Tangy n Garlicky Roasted Mushrooms

This is I think the easiest of all the mushroom recipes i have tried so far and also my new favourite one.

I think even less that 5 minutes you need with ingredients and rest is done by the oven. The best part is the aroma of garlicky butter, the tangy taste added by lemon juice, light  e.v. oil and the parsley call you to dig  bread in juice to soak up all it goodness.

So, the first time i prepared it, when my sisters in law’s parents in laws were visiting us and i wanted to make starter which doesn't take my time yet delicious and filling! So, i stumbled upon this recipe on smittenkitchen.com.

Gotten everything ready before they arrived and popped them into the hot oven, while they settled had ready to eat.. The aroma had already penetrated the air making us hungry! Well, i didn't expect that seriously... Frankly, for me, the aroma from butter and garlic can beat any essential oils I use. 

They were dissappearing before i could photographed them.

Ingredients

500 gms  mushrooms such as cremini or white, halved lengthwise if large
1 tbsp capers, rinsed and chopped
2 large garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp olive/vegetable  oil
1 1/2 tbsp salted/ Unsalted butter, cut into pieces  Add pinch of Salt incase using Unsalted Butter
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

1/8 tsp pepper

Method

Preheat oven to 220 °C with rack in middle. Toss mushrooms with capers, garlic, oil in a 1 1/2- to 2-qt shallow baking dish. Top with butter and roast, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are tender and golden and bubbly garlic sauce forms below, 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in lemon juice and parsley. Serve immediately, with crusty bread on the side for swiping up the juices.

I used white button mushrooms

Popped in everything at one go but i suggest to add lemon juice later as suggested in the method

Dip the bread in the juices! 

Basil Pesto

If you buy bottled Pesto in Delhi, it is expensive. Its yum tough! but then I had to drive atleast 15 KM to buy it. Since i use it in so many recipes. so thought to try to make it home. Following is the recipe i followed and still follow. It costs me 1/5 the price that of the bottled branded imported Pesto!

Ingredients

2 Cups Fresh Basil Leaves

2 tpsp Cup

2 Garlic Cloves

2 tbsp Parmesan cheese (grated)

1/2 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Method:

In a pan dry toast the pine nut, lightly and let it cool.

Mix all the ingredients in a mixer except the oil. While pulsing, add the oil slowly until you have smother paste.

So here is the Basil Pesto! Simple n Yummy!

If you want to store it then add additional layer of olive oil, else it would turn dark and discolour.

Easy and Quick Salad

As mentioned in the blog below i had few friends over dinner on Sunday night and i made couple of Italian, so this Salad was one of them, i think i should blog all the recipe from that day every day one.

So when i went to Albert Hijn (SuperMarket Chain in Holland) I found this tri coloured lettuce .. Wow.. i wanted to make salad out of it.

This is mix of three types: Oak Leaf, Lollo Bionda and Lollo Rossa.. They both are Soft and less crispy. That’s the reason, the salad should be made at the time of serving else it would become ultra soggy. There are other varieties also, but i love the colour(s). So back to recipe.

Ingredients

1 bunch of tri-color lettuce

Few cherry tomatoes (cut into halves)

Pine Nuts.

1 tbsp Ranch Salad dressing

1tsp of olive oil

1tsp of vinaigrette

Pinch of salt n pepper

Lemon zest

Method:

In a plan dry roast the Pine nuts until the are slightly brown and u get the aroma. Remove from heat and let it cool in a separate dish ( u can do this in advance and store them in air tight container).

In a salad bowl, Put ranch salad dressing, olive oil, vinaigrette, lemon zest, salt n pepper and mix them well .

Add all other ingredients, and Toss them with help of Spatula or even hand!!

(I don't have salad pic :(, just lettuce pic for now )

Picture source: http://www.boerdenhoedt.com/products/tricolour-lettuce.html

Mango Salsa

Ingredients:
1 Mango (pealed n chopped)
2 Scallions or 1 medium sized red onion (Finely chopped)
Fresh Cilantro aka coriander ( corasly chopped)
Juice of 1 lemon

1 clove of garlic (minced)
1/2 Jalapano (2-3 slices if you are using pickled ones)

red chilli powder (optional)

Asafoetida (optional)
Salt n pepper to taste.

Method:

Mix all the ingredients mentioned above. Chill in the fridge for atleast an hour.

serve it with Tortilla Chips or Top it on Papri (an Indian small, round, flat crisp fried dough wafers made from refined white flour and oil)

RaThi ke dhabe waali chutney!!!

let me introduce to Mr. Rathi. He had a small little dhaba in the parking lot of my office in gurgaon. The speciality were the parathas with different fillings. Though my fav. paratha filling is Gobhi (cauliflower) but i always loved the Aloo Parathas there. which he used to serve with a chutney ( which i had never tasted before) and curd. Curd coz compliment the chutney as it was quite Hot due to green chillis as one of the main ingredient in that!

Once i had gone to have my dinner there as i was suppose to work till late. And the dhaba had only one burner! which was causing hell lot of delay in preparing the parathas....and i could see big fully filled kadai on burner ... then i got to know .. m not getting any parathas for dinner now .. well, i just ordered tea which he had just prepared before placing the kadai on burner... while haaving tea he told me how to pepare that chutney @ home!!!

so it is here with some little variation ....

Onions - as much u can
green Chillies- much u want (chop them but not very finely, 3/4 cm piece)
e.g . if u r taking 4 onions then take 6-7 small green chillies, this is what i take, if u want less hot chutney then reduce the no. of chillies)
Galic - 6-7 flakes (chop them finely)
salt to taste
dried corriander - 3/4 table spoon,
dried mango powder - 1 tsp
turmeric - 1 tsp
Oil - 2 table spoon.

Heat a pan put oil, Saute the garlic first, put turmeric, dry corriender powder and dry mango powder. Then add the chopped onions and chillies and mix them well .... add salt to taste and mix it again ... and cook the chutney on medium heat till the oil seperates.

The chutney is ready! don't forget to serve curd also with it! atleast u'll never forget to do that if u would forget once! :)

Enjoy!