Simply Superb Italian-style Swiss Chard

It's murky in here. The kitchen light is broken, and nobody intends to fix it yet. Not that I don't want to, but the ceiling is almost four meters in height and I'm kinda high-phobic. Not in freaky way though. It's just every time I stepped a little higher above the ground my feet shakes and gives me anxiety. But I still enjoyed my every flight, it's a different circumstance.

Anyway, the situation reminds me of a café, here in Bandung, which concept is serving customers to eat in darkness. They said that it is a more sensational eating experience. Well, I think we—me and my housemates—'ve beat them. Not only eating, we've been cooking in dark too for the last three days. I don't know which one is more sensational: trying to scoop the food that barely visible, or trying not to cut our fingers instead of onion, or burn our food for that matter..

Thereupon I prefer cook an easy dish today. I have two packs of Swiss chard (also known as silverbeet or spinach beet), one ruby and one yellow, that I bought yesterday from the food market. As a matter of fact, I never cooked chard before because it is quite hard to find here. But I've read somewhere (I forgot, sorry) on the web that chard is garlic's and chili flakes' best friend, this is said to be Italian-style chard. So I'm experimenting..

Italian-style Swiss chard.

Italian-style Swiss Chard

Ingredients:

• 75 g spaghetti
• a pinch of salt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• a pinch of coarsely ground black pepper
• 150 g Swiss chard (stem removed, separate leaves from stalks, cut both into one-inches)
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 garlic (finely chopped)
• 3 medium-sized chili flakes (finely chopped)
• a pinch of salt
• grated Parmesan cheese (or cheddar cheese)
• Italian parsley leaves for serving

Preparation method:

1. In a large pan, boil spaghetti with salt until al dente.
2. Heat a skillet, put in olive oil, strain the spaghetti straight into the pan, season with black pepper. Set aside.
3. Bring water into boil, put in chard stalks and cook for one minute. Add the leaves and cook it for another minute.
4. Saute garlic with olive oil, add chili flakes until aromatic. Turn off heat, add chard and toss until all covered with oil, season with salt.
5. In a plate, arrange spaghetti and put the chard on top. Serve with grated Parmesan cheese and parsley leaves.

Yield 1 serve.

No wonder if Swiss chard is called spinach beet, for it is indeed taste like spinach with beet stalk. The ruby chard also gives magenta nuance to the dish, just like beet. So my spaghetti has a beautiful purple-pink vibe.

Magenta-nuanced spaghetti.

I gotta tell you this is my favorite. Superb simple dish! I have looked up for chard nutritions here, and turned out that it has high nutrition benefits for blood sugar, antioxidant and bone health. So it is not only simple, but also healthy food. Oh, this is so brightening my day. Yum!

WHB #274: (Lacy) Pancake Day

When Michael of Me, My Food and I mentioned Pancake Day to me, my left eyebrow raised and I mumbled, 'What day?'

At first I have no idea what he's talking about, because I never heard of this food occasion before. But then I looked up on BBC Food and found it filed on Occasions: March 8th, Pancake Day.

It is funny enough that I spent most of my spare time browsing on the site, but never really paid attention to that particular section. And, coincidentally, I made roti jala with tuna salad for today breakfast. I've planned to share it for Weekly Herb Blogging #274, which hosted by Winnie from Healthy Green Kitchen, some time this week. But then I reconsidered, why not posting it now? Could it be more perfect than today? Nope. Thanks to Michael for telling me inadvertently.

Roti jala literally translated as net bread, but some people called it as lacy pancake too. It is more savory than common pancakes, because the use of coconut milk. I've known this as a side dish from Aceh, but it also widely found in Malaysian cuisine. In Aceh, roti jala usually served along lamb curry. Since I don't have any curry, nor enough time to cooked it, instead I used leftover tuna and wild rocket dressed with vinagraitte. Surprisingly, they worked very well together.

Roti jala with tuna salad.

Roti Jala with Tuna Salad

Ingredients:

• 250 g self-raising flour
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs (lightly beaten)
• 500 ml coconut milk
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (or melted butter in the same amount)
• 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1½ tablespoon lemon juice
• ¼ teaspoon of salt
• ¼ teaspoon of coarsely ground black pepper
• ¼ teaspoon of cumin powder
• ½ bird's eye chili (seeded and finely chopped, optional)
• 150 g tuna in oil
• 1 pack of wild rocket

Preparation method:

1. Mix flour with salt, egg, coconut milk and olive oil (or butter). If you don't have roti jala mold (like me) just put the mixture in a plastic, bind tightly and cut one end.
2. Pre-heat pan and put in a little butter until melted. Pour the mixture in circular order to form a net (or anyway you like it). Allow pancake to set on top then flip. Repeat to the rest of the batter.
3. Put oil, lemon juice, salt, black pepper, cumin and bird's eye chili in a jar. Add 1 tablespoon oil from tuna, shake well.
4. In a large bow, mix tuna and wild rocket. Dress with the vinagraitte.
5. Serve roti jala and tuna salad together in a plate.

Yield 8 serves.

Happy Pancake Day (and International Women's Day)!

Opor Ayam Special for WHB #273

Hi there, long time no see. How are you doing?
Happy Nyepi (or Balinese Lunar New Year) for those who celebrate.

Last Monday I found a link to Weekend Herb Blogging (WHB) from Indonesia Eats; the link brought me to Haalo whose cook (almost) everything, whom managing the event. WHB was created by accident in Kalyn's kitchen, October 2005. And now, experiencing its 5th year, have been gathered food bloggers from all over the world in one community. Isn't it amazing?

Shortly after reading the recaps I decided to join the party this week, which is host by Yasmeen the health nut. So I spent almost the whole week sorting topics and opor ayam was the chosen one. It is an Indonesian chicken dish originated from central to eastern part of Java islands. This is usually served to enliven Eid ul-Fitr in our tradition.

Opor uses loads of ingredients that refined and poached along with coconut milk and, of course, the chicken. Among the ingredients are kaffir lime (Cytrus hystrix DC.) leaves that give a distinctive tangy trait to the dish.

The use of kaffir lime juice and leaves is quite popular in Indonesian cuisine—especially Sumatran, Javanese and Balinese—also in Malaysian and Burmese, as neutralizer the stench of meat or fish to prevent nausea.

Opor ayam.

Opor Ayam
(Adapted from The Best of Indonesian Cooking)

Ingredients:

• 1 small free range chicken (cut into eight or leave whole)
• 1 lemon (squeeze the juice out)
• 1 teaspoon coriander
• ½ teaspoon cumin seed
• 4 candlenuts
• ½ teaspoon white peppercorn
• ½ teaspoon chopped turmeric
• ½ tablespoon chopped ginger
• 1 tablespoon chopped galangal
• 5 cloves garlic
• 7 shallots
• 3 tablespoon oil
• 1 tablespoon tamarind juice
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon cane sugar
• 2 stalks lemon-grass (bruised)
• 5 kaffir lime leaves
• 3 salam leaves (can be substitute with bay leaves)
• 750 ml thin coconut milk
• 250 ml thick coconut milk
• a handful of lime basil leaves (optional).
• Fried shallot for taste.

Preparation method:

1. Soak chicken with lemon juice for 30 minutes then rinse off.
2. Toast coriander, cumin and candlenut. Refine them using mortar and pestle, along with peppercorn, turmeric, ginger, galangal, garlic and shallot.
3. Pre-heat a pan with oil. Add spice paste and stir until aromatic. Add tamarind juice, salt, cane sugar, lemon-grass, kaffir lime leaf and salam leaf.
4. Put in the chicken until all coated with spices, add coconut milk. Continue to boil for 30 minutes, then add lime basil leaves. Cook for another 15 minutes.
5. Serve in bowl, sprinkle with fried shallot.

Yield 2 serves.

Well, opor ayam had practically taken a great part of my childhood memories. It reminds me of my late grandmother who loved to cook this dish specially for me. A long nostalgic story it is, but I am not going to bored you with that. So.. have a nice weekend everyone!