Dining - Mordeo @ Chifley Plaza

Cooking Lab - Open Wagyu Bolognese Lasagna with Roasted Vegetables

Cooking Lab - Black Truffle Pearl Mushroom & Chicken Risotto in WhiteWine

Guess what! It's Hello Black Truffle time!~ 

I've got a real black truffle! I am excited for sure, but at the same time, troubled. 

I received a fresh black truffle from WA. It's the first time I cook with a fresh truffle, so I want to make the most out of it.

Let's see what I can come up with ...



(c) GMV - Got My Vote!

Tonight I am making a chicken & pearl mushroom in honour of this truffle. Since it's a special occasion, I am putting an extra effort in the presentation. 

I am feeling pretty excited! 

Initially before the anticipated black truffle arrive, I imagined it to be as big as a gold nugget - or at least as chunky as a button mushroom. But this is what I got...

Hello there, don't be shy. 

Come out, come out. Ahhh... Don't you look so....like a goat poo?!!

I have never possessed a whole truffle and it came from a long way.

What should I do with it? Cook it, of course. But how? I mean to maximize my experience what black truffle really taste and smell like. 

Precious little black thing, isn't it? 

I've place the fresh black truffle within the arborio rice overnight so the aromatic fragance of truffle will permeate through the risotto rice.

Ingredients:

- 300g chicken breast 
- 2 cups arborio rice 
- 1 cup white wine 
- 1 brown onion 
- 1 garlic clove 
- 2 Lebanese cucumber 
- 3 cherry radish 
- 1 bunch brocolini 
- 2 tablespoon unsalted butter 
- 50g shaved parmesan cheese 
- 10g fresh black truffle 
- 2 cups chicken stock 
- 100g button mushroom 
- 100g pearl mushroom 
- 100g enoki mushroom 
- 3 tablespoon truffle olive oil 
- 1 handful shaved parmesan cheese 
- Sea salt, white & black pepper

Instructions:

1. Finely dice the brown onion, button, pearl and enoki mushrooms.

2. Leave some tips of the pearl and enoki mushrooms for plating later.

3. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil and some butter in a frypan on medium heat. Gently sear the chicken pieces and season with a pinch of sea salt & white pepper. Remove.

4. Sauté onion and mushrooms in the melting butter oil until soften and golden.

5. Add half of the white wine and let it simmer on the side.

6. Warm up the chicken stock.

7. Use a separate large heavy-based saucepan, add 1 tablespoon of truffle olive oil over medium-low heat. 

8. Add in the arborio rice and gently stir around and coat the rice lightly in oil.

9. Add the onion & mushrooms and all the juice to the rice.

10. Add the white wine and continue to stir.

11. Add a ladle of warm chicken stock to the rice. Continue with the process until the rice has absorb all the stock liquid.

12. Return the chicken to the pan. and season with sea salt and freshly grounded black pepper.

13. Meanwhile, thinly slice the cucumber and the cherry radish. Add some ice cubes to keep fresh.

14. Heat up the frypan on medium heat. Gently fry the enoki mushroom tips until golden and crispy.

15. Add in the tips of the oyster mushrooms, sauteed until cook through. Remove.

16. Add a small amount of oil into the same pan, sprinkle a dash of salt flakes.

17. Cook the broccoli until soften. Remove.

    Now it's plating fun time:

18. Divide the risotto among 8 large white serving plates.

19. Curl the cucumber slices and garnish with radish disks and broccoli florets around.

20. Serve with freshly shaved parmesan cheese.

21. Shave some fresh black truffle on top of each dish.

Well you look at that! Pretty as a picture. 

Perhaps it's my first time, fine-dining plating is a bit tedious. However I am impressed with my effort. 

By the way, the risotto tastes fabulous. The addition of the freshly shaved black truffle just lift the whole dish considerably. It certainly leave a strong impression. 

Oh dear, what am I going to do? Now I've tasted the real deal ... I've got truffle on my mind! 

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Cooking Lab - 5-Cheese Spinach Lasagna (焗烤蔬菜起司千層義大利麵)

只有起司的義大利千層麵！

A tray of bubbling hot lasagna is the perfect winter comfort food. Tonight, I am making a gooey melting 5-cheeses lasagna. 

Cheeses are the star in this vegetarian lasagna recipe. It features creamy ricotta, mozzarella, parmesan, cheddar and blue cheese. 

用了五種不同的乳酪，層層氣味香濃，滋味當然相當的順口...牽絲的起司與麵條和蔬菜的絕配，外層焗烤到微酥，內餡香濃綿密...

一層健康蔬菜，一層綜合起司，一層麵; 誰能抵擋焗烤後的濃郁奶香滿滿金黃起司千層麵？

真是一道會撫慰人心的料理呀~寒冬的最愛....


(c) GMV - Got My Vote!

Ingredients:

- 1 packet of no-boil spinach lasagna sheet 
- 2 tablespoon of butter 
- 150g green zucchini 
- 150g sweet potato 
- 150g button mushroom 
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese 
- 50g shaved Parmesan cheese 
- 100g ricotta cheese 
- 50g cheddar cheese 
- 50g Parmesan cheese powder 
- 30g blue cheese 
- 100g cottage cream 
- Salt and pepper 
- 2 tablespoon olive oil

Instructions:

1. Slice zucchini and mushrooms into thin disks.

2. Melt the butter in the fry pan. Lightly saute zucchini disks and sliced in a pan on medium heat until browned.

3. Season lightly with salt and pepper.

4. Cook sweet potato until soften and roughly mashed.

5. Preheat oven to 200C.

6. In a large mixing bowl, combine ricotta, cheddar and blue cheese together with cottage cream. Mix well. Top with Parmesan cheese powder.

7. To assemble, place a lasagna sheet at the bottom.

8. First spread sweet potato mash; top with zucchini disks and finally sauteed mushrooms.

9. Spoon the mixed cheese mixture on top.

10. Repeat with 2 more layers.

11. Top with mozzarella cheese and more sprinkle of parmesan cheese powder.

The complete assembled lasagna should look something like this.

12. Place the in the middle of the oven.

13. Bake at 200C for 40 minutes or until the top is golden and the lasagna is bubbly at the bottom.

14. Leave to cool for 15 minutes before slicing it.

15. Slice into square slices.

16. Serve. Enjoy.

17. If there are any leftover, freeze them for lunch the next day.

The hint of blue cheese is rare, but it adds an elegant taste to this dish. Although, it is meatless, but I have added sweet potato mash, zucchini and mushroom to make it more substantial. It turns out pretty spectacular.

This meal will satisfy any hunger your family may have. So treat them tonight to a meal they won’t stop raving about.

No one will ever guess how easy this hearty cheesy lasagna is to make. The use of no-boil lasagna noodle sheets can save a lot of time.

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Dining - Balla @ Pyrmont

Add: Level G, The Star, 80 Pyrmont Street Pyrmont NSW 2009

Tel: (02) 9657 9129

Capesante con cavolfiore e Nero di seppia $22.00

(Seared scallops with cauliflower and squid ink purée)

Crudo di pesce $18.00

(Raw fish of the day, thinly sliced, with fennel and citrus salad)

Cecina al forno con prosciutto di Parma e pecorino $17.00

(Baked chick pea tart, Parma ham and shaved pecorino)

Cocktail - Balla Garden $18.00

(Tanqueray Gin, lychee syrup, and ocean spray cranberries for a sweet tryst)

Gnocchi di patate al sugo di coniglio e Funghi $26.00

(Potato gnocchi with rabbit and mushroom ragu)

Tagliolini al Nero con granchio e broccolini $28.00

(Squid ink tagliolini with spanner crab, broccolini, chilli and garlic)

Gamberoni Alla griglia con cavolo e Pistacchi $40.00

(Yamba prawns with cabbage and pistachio salad, orange dressing)