Chicken soup

Ingredients

• 55g butter
• 2 onions, sliced
• 2 sticks celery, finely chopped
• 2 carrots, finely diced
• 25g plain flour or corn flour
• 1.2 litres pints chicken stock
• 450g cooked chicken, skinned and shredded
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over a medium heat and gently fry the onions, celery and carrots until they start to soften.
2. Stir in the flour and cook for 2 minutes. 
3. Add the chicken stock and bring the mixture to the boil, stirring. 
4. Season with salt and pepper, then reduce the heat until the mixture is simmering and simmer for 10 minutes, until the vegetables are tender.
5. Add the cooked chicken and cook until heated through. 
6. Adjust the seasoning, stir in the parsley and serve.

https://www.bbc.com/food/recipes/chickensoup_1918

Elegant Mushroom Soup

"This easy recipe turns commonplace ingredients into a wonderfully tasty soup to feed a crowd."

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups butter

• 1 large onion, chopped
• 5 pounds sliced fresh mushrooms
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt

 

 

• 10 cups milk
• 10 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 cup minced fresh parsley
• 1 pinch ground nutmeg, or to taste
• 1/4 cup sour cream, or as needed
• 
  

Directions

1. 1.Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. 
2. 2. Cook and stir onion and mushroom in hot butter until onion is tender, about 3 minutes. 3. Stir flour, pepper, and salt into the onion mixture. 
3. 4. Gradually stream milk and chicken broth into mixture while stirring to incorporate.
4. 5. Bring the liquid to a boil; cook at a boil until thickened, about 2 minutes. 
5. 6. Remove saucepan from heat. 
6. 7. Stir parsley and nutmeg into the soup. 
7. 8.Ladle soup into bowls and top each with a dollop of sour cream.

• Prep
  10 m
• Cook
  10 m
• Ready In
  20 m
• 
  

source: https://www.allrecipes.com

Potato-and-Broccoli Soup - recipe 2

Potato-and-Broccoli Soup

Bright green broccoli florets float prettily in this hearty soup, but it's broccoli stems that do the real work. They're cooked with the potatoes and then pureed to form a creamy base. A final touch of Parmesan gives the soup an Italian feel.

How to Make It

Step 1    

In a large pot, melt the butter over moderately low heat. Add the onion; cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 5 minutes.

Step 2    

Add the garlic, broccoli stems, potatoes, broth, water, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the vegetables are almost tender, about 10 minutes.

Step 3    

In a food processor or blender, pulse the soup to a coarse puree. Return the soup to the pot and bring to a simmer. Add the broccoli florets and simmer until they are tender, about 5 minutes. Stir 1/4 cup of the grated Parmesan into the soup, and serve the soup topped with the remaining cheese.

Notes

Variation

If you'd prefer a completely smooth soup, add the broccoli florets to the pot after the potatoes have cooked for five minutes, and continue simmering until all of the vegetables are tender, about five minutes more. Puree the soup until smooth.

This would also make a great first course for 6 people.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 3/4 pounds broccoli, thick stems peeled and diced (about 2 cups), tops cut into small florets (about 1 quart)
• 1 1/2 pounds boiling potatoes (about 5), peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 3 cups canned low-sodium chicken broth or homemade stock
• 3 cups water
• 1 3/4 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan

https://www.foodandwine.com

Cream of Broccoli Soup -- recipe 1

1. 1. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in medium sized stock pot and saute 1 onion and 1 garlic clove (and 1 celery stalk, optional until tender)  for 2 minutes 
2. 2. Add 8 broccoli florets (200 gms) and 3 cups of Chicken stock. Bring it to Boil and then cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
3. 3. Add salt and Pepper
4. 2. Pour the soup into a blender, filling it  no more than halfway full. Hold down the lid of the blender with a folded kitchen towel, and carefully start the blender and pour into a clean pot. Tips : Before putting it into blender make it cold, otherwise it will be a disaster.
5. 3. In small saucepan, over medium-heat melt 3 tablespoons butter, stir in 3 table spoon of flour and add 2 cups of milk. Stir until thick and bubbly, and add to soup. 
6. 4. Season with pepper and serve.


7. source: https://www.bbc.com
8. source: Edited from https://www.allrecipes.com
9. Video Link https://www.allrecipes.com/video

Classic hummus

Look of  an authentic hummus

source : q=picture+of+hummus&rlz

I think this is easiest of the lot. "Hummus" or houmous is Arabic for "chickpeas". I recently went on a trip to Egypt and Jordan and am not ashamed to say that I ate hummus almost every day while I was there. You will get it everywhere. Hummus is a Middle Eastern invention. I was not a huge Hummus fan before my trip. I thought it was okay, but not great. It is also a very healthy food. It is high in different types of nutrients for instance protein, iron,vitamin C and B6, and dietary fibre.

Step I: Soak Some Chickpeas or Kabuli Chana (1.5 cup) in water , over night or at least 5 hours.

Step II : Put the chickpeas in a pressure cooker and boil it and then drain the water.

Step III : Add 1 table spoon of olive oil, minced garlic (3-5 cloves of Garlic ), small quantity of cumin, and a 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the whipped tahini and lemon juice from  2 small lemon. Process for 30 seconds or so until it becomes a paste or until well blended. If you do not have Tahini, then buy some sesame seed from the market. But remember Hummus is not Hummus if there’s no Tahini.

Step IV :  Combine all ingredients in the food processor/ Mixer. Combine the chickpeas with Paste mentioned in Step III above ( olive oil, tahini, lemon juice, garlic, salt) and pepper in the bowl of the food processor/Mixer fitted with the  blender. Blend hummus until smooth. People advise to peel the chickpeas skin for better taste/smooth hummus.

Step V :Spread your Hummus onto a plate , and top with whatever you’d like. Traditionally, Hummus is topped with Olive Oil and Paprika and some black or green Olive, cut into small pieces. In India people give more onion and dices of chilly soaked in vinegar. I personally add onion soaked in vinegar, some black olive (cut into small pieces) and  chilly.

Step VI : If you cannot make Pita bread, then Roti/ Parota made with Flour tastes perfect.

Youtube link : 

Somewhat similar to the one I have mentioned here. ...youtu.be/EtU2f0qrGrY

Classic Pasta Carbonara or Spaghetti pasta alla carbonara

I have learnt this recipe from my Italian friend, in my kitchen in Kolkata. Please follow the steps, exactly the way I have mentioned here, in that order. It is different from all the online recipes found in youtube (I have checked). The word Carbonara means Bacon and egg.

Look of classic Pasta Carbonara 

                                          

                                                     Pic credit : pasta+carbonara

1. Heat the half table spoon olive oil (not extra virgin) in a large pan over medium heat. Add the bacon (or pancetta) and cook slowly until crispy. Cut any hard skin off the Bacon. I add button mushroom and Broccoli (which is not authentic actually).  Then add 4-5 table (not tea) spoon of cream and turn off the heat and left in the pan. Actually Bacon has lot of fat, that is why you don't need much olive oil. Oil will come out of it. None of the recipes in internet has talked about cream. But I always use it as per the advise of my friend. So I guess cream is optional.

2. Put the 1 egg yolk (yes you read it right!) into a bowl . In Internet they have advised people to add Parmesan Cheese with egg. I do not do it. Nor did my friend suggest it.

3. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add the 200 gms of pasta (Sphagetti or Penne) and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until tender, yet firm (as they say in Italian "al dente.") . My friend says there is no need to add oil while cooking the pasta in boiling water. However according to my friend al dente is not a must. She likes it "more than al dente" . Drain the pasta well. Tip: Take a Sphagetti out and break it into 2 pieces. See if the colour of the core is consistent, with the surface. In other words, make sure that the core should not be white. White means not fully cooked. My friend said "​No garlic, do not even mention it, in Carbonara...! " However many youtube videos do add garlic. I will stick to my friend's advise, otherwise she will not host me, when I go to her house !!

4. Add the hot, drained spaghetti to the large pan (mentioned in point 2 above) and toss for 2 minutes to coat the strands in the bacon fat. 

 5. Remove the pan from the heat and pour the egg into the pasta, whisking quickly until the Pasta is coated with egg; but do not scramble (this is done off the heat, to ensure this does not happen) . You might be skeptical about the raw eggs, it actually gets cooked through completely from the residual heat.

6.Serve it immediately. Season the Carbonara with several turns of freshly ground black pepper and taste for salt.  You may garnish with chopped Parsley. I do not add Parsley. My friend does not add Parsley. 

Pass some Parmesan cheese around the table. You can add some extra virgin olive oil at the end. Buy good Pasta and not Pasta available for Rs 15,  in the local market !

This serves 2 people.

Your guest chef

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Crtg0kPrPjY- not exactly the one, I have mentioned here. But it is somewhat similar.

Classic Italian Tomato Spaghetti or Pasta Pomodoro

I have learnt this recipe from my Italian friend, in my kitchen in Kolkata. Please follow the steps, exactly the way I have mentioned here, in that order. 

Pomodoro means tomato and ​Salsa al pomodoro means tomato sauce. It is typically served with pasta.

Look of classic Pomodoro Pasta 

                                          Pic credit : lacucinaitaliana.it

Step 1 

Boil the tomatoes (500 gms for two people). ​Drain the water and remove the skin of the tomato (Tip from my friend: Tomatoes should boil just a couple of minutes, then peeled). (This is not essential. I generally tend to opt out of this step). Keep it aside.

Step 2  

Heat the Olive oil (not extra virgin) in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add Garlic with onion (onion first !) and cook,uncovered, stirring often, for 3-4 minutes or until it softens slightly or until aromatic. You can add Broccoli, Bell  Pepper and  Mushroom if you want (But it is not as per original recipe, my friendly angrily pointed out !). One small onion or spring onion will do. My friend said 2 garlic cloves is enough for 2 people. Considering the small sizes of Indian clove, give 4-6 cloves !

Step 3

Put the tomatoes in the pan.Stir in the tomatoes. (Tip:  ​Tomatoes should be cooked without water first; if they do not make enough liquid, then add a little water). Reduce heat to medium and simmer, uncovered, stirring often, for 6-7 minutes or until the sauce reduces and thickens slightly. ​Add Salt while cooking the tomatoes

Step 4  

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add the 200 gms of pasta (Sphagetti or Penne) and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until tender yet firm (as they say in Italian "al dente.") .  My friend says there is no need to add oil while cooking the pasta in boiling water. However according to my friend al dente is not a must. She likes it "more than al dente" . (classic Italian term : If you cook pasta or a  vegetable until it is al dente, you cook it just long enough so that it is neither hard  nor soft but is firm and slightly chewy.Molto al dente is the culinary term for slightly undercooked pasta ). Drain the pasta well. 

Tip: Take a Sphagetti out and break it into 2 pieces. See if the colour of the core is consistent, with the surface. In other words, make sure that the core should not be white. White means not fully cooked.

The water should be at least 3 times the height of Pasta. Drain the pasta and return to the sauce pan. If you overdo it then you will spoil it. Buy good Pasta from the market - not the cheap one available in the market for Rs 15 ! In case of Spaghetti, while boiling break one spaghetti into 2 parts and see if it is white at the ore. Cook until the colour is consistent and not white (white means not cooked).

## Pasta should be around 100x2=200 gm for 2 people

Step 5

Add the Tomato sauce to the pasta and toss to combine. 

Step 6  

Serve immediately and garnish with Parmesan Cheese and Basil (Tulsi) leaves available in India. ( I have basil or Tusli tree in my house. I use it in Pasta. My friend said it is quite good). ​BASIL must not be chopped with a knife, but use your hand to tear the leaves. It is not a sin if you do not have Parmesan in your house. You may add some Oregano, if you want. Add some Black Pepper according to taste. My friend said "With Carbonara I would not add oil, as the sauce is fat enough".

Your guest chef

You can refer to this video , which is very close to what my friend taught me :

https://www.youtube.com