Filipino-style spaghetti

Most Filipino dishes are generally a bold mix (or pair) of any two of these: sweet, salty, spicy, sour.   The combination of flavours in a dish extract these basic tastes from the food and then onto your taste buds, and the fusion becomes the standard.  The way it should taste.  Take for example, the sweet rice cupcakes or puto.  They are topped with cheese or salted egg and then served with pork dinuguan (pork black pudding). Pork adobo also becomes an example as the braised pork becomes sweeter as the pork is caramelised with the addition of sugar.  The sweet champorado (chocolate rice pudding) is paired with the salty dried herring There are heaps of dishes that are contrasting in flavour and yet complements each other as a whole. 


Filipino cuisine is unique.  Although the influence on food comes from the different countries who came to occupy the Philippines before  and after the country's independence in 1898.  From Spanish to American dishes, influences from neighbouring Asian countries - Chinese, Thai, Malay, Indian and Japanese.  And the result, is a culinary fusion that sets it apart from any other.  Filipino dishes while sometimes can taste similar to several cuisines, there's always that one ingredient that will make it stand out from the rest. 

Now this spaghetti is unique too.  It has catsup!  And not just ordinary catsup.  It's banana catsup.  It's as Filipino as it can get.  Prepared with pork or beef mince, plus slices of hotdogs, banana ketsup/catsup and some sugar.  It is sweet kind of spaghetti with the  sauce thinned out with some water and further sweetened with the addition of sugar. 

We don't usually prepare this at home, as I find making the classic meat based ragu or bolognese easier and more convenient with common ingredients, i.e. don't have to take a trip to the Filipino shop to get some banana ketsup/catsup.  But this is something common back home.  Why it's even served at the local fastfood chain Jollibee.  And even McDonald's in the Philippines has this kind of spaghetti.    

To make this Filipino style spaghetti: 

(Print the recipe)

Ingredients:

2 cloves garlic, finely diced

1 medium sized onion, finely diced

500g beef mince (or pork mince)

4-5 pieces cocktail hotdogs, sliced

140g tomato paste

560g bottle of Jufran or UFC banana catsup

700g bottle of passata (tomato sauce)

4-5 tablespoons of raw sugar

1 cup water

salt and pepper to taste

vegetable oil

Using a large saucepan on medium heat, add about a tablespoon of vegetable oil and then cook the onions and garlic until soft.  

Add the minced meat and cook until brown.  

Add the tomato paste and stir to coat the meat.  

Add the banana catsup, passata (tomato sauce) and the hotdogs and stir. Bring to a boil.

Add the sugar and water and let it simmer for 20-25 minutes.

Serve with spaghetti noodles and top with grated cheese.

I've made this specially for this month's theme at the Kulinarya Cooking Club.  Its not our usual spaghetti dish, but its familiar.  And it strikes close to home.  

 

 

 

Creamy cheese rigatoni with chilli and mild salami

There's a Sydney-based blog that is so inviting with its stunning photos and absolutely mouth watering food!  I love What Katie Ate's site because of her classic and vintage food styling.  Its something that I hope one day to be able to replicate.    In our home, our pasta repertoire is as limited as the number of fingers in one's hands.   And browsing through Katie Quinn Davies' site is always inspiring.  The minute these photos came into full view, was the very moment I took off for the local providore to get some Pecorino cheese and mild salami and made this for dinner with a few tweaks.  This is a lovely creamy pasta dish that was "maginifico" in every bite.  The combination of the tomatoes and cream gave it that X factor.  And the flavour of the salami just evolves into something beautiful.

To make this creamy rigatoni pasta dish:

500g dried rigatoni pasta

1-400g can diced tomatoes

1 medium sized onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

200g salami or chorizo

150g mushrooms, quartered (we used large cup mushrooms)

1 red chilli, finely diced

25g butter

1 cup cream

1 cup grated parmesan cheese + extra to serve

1 cup greated pecorino cheese

1 bunch basil, chopped

1/4 cup sliced black olives

olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Prepare the rigatoni pasta per package instructions.  Set aside.

In a large saucepan, heat about 2 tbsp olive oil then sweat the onions.  Add the garlic and cook for 3-5 minutes over medium heat. 

Add the butter, mushrooms, salami and chilli and cook for 10 minutes stirring the ingredients together.  

Add the canned tomatoes, black olives, cream and basil leaves and stir to combine all ingredients, then add half of both cheeses.

Add the rigatoni and stir to coat the pasta.

Spoon into a rectangular baking dish and top with the remaining cheese.

Bake in a preheated 180* C oven for 30 minutes or until the cheese has melted. 

My salami slices were way too big though.  Next time, I might just dice them smaller.  What's my best gauge that a new dish tried has been successful?  When at least one requests to save some for lunch the next day!  Makes my heart go a-flutter.  Spontaneous trips for ingredients become all so worth it.

Pasta from scratch

After that glorious spring Friday where the sun made a grand entrance and embraced Sydney with a 31*C hug, the weekend was the complete opposite.  Wet, cold and gloomy. Not my kind of day, especially as I’m recovering from a stiff/sore neck and back.  But, not to dampen our spirits, it was the best time to take out the new pasta machine and make some pasta!  Yes. This is too much excitement for us, being Filipino and coming from a rice-consuming nation. Making pasta from scratch is just as exciting as watching the NYE fireworks or Christmas, or the first day of school.  And while pasta making is exciting, it is also messy.  But we don’t care.  Everyone had a go cranking the machine, and the ooh’s and aah’s was just priceless.  This pasta dough recipe is from the Futura Training textbook - Organise and Prepare Food, Methods of Cookery.

We made this with

250g ‘OO’ flour

3 eggs

10ml olive oil
salt 

Sift the flour into a medium-large sized bowl. 

Crack the eggs into a jug or cup, with the olive oil and mix until it combines together (a technique I learned in Kitchen10 from Chef A).

Pour the egg-oil mixture into the well, and mix with your hands by ‘folding’ the flour slowly to incorporate the dry and wet ingredients.

Place the dough on the counter top and knead for a few minutes, until you get soft dough (should not be wet).

Shape into a round disc and wrap with plastic/cling wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Cut into quarters make pasta using a pasta machine.

Rest the pasta for a few minutes after cutting/making through the pasta machine.

Cook the pasta in salted boiling water for 5-6 minutes.

PS – Jamie Oliver once demonstrated in his show how easy it is to make pasta without a pasta machine.  He simply used a rolling pin to flatten the dough to the desired thin/thickness, and using a knife, cut the dough into strips using a regular knife.  Let the dough rest for a bit, then cook al dente!

Linguini alla puttanesca

"One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating." - Luciano Pavarotti and William Wright, My Own Story

 
I’ve realised only recently that we have a limited repertoire of pasta dishes.  We mostly cook the basics at home - Lasagne, carbonara, baked ziti, spaghetti Bolognese, chicken pasta, beef stroganoff, pesto, prawn-fetta pasta and marinara.  Although I have tasted several other fancier varieties in restaurants, I have never tried to replicate any at home.  Ages ago, a neighbour of ours in Manila shared a Puttanesca recipe over the fence.  Literally.  Well, almost literally as she lived 2 townhouses away.  First, she shared a bowl of the pasta dish and then mum requested for the recipe.  And shared she did.  But I’m bad at keeping hand-written notes especially those which are written by myself.  And so I’ve lost it, and have never tried looking for one again.  We’ve moved overseas and life went on.  Until recently, when I came across this from taste.com.au.  Another dish with an impressive resume.


This Linguini Alla Puttanesca is adapted from the celebrity food critic Matt Preston, via taste.com.au

Olive oil, for frying
1 large brown onion, diced
25g anchovy fillets 
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 cup red wine
400gcan tomatoes
150g black olives, drained (we got bottled black olives and simply sliced off the pits)
1/3 cup capers, washed and drained
1 bunch flat leaf parsley, washed and chopped
1/2 lemon, zest and juice
2 long red chillies, de-seeded and finely chopped
400g spaghetti or tagliatelle
Vegetable oil, for frying

Heat the olive oil in a non stick frying pan over medium low heat and cook the onion for 6-8 minutes until translucent.

Add the anchovies, pressing down with a fork to lightly mash then add the crushed garlic cloves and saute for 3-4 minutes until cooked through.

Pour in the wine and cook down, scraping any caught bits on the pan back into the sauce. Add the can of tomatoes, olives and 1/4 cup capers. Stir and cook on a low heat for 5 minutes. Add half the parsley and squeeze in the juice of the lemon. Adjust the seasoning with salt and a little sugar so it is in balance (but only if needed, those capers and olives will add lots of salt). Stir in half the chilli. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until flavours are combined.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta in well salted boiling water until al dente – or still a little firm to the bite. Drain and toss with a little oil. Keep warm.

Dry the remaining tablespoon of capers on kitchen towel and then fry in vegetable oil until crispy. Drain on paper towel.

Serve the dish at the table garnished with the crispy capers, the lemon zest, remaining chopped parsley and chilli (if using).

Serve with crusty bread.

Mum used linguini pasta as this was the only one we had in our pantry.  Great grown up dish!  I loved the authentic Mediterranean taste which comes from the capers and olives!  The gremolata (parsley and lemon rind mixture) and chilli garnish gives the dish that oomph and that X factor.  

Since we now have a pasta maker (manual) bought at a bargain from Aldi a few weeks ago, its time to venture into other pasta dishes to add to our pasta night!

Tomato and Chilli Stracci with Prawns

This is a pasta dish mum tried a few weeks back, from the magazine Gourmet Traveller, February 2007.  A magazine which was lying about in the office.  Mum tried to look for it from GT online to no avail.  Probably because they don't archive that far back.  Well anyways, this is great pasta recipe.  Not your usual pasta topped with cheese.  This one is topped with the chilli breadcrumbs made of sour dough bread.  Definitely a grown up pasta dish as the chilli is really biting. 

To make this pasta dish you need:

100 ml extra virgin olive oil

1 onion, thinly sliced

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 long red chillies, finely chopped

250g yellow grape tomatoes 

(excluded in mum's dish as the yellow variety was not available at the time)

250g red grape tomatoes

100 ml tomato passata

(can be bought from your local deli or providore)

80ml (1/3 cup) white wine

400 g stracci 

(the recipe had a note that if stracci is not available, you may substitute pappardelle which was what mum used here)

12 medium green prawns, peeled, veins removed, tails intact and butterflied

Chilli breadcrumbs

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

70g (1 cup) fresh sourdough breadcrumbs

2 tbsp finely grated lemon rind

For chilli breadcrumbs, heat olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat, add garlic and chilli and cook for 2-3 minutes or until garlic is soft.  Add breadcrumbs and lemon rind and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until breadcrumbs are golden.  Season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground pepper and set aside.

Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat, add onion, half the garlic and half the chilli and cook for 5 minutes or until onion is soft.  Increase heat to high, add tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes or until tomatoes are beginning to soften, add tomato passata and wine and simmer for 5 minutes. Season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Cook stracci (or papperdelle) in a large saucepan of boiling salted water until al dente.

Meanwhile, combine remaining garlic, chilli and olive oil, season to taste and brush over cut-side of prawns.  Heat a frying pan over high heat, add prawns and cook for 2-3 minutes or until just cooked.

Drain stracci (or pappardellle), toss through tomato sauce and divide among serving bowls. Top with prawns and serve immediately.

The instructions in the magazine did not say where to use the chilli breadcrumbs (which  has been consistent in recent recipes I've encountered from Gourmet Traveller - there are some minor mistakes in some published recipes.  Such as missing instructions) but assuming from the photo that came with the recipe, the breadcrumbs were tossed over the pasta dish before serving.

Gourmet Traveller online has a similar pasta dish recipe for Stracci with Cavolo Nero and Garlic which has a recipe for the stracci pasta and another similar pasta dish from taste.com.au for Stracci with Zucchini and Smoked Salmon where coursely torn lasagna sheets are used.   In mum's search for this pasta variety, it seems that stracci is similar to the pappardelle in that they are wide strips of pasta.  The pappardelle pasta which mum used here is the San Remo brand from the supermarket.  Pappardelle mum learned, is such a delicate pasta variety that cooking time must strictly be followed to produce the al dente texture.  Otherwise, will fall out into strips, which you can see from the photos here.  Next time we use pappardelle, it might be a good idea to keep an iced water bath handy - to soak the pasta to stop it from cooking.

Spaghetti and meatballs adapted from Junior Masterchef

Ate has been eyeing Vans shoes for some time now.  And she asked mum's suggestion on the colour.  RED of course!   It comes up with every single conversation.  At the dinner table, while in the car, while washing the dishes in the kitchen, while waiting for the three of you at swim class.  The short of it is, she's saving up to buy a pair.  I can't imagine the time mum and dad were in one of those Vans shoes too.  It must be early 90s, way back in college when these shoes came into fashion.  Along side K-Swiss and  Tretorn and Spandau Ballet and Duran Duran hit the air waves. Simply, fashion comes around even after decades, it can still become in fashion and songs stay on for centuries.  Anyways, there's something about the colour red that makes it stand out. Shoes or otherwise, its gorgeous, its radical, it's foxy, it's hot! And I could go on.

In the kitchen we have something red too!  I love my La Chassueur red cast iron cookware which mum bought last year.  Not the high end brand  but it serves the purpose.  Heavy bottom and can withstand 400 degree heat, which means its great for dishes like casseroles, stews, and that No Knead Bread (the purpose of why mum bought the cookware in the first place!) that we've never had the chance to do.  Just yet. 

This gorgeous red cast iron pot was used by Ate when she took a serious oath on Mother's Day (that day when everyone took over the kitchen and mum was secretly trying hard not to be the control freak she is in the kitchen) and prepared the lunch for the day. A simple spaghetti and meatballs dish (plus her simple chocolate truffles).  The recipe is adapted from the Junior Masterchef Australia Cookbook Volume 1.  I do have a simple fool-proof spaghetti bolognese recipe which also includes meatballs, but Ate was on a roll and she enjoyed every bit of the challenge.  She now has a repertoire of dish(es) under her arms.

To make this simple pasta dish, use:

1 onion, quartered

1/4 cup, flat leaf parsley leaves

250g minced pork

250g minced veal 

(Mum's not a fan of veal purely on the basis that these are quite young cattle that could have seen more days than they were allowed.  But in this occasion mum left everyone to their devices to follow the recipe)

70g (1 cup) fresh breadcrumbs made from day-old bread (see Chef's tip)

(Ate just used the store-bought variety)

40g (1/2 cup) finely grated parmesan

2 eggs, lightly beaten

500g dried spaghetti

25g (1/3 cup) grated parmesan, plus extra to serve

(we use the same variety parmesan as the one above)

Tomato Sauce

1 tbsp olive oil

1 clove garlic, crushed

700g bottle tomato passatta (sieved pureed tomatoes)

(this can be bought from any deli or providore, if not available in the local grocery)

1/2 tsp caster sugar

1. Process onion in a food processor until finely chopped.  Transfer half the onion to a bowl and reserve for the sauce.  Add parsley to onion in the processor and whiz until finely chopped.  Add minced pork and veal, breadcrumbs, parmesan and eggs, and season with salt and pepper.  Process until well combined.

2. Carefully remove the blade and, using a measuring spoon and spatula, scoop out level tablespoons of the mixture onto a plate. Roll into balls (you will be able to make about 30 meatballs).  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes or until firm.

3. To make tomato sauce, heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add the reserved onion and cook, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes or until soft.  Add crushed garlic and cook for a further 2 minutes or until fragrant.

4. Add passatta, 250ml (1 cup) water and sugar, mix well to combine, then season.  Bring to the boil, add meatballs.  Cover and return to the boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer, covered for 10 minutes.  Gently shake pan halfway through cooking to ensure meatballs are covered with sauce.  Remove from the heat.

5. Meanwhile, bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil.  Add spaghetti, return to the boil and cook according to packet directions or until al dente.  Drain well and transfer to bowls.  Spoon meatballs and sauce over spaghetti, then serve scattered with extra parmesan.

Chef's tip: To make fresh breadcrumbs, start with white or wholemeal bread that's at last one day old.  Remove crusts and tear bread into large pieces.  Process bread in a food processor until fine crumbs form.  Store breadcrumbs in an airtight bag or container in the freezer for up to 1 month.

Spaghetti meatballs or bolognese is a simple pasta dish that is easy to make for any meal of the day.  Promise me this - you will not ever try those spaghetti's-in-a-can variety.  I mean really.  Pasta in a can.  Mum thinks they are just horrendous!  There are plenty of fresh ingredients around so be kind to the environment.  Lessen your carbon footprint! I don't mind two-minute noodles.  But pasta-in-a-can is taking fast food to the extreme!