Pork chops with mustard and tomato sauce

I still remember hating mustard when I was young, I didn't like it on my burgers but again, as always, after making a dish with mustard in it, I started loving it. Maybe its because its dijon mustard and not American mustard. I am not too sure. Anyway, for this, pan fry pork chops (seasoned with salt and pepper) with butter till they are brown on both sides. Remove from the pan. Add white wine and boil till the alcohol is almost all evaporated. Add cream and tomato puree and simmer for a while. Return the pork to the pan and simmer till the meat is cooked. Add peeled and diced tomatoes, dijon mustard and tarragon Heat thoroughly and serve.

Stuffed chicken breast wrapped in sage and parma ham

From Gordon Ramsay's Healthy Appetite.

Ingredients

chicken breasts
sage leaves
5 heaped tbsp ricotta or feta cheese
parma ham slices
thyme sprigs

Cut a deep slit along one side of each chicken breast, without slicing right through, then open it out like a book. On a clean chopping board, finely chop 4 sage leaves, then mix into the ricotta and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Lay two parma ham slices on the board, overlapping them slightly. Put a sage leave in the middle and lay an open chicken breast on top. Spoon a quarter of the ricotta mixture onto the middle of the chicken, then fold the sides together again, to enclose the filling. Now wrap the Parma ham slices around the stuffed chicken breast. Wrap in cling film. Repeat with the rest of the chicken breasts and chill for 1-2 hours to firm up slightly.



Heat the oven to 180 degrees and place a roasting pan in the oven to heat up. Heat a heavy-based frying pan and add the olive oil. When hot, fry the Parma-wrapped chicken, in batches, if necessary, for 2 minutes on each side until browned. Lay a few thyme sprigs on each chicken breast, then place in the hot roasting pan. Cook in the oven for 12-15 minutes, depending on size



Rest the chicken, covered with foil, in a warm place for 5-10 minutes. Serve

Prawn and parsley frittata

From Jamie Oliver's Jamie's Italy
Ingredients

6 large eggs
a handful of fresh parsley leaves,finely chopped
zest of 1 lemon
juice of 1/4 of a lemon
1 heaped tbsp freshly grated parmesan cheese
180g fresh peeled prawns
a good knob of butter
oilive oil
1/2 a dried red chilli, crumbled

Preheat the oven to 220 degrees. In a bowl, whisk the eggs with a pinch of salt and pepper, then add the parsley, lemon zest and juice, and the parmesan. Roughly chop half the prawns, leaving the rest whole, and add all of them to the bowl. In a small heavy non-stick ovenproof pan, heat the butter with a good splash of oil until it begins to foam, then add all the egg mixture. Slowly move a spoon around the eggs for about a minute on a medium heat then put the pan into the oven. Cook for 4-5 minutes till slightly golden. Sprinkle over the chilli and serve.

Baked pasta with tomatoes and mozzarella

From Jamie Oliver's Jamie's Italy

Ingredients:

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
extra virgin olive oil
1 white onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
1 or 2 dried red chilies, crumbled
1/5 kg/3-1/4 lb ripe tomatoes or 3 (400 g) cans of good quality plum tomatoes
a large handful of fresh basil leaves
1 T red wine vinegar (optional)
400 g/14 oz dried orecchiette (little ears) or other similar pasta
4 big handfuls of freshly grated Parmesan cheese
3 -150 g balls of fresh mozzarella

Preheat your oven to 400F and pit a large pot of salted water on to boil.

To an appropriately sized pan add a couple of glugs of good quality extra virgin olive oil, your onion, and chili and slowly saute for about 10 minutes on a medium to low heat until softened but without any colour.

If you're using fresh tomatoes, remove the core with the tip of a small knife, plunge them into the boiling water for about 40 seconds until their skins start to come away, then remove with a slotted spoon or sieve and remove then pan from the heat. Put the tomatoes into a bowl and run cold water over them, then slide the skins off, squeeze out the pips and roughly chop.

Add your fresh or tinned tomatoes to the onion and garlic, with a small glass of water. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 20 minutes.

Now put the tomatoes through a food processor or liquidizer to make a loose sauce.

Tear your basil leaves into the sauce and correct the seasoning with salt, pepper and a little swig of red wine vinegar.

When the liquidized sauce tastes perfect, bring the water back to a boil. Add the orecchiette to the water and cook according to the packet directions, then drain and toss with half of the tomato sauce and a handful of Parmesan.

Get yourself an appropriately sized baking dish, pan or earthenware dish and rub it with a little oil. Layer a little pasta in the tray, followed by some tomato sauce, and a handful of grated Parmesan and 1 sliced-up mozzarella ball, then repeat the layers until you've used all the ingredients, ending with a good layer of cheese on top.



Pop it into the preheated oven for 15 minutes or until golden, crisp and bubbling.

Italians seem happy to eat this dish at room temperature or quite cold, but I (Jamie Oliver) prefers to eat it hot.

Borscht soup

From Gordon Ramsay's Healthy Appetite

Ingredients

Olive oil
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 celery sticks, trimmed and finely chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and finely chopped
1 thyme sprig
500g raw beetroot, peeled and chopped
1/4 red cabbage, finely chopped
800ml vegetable stock
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp caster sugar
4 tbsp sour cream

Heat olive in a large pan and add the onion, celery, carrot, thyme leaves and some seasoning. Cook over a medium heat, stirring frequently, for 8-10 minutes

Add the beetroot and cabbage with a small splash of water. Stir well, then cover and cook for 10-12 minutes until the vegetables are just tender. Lift the lid and give the mixture a stir several times during cooking to stop the vegetables catching and burning on the bottom of the pan.

Remove the lid and pour in the stock or water to cover the vegetables. Add the wine vinegar, bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook for another 5-10 minutes until the vegetables are soft. Skim off any froth from the surface. Adjust the seasoning to taste with salt, pepper and sugar.

Serve with a dollop of soured cream.

Spicy soft bean curd stew (Sun-du-bu-jji-kae)

Ingredients

Red chili oil 1 tbsp
Crushed garlic 1 tbsp
Chili powder 1 tbsp
Light soy sauce 1 tsp
Beef seasoning powder 1/2 tbsp
1 onion peeled and diced
Kimchi
Pork 50 g sliced
Water 1 cup
Silken or egg bean curb 1 tube, sliced into rounds
Egg 1
Spring onion sliced

Heat pot until it becomes very hot. Reduce heat and add chili oil, crushed garlic, chili powder, soy sauce, beef seasoning powder, onion, kimchi and pork. Stir fry for 5 minutes.

Add water and bring to the boil. Carefully slide in bean curd rounds without breaking them. Simmer over low heat for 10-15 minutes.

Crack egg into stew and remove from heat. Sprinkle spring onion on top and serve.

Prawn and leeks in saffron cream

Taken from Periplus Mini Cookbooks, Pasta Favourites

Ingredients

40g butter
1 small leek, julienned
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
pinch of saffron threads
125ml white wine
250ml fish stock
300 ml cream
24 raw medium prawns
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp chopped dill

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat, add the leek and garlic and cook for 5 minutes, or until the leek is soft and translucent. Add the saffron, white wine and fish stock and bring to the boil, skimming off any scum that rises to the surface. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes, or until it has reduced by half. Pour in the cream and simmer for 15 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened and reduced by about a third.

Add the prawns to the sauce and simmer for 2-3 minutes, or until cooked through. Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon juice and dill. Season well, then toss through the hot pasta. Serve immediately

Absolutely, absolutely love this dish! Too bad, I can't get medium (yes, even medium) prawns in London. That's why I keep cooking seafood dishes in Singapore since I don't get to do that much of it in London