Healthy Helpings TV host Michelle Koen says Quinoa is “the new rice”. See her use this grain in a Paella, an ancient Moorish dish commonly made of leftovers by husbands for their wives. Still, this dish is delicious no matter who cooks it.

Courtesy: GNMHealth

Chef Dani Spies teaches you how to prepare a perfect Penne Pasta with salmon, dandelion greens, leeks, and diced tomatoes.

Courtesy: www.danispies.com

Whole wheat penne with Pesto and real Parmigiano Reggiano makes a delicious pasta dish.

Courtesy: www.harvesteating.com

Chef Keith Snow demonstrates and easy classic basil pesto.

Make a delicious minstrone salad with Geneve Stewart.

Courtesy: www.genevestewart.com

Making grilled tuna steaks accompanied by delicious pesto with Geneve Stewart.

Courtesy: www.genevestewart.com

In the early 1970s one of the first celebrity chefs hit the TV screens of Australia and Great Britain in the form of Graham Kerr, ‘The Galloping Gourmet’.

Kerr was a leader in stripping away a lot of the over-complicated cooking methods still being peddled in many cookbooks. His teaching premise was as simple as his recipes – learn a basic method first and everything else will follow.

My recipe for boiled rice is a variation on his original method, the main difference being the addition of vinegar to the boiling water. It’s simple, uncomplicated and foolproof.

For 2-3 people:

The trick is to have a medium sized saucepan with a lid, plus a colander or sieve that will fit inside the rim of the pan.

Bring about 3 liters of salted water, plus one quarter cup of white vinegar, to boil in the pan. Add to this one coffee mug of long grain rice, stir it once (and once only), partially cover and cook on a medium heat for exactly 15 minutes.

Drain the rice into the colander and rinse it briefly under cold water to remove any excess starch clinging to the grains. There won’t be very much, that is the purpose of the vinegar – which will not, I promise you, adversely flavor the rice.

Now put about three inches of water in the bottom of the pan and bring it to the boil. Put the colander with the rice on the pan, and the pan lid over the rice.

Reduce the heat and steam the rice for around ten minutes – or until you are ready to use it. It will be perfectly cooked, light and fluffy.

Top Tip: When steaming in this way, add a marble or small pebble to the pan. If the water begins to boil dry you’ll hear about it!

One huge advantage of this method is that you can prepare your rice beforehand and simply keep it in the fridge until you need it – even overnight if necessary. Be sure to cover it though, to prevent it drying out.

You can either re-heat it using the steaming method given above or use it cold for salads. Of course you can also use it at this stage for your favorite fried rice recipe if you wish.

You can produce yellow rice by adding saffron or a teaspoon of turmeric to the water before adding the rice, or add a handful of chopped bell pepper to produce a nice decorative effect.

A mix of dried herbs will also give you an excellent savory rice. In fact, once you understand the basic method, the end result is only limited by your imagination.

About the author: Michael Sheridan is a chef and an acknowledged authority and published writer on cooking matters. His website All About Cooking, contains a wealth of information, hints, tips and recipes for busy home cooks, including video based ‘how-to’ guides.

 photo credit: jsc*

A fine tip to get pasta right texture is to take away the small piece from saucepan and test it in your front teeth. It must be tender but firm to the taste. Never boil pasta but heat it in slightly salty water quite strongly until it make softer.

Then check it with your teeth after some minutes. Always cook the pasta at the end when preparing the recipe. Never leave pasta standing as it becomes tough as well as unpleasant.

Items (serves-2)

2 slices of the thick bread cut the crusts
2 tbsp of olive oil
1 onion chopped
2 garlic cloves paste
1 tin of the chopped tomatoes
8 basil leave
3 tbsp of the tomato puree
1lb of minced beef
1 tbsp of sugar
2 eggs
1 tbsp of fresh parsley finely chopped
1 tbsp of basil chopped
12oz of the dried spaghetti
salt as well as pepper
Parmesan cheese to sprinkle when serving

Method

Put the bread in the dish plus soak it with water. The water must cover the bread plus leave it for around 5 minutes, and then drain off excess water as well as squeeze the bread and remove all liquid. Heat it in the saucepan olive oil, add onion and half garlic and rarely stir as gently cooking over the medium heat. Now add tomatoes juice, the basil leaves, the tomato puree plus the sugar and season it with the salt and pepper.

Bring it to boil the contents then decrease the heat to simmer. After 20 minutes this must be reduced to thicken plus the pulpy mixture. Using the big mixing bowl put the bread, crushed beef, eggs, parsley, basil plus the remaining garlic. Mix all of them all together by your hands also add the little salt to taste.

When all this is done, create a little balls of the mixture. Drop into the saucepan that is containing tomato sauce. Now cook over in the medium heat for about 30 minutes. Around 15 minutes prior to you are set to serve the dish, boil a few slightly salty water in the saucepan. Add spaghetti. Boil for about 10 minutes and then test. Once it is prepared, drain it very well.

Now put spaghetti into the large shallow bowl. Put your meatballs on the top. Gently empty the sauce over meatballs as well as the spaghetti. Spray on Parmesan cheese and then serve. If you discover Parmesan a bit strong, then use the milder cheese of your personal choice.

Author: Dave Text. Find more information on Cooking Recipe – A Tasty Italian Food at his site.

Source: Article Directory
photo credit: paPisc

Visit the Italian Cuisine section of our Chef’s Shop!