Recipes From My Kitchen

It’s hot outside, so let’s to talk about basil pesto! Have you made it yet? Pesto is one of my absolute favourite, ultra-flavourful sauces. Great pesto tastes fresh, herbal, nutty, garlicky and luxurious, all at once. Homemade pesto is infinitely more tasty than store-bought varieties. While pesto always seems fancy and gourmet, homemade pesto is very easy to make in your food processor or blender. Pesto originated in Liguria, Italy, where pesto is made in a mortar and pestle. (In fact, “pestâ” means “to pound.”) I don’t have the patience to crush basil by hand, one handful at a time. So, I recommend using your food processor or a mixer jar. Also, the main ingredient of the dish is pinenuts but, I have substituted it with some cashews. You can also add some walnuts. Drizzle a layer of olive oil on the top to avoid the pesto change its colour to dark green. Keeping it cool is very important otherwise it will spoil the taste of the pesto. So always store it in an airtight container and k...

Forget jars of red sauce — homemade marinara is where it's at. This tomato sauce takes 20 minutes to make and requires zero planning. If marinara doesn't already have a spot in your stable of easy weeknight recipes, it will soon.  Pureed Tomatoes Versus Chunky Tomatoes Puréed tomatoes might feel like the obvious choice here, but I recommend using whole peeled tomatoes for your marinara sauce. These break down into perfect sauciness in about 20 minutes, but still retain a little substance, which gives the sauce some body — something sauces made with purée can lack. I've also used diced raw tomatoes, but find that these generally don't break down as easily or quickly; they're fine to use if you don't mind (or if you prefer!) a chunkier sauce. If you are using canned tomatoes, then any canned tomatoes you have in your pantry can be used in a pinch, up to and including tomatoes that you've canned yourself. Avoid tomatoes that have flavourings or herbs added ...

Up until now, I've have had ready made sundried tomatoes bought from supermarkets. They do taste good and I'm a great fan of them. However, recently I realized that the same could be tried out in an oven if you do not have great sunlight in the place you live. They are the same sundried tomatoes except that they are made in the oven and save a lot more time and effort. Recently I got the desi tomatoes which were absolutely fresh. The desi version has a lot of juice and a lot more flavor than the English variety. I added some fresh garlic to the tomatoes as it just enhances the flavor of the roasted tomatoes. Ingredients: 2kg, fresh ripe tomatoes, Coarse sea salt, Fresh garlic, Olive oil, plain or extra virgin. Method: Preheat the oven to the lowest heat setting. Depending on how big you’d like them, either slice the tomatoes, or halve them (the bigger they are, the longer they will take to dry up). Scoop out the seeds and drain out ...