Butternut Squash and Runner Bean Spring Soup

Recipe Ingredients: (for 4+ people)

• 2 Large Potatoes (cubed)
  
• 1/2 Butternut Squash (cubed)
• 1 Onion (finely chopped)
• 2 Celery Sticks (coarsely sliced, I removed strings first, unless you using baby or celery heart)
  
• 1 Garlic Clove (finely chopped)
• 2 Carrots (finely sliced)
• 12 Stringless Runner Beans "large" (finely sliced)
• salt black pepper and olive oil (sufficient)

Is super simple. Put a pan on the stove with enough olive oil to cover the bottom, once really hot add the, onion, garlic and the celery. Let these cook until they start getting golden, at this stage add the potato and the squash, always stirring, letting it cook for around 3 minutes, is alright if it starts to get a little stuck to the pan. After that add in about 1 and 1/2 litres of water + salt and black pepper to taste, and deglacée de stuck bits of the side of the pan, as these add to the soup flavour, let it cook for about 20-25 minutes.

Once cooked blitz it all to form the smooth silky purée , once that is achieved add the runner beans and the carrots let these cook for another 20-25 minutes and there...it's ready to eat, obviously let it cool a little you don't want to burn your mouth like I did lol ... cheers!!! Is that easy.

In Portugal if you want a soup to be more of a meal, like ...you just want to have the soup for lunch/dinner just add to the soup once done one sliced boiled egg per person inside the soup, easy and delicious alternative.

Sun on Your Plate - Hake with Saffron pan fried Potatoes and Butternut Squash - Yellow Theme

Recipe Ingredients: (enough for 4)

• 4 skinless and boneless hake fillets (you can also use fresh cod)
• 8 medium potatoes (cubed)
• 1/2 butternut Squash (cubed)
• 5 garlic cloves (minced)
• 1 piece of ginger (minced)
• 8 baby corn (cut in half length ways)
• 1 tea spoon of turmeric
  
• 1/3 tea spoon of saffron
  
• a little olive oil
  
• salt and black pepper (to taste)
  

Preparation:

Place a two pans on the stove with some water on one you put in the butternut squash and two of the potatoes + one garlic clove, a little salt, on the other just the remaining potato and get these cooked, it should take around 15-20 minutes. (careful not to overcook them)

Meanwhile blend 2 garlic cloves, a little salt pepper, turmeric and two soup spoons of olive oil, the idea is to make a marinade paste to place on the fish, so coat the fish on both sides with it, for a super flavour. As soon as the potatoes are cooked, put the fish in a non stick tray and in the oven preheated to 200c, it will take around 10 minutes to be cooked.

Drain the potatoes (on their own), and place a wok or a large frying pan on the stove, with the bottom covered with olive oil, once hot add 2 garlic cloves, the saffron a little seasoning and the potatoes, let them crisp up before tossing for turning them (don't use utensils to turn them to avoid further mashing of the potatoes) crisp and toss, do this for around 7 minutes. It will get a mix of textures crisp ones and smooth. The flavours gained from the saffron and garlic are amazing couple with the textures.

also while doing that, place another little frying pan on the stove this one with a little olive oil and once hot add the ginger and a little seasoning as well as the corn, and keep tossing it ass you don't want it to burn, as it dries add a few drops of water and again toss and toss, and a few more drops of water until is cooked but you want it still crunchy, to contrast with the pure.

Now drain the potatoes with the buttenut, mash them all nice and smooth and there you have the pure, if you want more creamy ad a soup spoon of fresh cream. That is it just serve your sunshine and eat.

My family when ate this, couldn't even speak, just the following sounds came out Huuummm!!! Aaaahhh! ...well hope you like it too. Cheers!!

Yasai Katsu Curry (Wagamama style dish, my way)

Receita em Português AQUI

(This is my dish, photo taken with camera)

Everyone has been waiting for this one a proper Wagamama (Yasai Katsu Curry, 72 on the menu) dish made my way the secret is out hehe!! All made from my head and senses as had no recipe, just what is tasted like to go by and textures in my mouth.

(This is Wagamamas dish, photo taken with phone)

Recipe ingredients: (I'll be a bit vague, as it depends on people)

• 2 slices of butternut squash (per person)
• 2 slices of sweet potato (per person)
• 2 slices of aubergine (per person)
• 2 eggs mixed in a bowl
• 1/2 packet of water crackers in a bowl (crumbed to resemble rough bread crumbs)
• 3 soup spoons of plain flour (in a bowl)
• 3 soup spoons full of olive oil
• 2 soup spoons of garam masala
• 1 spoon of turmeric
• 1 soup spoon of medium curry powder
• 1 soup spoon of ground coriander seeds
• 1 garlic finely chopped
• 1 piece of ginger the size of a garlic clove finely chopped
• 1/2 onion finely chopped
• 300grs of risotto rice (to make the sticky rice)
• salt and pepper to taste.

All the above ingredients are depending on the number of people but based initially on 4.

the risotto rice to be sticky rice I done it as follows, cooked it in very little water just to cover the rice, and as it cooked and drank the water I added more (hot) water to it, once virtually cooked, put it in a sieve drain passed a little boiling water through, and drained it again but not entirely, put it back in the pan with a lid on and let it rests a good 4-5 minutes.

The curry sauce you can make this in advance and heat it near the time to put over rice and fried stuff (I decided not to cover fried stuff as wanted to show it in the photo).
Put a little pan on the stove with a little olive oil about 3 spoons full, once hot add the very finely chopped, garlic, onion, and ginger, let these cook until golden, at this stage add all the powders, garam masala, turmeric, med curry powder, ground coriander seeds and a little seasoning salt and pepper. Let these cook until it forms a paste add about 2 glasses of water, and once boiling, mix in a glass two spoons of plain flour and some warm water, mix well so it has no lumps, must be gravy consistency, then pour half into the boiling curry and stir briskly, once that is farly thick blitz it with the blender to smoth out the pieces of garlic, onion and ginger add a little more flour and water to it and mix again briskly until it gets like a very thick gravy. And is ready to go over the rice.

"The veg" the aubergine is fried from raw, however the butternut and the sweet potato are part-cooked in water for only 3 minutes, to make these is very simple you need a pan with vegetable oil very hot (or a dip fryer) and each slice of veg goes in the flour first, then the egg and finally in the cracker crumbs (normally Panko crumbs are used, but I feel crackers are just as good and cheaper) then in the fryer until golden brown (don't forget to turn them) . Once done they should drain a little in some kitchen paper, then served with the rice and curry sauce also with a little mixed leaves salad (also supposed to have a little pickled ginger, I didn't get enough time to make that :D ) see pictures.

So that is how you make it at home if you time it right all will come out hot, if not stick it in the oven for a blast before serving hehe (minus the salad) Have fun, I know I did.

(This is Wagamamas dish, photo taken with phone)

(Again my Dish, photo taken with camera)

Fungi and Quorn Cooked in a Butternut Squash Sauce & Carrot and Tomato Rice (Vegan-Vegetarian)

Receita em Português AQUI

Recipe Ingredients: (enough for 4)

• 1/2 Butternut Squash (very finely diced)
• 1 small onion (very finely sliced)
• 2 garlic cloves (very finely sliced)
• 1 courgette (finely diced)
• 300grs button mushrooms (whole)
• 200grs Quorn pieces
• 400grs rice
• 2 large carrots
• 1 tomato (skin removed to for rose, rest diced)
• 1 soup spoon of tomato paste
• 1/4 glass of water with a tea spoon of plain flour diluted
• 1/2 tea spoon of paprica
• 2 glugs of olive oil
  

Put a pan on the stove on high temp, cover the bottom of the pan with olive oil, then once hot add, half of the garlic half of the onion and the butternut, start stirring it and as it starts to stick and dry add a bit of water (vegetable stock is better) mix again letting it cook it will dry again pour a little more water. the process is repeated around 3 to four times until the butternut starts disintegrating into a paste, when that happens season it (salt and pepper) add about 1/2 glass of water (or veg stock) and now add the courgette, Quorn and the mushrooms, put a lid on and reduce flame to minimum, letting it simmer and cook for about 15 minutes.

While that is doing let's do the rice, put a pan with water and salt on the stove on high, then pour the rice in and give it a stir, it will take approx 10-12 minutes until fully cooked, once done strain it passing also boiling water through to remove starch then add the carrot sauce.

While the rice is boiling you put a frying pan on the stove, with a little olive oil and once hot add the carrot, remaining garlic and onion as well as some seasoning, stir fry it for about 3-5 minutes and add a little water (or veg stock) and then let it cook another 10 minutes and at this stage will join the rice.

With all taking the 15 minutes the sauce takes to be ready all will be ready at the same time, so remove the lid from the butternut sauce and add the water with flour this will thicken the sauce further making it extremely smooth and nice.

Plate it up and eat it, it has a delicate sweetish taste due to the butternut which is in my opinion quite divine. If you want a meat one just replace the Quorn with the meat of your choice.

Brocoli and Butternut Squash Fettuccini and Lemon Chicken

Recipe Ingredients:

• 1/2 Bitternut Squash (cut very thin slices)
  
• 1 broccoli branch (cut very thin slices)
• 3 chicken thigh
• zest strands of half a lemon
• juice of 1 lemon
  
• 2 garlic clove (minced)
• salt and pepper to taste
• some olive oil
• 1 tea spoon of flour diluted in a little water
• 300grs fresh fettuccine
• 1 glass of white wine

Ok here it goes. Put a pan on the stove with a glug of olive oil, when hot place inside the thinly sliced butternut squash and 1 minced garlic, the idea is that the butternut squash cooks and gets really soft so that you can puree it, while this happens as it will take a good 5-7 minutes on another pan put boiling water and a little salt and put the broccoli into small bits inside, you want these well cooked nearly breaking apart so that it blends later with the butternut squash (but if you don't like them mushy, just don't cook them too well).

Back to the butternut squash, as it cook gently break it with a wooden spoon, and as it starts getting dry ad bits of the wine bit by bit and keep breaking up the BN squash, once all the wine is in add a little water and use the hand blender to blitz it into a creamy sauce, add to this sauce your cooked broccoli and season it with a little salt and pepper to taste, turn the fire down and let it simmer gently for about 3 minutes.

The fresh fettuccine only takes about 5 minutes to cook, so just boil as normal for that time with a little salt, and drain it, drizzle a little olive oil and toss it so that it doesn't stick together and serve it with the BN squash and broccoli sauce on top (optional you can ad shavings of rich dried cheese or Parmesan)

As to the chicken, remove the skin and the bones cut them into small (ish) portions, on a pan put a glug of olive oil, once hot add the chicken the remaining garlic and the lemon zest strands, cook on a high temperature and turn the chicken constantly to seal, once sealed add some seasoning (salt and pepper) and let it cook until the chicken is cooked through. the process is quick as chicken pieces are small and are de-boned and skinless about 3-5 minutes, at this stage add the whole juice of the lemon and a little plain flour diluted in a little water, this will thicken up the lemon sauce making it delicious, simmer for another 2 minutes and it's done...Cheap too.

Now remember to control the times so that everything sorta comes out at the same time. Bon Appetit.