Ratatouille--Philippine Style

Pinakbet is a lot like ratatouille, except that in my opinion, it's tastier. My Ilocano grandmother always made hers the traditional way, no sauteeing, just piling the vegetables in a deep pan, drizziling it with fish bagoong--cover and cook until vegetables are tender. I like making mine the modern way. I saute onions, tomatoes and garlic and then I add vegetables. I also like topping mine with chicharon (pork crackling), bagnet (Ilocano version) is still the best but ordinary chicharon will do. Before i work with eggplant and ampalaya, i slice them first and sprinkle a bit of iodized salt, leave them for 5 minutes then rinse. This is to remove the bitterness.

PINAKBET

Red Onion, sliced thinly 1 piece

Tomatoes, sliced into wedges 2 pieces

Garlic cloves, minced 8 pieces

Baby eggplants, sliced into quarters lengthwise 5 pieces

Baby ampalaya (bitter gourd), sliced lengthwise 4 pieces

Okra, sliced into half crosswise 10 pieces

Squash, peeled and cubed 100 grams

String beans 100 grams

Canola Oil 2 tablespoons

Salt and Pepper to taste

Bagoong (Shrimp paste) 2 teaspoons

Wash vegetables. Slice amplaya legthwise, scoop out the seeds with a teaspoon, sprinkle salt and leave for five minutes, rinse. Slice eggplants into quarters and sprinkle with salt, leave for 5 minutes then rinse. Set aside. Peel and slice squash into cubes.

Preheat pan with canola oil, add sliced onions and cook until fragrant and translucent. Add tomatoes (cut into wedges) and continue cooking. When tomatoes have broken down, add minced garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Add squash, ampalaya, eggplants, okra and string beans. Cover pan and let cook for 5 minutes. Add chicken stock (about 1/4 cup) and bagoong. Cover and cook until vegetables have softened around 10 minutes.

What's for Lunch Today?

It's another holiday here in Manila. And that means all my brothers and sisters are home for lunch. M asked me if I could cook something nice for lunch, I decided to make aligue (crabfat) pasta. I added fresh chili to it and topped it with shrimps and crabmeat. Aligue can be bought in bottles here in Manila. I bought mine from Rustan's Supermarket in Powerplant.

SPICY SEAFOOD ALIGUE PASTA

Aligue (crabfat) 1 bottle

Garlic, minced 3 tablespoons

Calamansi juice 1/4 cup

Olive Oil 2 tablespoons

Crab meat 8 sticks

Shrimps 1/4 kilo

Angel Hair pasta 250 grams

Preheat pan with Olive oil, add minced garlic and chili, saute until fragrant, do not brown. Pour in crabfat and cook for 2 minutes. Add calamansi juice. Season with salt and pepper. Add crabmeat and shrimps and cook just until shrimps turn pink. Add in cooked pasta and stir until coated with sauce.

Dinner

I just had to try out a new deli that opened a stone's throw away from where I work. The facade was very clean and attractive and the whole "deli" vibe was inviting my curiosity. So after work last night, we took the plunge and tried it. I was surprised when we went in and everyone seemed to be busy minding other things. It was as if the "soft opening" signage gave the staff an excuse to be unattentive. After wandering for a few minutes along the aisles of mostly Australian goodies, a kind waiter came over and told us that more merchandise was available upstairs so off we went and I was pleasantly surprised to find kitchen equipment was also for sale. I zeroed in on a silicone-handled pair of tongs and asked how much it was. It took them almost the entire duration of my stay there to inform me that there was no price for it yet and so they cant sell it to me! Nevermind, I came to try the food anyways. We tried the pasta, I ordered the Sausage pasta with Italian chili sausage and red sauce and my cousin M tried the Sausage pasta in cream sauce. We were the only dining customers at this point but our orders took very long. We werent disappointed though, my pasta looked and tasted good. I just hope that next time I go back there, they have ironed things out and everything will be smooth.

Italian Chili Sausage Pasta in Tomato Sauce

Sausage Pasta in Cream Sauce

Calamansi Streusel Bars

Everytime I come across a lemon bar it gets me thinking if I can use calamansi instead. So, for today's recipe, I substituted calamansi instead of lemon and instead of just sprinkling powdered sugar on top, I made a streusel. The final outcome looked really nice, and yes...calamansi can be used instead of lemon :)

Calamansi Streusel Bars

CRUST

Butter 1/2 cup

Powdered Sugar 1/4 cup

All-Purpose Flour 1 cup

Salt 1/8 tsp

Using the paddle attachment to fyour Kitchenaid mixer, cream butter and sugar until light. Add in flour and salt and beat until dough comes together. Pat evenly on the bottom of an 8x8 pan. Bake in a 350 degree farenheit preheated oven for 20 minutes.

FILLING

Sugar 1 cup

Eggs 2 pieces

Calamansi Juice 2 tablespoons

All-purpose Flour 2 tablespoons

Beat eggs and sugar together using the paddle attachment of Kitchenaid mixer until light and fluffy. Pour in calamansi juice and continue beating, until well incorporated. Add the flour and beat for another minute. Pour filling into baked crust. Sprinkle streusel on top, pieces may sink into filling. Bake for 30 minutes. Cool before slicing, sprinkle with icing sugar

STREUSEL

Butter 1/2 cup

Sugar 1/2 cup

All-purpose flour 1/2 cup

Mix all ingredients by hand until lumps are formed. Be careful not to let butter become too soft.

Logganisa Quiche

Quiche (KEESH) consists of a pastry shell filled with a savory custard made of eggs, cream, seasonings and various other ingredients. It originated in northeastern France, the most famous being Quiche Lorraine (crisp bacon bits and Gruyere cheese in the filling). I wanted to give mine a Filipino flavor so I decided to use Lucban longganisa as flavoring. I also used the easiest pie dough recipe which is the 3-2-1 pie dough recipe, 3 parts flour-2 parts butter-1 part liquid.

LONGGANISA QUICHE

3-2-1 PIE DOUGH

All-Purpose Flour 120 grams

Butter 80 grams

Water, cold 40 ml

Place flour in bowl, cut butter into small pieces and rub into flour, until it resembles coarse crumbs, pour water and pat just until mixture comes together. Wrap in wax paper and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

FILLING:

Longganisa, Vigan 1 pack

Cheddar Cheese, grated 1 cup

All-Purpose Cream 1/2 cup

Eggs, beaten 8 pieces

Preheat oven to 400 degrees farenheit. Butter baking dish. Roll out dough to about 1/4 of an inch and carefully line the bottom of the baking dish, trim off excess dough. Set aside. Remove longganisa from casing, crumble and cook in half an inch of water. Cook until water has dried up and longganisa is frying in its own oil. Fry until brown but not crispy. Remove from heat, drain off excess oil, set aside. Beat eggs, cheese and all-purpose cream, add longganisa and pour into crust. Bake for 40 minutes until center is set. Serve hot.

Rainy Days Are Here Again...

Yes, it's official, another typhoon is going to hit the Philippines. I woke up this morning to the sound of heavy downpour. I don"t like rain. Just like what the song says "...rainy days and Mondays always get me down..." I want to curl up in bed and read a good book until the rain stops. And I'd like to eat a big bowl of my favorite pasta...

PASTA PUTTANESCA

Canola Oil 2 Tablespoons

Garlic, minced 2 Tablepoons

Anchovies, flat fillet 60 grams

Crushed Tomatoes 500 grams

Olives, black 100 grams

Capers 60 grams

Preheat heavy pan with canola oil, add in garlic and anchovies, saute until fragrant. Add crushed tomatoes and simmer for 20 minutes. Add in olives and capers. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer for another 10 minutes and serve over hot pasta.

Banana Almond Raisin Loaf

I think the best bananas come from the Philippines. And it's available here all-year round...in fact I have banana stalks (trees) beside my house. So it's but natural, that I also like making banana bread--my dad is a connoiseur when it comes to banana breads. But it's been a long time since I've baked one. So today, I've decided to test if my banana bread recipe is as good as it once was. Dad said it's the best he has eaten...and that's not just because he's my dad!

BANANA ALMOND RAISIN LOAF

BUTTER, unsalted 1/2 cup

GRANULATED SUGAR 1/2 cup

EGGS 2 pieces

BANANAS, ripe and mashed 3 pieces

All-Purpose Flour 2 cups

Baking Soda 1 teaspoon

Baking Powder 1 teaspoon

Salt 1/2 teapsoon

Almonds, chopped 1/2 cup

Raisins 1/4 cup

Plain Yogurt 1/2 cup

Preheat oven to 350 degrees farenheit. Grease and line a 9x5 loaf pan (I used 2 smaller ones)

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in eggs one a t a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in mashed bananas and yogurt. In another bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Blend in banana mixture just until combined (batter does not have to be smooth) Fold in raisins and nuts. Bake for 60 minutes.