Chilli Con Carne

Chilli Con Carne - Actually means Chilli with meat. Recipe variations are really wide. E.g. There are those who believe beans and tomatoes should not be included and there are those who differ from that point of view. The recipe changes from state to state in the US and Mexico.

Chilli Con Carne

I got inspired to try my hand at this dish after watching an episode Diners Drive-ins and Dives on Foodnetwork Channel. I brought this dish to two pot lucks and it was very well received at both. Its an awesome dish for a pot luck as it can be made the day or even days before. It will taste better after spending some night(s) in the fridge.

Makes about 8 servings

200 grams streaky bacon - Cut up into 1 cm slices
500 grams Minced Beef
2-3 sausages (spicy Italian kind preferred) - Diced up.
300 grams beef chuck - cut into 1 inch cubes. (Optional - I like the chunky pieces in my chilli)

1 Whole Large Onion - Diced
1 Red Capsicum - Diced.
5 Cloves Garlic - finely chopped or minced

2 tablespoons chilli powder (More for extra heat)
2 teaspoons paprika power
2 teaspoons ground coriander
3 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons onion powder
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
2 teaspoons salt

50-70 grams Dark Chocolate (At least 60%)

1 can diced tomato
1 can tomato paste
1 tablespoon tomato ketchup
1 cup beef stock - (Chicken stock is fine too)
1 can of Beer (Dark beer preferred if you have) - optional
2 cans Kidney beans or Pinto Beans or one of each

Garnish
1 Bunch Corriander - Roughly Chopped
2-3 stalks of Spring Onions - sliced
1 cup - Shredded Cheddar.
Optional - For added heat, add some thinly sliced bird's eye chillies. (Chilli Padi)
Tip - If too spicy, add some more sugar.


1. Add the bacon into a large stockpot over high heat. Fry for about a minute. Add the diced onions and capsicum and fry for about 3 - 5 minutes (Until they soften and onions turn translucent) Add the garlic and saute for another 1 or 2 minutes.

2. Add the chuck and sear for about 4 minutes (If using) and then add the ground beef and sausage and sear, stirring gently, try not to break up the ground beef too much. Cook until the meat is nicely browned and cooked through should take 6 to 8 minutes.

3. Add the chilli powder, paprika, coriander, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, ground black pepper, salt and cook until the spcies release their aroma, about 3-4 minutes.

4. Add the tomatoes and tomato puree. Cook out the tomatoes and puree for about 4 minutes. Stir in the beer and stock. Use the liquid to de-glaze the pot, mopping up any brown bits sticking to your pot. Add the kidney and pinto beans(with all the juice from the cans, as the starch will help tighten up the chilli).

5. At this point, add the chocolate and tomato ketchup, mix well. Simmer for about 2 hours. Checking and stirring regularly, every 20 minutes or so on very low heat, just so the bottom does not burn. Or or use a slow cooker

Serve the chilli in bowls, garnished with Spring Onions and/or Corriander and Cheddar.
Great with Fries and Tortilla Chips! Enjoy!

Spicy Baked Eggs

The wife loves baked eggs in a tomato based sauce. So I decided to make this for breakfast one day. We both love little spicy kick in our food sometimes, (Actually its most of the time for me) so this is my spicy rendition of a great brunch dish. The trick is timing the bake, so as not to overcook the eggs.

Spicy Baked Eggs with sausage and garnished with basil

Here's what you'll need to serve 2.
4 Eggs - Cracked into 2 bowls. 2 eggs in each bowl.
1 400gm can of diced tomatoes
1/2 cup tomato puree.
1 small / medium yellow onion - diced
2 cloves garlic - minced/diced
1 teaspoon smoked paprika (Optional)
1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes
1/2 Red Capsicum - diced
2 sausages - cut into thick slices (I used spicy pork ones, but you can use your own preferred sausages)
Parmesan Cheese
handful Fresh Basil - sliced (For Garnish)
Salt and pepper to taste.

Steps:
1. Pre-heat your oven to grill/broil.

2. In a oven-safe frying pan, heat some oil over medium heat. When the oil is heated, fry the sausage chunks until they achieve nice browning on the surfaces. Remove sausages from the pan and set them aside, leaving the oil behind.

3. Next fry the diced capsicum in the pan for about a 2-3 minutes. Next add the onions, garlic, chilli flakes and smoked paprika. Fry for about 3-4 minutes, until the onions soften and the chillies give off their aroma. Then add the tomatoes and tomato puree and cook for about 5-10 minutes (cooking out the tartness from the tomatoes), stirring often. Taste as you go, adding salt and pepper as you like. Turn off the heat once you get the consistency and depth of flavor that you want. (I like my tomatoes really cooked out, so I sometimes cook them out a little longer)

3. Make a couple of little wells in the sauce with a spoon or ladle and pour the eggs in. Place the whole pan in the oven and grill for 6-10 minutes. (Depending on how runny you like your eggs).

4. Remove from the oven, garnish generously with basil and grated Parmesan. Drizzle some extra virgin olive oil if you like. Serve immediately with crusty bread.

Hope you'll enjoy this coz we did :)

Spicy Tagliatelle With Cherry Tomatoes, Basil and Bacon.

Haven't been cooking anything new in a while. Busy schedules and all. I felt like a spicy pasta dish (which is quite often) one evening and thought making use of the pack of leftover cherry tomatoes in the fridge. This is a variation of pasta dishes I posted here before. Its not too heavy or saucy, but lightly dressed in a sauce that is not too strong but still full of flavour. The sweetness of the tomatoes and the saltiness of the bacon go so well together.

This easy meal for 2 is put together in less than 30 minutes.

Spicy Tagliatelle With Cherry Tomatoes, Basil and Bacon.

Here is what you need for 2.

180 grams Tagliatelle pasta (Or your favourite long pasta)
100 grams streaky bacon - cut into small strips.
5-6 cloves of garlic - sliced
1/2 cup Chardonnay or dry white wine
1/2 cup chicken stock (Or use the salted water from cooking the pasta of stock is not available)
2-3 bird's eye chilli/chilli padi - sliced (leave these out for a non-spicy version)
12 Cherry tomatoes - Halved
Salt and pepper to taste
Handful of fresh basil leaves - Sliced
Cooking oil (canola, light olive etc)
Extra virgin olive oil - for drizzling.

Steps:1. Cook pasta In a pot of salted boiling water for 2 minutes (Or according to package instructions). Strain and set aside. Add some olive oil to prevent the pasta from sticking together.

2. In a large saute pan, heat some cooking oil. When oil heated, fry the bacon strips until they almost turn crisp (4-5 minutes) then add in the garlic and tomatoes and fry for 2-3 minutes. 

3. At this point deglaze by adding in the white wine and chicken stock. Scraping up the brown bits from the base with a wooden spoon or similar implement. Allow to simmer for about a couple of minutes or so.

4. Add the pasta into the pan and mix well. Turn off the heat. Add the chillies and basil. (You can save some for garnish) Add salt and pepper to taste.

5. Dish onto pasta plates and garnish with some fresh basil and chillies. Drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil. Serve immediately.

Hope you will like this. Enjoy!

Mashed Potatoes

Happy New year people. Work has been a little busier, so homecookedsg.com took a backseat for few weeks. Hence my first post for 2014 appears only now.  Today's post is for a mash potato recipe.
I think the key to the mash potato picking the right potatoes. I was taught that using the waxy potatoes will help in making the mash lighter and less starchy and gooey.

Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients for 6-8 servings
500 grams of waxy potatoes - washed and peeled.
125 grams of unsalted butter - cut in 1-2 cm chunks and removed from the fridge to allow to rise to room temperature
1/2 cup of milk
Handful of chives for garnish.
Salt and pepper to taste

Steps:
1. Cook the potatoes. There are 2 ways to do so, boil them in water until soft enough for a fork to pierce through, or wrap in foil and bake in an oven at 160 degrees for about 45 mins.

2. When the potatoes are cook enough to handle, mash the potatoes either a traditional hand masher or a potato ricer. (I learnt the hard way that you do not want to put them in a food processor or blender)

3. In a large mixing bowl, mix the potatoes and butter. Then add milk gradually for better control over the texture.

4. Season with salt and pepper to taste and garnish with chives. Serve with your favourite protein.

Pasta in Tomato Sauce

This dish always reminds me of the scene from the movie No Reservations. The scene where Aaron Eckhart "cons" Abigail Breslin to start eating a bowl of pasta which got me wanting to eat this dish after watching the movie. I think it has do to with the way Abigail Breslin hungrily wolfs down the pasta.

Tagliatelle with Tomato Sauce and fresh basil

The basic pasta dish that and most likely the first pasta dish that most people here in Singapore encounter as a kid. This is more of a walk-through on the technique of making a quick pasta dish, rather than a full recipe.

This post will take you trough on whipping up this pasta dish in 15 minutes or less, with sauce that you pre-made yourself.

Ingredients to serve 2
160 - 180 grams store bought pasta (Or about 100 grams per person for a big eater)
2-3 cups tomato sauce (link here for recipe)
A splash of dry red wine (optional)
Handful of fresh basil for garnish (optional)
Grated Parmesan for garnish (optional)

Steps:
1. Cook Pasta according to package instructions in salted boiling water. Remove strain the pasta. Dress with a little olive oil to prevent them sticking together. Set aside. (Note: Cook for 3/4 of the time stated on the package for Al Dente)

2. In a large saute pan over medium heat, pour all the sauce (and wine if using) onto the pan and allow to simmer for 1-2 minutes. Allowing to reduce slightly.

3. Add in the cooked pasta and mix well. Allow the pasta to cook in the sauce for at least a minute or 2.

4. Portion into pasta bowls. Garnish and drizzle with some extra virgin olive oil and serve immediately.

The Basic Onion Tomato Sauce

The emphasis of this recipe is the basic tomato sauce that I like to use in alot of the dishes I cook at home. On its own, it makes a great pasta dish!. It keeps quite well in the fridge and can be used as a base for many variations for several different of dishes. If you look through some of the other recipes in this site, you'll probably come across a variation of this sauce in use. So I thought I would create an entry for this sauce so that I can just refer readers back to this page when I use this sauce. Saves me the typing.

Cauldron of Onion Tomato Sauce bubbling away

This sauce uses canned tomatoes and bottled Passata, both of which can be easily found in most Cold Storage or and at Fairprice.

Here is what you'll need for the sauce. Makes about 1 litre of sauce.

2 cans diced tomatoes. (I like to use the ones that say Plum or Romano. You can get whole canned ones and dice them yourself as well)
1 700g Jar of Passata.
2 yellow onions - diced
4 cloves of garlic - finely chopped
3-4 sprigs of fresh thyme
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
few teaspoons of sugar to taste

Steps:
1. Prep the diced/chopped tomatoes. Remove from the can and strain them. discard the liquids. Set aside

2. Over medium heat, heat about 2-4 tablespoons of cooking oil in a large saucepan or large deep sided saute pan. When oil is heated up (Rolls around easily in the pan) add in the onions and fry for 1 minute, then add in the garlic. Fry for a few more minutes until the onions become soft and translucent (Not brown).

3. Add in the tomatoes and fry for another 3-4 minutes. Then add in the passata. Mix well and allow to simmer for about 10 minutes over low heat.

4. Add in the thyme and rosemary. You can tie the herbs together so that they are easier to fish out later. Allow to simmer over low heat for at least 45 minutes. Stirring occasionally, to prevent the bottom of the sauce from burning.

5. After the sauce is allowed to simmer and cook down, allow to cool and store. Use as needed.