Sunday 6 December 2009

Fish and Chips Rico Way


Once again I am picking another great British dish and making it mine with super flavour and textures.



Recipe Ingredients: (for two)
  • 2 cod fillets (skinned)
  • 4 medium potatoes (with the skin cut into wedges)
  • 1/2 a glass of flour
  • 1 teaspoon of baking powder
  • 150mls sun-flour oil
  • some coarse sea salt, black pepper, 1 tea spoon of dehydrated parsley, some olive oil




Place a pan with some boiling water and a pinch of salt on the stove medium heat to keep water boiling, put the potato wedges in and let it boil for 3-4 minutes. After this drain the wedges and place them in a bowl (meanwhile switch the oven on 200c until hot), add to the wedges 3 soup spoons of olive oil + 2 tea spoons of coarse sea salt and 2 tea spoons of the dehydrated parsley, toss it all until well mixed, distribute these wedges on a baking tray with the wedge up on each potato piece, place them in the oven and let them cook for 30-35 minutes.

Ten minutes before the potatoes are done pour the sunflower oil into a deep frying pan and let it get very hot. Meanwhile put the flour in a bowl + a pinch of coarse salt a little pepper and the tea spoon of baking powder, add some water to the consistency of thick runny yoghurt with the aid of a balloon whisk, dip the fillets in the batter and let them get a thick covering rubbing excess on the sides of the bowl and place them in the frying pan the oil should cover them.

Fry for about 3-4 minutes on each side until golden brown, then place them on a plate with a few kitchen towels to drain the excess fat, then just serve them with the chips (wedges) and a dollop of tartar sauce (optionally you can boil some peas and have them like that or mush them with a couple of mint leaves and some lemon juice and serve on the side)

Also the batter if you prefer instead of water you can add some beer instead for a lighter texture and more flavoursome batter, although I like the simplicity of this one I made.


Saturday 5 December 2009

The Perfect Bangers and Mash with Onion Gravy


A very, very traditional British meal made luxurious and super delicious.

Recipe Ingredients:

  • 6 fresh sausages (minimum 65% pork shoulder, preferable)
  • 1 large onion (thinly sliced)
  • 4 large potatoes (pealed and cut into small cubes for fast cooking)
  • 2 heaped spoons of Gravy powder
  • 1 bunch of chopped parsley
  • 1 soup spoon of butter
  • 1/4 tea spoon of ground nutmeg
  • 1 small glass of milk
  • olive oil salt and pepper (sufficient)



Butterfly cut all the sausages (slice them down the middle without separating the halves). Then put a non stick frying pan on the stove at medium heat with a little olive oil. Once hot add the sliced onion and stir occasionally until it starts to get golden.

While that is happening put a pan on the stove with boiling water and place the cubed potatoes inside (+a little salt) and boil them till cooked.

On the frying pan now that the onions started to caramelize move the onion to one side and place the sausages split down first in the pan then cover them with the onions, and let them cook for about 3-4 minutes, after that turn them and let the onions fall under the sausages and cook for another 3-4 minutes stirring occasionally. This will allow the sausages to cook but more importantly will allow the onions to caramelize further.

Now the potatoes should be cooked so strain them and at the same times remove the sausages from the pan (dish them in pre heated plates to conserve them hot) leaving only the onions. Add to the onions a large glass of water with the gravy powder diluted in it, and bring it to the boil until the gravy thickens and infuses with the caramelized onions and sausage meat flavours from the pan.

While the gravy is making, mash the potatoes with the potato masher, once smooth add the butter + the parsley + the milk and nutmeg and mix well.

Than dish it all and eat this simple traditional yet super delicious meal. :)


Thursday 3 December 2009

Reward for wining a Competition

I have entered a competition on I Love Flavour, Me! the owner of that blog is Ruth, so you can see me below receiving the prize which is a really excellent 1L of Italian super nice olive oil.

Thank you Ruth for your generosity, I know it wasn't cheap...



The page announcing me as a winner is here and it talks about traditional "pasteis de Belém" one of my favourite cakes, and also contains some history ...cheers !

Tuesday 10 November 2009

Super Light Chocolate Mousse



Ingredients:
  • 1 egg (separated 1white, 1 yolk)
  • 300mls whipping cream
  • 75grs 60% cocoa dark chocolate
  • 1 soup spoon of butter
  • 1 handful of sliced almonds (dry roasted in a pan)
  • 1 tea spoon of vanilla essence
  • 2 (flat) soup spoons of icing sugar
  • 1 soup spoon of cream




In two separate bowls whisk the egg white on one and the cream on the other, half way through to peaking add a (flat) soup spoon of icing sugar to each whip and continue to whip them till very firm.


Place a small pan with a little water and over that place a small glass bowl put the chocolate there into squares and keep stirring until this one melts completely, now add the spoon of butter, and once this one melts add the vanilla essence and the egg yolk mixed with one soup spoon of cream. Keep stirring for about 30 secs to 1 minute this will go into a rich smooth silky and glossy chocolate sauce, remove the bowl from the water and let it cool or pour it into a cold bowl to cool faster.

Add the egg white to the whipped cream and in a folding action mix the two, then add the chocolate, and again with a folding action mix it in. Then pour into ramekins top it with grated chocolate and roasted flaked almonds refrigerate for an hour or more and eat....enjoy the lightest and most rich & delicious chocolate mousse ever. Bon apetit!!!

Thursday 29 October 2009

Pumpking Mousse with Pan Roasted Pumpkin Seeds - Halloween



Ingredients: (enough for 4-5 ramekins)
  • 1 thick pumpkin slice (pealed and chopped into little pieces)
  • 1 orange (juice and pulp)
  • 2 soup spoons of sugar
  • 250mls whipping cream (to whip into Chantilly)
  • 1 one heaped tea spoon of icing sugar
  • 1 hand full of pumpkin seeds




Preparation:

Easy, put a frying pan on the stove medium heat, place the seeds of pumpkin inside and keep stirring the frying pan (as if you were doing popcorn), once hot the seeds start to pop when these to stop popping they are ready. Put them on a plate and let them cool.

Meantime in a small pan put the chopped pumpkin plus the sugar and the juice (pulp) of the orange, let it come to boiling point and reduce the heat to minimum leaving it to cook for around 20 minutes stirring occasionally. once the pumpkin is semitransparent, then crush it (for example with a fork. masher) adds two or three tablespoons of water and keep it boiling for a further 10-15 minutes, until being like a moist compote , withdraw of the heat and leave to cool completely.

In a bowl whip the cream and halfway to becoming whipped cream add the powdered sugar in and beat the rest until quite firm, then add the compote of pumpkin and and most of the pumpkin seeds (pre-crushing these with your hands, and reserve a few to decorate the top of the sweets), once done refrigerate for at least 1 hour and eat it with pleasure.

It will have amazing textures and flavours the textures are, the crunchiness of the pumpkin seeds and the puking itself has a stringy but soft texture and the velvety smooth texture of the cream are a perfect combo here, as to the flavours pumpkin and orange what a blast and bursting smooth and zingy taste smoothed out by the cream WoW..you must make these they are great will make 6 ramekins.


Wednesday 21 October 2009

Curried Pumpkin and Chicken Stew - Halloween



Ingredients: (enough for 3 people) “for more add more potatoes”
  • 1 small pumpkin (peeled, cut into pieces)
  • 1 large potato (cut into pieces)
  • 1 can of cooked chickpeas
  • 1 large onion (cut in pieces)
  • 2 garlic cloves (perforated)
  • 4 Cardamoms (just the seeds)
  • 2 Chicken breasts (cut into cubes)
  • 1/2 cup tomato pulp
  • 1 soup spoon of curry powder (not very spicy)
  • 1 flat soup spoon of turmeric
  • 1/2 soup spoon of paprika
  • 6 great mushrooms (or 12 small ones)
  • 1 bunch of coriander (chopped)
  • a little of olive oil and coarse salt.



Preparation:

Put in a pan it a little olive oil to cover the bottom plus pinch sea salt, once hot add the onion, the garlic, the cardamoms seeds, the onion and the pumpkin, always stirring until it goes golden.

When is golden (a little caramelized) then add the chicken, stirring it regularly to seal it all around, then add the tomato pulp, the paprika, the chickpeas, the turmeric, the mushrooms (if they large cut in quarters, if small in halves), the potato and the curry powder. Now it cover the pan with a lid and as soon as it starts boiling, reduce to minimum and leave it to cook for 25 minutes (+or-) adding a little water if it needs.

After is cooked, add the coriander and cook for a further minute and then serve it.

The inspiration for me was the Halloween pumpkin , carved with the flame inside, represented in this dish, the flame heat by the spicy hot kick and its softness pumpkin flesh, this is a dish partly sweet dish and partly spicy, and the textures are soft and at the same time grainy and silky.
Excellent Halloween representation. Yum yum, one that you really need to make.
if you want a greater visual use pumpkin halves as bowls to serve this delish meal in.





Tuesday 6 October 2009

Fresh Cod Fillets with Potatoes Cooked In a Rose Wine Sauce



Recipe Ingredients:(Good for 4 people)
  • 4-6 cod fillets (no bones or skins)
  • 8 medium potatoes (peeled and sliced)
  • 1/2 bottle of rose wine (the bottle being 750ml)
  • 1 large white onion (finely chopped)
  • 3 garlic cloves (minced)
  • 2 heaped soup spoons of fresh coriander (chopped)
  • 1 fish stock cube (knorr or similar)
  • 100mls fresh cream
  • 1 soup spoon of butter
  • 1 soup spoon of plain flour diluted in half a glass of water
  • a little olive oil, rock salt and freshly ground black pepper

A very simple preparation, place a pan with a little olive oil a pinch of rock salt and a pinch o black pepper on the heat, once well heated add there the garlic and the onion, stirring it frequently let it get golden (caramelized a little). Once that happens add the sliced potatoes and the rose whine and on top of those place the fish, adding a little more black pepper and a little salt over each fish fillet, put a lid on and once it starts to boil reduce to minimum allowing it to simmer for around 20miutes, to turn the sauce simply move the pan around with an angle (don't use spoons as to not break the potatoes or fillets).

After the 20 minutes remove the lid and add the butter and fresh cream as well as the flour and water mix (add more water if necessary), but mix the sauce again by swirling the pan do this occasionally until the sauce thickens which then means is time to put in the coriander and a couple of swirls of the pan, put the lid back on let it simmer a further 3 minutes and is ready to serve.

I wanted it this simple, obviously nothing stops you from adding to the cooking some carrot cauliflower broccoli etc... it really is up to you, but I really enjoyed the simplicity of this dish and the superb smooth silky textures and mild tastes it offered.

Thursday 17 September 2009

King Prawn Bean Stew with Garlic Basmati



Recipe Ingredients: (enough for 4)
  • 400 grs basmati rice
  • 3 cans (400grs each) borlotti or butter beans
  • 350 grs skinless king prawns (uncooked)
  • 50 grs of chourizo thinly sliced
  • 1 carrot minced
  • 1 onion minced
  • 3 garlic cloves minced
  • 150 mls tomato pulp (or passata)
  • 1 pinch of cayenne
  • 1 soup spoon of paprika
  • 1 bunch of coriander finely chopped
  • 2 large bayleafs
  • a little olive oil, salt and black pepper (to taste)




One of the tastier things I have ever eaten in the restaurant MetrisPlanet in Faro Portugal. I loved it so much that I had to recreate it, also must confess that I went back and back to that restaurant to eat that meal over and over again during my holidays. Of course they didn't give me the recipe so I had to create my own version based on taste and look s alone, and if I may say turned out quite excellent.

I used butter beans which were nice however whenever I will do this again I will use either borlotti or white beans, as the butter beans were a little floury in texture and I prefer a smother texture almost creamy. At Metris Planet restaurant a portion for two was €16 which means only €8 per person, which is a great price, but think the portion given in quantity was really enough for over 4 people excellent value, if ever in Portugal in the Algarve I would recommend you to visit this restaurant.


Well... To make this dish, place a wok pan on the heat and add to it a little olive oil once well hot ad to it: garlic, onion, carrot, bay-leafs, chourizo, cayenne pepper and the paprika. Let these cook up until the onion starts to caramelize, which then you add the: drained beans and tomato pulp, and once is back to boiling put the lid on reduce heat to minimum and let it simmer for around 40 minutes, mixing occasionally so that it doesn't stick to the bottom. Twenty minutes into the cooking add the salt and black pepper.

Lastly ad the prawns and the chopped coriander (reserving a little coriander for the decoration of the dish), cooking these for 3-4 minutes the prawn will change from a greyish colour to the nice orange colour when cooked, must not overcook them as instead of soft they will turn hard and rubbery.

As to the rice cook this one in water and salt with a little of oil and a couple of crushed garlic cloves for the garlic flavour cook it for 10-12 minutes (check pack for cooking times). Once fully cooked I drained the rice and while draining passed boiling water through it to remove excess starch as this is no good for your health.


Then is just a matter of dishing it and eating it....Bon Appetite xxxxxxx




Monday 31 August 2009

Quorn "Meat" Balls with Tomato and Mint Sauce



Recipe Ingredients: (enough for 4)
  • 1 pkt of Quorn balls (these can also be soya balls or any other vegetarian substitute, in the case of not being able to find these you can use full button mushrooms about 300 grs, or real meat)
  • 300 grs spaghetti
  • 1 diced onion
  • 1 large diced courgette
  • 1 very finely diced carrot
  • 2 garlic cloves minced
  • 1 piece of ginger root the size of a garlic piece minced
  • 2 finely chopped medium hot chillies
  • 1 vegetable stock cube
  • 1 can of Italian plum tomatoes diced
  • 1 soup spoon of paprika
  • 11 chopped fresh mint leaves
  • a little bunch of chopped parsley
  • 4 soup spoons of fresh single cream (I used very little as I wish this dish to be healthy)
  • a little olive oil, salt and black pepper (to taste)



To cook the spaghetti put a pan on the stove with some water and a little salt and vegetable oil (a couple of soup spoons full), the salt will enhance the spaghetti flavour and the oil will stop the water over-frothing when boiling the pasta due to the starch in the spaghetti. This will take 10-12 minutes to be fully cooked which should be enough time to do the sauce.

To do the sauce I used a wok pan, with a little olive oil on the stove high temp, once hot I added the, onion, courgette, garlic, carrot, ginger and chilli + seasoning. Once the onion is semi-transparent (around 4 minutes add the Quorn balls, stock cube and tomatoes, bring this to the boil and reduce heat to medium let it cook another 6-10 minutes at this stage add the cream and mint cook for a further 1-2 minutes, remove from the heat and add the parsley, mix well and serve over the spaghetti. Enjoy!!!


Friday 21 August 2009

Broccoli Spears and King Prawn Quinoa



A delicious and healthy recipe, that is light and well suited to this time of year (summer). Also long awaited by you my followers, with my apologies for the wait.

Recipe Ingredients: (for 4 people)
  • 350grs Quinoa
  • 250 Pealed Prawn (raw) cut in halves
  • 1 white onion, chopped
  • 1 medium carrot, diced
  • 2 spring onions, thinly sliced
  • 200grs broccoli spears, (branches sliced)
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed and chopped
  • 4 mild chillies, chopped
  • 1 piece of ginger (size of a garlic clove) minced
  • 1 fish stock cube (like knorr or Oxo)
  • 1/2 can plum tomatoes pealed and chopped
  • 1 soup spoon of turmeric
  • 1/2 soup spoon of paprika
  • 2 soup spoons of chopped coriander
  • olive oil, salt and black pepper to taste (+ 1/4 glass of wine "red or white)



Preparation:

Put In a pan about three to four tablespoons of olive oil ,a pinch of salt and a little pepper. Place this one on the heat and let it heat, once hot add the onion, garlic, ginger, carrot, chilli, chopped branches of broccoli, chives, paprika and turmeric. Cook a little for about 1 to 2 minutes stirring occasionally, when it starts to get a little stuck to the pan, de-glacé it with 1 / 4 cup of white or red wine, and it will form a thick sauce, to which you add a glass of water, the tomatoes, broccoli, the fish stock and the Quinoa .

Once boiling reduce the heat to minimum and put a lid on the pan, watching it from time to time to see if a little more water is needed, let cook for about ten minutes, then add the prawns and let it cook three to four minutes more stirring occasionally, adding last coriander cover the pan again with the lid and let stand about two to three minutes which will make it ready to serve .... bon appetit.


Thursday 13 August 2009

Holidays, and apologies!!!

Me and my pearly whites (hair too) :)
and you can see I just been on hols as I am unshaven.
Quarteira Beach

I have been on holidays, all went well and I had a whale of a time, as I ate fresh fish nearly everyday ... which was planed so as here in the UK is difficult to get fish of that same quality and as fresh, unless you live by the seaside. But mainly I went to to Portugal to have an implant done, and to whiten my teeth, which I done both....was totally painless and at a fraction of the price here in the UK (I will put details bellow) The total cost of an implant including bitumen and crown (zicornea porcelain) is around 1200 Euros, while the starting price for a lower quality implant in the UK is £2000. The clinic is in Faro, a few minutes in a car from the airport, Dentist Nuno Jorge, Dental Clinic Ria Faro (picture Bellow) well worth the trip a holiday and super cheap cosmetic dental treatments as well as normal ones too.





Now MY APOLOGIES, for not having communicated that I went on holidays and not posting here, leaving you to guess. I am so sorry but the trip was sudden. Hope I am forgiven.
Will soon post pics of the holidays. Thanks for following me and supporting me...appreciated.

Thursday 9 July 2009

Fruit Salad with Port Wine




Recipe Ingredients:
  • 1 Round Melon (cut into two halves, flesh removed and cut into pieces)
  • 3 Fleshy Oranges (segments removed without skin, pip's or membranes)
  • 1 bunch of grapes seedless (cut in halves)
  • 1 banana (cut in slices)
  • 1 Red apple (cut in quarters and then slice with the skin)
  • 1 tin of pineapple (or half of fresh pineapple) (cubed)
  • 1 Ripe peach (cut into little pieces)
  • 1/2 fresh orange juice
  • 1/2 pineapple juice
  • juice of a whole lemon
  • 2 shots of Port wine
  • pinch of cinnamon
  • a couple of scrapes of nutmeg
  • 1 soup spoon full of denmerra sugar


The preparation is simple, just mix all the chopped up fruit in a ceramic bowl, the melon skins should be immediately refrigerated after the flesh is scooped out. Then mix into the fruit all the liquids and condiments. and leave these to mature and ferment for a minimum of two hours (I prefer leaving them overnight) in the fridge.

Then you present the salad in the chilled melon halves, or in small ramekins etc, you you'd like to indulge you can also place a spoon of clotted cream on each serving on top and a mint leave.


Thursday 2 July 2009

Beetroot Linguine with Courgette and Mushrooms



Recipe Ingredients: (enough for 4)
  • 400grs linguine pasta
  • 3 small cooked beetroot (finely chopped)
  • 1 courgette (finely chopped)
  • 2 garlic cloves (finely chopped)
  • 1 onion (finely chopped)
  • 12 mushrooms (cut in halves)
  • 2 soup spoons of fresh cream
  • 1 glass of semi skinned milk
  • 1 teaspoon of corn starch diluted in a little water
  • 2 soup spoons of grated cheddar cheese
  • some, salt black pepper and olive oil.



Place some water in a pan with a little salt and a drizzle of olive oil, once boiling insert the linguine there, letting this one cook for 12-14 minutes, once done (should be al dente), drain it and while draining pass through it some more fresh boiling water, to remove excess starch. Continue to drain it.

Meanwhile put a little olive olive oil in a wok (about 3 soup spoons full). once hot add the onion and garlic, once these start going blond, add the remaining vegetables (the beetroot, courgette, and mushrooms) let these cook well for around 7-10 minutes, adding a little water every time it feels a little dry and stirring occasionally.

After they are cooked, add the fresh cream at this stage and the milk, bring it to the boil, and as soon as it starts to boil add the corn starch diluted in the water, the cheese, and stir regularly allowing it to thicken, once thickened place the linguine inside and stir come more as to mix well the sauce with the pasta, serve it now while very hot, it is delicious.

The beetroot is lovely in this dish as it does not just add colour it adds flavour and texture, and creates a varied different levels of textures and flavours, the beetroot should remain slightly crunchy the mushrooms meaty and juicy and the courgettes soft and creamy. Also bothe the beetroot and the mushrooms give this dish an excellent earthy flavour which is mellowe by the silky cream of the fresh cream, milk and cheese. Bon Apetit!!

** this is a valentines day inspired dish, for the colours and textures within**


Saturday 27 June 2009

Prawn Cakes with Saffron Bulgur and Salad



Recipe Ingredients: (Enough for 4)
  • 200grs large prawns (purĂ©ed)
  • 150grs cooked potato (purĂ©ed)
  • 300grs Bulgur Wheat (medium)
  • 1 egg (yolk to one side, whipped white to another)
  • 1 Gem Lettuce (well crispy separated into leaves)
  • 1 onion (finely chopped)
  • 1/2 half a red pepper (finely chopped)*reserve a little for decoration*
  • 2 garlic cloves (minced)
  • 1 piece ginger (minced)
  • 1 soup spoon of turmeric + 3 strands saffron
  • 1 pinch chilli powder
  • seasoning (salt and pepper)
  • oil to fry
  • some olive oil


One more easy to prepare recipe, that is tasty wholesome and easy on the waste line. Mix the potato purée and prawn purée with the egg yolk and some seasoning, after well mixed add the whipped egg white, and mix this well too, to form a paste. Place the oil on a pan or fryer, and to form the cakes you use two spoons, and scoop from spoon to spoon which will for the cake which you will then drop into the very hot oil, cooking them on both sides until golden brown (see picture). After they are cooked put them on a plate containing several kitchen towels to remove excess oil.

The accompaniment is bulgur, which is cooked just in boiling water as you would do rice, placing in the water a little oil and some salt, it will cook in around 10-12 minutes, then you drain it and pass through it while draining some boiling water to remove starch. The grains will be well fluffy.

While it's draining, put a wok on the fire (or large frying pan) with a little olive oil, once hot add the onion, pepper, garlic, ginger and seasoning once golden golden add the turmeric and saffron as well as the chilli powder, stir for around 1-2 minutes, then add a little water like 1/3 of a glass,cook a further 1 minute and then add the drained bulgur, turn the heat off and mix it really well so that the whole flavour infuses it.
Then is just a matter of arranging this light meal on a plate, you can do it as it is shown in the picture or use your own ideas. I used some strips of red pepper to decorate the bulgur, and used the larger gem lettuce leaves to bed the prawn cakes, and with the remaining leaves I shredded them added a few bits of tomato & grated carrot, and drizzled them with balsamic vinegar and some olive oil.

Was delicious. hope you enjoy this summer meal.





I was awarde this special token by my dear friend Kim From the blog Ordinary Recipes Made Gourmet she is a great friend, and normally i don't accept tokens as I just don't have the time required to post them and to attribute to deserving blogs.

Also, like her I feel I would be fair to just select a few of my friends foodies as all that visit me I feel deserve tokens like this one, so I am not passing it around as all of you are deserving of it. But I am linking back to the person that gave it to me, as she deserves it. She is fun to talk to, full of energy and helpful, her foods are full of quality even when she makes simple or classic foods. I suppose that is her motto anyway, she tries hard to succeed and I feel she deserves to have success, she has this Amazon Store you should visit.

Saturday 20 June 2009

Orange Cake "Large" for Slicing



Recipe Ingredients: (was enough to cut 70 rectangular slices)
  • 300grs of butter (or baking margarine)
  • 300grs of sugar
  • 4 oranges (2 cut in slices and 2 "whole" blitzed into creamy pulp)
  • 6 eggs
  • 300grs of flour
  • 2 soup spoon of baking powder
  • 2 teas spoons of orange essence
  • a little of dememera sugar



Couldn't be easier... Beat the sugar with the butter, until you obtain a light and whitish cream, once that is done put the eggs (pre-mixed) in, a little at the time keeping the beating of the cream, this way attaining even a more creamy and full of air dough.

Once that is done, add the two oranges in pulp + the orange essence, (mix the pulp in well with a wooden spoon in a folding gentle action to try not to release any of the air contained in the dough), lastly add the flour, a little at the time as well, again folding action and gentle, until all is incorporated in the dough.

Then place the dough in a large tray previously greased and floured, I also used a Teflon baking sheet to avoid the cake sticking to the pan (worked a treat). On top of the dough lay the orange slices and cover the top of each slice with some dememera sugar, to allow them to crystallize and not burn as that would leave a bitter taste, (also if you think the taste of the orange skin may be too strong for you, you can always peals the slicing oranges prior to slicing).

The whole thing goes in a preheated oven at 180ÂşC for around 20-25 minutes, once done remove the cake from the oven, and let it cool a little before attempting to remove it from the container, this is where the Teflon came in handy as I just picked the four corners of it to remove the cake from the container to a cooling rack.

Optionally at the end, you can also squeeze a further two oranges and boil the juice with some sugar to make a liquid syrup to pour over the cake and get it even more moist, as this is a moist cake already, and very spongy and light. Then let it cool completely and slice it into rectangles.

Friday 19 June 2009

Mini Palmieres Cinnamon | Vanilla



Recipe Ingredients:
  • 2 pkts of ready made puff pastry
  • demerara sugar (sufficient)
  • 1 soup spoon of cinnamon
  • Honey (sufficient)
  • powdered sugar (sufficient)
  • vanilla essence
Sprinkle some flour on a table (surface), lay on the puff pastry block and spread it with the rolling pin until it is just about half a centimetre thick, retaining the rectangular shape. Now spread over it the dememera sugar mixed with the cinnamon, lay it on quite thick layer 2-3mllimetres , then from the smaller with side roll the pastry until about half and do the same from the opposite side, until you have like two rolls in the centre, then with a Sharpe knife cut slices about 1cm thick and lay the slices in a tray either previously buttered and floured, or the easy way with a Teflon baking sheet.

It goes in the oven for around 15 minutes at 180-200 Celsius, until golden, then remove them and place them on a cooling rack.

For the second lot repeat the process, but on this one before rolling I put honey mixed with vanilla essence and a little powdered sugar, and once cooled I sprinkled more powdered sugar.
As the pastry has no sweetness at all this may look like a lot of sweet but I assure you is not and turns out really well balanced. Happy party!!

Tuesday 16 June 2009

Angel Hair Pasta with Salmon and Hake Soup



Recipe Ingredients: (eneugh for 4 people)
  • 4-5 "balls" of Angel Hair Pasta (about 200grs)
  • 150grs hake+ 150grs salmon (other fish can be chosen and use even more varieties) (cut the fish in small cubes)
  • 1 onion (finely chopped)
  • 1 carrot (finely chopped)
  • 1 garlic clove (finely chopped)
  • 1 piece of ginger (finely chopped)
  • 1 bunch of parsley "or coriander" (finely chopped)
  • 1/2 tomato pulp "passata"
  • 1 cube of chicken or fish stock (fish stock is better)
  • Salt, Black Pepper, paprika, chilli powder (a pinch of each)
  • Olive oil and water (sufficient)

I made the sauce in the Wok, putting there a little olive oil, that once it reached hot temp, I added the onion, carrot, garlic & ginger, letting these cook until golden (stirring occasionally), once they reached that stage I added the fish and stir it occasionally only by tossing avoiding using wooden spoon, continued tossing occasionally but letting the fish to cook for around 2-3 minutes, as the fish cooks quickly.

At this point I've added the a pinch of each condiment, salt, b. Pepper, paprika chilli powder as well as the tomato pulp plus 2 glasses of water and the Angel hair pasta which I crushed with my hands to become just small bits of pasta I also added the stock cube. Then I let this cook for around 5-7 minutes, finally I turned the heat off and added the chopped herb (parsley or coriander) also added a few mint leaves that not only improve the visual they improve flavour and help digestion, I also toasted a few bits of bread and made some croutons, for a lovely soup meal. Enjoy!!


Friday 5 June 2009

Blueberry Crepes with Strawberry Mousse Filling



Recipe Ingredients:
  • 1 cup of flour
  • a glass of whipping cream (around 120mls)
  • 2/3 cup of blueberries
  • a little milk (sufficient)
  • 4 soup spoons of oil
  • 1 egg
  • 1 soup spoon of sugar
  • 10 strawberries (finely chopped + a soup spoon of powdered sugar if these aren't too sweet)
  • a dash of vanilla essence
  • vanilla flavoured powdered sugar (or normal)



These are two combined desserts. Crepes + strawberry mousse.

To make these, put in a bowl, the flour, make a well in the centre and place the oil + the egg there, start mixing in the centre with a whisk, once it starts getting thick add the blueberries (these ones previously crushed + mixed with the sugar and heated for around 1 minute to release their colour), continue whisking and as it gets thick again start adding the milk, and whisk and add milk and so on until it becomes liquid with the consistency of double cream.

Now soak a little bit of kitchen paper towel with a little oil and rub this on a non stick frying pan, heat the pan and once hot reduce to med-low heat and pour a couple of serving spoons inside swirl the pan so that it covers the whole bottom, let it cook for around 1-2 minutes you'll see it going golden through the crepe, with a spatula lift the corners and them with your fingers peel it of and turn it upside down, again 1-2 minutes and is done, set it aside on a plate. Then repeat process until all the crepe cream is used. You should get around 6-8 crepes.

let the crepes go cool as they become more malleable and elastic. Whip the cream and add a few drops of vanilla essence, once whipped add and fold in the chopped strawberries also a soup spoon of powdered sugar if the strawberries are not very sweet, once done refrigerate this will harden mousse further. Finally format the crepes as you like fill them with the mousse and decorate as you will, I used powdered vanilla sugar, than I refrigerated them further ..delicious with a nice hot cup of coffee or tea. cheers ..enjoy

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Rico - Tried and Tested Recipes

Hi my name is Rico (short for Ricardo) will regularly add more food content to this blog, all my recipes are tried and tested, as I make them and eat them as well as my family, so I wouldn't give you something that is not good.

Recipes published here, will try to conform to the following criteria:

-Easy to create or bake.
-Will be nutritious, wholesome and healthy as well as economical too.
- Will be varied and inventive, mostly created by me.
-Occasionally I will treat you to some indulgent ones. But just as a treat. lol :)
- If I use other blog recipes will be to pey homenage and I will definitly link it, appreciated if the same is done for mine.

I will try to respond to all comments made, and visit their owners, however I run a no strings attached blog here when I comment on other blogs I do not expect to have them come here the same way I don't accept if I am commented on that the person will expect my visit to their blog, no commitments, but as I said I will try.

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