in my studio | category

Sep
14
2015

savoury brunch pastry

I love pastries! Sweet or savoury, I’ll happily scoffed them all! I made these pastries for a brunch a few weeks ago. I’m very fussy with it comes to breakfast so I decided not to follow a recipe, and just simply whip up something that I would enjoy. I love caramelised onions and haloomi cheese. These 2 are the main ingredients I love and I could just eat them on their own!

RECIPE FOR SAVOURY BRUNCH PASTRY

Makes: 12 pastries
Prep time: 15mins
Cook time: 20-30mins

Ingredients
300g mix mince (beef & lamb)
1 brown onion, sliced thinly
1 cup cut haloomi cheese (diced)
1 red capsicum, sliced thinly
1/2 cup sliced black olives
beef rashes (optional, for variety)
3 sheets puff pastry, thawed
10 mushrooms, sliced
1 tsp italian herbs
2 eggs, beaten
salt & pepper, to taste

Method

1. Preheat oven to 160degrees fan forced. Line 2 baking trays with baking paper
2. In a saucepan with some oil, brown the mince. If adding rashes, you may cook it with the mince. Do not overcook. Remove
3. Add a bit more oil and saute the onions, mushrooms and capsicum. Cook until onions caramelised and capsicum is nice and soft. Then add salt, pepper and italian herbs
4. Cut 1 sheet of pastry into 4 square. Gently roll the edges to form a shallow pit for the ingredients to sit in. Then add the sauteed onions/capsicum/mushrooms around the edges. In the middle, put about 1-2 tablespoons of mince. Top it off with some olives and cheese and finally drizzle the egg over.
5. Bake for 20-30mins until pastry is golden and puffed.

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Category: beef, entree, halal, in my kitchen, pastry

Aug
04
2015

barley and chicken soup

I am a HUGE soup lover! I could eat soup for breakfast, lunch and dinner! I just found this amazing soup recipe through a friend from a Facebook cooking group, so happy to come across new soup recipes. Please hit me with some of your favourites too. They are so nice especially in this cold wintery weather.

RECIPE FOR BARLEY AND CHICKEN SOUP
Adapted from Coles Magazine, with slight modifications
Serves: 6
Prep time: 15mins
Cook time: 2 hours

Ingredients
1kg chicken (I use chicken maryland pieces with bones)
1 brown onion, finely chopped
1 leek, thinly sliced
1 large carrot, chopped
2 celery sticks, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
4 flat leaf parsley stems
2 thyme sprigs
1 dried bay leaf
1 tsp peppercorns (or pepper)
1/2 cup pearl barley
some chopped coriander
2L water (or more)
Salt to taste

Method

1. In a large stockpot, saute with some oil; onions, leek, carrot, celery, garlic, parsley and coriander.
2. Then add the chicken pieces and water. Place over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 1.5 hours.
3. Use tong and transfer chicken pieces into a bowl. Remove and discard skin and bones. Coarsely shred the chicken.
4. Add barley and chicken pieces into soup and cook for another 30 minutes or until barley is tender. Add salt and pepper to taste.

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Category: chicken, clean eating, entree, in my kitchen, soups

Mar
30
2014

homemade chicken nuggets

I was making chicken stock paste today when I realised I minced more chicken that I actually needed so I instantly thought of making some quick, homemade chicken nuggets using the extra chicken mince. Because why not? My kids love them. You can bake it if you want to opt for the healthy version but today I felt a bit naughty so I shallow fried them ;)

But please do not use chicken breast. Its dry! Use boneless chicken thigh or boneless maryland fillets, please… with a bit of fat :)

Since this recipe was made up by me, I basically just used my cooking instinct and whatever I had in the kitchen to put together this batch of nuggets, which surprisingly turned out better than what I had expected. Its full of flavour! Let me try and put the recipe into proper quantities…

RECIPE FOR HOMEMADE CHICKEN NUGGETS
Prep & cook time: 30minutes
Serves: 10 round patties (roughly 6cm diameter)

Ingredients

2 stalk spring onion (white part only)
1 clove garlic
1/2 carrot (you can add any type of veges you want)
1 inch leek
1 egg (halved in separate bowls)
300g boneless chicken thigh/maryland
1 cup Breadcrumbs mixed with 1/2 tsp garlic powder
salt & pepper to taste
1/2 tsp mixed herbs (optional)

Method

1. In a food processor, add chicken , spring onion, garlic clove, carrot and leek and process until evenly minced.
2. Add add in half egg and salt & pepper then pulse until combined.
3. Heat some oil in a medium sized pan. (If baking, see method below**)
4. Roll and shape the chicken mince into nuggets. I made it into balls and gently flatten them with my thumb.
5. Dip all sides into the egg and then quickly cover it in breadcrumb mixture.
6. Lay them in the hot pan and slowly shallow fry the nuggets until golden brown.

**For a low calorie version, Preheat oven to 220 degrees Celsius. Place nuggets on a non stick baking tray. Bake for 20 minutes at 220 degrees Celsius.

No comments
Category: chicken, entree, halal, in my kitchen

Mar
25
2014

carrot soup

When my dad brought out his carrot soup over the weekend when we had dinner at their place, I thought I wasn’t going to like this. I was wrong! I loved it. I think its the suttle spices that are sauteed that make it so flavourful. So I decided to make this for dinner tonight, the perfect entree to our ‘vegetarian dinner night’. Dinner was spinach & ricotta lasagne which is another favourite of mine.

RECIPE FOR CARROT SOUP
Recipe from my dad
Serves: 4 entree bowls

Ingredients
1/2 medium size onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, diced
400g carrot, roughly chopped (about 5-6 carrots)
1 tsp cummin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
3-4 cups liquid stock (I use homemade veg stock)
salt & pepper to taste

Method

1. Saute onions and garlic in some oil until soften but not burned.
2. Add in spices then saute until aromatic for about a minute or two.
3. Put in the chopped carrots and stock then cover, bring to a boil.
4. Put stove on low, seasoning well with salt and pepper. Leave to cook for another 15minutes
5. Turn off stove and leave to cool for an hour. Once cooled, blend mixture in a blender.
6. Return soup to saucepan and bring to a boil. Serve hot with some bread.

1 lovely comment
Category: entree, halal, in my kitchen, soups, vegetarian

Dec
03
2011

chicken soup and on being sick!

chicken soup

Please accept my apologies for the lack of post over the last couple of weeks, I have been sick, terribly sick- that the thought of food and consuming it, makes it even worst! Hence why I have not updated this blog. But at least I can have some hearty winter soup eventhough its summer here! So if you’ve got a few soup recipes up your sleeves, kindly do share them with me. I’m always on the lookout for more recipes!

RECIPE FOR CHICKEN SOUP WITH CABBAGE
Adapted from my stepmum

Serves: 4
Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 1 hour

Ingredients

1 chicken breast, cut into small pieces
50g dried rice vermicelli
4 cups chicken stock
1/4 cup chopped spring onions (to garnish)
3 tbsp fried shallots (to garnish)
2 eggs
1/4 cabbage, shredded thinly
salt and pepper, to taste

Method

1. Bring to a boil the chicken breast pieces in a pot of chicken stock.

2. Add in the cabbage, vermicelli and simmer for 45 minutes.

3. Crack the eggs but do not stir. Leave for 5 minutes before seasoning it with salt and pepper and the other garnishes.

4. Serve immediately while hot.