Next week my daughter is working in the city for four days and will not get home till late (approximately seven pm). I decided to help her out by cooking the meals for her at night, so I made myself a bit of a challenge for fun. I decided that I would cook a new recipe every night and I would get her to score me out of ten for each one (see the end for scores). Not only will she score the meal for taste but also on presentation, healthiness and overall experience. The first night's challenge has to be pasta and for this I chose a risoni dish. The second night is to be a recipe that Nigella Lawson cooks. The third night is a meal from Pinterest and last but not least is an Asian inspired dish. This should be fun. I now have to do my research and choose my meals. Off to the challenge!
For the first night I am making a prawn risoni pasta. Here is the recipe...
3 cloves garlic
1 cup onion
1/2 cup frozen peas
1 cup risoni [orzo] pasta
1 tbspn olive oil
1 tbspn butter
Parmesan cheese (can use feta) 100 grams
2 cups vegetable stock (can use water)
prawns 250 grams
mushrooms if desired 100 grams
Because I am a huge mushroom lover and a vegetarian I am going to add mushrooms to the dish and will fry them up with the onion in the beginning of the recipe.
Method
Fry the onion and garlic in the oil and butter. Add the mushrooms as well, if adding to recipe. Add in risoni and coat. Next add broth, peas and shrimps. Mix for five minutes until ready. Add cheese to the mix and serve.
I used feta cheese in my risoni and also the prawns were already cooked and frozen. I defrosted them and put them in with the stock.
Here is how it turned out...
The meal was tasty with a nice consistency and we thoroughly enjoyed sitting in front of TV eating it. Healthy and delicious. Would definitely cook this again. Easy and quick to prepare.
Number Two Recipe.
This is an eggplant involtini. I found it a bit fiddly to make with four different parts to it. Here is the recipe...
3 eggplants sliced lengthwise
garlic
2 tablespoons flat parsley
1 lemon zest
1 1/2 teaspoons dried mint
1/3 cup raisins
2 1/2 cups caned diced tomatoes
1 large egg
salt and pepper
3/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup pine nuts
2 tablespoons breadcrumbs
mozzarella cheese [a ball or grated]
8 oz feta cheese
Method
Slice eggplant into long wide strips.
In a bowl combine feta, pine nuts, raisins, 1/4 cup olive oil, breadcrumbs, garlic, lemon zest, and parsley. Mix in egg and season with salt and pepper.
Spread out eggplant and divide stuffing mixture evenly on top.
1-2 table spoons on each slice.
Roll up tightly and place in sprayed baking dish.
Pour over crushed tomatoes.
Arrange mozzarella over the top of the tomatoes.
Drizzle olive oil over and season with salt and pepper.
Bake in oven until cheese has melted and egg plant is bubbling and fragrant. 25-30 minutes. Serve.
This was time consuming to make and ended up being very rich and oily. It would perhaps be better as an entree with a smaller amount at a dinner party. Already prepared would also be a good option for this.
Night three. This dish is Vegetable Shepherd's Pie. Here is the recipe .
100 grams mushrooms sliced
3 carrots
2 stalks celery
2 cloves garlic
1 cup cooked lentil- I used a can
1 tablespoon tomato paste
4 cups mashed potato
1 cup peas
1 teaspoon thyme
1 onion
1 cup vegetable stock
1 tablespoon flour
1/2 teaspoon paprika
salt and pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
Method
Saute onions and garlic in oil until soft. Add carrots and celery and fry till soft. Add mushrooms, salt and pepper, thyme and paprika. Cook until the mushrooms are soft. Add tomato paste and flour till the vegetables are coated. Add the vegetable stock stirring to combine. Simmer until the mixture thickens. Add lentils and peas. Layer mixture into a casserole dish and cover with the mashed potato. Bake in oven at 180 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Top of potato will go a golden colour.
Although not a fan of Shepherd's Pie I thoroughly enjoyed this dish. I was afraid that it would be bland and tasteless but found it to be hearty, tasty and delicious. Would certainly cook this dish again. Great for winter and fun to make.
Last but not least is my Asian food challenge and for this I am making Pad See Ew or rice noodles cooked with chicken and bok choy, or in my case broccolini as I did not buy the bok choy and my daughter is not fond of it anyway. So here is the recipe.
1 cup chicken thighs cut into pieces.
4 cups broccolini or bok choy
2 cloves garlic
1 egg
6 oz rice noodles 180 grams
2 tablespoons oil
For the sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons oystersauce
2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons white vinegar
2 tablespoons water
Method
Prepare noodles as per packet.
Combine sauce ingredients in a bowl.
Fry oil and garlic and add chicken and broccolini and fry for two minutes. Move to one side and break in the egg to scramble. Add the noodles and sauce. Fold in to combine all. Cook through and serve.
This recipe turned out to be easy to make and delicious. A huge hit with the family as we are all noodle lovers and I will definitely do it again.
So here are the results.
Meal one: Prawn risone
Presentation 6/10
Taste 7/10
Healthiness 8/10
Overall experience 7/10
Total 28/40
Meal Two: Eggplant Involtini
Presentation 7/10
Taste 5/10
Healthiness 6/10
Overall experience 4/10
Total 22/40
Meal Three: Vegetable Shepherd's Pie
Presentation 2/10
Taste 7/10
Healthiness 8/10
Overall experience 7/10
Total 24/40
Meal Four: Noddles and chicken - Pad See Ew
Presentation 6/10
Taste 7/10
Healthiness 7/10
Overall experience 7/10
Total 27/40
So our winner is the prawn risoni, closely followed by the chicken noodles. In third place is the Vegetable shepherds pie and last the eggplant involtini. This was a fun exercise and the family enjoyed it tremendously. Looks like I will be doing some more creative cooking!! Now it looks like I am off to my cooking books for the evening. Please try my recipes if they appeal and good luck with your challenge and enjoy.
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