Spaghetti with Pea Pesto

Garden peas are one of the most humble vegetable. It's easy to cook, taste fantastic with its sweet & crisp texture & not to mention, an excellent source of dietary fibre. Plus they look great in any dish given their bright green coloured skin.

Here's a recipe I've whipped up given the ingredients that were in my pantry.  If you happen to have some water thins or baguettes, just simply serve this pesto as a dip. Taste just amazing!

Recipe (Serves 2)

Time: 30 minutes

1 & 1/2 cups fresh peas or frozen peas

1/2 cup Pecorino cheese grated

2 tbs walnuts roughly chopped & toasted

1 tsp garlic minced

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 tbsp lemon juice

125g spaghetti (or any pasta of your liking)

1. For fresh peas, in a pot, boil the peas in lightly salted water until they are tender & crisp. 
2. For frozen peas, microwave the peas for 4 minutes at a HIGH setting 
3. Drain & add to ice bath once cooked or let it cool in a pot of room temperature water
4. Set aside 1/2 cup of peas for garnishing
5. Add remaining peas, Pecorino cheese, walnuts & garlic mince into a food processor, blend till smooth
6. With the blender running, drizzle olive oil slowly until mixture becomes thick (or pesto like)
7. Cook your pasta until al dente, drain water leaving about 1/2 cup of pasta water behind & toss pasta with pesto 
8. Finally garnish with basil leaves & peas that was set aside earlier

Enjoy with cracked pepper!

Italian Sausage & Tomato Risotto

Since I've never made risotto before, I've decided to try this recipe from one of my favourite food blogs for dinner. 

When I first saw this recipe, the idea of cooking risotto with Italian sausages made my mouth water.  Italian sausages are one of the tastiest sausages you can find to compliment pasta, stews & sauces. If they are stuffed with good quality meat & seasoned well with herbs & spices, their flavour oozes into anything they are cooked with. 

So come on, get your ass up & try this recipe out!

Recipe (Serves 4)

Time: 45 minutes

1 can diced tomatoes in juice

1 tablespoon olive oil

350g hot italian sausage/chorizo(if chorizo is used, cut them up into 1cm thick cubes), casing removed

1 small white onion chopped finely

1 cup of Arborio rice

1/2 dry white wine

1 cup of vegetable stock

7 cups of loosely packed baby spinach

1/2 grated Parmesan & additional for serving

2 tbs butter

Salt & pepper to taste

1. In a saucepan, combine tomatoes (with juice), vegetable stock & 2 cups of water. Bring to a simmer & keep warm over low heat
2. In a medium saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add sausage & onion, season with salt & pepper. Cook, breaking up sausage with spoon, until sausages are cooked & onions are opaque, 3 - 5 minutes
3. Add rice, cook, stirring until well mixed, 1 - 2 minutes. Add wine, cook, stirring until absorbed into rice, 1 minute.
4. Add about 2 cups of warm tomato mixture to rice, simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until absorbed, 5 - 8 mins. Continue adding tomato mixture , 1 cup at a time, waiting for it to be absorbed before adding the next, stirring occasionally, until rice is creamy & al dante, about 25 minutes ( not all liquid needs to be used)
5. Remove pan from heat. Stir in spinach, Parmesan, & butter, season with salt & pepper. Serve immediately & sprinkle with additional Parmesan, if desired

  Voilà!

Welcome to Ching's Food Blog

Hi everyone, 

Welcome to my first ever food blog!

For those who do know me well, you'll probably wonder why it took me so long to set this bloody blog up. Well, I was obviously too busy stuffing my face with food & procrastinating. As for those who don't know me well... here it is, FINALLY~

Anyway, just wanted to give you an insight to why I finally started this blog. I've just started working full-time last year as an accountant & sadly I agree with the stereotype that the work of an accountant is dead boring. So, to lighten my mundane days, for the past year my only joy coming back from work was to cook! 

All in all, I've realized that nothing makes me happier than plating a dish that looks restaurant quality (although they may not taste like it at the first try) & most of all taste like one.