Hot Tiger Prawns with Parma Ham!

                         Tiger Prawns with Parma Ham

Any fish lovers in here?! If YES is the answer, today is your day! Im going to give you an easy recipe involving Prawns....YUMM YUMM

Easy to make and less than 20 minutes from preparation to cooking, this is an amazing dish for you out there!

Ingredients:






4 ripe tomatoes12 raw tigerprawns1/2 cucumber peeled6 tablespoons olive oil4 garlic cloves peeled and crushedsaltpepper4 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley6 slices of Parma ham cut in half4 tablespoons white wine4 slices of Italian bread (or any bread that you desire)


Method:


Preheat oven to 180°C. Slice thinly the tomatoes and the cucumber and arrange on the plates to reserve.
Peel the prawns and leave the tail shell intact
In a small bowl, whisk the olive oil, garlic, chopped parsley and season with salt and pepper
Add prawns and stir until well combined and coated
Remove prawns separately and wrap each one in a piece of the Parma Ham.
Secure with a toothpick and place them on a baking sheet along with the slices of bread and cook in the oven for around 5 minutes
Remove prawns, and spoon the wine over the prawns and the bread and return to the oven for another 10minutes.
Carefully remove the toothpicks and arrange 3 prawns on each bread.
Place on top of the sliced cucumber and tomatoes and serve immediately!

C.Armeni

Light Bite- Aubergine Dip with Pitta Strips

           Roasted Aubergine Dip with Pitta Strips


Hey everyone! Today Its not a normal recipe day but instead I am going to give you an easy dish which is great for a quick snack with friends in the house or when you want to stay light in the evening. 

It is quite healthy too and it doesn't take long to prepare either! This dish is a variation on the traditional Arabic dish known as Baba Ganoush. As well as being great with Pitta strips or bread sticks, this dish is fantastic warmed through and served as a meal accompaniment.

Ingredients:

• 4 pitta breads
• 2 large aubergines
• 1 garlic clove peeled
• 1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• salt 
• pepper
• 2 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley
• fresh salad leaves (to serve!)

Method:

• Preheat oven to 180°C. On a chopping board, cut the pitta bread into strips and spread them in a single layer on a baking tray
• Cook in the oven for 15minutes until they become golden in colour and crispy and leave them to cool on a cooling rack
• Rinse the aubergines and trim lightly. Heat a grilling pan and cook the aubergines and the garlic for around 15 minutes.
• Cook aubergines and turn them round until tender and remove from heat
• When cooled, cut the aubergines in half, scoop out the flesh and put it in a food processor
• Remove the garlic skin and add it to the food processor and blend them until smooth
• Add sesame oil, cumin and lemon juice and blend again to mix
• Season mixture with salt and pepper, stir in the parlsey and serve mixture with the mixed salad leaves and the pitta strips

Enjoy :)!

C.Armeni

Paprika Chicken Thighs in Rucola Sauce

                   Chicken Thighs in White Sauce and Rucola

Hey guys today's recipe is VERY GOOD - actually mouth watering! Its a very easyyyy recipe! and if you would like to impress your guests, I suggest to try it out!

You don't need excessive ingredients and it doesn't take long to cook. I suggest that you either prepare a side salad or else with some baked potatoes.

So here are the ingredients:

Ingredients:

• 6 Chicken Thighs
• Salt
• 1 Tablespoon Paprika
• Pepper
• Butter (3 Tablespoons in Total)
• 1 small or medium Lemon (or as desired)
• 1/2 cup Heavy Cream
• 3 cloves garlic diced
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 cups rucola (or as desired!)

Method:

• Preheat oven to 200°C
• Put the chicken thighs in a bowl
• Sprinkle some salt, the paprika and the pepper
• Combine with the thighs and mix everything together
• Heat 2 tablespoons of butter in a frying pan and put the chicken and fry them until golden brown or cooked throughout
• Discard EXCESS Fat. In the same frying pan heat the last tablespoon of butter and fry the diced garlic
• Add the chicken stock, the heavy cream, the cheese and  the juice of 1 fresh lemon
• Add the Thyme and the Rucola and cook for another 2 minutes
• Remove from the heat and put in a baking dish and cook in the preheated Dish for 25 Minutes    

Bon apetito :)!

C.Armeni 

© C.Armeni

Fast Spaghettini Dish

                       

                                                        Fried Spaghetti

Hi guys :) this week has been a very hectic week for me and hence I've been cooking some fast dishes in order to save time and maybe have some minutes of extra sleep.

One of the weekday dishes that I made was this EASY Pasta dish with some leftover spaghetti that I had!

Its quite easy and tastes as good as if you spent enough time to cook a normal main dish! Oh and it only takes a few minutes to cook !

Ingredients:

• Leftover Spaghettini or spaghetti

• 2 Eggs (depends on the quantity of spaghetti)

• Grated Cheese

• Bacon / Ham (or both)

• Sliced Mushrooms (Optional)

• Basil

• Mixed Herbs (Italian)   

• Salt

• Pepper

• Oil for frying

Method:

© C.Armeni

• In a bowl put the left over spaghetti and combine with the eggs. Make sure that the whole spaghetti is covered and not too dry

• Put the rest of the ingredients and stir until well combined

• In a frying pan, heat up some oil and when hot put the spaghetti mixture

• After a few minutes when you see the bottom is getting golden, just flip over so as the other side gets fried too

• When both sides are well fried, switch off the stove and serve

Easy right? :)

C.Armeni

© C.Armeni

NO COOK Spaghetti Sauce!

                                       FRESH Spaghetti Sauce

Ever was in a hurry and you have no time to cook? Want to prepare something that can be ready in a few minutes and fresh?

Problem SOLVED!!!

This is the perfect idea for a weekday dinner using fresh tomatoes. When you are short of tomatoes, or you want to save even more time just go ahead and use a can of crushed tomatoes and I can assure you that its as tasty as if you used fresh tomatoes!

You can even used tomato pulp that you can do yourself. For recipe please click here.


Ingredients:

• 700g fresh ripe tomatoes
  
• 1 garlic clove crushed   

  

  Image from Google

  
  
• 2 teaspoons caster sugar
  
• 1/4 cup freshly chopped basil
  
• 1/4 cup or 50g roasted pine nuts
  
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  
• 1/3 cup or 5 tablespoons olive oil
  
• Salt
  
• Pepper
  
• Pasta of your choice (Preferably Spaghetti)
  
• Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese

Method:

• Put tomatoes in boiling water
  
• After few minutes remove tomatoes and peel. Remove seeds and chop them roughly. Reserve a quarter and set them aside
  
• Put rest of tomatoes in a food processor and add the sugar, garlic, pine nuts, 1 tablespoon of basil and the tomato paste
  
• Process until smooth
  
• Whilst blending on slow speed, pour down the olive oil and you will notice that the sauce will thicken
  
• Put the sauce in a glass bowl and add the quarter of the tomatoes that you set aside and leave for 30 minutes
  
• Boil pasta in salted water and drain. Immediately stir in the sauce and combine well.
  
• Add the chopped basil on top of the pasta and serve with the grated parmesan cheese.

Enjoy :)!

C.Armeni

Spaghetti with Rabbit Stew - a MALTESE Dish!

                                                       
                                     Spaghetti with Rabbit Stew

Hey Everyone :)! Today I will give you another Maltese Delicacy Recipe. 

Its a very tasty one too..and if you ever come to  Malta or you are a resident here, this dish will be a too familiar dish added to your cooking recipes! 

In this recipe, tomato pulp is used. YOU Can make your OWN here.

© C.Armeni

Its not that complicated and if you master the art of cooking it, you will realise that everytime you cook it, it will become better and better! Obviously everyone cooks it in his/her own way so if there are any suggestions, I suggest you leave your comments below!

I usually leave the unwanted pieces for the stew like the head for example, some small pieces, and even the liver / kidneys since the good parts I use them for frying in wine and garlic! (Will Post Recipe too!) So Lets Start! :)

Ingredients:

© C.Armeni

• Rabbit Pieces (Can be fresh leftovers)
• Peas
• Diced Carrots (Optional)
• Diced Onions (Good Quantity)
• 1 bottle of Tomato Pulp
• Tomato Paste (Optional)
• Beef Cube
• Red Wine
• 2 Bay Leaves
•  1/2 teaspoon mixed spice
• 1/2 teaspoon curry
• 1 tablespoon HP Brown Sauce (Can use other brands of brown sauce)
• Olive Oil
• 4 Small Potatoes cut in cubes

Ingredients:

• Cook the potatoes in some water until they begin to soften (DO NOT OVERCOOK)
• In a pan, heat up some olive oil and when hot enough, add the diced onions and the diced carrots
• Add the mixed spice, the curry and the brown sauce and fry until they turn brown (NOT BURNT!) and until the carrots will turn a little soft
• Add the tomato pulp, some tomato paste (for added flavour), beef cube, and the bay leaves
• Add the red wine and put the rabbit pieces
• Add the potato cubes

  

  © C.Armeni

• When the sauce starts to boil, lower down the heat and leave it simmering for about 1 hour 30 minutes. (Some people like to leave it simmering for about 2 hours)
• Do NOT cover completely.
• Cook the pasta in salted water and when 'al dente', drain and leave aside
• Just a few minutes before the time is over, add the peas and leave it to simmer a little bit more
• Serve the pasta with the rabbit stew and garnish with some grated parmesan cheese.

© C.Armeni

Bon Apetito! :)

C.Armeni

Make your OWN Tomato Pulp!

                                            Easy Tomato Pulp

Goodmorning :)!

I am going to show you today how to make the EASIEST Tomato Pulp ever... usually ready made tomato pulp do contain flour because it is used as a thickening agent to make the pulp look thick. So if you want an agent free pulp, make your own!

It will only take you 7 minutes to cook and this recipe will make around 1.5 cups so if you do want more, amend ingredients accordingly. If you want to make in bulk, you can freeze the pulp and it can last you for months!!

Image from Google

Ingredients:

• 8 Big Tomatoes
• Water

Directions:

• Boil water in a deep pan
• With the tip of a knife, cut the top of the tomato (remove its eyes as they say!)
• At the base of each tomato, make a criss cross cut
• When the water is boiling, put the tomatoes in for about 3-4 minutes
• After about 4 minutes, remove and put them in cold water and leave for some time
• When completely cooled, remove the peel and de-seed them
• Chop roughly and blend in a mixer until a smooth pulp is achieved
• Use as required either for pasta sauces and stews, and other recipes

Tip: Can be either used as fresh or frozen and it can be stored.

For a Maltese Recipe that uses tomato pulp click here.

C.Armeni

EASY Thai Curry Wok Dish

                                                       Thai Easy Dish

 Today i am going to give you an easy Thai Dish which is  perfect for weekday dishes. You can use preboiled rice  from the day before or you can boil rice while cooking this  dish :)

© C.Armeni

 Ingredients:

© C.Armeni

•  Sliced red peppers strips (Approx: 100g)
•  Sliced yellow peppers strips (Approx: 100g)
•  Slices green peppers strips (Approx: 70g)
•  Green beans (Optional) (Approx: 30g)
•  Sliced carrots strips (Approx: 90g)
•  Sliced onion strips (Approx: 30-40g)
•  Sliced Mushrooms (Optional) (Approx: 50g)
•  Bamboo shoots (Optional) (Approx: 30g)
•  300g diced chicken (I usually use more)

 For the sauce:

•  400ml (1can) of coconut milk
•  1/2 tablespoon red curry paste (i use hot curry)
•  2 tablespoons fish sauce

 Method:

•  Mix all the sauce ingredients and set aside
•  Dice and fry the chicken in 2 tablespoons of oil and add  all the other ingredients except the sauce ingredients
• Stir fry for about 7 minutes until the carrots start to become soft
• Add the prepared sauce mixture and bring to boil
• Lower Down the Heat and simmer for around 2-4 minutes
• Serve with boiled jasmine rice

Tips: Personally before I fry the chicken I usually toss in some herbs for some added flavour! 

© C.Armeni

Enjoy :)!

C.Armeni

Tasty Salmon for all FISH LOVERS!

                                                  Easy Salmon for Lunch!

Hi all :] Today I am going to give you one of my favourite recipes which is really easy to cook and it doesn't take long either!

Today my recipe is solely for fish lovers as it deals with salmon. Salmon is a very oily fish and it is recommended to eat it around once or twice per week. In fact, salmon is one of the healthiest food in the world. Eating salmon has many benefits which you can find here.

This recipe was for 2 persons but you can easily adjust the portions as required. I did end up having 3 small leftover pieces as a matter of fact but we used them later on that evening

Ingredients:

• 3 salmon fillets (I further cut these in 2 - to have more pieces)
  
• Butter
  
• Baking paper
  
• Dried Herbs - Basil, Dill, Mixed Herbs
  
• Dried Mint
  
• Lemon Pepper (Optional)
  
• Pepper (Optional)
  



© C.Armeni

• Lemon

Directions:

• As I explained in the ingredients part, the first thing that I did was cut the fillets in 2 and put everything in a bowl
  
• Toss all herbs, a small sprinkle of mint and add the pepper and Lemon pepper if using
  
• Line a frying pan with a baking paper so as the salmon wont stick and put 1 teaspoon of butter in the middle of the baking paper

  

  © C.Armeni

  
  
• Switch on the stove and wait till the butter is melted and distribute over the baking paper. Add some more if you desire but do not forget that salmon is very OILY!
  
• Put the fillets on the baking paper and sprinkle some lemon juice
  
• Leave for 45seconds till the salmon skin becomes crunchy and then turn on the other sides
  
• Lower heat and keep cooking on all sides until salmon is thoroughly cooked usually approx in less than 12 minutes if using medium heat
  
• Serve! 

© C.Armeni

© C.Armeni

I served mine with some freshly prepared salad, some oven baked fries and a fried egg. You can serve it even with rice, salads and couscous!

© C.Armeni

Yumm Yumm!

C.Armeni