Caramelised pork chop with salsa & mashed sweet potato

For the salsa
1/4 of a mango, chopped
Some fresh mint, torn/ chopped
Some fresh basil, torn/ chopped
1/4 lemon,  zest & juice
1/4 lime, zest & juice

For the sweet potato
1/2 a sweet potato, peeled and choppin into chunks
some extra virgin olive oil
Balsamic vinegar

For the pork chop
1 pork chop
Juice of about half to 1 orange
Some butter/ olive oil


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1] Mix all the ingredients to the salsa together. And chill while you work on the rest.

2] Put the chunks of sweet potato in a pot of boiling water. Cook till they are soft.

3] While the sweet potatoes are in the pot, heat butter/ olive oil in pan and pan fry pork till it is about half-cooked. A golden brown crust should form.

4] Then pour the orange juice into the pan. Leave to cook till the juice is reduced and the pork is thoroughly cooked. If the juice dries up before the pork is cooked thoroughly, add some more juice to the pan. Plate with gravy drizzled on the pork chop.

5] By now, the sweet potatoes should be soft. Remove from pot, drain and heat on a pan on low heat for about 30 seconds (no oil needed). This is to remove the moisture. Then leave to cool. After which, mash them up with either a potato masher or fork. Drizzle with extra virgin olive (it has to be extra virgin). Then add some balsamic vinegar. The amount depends on your liking. Keep mixing them so you get a texture you like.

6] Now, bring the salsa out from the fridge. The salsa goes on top of the pork chop and the sweet potato on the other side of the plate. Serve!




Pan fry the pork

  

The sweet potatoes heated on a pan

 

Mashing them up

 

Serve!



XOXO
Ariella

Basil pesto with smoked chicken breast

Hello people.. =)


I've been away for so long...! I went on a trip to Taiwan and I met many lovely people there, some locals and some travelers like us. When I told people that I went to Taiwan, they would usually ask " Did you try this this & that?"," Did you eat a lot?"," Did you put on a lot of weight?" And my answer to each of the above is " No". This isn't our first time there. Neither is it our second. It's the third time for me and for her, the fourth time. Therefore, there wasn't a need to gobble down their local food.

Neither did we eat alot (and I'm glad). Since we didn't eat alot, naturally, we didn't put on much weight. I, in fact, lost weight from the heavy backpack, the late nights, irregular meals, the forest/ mountain trails & walking the night markets.

The most memorable wasn't the mountains we went, the sunrise we missed, the food we had or the itinerary. It was the lovely people we met. The angels who gave us directions, the Japanese and the Swiss who were with us at Alishan, and the Malaysian who were with us at Sun Moon Lake & in Taipei. And the group of warm locals we met up in Taipei. I'll definitely return for lovely angels are found there. =)

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Do you remember I mentioned about Basil Pesto in my previous entry? I did the Chicken Basil Pesto pasta back then and here is another recipe with the Basil Pesto.

This would be very similar to the one we did previously, just change the chicken to smoked chicken breast.


1 pc smoked chicken breast, sliced
A bottle of basil pesto (you can get one from our shop)
Carrot, sliced
Olive oil
Pasta of your choice or whatever's in the kitchen!
Veal cipolata

1] Prepare the pasta by boiling some water and adding the pasta/ spaghetti in. Add some salt to it. The salt would prevent the pasta from sticking together. Keep watching over this pot especially when the water boils again. The pasta ought to be al dente. Test if it's ready by breaking the pasta: you should still see some white in the middle but it shouldn't feel "crunchy" in your mouth. When pasta is ready, retain some of the hot water and discard the rest. Then rinse the pasta with some tap water.

2] Meanwhile, heat some olive oil in a pan. Then fry the carrot slices for a couple of minutes.

3] Now, the chicken breast

4] Mix them together for a while.

5] Now add the pasta to the pan. And quickly add some basil pesto. I added 2 heaped teaspoon for a 2-servings portion. You can add more/ less depending on your preference. Mix the pasta quickly.

6] On a separate pan, brown the cipolata.

7] Serve the cipolata with the pasta. Viola!

I wish I added more pesto: The smoky flavour of the chicken covered that of the pesto. If you are not particular/ are looking for another variation to the chicken basil pesto, this then is it.

Enjoy!

XOXO
Ariella

Asparagus & chicken salad

Asparagus & chicken salad

A bunch of asparagus
1 fresh chicken leg, bone-less, season with some salt & pepper
2 portobello mushrooms, cut into quarters/ thick slices.
Carrot
Balsamic vinegar
Some olive oil

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1] Boil the asparagus in simmering water for 2 to 3 minutes.

2] When boiled, discard the water and refresh with iced water/ tap water.

3] While the asparagus are being prepared, I sliced the chicken into bite-sized.

4] Heat some oil and fry the chicken till they are almost cooked.

5] Remove chicken from the pan & put them aside.

6] Now, tip the mushrooms in and fry for a while.

7] Now, add the chicken back into the pan. Make sure the chicken is cooked before tipping the asparagus in. I test if the chicken is cooked by trying to break a couple of pieces apart with the spatula/ frying stick. If the chicken breaks easily, it's cooked.

8] Splash some balsamic vinegar.

9] Stir through quickly and you are done! =)

10] Shred the carrot on the salad just before serving =)

Mushroom, asparagus,
chicken

I had this for lunch =)
with a banana to complete
the meal!

XOO
Ariella =)

Salad greens with Mozzarella

Salad greens




 
I mentioned in one of my restaurant reviews on Uber Huber that I'll "someday" assemble my own salad at home, a salad something close to what we had at Brotzeit. And... here it is..! =)

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A packet of pre-mixed greens
Mozzarella mini balls
Basil pesto
Zucchini, sliced and roasted with some olive oil, balsamic vinegar, mustard
Semi-dried Tomatoes, chopped if you like. Else use it straight from the packet.
Balsamic vinegar
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Brown sugar
Mustard
Dried oregano


1] Wash the greens and let dry either with a spinner, left to dry on a strainer or with kitchen towel/ paper.

2] In a small bowl, prepare the dressing by mixing the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, a dash of salt and freshly grounded pepper, and some sugar. Oh, not to forget, the mustard and dried oregano too. I "beat" it in a bowl with a fork. Sometimes, I find a small container, put them all in and give it a good shake.

3] Now, leave the greens (have to be dry by now) on a plate/ in a bowl. Drizzle the dressing over. Add the roasted zucchini.

4] Scatter the tomatoes (without the oil it came with) and cheese (without the brine it came with) over.

5] Add little dollops of basil pesto all over.

6] A tasty salad is now ready! Now, who says salads are boring??!




Mozzarella Mini Balls. Be sure to
get the mini balls rather than
the big one, else, you get up
having to cut them into bite-size
(that was what happened to me!)
Available for sale online and at the shop

Efresco semi-dried tomatoes
Available for sale online and at the shop

 XOXOO
Ariella

Marinated chicken with roasted vegetables on tortilla



Marinated chicken with roasted vegetables on tortilla
(Pic was taken a day after the veggies & chicken were done)

I was left with some tortillas after the party on National Day. Now what do I do with them?

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To finish up the tortillas, here's what I did:

Marinated bone-less chicken leg, skin-on (Each chicken leg is about 220g. 2 chicken legs would be good for 3 ladies. You can ask for the chicken leg at the shop then request for it to be marinated. Mine was marinated with paprika)
Garlic, chopped
1 zucchini
Some cherry tomatoes
Balsamic vinegar
Olive oil
salt & pepper


1] Pre-heat oven (I did it at 160 degrees). Grease alminium foil.

2] Place chicken thigh on foil and pop tray into oven to roast for about 30 minutes or so, skin-side up.

3] After 30 minutes, the skin loooooks crispy.. Check if it's throughly cooked by piercing holes. If the juice that flows out is clear, it's cooked. Else, pop it into the oven a bit more.

4] In the meantime, slice zucchini and cherry tomatoes (cherry tomatoes into half).

5] Using a large bowl, toss sliced zucchini, cherry tomatoes with garlic, some olive oil, a splash of balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper.

6] Then pop into the oven to roast also.

7] Now, slice the chicken into bite-sized.

8] Assemble on tortilla, some chicken pieces and some roasted vegetables.

9] Voila!



Toss sliced zucchini & cherry tomatoes
with some garlic, olive oil, balsamic vinegar,
salt & pepper. I had some portobello mushrooms
in the fridge so I tossed them in as well.

Roasted chicken thigh



Assemble on tortilla, roasted vegetables with
the chicken. This picture was taken a day after the
meat & veggies were done.


XOXO
By Ariella =)