HEALTHY MEALS

Recipe by : chef ssentongo

– * THIS IS CLASSIC PEPPERONI & OLIVE PIZZA — (thin chewy crust, stretchy cheese pull, simple tomato Sauce ) .

The anime style isn’t real, but we can make it taste like it looks.

Ingredients (makes 2 x 30cm pizzas)
Dough

• 500g bread flour or 00 flour
• 325ml lukewarm water
• 2 tsp instant yeast
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tbsp olive oil

Simple Pizza Sauce

• 1 x 400g can whole San Marzano tomatoes
• 1 garlic clove, grated
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• ½ tsp salt
• Pinch sugar

Toppings

• 300g low‑moisture mozzarella, shredded
• 100g fresh mozzarella, torn, for cheese pull
• 80g pepperoni, sliced
• ¼ cup black olives, sliced
• Handful fresh basil leaves
• 2 tbsp Parmesan, grated
• Olive oil for drizzling

Method

1. Make dough: Mix flour, yeast, salt, sugar. Add water + olive oil. Knead 8-10 min until smooth and elastic. Or mixer with dough hook 6 min. Cover, let rise 1-1.5 hours until doubled. For best flavor, cold ferment in fridge 24-72 hours.
2. Sauce: Crush tomatoes by hand. Stir in grated garlic, olive oil, oregano, salt, sugar. No cooking needed. Raw sauce tastes brighter after baking.
3. Prep oven: Place pizza stone or steel in oven. Preheat to max temp, 250-280°C, for 1 hour. Hot deck = crisp base.
4. Shape: Divide dough in 2. On floured surface, press one ball into 30cm round. Keep rim thicker for crust. Don’t use a rolling pin if you want airy edges.
5. Top it: Spread thin layer of sauce, leave 2cm border. Scatter shredded low‑moisture mozz first — it’s your melt base. Add dots of fresh mozz for the stretchy pull. Arrange pepperoni and olives.
6. Bake: Slide onto hot stone with parchment or floured peel. Bake 6-8 min until crust is spotted, cheese is bubbling, and pepperoni edges curl and crisp.
7. Finish: Out of oven, scatter fresh basil, dust with Parmesan, drizzle olive oil. The basil wilts from residual heat but stays green like in the image. Wait 2 min before slicing so cheese sets slightly and gives you that pull.

Tips

• Cheese pull secret: Mix 70% low‑moisture mozzarella + 30% fresh mozzarella or provolone. All‑fresh = too wet, all low‑moisture = no stretch.
• Crispy pepperoni cups: Use stick pepperoni and slice 2mm thick. Thin slices curl and pool fat, exactly like the illustration.
• No pizza stone? Heat an upside‑down sheet pan or cast iron skillet at max temp 30 min. Or cook in a cast iron on stovetop 2 min, then broil 2-3 min.
• Dough shortcut: Store‑bought dough works. Let it sit at room temp 1 hour before shaping so it relaxes.

Want a no‑yeast pan pizza version for tonight, or a spicy honey drizzle to finish it like the modern pizzerias do?

This spread is classic INDONESIAN /MALAYSIAN NASI CAMPUR —( multiple dishes served with rice) .

Here’s the full recipe for each bowl :

1. Beef Rendang — front bowl over rice
   Rich, dry coconut curry from West Sumatra. Intense and worth the time.

Ingredients (serves 6)

• 1.2kg beef chuck or shin, 3cm cubes
• 800ml coconut milk
• 4 kaffir lime leaves
• 2 turmeric leaves, knotted, or 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 lemongrass stalk, bruised
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 3 cloves
• 2 star anise
• 1 tbsp tamarind paste + 3 tbsp water
• 1 tbsp palm sugar or brown sugar
• Salt

Spice paste: 10 dried chilies soaked, 8 shallots, 6 garlic cloves, 3cm ginger, 3cm galangal, 2cm turmeric, 1 tbsp coriander seed toasted, 1 tsp cumin toasted. Blend with splash of water.

Method:

1. Fry spice paste in 2 tbsp oil 8-10 min until oil splits and it smells toasted.
2. Add beef, coat well. Pour in coconut milk, add lemongrass, lime leaves, turmeric leaf, spices, tamarind water, sugar, 2 tsp salt.
3. Simmer uncovered 3-4 hours on low, stirring every 20 min. It goes from soupy → thick → dry and oily. It’s done when meat is dark brown, tender, and clings to oil, not sauce.
4. Serve over rice with fresh chili, cherry tomatoes, and blanched kale like in photo.
5. Chicken & Potato Curry / Gulai Ayam — back right bowl
   Lighter, saucy yellow curry.

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 1kg chicken thighs, bone‑in
• 2 potatoes, quartered
• 400ml coconut milk
• 400ml chicken stock
• 2 kaffir lime leaves
• 1 lemongrass, bruised
• 2 tbsp oil

Spice paste: 6 shallots, 4 garlic, 2cm ginger, 2cm galangal, 3cm turmeric, 3 red chilies, 2 candlenuts or macadamias, 1 tsp coriander, ½ tsp white pepper. Blend.

Method:

1. Fry paste in oil 5 min until fragrant. Add chicken, brown 3 min.
2. Add potatoes, coconut milk, stock, lemongrass, lime leaves, 1½ tsp salt.
3. Simmer 25-30 min until chicken is cooked and potatoes tender. Garnish with sliced chilies and scallions.
4. Coconut Rice / Nasi Lemak — back left bowl
   Fragrant rice cooked in coconut milk.

Ingredients (serves 6)

• 3 cups jasmine rice, rinsed
• 2 cups coconut milk
• 1½ cups water
• 2 pandan leaves, knotted
• 1 lemongrass, bruised
• 3 slices ginger
• 1 tsp salt

Method: Add all to rice cooker or pot. Cook like normal rice. Fluff. Top with sliced green chili like in photo.

4. Cucumber Shallot Salad / Acar Timun — small front left bowl
   Fresh palate cleanser.

Ingredients

• 1 large cucumber, halved, deseeded, sliced
• 3 shallots, thinly sliced
• 1 green chili, sliced
• 1 red chili, sliced
• 2 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 tsp sugar
• ½ tsp salt
• Juice of ½ lime

Method: Toss all together 10 min before serving so it stays crisp.

5. Sambal Oelek — small bowl back center
   The chili paste that goes with everything.

Ingredients

• 15 red chilies, stems removed
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp lime juice
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tbsp neutral oil

Method: Pound or blitz to coarse paste. Fry in oil 3 min to mellow. Add lime + sugar off heat.

6. Fresh Fruit Plate — back right
   Sliced mango and cucumber with lime wedges. Sprinkle with salt + chili powder for Indonesian rujak style.

How to Serve
Put rice in center. Each person takes rice, then spoons of rendang, gulai, acar, and sambal. Eat with a spoon and fork, or traditionally with your right hand. The kale and cherry tomatoes with the rendang are modern plating — blanch kale 30s in salted water, halve tomatoes, arrange around edge of bowl.

This whole spread takes about 4 hours because of the rendang, but you can do the gulai, rice, and sides in 45 min while it simmers. Rendang also freezes perfectly.

Want a recipe for the crispy fried anchovies + peanuts that usually come with nasi lemak, or a vegan jackfruit rendang version?

– * RED WINE BRAISED OXTAIL STEW — (deeply savory, gelatin‑rich, and fork‑tender with carrots, onions, and potatoes. Proper cold‑weather food) .

Ingredients (serves 4-5)
Oxtail & Braise

• 1.8-2kg oxtail, cut into 5cm pieces
• 2 tbsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 3 tbsp all‑purpose flour
• 3 tbsp olive oil or beef dripping
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 carrots, diced
• 2 celery stalks, diced
• 6 garlic cloves, smashed
• 3 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 bottle 750ml dry red wine, Cabernet or Merlot
• 3 cups beef stock
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 sprigs thyme
• 2 sprigs rosemary
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

Vegetables for finishing

• 300g baby potatoes or Yukon golds, halved
• 3 carrots, cut into 3cm chunks
• 200g pearl onions or small shallots, peeled
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

Method

1. Prep oxtail: Trim excess fat but leave some for flavor. Season heavily with salt and pepper. Toss in flour to coat. Let sit 20 min. The flour helps thicken the sauce later.
2. Brown hard: Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium‑high. Brown oxtail in 2-3 batches until deep mahogany on all sides, 4 min per batch. Don’t crowd or they steam. Remove to a plate.
3. Build flavor base: Lower heat to medium. Add diced onion, carrot, celery. Cook 8 min until soft and browned at edges. Add garlic 1 min. Stir in tomato paste and cook 2-3 min until it turns rust‑colored.
4. Deglaze: Pour in wine, scraping up all fond. Simmer 8-10 min until reduced by half and alcohol smell is gone.
5. Braise: Return oxtail + juices to pot. Add stock, bay leaves, thyme, rosemary, Worcestershire. Liquid should just barely cover. Bring to simmer, cover, and cook at 160°C in oven or low stovetop for 3-3.5 hours. Meat should be pulling from bone but not mushy.
6. Add finishing veg: At 2.5 hour mark, add potatoes, carrot chunks, and pearl onions. They’ll cook in the last hour and soak up flavor without disintegrating.
7. Rest & reduce: Remove oxtail and veg to a warm bowl. Strain sauce, discard aromatics. Skim fat. Simmer sauce 10-15 min until glossy and coats a spoon. Whisk in butter off heat.
8. Serve: Return oxtail and veg to pot or serving dish. Ladle sauce over. Shower with parsley like in photo.

Tips

• Why oxtail? All that collagen melts into gelatin = silky, lip‑sticking sauce you can’t get from lean cuts.
• Timing: Oxtail needs long, slow cooking. Under 3 hours = tough. If pieces vary in size, check small ones at 2.5 hours.
• Make ahead: Better next day. Cool in sauce overnight, reheat gently. Fat cap lifts off easily once chilled.
• No wine? Sub all beef stock + 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar + 1 tbsp soy sauce for depth. Still excellent.
• Thicker sauce: If still thin after reducing, mash 1 of the potatoes into the liquid or whisk in 1 tsp cornstarch slurry.

Serve with crusty bread to mop up the jus, or over polenta if you skip the potatoes in the stew.

Want a pressure cooker version that cuts time to 1 hour, or a Caribbean oxtail variation with butter beans and scotch bonnet?

– * THIS IS GARLIC ‑HERB ROASTED VEGETABLES & MUSHROOMS — <caramelized, tender‑crisp, and tossed in a bright herb vinaigrette. Works as a side or a vegetarian Main ) .

Ingredients (serves 4 as side, 2 as main)
Vegetables

• 300g cremini or chestnut mushrooms, halved
• 3 medium carrots, cut on diagonal into 4cm pieces
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into 2cm strips
• 1 zucchini, halved lengthwise, cut into 2cm half‑moons
• 2 medium onions, cut into 6 wedges each
• 2 cups kale, stems removed, leaves torn
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• ½ tsp black pepper

Herb Vinaigrette

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar or lemon juice
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• ¼ cup parsley, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp chives or scallion greens, minced
• 1 tsp fresh thyme or oregano leaves
• ½ tsp red chili flakes, optional
• Zest of ½ lemon
• Salt & pepper to taste

Method

1. Prep oven: Preheat to 220°C. Place a large sheet pan in oven while it heats. Hot pan = better browning.
2. Season veg: In a big bowl, toss mushrooms, carrots, bell pepper, zucchini, and onions with 3 tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp salt, and pepper. Don’t add kale yet — it burns if roasted too long.
3. Roast in stages: Carefully spread veg on hot sheet pan in one layer. Roast 18 min, flip once. Veg should be browning at edges and carrots should be just tender.
4. Add kale: Scatter kale over veg, drizzle with 1 tsp oil and pinch of salt. Roast 5-7 min more until kale is crispy at edges and veg are tender. Onions should be charred and sweet like in photo.
5. Make vinaigrette: While veg roast, whisk olive oil, vinegar, garlic, all herbs, chili flakes, and lemon zest. Season with salt and pepper. It should be punchy.
6. Toss & serve: Tip hot veg into a serving bowl. Pour vinaigrette over immediately so the heat wakes up the garlic and herbs. Toss well. Taste for salt. Serve warm or room temp.

Tips

• No soggy veg: High heat, hot pan, don’t crowd. Use two pans if needed. Mushrooms release water — space lets it evaporate instead of steam.
• Even cooking: Cut dense veg like carrots smaller than quick‑cooking zucchini. That way everything finishes together.
• Make it a meal: Add 1 can chickpeas, drained and patted dry, with the other veg. Or top with crumbled feta, goat cheese, or a fried egg.
• Meal prep: Roasts keep 4 days refrigerated. Reheat 5 min in hot oven or eat cold in grain bowls. Dress after reheating if you want max freshness.

Want a balsamic‑maple version for fall, or a way to turn this into a warm farro salad?