Seabass Mediterranean Way

Ingredients:Sea Bass - medium sizeCherry tomatoes, detterino tomatoes - all cut into halvesOlives - a few pc and cut into halveShallots - cut into halvesGarlic - a bunch and pressedLemon slicesdill/parsleyMethod:1. Preheat oven at 200'C.2. Heat up a frying pan and add virgin oil, pan fry pressed garlic and shallots until fragrant but dont burn the garlic. Remove garlic. Keep the cooked .shallots and oil to a bowl 3. Mix tomatoes and olives with salt, black pepper and extra virgin olive oil evenly,  place half of this mixture to bottom of the skillet which you will place the fish on top.4. add some of the cooked shallots to the bottom of the skillet too.5. After cleaning and wipe dry the sea bass, make a few shallow cuts on both sides of the fish. marinate the outside of the fish and stomach with some sea salt and black pepper. Place the parsley and dill bunch to the stomach of the fish together with a few lemon slices. Then place fish on top of the tomatoes, olives and shallots mixture.6. Add the rest of the tomatoes, olive and shallots surrounding the fish. Drizzle the cooked garlic virgin oil all over the fish.7. Place the skillet to oven and cook for 30 minutes. Test with a skewer to see if fish wholly cooked. Once its' fully cooked. can serve immediately with a squeeze of lemon juice on top and drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
Enjoy!

Carbonara pasta

 

Ingredients:

Fresh eggs x 4 (preferrably Japanese eggs or Itallian eggs with more yellow yolks)

Panetta cubes

Grated Parmessan cheese x 1-2 bowl

black pepper

pasta

Method:

1. Pan fried the pancetta in a frying pan with little olive oil until fragrant and cooked. Then turn off heat and take the chance to cool down the pan a bit.

2. Cook your desired pasta as per Box's instructions.

3. Beat eggs in a big bowl then mix well with grated parmesan cheese until the mixture is not too light but not too thick.  Then add grated black pepper.

4. Once pasta is cooked, put them to the frying pan with fried pancetta, mix well. Then add the egg & cheese mixture and mix well.

5. Use a tongs to plate to serving dish and add some black pepper and grated parmesan cheese. Can discard extra egg sauce when plating unless guest preferred more sauce.

Enjoy!

Veal Chop Milanese

Ingredients:

Veal Chop (with bone)
2.5 cups breadcrumbs
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp rosemary leaves
2 tbsp thyme leaves
1 tsp lemon zest
2 eggs
flour
salt & pepper
lemon wedges to serve on table

How to Make:

1. Preheat oven to 200'C.

2. Clean veal chop and wipe dry. Lightly hammer it with the meat hammer on both sides.

3. Marinate with salt and black pepper.

4. Mix the grated cheese herbs and lemon zest with the breadcrumbs.

5. Heat up oil (deep enough to place veal chop underneath oil) in a frying pan.

6. Dip veal chop to flour on a plate. Shake off excess flour.

7. Dip veal chop to the egg mixture on another plate.

8. Then dip veal chop to the breadcrumb mixture. lightly pressed the breadcrumb mixture onto veal chop. Shake off excess. Then deep fry in the frying pan until lightly golden on both sides.

9. Remove veal chop from frying pan. Shake off excess oil. Place them into a oven proof tray with wire rack on top.

10. Bake in oven for another 15 min.

Ready to slice up if after tested with skewer no blood seeping out. Serve with freshly squeeze lemon juice on top.  Enjoy with your favourite white wine or burgundy red!

Cipriani Baked Tagliolini

* recipe adapted from Cipriani original recipe and photo credit to Cipriani

Ingredients:

Bechamel Sauce (makes 3 cups approx)
50g unsalted butter
50g flour
600ml milk
freshly ground white pepper

Pasta
3 tbsp unsalted butter
120g Prosciutto Cotto (or parma ham), cut into julienne strips
1 Box Cipriani Tagliolini (250g)
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan Cheese, plus extra to pass at table


How to Make:

Bechamel Sauce:

1. Boil water in pot 1 until simmering.

2. Use pot 2 which is smaller than pot 1 and can be put on top of pot 1 to heat up the butter in low heat. Once butter almost melted, take it away from the heat and whisk in milk.

2. Once the milk and butter and are blended evenly, return pot 2 to medium heat, continue to whisk and stir until smooth and sticky.

3. Once butter and milk mixture turns thicker and sticky, place it on top of the simmering water at pot 1. Continue to whisk and stir, season with salt and pepper, for approx 10 min or until the consistency and thickness of the bechamel sauce meets your requirements. I will suggest keeping an eye on this to ensure it does get too thick Otherwise, difficult to coat the pasta later. If the sauce gets too thick, add more milk...

remove from heat and stand by.

Pasta:

1. Preheat your Grill.

2. Bring a pot of water to boil and add salt. Cook the pasta for 2 min until al dente. Drain water.

3. Melt 1 tbsp of butter in a large skillet (bit enough to hold all pasta) over medium high heat. Add the ham and cook for a min or 2, stirring constantly. 

4. Put the pasta to this skillet, toss it with the ham. Add 1 tbsp of butter, sprinkle with half of the grated parmesan cheese and toss well.

5. I suggest to add half of the bechamel sauce to the pasta and coat them evenly though original recipe did not contain this step.

6. Spread pasta evenly in a shallow oven proof dish. Spoon bechamel sauce on top and sprinkle with remaining grated parmesan cheese Cut remaining 1 tbsp butter into bits and scatter over the top. *** utmost important is put be greedy and put too much pasta. A think layer is best to achieve restaurant's results! ***

7. Grill/Broil as close as possible to heat source until golden and bubbly, about 2-5 mins.

Serve immediately! Enjoy with a glass of your fav champagne or white wine! 

Tomato Pasta

Ingredients:

Italian San Marzano or Piccadilly Tomatoes x 1kg
Italian can plum tomatoes x 1 can (optional - if you prefer the tomato paste to be more wet, adding can tomatoes will help)
onion x 1 - minced
garlic slice - 2 tbsp
basil for cooking and garnish
parmesan cheese - grated
olive oil

Pasta of your choice
1 bowl of sliced garlic

How to Make:

1. De-skin and de-seed the tomatoes first. You can do it by boiling a pot of water, cut a cross at the skin of the tomatoes, drop them to the boiling water for 1 min. Take them out and place to ice water. The skin will be easily peeled off at this stage. Remove all skin, mince the flesh of the tomatoes discarding all seeds and juice. After mincing the tomatoes, you can put them on a strainer so extra juice can be discarded.

2. Mince the can tomatoes and drain on strainer to remove extra juice.

3. Heat up a pan with olive oil, then fry the garlic slices until golden. Remove the garlic and save the oil in the pan sufficient to brown the minced onion.

4. Put minced onion onto to the pan with garlic oil and fry until soft, then add the minced fresh tomatoes and can tomatoes, stir fry until all combined. Season with salt and pepper and sugar to your liking. Then add the basil, turn heat to medium low and cook for 20 minutes.

5. Cook your pasta as per instructions on packet.

6. In a separate pan, heat up sufficient olive oil which will be used to coat the cooked pasta, then pan fried the sliced garlic until golden.  

7. Drain pasta, mix it in the pan with garlic olive oil, then and place it nicely in a serving dish.

7. Add tomato paste on top on pasta, then a basil leave, grated parmesan cheese and drizzle olive oil on the side. For those who like fried garlic, you can add the fried garlic to the pasta too.

Serve and enjoy it with your favourite white wine!

Spanish Red Prawn Pasta

* this is really easy to make and the effect is like "restaurant-standard" red prawn pasta! so must try!

Ingredients: (good enough for 8 persons)

Spanish Red Prawns x 18pc- chilled or frozen one both are ok. But for frozen one, prepare defrost time in fridge

Onion x 1  - minced

Garlic - sliced x 1/2 bowl

Cherry tomatoes in cans x 2 cans - blended in a mixer to become a tomato sauce

Fresh Basil leaves - washed and wipe dry

Pasta of your choice - around 400g

How to Make:
1. First and foremost is to make the sauce. Wash the prawns, remove all legs with scissors. Cut heads and put aside. For the body, remove all shells and carefully removed intestine from the front. Put prawn bodies back to fridge.

2. Heat up a pot big enough to hold all prawns heads, shells and sauce. Use olive oil, heat the minced onion and sliced garlic till fragrant.

3. Then add the prawns heads and shells and stirred fried with the minced onion and garlic till fragrant. Press the prawns heads until all juices come out from the prawns heads. Add the  blended cherry tomato sauce, mix well, season it with some salt and sugar, once boiled, turn to medium to low heat, and braised for around 30 min. Check from time to time. Remove prawns heads and shells from this sauce to a sieve. Press hard the prawn heads against the sieve so that all sauces from prawn heads go back to the sauce pot!

4. Prepare your pasta as per the box's instructions. I will suggest for al dente pasta, cook 1 min to 30 seconds less from the instructed cooking time.

5. Once pasta is almost ready, use a new pan to pan fry to prawns bodies using olive oil. Once prawns are cooked, remove prawns from pan. The pan should be filled with orange-oil, place the cooked and drained pasta to this pan and ensure pasta absorbs all such orange-oil. Then pour the pasta to the braising sauce and mix well together with the basil (leaving a few basil leaves to top the dish).

6. Transfer all pasta to a serving bowl, then top with the the pan fried prawns and a few fresh basil leaves on top. Drizzle some olive oil on top too.

Serve the pasta and don't forget to take out the bowl of prawns heads as there might be someone who like to suck up the prawns heads!

White Truffle Tagliolini

Ingredients:
Alba White Truffle (approx 10g per person)
Pasta of your choice (i prefer using Tagliolini)
Onsen Egg (i prefer using Italian eggs as their yolks are golden yellow!)
Butter (1/2 to 1 tbsp per person)
Whipping Cream (1-2 tbsp per person)
Parmesan Cheese, Grated
White Truffle Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper

How to Make:
1. Prepare onsen eggs by preparing hot water bath (sous vide) at 63'C. Once temperate is reached, lower eggs to the bottom of the hot water bath using a laddle or using a basket to avoid breaking the eggs and cook for 30-35 minutes.

2. Cook your pasta as per the instructions as shown on the pasta bag but less 30-60 seconds.

3. Once your pasta is ready, drain them. 

4. Using another pan, medium heat, add butter and when it's almost all melted, add the whipping cream and the grated cheese, then add the drained pasta and mix well quickly (1 minute) with salt and pepper. Turn off heat and mix with white truffle olive oil too.

5. Divide the pasta into serving plate, making a dent in the middle.

6. Gently break the cooked egg in a small bowl, then spoon out the cooked egg portion into the dent of the pasta. (sometimes some egg whites will still be watery, discharge that, and just spoon out the cooked egg). 

7. Shave Alba White Truffle on top and serve as soon as possible.

Enjoy!

Black Truffle Risotto

Ingredients:
Fresh Black Truffle
Risotto Rice x 2 cups
Onion x 1 - minced
Garlic - 2-3 pc - pressed
White wine x 1/2 cup
Chicken Stock x 4-6 cups **
Butter x 2 tbsp
Olive Oil
Parmesan Cheese - grated x 2-3 cups
Black Truffle Olive Oil
Truffle peeler/grater

** For Vegetarian, replace chicken stock with Vegetable Stock

How to Make:
1. Order your black truffle from a reliable importer in advance. Once received, cover them with a kitchen towel and store inside an air tight box containing the risotto rice - the risotto rice will absorb some of the fragrance of the black truffle! 

2. On the day of cooking, just take out the truffle and wipe surface clean with a kitchen towel or brush them clean with a clean brush - gently. 

3. Boil the chicken stock, then keep simmering at low heat.

4. On a separate non-stick pan, heat some olive oil together with the butter, add the minced onion and garlic in high heat and stir fried until the onions become translucent and soft.

5. Add the risotto rice and stir until they are evenly coated with the butter olive oil and the minced onion mixture.

6. Splash the white wine until all evaporated.

7. Turn heat to medium. Add the chicken stock, laddle by laddle until each laddle of chicken stock is fully absorbed by the rice. Keep stirring the rice but without bashing them.

8. It takes approx 20-30 min to have the rice all cooked using the method in 7 above. Taste the rice from time to time to see if they are al-dente enough for you. If it is, season with some salt and pepper. Then add the grated parmesan cheese, and have the pan covered for 3-5 minutes.

9. Stir well, remove rice from pan and place at serving dish, sprinkle with truffle olive oil before grating the black truffle on top. 

Serve with champagne or white wine and enjoy the dish!!

Fresh Mushrooms Pasta

Ingredients (for 6-8paxs):
Portobello Mushrooms x 6 pc (cut away the stem, wash and wipe dry and cut into thin slices)
Shitake Mushrooms x 6pc (cut away the stem, wash and wip dry and cut into thin slices)
Sliced Garlic x 1 bowl
Onion x 1 minced
Small Red Chilli x 4 - deseeds (if you dont want it too hot) and cut into thin strips
Italian Parsley - rinse, wipe dry and minced
Pasta of your choice (to me, the best pasta for this receipe will be the TartufLanghe No. 19 Tartfuo Tagliatelle - i.e. Tagliatelle with black summer truffle - they go really well with mushrooms!)

How to Make:
1. Follow your pasta instructions on how long to cook your pasta in boiling water with salt. After cooking, drain and return to the pasta pot with no water but still warm. Drizzle Olive oil to prevent the pasta sticking together.

2. Heat a pan big enough to hold all the pasta later with olive olive oil, the add minced onion. Stir fried until soft, then remove onion to a plate.

3. In the same pan, add more olive oil, then brown the garlic slices. Once the garlic slices are golden, add back the minced onion, then all the mushrooms and the chill. Once the mushrooms are all soft,season wtih salt and pepper and if a spicy taste is preferred, add a pinch of italian chilli powder too!

4. Pour over the pasta to the mushrooms pan, add the minced parsley and mix all well together and transfer to a pasta bowl/dish. Drizzle some olive oil on top and serve!

Enjoy~

Lobster Linguini

Ingredients:
Lobster x 1
Cherry Tomatoes
Can plum tomatoes
Sliced garlic
minced Italian Parsley
white wine x 1/2 cup

How to Make:
1. Blanch a fresh lobster in hot water for 15 minutes. Drain and after cool down, cut horizontally into half and remove meat from the shells and keep the head. Cut lobster meat into bite size.

2. Heat a pan with olive oil and add the sliced garlic until golden.

3. Add the lobster head and pan fried with the garlic for a while, then add  the white wine, then add the cherry tomatoes and the can tomatoes. Simmer the lobster head for 20-30min.

4. Remove lobster head, add the lobster meat to the pan and stir fry and mix well with the sauce.

5. Adjust taste with sugar, sea salt and pepper or even chilli powder if a spicy taste is required.

5. Add the minced parsley, mix well and and pour over to the cooked pasta and serve!

* you can also mix pasta with the sauce before serving.
* remember to drizzle olive oil on top before serving.
* some prefers to have some grated parmesan cheese on top too.

Enjoy!

Lasagne

Ingredients:

Bolognese Sauce:
250g minced beef
250 minced pork
carrot x 1, finely diced
onion x 1, finely diced
garlic x 3, pressed
4-6 fresh plum tomatoes cut into cubes OR use 2-3 cans of plum tomatoes
1/2 cup white wine
tomtao puree x 1-2tbsp
Bay leaf x 1-2pc

How to Make:
1. Heat a big saucepan with olive oil and add onion and garlic.
2. Once fragrant, add minced beef and pork and stir fried until all quite cooked.
3. Then add the wine and tomato puree.
4. Then add the carrots and the tomatoes and stir and mix well.
5. Season with sugar, salt and pepper, then add the bay leaf and cover the pot with a lid and simmer for 2 hrs, stirring from time to time.


White Sauce:
60g butter
2-3 tbsp of plain white flour
400-500ml milk
2-3tbsp grated parmesan cheese

How to Make:
1. Melt butter in a small pan on medium heat. Stir in flour and mix with a whisk until it forms a paste.
2. Add milk little by little and keep stirring with the whisk until sauce thickens.
3. Lastly add the parmesan cheese and remove from heat.


Lasagne:
Bolognese Sauce - as above
White Sauce - as above
Freshly grated parmesan cheese
Fresh Morzarella cheese thinly sliced
Lasagne Sheets

How to Make:
1. Preheat oven to 200'C.
2. Coat bottom of baking tray with the white sauce, then the bolognese sauce,
3. Then add 1 layer of the lasagne sheets.
4. Then add the grated parmesan cheese and the morzarella cheese.
5 Then repeat steps 2 to 4 for a few times.
6. Last top layer will be the lasage sheet with white sauce on top, add parmesan cheese.
7. Baked in top 1/3 level in the oven for 30min or until top layer is bubbly hot!

Enjoy!

Italian Minestrone

Ingredients:

Soup Base:
Old Chicken x 1
Ham Hock x 2-3pc
Carrot x 1
onion x 1
celery x 1/2

How to Make:
1. The night before you cook the soup, prepare the soup base.
2. Blanch washed chicken for 20 min and remove.
3. Blanch washed ham hock for 20min and remove.
4. Add chicken, ham hock, carrot, onion and celery in a big pot, covered with water and boil. After boiling, reduce heat to medium and cook for 3 hrs.
5. Remove all ingredients, store soup in fridge overnite.


Pesto Sauce:
2tbsp pine kennels
1 garlic clove
1/2 tsp salt
80g basil leaves (stalks removed)
200ml extra virgin olive oil
2tbsp freshly grated pecorino or parmesan cheese

How to Make:
just add all the above to a mortar and grind to a paste. If you have a blender, even easier, mix everything in the blender and blend until it becomes a smooth paste. Add more basil or oil as you think fit.


Minestrone:
Carrot x 3 - cubes
Zuccini x 3 - cubes
Potato x 3 - cubes
Canneli beans (1/2 cup - soak overnite and blanch for 30min)
Bertoli beans (1/2 cup - soak overnite and blanch for 30 min)
Savoy cabbage - sliced

How to Make:
1. Take out soup base and skim the fat on top.
2. Reheat soup base, once boiled, add the carrot, zuccini, potato, beans and boil in medium heat for 1.5hrs.
3. Then add the savoy cabbage and keep cooking for another 30min. Check taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper to your liking.
4. Lastly, add pesto sauce, mix well and serve.

* some might prefer to add some grated parmesan cheese on top.

Enjoy!

Pesto Sauce

* receipe adapted from "Two Greedy Italians" by Antonio Carluccio and Gennaro Contaldo. This pesto sauce is really good and you can use it for pasta, bread, soup, almost anything!

Ingredients
2tbsp pine kennels
1 garlic clove
1/2 tsp salt
80g basil leaves (stalks removed)
200ml extra virgin olive oil
2tbsp freshly grated pecorino or parmesan cheese

How to Make:
just add all the above to a mortar and grind to a paste. If you have a blender, even easier, mix everything in the blender and blend until it becomes a smooth paste. Add more basil or oil as you think fit.

Store in fridge for about a week.

Home made pasta - Ravioli with fresh porcini mushroom fillings

Pasta - Ravioli
Ingredients:
200g Italian 00 Flour
200g Semolina Flour
4 eggs (preferrably italian eggs)
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2tsp salt

How to Make:
1. Beat the eggs in a bowl, then add the olive oil and salt and mix well.

2. Mix the 2 types of flour and place on the working table with a well in the middle.

3. Pour the beaten eggs into the "well" little by little, and using 2 fingers, try to stir and mix the eggs with the flour. It does not matter if the eggs are spilled out, just incorporate the flour and mix them well together, using your fingers.

4. Add the beaten eggs once the eggs already incorporated with the flour.

5. when all eggs are incorporated with the flour, then knead the dough with your knuckles and palm of your hand, until you can arrive at a round shape dough and when touch on top, you feel it bounces back a little.

6. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and store in fridge for at least 3-4 hrs. Best overnite.

7. Take out the dough from the fridge and cut out a little bit, knead lightly with some 00 Flour, then gently make it a flatter shape and dust with flour - roll it out with the pasta rolling machine - this is for the purpose for cleaning the pasta machine. Throw away.

8. Cut out 1/4 from the dough, the rest put back at fridge until ready for the next roll.

9. Knead gently with some 00 Flour, then dust the surface with flour gently and roll in the pasta machine. after rolling it out at the largest dial for 3 times, fold it in the opposite direction and roll it again. 2-3 times from the largest dial to say the middle dial.

10. Dust the working surface with some 00 Flour and place the roll out pasta sheet on top, place the fillings you like on the sheet, dip your finger into a bowl of water and move your wet finger along the edge of the sheet, then stick 2 edges together and make your ravioli...
(sounds complicated, sorry)

11. Place each ravioli you made in a tray dusted with flour, then wrap with plastic wrap and store in fridge until ready to cook.

12. Boil a pot of water and add a little bit of sea salt, add the ravioli and cook for 5-6 mins. Drain and drizzle with some olive oil or your favourite sauce on top. or even White Truffles!

Porcini mushrooms fillings:
Ingredients:
Fresh Porcini Mushrooms (or any mushrooms you like)
onion - minced
italian parsley - minced
butter

How to Make:
1. wipe the fresh porcini mushrooms with a damp cloth, then with a kitchen napkin. Finely chopped the mushrooms.
2. Heat the butter and olive oil in a frying pan, then add the minced onion and stir fry until softened.
3. Add the mushrooms to the pan and continue to stir fry until fragrant and mushrooms softened.
4, Season with some salt and sugar, then add the minced parsley.
5. Remove them to a bowl and cool down before you can use them as fillings of the raviloi.
Enjoy~

Tiramisu

* receipe adopted from Antonio Carluccio's "Simple Cooking".
* a must try receipe which is easy and mouth-watering!


Ingredients:
2 egg yolks
100g caster sugar
vanilla esence
400g mascarphone cheese
80ml cream
milk
300ml expresso coffee
3-4tbsp Kahlua or Tia Maria
18 ladyfinger biscuits
cocoa powder

How to Make:
1. make the expresso coffee and let it cool down.

2. In a small bowl, beat the egg yolks and 80g caster sguar and a few drops of vanilla essence together until smooth.

3. In a second larger bowl, mix the mascarpone cheese with the cream to make it thinner and smooth.

4. Pour the egg mixture to the cheese mixture and beat until all combined and mix well. Should the mixture be too dense and thick, then add a little bit of milk. If the mixture is too light, then add some more mascarphone cheese. Taste it and see if the mixture is tasty enough!

5. Mix coffee with your liquer and the remaining 20g caster sugar in a third bowl.

6. Lightly dip the ladyfinger biscuits with the coffee and line these bicuits on the bottom of the dessert container (a glass rectangular container or individual dessert bowls). Then add a layer of the cheese mixture, then sprinkle some cocoa powder on top. Then another layer of the biscuits dipped with coffee, then another layer of the mascarphone cheese, then cocoa powder, until all materials used up.

7. Cover and chill in fridge until ready to serve.

Best with a glass at Amaretto!

Enjoy!

Italian Meatballs with pasta

I watched a TV program at TLC with an Italian chef making these meatballs sauce, saying that this is the dish for almost all Italian families on Sunday lunch. Looks easy at TV and therefore tried to make one for Chung's family Sunday lunch too. At the end, it's all ok, just a bit of work to do! But worth trying.

Ingredients:

Braising Sauce:
Spare ribs
Beef ribs
Onion x 1 - minced
Garlic x 3 cloves - pressed
Fresh Tomatoes x 3 - de-skin and de-seed, then minced
Italian Tin Peeled Tomatoes x 2 to 3 cans
herbs you like - thymes or rosemary or both
Chicken Broth
salt and pepper and sugar

Meatballs:
Minced Beef x approx 200g
Minced Pork x approx 200g
Minced Chicken or Veal x approx 200g
fresh white bread x 1 pc soaked with water
breadcrumbs x 1 to 2 cups
1 to 2 eggs
garlic x 3-4 cloves - minced
italian parsley - minced
grated parmesan cheese

How to Make:

Braising Sauce
1. Wash and dry your pork ribs and beef ribs.

2. Then heat up a frying pan and pan fried the  ribs until evenly browned. Take out and drain the extra oil on kitchen towel.

3. Heat up another braising pot which can hold all your ribs. Pan fried the minced onion onion and garlic until fragrant, then add the tomatoes and the tin tomatoes and the ribs. Then add some water or chicken stock until all ribs are under the liquid. Add the herbs you like (thymes, rosemary, salt and pepper) in a herb bag and bring to boil. Then turn to medium to medium low heat. The pork ribs should be soft enough in 1.5 hr while the beef ribs in about 2 hrs. Check from time to time so that the meat still slings on to the bones but tender enough. Once the pork ribs are tender enough, remove them from the braising pot first to avoid over cooking.

4. If the ribs are fatty, there are bound to be oil. Best to remove it by skimming it after it cools down and you remove the meat but just the sauce remaining.

5. Season the braising sauce with salt, black pepper and sugar and adjust accordingly as per your taste.

Meatballs
1. Mix the 3 types of minced meat together and marinate with salt, pepper, sugar and corn flour.

2. Slightly soak 1 pc of white bread in water and use your hand to tear it into smaller pieces and add to the minced meat.

3. Add the minced garlic, 1 egg, minced parlsey and the breadcrumbs and use your hand to mix it all up, then lastly add the grated parmesan cheese.

4. If you feel the mixture is too dry, then add another egg. If you feel the mixture is too wet, add another spoonful of breadcrumbs until you feel the consistency of the mixture is balanced.

5. Then use a tablespoon to scoop out mixture and roll it between the palms of your hands until it becomes like a golf ball. Line them up in a plate and sprinkle with some cornflour on top.

6. Re-heat the braising sauce and keep it at low fire.

7. Heat up a frying pan, add olive oil enough to pan fried the meatballs. Pan-fried them in batches until golden in the outer surface, drain the oil in kitchen towel, then add these meatballs to the braising sauce for 30 -45min.

8. Best to prepare your favourite pasta separately. Sprinkle some grated parmesan cheese on top.

Ready to serve, with a glass of Moscato perhaps!

Enjoy!

Seafood Pasta

* a very easy to make seafood pasta. All is required is fresh seafood and your loving heart, hahaha!

Ingredients:
Fresh Scallops (choose those which you big in size and firm to touch)
Prawns
Squids
Garlic - slicese
Basil
Italian Minced Chilli
Pasta of your choice

How to Make:
1. Cook your pasta as per package instructions. (remember to add salt to the water and add and mix olive oil to the pasta after draining)

2. Clean and wipe dry all seafood and season wtih salt and pepper.

3. Heat up a wide frying pan with olive oil, then pan fried the scallops until both sides are golden, then remove them to a plate. Then pan fried the squids and prawnsm until done and remove them to a plate. Then add all sliced garlic to the oil until they are golden, (adding more olive oil if not enough to cover them).

4. Once sliced garlic are also golden, add all seafood back to the frying pan, then add a few pinches of the italian minced chilli. Turn off heat and add all pasta to the pan (with some of the pasta water is fine) and mix everything thoroughly together with the basil leaves.

5. Place on serving dish and drizzle a bit olive oil on top before serving.

Enjoy!  

Sauteed Portebello Mushrooms

-> simpliest dish of all but tasty and welcomed by most!Ingredients:
Fresh Portebello Mushrooms x 8pc
Italian Parsley - minced
Garlic - sliced

How to Make:

1. use a damp cloth to wipe off dirt on the mushrooms, then cut them into slices.

2. Heat up a frying pan and add olive oil (if you prefer to be more fragrant but less healthy, then add some butter too).

3. Add the sliced garlic to the frying pan until starting to become golden.

4. Add the slices portebello mushroom slices and stir fried with the sliced garlic until mushrooms become dark in color and softened.

5. Season with salt and pepper to your tasting.

6. Place on dish and sprinkle with the minced Italian Parsley.

Enjoy~

Potato and Egg with White Truffles

* this receipe is modified from the one from Al Soriso

Ingredients (for 4 persons):
Potato x 6pc (medium size is ok)
Italian Eggs x 4
Butter and Milk
Paremsan Cheese (grated)
White Truffles

How to Make:
1.Preheat oven to 180'C.
2. Peel and boil Potatoes in water until all soft.
3. For 4 pc of potatoes, dig a hole in the middle and place the potato scarped out from main potato in another bowl. Use caution when digging the potato to avoid the potato being broken into pieces.
4. For the other 2 pc of potatoes, mash them together with the scarped potato above with salt, butter and milk until creamy.
5. Carefully separate egg yolks from egg whites one by one.
6. Salt and pepper the inside and outside of the potato with hollow centre and place 1 egg yolk in each of the such potato using a spoon. Try to be careful and not break the egg yolk.
7. Seal the hole of the potato with eggs inside with the mash potato and place in an oven proof dish.
8. Cover the potato with some more mash potato on top and srpinkle grated parmesan cheese.
9. Bake in oven for 5 minutes.
10, Take out and shave white truffles on top. The egg yolk will spill once you cut into the potato.

Eccellente! Enjoy!!

Vitello Tonnato (cold veal in tuna sauce)

* this receipe is adapted from Guido & Guido (I sapori delle Langhe)
* first attempt and it was already quite a success!

Ingredients:

Tuna sauce
200g tuna in oil (better source those from Italy)
120g mayonnaise (if you can home made this the best, otherwise buy ready made mayonnaise from store)
15f white vinegar
5g capers
2pc anchovy fillets

-> just blend everythign in your blender until smooth! beware that if your tuna is chunky, your blender might get stuck. Just use a chopstick to loosen the mixture and blend again! then place in a bowl and chill in fridge with cover.

Veal:
800g veal rump (you will have a hard time finding this part in HK. Get veal loin instead and ask your butcher to tie it up for it so that it looks like a roll of meat)
100g butter
30g olive oil
1.5 meat or vegetables broth
1 onionm cut into quarters
2 carrots, cut into medium sizes
1 celery - cut into medium sizes
rosemary - wash and wipe dry

How to make:
1. Preheat oven to 150;C.
2. Wash and wipe dry veal loin and season with salt and pepper.
3. Put onion, carrots, celery, rosemary with the broth in a pot (which can be placed inside the oven later) and boil.
4. Heat up a frying pan with olive oil and butter and brown veal on all sides.
5. Place the browned veal into the broth pot and once boiled, remove from gas stoves and place to oven with the lid cover for 20-25min.
5. Remove veal from broth and cool down. Once cool dowm, place in fridge with cover.
6.  Before serving, slice the veal as thin as possible, then trim it by cutting away the brown edge or tendons at the side, leaving only the pink centre.
7. Line up a dish with your favourite salad - watercress, rockets, etc with some olive oil or a mild salad dressing of your choice. Then place the pink veal nicely around the dish.
8. Scoop the tuna sauce in the middle and serve!

Fantastico and Enjoy!