Recipe: Beef Salpicao

Here's my version of Dulcinea's beef salpicao -

Ingredients

½ lb beef tenderloin, cubed

2 tablespoons garlic, minced 

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

3 tablespoons liquid seasoning (Bragg Liquid Aminos is the healthier option although Knorr Seasoning for me is yummier)

2 tablespoons butter

salt and pepper

Directions

1. Marinate beef in olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper for a couple of hours.

2. Heat the marinade in a pan, saute garlic, then add the beef (make sure the oil is very hot).

3. Sear the beef evenly, this shouldn't take long, no more than 8 minutes.

4. Add Worcestershire sauce and liquid seasoning.

5. Turn off the heat and then add butter.

6. Sprinkle with green chilies (optional).

7. Serve hot.

Recipe: Lasagna Soup

I love lasagna but hate how big a production making it requires. Also, I'm not very good with the oven, so apart from baking cookies, I don't use it much. Good thing I came across an easy alternative, yummy lasagna soup adapted from a Paula Deen recipe.

Serves 4

Ingredients
¼ lb ground beef
¼ lb ground pork
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 red bell pepper, chopped
½ teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
¼ teaspoon salt
½ tablespoon sugar
2 cups chicken broth
1 small pouch tomato sauce
6 small tomatoes, peeled
1 ½ cups broken lasagna noodles
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
½ cup grated mozzarella cheese

Directions
1. In a large pot, sauté garlic and onion until they are soft. Add the ground beef, ground pork, and bell pepper, then cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until the beef and pork are browned.

2. Add thyme, Italian seasoning, salt, sugar, chicken broth, tomato sauce and peeled tomatoes. Bring it to a boil over high heat. Stir in lasagna noodles, reduce the heat and simmer until al dente.

3. Sprinkle cheese over the top.

Recipe: Chicken tikka masala

I have never tasted real, traditional Indian curry, not even Britain's chicken tikka masala. The closest thing to authentic I've eaten was something I've made using a packet of gourmet Indian tikka masala spice paste. It's good but it's also expensive. So I ran to my trusted culinary partner, YouTube, watched all the videos I could find about chicken masala and tried to recreate the spice paste. This right here is my version.

Easy Chicken Tikka Masala Recipe

Serves 4 

Ingredients

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into cubes

1 tablespoon canola oil

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 large sweet onion, diced

4 teaspoons minced fresh ginger

1 pouch tomato sauce

3 tablespoons plain yoghurt

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon garam masala*

2 tablespoons paprika

2 teaspoons cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 pinch cumin

1 pinch turmeric

salt and pepper

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine garam masala, paprika, cayenne pepper, brown sugar, cumin, turmeric, salt, pepper, yogurt, lemon juice, tomato sauce, ginger. Add chicken pieces to the mixture and marinate for about an hour or so.

2. Heat oil over medium heat. Saute garlic and onion. Add the chicken pieces, setting aside the marinade. Cook chicken until browned.

3. Stir in the reserved marinade. Simmer on low heat for 15 minutes or until the sauce thickens.

4. Garnish with fresh coriander (I use parsley) and serve with rice.

* Mix of black and white cumin seeds, coriander, cardamom, black and white peppercorns, fennel, cloves and nutmeg.