Simple recipes needed!

[danhutton]

A complete novice needs fairly simple recipes to try! Had a go at cottage pie and that went ok!

[spikeyhead]

You could do worse than buy a student cookbook.

[Pferdestarke]

Don't follow recipes. Create things yourself with guidance from the web and cook books.

Tips though...

Have a decent sharp knife
If it isn't processed crap then season it properly with salt and pepper
Rest meat
Get your pans hot

[Plotloss]

Easy spag bol

500g minced beef
1 medium onion
2 cloves garlic
1 tin tomatoes
1 tin tomato puree
Handful of mushrooms
Basil
Bay leaves

Get a good thick bottomed saucepan, throw in a lug of olive oil, heat over a medium/high heat

Finely chop onion and garlic throw in, cook until clear, add mince brown off, add tomatoes, mushrooms, basil and bay leaves, couple of spoons of tomato puree stir, turn heat right down, cover.

Stir occasionally, leave it for an hour or so

Get massive pan, add lots of water, boil, add long spaghetti, drain, splash of oil, plate, sauce, done.

Its not gourmet italian, christ its not even italian but it tastes alright and its easy.

[The Dude]

Plotloss said:

Easy spag bol

500g minced beef
1 medium onion
2 cloves garlic
1 tin tomatoes
1 tin tomato puree
Handful of mushrooms
Basil
Bay leaves

Get a good thick bottomed saucepan, throw in a lug of olive oil, heat over a medium/high heat

Finely chop onion and garlic throw in, cook until clear, add mince brown off, add tomatoes, mushrooms, basil and bay leaves, couple of spoons of tomato puree stir, turn heat right down, cover.

Stir occasionally, leave it for an hour or so

Get massive pan, add lots of water, boil, add long spaghetti, drain, splash of oil, plate, sauce, done.

Its not gourmet italian, christ its not even italian but it tastes alright and its easy.

Leave the mushroom out and instead put in a stick of celery (finely chopped) and a carrot (finely chopped).

Mushrooms?

[Plotloss]

Piss off with your talk of the devil's vegetable.

[The Dude]

And please, please don't use extra virgin olive oil.

[Plotloss]

The Dude said:

And please, please don't use extra virgin olive oil.

Why would you, its sole purpose is to make uncooked vegetarian food taste of something.

[The Dude]

Plotloss said:

Piss off with your talk of the devil's vegetable.

The holy trinity of Italian cooking mate. You can't deny it.

[The Dude]

Plotloss said:

The Dude said:

And please, please don't use extra virgin olive oil.

Why would you, its sole purpose is to make uncooked vegetarian food taste of something.

So true...

[Plotloss]

So it is said but there is a direct correlation between the use of celery as a base in cookery and effectiveness in wars.

[The Dude]

Plotloss said:

So it is said but there is a direct correlation between the use of celery as a base in cookery and effectiveness in wars.

Have another

[sleep envy]

The Dude said:

Plotloss said:

Piss off with your talk of the devil's vegetable.

The holy trinity of Italian cooking mate. You can't deny it.

soffrito

[The Dude]

Carbonara has to be the easiest recipe in the world.

Per person

80-100g of dried pasta (spaghetti, linguini or at a push, tagliatelle)
2-3 slices of streaky/smoked bacon
2 egg yolks
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Single cream
(Nutmeg)

- Boil the pasta in water according to packet
- Cut the bacon into small pieces and fry until crispy
- Beat the egg yolks and mix in the parmesan cheese (don't need too much, perhaps a desert spoon size amount).
- Add some cream until you have a sauce-like consistency. Add a sprinkle of nutmeg if desired.
- When the pasta is cooked, drain and mix in the bacon and egg mixture until well dispersed.
- Serve with a good grind of black pepper and a sprinkle of parmesan.

[H_Kan]

The Dude said:

Carbonara has to be the easiest recipe in the world.

Per person

80-100g of dried pasta (spaghetti, linguini or at a push, tagliatelle)
2-3 slices of streaky/smoked bacon
2 egg yolks
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Single cream
(Nutmeg)

- Boil the pasta in water according to packet
- Cut the bacon into small pieces and fry until crispy
- Beat the egg yolks and mix in the parmesan cheese (don't need too much, perhaps a desert spoon size amount).
- Add some cream until you have a sauce-like consistency. Add a sprinkle of nutmeg if desired.
- When the pasta is cooked, drain and mix in the bacon and egg mixture until well dispersed.
- Serve with a good grind of black pepper and a sprinkle of parmesan.

Was some cookery show and they had one of the women behind the River Cafe on there making a carbonara. She only used egg yolks and no cream at all, also instead of bacon I think she used proscicutto?

In addition to parmasan, she also added in some grana padana.


As for a suggestion, at uni I used to enjoy knocking up a spanish omlette. I basically took whatever was lieing about, such as potatoes, onion, quorn pieces, chunks of bread, peppers, mushrooms etc, fried them off in a pan. Then crack 3-4 eggs, whisk them up and pour over the mix. Cook it for a bit and allow to cook through, then grate some cheese on top and stick it under the grill to melt the cheese and set the top.

Really easy and tasty, plus uses up all the leftover bits.

[The Dude]

H_Kan said:

The Dude said:

Carbonara has to be the easiest recipe in the world.

Per person

80-100g of dried pasta (spaghetti, linguini or at a push, tagliatelle)
2-3 slices of streaky/smoked bacon
2 egg yolks
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Single cream
(Nutmeg)

- Boil the pasta in water according to packet
- Cut the bacon into small pieces and fry until crispy
- Beat the egg yolks and mix in the parmesan cheese (don't need too much, perhaps a desert spoon size amount).
- Add some cream until you have a sauce-like consistency. Add a sprinkle of nutmeg if desired.
- When the pasta is cooked, drain and mix in the bacon and egg mixture until well dispersed.
- Serve with a good grind of black pepper and a sprinkle of parmesan.

Was some cookery show and they had one of the women behind the River Cafe on there making a carbonara. She only used egg yolks and no cream at all, also instead of bacon I think she used proscicutto?

In addition to parmasan, she also added in some grana padana.


As for a suggestion, at uni I used to enjoy knocking up a spanish omlette. I basically took whatever was lieing about, such as potatoes, onion, quorn pieces, chunks of bread, peppers, mushrooms etc, fried them off in a pan. Then crack 3-4 eggs, whisk them up and pour over the mix. Cook it for a bit and allow to cook through, then grate some cheese on top and stick it under the grill to melt the cheese and set the top.

Really easy and tasty, plus uses up all the leftover bits.

There's a lot of theories on what should and shouldn't be in a spaghetti carbonara. Bit like adding nutmeg - not to everyone's taste but you find it's a common thing in many areas of Italy. Some recipes use the whole egg, not just the yolk. Personally I find just egg yolks to be too viscous so I always let the sauce down a bit with cream, or milk. You could use more egg yolks but then it ends up very rich. I think you might have meant pancetta - I don't think they would've used proscitto (though I could be wrong of course )

[sleep envy]

H_Kan said:

In addition to parmasan, she also added in some grana padana.

eh?

Grana Padana is the name for the cheese if it's made outside the province of Parma

[captainzep]

danhutton said:

A complete novice needs fairly simple recipes to try! Had a go at cottage pie and that went ok!

Hello Dan.

First thing to do is to promise yourself that you'll cook proper food on a regular basis even if some times all you feel like is a takeaway or shop-prepared meal.

Practice is the only way forward, the more you cook, the better you get, the better the food, the more you cook. Its a healthy cycle. Learn from the mistakes, learn from the triumphs.

Take heart from the fact that most lumps of meat, cubed up with some chopped veg (including onions and garlic), with a stock cube or two, a slosh of wine and enough water to just cover it all, will taste good after cooking it for a couple of hours.


As for recipes, there are thousands. I'd buy a cookbook by Jamie Oliver or Nigel Slater. They tend to give you the insight you need about simple ingredients, good flavours -simply explained.

All the best!

Edited by captainzep on Tuesday 2nd December 11:44

[H_Kan]

sleep envy said:

H_Kan said:

In addition to parmasan, she also added in some grana padana.

eh?

Grana Padana is the name for the cheese if it's made outside the province of Parma

My mistake, it is actually pecorino she used. Was rather late when I posted yesterday!

In any case here is the recipe, which I've just found.

http://practicallydaily.blogspot.com/2006/12/tagli...

[Rude Girl]

Dan

Whatever you're cooking, if you're a novice, get everything prepared first - veg chopped, liquids measured etc. Stirring and weighing at the same time is best attempted after you've got a feel for cooking.

Have a look at a recent thread in here called How to eat under £2.50 (or something like that). A lot of the stuff in there iirc was largely a bit of prep and some assembly in one or two pans. There were loads of great recipes with just a few ingredients