Mincemeat with Potatoes and Bowties Carbonara

Mouth-watering dishes.

Hallo. Last week, I made two perfect dishes. One of them was bowties carbonara and the other one was mincemeat potatoes for appetisers. As you know, I was doing it for my upcoming test and it was based on our own creativity. I had my own idea when my chef told me to use all the ingredients given on the trolley (everything was provided). It was really fun. At first I was kind blur and didn't know what kind of dishes I should cook. Then, I tried searching for recipes that can I use to get through it. Well, I found it, it was carbonara. So, I thought that carbonara was for the main course while for appetiser I can make chicken nuggets or something much easier to cook. It was challenging for me. In the end, I managed to complete the test in a short period if time. Just so you know, my chef ranked me the best second class for these mouth-watering dishes. Alhamdulillah, I've made it!

Spaghetti Carbonara

There's no sincerer love than the love of food.

Recently I've been asked to cook one of my favorite dishes of all time and it's spaghetti carbonara. It's not hard as long as you follow these steps and you have all the right ingredients.

100g pancetta

50g pecorino cheese

50g parmesan

3 large eggs

350g spaghetti

2 plump garlic cloves, peeled and left whole

50g unsalted butter

Maldon salt and freshly grated black pepper

1. Put a large saucepan of water on to boil. Finely chop the pancetta, having first removed any rind. Finely grate both cheeses and mix them together. Beat the eggs in a medium bowl, season with a little freshly grated black pepper and set everything aside.

2. Add 1 tsp. salt to the boiling water, add the spaghetti and when the water comes back to the boil, cook at a constant simmer, covered, for 10 minutes or until al dente (just cooked).

3. Squash the garlic with the blade of a knife, just to bruise it. While the spaghetti is cooking, fry the pancetta with the garlic. Drop the butter into a large wide frying pan or wok and, as soon as the butter has melted, tip in the pancetta and garlic. Leave these to cook on a medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring often, until the pancetta is golden and crisp. The garlic has now imparted its flavor, so take it out with a slotted spoon and discard.

4. Keep the heat under the pancetta on low. When the pasta is ready lift it from the water with a pasta fork or tongs and put it in the frying pan with the pancetta (see left). Don’t worry if a little water drops in the pan as well (you want this to happen) and don’t throw the rest of the pasta water away yet.

5. Mix most of the cheese in with the eggs, keeping a small handful back for sprinkling over later. Take the pan of spaghetti and pancetta off the heat. Now quickly pour in the eggs and cheese and, using the tongs or a long fork, lift up the spaghetti so it mixes easily with the egg mixture, which thickens but doesn’t scramble, and everything is coated. Add extra pasta cooking water to keep it saucy (several tablespoons should do it). You don’t want it wet, just moist. Season it with a little salt, if needed.

6. Use a long-pronged fork to twist the pasta on to the serving plate or bowl. Serve immediately with a little sprinkling of the remaining cheese and a grating of black pepper. If the dish does get a little dry before serving, splash in some more hot pasta water and the glossy sauciness will be revived.

Enjoy your spaghetti carbonara!

p/s: Don't forget to put the extra ingredient in it; love.

Chicken Paprika

Basic ingredients for making chicken paprika.

• 40g (1/4 cup) plain flour
• 1 tablespoon ground paprika
• Salt & freshly ground black pepper
• 8 large (about 125g each) chicken drumsticks, skin removed
• 25g butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 brown onions, halved, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 teaspoons caster sugar
• 2 x 400g cans diced Italian tomatoes
• 250ml (1 cup) water
• 1 dried bay leaf
• 235g (1 cup) sour cream 

 

1. Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil over high heat. In a large bowl, mix together the eggs, 2 teaspoons of salt, and 1/2 cup of water. Gradually stir in 2 1/2 cups of flour to make a stiff batter. Using two spoons, scoop out some batter with one spoon and use the second to scrap off the spoonful of batter into the boiling water. Repeat until several dumplings are cooking. Cook dumplings for 10 minutes or until they float to the top; then lift from the water and drain in a colander or sieve. Rinse with warm water.
2. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt butter and add chicken; cook until lightly browned, turning once. Add onion to skillet and cook 5 to 8 minutes more. Pour in 1 1/2 cups of water, and season with paprika, salt, and pepper; cook 10 minutes more, or until chicken is cooked through and juices run clear. Remove chicken from skillet and keep warm.
3. Stir 2 tablespoons of flour into sour cream; then slowly stir into the onion mixture remaining in the skillet. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly, and cook until thickened.
4. To serve, add dumplings to the sour cream/onion mixture, then spoon onto dinner plates adding a piece of chicken.

Try it yourself at home.