Roast Beef with Veggies

Been pretty busy lately so I haven't posted any recipes for weeks but I'm back in the kitchen again! Okay, so today, I'll be doing a very basic beef roast recipe for my pangga. What I want to achieve here is a well-cooked and juicy inside so I always make sure that  I choose the right beef. It's supposed to have a little bit of fat in it and marbled at the top so the beef won't dry out while roasting. Here's the recipe!

Ingredients (serves 6)

• 2 tbs butter
  
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1 1kg beef silverside roast
• Salt & freshly ground black pepper
• 2 bunches baby carrots, peeled and trimmed
• 1 bunch of broccoli
  
• 1 tbs plain flour for gravy
  
• 1 1/2 cups beef bouillon

1. Preheat oven to 220°C. Heat 2 tbs of the butter and 1 tbs oil in a large shallow flameproof roasting pan over high heat. Cook the roast for 10 minutes until well browned. Remove roasting pan from heat and season beef all over with salt and pepper.
   
2. Place beef in the preheated oven for 15 minutes before reducing it to 180 and cook it for a further 1 hour or until cooked to your liking, basting the beef with pan juice occasionally so it won't dry out.
3. Meanwhile, place butter in oven for 5 minutes or until butter melts. Steam baby carrots and broccolli for 10 minutes and toss with butter to coat well.
4. Transfer beef to a carving tray and cover loosely with foil. Set aside for 15 minutes to rest. Always rest the beef before carving as it allows juices and heat to redistribute.
   
5. To make gravy, strain pan juices from the roasting pan into a sauce pan and heat over high heat. Add the flour and cook, stirring, for 1 minute or until mixture bubbles.
6. Add the beef bouillon and boil uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 8-10 minutes or until the gravy reduces and thickens slightly. Strain gravy into a warmed serving jug.
7. Carve the beef across the grain and serve with carrots and broccoli.
   
   
   

And it turned out perfect! The meat is evenly cooked and juice comes out when I sliced it. I served it with potato scallops and red wine. As usual, my Pangga went crazy about it.

Just a tip, the beef is seasoned after browning because salting may draw the moisture out of the beef, making it tough. You can also use other beef cuts other than silverside roast:

Bolar blade, rump, sirloin, standing rib roast, scotch fillet(rib eye), eye fillet and butt fillet:topside and round. Just make sure you follow these guidelines on how long you need to cook the beef depending on it's weight.

(Per 500g) Rare: 10-15 mins., Medium: 15-20 mins., Well-done - 20-25 mins.

Crispy Pan-Roasted Pork

Yes! Another busy day in the kitchen! Well this time, I'm cooking "Pan-Roasted Pork" or popularly known as "Lechon Kawali" in the Philippines. The trick here is to put lemon grass while boiling the pork so your Lechon Kawali smells like real lechon. Enjoy this recipe!


Ingredients:

• 1 kilo pork liempo (pork belly), cut into serving pieces
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 tsp. peppercorns
• 2 tbsp. salt
• water, for boiling
• oil, for frying
• lemon grass
  

Sauce

• 1 tbsp. soy sauce
  
• 2-1/2 tbsp. vinegar
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• chili peppers (optional)

Cooking Procedures :

1. Put pork pieces in a big pot. Cover with water. Add garlic, peppercorn, lemon grass and salt.
2. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for an hour or until meat is tender. Drain and dry completely for crispy frying.
3. Deep-fry liempo pieces in batches until golden brown and blisters appear on skin.
4. Drain on paper towels.
5. To make the sauce, just mix all the sauce ingredients.

And there you have it, your crispy, yummy lechon kawali! Enjoy!☺


New recipes featuring next month!
Slow Cooked Lamb Shank w/ Red Wine Sauce and Fried Chicken and Potato Curry . ♥

Banana Cake Recipe

You can never go wrong with Banana Cake. This is one of my famous cakes and another of my Pangga's special request. I always bake it whenever we have visitors coming or sometimes, I bring some to friends. It's fun and easy to make and very convenient especially for people on the go 'cause you can have it anytime of the day, breakfast, afternoon snack or dessert. You can have also it with caramel sauce if you're feeling a bit naughty. ;)
(see Sticky Date Pudding Recipe on how to make the caramel sauce)

Okay, let's see what we're gonna need:

50g olive oil
50g butter
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup mashed banana (about 3-4 bananas)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups plain flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon bi-carbonate of soda
pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup milk


It'll only take you a few minutes to mix all the ingredients:

• First, grease a 20cm spring form tin with olive oil and preheat oven to moderate 180°C.
• Combine olive oil, butter and sugar in a large bowl and beat in eggs one at a time, then add bananas and vanilla extract.
• Sift dry ingredients and add to mixture in two batches, alternating with the milk.
  
• Spoon mixture in the tin and bake for 45 minutes or until cake is cooked through.
• Cool before removing from tin.
  

Voila! And now it's ready to serve! See? Told you it was easy!

Note: I recommend you use overripe bananas for sweeter and tastier Banana Cake!☺

Filipino Pork Barbeque

Weather is nice outside so we decided to cook barbeque in the backyard. One of my all-time favourites and Philippines' most popular food! Nothing beats smelling the aroma of inasal (barbeque) in the middle of the street that's why I use to eat them every day especially my favourite isaw or chicken intestine. I know it sounds gross to some but I totally love  weird foods. So I decided to make my very own pinoy pork barbeque, good thing we have filo stores to buy the ingredients from.

Ingredients:

1 slab of pork belly (1 1/2 kilos) (skin removed so you can easily skewer the meat on the stick )

1 cup of soy sauce

1 whole garlic peeled & smashed

1 small onion minced

1 lemon

½ cup of 7UP/Sprite

1 tsp. ground black pepper

5 tbsp.dark brown sugar

1 cup of banana sauce (ketchup)

1 tsp. MSG

2 tbsp. of oil (for basting)

Directions:

Soak bamboo skewers in water overnight to avoid splitting and burning before using. Cut pork into ½ thick x 1” inch wide x 1 ½ ” inch pieces. Slide pork onto skewers and set aside.

 In a large bowl combine soy sauce, garlic, onion, juice of 2 lemons, 7-UP, ground black pepper, dark brown sugar, banana ketchup, and msg. Using a whisk mix and dissolve ingredients really well and pour marinade mixture onto the pork. Cover and set in the fridge at least overnight or up to 2 days. Don't let it marinate for more than two days as the marinade will overwhelm the taste of the meat. Barbecue over hot coals or gas grill until pork is done.

For dipping sauce, I used soy sauce, chopped onions, minced garlic, chilli and vinegar. Baste the pork with the remaining marinade and oil to further enhance the flavor while barbecuing. Basting the meat will also help to keep it moist through the entire cooking process. Make sure you allow the marinade to cook when using it for basting, remember this is a left over marinade.

Enjoy your barbeque!☺

Sticky Date Pudding w/ Caramel Sauce

Since this is my first post, I'll share the first ever dessert recipe that I baked and one of my hubby's favorite as well. It's very easy to make, just make sure you follow the right measurement of ingredients, tips and step-by-step instructions and you'll have the yummiest and moistest sticky date pudding ever!

For the ingredients, make sure you have:

250g pitted dates, chopped roughly or into chunks, whatever you like
(With mine, I chop half into tiny pieces and the other half into chunks so you can still chew on some of the chunks.)
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 1/2 cups boiling water
125g butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs (preferably not from the fridge for smoother mixing)
1 3/4 cups self-raising flour, sifted

For the caramel sauce, we need:

1 cup brown sugar
300ml thickened cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
60g butter

Everything ready? Let's begin!

Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease and line the base of a 7cm deep, 22cm (base) cake pan.

Place dates and bicarbonate of soda into a bowl. Pour over boiling water and stand for 20-30 minutes to soften the dates.

Now, using an electric mixer, beat butter, sugar and vanilla until pale and creamy.

Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Then, using a spatula, fold through date mixture and flour until everything is well combined.

Spoon mixture into prepared cake pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until a skewer or toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Turn onto a plate.

Now, for the caramel sauce, combine all ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring often, until sauce comes to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 2 minutes or until sauce thickens a little bit.

If you want to serve the pudding immediately, pierce pudding all over with a skewer. Pour 1/2 cup of warm sauce over warm pudding and stand for 10 minutes. Cut into wedges and pour the remaining sauce into each slice. You can serve it with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream to make it more enjoyable.

Here's a tip:
I always keep caramel sauce in the fridge 'cause it always comes in handy on any desserts. As long as you store the sauce in an airtight jar, it can last up to 2-3 months and just re-heat it whenever you need some.

Cook with ♥,
Tami

Recipe from taste. Tried different sticky date recipes but this one is by far the best.