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I was in charge of making saffron rice to accompany the Indian fish curry we had for dinner the other night (if you look closely you’ll see it in the top right-hand corner of the photo). As it was cooking, the aroma of the saffron-infused basmati rice drifted through the kitchen and mingled with the fragrant cooking smells of the curry. What a harmony of smells that was!

We don’t always have saffron rice with our Indian curries; usually it’s just plain basmati rice — which is still beautiful. But occasionally it’s nice to jazz things up a bit, and also add a bit of color to the table.

Saffron is the pungent dried stigmas of the crocus sativus plant, and it’s the world’s most expensive spice by weight. Thankfully, you don’t need to use much to impart a wonderful flavor, vibrant color and delicate aroma to dishes such as paella, bouillabaisse, and of course saffron rice.

As usual we like to take the simple approach, and our version of saffron rice uses the bare minimum of ingredients but it still has maximum flavor and, thanks to the saffron, that perfect bright yellow color.

Simple Saffron Rice

Serves 2 as a side dish

• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1/2 teaspoon saffron threads
• 1 teaspoon butter
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup basmati rice (rinsed in cold water, then drained)

BRING the water to a boil in a medium saucepan and stir in the saffron threads, butter and salt. ADD the rice and bring to the boil, cover, then reduce the heat to very low. SIMMER gently for 15 minutes without lifting the lid.

Here are some dishes that are an ideal match with saffron rice:

Fish, Spinach & Tomato Curry
South Indian Shrimp Curry
Lentil, Pea & Potato Curry
Dhal with Carrot & Cauliflower

The other night, Trudy and I dropped into our local supermarket to pick up a few staples, and while I was in the refrigerated section something really caught my eye. It was a flashy looking new brand of pesto.

Now, I’m a pesto lover from way back, but I’m usually pretty wary of pre-packaged pesto — simply because I’ve had some rather dismal tasting pre-packaged stuff in the past. But the packaging was so slick, and the contents looked so remarkably good that I at least had to look at the ingredient list to see whether it was made to the classic Genoese recipe. (The Italian city of Genoa is where pesto originates, by the way.)

I scanned the ingredients list, and wasn’t disappointed.

Basil. Check.
Garlic. Check.
Extra virgin olive oil. Check.
Parmesan. Check.
Pine nuts. Check.

And there weren’t any bizarre sounding additives or preservatives either — a definite bonus.

At this stage I was getting seriously tempted to just throw the pesto in the cart, but I knew that Trudy would need some convincing first. Like me, she’s very aware that pre-packaged pesto can be very hit or miss. But after showing her the authentic list of ingredients, and pointing out how incredibly tasty it looked, she agreed that it was at least worth giving a try.

Well, the pesto might have contained all the right ingredients and looked glorious, but when we got it home and tossed it through some pasta with shrimp and green beans, it tasted far from glorious. It had a slight vinegary undertone, and the consistency was way too dry (I think this was because they’d skimped on the extra virgin olive oil, and probably the pine nuts as well — both relatively expensive ingredients).

Anyway, the upshot of the evening was that we vowed never to buy pre-packaged pesto again, no matter how flashy the packaging! And besides, we have our own pesto recipe that we both really adore. Yes, it takes a little more work than pulling the top off a package of store-bought pesto, but not that much more.

We don’t take the time-consuming route and use a mortar and pestle to pound the pesto into a paste by hand. We’ve found that the results in a food processor or blender can be excellent, and we actually prefer the slightly more textural consistency of pesto made this way.

And speaking of consistency, we’re definitely not fans of pesto that’s either too oily or too dry. So we’ve found a great trick is to add a little water along with the other ingredients before processing. This gives the pesto a perfect consistency — moist, but not too oily. It also helps the blades process the other ingredients more easily into a paste.

We’ve also found that it’s a good idea not to go overboard with the garlic. Raw garlic is very pungent, and it can easily overwhelm the flavor of the other ingredients in the pesto. Of course, if you’re a bit of a garlic fiend, feel free to add more!

Pesto

Makes roughly 1 cup

• 1 cup tightly packed fresh basil leaves
• 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/3 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted
• 1 clove garlic, roughly chopped
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

In a food processor or blender, combine the basil, Parmesan, pine nuts, garlic, water, salt, and pepper. While you process, slowly pour the olive oil into the mix until all the ingredients turn into a smooth paste (you may have to scrape the sides occasionally). Store in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 3 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Serving Ideas: Pesto has a myriad of uses, such as tossed with hot pasta, spread over bruschetta, used as a pizza sauce, stirred into soups just before serving, mixed with mayonnaise to dress salads and sandwiches, used as a filling for baked potatoes, or served as a dip with vegetable crudités.

Variations: Walnuts, pistachios, macadamias, almonds, or cashews can be substituted for the pine nuts.

Do you think that pasta is a disaster for blood sugar levels? As soon as pasta touches your lips, do you think it goes to your hips? Do you think that white pasta is virtually devoid of nutrients?

If you answered yes to any or all of the above questions, you might be surprised to learn that these are all common myths.

Do you want to know what the real deal is with pasta? Then you might want to check out an article I wrote recently for the food website, Culinate. It’s called The Pasta Myth, and I not only debunk some common pasta myths, I also show you how pasta can be a healthy (and very tasty!) addition to a balanced diet.

Here’s the beginning of the article:

In September, the unthinkable happened: Italy had its first-ever national pasta strike.

Throughout Italy, thousands of sullen-faced Italians protested the rising price of their national dish by refusing to purchase pasta that day. But even the organizers of the strike realized that Italians could never go a day without actually eating pasta, so they gave it out for free.

But while pasta has the power to evoke such a passionate response in Italy, in North America there’s an ongoing battle for the hearts and minds of pasta lovers.

Click here to read the rest of the article.

Welcome to MediterrAsian Cooking! If you love Mediterranean and Asian food (including Italian, Greek, Spanish, Provençal, Turkish, Moroccan, Lebanese, Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese, Indian, Korean, Indonesian and Malaysian) you’ve come to the right place.This blog is run by four dedicated home cooks, and we’re all seriously passionate about Mediterranean and Asian food — not just because it tastes so good, but also because it’s so good for our bodies in a physical sense as well.

Our aim is to demystify and simplify traditional Mediterranean and Asian cooking. And we’ll be covering anything and everything to do with Mediterranean and Asian food including recipes, cooking techniques, info about individual ingredients, helpful equipment, time saving tips, and stuff like that.

Hopefully we’ll inspire you to try dishes and ingredients you might not have tried before.

If you’re new to Mediterranean and Asian cooking, or maybe just a bit rusty — check out the MediterrAsian website. The site shows you how to stock your pantry with authentic Mediterranean and Asian ingredients, and it includes over 100 recipes, lots of illustrated step-by-steps, and some of the history behind traditional Mediterranean and Asian cooking.

There’s also the MediterrAsian Cooking Flickr group. You can join up and share your photos of home-cooked Mediterranean and Asian meals, or you can just browse through the mouthwatering food photos; there’s nearly 500 of them so far, and many include the full recipe so you can try them out yourself.

Well, that should give you a fairly good idea of what this blog is about, and if you want to find out more about the people behind this whole project click here.

Cheers!
Ric, Trudy, Guilherme and Emily

I tend to get pretty lazy at the end of the day, so the last thing I can be bothered doing is cooking an elaborate meal. I think elaborate meals should be saved for elaborate occasions. Simple, but not simplistic, food is what I like the best.

One of the simplest dishes of all is pasta. And one of the simplest, yet most flavorsome ways to enjoy pasta is with fast-roasted vegetables. It’s as easy as tossing some roughly chopped vegetables with olive oil and seasonings and throwing them in the oven, while simultaneously boiling a pot of pasta. Then, when everything is cooked, simply toss the vegetables (which have sweetened and intensified in flavor during the roasting process) with the pasta, and sprinkle with some grated Parmesan cheese. This is set and forget cooking at its best!

And if you want to boost the protein content, you can easily whip open some good quality canned tuna and toss it through the hot vegetables and pasta just before serving. Canned cannellini beans also work really well — just make sure you give them a quick rinse and drain first. And if you want to add some crunch, just sprinkle some lightly toasted pine nuts over the top.

Fast-roasted Vegetable Pasta

Serves 2 generously

• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 3 cloves garlic — minced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried chili flakes
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped parlsey
• 1 bunch asparagus (or 15 green beans)
• 1/2 red pepper –cut into thick strips
• 1/2 green pepper — cut into thick strips
• 1/2 yellow pepper — cut into thick strips
• 12 button mushrooms-thickly sliced
• 8 oz (240g) dried fettuccine
• Parmesan cheese to serve

PREHEAT the oven to 450F/230C. MIX together the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper, chili and parsley. TOSS with the vegetables in a baking dish, and bake for 15 minutes. WHILE the vegetables are roasting, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta according to package directions. DRAIN the pasta, reserving 2 tablespoons of the cooking water, and toss gently with the roasted vegetables until well combined. SERVE with a little grated Parmesan cheese.