Handmade Chinese Dumplings "Jiaozi"

There used to be an Asian Shop in our neighbourhood.
They did sell Homemade Dumplings filled with either Minced Meat or Shrimps and I can tell you they were divine.
A couple of years ago they retired and in the absence of a successor they closed the shop.
So no more delicious dumplings…
Only now I was brave enough to try and make my own ones and I have to say we loved them.




Ingredients for 4 people

For the dough

400g flour
200ml water
salt

For the filling

1 piece fresh ginger (2cm)
30g chives
4 spring onions
300g minced meat of beef and pork, in equal shares
1 tablespoon rice wine
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons rice vinegar
salt

Method

Mix the flour, some salt and 200 ml of lukewarm water in a bowl and make it into a smooth, elastic dough using your hands.

Peel the ginger for the filling and chop very fine.
Wash the chives, shake dry, clean the spring onions, wash and chop both very fine as well.
Mix the ground meat with ginger, chives, spring onions, rice wine, sesame oil, vinegar and soy sauce thoroughly in a bowl and add salt.

Shape the dough into quarters and then form each portion of dough into a 2cm thick roll.
Cut each roll into pieces about 2 cm long.
Shape each piece into a ball, use a little flour to thinly roll out the dough into circles (approximately 5 cm in diameter).
Spread the filling onto the dough, fold each circle into half-moons and press the edges together with your fingertips.

I use a plastic dough press for this.
Use a big pot and bring about 3 liters of water to the boil, add some salt.
Add the dumplings and cook them for about 4 minutes, remove and drain them.
Now simply dip into the sauce and enjoy.

Usually the dumplings are eaten together with a dip made of:

1 piece of ginger (ca. 2cm)
6 tablespoons of rice vinegar
6 tablespoons of soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil

But we prefer a sweet chili sauce ;-)

Farfalle with a Creamy Tuna and Mushroom Sauce

I am a pasta fan and this is one of our favourite and easy to prepare pasta dishes...



Ingredients

500 g Farfalle
50 g butter
1 tablespoon olive oil (extra virgin)
1 onion
1 clove of fresh garlic
150 g fresh mushrooms
250 ml cream
400g tuna (canned)
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat parsley

Method

Boil the Farfalle in a large saucepan according to package instructions until al dente.
Melt butter in a pan, add some olive oil.
Peel the onion and dice.
Peel the garlic and chop finely.
Add the onion and garlic and fry until translucent.
Clean the mushrooms, do not wash and slice.
Add the mushrooms to the onions and garlic.
Increase the heat and let it fry for a while.
Add the the cream and let boil, until it has a slightly thicker consistency.
Drain the tuna.
Now add the lemon juice, tuna and parsley to the sauce and stir.
Season with salt and pepper.
Add the Farfalle to the pan and mix gently.
Serve on warmed plates.

Simplicity

Sometimes the simplest recipes are among the best...
I just love to have some basic ingredients in the fridge and to be able to prepare a tasty dinner in next to no time.
Like our favorite

Spaghetti with Prawns, Garlic and Chilli

Easily made and yummy.....



Ingredients for 2

250g spaghetti, salted water
200 g prawns
½ tablespoon olive oil
1 chopped garlic clove
½ medium red chilli pepper (chopped)
½ tbsp chopped parsley
3 tablespoons white wine
200g tomato puree

Method

Peel and clean the prawns.
Gently fry the garlic, chili pepper and parsley in hot oil, add the prawns and fry for an additional 1-2 minutes, then add the wine and tomatoes and cook another 2-3 minutes.
In the meantime cook the spaghetti in lightly salted boiling water, then drain the pasta, carefully fold in the sauce and serve immediately.
Serve with Parmesan if desired...

Buon appetito!

Avocado Pesto

Well you might have discovered by now that I just lurve pasta....
Tonight we had Spaghetti with an Avocado Pesto.
This is definitely something different, to have a pesto with no nuts ...

Ingredients

1 under-ripe avocado
1 ripe avocado
15g fresh basil, roughly chopped
1 tbsp of lemon juice
1 garlic clove,roughly chopped
1/2 red chilli,deseeded and very finely chopped
6 tbsp of olive oil
60g fresh Parmesan, grated, plus shavings to serve
salt and pepper

Method

Halve and stone the avocado, scoop out the flesh and put into food processor.
Add lemon juice,chopped basil, chopped garlic and olive oil and pulse briefly to make a rough-textured pesto-like sauce.
Stir in the finely chopped red chilli and grated Parmesan, season with salt and pepper and serve with Spaghetti.

Roast Pumpkin and Ricotta Ravioli

Homemade Pasta is something very special.
Prepared for your loved ones and very good friends....
I love Pumpkins and so I instantly fell in love with this recipe.....

Ingredients

300g Hokaido pumpkin, peeled
olive oil
pinch ground nutmeg
200g ricotta cheese
70g finely grated parmesan cheese
30g chopped fresh oregano leaves

For the Pasta


200g durum wheat semolina
200g flour
Salt
4 eggs plus 1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons olive oil
( if there is pasta dough left, put in clingfilm and store in a fridge for up to a week...)



Creamy parmesan and oregano sauce

30g butter
2 tablespoons plain flour
1/8 litre milk
1/4 litre chicken stock
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano leaves
2 tablespoon finely grated parmesan cheese
pinch ground nutmeg

Method


Pasta

Combine flour, durum wheat semolina and salt. Form a hollow and place the eggs into the middle. Mix the flour with the eggs. Add the oil and knead everything until you got a smooth and elastic dough. If the dough s too moist,just add some more durum wheat semolina, just until it reaches the desired texture....
Allow to rest
Make Pasta sheets.

Ravioli

Preheat oven to 200°C/180°C fan-forced.
Cut pumpkin into 1cm-thick pieces.
Place, in a single layer, on with baking paper prepared tray.
Sprinkle with oil and nutmeg. Roast for 15 minutes or until just they are tender.

Meanwhile, mix ricotta, parmesan and oregano in a bowl. Season with pepper.

Trim pasta sheets .
Place 1 pasta sheet on a lightly floured surface. Place pumpkin pieces on the pasta sheet, leaving a 2cm border around edges.
Top each piece of pumpkin with 1 teaspoon ricotta mixture.
Brush pasta sheet around the filling with water using a pasta brush. Top with a pasta sheet. Press edges together to seal.
Use a ravioli wheel or pizza cutter to cut between the filling in order to form squares.
Repeat with remaining pasta sheets and filling.

Cook ravioli, in 2 batches, in a saucepan of boiling salted water for 4 minutes or until tender.
Remove with a slotted spoon.

Preparing the sauce:

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat until foaming. Add flour. Cook, stirring, for 1 to 2 minutes or until mixture bubbles.
Remove from heat.
Gradually stir in milk and stock.
Return to heat. Cook, stirring, for 4 to 5 minutes or until mixture boils and thickens.
Add oregano, cheese and nutmeg. Season with pepper.
Cook, stirring, for 1 to 2 minutes or until cheese has melted.

Add sauce to ravioli and serve .....

Macadamia Nut Pesto

Pasta is always a winner.....
One of my favourite Pasta Sauces is Pesto.
I wanted to try something different and prepared a Macadamia Nut Pesto.
The advantage of homemade Pesto, is that you are not only able to choose your own ingredients, but also to choose your preferred texture.


I like mine a bit more chunky.


Preparing your own Pesto is quite simple.



Ingredients

150g Macadamia Nuts
90g fresh Basil
2 cloves of Garlic
around 200ml Olive Oil
50g Parmesan
Salt and Pepper

Method

Place Macadamias, peeled Garlic and Basil leaves in a food processor.
Add the olive oil little by little, until all ingredients blend perfectly and until you reached your desired texture.
After that mix in the grated Parmesan, as well as salt and pepper.
Use the salt carefully if you use roasted and salted Macadamia Nuts.




Enjoy!