Letter from the Editor EDITOR CARLOS BILAN editor@quickandeasy.co.uk t: +44 (0) 789 4731 fave recipe: Colourful pasta w/ beef stroganoff p.37 EDITORIAL Staff Food Writer Louis Tomlinson ltomlinson@quickandeasy.co.uk t: +44 (0) 780 4731 fave recipe: Fried rice with beef, potatoes and eggs p.17 Proofreader Harry Styles fave recipe: Eggs benedicts w/ american pancake p.17 ART Art Director Zayn Malik fave recipe: Beef burrito w/ white sauce p.20 Designer Niall Horan fave recipe: Chicken peri-peri w/ cheese mash p.14 Cover Photo Liam Payne fave recipe: Filipino-style sweet spaghetti p.27 Photography & Food Styling Luke Spinelli, Anthony Lohan, Rihannon Bey, Katy Hudson, Lana Winters, Zoe Benson, Fiona Goode, Madison Montgomery, Ellie Saint ADVERTISING Sales Manager Sean O’Pry sopry@quickandeasy.co.uk t: +44 (0) 789 4737 fave recipe: Egyptian style sauteed beef with poached eggs p.39 ADMINISTRATION Production Consultant Francisco Lachowski flachowski@quickandeasy.ie Subscriptions Manager (UK) Rob Holt rholt@quickandeasy.co.uk t: +44 (0) 780 9731 Subscriptions Executive (UK) Brody James bjames@quickandeasy.co.uk t: +44 (0) 780 4531 Circulation Manager Mary Poppins mpoppins@quickandeasy.co.uk Accounts accounts@quickandeasy.co.uk Syndication Enquiries syndication@quickandeasy.co.uk BOARD OF DIRECTORS Managing Director Hannah Montana hmontana@quickandeasy.co.uk fave recipe: Brazillian grilled pork ribs with veggies p.24 Chief Executive Selena Gomez sgomez@quickandeasy.co.uk
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I am a serial Instagram uploader. Everytime there is amazing dish in front of me, I take a pic and upload it. And almost everyday, my followers and friends post comments asking, “what’s the name of that place?” “omg I’m so jealous! Take me with you when you eat out some time” “are you so rich that you always eat out?” and I just laugh and won’t reply back just to keep them wondering. Can I let you in a little secret? Well, the truth is, I actually cook all those dishes. Another secret is they are so easy to make like 30 minutes tops sometimes even only 20 minutes. Faster than waiting for your take-away p7-9. Yup, and you can do it too! This first ever issue of my magazine will introduce you to all my kitchen and cooking secrets guaranteed to change the way you cook and think about food forever. In celebration of the first issue, I will introduce you to my Philippine roots and combine it with Italian gastronomy p25-32. You would be surprised which cultures you can fuse together to create an amazing dish that not only speaks for its magnificence but the harmony of two countries. I also have a week’s worth of recipes to get you happy about your life everytime you come home from a busy day at work p33-40 and if that is not enough, how about a month’s worth covering the weekends or days off p10-20. You will also be able to impress your date, host a fabulous shindig to impress your workers, and make your family feel at home p42-49 by taking them around the world in your house with these international cuisines. Again, all of these marvellous recipes take little effort to make. We also take a look at how to source the best fresh ingredients p.21-24. These marketplaces are like no other because the ambience is beautiful and fresh produce from entrance to the exit all at a very affordable bargain. I am pleased to announce that Chef Linguini, the world renowned Parisian Chef famous for saving La Ratatouille, becomes a regular columnist in Quick and Easy Worldwide Cuisine! Every issue, he will give you access to haute cuisine, share life-changing kitchen-related advice. He will be not just your mentor but your friend. And for the first issue, he will talk about one of his favourite powerful spices – saffron. Bon appetit. Here’s to spreading Quick and Easy secrets! -Carlos
@quickandeasywc
quickandeasywc.co.uk
Why do people eat take-away?
I HAVE NO MOTIVATION TO COOK
To celebrate the release of Quick and Easy’s first ever issue, we held a launch event. Hundreds of lovely people have attended and we asked several young professionals what are their cooking problems and solutions. We listened and have collated the best cooking problems and innovative situations. Let’s hear or read from our brilliant young professionals.
Is this you?
A piece of advice
“ I would really want to co ok for myself because I feel like I am not losing weight at all even if I work out. Co oking is very boring though and I think it is just additional work. It is also a really dry activity. ” – Toyyib, West Kensington
“Co oking seems like additional work. It is like working out, you have to do it though. I find co oking really fun by turning up the music. I bring my iPhone dock or speaker to the kitchen and play my favourite tunes. Amazing music just keeps me in the kitchen and it enhances the really boring atmosphere. Shake your body , sing along, rock out like no one is watching! The kitchen is your stage.” – Kia (Dancer), Chelsea
“One of the factors why I just do not have the motivation to co ok is the atmosphere is so boring. Same utensils, same white plates. It is just a counter , sink, and fridge. I can’t just lo ok at the same thing everytime I attempt to co ok. It is so boring. ” –Lottie, Ladbroke Grove
“ I live in a studio flat which makes my kitchen a very small space. It also lo oked very ordinary and I get turned off everytime I see it. What I did is I tried to do some mini interior designing done. I bought some frames to hang by the wall of the counter and added some decoratives like flowers and statuettes, which are all in bright beautiful colours. I also find it aesthetically pleasing to set the spices in display. I also painted the walls and the kitchen counter but I had to ask permission from the landlord first which I am glad they agreed upon because it was such a dry space. I also bought plates of different bright colours. Ever since, my kitchen is such a colourful zone that I just want to co ok and eat by it every day. ” – Matea (Journalist) , High Street Kensington
“ I’m really stressed out because of work especially I enter work during rush hour and go home during rush hour as well. The traffic drives me nuts and the number of people who ride the tubes. I am also so worked up because I am hungry and waiting for my take-away also takes long because of the queue. But I have no choice because I don’t even know what to co ok at home. All the recipes I know use the same meat, like all are chicken-based. ” –Dave, Baker Street
“I hate my work schedule because I go to work during rush hour and go home during rush hour as well. Take-aways are not even an option anymore because the queues are to o long. I believe it is a blessing in disguise because I do not feel the need to crave take-away. Instead, I crave the kind of meat I want to co ok with this evening. I have some co okbo oks and been one of the
I REALLY NEED SOME ADVICE first people to have this magazine and I can prove that it definitely helped me. Everytime I’m on the way home, I think to myself “Which kind of country do I want to experience today?” Having that mindset, I just lo ok forward to going home and co oking. I also find it satisfying to experiment like this week, I co oked it using chicken, the next week, and I can try pork. This magazine offers all the possibilities.” –Alex (Interior Designer) , King’s Cross
“ I am so tired from work and the only thing that relieves me is working out in the gym to sweat out all that stress. Then after taking a nice shower , I would definitely be hungry and it would really be simpler to grab a takeaway on the way home by the corner of my apartment. I like it because they are effortless and delicious. I have been working out for months but I feel like I just ate all the calories I lost. The low calorie meals are also really expensive. “ –Mark , Richmond
“ Co oking is such a lonely activity in my opinion. I would really like to co ok but it just gets lonely and it does not motivate me at all. ” –Jean , Islington
“I think to myself, it is inevitable that I am going to be co oking especially when I have a family. I just set the mindset that this is go od training and how my significant other will be impressed upon finding out I am such a great co ok.”
“I work out everyday and I used to have the same problem before. I exercise, buy take-away, no improvements and I am not getting abs. My trainer said it could be because of my diet and he said even the low calorie take-aways are not really what they seem to be. So I had to get a motivation to stay away from take-aways. I always admired male celebrities and models and their determination to work out and stay fit. I observed that you hardly see any headlines of them getting takeaways and that must explain why they also manage to stay fit. They’re my biggest motivation factor to work out and also the fact I get to impress my significant other. I did the same with sticking to home-co oking, I lo oked up to these people. This may sound quite extreme but I printed out a picture of my idol and sticked it on the kitchen wall just to remind me everyday, that I co ok to be like him. But it worked, having a role model worked and I’m buff.“ –Mario (Doctor) , East Acton “Whenever I co ok, I sometimes invite my flatmate along to help with the co oking like chopping the veggies, washing the lettuce or simple stuff. Co oking can essentailly be a fun group activity in a way and it is also a time to catch-up with our days or gossip whilst we prep the fo od. If my flatmate is not there, I phone up a friend and put him or her on speaker . I mean , they also have nothing to do so I might as well just be there for company . If no one is available, I turn the telly on. I also think to myself, it is inevitable that I am going to be co oking especially when I have a family. I just set the mindset that this is go od training and how my significant other will be impressed upon finding out I am such a great co ok.” –Niall (Advertising Executive) , Hornchurch
Filipino Italiano Cuisine A Swe et & Sour Combination with a Twist Celebrated Filipino chef, Rosie Bilan, 39, shares one of her greatest secrets in cooking. Coming from the Philippines, an archipelago in South East Asia with a colourful history, she has mastered cooking traditional Filipino cuisine to perfection. Filipino food may not be as famous as of its Thai and Vietnamese neighbors but with more than 7,000 islands, the country has numerous delicious dishes of its own. Blessed with an abundance of tropical fruits, seafood, and creative cooks, there is so much more to Filipino food that stands out from the rest. From simple dishes with fried rice like the Tapa, the ubiquitous dish, “Adobo” (Sautéed Meat in Salt, Pepper, Vinegar and Spices), to complicated savoury stews, “Kare-Kare” (Ox Tail and Peanut Stew) and “Sinigang” (Zesty Sour Stew with Meat). After years of cooking in fancy hotels, restaurants and catering for social events, Rosie’s experience as a chef has honed her skills into creating unique dishes through the combination of cultures. Here, she will share one of her culinary secrets in fusing Filipino and Italian gastronomy.
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What is your job like? Very hectic and busy indeed. And when people say, being a chef is a man’s job, it is really true if you do not have the perseverance and ruthlessness. The restaurant opens at 10 in the morning and I will have to travel quite a distance and arrive an hour before opening time to ready the utensils and help my colleagues with inventory. As soon as we open, we start cooking and the more people come in and eat which is inevitable, orders just come and go. During peak hours, that is when it gets really tough, it gets hot in the kitchen not just from the steam and fire coming from the stove but the heat of the
moment. My shift finishes at 5 in the evening and going home from work is stressful because it is rush hour and the tubes are packed. So it is really stressful but I enjoy cooking so I manage.
Aubergine with Chilis and Herbs
How do you make it through a day?
1 Preheat the oven to 200 C/190 C fan/ gas mark 6. 2 Arrange the sliced aubergine on a baking tray 3 Brush or put olive oil generously on each aubergine 4 Sprinkle the aubergine with thyme and salt and pepper 5 Bake for 20 minutes till golden brown 6 When the aubergine is cooked, arrange on a plate then sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste 7 Garnish with the parsley, coriander and squeeze lemon juice 8 Serve while its hot, you can eat it with leftover meat or steamed rice
Having friends in work actually helps me because work does not seem like work anymore but like a group activity. I think having that mindset definitely gave me an optimistic perspective about work. When I go home to unwind after a hard day’s work, I listen to my favourite tunes and I prefer chill tunes. So I guess in simpler words, having company and good music helps me get through my routine. How do you prepare yourself to be ready to cook?
Preparation time: 30 minutes Serves: 2-3 persons
Ingredients: 3 long aubergines, sliced into 7 cm. thick 2 tbsp. of parsley, chopped 2 tbsp. of coriander, chopped 3 tbsp. of thyme, chopped 2 Thailand red chilis, sliced thinly 1 lemon, squeezed Olive oil Salt and pepper
RECIPE TIPS • To enhance your eating experience, you can have vinegar at the side as a dip for the swe et cured pork. The sour taste from vinegar complements the swe etness of the pork to create a harmonious zesty flavour.
At work, I just start it when I have to and I will just keep moving till the end of my shift. At home though, I listen to music while cooking. My son has this playlist of indie music, which both of us enjoy listening. They are not too loud but they are relaxing. These tunes also play while I prepare food for the family. I also shower beforehand. It definitely is rejuvenating. What motivates you to cook? I look forward to what I want to eat and that motivates me. I know a lot of recipes or sometimes if I just do not have an idea, I open a cook book or a food magazine to give me ideas. I enjoy cooking something for the first time honestly because it is like doing an experiment for the first time and you get to play around with ingredients. I consider cooking a really fun activity. I think that mindset has just given me that motivation all my life. When I lose motivation, honestly, I just heat the food I cooked like 2 days ago and I make sure it is the dish I really like. So that when I eat it again the next few days, I will enjoy it. It is definitely healthier than buying takeaway.
Types of Chilis Peppers
Do you want to be featured in the following issues? Here’s how:
1 Send us an email at fusion@quickandeasy.co.uk with the Subject: (2 cultures) - (your name) Examples: Irish Philippine - Harris French Japanese - Toyles 2 Body: • 8 Pictures of the dishes you want to be featured along with the name of each dish and preparation time (please do not include the recipe or how to do it, we just want to see what the food looks like, pictures taken from a mobile are sufficient as long as it is clear • Occupation and just a brief sentence talking about yourself along with a picture of you
What do you enjoy cooking the most? I enjoy cooking meals that involve the fusion of cultures. Honestly, in general, I love experimenting. When I try something new, I find it really fun to do. If I had to choose a dish,
We are looking forward to reading your entries and will get back to you if you have been chosen. Good luck!
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it would be “Sinigang” which is a famous Filipino soup-based dish or stew. It consists of any kind of meat with many vegetables and the soup is quite zesty and tasty from the broth of the meat. I find it absolutely delightful to cook it everytime. Seeing the greens as well just makes me feel really healthy. Where did you learn to cook? I learned to cook from my mum. She trained me at an early age or asked me to help with the cooking. From there, I just learned and developed those skills. We honestly did not use cookbooks then but just knowledge passed from generation to generation. These were the recipes that are cooked usually in an everyday Filipino household okay. For the international dishes, I definitely had to watch some cooking programs or read recipes from cookbooks, cooking magazines and just do them myself. Through that, I just started experimenting and trying out new stuff.
Tocino (Sweet Cured Pork), Cucumber Salad and Cherry Tomato Salad with Steamed Rice Preparation time: 30 minutes Serves: 2-3 persons 1 Boil the tocino with water on a frying pan for about 10 minutes or till the water is gone 2 Put the oil and cook the tocino or pork till goden brown in a low heat for another 10 minutes 3 While waiting for the tocino to cook, prepare the salad 4 Mix altogether the ingredients for the cherry tomatoes salad then mix and set aside 5 For the cucumber salad, do the same 6 Heat the steamed rice 7 Serve while they’re hot
Tocino: 250 grams of sweet cured pork or Tocino (from any Oriental store) 2-3 tbsp. of sunflower oil 1 cup of water Ready-to-eat steamed rice (from any groceries like M&S, Waitrose)
Cucumber salad: 1 large cucumber, sliced into 5 cm thick White wine vinegar or rice vinegar 2 tbsp. of sugar Salt and pepper
Cherry tomatoes salad: 1 pound of cherry tomatoes, quartered ½ bunch of spring onions, chopped 1 tbsp. of olive oil 1 tbsp. of lemon juice Salt and pepper
Do you have any cooking secrets or tips you would like to share? Actually I do. A lot of people ask me why everything I cook taste really tasty and flavourful. The secret is actually really simple. Spices seriously do the job. I have a rack of different varieties of spices. In my spare time when I cook, I actually try one different spice each time I cook it again and there I can test which spice can give this particular dish a flavor twist! I mean spices are flexible to use. I think that is also what makes cooking fun for me. Trying out new stuff! Have that mindset and you will just unravel cooking secrets like you just invented something new. What inspired you to fuse Italian and Filipino cuisine together? Thank you so much by the way. We are really honoured to be the magazine you will share your ideas with. Oh my Gosh! It is absolutely my pleasure. Well, it came about when I was watching Ratatouille. There was this scene that inspired me where Remy the rat is teaching his brother how to appreciate food and each flavours. There were two kinds of cheeses that he made him try and he encouraged to savour every flavor, eventually, he
The Perfect Vinegar
RECIPE TIPS • To enhance your eating experience, you can have vinegar at the side as a dip for the swe et cured pork. The sour taste from vinegar complements the swe etness of the pork to create a harmonious zesty flavour.
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Ingredients: White wine vinegar Pepper 1 Garlic 1 Get a side platter to pour onto the vinegar mixture 2 Peel the garlic and slice them into small pieces 1 cm thick 3 Pour as much vinegar as desired onto the platter 4 Sprinkle pepper onto the vinegar (adding more pepper gives the vinegar a stronger taste) 5 Add the garlic onto the vinegar mixture and serve
Tuna Linguini with Light Mayo and Green Salad with Feta Cheese & Olives Preparation time: 30 minutes Serves: 2-3 persons Ingredients: 375 gms. of linguini pasta 1 can of tuna in sunflower oil or olive oil 300 ml. of light mayonnaise 1 whole kernel corn 150 gms. of Kalamata and Green Olives with Feta Cheese Mixed green salads Olive oil Balsamic vinegar
“The baked aubergines were so easy to make. I served them for a social event upon reading this recipe and each of my guests had a piece. They asked why they were so tasty and they kept coming back for more. So a piece of advice, make loads because they disappear fast!” - Luke Sims (Holland Park) Managing Director
1 Boil water in a pan then cook the linguini pasta for 11 minutes or till al dente 2 While boiling, mix all the salads, Kalamata and green olives with feta cheese in a salad bowl together dressed with olive oil and balsamic vinegar and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside 3 When pasta is al dente, drain the pasta and put on a serving bowl 4 Put the tuna, corn, and mayonnaise then mix altogether 5 Serve with the salad
Let’s hear from our young professionals! “I had guests over for lunch and I served them grilled tuna fillet with misua soup and macaroni salad. Right at the moment when they had a bite of the tuna and sipped on the soup, the praises were beginning. They were really blown away I must say and asking how long did I co ok it because the soup seemed complicated to prepare. I felt really smug not only because I knew something amazing but the reactions that I received were indeed something I was proud of. They were asking for seconds! They even enjoyed the macaroni salad that they had thirds and ate them solely. - Jodalyn Parico (Wimbledon) Masseuse
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encouraged to try both at the same time and Remy was like saying in between the lines “Imagine combining all types of flavours … discoveries to be made!” That made me think… Maybe I should try combining Filipino food and Italian food. My children love Italian food and I am more of a Filipino food fan so like maybe I can try combining both and perhaps gain the best of both worlds! So during my work holiday, I went to the kitchen and tried out new stuffs. And I actually did. I am pretty proud of these recipes I came up with. That is why it is really an honour that I get to share these. “Who would have thought that mayonnaise could be used as a sauce for the spaghetti? This is a guilty pleasure. The go od thing about this is light mayonnaise or japanese mayonnaise do not have high calorie content. You might think it adds an amount of weight but these are those dishes that deserve to be eaten every once in a while. Simple creamy but very satisfying.” - Margaux Perry (Stratford) Sales Manager
Grilled Tuna Fillet with Misua soup and Macaroni Salad Preparation time: 30 minutes Serves: 2-3 persons 1 Marinade the tuna fillet with all the ingredients and leave it for 15-20 minutes 2 While waiting for the tuna to marinade, you can start preparing the macaroni salad and your soup 3 Boil water in a pot for the macaroni pasta and in another pot, boil the chicken stock 4 When both are finished boiling, put the macaroni into the pot of boiling water while the Misua into the pot of the boiling chicken stock 5 Wait 10 minutes for the macaroni to cook or till al dente and 2 minutes for the Misua 6 Drain the macaroni in cold running water and then put it in a salad bowl 7 Put the light mayonnaise, sultana, cheese, pickled relish, pineapple tidbits onto the macaroni then mix and then add salt and pepper to taste
8 When the misua soup is boiling, put it in a low fire then put the spring onions and salt and pepper onto the soup to taste 9 Now that the soup and macaroni salad are ready, set them aside 10 Heat a frying pan in a high flame then spray with a little bit of olive oil then sear the marinated tuna, 1 minute on each side for medium rare or 3-4 minutes for well-done 11 Serve the tuna and the misua soup while it’s hot and the macaroni salad
For soup: 1 Misua noodles (Oriental Store) 1 chicken stock 1 bunch of spring onions, chopped salt and pepper
For salad: 25 grams of macaroni pasta 1 cup of sultana 250 ml of light mayonnaise 1 cheddar cheese, grated 1/4 cup of pickled relish 1 pineapple tidbits in can, drained salt and pepper
For Tuna fillet: 25 grams of tuna fillet 2 tbsp. of soy sauce 1 cup lemon juice 1 lemon, squeezed 2 stems of Thyme olive oil salt and pepper
RECIPE TIPS
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• If you are watching your calorie intake and want to avoid macaroni salad, you could replace it with steamed brown rice or Gre ek Salad (p. 23) • You could also replace tuna fillet with salmon fillet if you want to have a different co oking and eating experience • You could also put sour and cream as a dip for the tuna