Seafood marinara stew

Winter is creeping up on us like an unwanted guest. It's the middle of July and of course it is cold.   I have always written many many times in the past that we dread winter. Well I do. Sans the layering of clothing and comfortable matching scarves and beanies, and beautiful leather boots, I could do well without winter.  Really.  But I’m embracing our life here in AU and part of assimilating into the Australian way of life is well, embracing winter and all the other seasons that come and go.  But you have to know that winter... is my least favourite. 

When it comes to winter cooking and food, I love simple recipes.  My favourites are dishes that shout fresh, easy to reach ingredients, simple cooking methods with delicious results.  While I do admire chefs who are into fusion and gastronomy, I’m not the type who would attempt pesto jelly, or strawberry foams.  I like simple cooking.  Time spent in the kitchen is precious, and any effort made to prepare, whether it took 10 minutes or 6 hours always spells love. 

This one, no matter what angle shouts L-O-V-E.  Ingredients are simple, easy to make and wow! It's my easy version of the French seafood boullabaisse, minus all the other ingredients.  The seafood mix is anything you get from the fish markets. 

You dive into this with some toasted sour dough or any fresh bread, and you’ll come back up feeling the love.  You’ll get lots of warm hugs from this for sure. 

 

 Ingredients:

1kg mixed seafood (marinara mix in shells)

1 jar 350 ml passata sauce (tomato sauce)

3-4 fresh tomatoes, quartered

1 onion, sliced

2-3 cloves garlic, chopped finely

½ cup fresh parsley, roughly chopped

½ teaspoon course/ground oregano

Salt and pepper to taste

Olive oil

Tablespoon of butter (optional)

 Method:

In a heavy based pan or skillet, heat about 2 tablespoons of olive oil.

Add the garlic and onions and cook until soft.

Add the tomatoes and cook until soft.

Add the passata sauce, bring to boil then turn down heat to simmer.

Season with salt and pepper, and sprinkle the oregano.

Add the seafood, place lid/cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until all seafood pieces are cooked through.

Add the butter and let it melt into the sauce.  

Top with the chopped parsley.

Tips and tricks:

* I add the butter in the latter part of the cooking just to add that gloss in the sauce.  You don't have to add butter if you don't want to, but that its a secret ingredient in most restaurants - the chefs add that for the shine and gloss.

* You can also add fresh or dried thyme for extra flavour.  They add a rich depth to the stew.

Minestrone

This is a late post.  Lesson 4 from Kitchen 10 (a couple of weeks back).  Still all about stocks and soups and this is just one of them.

Winter is rightfully here and we all felt its wrath with the cold snap brought on the Tuesday that second week of June .  Layers and thick jackets, beanies, gloves and scarves were the order of the day.  The winter snap was biting and sharp, which leaves us with no choice but to embrace the winter season.  Year on and year off, it’s the same thing.  Mum (and dad) still dreading the cold snap.  Embrace the cold and warm up in the kitchen, I say!

Lesson 4 @ Kitchen 10 - Minestrone

It must be timing that Term 2 is all about soups, eh?  We learned 3 soup dishes from Lesson 4 plus 2 Sardinian dishes from the masterclass with Chef Giovanni Pilu of Pilu at Freshwater.  The timing is so good that I replicated the minestrone soup we learned on that Monday, at home.  Several times already, actually.


Minestrone is a really simple soup which I wouldn’t have ventured into on my own, because I thought it complicated.  But now I know, I can make it as long as there is white wine in the house.  Minestrone is Italian in origin and is actually a peasant dish.  There is really no set of main ingredients, according to Wikipedia, because this soup is made with whatever vegetables are in season.  And can even contain meat or meat broth.  The main ingredients of this soup are vegetables and pasta (any type of pasta will do) or rice.  However, I can’t imagine having rice in this tomato based dish.  The spaghetti pasta cut into 7cm lengths were just perfect.  But any other pasta shape would do.  The pasta in this instance, thickens the soup  and makes it a perfect pair with crusty sliced bread on a cold winter evening.

To make the minestrone (in class), we used, roughly cut (mirepoix in culinary terms):

Carrots

Celery

Leeks
Onions
Beans
Turnips

The onion, leeks, celery and carrots are sautéed in oil and butter combined, until golden.  

Tomato paste is added and stirred until the vegetables are thoroughly flavoured and coloured (the colours from here on, turn from golden brown to bright red/dark orange and the aromatics are released into familiar fumes that is so inviting, dad wanted to partake of the vegetables already at this point ).

This is then de-glazed with white wine and simmered until the wine has evaporated.  Water is then added just right to cove r the vegetables, and simmered for 5-10 minutes. (Wine when heated and used in cooking releases its alcohol and leaves a unique essence and subtle flavour to the dish.)

  

Tip: which I heard from random places from cooking shows to magazines, that you should never ever use wine that you would not drink.  Because if you don’t want to drink it, you wouldn’t want to eat it.  (More on cooking with wine found in http://whatscookingamerica.net/WineInCooking.htm)

 The beans and turnips are then added and stirred and simmered for another 2 minutes.  

Finally, pasta and added, bring to a boil and then simmer until pasta is cooked.

Serve topped with tomato concasse (diced tomatoes de-seeded and skin peeled off) and finely chopped basil (or parsley).

This is the best fail-safe kind of soup, as long as you have the basic flavours of the vegetables, tomato paste and white wine in there.  There are no possible ways this soup can be messed up.  it is a fool-proof,  glorious peasant dish soup. 

The recipe may look like a bit mishmashed in instructions, as mum was a bit flustered at the time we did this in class  with so much soups to do (including a cream of corn and basil soup, cream of mushroom soup and a beef consomme) and we still had to attend the Masterclass with Giovanni Pilu, which was of course, a must-see.   It takes a bit of discipline trying to remember all the processes and tips during class.  Must make sure to write it all down ASAP.  Following the recipe in the book doesn't always cut it.  Especially Chef S has more unique tips and tricks up his sleeves every lesson.

Chicken tinola

  

Since it's winter in Sydney, the wet damp weather has been bringing nothing but gloom in the air.  Parts of the upper north coast of NSW has been flooded, flights have been canceled due to the volcano ash from Peru and the latest earthquake in NZ.  Not very good news all around.  Makes you want to just turn off and head to the kitchen!

Winter seems to bring out the lethargic side in our home, not a single soul spared.  Mum's been dragging each of her leg every day to get off the bed and onto the kitchen to prepare your lunch boxes.  Almost like a zombie, without the green face and tattered clothes - but maybe the look can be as scary.  Can't help but feel lethargic in winter.  Mum salute bears for taking on winter with the cleverest of idea - hibernation!  What would happen if all humans hibernate in the winter, of course, taking turns, each part of the globe?!  That's interesting!  But how about those in the northern and southern hemisphere?!  Aw.  They'd be hiding more than half of the year!   I guess hibernation isn't that so clever after all.  Good thing, there are such dishes as chicken soup!  Warms you up in all the right places!

This is a Filipino chicken soup, known as Chicken Tinola in most parts of the Philippines.  Mum stresses "in most parts" because in some other regions in the PI, tinola would mean a different kind of dish altogether.  Traditionally, this is the chicken tinola that mum and dad grew up with, and now you, too. 

There is also a slight similarity in the soup and texture of the chicken tinola (minus the chokos and bok choy) to the Filipino Chicken Sotanghon (which was one of the first dishes mum kept here), where the addition of vermicelli noodles make it a main dish all by itself.  

Chicken tinola is easy to prepare.  All you need is:

 1k chicken pieces (whole chicken cut into portions)

1 small ginger, cut into strips

1 onion, quartered

1 clove garlic, chopped

chokos (sayote in Tagalog), peeled and core removed or 

green papaya (you must choose the green skin with white flesh, not the ones that almost ripe)

bok choy leaves, washed and tips but off

(this is our down under version, because in the PI fresh chilli leaves are used)

fish sauce and peppercorns, for seasoning

In a large sauce pan, saute the ginger, garlic and onion until translucent. 

Add the chicken pieces and sear until browned.

Add about 6 cups water or more, enough to submerge the chicken in the stock. Add peppercorns.

Bring to the boil.  Then simmer for 20-30 minutes until the chicken is tender.

Season with fish sauce, tasting every now and then to suit your preference.  Sometimes, mum also adds a bit of ground pepper.

Add the bok choy leaves last then turn off heat.

The result!  A clear (almost) chicken soup with the spicy-sweet aroma and taste of ginger. A true chicken soup for the soul!   This is especially great now that its winter, but coming from a fairly tropical place, this dish is served and eaten any time of the year, with rice. 

One of those dishes that are quick and easy to make.  With a little bit of time and patience, plus the right ingredients, you don't really need to open a can of chicken soup, right?

Updated 27/06/2011 - Here's a related post on Chicken Tinola at Foodista by Alisa

Chicken Tinola