Besciamella – Bechamel – Savoury White Sauce
April 23rd, 2010 by Shue
Besciamella or bechamel sauce is a white sauce where you can find in many Italian dishes. That generally goes into other things, for example lasagna or broiled fennel.
Preparation time: 5 minutes, plus infusing
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
750 ml / 1 1/4 pints milk
1 bay leaf
1 small onion, peeled and stuck with 3 cloves
40 g / 1 1/2 oz butter
2 tbsp plain flour, sifted
pinch of salt
pinch of grated nutmeg
freshly ground black pepper
Directions
1. Put the milk into a pan with the bay leaf and onion.
2. Bring the milk to the boil, remove from the heat and leave to infuse for about 30 minutes. Strain.
3. Meanwhile melt the butter in another pan until bubbles start to form – do not allow the butter to colour.
4. Add the flour and stir over the heat to a thick creamy paste. Gradually stir in the strained milk.
5. Bring the sauce to the boil, stirring and simmer gently for 10 minutes. Add salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste and use as required.
Not suitable for storage
Simply Chicken Curry
April 5th, 2010 by Shue
Chicken curry is a favourite among South Asians.India in particular has a variety of chicken curries to offer based on the region it is prepared in.This is simple and quick way to cook chicken curry if you have curry powder in the kitchen. Curry tastes best if prepared ahead and served later with hot fluffy rice or a thick wholemeal bread.
Ingredients
4 pieces chicken breast
2 large onions
3 cloves garlic
3 med. potatoes
4 tbsp. curry powder (or more if desired)
8 oz. sour cream
2″ piece fresh ginger
1 cup water
5 tbsp. cooking oil
Salt to taste
Directions
1. Cut the cooking onions, ginger and garlic into smaller pieces. Put them into a food processor and mince finely.
2. Skin and cut potatoes into quarters. Mix the curry powder with some water to make a paste.
3. Heat oil in a non-stick Dutch oven. Stir-fry the minced onion mixture until fragrant. Add in the curry paste and stir-fry, mixing well for 2 minutes. Add the chicken and potatoes. Mix well. Cook, covered, for about 2 minutes.
4. Add sour cream and water. Mix well. Bring to boil and reduce heat to simmer. Cook, covered, on low heat for about 30 minutes.