour all over the surface. Add the butter, meatballs, salt, chilly flakes, chopped parsley and half of the grated cheese. Check the seasoning and if needed, add more salt. Switch off the gas when everything is well-combined. Portion them into two serving bowls (preferably ceramic) and garnish with a few drops of olive oil and grated parmesan.
Serve piping hot with a drink on the side (fresh lime soda or white wine) and watch your date/spouse's jaw drop to the floor ;)
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