bread and buttons

Peperonata Love

2011-02-09T21:43:00.000-08:00

i am a big fan of the Asian Food Channel. i watch everything from Chuck's Day Off to Iron Chef. i spend most mornings getting ready in front of the TV - from applying make up to blow drying my hair. if i could have things my way, i'd have a TV in my room so i dont have to constantly shuttle my cosmetics around the house (from my room to the living room). dont be surprised if you see facial products all over the coffee table and a bottle of hair cream on the couch.

peperonata

anyway, my point is a couple of days ago, i watched Anthony Worrall Thompson made a very colourful and delicious looking Pepperonata Bake, an italian fried pepper dish on Daily Cook and for some unexplainable reason i couldn't get it off my mind (I am not particularly fond of bell peppers).

traditionally peperonata is served as an antipasti but it is extremely versatile and you can practically do anything with it - you can bake it with egg and cheese or pasta, serve it as a side dish with meat, cook it with pasta, use it as a pizza topping or to fill sandwich. the best part of this dish is that it's extremely easy to make!

I made Peperonata Bake for dinner and Peperonata Beef Pita for lunch the next day. Both were very yummy!

Here's the recipe:

Peperonata from Nigel Slater
Serves 4

Ingredients:
1 yellow bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
1 medium onion - thinly sliced
6 tomatoes - chopped
olive oil
basil - chopped

1. Halve, seed and thinly slice peppers into 1 cm wide strips.
2. Pour 2 tablespoons of olive oil into a pan then add onions. let it cook until soft and pale then add peppers.
3. add the chopped tomatoes into the pan and let the mixture cook down over a low heat for 30-40 minutes or until soft.
4. Season with Salt pepper and add basil leaves

peperonata bake

Peperonata Bake adapted from iFood
Serves 4

Ingredients:
1/2 batch of peperonata
4 eggs
4 ramekins
grated Parmesan

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 175C
2. Prepare peperonata using recipe (half the recipe)
3. Spoon peperonata into four ramekins and crack an egg into each ramekin and top with parmesan cheese.
4. Bake for 15 mins or until the cheese has melted.

Italian-Mexican Peperonata Beef Pita Sandwiches

Italian-Mexican Peperonata Beef Pita Sandwiches - own recipe
Serves 2

Ingredients:
1/2 batch of Peperonata
2 pita breads
lettuce - any type will do. i used butterhead
1 small onion - chopped
1 clove of garlic - chopped
250-300 gm of minced beef
1 teaspoon of cumin
black pepper and salt
grated parmesan cheese

Method:

Preheat oven to 175C

Peperonata
Prepare peperonata according to the recipe above (half the recipe)

Beef:
1. Add two tablespoons of olive oil into a pan and add garlic. Saute for 30-60 seconds.
2. Add the onions and cook until soft and pale then add minced beef and cumin. Cook for 5-10 minutes.

Assembly:
1. Cut pita breads into half with a pair of scissors.
2. Stuff each pita pocket with lettuce, peperonata and beef.
3. Add a generous amount of parmesan cheese and bake in the oven for 10 minutes or until the cheese melts

Pavlova Part 2: Success!

2011-02-07T20:15:00.000-08:00

as promised i baked my sister this gorgeous giant pavlova for her birthday. it turned out lovely - light, crispy and not overly sweet. i was a bit paranoid that it might turn out sticky and chewy so i suspect that i might have overbaked it because the inside was more crunchy than marshmallow-y but overall it was good!

Happy Birthday Sis! :)

click here for the recipe.

Pavlova Part 1: Testing the recipe

2011-02-04T23:41:00.001-08:00

it's my sister's birthday party and i promised her that i'll bake her a birthday cake. this is my first attempt at baking a pavlova so i thought it'd be safe to do a test run to test the recipe. as i sit here typing this, i am trying my best to contain my excitement. i have three mini pavlovas sitting in the oven that are begging to be smothered in whipped cream and topped with strawberries and eaten. in a little less than an hour, i will be sinking my teeth into the crispy crunch shell of fresh homemade pavlova to get to the soft marshmallow inside. yum!

whenever i get a craving for pavlova, i usually pop into my favourite neighbourhood cafe for a slice and it's fifteen bucks a pop! some days i have to pay more because one slice isn't enough to fulfill my insatiable pavlova craving. so yes imagine my joy when i discovered how cheap and easy it is to make my own pavlova!

the pavlovas are done! they were a little sticky and chewy. i think it's because i didn't beat the egg whites and sugar well enough and the sugar didn't dissolve properly :( i managed to save them by into the oven for an extra 30 minutes and they were turned out lovely! I topped them with whipped cream, strawberries and some melted belgium chocolate. delish! :)

Tips that i found useful:

#1 make sure your whisk and bowl is dry and squeaky clean

#2 separate your eggs when they are still cold and allow the egg whites to rest for half an hour (or until they are at room temperature) before making your pavlova

#3 make sure you add in the sugar a tablespoon at a time to make sure all the sugar is incorporated into the egg whites otherwise your pavlova will turn out sticky and chewy (i made this mistake!)

#4 leave the meringue to cool in the oven with the door slightly ajar. if you remove the meringue when its still too warm it will cool too quickly and may crack and collapse.

Makes 6 mini pavlovas or 1 giant pavlova
(I only used half the recipe to make 3)

Ingredients:

Pavlova
4 large egg whites
200grams of castor sugar
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla essence

1 teaspoon of white wine vinegar
1/2 tablespoon of cornstarch

Topping:
Whipped Cream
Strawberries
Melted chocolate

Method

1. preheat oven to 150C
2. draw three circles on a piece of baking paper (i used a bowl as a guide) and place it on a baking tray with the circles on the reverse side.
3. beat egg whites on medium speed until they hold soft peaks.
4. slowly add in sugar, a tablespoon at a time until the meringue holds very stiff and shiny peaks.

5. beat in vanilla extract and fold in vinegar and cornstarch into the mixture with a rubber spatula

6. spread the mixture on the baking paper. make sure the mixture is within the circle.
7. bake for 1.5 hours. the pavlova is cooked when it turns a pale beige colour. turn the oven off and let the pavlova cool in the oven for 1-2 hours.
8. serve pavlova with whipped cream and strawberries.