Fennel Salad with Green Apple and Parmesan

November 26, 2016 § Leave a comment

This salad made me a fan of fennel. Crunchy and has a fresh, sweetly musky taste similar to liquorice and anise. Paired with apple, it masks the licorice flavor (perfect for those not keen on its taste) and adds to the freshness of this salad. Packed with many health benefits from relieving anemia to improving eye care, this salad was my intro to this herb.

Good as a side dish — I like it with fried or grilled meats.

In fact, it has opened the door to many more delicious Fennel recipes, which I will share with you eventually.

In the meantime, here’s the recipe adapted from Molly Wizenberg’s book, A Homemade Life.

What you need:

1 medium fennel bulb, about 10 ounces
1 small Green Apple
Olive oil
Lemon
Sea Salt
Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Freshly ground black pepper

What you do:

Prepare the fennel:

Cut off and discard the stalks and fronds.
Using a vegetable peel or a small knife, trim away any bruises or brown spots on the bulb’s outermost layer of skin.
Cut it in half from root to stalk, and trim the root end.
Using a sharp knife or a mandolin and working with the one-half of the bulb at a time, slice the fennel very thinly, 1/8-1/4 inch thick. Set aside.

Prepare the Green Apple:

Using an apple core, remove and discard core.
Then cut the apple in half from top to bottom.
Using a sharp knife or a mandolin, slice it very thinly, just like the fennel. Set aside.

Assembling the Salad:

Make a layer of fennel slices. Drizzle lightly with olive oil.
Then place a layer of apple on top of the fennel. Sprinkle lightly with lemon juice, and season with salt.
Shave thin ribbons of cheese. Drizzle with oil.
Repeat and finish with a good sprinkle of lemon juice, a generous splash of oil and a few shavings of cheese to garnish.
Serve with salt and pepper to taste.

Well Hello There!

July 12, 2016 § Leave a comment

Credits: Splendid Finn Now is paper in blue; zigzag stitching by shabbymissjenndesigns; Splendid Finn 4ever striped ribbon and pennets

It’s been a while… Can I tell you that I am still not spending enough time in the kitchen? So much for comfort zones and “everydays”. It’s just been a bustling kind of year for us. We’ve started a bed and breakfast up north (will write about that shortly), we just got back from a rejuvenating trip from the Holy Land, and we’ve gone on a diet since.

Nothing to do with the Holy Land, our diet, but more of a healthy resolution to keep our blood sugar and cholesterol in check. Recent check ups called for it, that’s why. So here’s sharing one of the winners (slightly tweaked from here) served on our table recently.

It’s a flavourful salad of smoked duck breast paired with a punch of a mildly sweet blueberry dressing that definitely qualified as mainstays on our table.

Arugula Salad With Smoked Duck Breast, Berries, and Hazelnuts

What You’ll Need

2 large handfuls Arugula
2 tbsp Olive oil
2 tbsp Champagne Vinegar
1 tsp Dijon Mustard
1/4 cup dried berries (I used wild blueberries)
2 tbsp coco sugar
1 smoked duck breast, cold, thinly sliced
1/2 cup hazelnuts, roasted and finely chopped
1/2 cup very sharp, good aged Cheddar or Gouda
Sea Salt

What You Do

Place the dried arugula in a bowl and set aside.
Place the olive oil, vinegar, mustard, sugar, and berries in a small saucepan over medium heat and stir with a whisk until warm (not boiling – 3 minutes or so).
Pour over the arugula, sprinkle with a little salt, and toss to coat.
Place the arugula on a plate and top with the duck slices.
With a vegetable peeler, peel thin slices of the cheddar or gouda over the salad.
Top with the chopped hazelnuts and a little extra dressing. Sprinkle with a little salt.

XO Sauce

September 24, 2015 § Leave a comment

If you’ve never heard of “XO Sauce”, no it’s not the expensive brand designated to a grade of Cognac. In the culinary and gourmand world, XO Sauce is known as the emperor of all sauces. Vogue China once described it as the “Caviar of the East”, it’s pricey, but a little goes a long way. I’ve written about it a few years back (here) and continue to be awed by it.

Packed with deep, rich smoky intensity, this gourmet condiment is made from dried scallop, ham, dried shrimp, red chili pepper, onions, and garlic. It gives the added oomph to stir-fried meats, seafood, tofu, and vegetables. Never fails on pasta and noodle dishes too.

XO Sauce’s fabled history started in Hong Kong, its exact circumstance surrounding its birth is unknown. It most likely first graced the table of one of Hong Kong’s pricey dining establishments and ever since then, the fascination with this sauce has continued to heighten. One does not need to dine out to satisfy one’s craving anymore.

Lee Kum Kee has bottled a very impressive version of the XO Sauce. I add it to my vegetable or seafood dishes. It is perfect to add a different flavor to fried rice too.

What I have here are simple ingredients that I found on my crisper, a teaspoon of XO Sauce gave this eggplant a great lift.

Roasted Cabbage with Bacon

September 30, 2014 § Leave a comment

Roasting vegetables is my new favorite thing. It turns a humble, everyday vegetable into a taste sensation as it brings out sweet flavor notes of any vegetable. Cabbage is one of them. I already love how it adds texture to a dish if cooked right. Think soups and pancit (our local noodle dish). But roasted, with bacon to boot, it was mind-blowing. The sweetness of the cabbage and the salty, smoky bacon is a highly addictive union. A simple dish made to impress flavor-wise because admittedly, food porn it is not.

Roasted Cabbage with Bacon

What You Need:

1 head of green cabbage, outer leaves removed
Olive oil
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 slices of bacon

What You Do:

Heat the oven to 230°C.
Cut the cabbage into eight wedges, discarding the core.
Lay these down on a large pan, drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.
Cut slices of bacon into strips and scatter over the cabbage.
Roast for 30-40 minutes, flipping the cabbage wedges once halfway through.
Serve immediately.

Tuna Avocado and Feta Salad

July 16, 2014 § Leave a comment

Do you ever use up all the herbs you buy? They tend to either dry up or wilt on me that I almost always have to throw away the left-overs (I know, I know… I can always freeze them – my excuse? I have yet to buy those ice trays). This salad was inspired by the need to use up the leftover dill I had wilting away on my crisper. And because canned tuna is my go to when I find myself in such a dilemma (see here and here), I obviously went that route again. And I am impressed with how this turned out, satisfying, hearty salad perfect as a main lunch or dinner meal.

The tuna can be made ahead of time and kept for other uses, making this salad the easiest ever. This is something I will be making over and over during avocado season.

With avocado’s good for you fats and the high source of protein that tuna provides, this is not only the easiest thing ever but the benefits that these yields make this real winner on all aspect. Yes?

Tuna Avocado and Feta Salad

What You Need

For the tuna:

1 canned tuna packed in oil
A few sprigs of dill, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons sliced olives
1 teaspoon pimenton dulce or smoked paprika

For the dressing:

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
3 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Honey

For the Salad:

Salad greens
1 ripe avocado, diced
Feta cheese (I used the one marinated in olive oil and some herbs)
1 tomato, diced

What You Do:

Drain tuna, flake apart slight with a fork and add to bowl with the chopped dill, olives, and the pimenton. Stir very gently to combine.
Whisk together lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard and a pinch of salt and cracked pepper on a small bowl until well combined. Add honey to taste and slowly whisk in olive oil until well combined.
Arrange salad greens, topped with tuna, feta, avocado and tomatoes. Drizzle with dressing just to coat.

Wild Rice Shoots

August 2, 2013 § Leave a comment

I first had it at my mom’s. Succulent, crisp strips similar in texture to bamboo shoot but less fibrous. It assimilated well with the heat of the chili bean paste and the savory taste of oyster sauce.

It became an instant favorite, thanks to the lady at Wei Wang, the neighborhood oriental store my mom frequents, for recommending this bamboo shoot looking vegetable to her complete with instructions on how to cook it. She said it was a kind of shoot called “kuw-sun”.

I later find out that “kuw-sun” is also called Wild Rice Shoots, an aquatic plant widely used in China and Japan which, when stripped of its husk, reveals a smooth, very pale inside. Rich in vitamins A and C, calcium, iron and other minerals, it is sliced and eaten raw or cooked, usually prepared by stir-frying with thinly sliced pork.

Chili Wild Rice Shoots with Pork and Mushrooms

What You’ll Need

2 stalks of wild rice shoots, outer layer removed, and cut into strips
4-5 shiitake mushrooms cut into strips
100-150g minced pork
1 tablespoon Chili Bean Paste
1 tablespoon Premium Oyster Sauce
1 tablespoon Sugar
¼ cup water
2 tablespoon Vegetable oil
Sesame oil for drizzling

What You Do

In a small bowl, mix together chili bean paste, oyster sauce, sugar and water. Set aside.
Heat up a wok until smoky and add oil. Bring temperature down to medium high
Add the pork, stir-fry until brown then add the mushrooms. Cook for seconds before adding the wild rice shoots. Toss around until the shoots are slightly brown.
Add the chili mixture and toss until well coated.
Drizzle with a good quality sesame oil before serving.

A dish packed with flavor and so easy to prepare.

Missing Spain

July 21, 2013 § 1 Comment

I’ve been remiss, forgive me. This is the real world catching up with me here. It’s been a busy few months since I got back from a month-long trip that started in Casablanca and ended in Madrid with Lisbon, among other cities, in between. And now I am missing the flavors of Spain.

Granada

Seville

Spain. A country of soaring mountains, beautiful cities, towns and villages, outstanding art and architectures, and a diverse cuisine left by the Moors, Romans and the Greeks.

Cochinillo before the chopping ritual

Coffee and dessert in a coffee shop in Ronda

Although very familiar to me, its cuisine still managed to leave a lasting impression. One dish that persists three months after our pleasurable acquaintance is Salmorejo, a variation of one of Andalusia’s famous dish, Gazpacho. A close cousin, if you will.

Like gazpacho, it is a cold tomato soup, only thicker. While gazpacho has tomatoes, cucumber, green pepper and onion, the vegetable present in Salmorejo is only tomato, and it uses garlic, not onions. Not as popular as gazpacho outside of Cordoba, where this soup originated, it has lately been gaining more recognition in and outside of Spain. Both are excellent summertime dishes, great as a starter or a light meal.

Usually served with hardboiled eggs and Spanish ham (Jamon Serrano or Iberico), I opted for the lighter accompaniment of green grapes and almond, a garnish borrowed from another cold soup, Ajo Blanco.

Salmorejo

Adapted from Food And Wine June 2013 Issue

What You Need:

1 kilo tomatoes
1 ½ cups white bread or baguette, crust removed and cubed
1-2 cloves of garlic, grated
1 tbsp. sherry vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar)
¼ cup olive oil, plus more for drizzling
salt

Garnish:

a few seedless green grapes, thinly sliced
1 tbsp. roasted almonds, chopped

What You Do:

Scald the tomatoes: Bring to a boil a large pot of salted water. Cut a small cross at the bottom of each tomato. When the water is boiling, add the tomatoes, leave for 30-60 seconds. Remove and immediately place in ice water. The skin will peel right off.
Cut out the cores of the tomatoes. In a bowl, toss the tomatoes with the bread cubes. Let stand for 15-minutes until the bread is soft.
Transfer the tomato mixture to a food processor. Pulse with the grated garlic and vinegar until smooth. With the machine on, gradually add in the ¼ olive oil. Season with salt.
Cover and refrigerate until very cold, at least 1 hour or overnight.
Serve the soup in bowls and garnish with the grapes, almonds and a drizzle of olive oil.

I find that the longer it sits in the fridge, the better the flavors of the ingredients meld. And on a truly hot day, the cold grapes is a burst of refreshing sweetness, combine it with the crunch of the almonds… you know you have a winner here.

For more of Spanish food goodness, check out the article I wrote for Exquise Magazine here.

A Happy New Year!

January 15, 2013 § 1 Comment

Sick during the holidays – how sad is that? A week after and I am still nursing a bad cough, nose still pretty clogged. I have so much food from the holidays but appetite eludes me. So, I ended up with more food than ever before. I bet the people at reception, maintenance, even the guards won’t ever forget me – either they love me to pieces for all the holiday goodies I brought their way or they are avoiding me by now for dumping so much food on them.

I trekked to the doctor’s clinic last week. “I need to be well by Saturday”, I told him. And like a good doctor that he is, I am feeling better now, thank you, although I am still not in creative cooking mode. Until last night, when I whipped up a pleasant meal of leftovers, which I ate with gusto – and that is a wonderful sign that I am on the road to real recovery.

I had some fresh mozzarella that needed to be consumed soon, what to do? I didn’t feel like a pizza or a sandwich. I didn’t have fresh basil and tomatoes so a salad is out too. Besides, I wanted something more filling – a first in weeks!

So, I beat to combine a couple of eggs and a couple of tablespoons of milk. Sliced the mozzarella. Washed some leftover spinach my mom sent my way before she left for abroad. Threw some bacon bits on the pan – I always have bacon, no mater what!! Then I threw in the spinach, seasoned with salt and pepper. Poured the egg mixture into the pan as soon as the spinach starts to wilt. Before turning over, I added the mozzarella cubes. It’s smoky with a mild cheesy taste. I think it’s awesome.

A very belated New Year greetings to everyone. May you cook more and eat more healthily, be blessed with more opportunities to try new foods and flavors this year.

Avocado and Feta

August 1, 2012 § 1 Comment

I am obsessed with avocados at the moment. Partly because it is in season and I see them everywhere but mostly because I am loving its über creaminess on almost everything. It makes for a wonderful dessert when combined with condensed milk and have been greatly enjoying it for decades now. Some experimenting led me to a new discovery. Buttery avocado, sharp Feta cheese and peppery Arugula mingle well together. Finish off with some sliced fresh button mushrooms and honey-mustard dressing and they end up very good friends.

I’ve been occupied lately and I’m afraid I’ve neglected this blog a bit. But I’ve been working up a storm in my kitchen despite my absence here. In between work and travelling, I’ve been entertaining on the side so may this whet your appetite, as salads always do, for what’s to come.

Arugula, Avocado and Feta Salad

What You Need:

For the Vinaigrette:

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar
½ tablespoon honey
½ teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons olive oil

For the Salad

Baby arugula
1 medium avocado, cut into ½-inch cubes
½ cup crumbled Greek feta cheese marinated in oil
4-5 pieces fresh button mushrooms, sliced

What You Do:

In a small bowl, combine mustard, vinegar, honey and salt. Whisk to blend well. Add olive oil and whisk vigorously to emulsify. Adjust according to your taste.

Mix salad ingredients together and toss with vinaigrette. Makes 3-4 serving.

Note: I like using baby arugula but if this is hard to find, the regular ones are good too. Feta cheese can be substituted with goat cheese. Left over roast chicken torn into bite-sized pieces goes well with the salad, as is tuna from the can.

Only in the Philippines

June 27, 2012 § 6 Comments

Or is it? This is about a dish I recently made and instantly fell in love with.

When I saw mustard greens (mustasa in my part of the world) in my favorite Saturday market last week, I dropped everything, went for it and got myself a bundle. I love that peppery tasting vegetable to pieces. Excited, I stormed my little library of ideas on what I can do with it… then I stumbled on Mr. MM’s recipe.

I first tasted this vegetable when I was a teenager. My grandmother used to make a Chinese version of the pickled mustasa, the name of which I loosely translate as “salty vegetable” – not exactly love at first bite but more of an acquired taste. I have yet to get my hands on that recipe, for now let me share this with you.

This month’s Kulinarya challenge (hosted by Cherrie and Tina) was a daunting “Only in the Philippines” theme, featuring uniquely Filipino dishes. I wasn’t planning on joining this month until this beautiful recipe came along. Why do I think it daunting? Because the dish that came to mind was Kare-Kare and that to me is a major production and can’t consider making in the near future with my busy schedule. Anywhow, I am posting albeit late, a dish for this challenge. I figured that this could be uniquely Filipino because the ingredients used are “very” Filipino. I call it Esaladang Mustasa at Lechon sa Bagoong. Stay with me here because this is one heck of a side salad. Ingredients and flavors scream Pinoy through and through.

Mustard Salads are not as popular in Manila as it is in the province, often eaten with fried dishes. If you like strong flavors then this dish is definitely worth a try.

Ensaladang Mustasa at Lechon sa Bagoong

(adapted from Market Manila’s Mustasa Salad with Bagoong and Kalamansi Dressing)

What You’ll Need:

Mustard Greens
Lechon, shredded and fried till crisp

For the Dressing:

10-15 Calamansi (in this recipe, I used 4-5 pieces of dayap)
A dallop of Bagoong Alamang or Fine Shrimp Paste
Chili flakes
Patis or Fish sauce
Freshly ground pepper

What You Do:

Wash mustard greens carefully; wrap in paper-towel to dry and store in the ref for 2-3 hours to keep crispness and freshness.
Chop them about 1/3 of an inch and put in a salad bowl.
Make the dressing by squeezing the calamansi; strain out seeds.
Add bagoong, siling labuyo, a dew dash of patis.
Top with shredded lechon meat and season with freshly ground pepper.