Sauteed Asparagus & Chickpeas With Bowtie Pasta

This is recipe was inspired by bunches of tender spring asparagus that are in grocery stores right now. Asparagus will be available from now till early summer. Look for firm spears with tight crowns and uniform in diameter to ensure uniform cooking time. You could substitute bowtie pasta with any other pasta shapes. Penne or orechiette would work well here. The asparagus can be blanched if you wish before proceeding with the recipe. In order to save time ( and dirtying yet another pot) I used a saute pan. Just pour in stock and cook the asparagus for 5 minutes ( or longer if you prefer ) before adding the rest of the ingredients.


Sauteed Asparagus & Chickpeas With Bowtie Pasta
1 bunch asparagus ( medium)
1/4 cup cubed pancetta ( optional)
1 1/2 cup cooked chickpeas ( 15 oz can)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chicken stock ( or vegetable stock)
2 cloves garlic - minced
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1/4 cup chopped basil
8 0z dried bowtie pasta -( 2 oz per serving)
1 tb olive oil

Wash and trim asparagus. Cut asparagus 2 inches in an angle and set aside.

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and cook bowtie pasta ( or pasta of your choice) according to instructions on the box. Drain ( save some of the pasta water) cooked pasta and set aside.

Using a large pan saute cubed pancetta on medium heat until lightly browned. Remove pancetta with slotted spoon and set aside. Pour olive oil to the pan and saute minced garlic until golden. Add in cut asparagus, stock, salt, black pepper and cooked chickpeas. Cook until asparagus is cooked but still firm. The vegetable will cook quickly - I cooked mine for around 5 minutes.

Add cooked pasta, browned pancetta and chopped basil to the pan and stir. Serve pasta sprinkled with grated Parmesan cheese. Makes 3 to 4 servings.

Moo Ping - Skewered Marinated Pork with lemon Sauce

The grilling season has officially begun in our neighbourhood. The air has been filled with the tantalizing aroma of bbq for the past few days. Fear not if you do not own a bbq or live in apartment as this dish can be easily prepared using a stove top grill pan. The key here is to cube the meat approximately the same size and to allow enough time for it to marinate. This will ensure flavourful and succulent grilled meat everytime. I have suggested at least 2 hours in this recipe but usually I leave it overnight in the fridge. I have used pork for this recipe but I am sure that cubes of tofu or chicken will work here too.

The accompanying flavourful and spicy sauce can be made ahead. The flavour only gets better as it sits in the fridge. I have used cili padi/bird's eye chillies here as I was craving for some kick in my sauce. Cili padi/bird's eye chili is small and often resembles little padi rice hence the Malay name - cili padi. Use it sparingly as it is extremely spicy!

Grilled Meat
1lb lean meat cut into cubes- 3/4 inch cubes
1 tb finley chopped cilantro
2 tb fish sauce
1 1/2 tb brown sugar
1 tb light soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 tb chili flakes- optional
12 satay skewers

Mix the marinade until all ingredients are dissolved and add in the cubed pork. Let the meat marinate for at least 2 hrs in the fridge. Heat the grill on medium high heat and cook skewers until meat is cooked through - 2 to3 minutes.

Sauce
1 tb fish sauce
2 tb fresh lemon juice
1 tb light soy sauce
1 tsp chilli flakes/ birds eye chillis
1 tb brown sugar
1 tb chopped cilantro

Make sauce while meat is marinating. Mix all ingredients in a small bowl . Refrigerate until ready to use. This sauce can be made ahead.

Jam Crumb Cake

It is wonderful to have all the ingredients on hand when one has the urge to bake a cake. This is where a well stocked pantry is truly a wonderful thing. Flour, sugar, eggs, baking powder, a dash cinnamon, couple sticks of butter, a cup of whole milk and some sweet jam is all you need to make this aromatic crumb cake. No creaming is required, it is a cake of rather low commitment with gratifying results. Just a large bowl and a wooden spoon or a sturdy whisk will do the trick. Blend sifted dry ingredients with the liquid, swirl in some of your favourite delectable jam that you have tucked away in the fridge and sprinkle the cinnamon scented crumbs generously over the batter and bake. Nothing could be simpler :)

Jam Crumb Cake - Gourmet

Cake
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 stick unsalted butter - melted and cooled
1/2 cup whole milk
1 large egg
1/2 cup of jam of your choice ( I used lingonberry jam)


Crumb Topping
3/4 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 tsp cinnamon powder
a pinch of salt
1 cup plus 2 tb all purpose flour


To make cake:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees (place rack in the middle of the oven). Butter and flour 9 inch round cake pan or a spring form pan( I prefer the latter).

Sift together flour, salt, sugar and baking powder, set aside.
In a large bowl whisk together butter, milk and egg . Pour in sifted dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Pour batter into a pan and swirl jam with a spoon over the batter.


For crumb topping and final assembly:
Mix all ingredients together ( should resemble large crumbs) and sprinkle over the cake batter. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until the cake tester comes out clean. Cool on a rack. Makes 6 servings.

Beet & Sweet Potato Cakes

I found a bunch of beets hiding behind blocks of butter ( we have been taking advantage of a recent butter sale at our grocery store). I debated my recipe options and decided to make some beet and sweet potato cakes. You could make it with just one kind of potato. The potatoes and beets were grated raw and lightly mixed with an egg white, salt, pepper and a handful of rice flour. The whole grating business has the potential to be rather labour intensive but a food processor could change all that :) The trick to making these little cakes crispy is squeezing out as much liquid as you can prior to adding rice flour to the mixture. I saw a similar recipe in Donna Hay magazine and have been wanting to put my own twist to it ( as always!). These little cakes were shallow fried and it turned out crispy and sweet.

Some call these little cakes latkes or rosti....I call it delicious!

Beet & Sweet Potato Cakes
100 g beet - peeled
100 sweet potato peeled
1 large potato - peeled
1/4 cup rice flour
1 egg white - lightly beaten
1/2 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper
vegetable oil - to shallow fry
sour cream
chopped chives

Grate sweet potatoes, beets and potatoes and place in a bowl. Squeeze out as much liquid as you can from the mixture. Add in salt, freshly ground pepper, lightly beaten egg and rice flour to the grated mixture and mix with a light hand .

Heat oil in a non stick pan or well seasoned cast iron pan on medium heat. Place tablespoons of beet mixture in pan and flatten a bit. Cook each side for one minute each. Serve hot. I served it a dollop of sour cream and some chopped chives.