Clams With Roasted Tomatoes

For a quick starter, try these simple Clams With Roasted Tomatoes baked in a paper bag. Serve the clams with some crusty bread and let your guests open the yummy parcels themselves.

Clams With Roasted Tomatoes

Ingredients

About 700g Manila Clams
4 Tbsp of Parsley, Chili, Garlic, And Lemon Flavored Butter, divided (Click here for the recipe)
1 Pack/250 g of Slow-Roasted Tomatoes, divided
 (Click here for the recipe)
4 Tbsp White Wine, divided
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Sea Salt
Freshly Ground Black Pepper
Basil Leaves

Lemon Wedges

Parchment Paper
Kitchen Strings

Method

Preheat the oven to 400˚F.



Use 2 large pieces of parchment papers for each serving. Place the papers on a large bowl. Divide the clams into 2 equal portions. Top the clams with flavored butter, tomatoes, white wine, and season with sea salt and black pepper. Wrap the paper up and tie it with kitchen strings.



Place the bags on a baking tray and bake for about 18 to 20 minutes, or until the clams are cooked. To serve, cut the kitchen strings, open the paper bag, drizzle some olive oil and garnish with basil and lemon wedges. Serve immediately with some crusty bread.

Refreshing Insalata Caprese

Insalata Caprese is a rustic Italian salad made with fresh mozzarella, basil, olive oil, and tomatoes. For this recipe, I'd added some slow-roasted tomatoes and seasoned lightly with some lemon juice. A very refreshing salad and it's a perfect starter to any main meal.

Refreshing Insalata Caprese

Ingredients

1 Tub(200g/36 pcs) Mini Bocconcini Cheese (semi-soft)
Slow-Roasted Tomatoes (255 g) click here for the recipe
A Handful Basil Leaves, whole
1 1/2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Lemon Juice, to taste (optional)
Sea Salt to taste
Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Method

Toss all the ingredients together, adjust seasoning with lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Slow-Roasted Tomatoes

Have you tried slow roasting tomatoes? The slow roasting process brings out the tomatoes' natural sweetness and tastes amazing. Goes great with most salads and complements many meals very well. I will share two simple recipes that uses these lovely tomatoes over the next two posts.

Slow-Roasted Tomatoes

Ingredients

2 Packs (9oz/255 g X 2) Small Campari or Cherry Tomatoes, halved
2 to 3 Tbsp Olive Oil
3 Cloves Garlic, smashed
2 Sprigs of Fresh Thyme (optional)
Sea Salt
Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 250˚F.

Toss all the ingredients together and place on a large baking tray in a single layer. Roast the tomatoes for about 2 to 2 ½ hours. Let cool and store in an airtight jar.

Crispy Roast Pork Belly

This is my version of a crispy roast pork belly. It has the perfect crispy crackling and it's really easy to make. First, get a good piece of organic pork belly. Have your butcher score the skin, but, not go all the way through so that you get a better crackling. Then, do a salt-rub onto the meat, either use your favorite salt-rub recipe or you can try mine. My salt-rub consists of coarse salt, chili flakes, caraway seeds, and lots of black peppers. Allow the meat to absorb all the wonderful flavors of the salt-rub by leaving it in the fridge overnight. Before roasting it the next day, do rub some oil and remainder salt-rub onto the skin. Roast the pork in moderate temperature to ensure it's cooked thoroughly and crank the heat high when it's almost done to get the crackling really crispy. That's all to it! Enjoy!

Crispy Roast Pork Belly

Ingredients

1 Pc (about 1.3 kg) Organic Boneless Pork Belly, skin scored (ask your butcher to do this)
Olive Oil (about 2 Tbsp)
2 Onion, peeled and roughly chopped
4 Rib Of Celery, roughly chopped

Salt-Rub

3 Tbsp Coarse Salt

1 Tbsp Chili Flakes
1 tsp Freshly Ground Black Pepper
1 tsp Caraway Seeds

Roasting Tin, lined with aluminum foil (for easy cleaning)

Method



In a small bowl, combine the salt rub ingredients.

Rub the flesh side of the pork with some salt-rub, cover loosely with plastic wrap. Refrigerate the pork, skin side up for at least 6 hours, or overnight.

When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 350˚F. Rub some olive oil all over the skin and the remainder salt-rub.

Scatter the onion and celery in the prepared roasting tin, place the pork belly on top, skin side up, and roast for about 1 hour 20 minutes. Then increase the temperature to 500˚F and roast for another 25 to 30 minutes, until the crackling is crispy. Remove from the oven and let the meat rest for 10 to 15 minutes before slicing.

Zesty Soba Noodles

Try serving this healthy Zesty Soba Noodles for a light lunch or as a side to your favorite meat meal. This noodle dish is tossed with soy and sesame dressing. Really simple to make. Hope your family enjoys this recipe.

Zesty Soba Noodles

Ingredients

1 Packet (270g) Organic Soba/Buckwheat Noodle, cooked as per manufacturer’s instructions, chilled
4 Stalks Scallion, chopped
Toasted Sesame Seeds
Roasted Seaweeds

Soy & Sesame Dressing
4 Tbsp Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
1 Tbsp Sesame Oil
3 Tbsp Japanese Soy Sauce
2 Tbsp Yuzu Vinegar
1 Tbsp Toasted Sesame Seeds

Method

Combine all the salad dressing ingredients and whisk well. When ready to serve, toss the chilled soba with prepared dressing, top with chopped scallions,some sesame seeds and roasted seaweeds.

Serves 4

Meat Ragu Pizza Bites

Warning, these Meat Ragu Pizza Bites are seriously delicious! Using pre-made pizza dough, I filled them with mozzarella and the meat Ragu which I'd made earlier for the Pappardelle. They look like small Meat Ragu dumplings, don't they? :-) Simply delightful!

Meat Ragu Pizza Bites

Ingredients

1 Packet (about 300 to 310g) Fresh Pizza Dough (available at Whole Foods Market)

¾ Cup Meat Ragu
80 g Mozzarella Cheese, diced
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Sea Salt
Coarsely Ground Black Pepper

Dried Italian Herbs
Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese, freshly grated

Baking dish-lightly oiled


Method



Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400˚F/200˚C.

Press down the dough on a lightly flour surface. Then divide the dough into 8 equals balls. Roll each out into a circle, (about 4 inches in diameter) Put 1 tablespoonful of prepared meat ragu in the center of each circle, top with diced mozzarella, and wrap dough around filling. Place the dough on the baking dish, seam side down, brush the top with olive oil, and sprinkle some sea salt, black pepper, herbs and cheese. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until light golden brown in color.

Pappardelle With Meat Ragu

I love having a warm and rich Pappardelle with Meat Ragu on a cool rainy day. The meat Ragu is packed with so much flavor as it’s cooked with all the fresh ingredients for about 3 hours! So, I usually tend to make a bit more and freeze it for use later on. Do try making this hearty pasta dish, add a sprinkle of freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano and some chopped parsley. Then, after tucking into it, tell me what you think.

Pappardelle With Meat Ragu

Ingredients

3 Tbsp Olive Oil
About 2.2 lbs/1.1 kg Organic Fed Boneless Beef Chuck Roasts, cubed (1/2 to 3/4 inch)

1 Large Yellow Onion, finely chopped

3 Carrots, peeled and diced

3 Celery Sticks, diced

4 Cloves Garlic, chopped
1 ½ tsp Italian Seasoning/Herbs
1 Cup Marsala Wine
2 Tins (796ml/28 fl oz) San Marzano Whole Tomatoes With Juice

½ Cup Beef Stock
1 Dried Bay Leaf
Black Pepper
Sea Salt

1 Box (500g) Dried Pappardelle Pasta, cooked al dente
Freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano
Italian Flat Leaves Parsley, chopped

Method




Preheat oven to 350˚F (180˚C)


Heat a stockpot or Dutch oven over a moderate to high heat. Brown the beef cubed with olive oil in batches, and set aside.



Add extra oil to the pan if necessary. Then cook onion, carrots, celery, and garlic. Keep stirring, about 8 to 10 minutes, add in the Italian seasoning and cook until the mixture has softened, fragrant and golden in color. Then add the beef, Marsala wine, beef stock, tomatoes, bay leaf, salt, pepper, and bring to the boil. Cover the pot with parchment paper and place the lid on top. Transfer to the oven and cook until the meat is very tender, about 3 hours.

Serve warm over the cooked pasta and sprinkle in the Parmigiano-Reggiano and chopped parsley.

Serve 4 to 6