Pasta Putanesca

Care for some ‘whore style spaghetti’?  This interesting name for a sauce got its name from local prostitutes in Naples, Italy. They whipped up dishes which had inexpensive and available ingredients in the Mediterranean region – olive oil, olives, tomatoes, basil leaves, and anchovies. Since these ingredients were abundant therefore inexpensive, it was believed that these ‘ladies of the night” were able to afford them on a regular basis and would cook putanesca  often. 

Here in the Philippines, far far away from the Mediterranean sea , these ingredients, particularly good quality olive oil  does not come cheap. Fruity yet savory with lots of  heart  health benefits, good quality olive oil would make or break this dish.  I suggest using a good kind of olive oil to fully savor the flavors in this dish. Instead of the anchovies often used in classic putanesca recipes, I used Spanish style sardines which I think is more practical but very similar to anchovies. Just smash and sauté  the sardines with browned garlic for several minutes to achieve the same “almost nutty” flavor of anchovies.

This  is a versatile dish—simply omit the salami or any cured meat if you want a meatless version.   Make it as hot and spicy as you want by adding more chili, or by omitting the chili to make it child-friendly.  I enjoy whipping up this dish because of the availability of ingredients.  You and your family, or guests will love eating this dish because of its zesty taste –a little tangy, a little spicy, a little salty.   If you haven’t tried making putanesca  at home, I’m sure you’ll love making this recipe over and over again J.

Pasta Putanesca

Yield: 3 cups sauce/ 5-6  persons

Ingredients:

4-5 pieces Spanish Style Sardines (preferably bottled in extra virgin olive oil)

1 head garlic, minced

1 cup extra virgin olive oil plus ¼ cup from the bottle of Sardines

1 (250 grams) pack spaghetti sauce (I used Del Monte Italian Spaghetti Sauce)

½ cup salami, spiced ham or bacon, chopped   (I used Purefoods Salami)

½ cup slack olives, chopped

¼ cup capers

1 small can button mushrooms, sliced

¼ - ½ teaspoon chili flakes

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon black pepper

1 Tablespoon dried basil (optional)

1 teaspoon dried oregano (optional)

1 Tablespoon ground flaxseed (optional)

280 grams (uncooked) pasta, cooked to package directions

Directions:

1. In a medium nonstick pan, fry salami until brown and almost crispy. Set aside in a

    small bowl.

2. In the same pan, over low to medium heat ¼  cup olive oil. Add garlic and cook until

    light brown.

3. Add Spanish sardines. Smash very well to blend with the garlic.  You may now add

    about ¼ cup oil from the bottle of  sardines.  Simmer for 3-5 minutes.

4. Add the rest of the ingredients, remaining 3/4 cup olive oil, and fried salami.

    Simmer for 5 minutes.

5. Adjust seasonings. Toss in or top on your favorite noodles.

6. Serve with grated parmesan cheese if desired.

Banana Muffins

Next to the search for the perfect moist chocolate cupcake, the search for banana muffins comes next.  I remember experimenting with different recipes since I was probably 14 years old.   Most of the recipes were okay but lacked the intensity of the banana flavor.  By tweaking and tweaking, and tweaking again numerous recipes, I have come up with a recipe which I am happy to share with all of you. By adding a little amount of  banana extract , the natural banana flavor and aroma intensify.. Just make sure to use very ripe bananas (the kind that you throw away because of its very dark spots) or else you might find this recipe lacking in sweetness. Purists might be turned off by the artificial additive, but I find it enhancing the muffins’ flavor.

This recipe uses a minimal amount of sugar—a  half a cup when  divided by twelve (recipe yields 12  medium sized muffins), won’t make you feel guilty.  You won’t regret eating a muffin (or two) in one sitting because aside from being low in sugar, they are  potassium and fiber packed. Cinnamon, nuts, and raisins may be added for additional crunch, texture and taste.  Bake a batch or two, cool, then freeze some of it. When you feel a craving for something sweet yet nutritious,  just pop a piece or two in the oven toaster or microwave. Heat for a few seconds … and voila! Enjoy them for breakfast, snack, or dessert. You can also have your kids bring them to school for a tasty and healthful snack instead of the usual store bought mammon or cupcake.  They won’t complain. These muffins freeze well for several months.

Banana Muffins

Ingredients:

Preheat oven to 350 F

Set A

1 cup mashed bananas (4 medium)

1/3 cup oil (palm or vegetable oil)

1/4 cup white sugar

1/4 cup dark brown sugar (loosely packed)

I large egg, slightly beaten

1/4 teaspoon banana extract

Set B

1 ½ cup (180 grams) All Purpose Flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 c walnuts plus more for topping(optional)

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in Set A.

2. Combine all ingredients in Set B.

3. Mix Set A and Set B.

4. Add walnuts in mixture.

5. Pour the mixture  into a 12 hole muffin tin lined with muffin or cupcake liners.

5. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes.

Oats Caldo (Chicken)

Just when I thought I could pat my back for being the first to create the first chicken rice porridge using oats instead of  glutinous rice, I was mistaken. Many ingenious cooks have already beat me into cooking this flavorful porridge using oats.. Haha…I could not own up to some bragging rights!  Anyway, this isn’t about my wounded ego—it’s about how delicious and healthful this porridge is.

We all know that oats are loaded with health benefits, yet most of us are just familiar with oatmeal with the usual milk and sugar.  I have to admit that even knowing   the high nutritional value of oats such as lowering bad cholesterol doesn’t stop me from getting bored with it.  The thought of having the usual the morning would sometimes make me  skip breakfast….well, used to but not anymore. Thanks to oats caldo!

Oats Caldo is a porridge made up of tiny bits of boiled chicken sautéed in ginger, onions, garlic, and yes, oats!  Instead of rice, and or glutinous rice, oats are mixed into the chicken and stock mixture.  You can use instant, quick cooking, or rolled oats. I wanted to make it a bit more healthful by using oat bran which is the outer part removed when processing oats. The “bran” or outer part of oats retains its high nutritional value similar to whole grain---fiber, B vitamins, protein, and iron among many others.  It may not be the most exciting food to eat plain, but with this clever idea of using it in your porridge, you may be seeing it more on your kitchen table.  I promise you that you and your family will enjoy this tasty and healthful meal. I bet that you are not going to make this only once but many, many times. Your heart and tummy will thank you for it! 

 

Oats Caldo

Yield: for 5 or 6 persons

Ingredients:

1 large chicken breast (boiled and cut into tiny bits)

2 inch ginger cut into thin strips (about 2 Tablespoons total)

1 medium onion, sliced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 ½ cups oat bran

2-3 Tablespoons patis or fish sauce

5 – 6 cups stock (water from boiled chicken) or water

1 chicken bouillon cube

black pepper to taste

kasubha – optional

fried garlic bits as topping – optional

cooking oil

Directions:

1. In a large pan, over medium heat, pour about 2 Tablespoons cooking oil.

    Saute ginger, onion, and garlic.

2. When garlic turns light brown, add  cooked chicken bits and mix for several seconds.

3. Add  5 cups of  stock, kasubha, fish sauce, and chicken cube. Bring to a boil.

4. Mix in oat bran and cook for 3 to 5 minutes.  Mixture thickens as it cools. Just add 

    more stock or water, and of course some more patis as you go along.

5. Serve with fried garlic and green onion as toppings. Yummy and healthful! :)

Moist Chocolate Cupcakes

If there is one baked goodie that I’ve always wanted to make perfectly, it would be a chocolate cake or chocolate cupcake for this matter. I’ve probably scoured close to fifty recipes from  different cookbooks and magazines, internet sights, backs of  flour and cocoa boxes, newspaper food recipes (yup, from celebrity chefs “sharing” their secrets) in search of a moist chocolate cake.  This also meant close to a total of fifty so-so  chocolate cakes, not to mention the  pathetic looking ones I’ve made...haha. I would occasionally lose hope and tell myself to give up the search.  I would stop trying for a couple of months until an interesting recipe catches my attention again.

It is not that all of  the  recipes I’ve tried were total failures, some were good but not the specific type that I was searching for. These recipes yielded cakes from the light and airy chiffon to the classic and dense types.  The taste of most of them? VERY SWEET. Uggghhhh.  The others? So-so. ….hohummmn…  Until I came across  THIS recipe from Ginny Roces.  I found this from the Sunday Inquirer Magazine. 

This recipe produces  a not too light nor a too dense cake. It’s moist, milky, and fudgy without being too sweet. Since the recipe calls for dutch-processed cocoa, the deep dark chocolate color for this cake is also guaranteed. It is imperative that you strain the mixture first before pouring on the cupcake pans.  This ensures a lump free and smooth cake. This cake hits the spot for me, and I can truly say that my search for the perfect moist chocolate cake is over.

Like for the search for the best chocolate cake. I’ve tried A LOT of fudge frosting recipes.  This recipe is a keeper because it  is creamy, very chocolatey, and also not sickeningly sweet.  If you are planning to sell these cupcakes or bring them to a picnic or out of town trip, you would love this recipe even more because this recipe keeps well for many many hours under room temperature.  It won’t melt or be runny because of the added cornstarch.

Moist Chocolate Cupcakes with Fudge Frosting
(cake recipe adapted from Ginny Roces’ Better than Sex Chocolate Cake)
Yield: 12 cupcakes

Ingredients:

1 ¼ cups all purpose flour (Sift first, then  spoon lightly into measuring cup)

1 ¼ teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

1/3 c dutch processed cocoa powder (Sift first, then measure)

1 cup  plus 3 tablespoons hot water

1 cup + 2 tablespoons brown sugar

½ cup vegetable oil

1 large egg (room temperature)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F

    Put cupcake liners on a 12 cup cupcake/muffin pan.

2. Sift together the all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.

3. In a large pan, whisk cocoa powder and hot water till smooth. Add brown sugar and    

    oil, whisk until very smooth and slightly cooled.

4. In a small  bowl, whisk egg until frothy.  Stir into chocolate mixture.

5. Add dry ingredients in chocolate mixture. Mix well with a spatula.  STRAIN batter. 

    Batter will be  a little bit runny.

6. Pour into prepared cupcake liners  about ¾ full.

    Bake 15 – 17 minutes. Do not over bake. There should still be some crumbs clinging to

    a toothpick or cake tester  when you pull it out from the center.

    Remove cake from the oven. Let cool a few minutes before removing from pan.   

    Transfer to rack to cool completely

Fudge Frosting (adapted from Pinoyfoodblog recipes)

Ingredients:

• ¾ cup regular white sugar
• 1/3 c cocoa powder
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 cup evaporated milk (I used Alaska)
• 1 T butter  ( I use Magnolia or  Anchor. Golden Crown Butter Compound  is also ok)

Directions:

1. Mix sugar, cocoa powder, cornstarch, and milk until smooth.

2. Strain the mixture. Do not skip this step because your frosting might not turn out

    smooth.

3. Cook with continuous mixing  in a heavy bottomed pan until thick.  (No need for a

    double boiler).

    This takes 10 -1 2 minutes to become thick over medium heat.

4. Off heat, add butter, and mix well.  Cool completely before frosting cupcakes.  Enjoy!