Penne carbonara

Firstly, I would like to apologise for having such a big gap between this post and the last one. I had a minor technical problem, which, thankfully, has been sorted out.

Carbonara sauce was the second pasta sauce I ever tried (Bolognese was obviously the first) and I fell in love with the moment I tasted it! I wasn't very good at cooking savoury dishes few years back and as I loved the sauce so much I resorted into using a ready made powder (shame on me!). As my skills in the kitchen developed I decided to try out the sauce from scratch. When I found out how easy it actually was to make the sauce I actually felt ashamed that I didn't try making it before -  I was so sure that something so delicious definitely required hours of complicated cooking, but I obviously was proven wrong.

I consider pasta carbonara a real treat as it manages to combine loads of good things into one dish - pasta, cream, bacon and Parmesan cheese, but it obviously isn't the healthiest of the options. This dish might have a 'treat' status for me, but regardless of that fact it is so simple and fast to make - it all takes basically as long as it takes for the pasta to cook. I really needed something to lift my mood a bit after spending a long day at university and since my sister is staying over there was no better excuse not to treat us to a nice home cooked pasta. This has undoubtedly been one of my favourite recipes for quite a few years now and I'm sure that once you've tried it you realise why :)

Ingredients
(Serves 2)
- 200g Penne (or any other pasta; I used wholegrain)
- 4 bacon rashers
- 2 eggs
- 25g Parmesan cheese (plus more for serving)
- 160ml cream

Directions
Bring a pot of water to boil and add salt. Then add the pasta and cook it until al dente.

While the pasta is cooking, cut the bacon into small cubes and fry it. Then place the bacon pieces on a kitchen paper to dry off the excessive fat. In a medium saucepan, whisk together eggs, cream and the parmesan. Place the mixture on the hob and heat up, whisking constantly to avoid clumps. When the sauce starts to thicken add the bacon and mix until nicely combined.

When the pasta is ready, drain it and add into the sauce. Mix well, divide between two bowls and serve immediately with some freshly ground pepper and a generous sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.

Recipe from a book "Pastaraamat"

Gooey chocolate brownies

It was Singapore's 47th National Day on 9th of August and to celebrate I decided to make a nice batch of brownies. I've baked brownies before but only from a ready made brownie mix, but this time I decided to do it properly - from scratch. Honestly, I'm never going back to ready made brownie mixes after trying these. When I had the first bite I was in a brownie-heaven - nice and crunchy on the outside and perfectly gooey in the inside. I liked them so much that the day after I might have finished half the batch just by myself.

They are not the easiest to make (i.e. you can't just put all the ingredients together in a one bowl and voilà), but the small effort you need to take to make those brownies is worth every second spent. And it's not that they're difficult to make, but more that you need separate bowls for everything. Other than that - they're straightforward to make and trust me, you'll understand that outcome was worth using every bowl in your kitchen. What I really love about this recipe is that it makes a decent batch of brownies. I didn't put a quantity in this recipe, as it all depends on how small or large you prefer to have your brownie pieces. But it does make a huge quantity (a whole big baking tray) so they're great for parties with loads of guests as you can prepare the dessert / snack in one go or you can make them when you need a chocolate fix which is something, trust me on this, you will definitely get after eating them.

Those brownies are great for everything - you can have them as a snack (or a meal if you're chocoholic), serve them as dessert with some ice-cream (that would be especially good if the brownies were still a bit warm), put them in packed lunch, make them for a party with many guests or take them with you when going to a party. No matter how or where you eat them, I guarantee you that you'll find yourself in chocolate brownie heaven, just like I did.

Ingredients
- 370g unsalted butter
- 400g good quality dark chocolate
- 170g plain flour
- 80g cocoa powder
- 100g white chocolate
- 6 large eggs
- 550g caster sugar

Directions
Firstly cut the butter and dark chocolate into small pieces and place in a bowl over a pot of hot water. Mix it every now and then until everything is smooth and nicely melted and then take the bowl off the water and set it aside to let it cool down a bit.

Preheat the oven to 160C fan / 180C and line a big baking tray with baking paper.

Chop the white chocolate (or if you want to you can use milk chocolate or mix of both) into small pieces and set aside. In a medium bowl, sieve together the flour and cocoa powder and set aside. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and caster sugar until thick and creamy and then pour the cooled chocolate in it and mix until the mixture is evenly brown. Then add in the flour and cocoa powder and mix until even. Lastly, add the chopped white chocolate and give the mixture few stirs. Then pour the mixture into a baking tray and even out.

Bake it for 40 minutes (or until ready). You can check whether the brownies are ready by putting a toothpick in and taking it out and if it is clear then the brownies are done. When the brownies are done, take them out of the oven and leave to cool in the tray. When they are cooled, cut them into pieces and enjoy.

Recipe adapted from BBC Good Food

Spicy prawn & pineapple curry

I have finally managed to settle in and I'm slowly getting used to the time difference - 7 hours is quite a something to get used to. This is my last weekend before university starts here in Singapore and therefore I decided to use this little time I have productively and try out a new recipe. I admit I was a bit lazy and did not make the curry paste from scratch, but as it was my first curry every I thought that I'd leave making my own paste for the next time.

The red curry paste I used was very spicy on its own and therefore I did not need to add chillies, but if you're using a mild paste or prefer you curry really spicy feel free to add some chopped chillies when adding the lemongrass and the lime leaves. It is very quick to make - the cooking process takes just around 15 minutes - and therefore is perfect for a warming mid-week meal. I just love the addition of pineapple to curries, because it sweetens the taste and when the curry is spicy it helps to "cool" it down and actually allows you to enjoy the dish without feeling constant burning sensation in your mouth. Overall it was a flavourful and filling dish that I am likely to make again (but using a bit milder curry paste).


Ingredients
(serves 4)
- 1 tsp oil
- 2 tbsp red curry paste
- 1 tbsp palm sugar (or soft brown sugar)
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp fish sauce
- 400ml coconut milk
- 1/2 small pineapple, peeled and chopped
- 5 dried kaffir lime leaves, torn
- 3 lemongrass stalks
- 300g peeled raw tiger prawns

Directions
Before starting cooking, prepare all the ingredients. Peel and devein the prawns and peel and chop up the pineapple.

Heat the oil and add the curry paste. Fry for around 2 minutes, then add the sugar and turmeric and stir well. Add the fish sauce, coconut milk and pineapple chunks and bring to boil. Then add lime leaves and lemongrass and simmer for around 5 minutes. Finally add the tiger prawns and simmer for further 5 minutes or until the prawns change colour.

Serve with boiled jasmine rice and warm naan bread

Recipe from BBC Good Food