Carbonara - The (Almost) Traditional Way

The Abstract Gourmet (who, by the way, is a FAR better writer than myself - check it out) has recently been espousing the joys of a proper carbonara. Now, I love carbonara - all forms of carbonara (even the boarding school carbonara he despised - 3 years in a boarding school and 5 years in a residential college couldn't put me off it!), including the ones in which I replace the fettucini/spaghetti with rice noodles. (Hey, they're thin and flat - totally counts!) I normally do a quiche-type thing with eggs, bacon, cream, cheese and spaghetti/rice noodles which I then bake in the oven. It's delicious and easy, but not exactly what you'd describe as traditional. However, this recipe from the Abstract Gourmet seems to be a) quick (even quicker than my usual one!), b) almost as easy, and c) slightly less bad for you (2 cups of cream doesn't exactly make the arteries sing...!)

I replaced the spaghetti with rice noodles (I didn't have any gluten free pasta in the house and I couldn't be arsed going to the shops) and bacon instead of guanciale or pancetta (again, the lazy factor came into play) so it's not *exactly* traditional... but it's still yummy and easy!

Since my mum came over for dinner, I served it with some salad - she's the kind of woman who firmly believes a meal is not complete unless there is green on the plate - but it's a meal in and of itself if you can't be bothered being healthy!

Lazy Cook's Take on Traditional Carbonara

• 4 rashers bacon, chopped into small pieces
• olive oil
  
• 2 large cloves Garlic minced
• 3 Eggs
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan
  
• handful finely chopped parsley
• 1/2 packet rice noodles
  
• Freshly ground pepper
• Extra parmesan, to top

frying pan + spatula
bowl
knife + cutting board

1. Slice the bacon up into small pieces.
2. Mince the garlic and fry it in a hot pan with olive oil until it’s soft, then add the bacon and fry them together.
3. Put your noodles into a pot with plenty of salt and boil it until al dente (about 1 1/2 minutes in the microwave if you're using rice noodles).
4. Once the noodles are done, drain it well and then add it to the pan with the bacon, tossing it well.
5. Crack the eggs and mix them together with the cheese, take the pan completely off the heat and then pour the eggs into the pasta, stirring constantly to combine it. What you’re making is a very simple sauce where the egg cooks just enough from the heat of the pasta to bind it all together with a lovely creamy texture. Add a little of the noodle water if you need to get some more movement happening.
6. Toss it all together well, add the handful of parsley and a sprinkling of fresh black pepper. Salt to taste.
7. Top with the extra parmesan and serve
   

Restaurant Review - The Flying Taco

In true lazy cook form, I have been truly lazy over the last couple of days - I escaped the heat in my kitchen by heading over to my mother's house last night for steak and salad; and I got my favourite hot weather food (Mexican take away) for dinner tonight. It came from one of the best Mexican places in Perth - the Flying Taco, on Angove St in North Perth.The owner of Flying Taco works there every night. She's Californian, and it turns out she has the rather distinctive logo tattooed on her forearm (the tattoo came first - I asked...). They do pretty traditional Mexican food - lots of corn tortillas, proper soft tacos, real guacamole, lots of lime and pineapple. They aren't afraid to use proper spices either, but they let the customer decide how spicy they would like their meal by applying the heat themselves, via the salsa. And in true mexican style, there is a lot of food on offer for a very reasonable price. Sure, it's not what you'd get, strictly speaking, in the hills of Oaxoca - let's face it, Mexico isn't known for its steak - but it's much closer to the real thing than the Tex-Mex monstrosities that attempt to palm themselves off as Mexican.

The restaurant itself is a bit of a hole in the wall - a very simple, albeit colourful shopfront, with a few plastic chairs and tables available. Both dine-in and take away options are available - you can even BYO alcohol (for a relatively cheap - for Perth - corkage fee of $2 pp). Ordering is a simple 4 step process - choose your style, filling, salsa (ranging from mild to tongue-dissolvingly hot) and sides.

Tonight, I ordered takeaway. I had the Tacos Carnitas with Pica de Gallo salsa, with tortilla chips and guacamole; my dining companion shared the guacamole and chips, and had the mole poblano quesadilla. Between us, we spent less than $40 - no mean feat for the CUB capital of Australia. There was a bit of a wait to pick up my order - although the staff were very friendly and kind, only one person was serving, meaning that I could see my order sitting there, getting cold, while waiting for the register to become available. None the less, the food happily survived the trip home.

Although my tacos were very nice - the sweet, slightly acidic pineapple cut nicely through the meaty, albeit ever so slightly dry pork (although a spoonful of guacamole took care of that!), they had nothing on the cheesy goodness of the quesadilla. Although the cheese used isn't exactly the most traditional - cheddar - it is absolutely delicious - rich, creamy and heady. Unfortunately, a flour tortilla, rather than a corn one is used, so it's not gluten free - but if you can eat flour, it is well worth getting! If not, ask for the corn tortillas with sour cream - it costs $2 more, but it replicates the creamy meltingness - and elevates the tacos from 'good' to 'delicious'.

The absolute star of the show, though, is the corn chips. These are not your regular insipid supermarket corn chips. They are made to order, from freshly made corn tortillas cut up into wedges and deep fried - but strangely, not greasy or soggy, even after ten minutes sitting in a paper bag in the car. They are crisp, crunchy and perfectly cook. Thick without being heavy. Strong enough to hold a good dollop of the perfectly seasoned, zingy guacamole. The bags are deceptively small. The first time I saw them, I thought 'this can't be worth $6' - but oh was I wrong! 3 hungry eaters were not able to get through a tiny bag - the chips, though small, are so filling, being made from fresh tortillas.

All in all - recommended. If you're in the mood for quick, easy Mexican, you won't do better in Perth. One of the best value eateries this close to the city.

Service = 3/5 - Service was with a smile, but a bit slow to get there.
Ambiance = 3/5 - Unpretentious but friendly. You can see into the clean, bustling kitchen as you order. Busy but not crowded. There is something about plastic chairs though...
Value = 4.5/5 - You will struggle to find this kind of cooking in Perth for so little.
Taste = 4/5 - Absolutely delicious. Even the food that didn't shine was still yummy and satisfying.

Overall = 14.5/20. An excellent meal on the cheap and quick. Highly recommended any time you want a satisfying hit of easy Mexican.

IC:E-WINTER WARM UP - Pancake Cupcakes

Here goes nothing: my first Iron Cupcake entry(!) Wish me luck!


For those not in the know, (like me, until a few weeks ago) Iron Cupcake is a serious bake-off held once a month. Very professional bakers participate (go check out some of the photos - pure food porn!) and come up with incredible creations. And then people like me try and tag along for the ride - hey, if nothing else, at least it gives me an excuse to eat cupcakes!!! They also have some very generous prizes:

• The Demy™ by Key Ingredient
• Hello, Cupcake by Karen Tack & Alan Richardson
• Bella Cupcake Couture
• Cupcake Stackers by Gourmac
• The Cake Mix Doctor Returns! by Anne Byrne
• Beautiful Baking Liners by Vestli House
• Sweet Cuppin' Cakes Bakery & Cupcakey Supply

So, the theme of my first ever Iron Cupcake is Winter Warm Up. At first, I was thinking of adapting all kinds of flavours into cupcakes of crazy awesomeness (I was originally gonna go with English Breakfast tea cakes - literally cuppa-cakes!)... but I realised that a) I don't have that kind of time (I left the office at 7 tonight!) and b) I'm kinda out of practice in the cupcake arena...

But then it hit me. When we were growing up, the best winter warm up breakfast in the world was pancakes - specifically, brown sugar cinnamon pancakes with butter and maple syrup. Not being able to eat wheat has made me miss out on this treat as of late: but combining these flavours into a gluten free cupcake - now that is the very definition of awesome!

These have been adapted from this recipe.

Pancake Cupcakes - Cinnamon Brown Sugar Cupcakes with Maple Buttercream

Makes 12

You will need

3/4 cup gluten free self-rising flour

3/4 cup gluten free all-purpose flour*

125 g butter, softened

1 cup brown sugar

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1/2 cup milk

1 tsp powdered cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

*if using non-gf flour, only 5/8 cup is required.

Maple buttercream
2 Tbsp maple syrup
2 Tbsp milk
2 cups icing sugar
125 g butter

Electric beater
2 bowls
scraper
cupcake tin plus patty pans
measuring cup + spoons

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.

2. Line 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake papers.

3. In a small bowl, combine the flours and cinnamon. Set aside.

4. In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not overbeat. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended. Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about three-quarters full. Bake for 20–25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean.
   
   (There were 12 originally... but I ate one.... totally worth it though!)

5. Cool the cupcakes in the tins for 15 minutes. Remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack before icing.
   

6. To make icing:
   
7. Mix the maple syrup and milk together. Cream the butter and slowly add the sugar (half a cup at a time) while continuously mixing. Alternate adding the sugar with the milk mixture. Cream until the icing is thick enough to spread. (The recipe says you might need more - but this stuff is seriously sweet as it is!)
   

Note that the recipe originally called for unsalted butter - but I'm a big fan of the salty-sweet combination, particularly in the cupcakes! I only ended up using about 1/2 the icing - but you really can't make it in a smaller batch, which is a shame...

I found the icing to be a bit on the rich side - next time, I reckon I'll do a cream cheese/sour cream type icing - nice bit of contrast (especially when it's nice and warm out of the oven....mmmm). But I was incredibly pleased with how these turned out! Normally, gluten free stuff is all crumbly - but these are light and fluffy and delicious! (I was going to share them with some people at work... but I'm not so sure about that now lol!)

(You can even see the bubbles!!!)