Posts by The Culinary Chase

These spring rolls are the ultimate snacking food. Spring rolls are fried pastries found all over the world originating in Asian countries such as China, Vietnam, Philippines and Indonesia. These tasty tidbits can be fried or non-fried and the non fried version is usually bigger in size. The familiar egg roll has similar ingredients to…

Polenta is a favorite staple of mine as it’s easy to prepare and can be used as a substitute for mashed potatoes. Polenta is traditionally a slowly cooked dish. It sometimes takes an hour or longer and constant stirring is necessary. However, these days instant polenta is ready in 5 minutes which makes for a…

Lasagne has changed a bit over the years from what the original dish consisted of (alternate layers of pasta, cheese and often ragù or tomato sauce) and I suppose it was inevitable that chefs worldwide would use their culinary imaginations to alter the ingredients. I found 20 such recipes from one site all a bit…

An ideal meal to serve when you have guests show up unannounced and so easy to prepare! Fresh ingredients, as always, stand out to make this dish “tastebud” heaven. Serves 6recipe from Good Taste 2 sheets (25x25cm) frozen ready-rolled puff pastry, just thawed3 large zucchini, ends trimmed and thinly sliced lengthways3 tablespoons pesto250g fresh ricotta3…

In the past, beans have been a neglected part of our diet and most probably due to the fact that I grew up on homemade baked beans which, although were delicious, never quite agreed with me. However, since I started this food blog, I’ve been more accepting of beans and lentils and found that most…

Salads come in all forms and not just the leafy version that most associate the word with. It’s usually a mixture of cold foods including vegetables or fruits and topped with a dressing. Experimenting with different textures and flavors by chefs and cooks alike have, over the years, come up with some very interesting savory…

Pasta has been around for centuries and it’s been a romantic myth that Marco Polo brought pasta back from China (it was already there in Polo’s time). Marco Polo returned in 1295 after twenty years of travel away from Italy. It was noted that in 1279 a Genoese soldier listed in the inventory of his…