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Showing posts with label Bell Pepper. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bell Pepper. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 03, 2012

Meghalaya Smoke-cured Pork Salad with Honey Whiskey Cider Vinegar Dressing

Mary returned from Shillong after an extended 'sojourn' and back brought goodies... Whee!
One of the things that got me all excited was the smoked pork and beef that she got back from home. Resisting the temptation to gobble up the entire (and meagre) stock of the exquisite meat was (and is) difficult. 

A growling stomach reminded me to keep is simple and quick while I tried to decide what to make myself from brunch so I pulled out the first good looking bell pepper from the fridge and tossed, washed and the cleaned the cherry tomatoes that I got from Dadar.

The yellow bell pepper adds a little Warhol to the mix...

A fistful of cherry tomatoes..
 The broccoli beckoned from the crisper and was quickly distributed into crisp little morsels that would do well to contrast both the colour and the texture. Pottery class has resulted in a surfeit of bowls and one of them was quickly pressed into service to do a quick 2 minute nuke of the broccoli florets while I got the other things in place...
Broccoli Florets
 The smoke pork wafted out from the freezer and filled the kitchen with a heavenly aroma as I broke off a bit and chopped them into small morsels...
Smoked pork from Meghalaya...
I wanted a dressing that would be balanced with a little warmth so I pulled out a little whiskey and got the apple cider vinegar (from Himachal) and some glorious honey from the Pune apiculture institute... A teaspoon of each went into a shot glass and whisked with a dash of olive was all ready to make my Sunday happy :) 
Honey, Whiskey and a little Cider Vinegar for the dressing

All ready to pour some goodness...
 The pepper quickly got chopped into little pieces and tossed into my salad vessel...
Yellow bell pepper pieces

Next, in went a fistful of cherry tomatoes to add some sunshine and burst into happiness when I bit into the brunch...
Cherry tomatoes to the mix...
The steaming warm and yet still crunchy enough broccoli came out from the microwave and quickly joined the mix

Microwave quick steamed broccoli 

A warm layer of broccoli...
The pieces of meat went in after this...
Add the smoked pork shreds...

... a sprinkle of salt, a splash of the dressing and brunch was ready...








Thursday, July 12, 2012

Cheating My Way to a Quicker Stir Fry

The bike gave me monsoon grief and I ended up pushing my Enfield through the traffic throng of Saki Naka and Kurla. I missed gym and reached home and felt like just going off to sleep. My tummy had other plans and protested growling in hunger. I felt like a hot bowl of stir fry but balked at the time I would need to stir... I was feeling that tired...

I hauled myself to the kitchen and pulled out bell peppers, remains of a little tofu and spinach, and half a zucchini and chopped them into a bowl from my attempts at pottery and nuked everything for a couple of minutes.


I think Minminay and Digdigay catties associate the microwave with foody goodies, so they meowled around expecting grub. I got them some milk and got Yellow Bean paste from the fridge.


By now the veggies were par cooked and tofu too had softened, so I let the mix cool for while while I put a teaspoon of oil  in the non-stick pan and threw in some ground garlic.


While the garlic started browning I turned the veggies around in the bowl.


By now the garlic was just about to get about burnt so I put in the veggies, added roughly cut tomato to add colour and some more succulence and just enrobed all of these in the aroma.


A couple of teaspoons of yellow bean paste added a little more flavour, saltyness and just the right agglutination. 


Bingo! I was gobbling my 'stir-fry' having cheated my way through it in 10 minutes flat.







Friday, June 22, 2012

Allegedly Oriental ...

This one goes out to @Ipsita for shaking me out of lethargy and getting me to start posting again... Here goes... Again...


I'd just lugged all the pottery pieces that I'd made and that'd just been glazed and fired. I was hungry as hell and thought it would be good to try out the bowls to see if they really withstood a nuking in the microwave.


I've inherited a fair bit of oriental sauces when @Subha and @Guru moved to Singapore... Here I thought was a good opportunity to put one of them to good use. Now I can't really categorize this one... Is it is a soup... Or is it a salad... Where do I place it on the map? Since two of the four ingredients originate in the orient, I am going to call it 'allegedly oriental'...


I thought my Sunday deserved some colour, crunch and slurp, so I peered into my long suffering fridge and spotted some Napa Cabbage, a couple of red and yellow peppers, and some broccoli. Nice mix, I thought, of greens, yellows and reds! The peppers would be nice and 'sweetish' unlike the green ones, the broccoli would give a nice little something to bite into while the cabbage (I hoped) would spring a little crunch in the mouth.



A little aside... I always wondered at the many variants of 'cabbage' that is consumed across the orient. I love Bok Choi (báicài or 小白菜 )  but always end up associating the Napa Cabbage (dàbáicài  or 大白菜 ) with soupy things for some reason. Putting both in the microwave produces some interesting results depending on how long you nuke...

For example, Napa Cabbage microwaved at 900w for about 3min produces a near cooked but still crunchy-ish effect. Pushing it for 5min or more releases more liquids and also makes the cabbage more slurpy and limpish...The entire process took about 15min including the cutting of the vegetables. I first washed and diced the broccoli into florets and the bell peppers into little diced pieces.

These all went into the fresh-from-the-glazing-furnace bowl and I also threw in some finely minced garlic...


Next the well washed cabbage leaves got sliced and stuffed on top. The thought process was that if the cabbage stayed near the bottom, the juices they released would stay there and not bless the rest of the stuff (especially the broccoli) with much succulence.

And then I just put on the lid and microwaved it for 5min. I pulled out the dish and mixed the entire lot with a generous dash of the Wo Hup Oyster (flavoured) sauce... Voila! My lunch was ready... :)









Wednesday, March 09, 2011

Ideas 01 - Red and Yellow Bell Peppers

Priyanka asked me for something simple that can be made with Red and Yellow Bell Peppers. So here goes... Two ideas from the net and one of mine ...


Idea a.
Chicken Corn Bell Pepper Chaat
Knowing Priyanka's origin, I'd suggest 'chicken' and 'chaat' :D. At a pinch the chicken can be done away with.


Ingredients
1 Red Bell Pepper (cut into long thin strips)
1 Yellow Bell Pepper (cut into long thin strips)
200gm corn kernels (pick up some frozen ones and nuke 'em if you can't get fresh ones)
Half a lemon (for the juice and rind)
Chaat Masala
Salt
100gm Chicken (Boiled and Shredded or just buy a stick of Reshmi Kabab and shred) 


How to make:
Put all the ingedients in a bowl. Mix with a fork. Add the salt and chaat masala. Mix some more. Squeeze the lemon juice over the mixture and before serving scrape the rind over the mixture from the half of the lemon you just squeezed for the juice.


Idea b. (from the internet)
Garlic and Herb Sautéed Bell Pepper Strips



This garlic and herb sautéed bell pepper recipe can be used as an appetizer, as part of an antipasto platter, or a colorful side dish. The bell pepper strips cook up quickly, and are at their sweet and savory best paired with the garlic and herbs. This sautéed pepper recipe is a great way to enjoy this nutritious summer vegetable. 


Make 8 Serving of Garlic and Herb Sautéed Bell Pepper Strips
Prep Time: 10 minutes


Cook Time: 6 minutes


Total Time: 16 minutes


Ingredients:


3 tbsp olive oil
2 large red bell peppers, seeded, cut into half-inch strips
2 large yellow bell peppers, cut into half-inch strips
2 cloves finely minced garlic
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp chopped basil
1 tbsp chopped Italian parsley
toasted Italian bread to garnish, optional
Preparation:


In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over high heat. Add the pepper strips, and sauté for 4-5 minutes, or until the peppers begin to soften. Turn down the heat to low, and add the garlic, salt and pepper. Saute for 2 minutes more. Turn off the heat and add the vinegar and herbs. Toss to combine. Transfer to a bowl and allow to cool to room temperature. Toss again, adjust seasoning and serve with toasted bread if desired.



Idea c. (Again from the internet...) 
Red and Yellow Bell Pepper Soup (from http://www.grouprecipes.com/56066/red-and-yellow-bell-pepper-soup.html


Quoting from the site...

This garlic and herb sautéed bell pepper recipe can be used as an appetizer, as part of an antipasto platter, or a colorful side dish. The bell pepper strips cook up quickly, and are at their sweet and savory best paired with the garlic and herbs. This sautéed pepper recipe is a great way to enjoy this nutritious summer vegetable.


Make 8 Serving of Garlic and Herb Sautéed Bell Pepper Strips

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 6 minutes

Total Time: 16 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 large red bell peppers, seeded, cut into half-inch strips
  • 2 large yellow bell peppers, cut into half-inch strips
  • 2 cloves finely minced garlic
  • salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
  • 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 1 tbsp chopped basil
  • 1 tbsp chopped Italian parsley
  • toasted Italian bread to garnish, optional

Preparation:

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over high heat. Add the pepper strips, and sauté for 4-5 minutes, or until the peppers begin to soften. Turn down the heat to low, and add the garlic, salt and pepper. Saute for 2 minutes more. Turn off the heat and add the vinegar and herbs. Toss to combine. Transfer to a bowl and allow to cool to room temperature. Toss again, adjust seasoning and serve with toasted bread if desired.








Quoted from the site:



Ingredients

  • red peppers
  • yellow peppers
  • 2 tsp vegetable oil
  • 2 tsp minced garlic
  • 1 1/2 cups chopped onions
  • 1 1/4 cups chopped carrots
  • 1/2 cup chopped celery
  • 4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
  • 1 1/2 cups diced, peeled potatoes
  • Pepper to taste
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh corianderdill or basil
  • How to make it

    • Make Ahead:Roast peppers earlier in the day and set aside. Prepare both soups earlier in day, and keep them separate until serving.
    • -----------------------------------------------------
    • Roast the peppers under the broiler for 15 to 20 minutes, turning several times until charred on all sides. Place in a bowl covered tightly with plastic wrap; let stand until cool enough to handle. Remove skin, stem and seeds.
    • In a nonstick saucepan sprayed with vegetable spray, heat oil over medium heat. Add garlic, onion, carrots and celery; cook for 8 minutes or until vegetables are softened, stirring occasionally. Add stock and potatoes; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; cover, and let cook for 20 to 25 minutes or until carrots and potatoes are tender.
    • Put the red peppers in food processor and process until smooth. Add half of the soup mixture to the red pepper purée and process until smooth. Season with pepper and pour into serving bowl. Rinse out food processor. Put yellow peppers in food processor and process until smooth; add remaining soup to yellow pepper purée and process until smooth. Season with pepper and pour into another serving bowl. To serve, ladle some of the red pepper soup into one side of individual bowl, at the same time ladling some of the yellow pepper soup into the other side of the bowl. Add coriander to soup and serve.
    • Nutrition:Calories 99
    • Protein 3 g