【Lazy Bear's Recipes】Mentaiko Pasuta 明太子パスタ

This morning a friend asked me, "don't you think it's hard to find time to cook?" I do, but truth is, I can't eat out all the time anymore. Not that I don't enjoy going to restaurants and the company of family and friends over dinner, but usually after a few consecutive nights of eating out, my body will start to complain. I guess I'm getting old.

Last week I spent many late nights in the office and by the end of the week I was so sick and tired of eating takeouts I just couldn't take it anymore. I dragged my tired self to the grocery store just before closing and bought the ingredients to make a 30-minute meal.  My go-to recipe of late is the Mentaiko Pasuta 明太子パスタ, pasta with spicy cod roe.

And no, I didn't spell the word pasta wrong.  Pasuta (パスタ) is the Japanese spelling of the word and obviously this fusion dish is all about harmonizing Italian pastas with Japanese ingredients.  The best thing is that this dish is super easy to make, something that you can literally throw together in 30 minutes from start to finish, and if I'm really hungry that includes eating and cleaning up as well.

What's better than having hot, delicious homemade food after a long day of work?  Starting from this post, I am going to bring you a series of what I call the "Lazy Bear's Recipes", for all of you who also enjoy a little home cooked dinner, without having to slave in front of the stove for hours after a long day at work. I hope you like them. =)

Serves 4

Difficulty: Low

Ingredients:

1 packet mentaiko (usually has 2 to 3 sacs)

2 tablespoon unsalted butter

2.5 tablespoon Japanese Kewpie mayonnaise

1/4 cup of cream

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 sheet nori, cut into thin strips

6 leaves of green shiso, sliced very thin

170 grams sphaghetti pasta

Method:

1. Cook the pasta in salted water in a large pot according to the instructions on the package, usually about 10 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, cut each mentaiko sac in half and scrape out the roe from each into a mixing bowl, discarding the membrane.

3. Add melted butter, cream, mayo and black pepper to the bowl and mix well.

4. When the pasta is done, drain and add it to the mentaiko sauce.  Toss the pasta until every strand of it is coated with the sauce evenly.

5. Plate the pasta and sprinkle some nori and shiso strips over it.  Serve immediately.

See I told you? This is almost as easy as instant noodles!

Quick tip: Since this is the "Lazy Man's Recipe", I am going to share with you my quick trick of melting the butter.  Instead of using another saucepan or putting it in the microwave (by the way, Mrs. Bear does not own a microwave), put a pair of long chopsticks horizontally over the pasta pot and put the butter in a small bowl on top of the chopsticks while you're cooking the pasta.  The heat from the pot will melt the butter instantly!  This saves energy and saves you from washing another saucepan!

Chicken Tetrazzini

Mr. Bear and I love Food Network.  When we were in the US last couple of weeks, basically anytime Mr. Bear wasn't watching US Open, the TV was playing some kind of cooking show.  The day before we left, we were watching Giada De Laurenttis making some very delicious looking scones while we were packing.  I was browsing for the recipe of these scones after I came home, and I stumbled across her famous Chicken Tetrazzini recipe that looks too good to pass up.  It has a 5 out of 5 rating with 1041 reviews.  This sure looks promising.

Most reviewers say this recipe is difficult and time-consuming.  I didn't find it particularly difficult, it just has a lot of steps and it's definitely not a 30-minute meal. However, considering a casserole is usually a one-dish meal per se, it's really not that bad. There's a video on the Food Network website showing you how Giada cooks it herself. I followed the recipe pretty much to the letter (I usually do that at least for the first time), but I cut down the portions by half and I had everything done in just a little under 2 hours, including baking time. I did make some slight modifications based on what was available in my pantry though:

• Penne instead of linguine - I prefer using short pastas for casseroles anyway
• Panko instead of Italian breadcrumbs
• Chicken thighs instead of chicken breasts - because Mr. Bear always prefers dark meat
• Cayenne pepper - added just for a little zest

This is best recipe I've tried from Food Network so far.  It VERY rich and creamy.  Bravo, Giada!

For the portion that I made, I can easily feed 4 people, at least by Asian standards.  Mr. Bear had it for lunch the next day and he said it tasted even better overnight. Try it! And let me know if you like it.

Adapted from Giada Laurentiis' recipe on Food Network

Serves 4
Difficulty: Intermediate

Ingredients
(Amounts are scaled to half of the serving size of the original recipe.  Measurements are converted to metrics to make it easier for those outside of the US)
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
2 boneless skinless chicken thighs
1 teaspoons salt, plus more for pasta water
1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper 
225 grams (1/2 pound) white mushrooms, trimmed and sliced 
1/2 large onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced 
1/2 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
1/4 cup dry white wine
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour 
2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/16 teaspoon ground nutmeg
170 grams (6 ounces) dried penne
1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed
2 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons Panko


Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 230°C (450°F). Use 1/2 tablespoon of the butter to grease the baking dish. 
2. Melt 1/2 tablespoon of butter and the olive oil in a deep large nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the chicken with 1/4 teaspoon of each salt and pepper. Add the chicken to the hot pan and cook until pale golden and just cooked through, about 5 minutes per side. 
3. Transfer the chicken to a large bowl to cool slightly and coarsely shred the chicken into bite-size pieces.
4. Add the mushrooms to the same pan. Sauté over medium-high heat until the liquid from the mushrooms evaporates and the mushrooms become pale golden, about 12 minutes. Add 1/2 tablespoon of the butter. When it melts, add the onion, garlic, and thyme, and sauté until the onion is translucent, about 8 minutes. Add the wine and simmer until it evaporates, about 2 minutes. Transfer the mushroom mixture to the bowl with the chicken.
5. Melt the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons of butter in another pan over medium-low heat. Add the flour and whisk for 2 minutes. Whisk in the milk, broth, cream, nutmeg, remaining 3/4 salt, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Increase the heat to high. Cover and bring to a boil. Simmer uncovered until the sauce thickens slightly, whisking often, about 1 minute.
6. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to instructions on the package until it is tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 9-10 minutes. Drain.
7. Add the pasta, sauce, peas, and parsley to the chicken mixture. Toss until the sauce coats the pasta and the mixture is well blended.
8. Transfer the pasta mixture to the prepared baking dish. Stir the cheese and breadcrumbs in a small bowl to blend. Sprinkle the cheese mixture over the casserole. Bake uncovered until golden brown on top and bubbly, about 25 minutes.

Scallops and Salmon Roe Cold Pasta

Another cold dish from last night's dinner.  This one is inspired by the cold pastas I had at a small Japanese Italian restaurant called Sagrantino.  Since I don't have the recipe for it, Mr. Bear and I made up our own together.  Try and see if you like it!

Serves 2
Difficulty: Low

Ingredients:
100g angel hair pasta (I had sphaghetti at home so I used that instead, but I think the results would have been better if I used something thinner like angel hair or spaghettini.)
4 large sashimi grade scallops, cut in quarters
6 cherry tomatoes, cut in halves
2 tablespoon salmon roe
4 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon ginger, finely chopped
1/2 tablespoon anchovy paste
Salt and black pepper, to taste

Method:
1. Add scallops and tomatoes into a bowl with red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, garlic, ginger, and anchovy paste.  Mix well and add salt and pepper for seasoning.  Add 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil before leaving the mixture to cool in the refrigerator for use later.
2. Cook the pasta in salted water in a large pot according to the instructions on the package.  Transfer cooked pasta into a bowl with ice water immediately to stop the cooking process. Drain the pasta completely and toss it with 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in a large mixing bowl to prevent sticking.
3. Add the scallop and tomato mixture to the pasta, toss well and season to taste.
4. Top with 1 tablespoon of salmon roe on each portion and garnish with thinly shredded ginger when served.

Notes:
Put plates for serving the pasta in the freezer just before you start cooking.  Cold pasta is best served on a chilled plate so that your pasta will remain cool while you're eating it.

Escargot Macaroni

Thanks for stopping by!  This is a place where I share with you my passion for good food and all things food related.

Admittedly, I wasn't much of a cook and even now I'm still by no means a good cook (nor am I a good writer), but I'm learning.  Cooking was a bit intimidating to begin with, but after a few trials and thankfully I managed not to burn down my newly remodeled kitchen, I finally started to enjoy the process.  Good food brings people together and when the food I make brings a big smile to the faces of people I love, that alone is worth all the hard work.

I've not only learned to follow recipes, but also to tweak them a little based on preference or the ingredients I have at home.  I hope one day I'll be able to make a lot of things from scratch and write my own recipes.  In this blog, you will find a complication of the recipes that were tried and tested by me - thanks to Mr. Bear for being the guinea pig as I embark on those little culinary adventures.

Today let's start with something simple! The Escargot Macaroni was what Mr. Bear and I had for dinner tonight.  It's one of the two free pasta recipes I picked up from a local gourmet supermarket last weekend.  They both look pretty easy to make so I thought I'd give them a try.  I have also tried the other crab meat pasta the other night and I will blog about that later in a separate post.

Have fun cooking!

Adapted from City'super's recipe

Serves 4
Difficulty: Low

Ingredients:
80 grams gruyere cheese
40 grams unsalted butter
24 pieces escargots (canned)
2 tablespoons pommery mustard
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
4 tablespoons onion, finely chopped
2 pieces lemon
4 cups macaroni
2 pieces egg yolk
1 packet Italian basil (I will find out exactly how much is one packet)
Sea salt, to taste
Black Pepper, to taste
Extra virgin olive oil

Method:
1. In a large mixing bowl, add cheese, 1/2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, pommery mustard and a dash of salt.

2. Cook the macaroni in heavily salted water for about 6 mins just shy of al dente.

3. In the meantime, heat the cooking pan under high heat with 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil and butter, saute onion and escargots until the onion turns brown.

4. Add cooked macaroni and garlic to the pan, lower the heat to medium high and cook for 2 more minutes.

5. Add lemon juice into cooking pan and mix well.

6. Finally, add egg yolk and fresh basil to the mixing bowl. Add all ingredients from pan into mixing bowl. Mix well and serve.