Sopas ala Beancounter (Filipino Chicken Soup with Pasta)

Sopas literally means soup. But for the Filipino it is so much more. Sopas is chicken soup with pasta which makes it a lot heartier. On top of that milk/cream is usually added which makes it far richer than ordinary chicken soup.

I've had my share of 'bad Sopas' as a youngster if you like. It has therefore failed to endear itself to me. I did not begin to like it again until much later when I started cooking it myself (at the prompting of my dear wife). 'Bad Sopas' for me means soggy pasta and extremely milky broth. Both of which are not that difficult to correct.

I substitute 'broken spaghetti' for the more commonly used shell pasta. I find that it keeps its shape and texture better than all the others (much like Royco Chicken Noodle Soup for anyone of you old enough to remember).




And instead of adding milk/cream at the end of the cooking process I leave it out altogether. It's available on the side after the soup has been served (again, an inspiration brought on by my lovely wife who prefers hers without cream).


Sopas ala Beancounter

3 cloves garlic chopped
1 large onion chopped
12 cups chicken stock
Half a poached chicken shredded
250g spaghetti broken into approximately 1 inch sticks
1 large carrot diced finely
1/4 cabbage shredded
Fish sauce/salt to taste
Black pepper to taste
A bit of oil of sauteing

1. Heat up a bit of oil in a large pot.
2. Saute the garlic until golden brown.
3. Add the onion and saute until soft and translucent.
4. Add the chicken and stir fry for about a minute.
5. Pour in all the stock and bring to a boil.
6. Adjust the taste by adding fish sauce/salt and black pepper.
7. Add the pasta and cook until al dente.
8. Add the vegetables and cook to your liking.
9. Dress with some hard boiled eggs (totally optional) and serve hot with freshly baked pan de sal.

Baon – Spaghetti Bolognese with Meatballs

Who doesn’t like spaghetti? We might not agree on what is the best but everyone knows about it making it quite a “universally accepted” dish to have for lunch at work.

Spaghetti is quite popular among Filipinos (albeit, a version catered for the sweet-toothed). Evidence of this is found in all the popular fast food places. I might be wrong but I think it is only in the Philippines where you’ll find spaghetti at McDonald’s and KFC.

Brioche & Coffee for breakfast

I usually don’t make my Bolognese sauce from scratch. Getting home close to 7pm just does not give me enough time to pick tomatoes from the garden and simmer my sauce for hours and still be alive at the end of it. I use bottled pasta sauce (que horror!) and just tweak it to suit my taste. To give the sauce more body I add homemade meat balls.

Brioche w/ Nutella

Easy Meatballs

500g beef mince
1 bread slice torn to pieces then soaked in milk
Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste
1 egg
Parsley

1. Squeeze the excess milk out of the bread pieces.
2. Combine all the ingredients together
3. Form into your preferred size balls.
4. Cook half-way through by frying in olive oil.

Quick Bolognese Sauce

1 onion chopped
2-3 cloves garlic chopped
1 carrot chopped finely
1 celery stick chopped finely
500g beef mince
1 jar Raguletto Romano Cheese Tomato Pasta Sauce
Salt & pepper to taste
Olive Oil

1. Heat up some olive oil.
2. Sauté the onions until soft.
3. Add the garlic, carrots and celery.
4. Add the beef mince and cook until the meat changes colour.
5. Add the pasta sauce.
6. When the sauce starts bubbling add the meat balls. Simmer until the meat balls are thoroughly cooked. Add salt and pepper to suit your taste.
7. Serve with spaghetti or whatever pasta you prefer.

Spaghetti with Broccolini

Broccolini looks like a cross between the regular green broccoli and the Chinese vegetable kai lan. The florets are similar to that of broccoli (although much looser) while its slender body is very much akin to kai lan. The three are related but are totally distinct vegetables.

It is currently in season. I use it to make a simple pasta sauce that is healthy (vegetarian almost if you take away the anchovies) and quick to cook. Orecchiette (small ear pasta) is what’s commonly used to make this but I think spaghetti works just as well. And instead of broccolini the Italians prefer rapini which has a similar but stronger flavour than broccolini.

Spaghetti with Broccolini

350g spaghetti (cooked al dente, reduce packet instruction by a minute or so)
1 bunch broccolini
Extra virgin olive oil (lots of it)
2-3 cloves garlic chopped finely
5 anchovy fillets
Chilli flakes (to taste)
Sea salt
Black pepper
Parmesan cheese grated

1. Prepare the broccolini by removing the florets and discarding the woody parts of the stems.
2. Cook the spaghetti al dente. You probably need to reduce packet cooking time instruction by a minute or so.
3. Heat some olive oil in a large pan. Add the garlic, chilli and anchovies. Sauté for a couple of minutes.
4. Add the broccolini. Season to taste.
5. Drain the pasta and add to the pan. Coat the pasta well. Add a bit of the pasta cooking water for a saucier result.
6. Serve with parmesan cheese.

Lunch Club – Spaghetti Arrabiata ala kidpawan

And then it was my turn to cook something light…

For lunch I served my version of Pasta Arrabiata. The classic Italian way according to my Italian friend is much much simpler than my recipe. Arrabiata, according to him means aggravated. It’s simply chillies (the “aggravated” bit of the dish) and olive oil plus some basil or parsley. If I did it the traditional way mine would have been the lightest dish of the week. But I had other plans.

And thanks to living in a “free” a country, I can do mine in whatever way I like and still call it Arrabiata!

Ingredients:

500g of Spaghetti
Olive Oil (as much as you want)
Two cans of whole peeled tomatoes (mash it before adding)
Garlic (as much as you can handle)
1 Onion
2 rashers of streaky bacon chopped (this makes this whole dish non-low fat)
Some anchovies
Chilli flakes (add as much as you like)
Salt
Black Pepper
Basil

Procedure
Cook the spaghetti about a minute less than what the packet states.
Heat up the olive oil in a large pan.
Add the bacon and let it fry for a couple of minutes
Add the onion and cook it till it is nice and translucent.
Then add the garlic, chilli flakes and the anchovies and cook for about a minute.
Add the tomatoes and simmer for about 10 minutes.
Add the basil at the end of the cooking process.
Add the pasta into the pan with the sauce. Serve hot with garlic bread.