Pathway to Heaven with Bacon Wrapped Prawns

There are many pathways to heaven they say. With most ending with some bearded gentleman manning the pearly gates. (Or in my case a portly gentleman sitting on a Buffalo who has a really long ledger of life events). And you would have to be good and do good and all that jazz to really even be considered for a chance to get there. Then steps in bureaucracy, where they make you wait at the gates (in a queue mind you…) before they proceed to check your files and then certify your eligibility to enter. Why, some may even be turned away due to a totally negligible mistake (Gluttony is one of the seven deadly sins, apparently!). So the chances to enter heaven for people like us are slim to none.

Since the final destination seems like a distant dream, are we to moan and groan about its inaccessibility? Hell No! (Oops… swearing I’m sure is not allowed. Especially when it involves Heaven’s direct competitor!). So again, you see the chances are really-really teeny-weeny. As I am a doer not a cribber, I have decided to create my own piece of heaven instead of waiting in line. It’s called Bacon wrapped Prawns. They come as a pair and are extremely adept at recreating the hallowed space. (You can thank me later for the cheat sheet). The gentlemen ‘above’ are welcome to some as well. After all, standing at the gates all day, can’t be that exciting :P

Coq Au Vin for easy entertaining

I have not been lazy. The fact that my last blog post was a month and a half ago should not lead you to the obvious conclusion. The reason for not posting is because most of my cooking these days is done in the evening. That leads to the sad fact that there is no natural light to shoot my pictures. (This is the only time I wish I lived in a temperate region where the sun sets late!). This leads to me not posting the recipes because I always feel a recipe is enhanced by pictures. (Which is why I struggle to buy cookbook without pictures, unless it was something monumental like the Larousse Gastronomique!)

I make Coq Au Vin pretty often. That’s because it’s easy, can be made in large quantities, it freezes well and the leftovers always taste more brilliant than the day you actually make it. Another more practical reason is to use up leftover wine. (Not that there is too much, but the rare occasions of opening two bottles for two people can result in this miraculous event!). It’s a one pot rustic dish which is generally served with buttered flat noodles. The French use Burgundy for the ‘Vin’ part and a rooster for the ‘Coq’ part, but you may just use chicken and any good quality red wine. Julia Child may have made this dish popular in the Americas, but my recipe is from my Family Circle book that I have come to trust and love immensely. (P.S. they also have gorgeous pictures for each recipe!). So if you want something for easy entertaining – look no further.

Ham, Bacon and Green Apple Quiche

So today has been a frustrating day. I made a cheese cake which did not set and made a Mexican Chicken Mole which had too much cinnamon! And on a hot day tempers can flare everywhere! Clearly some days are not for culinary adventure or rather just any culinary venture. Every woman who rushes home from work and still wants to whip up a fancy meal a la Nigella, is living in a dream world if she doesn’t have failsafe recipes to fall back on! It’s times like these that I have even more reverence for a good recipe, a blogger who tests the recipe and finally a book that publishes only tried and tested recipes. That is why you can be rest assured I am not putting up dubious recipes on my blog. I don’t want to inflict the pain of failure on anyone. (No, seriously, that’s how it feels when a recipe screws up!) So it’s with supreme confidence that I am posting the Ham, Bacon and Green Apple recipe. It worked liked a charm, tasted supremely good and was a breeze to make. Now who doesn’t want that in their repertoire?

Ham, Bacon and Green Apple Quiche

(Recipe adapted from BBC Good Food India, Jan 2012)

Prep time: 20 mins

Baking time: 25 mins

Serves: 4

What you need:

8 Ham slices

8 Bacon slices

½ Green Apple, halved and sliced

2 Eggs

200ml Cream (I used Amul)

1 large Onion, sliced

A pinch of Nutmeg

1 cup dried Breadcrumbs

50 gms Butter, salted

6 Sage leaves, chopped finely

Handful of grated parmesan

Salt and Pepper to taste

What to do:

Put the breadcrumbs and softened butter in a food processor and mix till you get wet pasty crumbs. Now empty the contents into a 8 or 9 inch flan/pie dish and press the mixture to coat the bottom and sides. Pat down with your fingers to get an even layer and use your knuckles to push the mixture into the sides. Cover with cling film and toss into the refrigerator to chill while you make the quiche mixture.

Stack the ham slices up and cut into large squares. Chop the Bacon into strips and cut the apple and onion into slices. Add the bacon to a large skillet and sauté over low heat to render the fat. Cook until the bacon just begins to crisp. Now add the onions and sauté in the bacon fat, then add the apple slices and sauté till both turn translucent.

Add the cream and bring to a simmer, season with salt and pepper and a pinch of nutmeg. Remove the skillet from the fire and let it cool for a few minutes.

Preheat the oven to 180°C. In the meantime, beat the eggs. Now add the eggs to the skillet and mix well into the sauce. Take the pie dish out of the fridge. It should look dry. Pour the contents of the skillet into the baking dish and sprinkle sage leaves on top. Bake at 180°C for 20 mins in the center rack of the oven. Now remove from the oven, sprinkle grated parmesan on top and return to bake for another 5 mins till the crust looks golden brown.

Serve hot immediately or chill overnight, cut into neat wedges and serve at room temperature or warm. I served mine with a nice green salad with balsamic dressing for a fantastic mid week meal!

Spaghetti Alla Carbonara

Here’s a tricky one. The recipe uses raw eggs. Don’t freak out, I’ve been relishing carbonara for many years and I still live to tell the tale. The reason I said it was tricky is because of the technique. You need to keep everything hot, so that when you add the eggs at the end, they just cook in the residual heat but do not scramble. Otherwise we would have scrambled eggs with spaghetti – not the best combo! That said, it’s the quickest and yummiest thing you can have with pasta. Also when the final result tastes like restaurant goodness in under ten minutes, your guests are sure going to sing praises of your effortless magic. Shall we say Nigella style? (It helps if you wear lipstick! Wink wink ;)

Spaghetti Alla Carbonara

Prep time: 10 mins

Cooking time: 10 mins

Serves: 4

What you need:

450gms Spaghetti

1 Tbsp Olive oil

225gms rindless pancetta or lean bacon, chopped

4 Eggs

5 Tbsp light Cream

3 Tbsp freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Salt and freshly ground Pepper

What to do:

Bring a large heavy bottomed pan of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the pasta, return to a boil and cook according to time instructions on the packet. The spaghetti should be tender but still firm to the bite. Meanwhile heat the olive oil in a heavy-bottom skillet. Add the bacon and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently – 8 to 10 mins. Beat the eggs with the cream in a small bowl and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Drain the pasta and return it to the pan. Tip in the contents of the skillet, then add the egg mixture and half the parmesan cheese. Stir well, then transfer to a warmed serving dish. Serve immediately sprinkled with the remaining cheese.

Classic Bacon and Egg Salad Sandwich

It’s called classic because it’s a timeless combination. Bacon and Eggs. I could actually have an entire blog dedicated to the dishes you could dish out of this very combination. But we don’t want to be biased now, do we ;) ?  New question… why do I need a separate blog post for the simplest of sandwiches? Because my friends it’s the little things that matter and this recipe has all the little things that will transform a slap dash sandwich into the classic it is. For a hint – it’s Mustard. Not convinced? Ok, Parsley. Still not convinced? Ok its mustard and parsley and mayo. Trust me, the combo works like a charm!

Classic Bacon and Egg Sandwich

Prep time: 10 mins

Makes 2 sandwiches

What you need:
2 rashers rindless Bacon
2 hard boiled Eggs
1 Tbsp Mayonnaise
1 tsp Dijon Mustard
1 Tbsp finely chopped flat leaf Parsley
Salt and freshly ground Black pepper
Butter or Margarine
4 slices Milk or other White Bread

What to do:
Grill bacon or fry in a dry non-stick pan until crisp. Allow to cool, then chop. Chop up eggs and mash with the mayonnaise, mustard and parsley. Stir bacon pieces through and season with salt and pepper.
Lightly butter bread, spread egg mixture on two slices and top with remaining bread.

P.S. This sandwich is also tasty when toasted. Or if you please, you can ditch the bread and have it as an Egg Salad instead!

Bacon and Mushroom Quiche

Anyone who’s not a bacon fan can sign off at the moment because this recipe extols the virtues of fat … Pork fat… interspersed between salty pork meat…which melts and crackles on a hot pan… which curls into a heavenly roll… and then when you bite into it, just melts into your mouth.. sigh! See.. Dint I say anyone who’s not a bacon fan can sign off? A quiche is an open tart with a thin pastry shell (shortcrust) filled with a rich savory egg custard. I made the shortcrust pastry of the quiche at home, so will pat myself on the back. But you can buy the dough from any supermarket. Bacon and mushrooms top this one, but you can add anything you like. They say the original quiche din’t contain cheese... but for me a quiche is not a quiche without liberal amounts of cheese! You can eat this hot or cold, I prefer my quiche cold as the flavors mould in well after some sitting time. The co-resident loved this one and ate a recipe for 6 by himself... God bless his heart!

Bacon and Mushroom Quiche

Prep time: 30 mins + 20 mins refrigeration time

Cooking time: 1 hour total

Serves: 6

What you need:

Pastry

11/2 cups plain Flour

100 gms Butter, chopped

1 Egg

1 Tbsp Water, approx.

Filling

10 thinly sliced Bacon rashers

200 gms Mushrooms

6 Eggs

2/3 cup Milk

11/4 cup Thick Cream

½ cup Grated Cheddar Cheese

Salt and Pepper

What to do:

To Make Pastry: Place flour and butter in food processor. Process for 30 seconds or until mixture is fine and crumbly. Add egg and almost all the water, process for 20 seconds or until the mixture just comes together when squeezed, adding more water if required. Turn onto a lightly floured board. Knead mixture gently to form smooth dough. Refrigerate, covered with plastic wrap for 20 minutes. Preheat oven to moderately hot 210ºC.

Roll Pastry on a flour board large enough to fit a 13 inch round loose bottomed flan tin. Ease pastry into tin. Trim edge with a sharp knife. Cut a sheet of baking paper large enough to cover pastry lined tin. Place paper over pastry; spread a layer of dried beans or rice evenly over paper. Bake for 15 mins, remove paper and beans; bake for another 10 mins or until pastry case is lightly browned; cool. Reduce oven temperature to moderate 180 ºC.

To make Filling: Reserve four slices of bacon. Chop the remaining bacon. Heat pan, cook bacon until crisp; drain on paper towels. Sauté the mushrooms in the bacon fat. Keep aside. Combine eggs, milk, cream, salt and pepper in a jug. Whisk well. Line pastry case with mushrooms; sprinkle with bacon; pour cream mixture over. Cut reserved bacon rashers in half. Lay strips over cream mixture, sprinkle with cheese. Bake 40 mins or until cooked through and golden. Serve hot or cold with a nice green salad!

P.S. Do not overwork the dough when making pastry in a food processor or pastry will be tough. Another way is to just rub the butter with the flour till it resembles bread crumbs and then just combine with enough water to pull together.