Saturday Dinner by Catherina and Thomas

To celebrate the start of so many new people in the lab, we were invited to Thomas' and Catherina's place for an absolutely delicious 3-course dinner.

You will see how delicious it was once I upload all the pictures!!!

Starter: Thomas' Thai Seafood Soup 

Main Course: Catherina's Lasagne
(serves 6, so I actually made twice the below)

This is something I have cooked for ages and it has evolved over time, the nice thing is that you can adapt the recipe according to your taste. Here is what I did that Saturday:

I made a Bolognese sauce:  finely chop a large onion, a carrot, some celery root and some garlic, roast that in olive oil, then add 500 gr of mince meat (can be any species - I used beef on this occasion). Sprinkle with herbs (Oregano is good, I also added some bayleaf). Roast until brown, then add chopped tomatoes (2 tins), a bit of red wine, and let boil for at least 30 mins, season to taste and set aside.

For the veggie layer: Use 600 gr of spinach (I really wanted Swiss Chard, but there wasn't any to be had) and cook that with very little chicken broth and butter, salt, some chopped red chilly, pepper, nutmeg and garlic. Set aside.

Soak some Porcini mushrooms in red wine over night.

For the Bechamel: take a chunk of butter (about 60 or 70 gr), heat that, add flour and stir until this becomes a thick pasty goo. Then add milk, stir, add more milk, stir and so on (note, this burns easily, so don't go away and keep stirring) until you have the desired thickness (like a sauce). Stir in about 350 gr of grated Morzarella cheese (Waitrose has that, but self-grated Gouda also works). Season with a little salt (gouda needs no salt because it is so salty on its own), white pepper and nutmeg. Set that aside (but not for long, if this gets cold you'll never get it fluid again, so the sauce should be the last thing you do).

Square forms work best for lasagne: pour a little bit of broth into it, then put in a layer of uncooked pasta (all supermarkets sell pasta sheets, I used the wavy ones from Waitrose). It is ok if the pasta sheets overlap a little. Add a layer of Bolognese (half of what you have), scatter the Porcini mushrooms over this layer) then add a layer of uncooked pasta sheets. Then put the entire spinach and top that with some scoops of the Bechamel/cheese sauce (about half), cover with a layer of uncooked pasta sheets, add the rest of the Bolognese, cover with another layer of uncooked pasta sheets, then top off with the rest of the Bechamel over which you scatter the remains of the Morzarella from the bag (I never said this was a quick recipe ;) ).

Put into the oven at 180 - 200°C until golden brown (should take 25 to 30 mins) and serve with a salad.


Desert: Thomas' Masterchef Sticky Toffee Pudding

Tatyana's Indian Home Cooking

Our latest lunch was cooked by Tatyana and she brought several lovely dishes from her home country for us to try.

Karahi Chicken

A Karahi is a type of thick, circular, and deep cooking pot (similar in shape to a wok) used in Indian cuisine. A Chicken stew prepared in a Karahi is called "Karahi Chicken”

Ingredients :
500 grams Boneless Chicken - cut into pieces
1 onion- chopped
1 tomato- chopped
Salt to taste
3-4 cloves garlic - chopped
1/2 tsp black pepper powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/4 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp coriander powder
2 tsp kasoori methi (dry fenugreek leaves) – crushed by hands
1 tbsp oil

Method:
1. Heat oil in a karahi (heavy bottomed vessel) and add onion. When it turns translucent, add garlic. Sauté for 1/2 a minute.
2. Add tomato, turmeric powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, black pepper powder, red chilli powder, kasoori methi and salt. Mix well and fry till oil begins to separate.
3. Add the chicken and mix well. Lower heat and cook covered for about 4-5 minutes. Serve hot kadhai chicken with pulao rice, naan or paratha and cucumber raita.

Cabbage stir-fry  (Thoran)

Thoran/Stir-fry is a common side dish for a Kerala meal.

Ingredients:

Cabbage(finely chopped or grated)
Onions  (chopped) - 2
Green chillies - slit - 2
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Grated coconut - 1/4 cup
Salt - As required
Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Curry leaves  - 4 or 5 leaves

Method:

Heat oil in a large pan.  Add the mustard seeds and cumin seeds till they splutter.
Add curry leaves, split green chillies and the chopped onions.  Cook till the onions are translucent.

Add cabbage, turmeric powder, salt (as required) and mix well.
Cover and cook on a low flame till the cabbage is cooked.
Once the cabbage is cooked, sprinkle the grated coconut and cover with a lid for another 5-7 minutes.

Can be eaten as a side dish with rice and curry or with Chappatis.
Note: Don`t use water while preparing and cook on a low/medium low flame

Cucumber Pachadi

Cucumber pachadi is an ideal accompaniment to a curry. It is eaten as a salad or a raita.

Ingredients:

1 cucumber
1/2 inch ginger
2-3 green chillies
2 tblsp  grated coconut
1 1/2 cups yogurt (beat well)
1 tsp oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
5-6 curry leaves
Salt  to taste

Method:

Grate the cucumber and keep aside.

Grind together scraped coconut, green chillies and ginger to a fine paste.

Mix together the grated cucumber, ground mixture and yogurt. Add salt to taste.

Heat oil in a small pan, add mustard seeds. When they start to crackle, add curry leaves, stir for a moment.

Pour the above on to the yogurt mixture. Stir it thoroughly.

Serve chilled.

Pulao ( Pilaf rice )

This dish is one where the rice is cooked in a seasoned broth and whole spices.

Ingredients:

2 cups basmati rice

½ inch cinnamon stick

3 cloves

4 cardamon pods

1 tsp cumin seeds ( you can substitute with fennel seeds)

chicken or vegetable stock

salt & black pepper to taste

Method:

Use a wide surface area vessel with a broad and heavy base.

Soak 2 cups rice in warm water for 30 to 45 mins.

Fry the onions in oil. Then add the cinnamon, cloves and cardamon and fry for another minute till you see the cardamom pods fluff up a bit. Take care not to burn the spices, otherwise it will taste bitter.

Next add tomatoes and saute well.

Then add 3 1/2 cups of stock to it.

When the stock/spice mixture comes to a boil add the soaked rice after draining off the water taking care not to break the rice. Add salt and black pepper to taste.

Cover and let the rice cook till it is about 70% cooked. Then shut the gas off even though the rice is uncooked and the you can still see liquid in the vessel.  Cover with a lid and put a tea towel on top to trap in all the steam.  The rice that is slightly hard will slowly absorb all the liquid and will be perfectly cooked in 15 to 20 mins.

After 20 mins, open the vessel and you will find the rice perfectly cooked with every grain intact and all the water absorbed. You will have the perfect pilaf.

NOTE: You can also add some royalty to your pilaf by adding saffron infused milk, cashewnuts and raisins just before you serve. You can roast the cashewnuts before you add them.

Chinese feast by Zhen

This friday, the lab had a fantastic chinese lunch with too many options to choose from. But we managed to eat almost everything :-)

As always, recipes will follow shortly. I hope you're getting hungry already!

Thomas' famous Six-Bean-Stew

Again, we are a little late with posting this awesome lunch that Thomas made for us a few weeks ago, but nevertheless it was VERY tasty!

Bean stew with chorizo and roasted butternut squash

(this recipe actually comes from the back of the “Epicure Creative Cooks” Rustic Six Bean Mix).

Slice 3 cloves of garlic and heat in 2 tablespoons of olive oil until garlic softens (don’t let it burn). Add 200 gr of sliced chorizo and cook until the slices start to brown. Add a medium chopped onion and a teaspoon of smoked paprika powder and cook for a further 5 minutes. Add 150 ml of red wine and simmer until the wine has been reduced by half, then add 400 gr of chopped tomatoes (tin) and the bean mix (350 gr = one pack), cook for another 20 minutes, season to taste and add some flat leaf parsley before serving.

Peel and slice 400 gr butternut squash into finger-thick slices (ACHTUNG: butternut squash is really hard to peel – cheat if your supermarket offers peeled slices or cubes), put them in a mixing bowl, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil, a teaspoon full of chopped fresh thyme, sea salt and ground black pepper and mix until the squash is well coated. Spread the slices on a baking sheet and roast in a preheated (180°C) oven for 20 minutes until soft and golden brown.

Serve with salad and fresh baguette.