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Roti Jala

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roti-jala

Here’s our second attempt a Roti Jala with a new and different cup (spouts on side) and a different recipe. The Malaysian chicken curry recipe that accompanied it will follow shortly.

Roti Jala
 
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Recipe type: Main
Cuisine: Asian
Serves: Lots!
Ingredients
  • 600 g Plain Flour
  • ½ tsp Salt
  • 6 Eggs
  • 100 ml Coconut milk
  • 850 ml Water
  • Oil
  • Paper Towel
Instructions
  1. Sieve flour into mixing bowl. Add salt. Whisk eggs with ½ cup of water. Using a food processor on low speed, add egg mixture slowly to flour to mix well. It should form a thick paste. Next add the coconut milk gradually, stirring to make a smooth paste. Add remaining water gradually to make a smooth batter. Strain the batter. Test the batter through the Roti Jala cup. If it doesn't pass smoothly, add more water. If it seems too running, sift some more flour into the mix.
  2. Heat a non-stick frypan and wipe it with a paper towel dipped in oil. Place the roti jala cup over a bowl so it doesn't drip everywhere. Add the batter. Hold the bowl in one hand and the cup in another above the frypan. Take the cup and move it in a circular motion around the pan. Return the cup to the bowl. The Roti Jala is ready when it starts to separate from the pan. Remove with an egg slice and fold crepes in halves, then quarters, then eighths. Use the paper towel after every few roti to oil the pan.

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Pumpkin Gnocchi with Bacon and Cheese Sauce

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pumpkin-gnocchi

Pumpkin Gnocchi with Bacon and Cheese Sauce
 
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Recipe type: Main
Cuisine: European
Ingredients
  • 500 g Pumpkin (Peeled and chopped)
  • ¾ cup "00" Plain flour (Sifted)
  • 1 Egg yolk
  • 1 cup Parmesan cheese (Grated)
  • Black pepper
  • 1 small Brown onion (Peeled and diced)
  • ⅔ cup White wine
  • 1-15 Black peppercorns (Whole)
  • 300 ml Cream
  • 1 handful Sage leaves
  • ½ cup Butter
  • 4 Bacon rashers (Chopped roughly)
  • ⅓ cup Blue cheese (Crumbled)
  • ⅓ cup Gouda cheese (Grated)
Instructions
  1. Bake pumpkin in oven until tender. Put through a potato ricer or sieve while still warm. Fry pumpkin in 2 tbsp butter in a pan on low heat until pumpkin has dried out a bit and thickened. Remove from heat and gently fold through flour, egg, ½ cup of parmesan cheese and some black pepper. The mixture should be soft. Gently roll into long tubes bout 2 cm wide. Cut at about 2 cm intervals. Roll into balls and indent with a fork or with a gnocchi roller (cost about $4 at specialty kitchen shops). Place into fridge.
  2. Saute the chopped bacon until cooked and put aside until needed.
  3. Saute onion in a little butter with a little olive oil for 5-7 mins on low heat. Add white wine and peppercorns, increase heat and simmer until quantity reduces by half. Strain liquid and return to pan. Add cream, half of the sage leaves. ¾ of the cooked bacon and cheeses. Warm until cheese melts. If necessary, thicken with a whisked egg yolk or a tsp of cornflour mixed with a little water.
  4. Place gnocchi into a pot of boiling water. The gnocchi is cooked when it rises to the surface. It should only take a few minutes.
  5. Heat the remaining butter in a small pan until simmering. Add remaining sage leaves until they go crisp. Remove from pan immediately. Place gnocchi on plate. Cover with cream and bacon mixture. Top with remaining bacon and burnt sage leaves and parmesan cheese. Drizzle with a little of the sage butter and add some freshly cracked black pepper.

Stir-Fried Mussels

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mussels

Here’s an excellent Kylie Kwong recipe from “Heart and Soul” that I’ve adapted slightly due to allergies in our family.

Stir-Fried Mussels
 
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Recipe type: Main
Cuisine: Asian
Ingredients
  • 30-40 Mussels
  • ½ Red Capsicum (chopped)
  • 5 Spring onions (chopped)
  • 3 cm Ginger (sliced thinly)
  • 3 Garlic cloves (crushed)
  • ½ Long red chilli (sliced)
  • ½ Red onion (cut into thin wedges)
  • 3 tbsp Shao Xing Rice Wine
  • 2 tsp White sugar
  • 2 tbsp Oyster Sauce
  • ½ tsp Sesame Oil
  • ⅓ cup Chicken Stock
  • 2 tsp Chinese black vinegar
  • handful Coriander (chopped)
Instructions
  1. Scrub mussels. Remove their beards. Rinse and drain. Cook in a wok with 1½ cups water, covered, until the shells open. This will only take a few minutes. Immediately remove mussels from wok with a slotted spoon. Throw away any that haven't opened. Drain and clean wok.
  2. Heat 2-3 tbsp oil in wok and stir fry spring onion, ginger slivers, garlic, sliced chillies, onion and capsicum for 3 minutes. Add mussels and stir fry for 2 minutes. Add shao xing wine, sugar, oyster sauce. sesame oil and chicken stock. Stir fry for 3 minutes. Then add vinegar and coriander and serve.

Bacon, Bean and Potato Fettucine

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potato fettucine

This is adapted from a recipe from Locatelli’s “Made in Italy“.

Bacon, Bean and Potato Fettucine
 
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Recipe type: Main
Cuisine: European
Ingredients
  • 1 Leek
  • 3 Bacon rashers
  • 2 Potatoes (peeled)
  • 1 handful Green beans
  • 2 tbsp Pine nuts (toasted)
  • 4 tbsp Pesto
  • ½ Large red chilli (diced )
  • 2 tbsp Parmesan cheese (shredded)
  • 150 gm Haloumi
  • Fettucine
  • 1 handful Parsley
Instructions
  1. Saute leeks in butter on low heat until soft, 5-7 mins. Cut bacon rashers into rough pieces and fry until crisp. Put aside.
  2. Slice beans diagonally into 3 cm lengths. Blanch for 2 mins in boiling water. Cut potatoes into small cubes (1.5-2cm) and boil until just tender.
  3. Cook pasta until it is a minute short of being ready.
  4. While pasta is cooking, add leeks, beans, bacon and potatoes to pan along with chilli and pesto and 1-2 tbsp olive oil. Meanwhile, fry cubes of haloumi until browned all over.
  5. Add fettucine to pan along with 2-3 tbsp of cooking water from the pasta. Add pine nuts and parmesan cheese and mix together to heat.
  6. Serve with haloumi on top and shredded parsley leaves.