Ako ay filipino

Buko Pandan is a popular Filipino Dessert; this is made using young coconut and Screwpine leaves (locally known as “Pandan”).

This is traditionally prepared by boiling several Pandan leaves until all the juices are released. The leaves are then removed from the boiling pot and gelatin bars (locally referred to as “Gulaman”) are added to cook until diluted in liquid.

Lasagna is considered as a pasta in sheets and a dish as well. This is often made with alternate layers of pasta, cheeses, and ragu.

Ingredients

1 pound of sweet Italian sausage                                                                
1 pound of ground beef
1/2 cup of chopped onions
2 cloves of garlic chopped
1 (28 ounce) can of crushed tomatoes
2 (8 ounce) cans of tomato sauce
2 (6 ounce) cans of tomato paste
1/2 Cup of Water
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 teaspoon fennel seed
2 teaspoons fresh Basil leaves chopped
4 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
23 ounces of ricotta cheese.
1/2 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg 
1 egg
1 pound shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
12 lasagna noodles
–Serves 12 people–

Start with the following in a pot:

1 pound (450 g) of sweet Italian sausage                                                               
1 pound (450 g) of ground beef
1/2 cup (120 mL) of chopped onions
2 cloves of garlic chopped

(The flavor of the Italian sausage varies from brand to brand.  You may need to try a different brand the first couple of times you cook this dish.  Find the flavor you like the best). 

Brown the ground beef, Italian sausage, onions and garlic in a pot until they start to cook.  It takes about 6 to 9 minutes to brown the meat.  I like to use a Dutch oven to cook this portion of the recipe.  I use a medium low temperature to brown the meat.  It is optional to remove the grease from the meat once it is finished browning, your choice.

Add the following:

1 (28 ounce) (784 g) can of crushed tomatoes
2 (8 ounce) (230 g) cans of tomato sauce
2 (6 ounce) (168 g) cans of tomato paste
1/2 (120 mL) cup of water

Gently stir this into the cooking meat. 

Add the following:

2 tablespoons (30 mL) white sugar
1 teaspoon (5 mL) fennel seed
2 teaspoons (10 mL) fresh Basil leaves chopped
2 tablespoons (30 mL) fresh Italian parsley chopped
1 teaspoon (5 mL) salt
1 teaspoon (5 mL) Italian Seasoning
1/2 teaspoon (2.5 mL) ground pepper

Gently stir these seasoning into the sauce.

Cover the pot and let the meat sauce simmer.  Simmer on low heat for 1 hour and 30 minutes  This is the ideal simmer time but not mandatory.  If you don’t have time it will still be great after one hour of simmering. 

I will sometimes make this sauce and refrigerate it after it finishes simmering.  I will use the meat sauce the next day to put the rest of this recipe together.  For some reason Italian meat sauce taste even better the next day.  But that’s up to you.

Soak 12 lasagna noodles.

The lasagna noodles need to be soaked in hot tap water for 15 minutes.  

While the noodles are soaking you can make the cheese filling. 

Put the following in a mixing bowl:                                                                   

23 ounces (644 g) of ricotta cheese.
1/2 teaspoon (2.5 mL) fresh grated nutmeg 

Grate fresh nutmeg over the Ricotta cheese.   

Add the following:

1 egg
2 tablespoons (30 mL) fresh Italian parsley chopped

Mix these ingredients together with a spoon

Now we start building the lasagna layers.

Use a 9×13 inch baking pan. 
Spread 2 Cups (480 mL) of meat sauce on the bottom of the pan.

Remove your lasagna noodles out of the water bath.  Shake water off wet noodles.

Lay 6 noodles across the layer of sauce.

Spread half of the ricotta cheese mixture over the layer of noodles.

Spread 1/2 of the mozzarella cheese over the ricotta layer.
Sprinkle half of the Parmesan cheese over the mozzarella layer.

Spread 2 cups (480 mL) of meat sauce over the cheese layer
Lay down the next layer of noodles
Spread the remaining ricotta mixture over noodles
Spread the mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses saving  some cheese for the top of the lasagna
Put the last layer of meat sauce on the cheeses
Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.

Cover with foil
Bake in preheated oven at 350 F (177 C) for 25 minutes                              
Remove foil and bake uncovered for another 25 minutes.

Remove from oven and allow to cool for approximately 15 minutes.

Ingredients:
600g           Chicken leg and thigh, cut into 8 portions
8pc             large pandan leaves
1 can          (234g) Fresh Cut sliced Pineapple, drained, each piece cut into 2 (reserve syrup)
1 tsp            Red Cane Vinegar
1 pc            Siling Labuyo
1 tsp           Sugar
                    Pineapple syrup
1/3 cup       Sweet Chili Sauce

Marinade:                                                                                        
2 tbsp       Oyster Sauce
3 tbsp       thick coconut milk
1 tbsp       patis
6 cloves   garlic, minced
1/2 tsp      grated ginger
2 tbsp       pineapple syrup

Procedure:
1. Marinate chicken for 2-3 hours. Drain. Put a slice of  Fresh Cut Sliced Pineapple over a piece of chicken then wrap in pandan leaves. Secure with toothpick. Steam chicken for 10 minutes, then fry until brown. Remove toothpicks. Set aside.
2. Simmer Vinegar, sili, sugar and remaining pineapple syrup for 5 minutes. Add Sweet Chili Sauce.

Note: Makes 8 Servings.

Pinakbetor pakbet is a popular Ilocano dish, from the northern regions of the Philippines, although it has become popular throughout the archipelago. The word is the contracted form of the Ilocanoword pinakebbet, meaning "shrunk" or "shriveled". The original Ilocano pinakbet uses bagoong("bugguong" in Ilokano), of fermented monamon or other fish, while further south, bagoong alamang is used. A Tagalog version usually includes calabaza. Most of these vegetables are easily accessible, and are grown in backyards and gardens of most Ilocano households. It is considered a very healthy dish, and convenient in relation to the harsh and rugged, yet fruitful Ilocos region of the Philippines.

The vegetable dish pinakbet is more than a regional cuisine. It is an enduring symbol of the Ilocano palate and a lucid display of the Ilocanos’ history of contestations and struggles with the physical and social environment. The recipe weaves intimations of the cultural productions of the Ilokanos’ transaction to their arid and less productive land.

Estimated cooking time: 35 minutes

1/4 kilo pork with fat, cut into small pieces

2 Amapalya (bitter melons) sliced to bite size pieces

2 eggplants, sliced to bite size pieces

5 pieces of okra, cut in two

1 head garlic, minced

2 onions, diced

5 tomatoes, sliced

1 tablespoon of ginger, crushed and sliced

4 tablespoons bagoong isda or bagoong alamang

3 tablespoons of oil

1 1/2 cup water

Salt and pepper to taste

In a cooking pan, heat oil and fry the pork until brown, remove the pork from the pan and set aside.

On the same pan, saute garlic, onion, ginger and tomatoes.

In a casserole, boil water and add bagoong.

Add the pork in the casserole and mix in the sautéed garlic, onion, ginger and tomatoes. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes.

Add in all the vegetables and cook until the vegetables are done, careful not to overcook.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Serve hot with plain rice.