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.

Courgette Risotto (vegetarian)

Recipe Ingredients: (enough for 4)

• 400grs Risotto rice (American Long Grain will also work)
  
• 1 courgette (sliced into little cubes)
• 150grs Button Mushrooms (if bigger cut in halves) please do not use canned..not the same.
  
• 1 large onion (finely diced)
  
• 1 Garlic Clove (minced)
  
• 1 Vegetable stock cube (Oxo is fine or Knorr)
  
• 1 heaped soup spoon of chopped up parsley.
  
• a little olive oil
  
• 25-30grs butter
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
  
• 3 soup spoons of fresh single cream
  
• (optional) shavings of cured parmesan cheese (optional extravagant) shavings of Truffle
  

Place a pan on the stove with enough olive oil to cover the bottom, once hot add the, onion, garlic, courgette and seasoning (salt and pepper), let them cook stirring it occasionally once the onion is semi-transparent add the rice, stirring it to be completely covered in the olive oil, let the rice cook around 3 minutes stirring frequently, this will make the rice thirsty and ready to start absorbing the stock, you make this by adding the stock cube to about 70dcl of warm water, making sure is well dissolved. So you add some stock just enough to cover the rice and continuously stir, as it dries add a little more stock and so on until it finishes,but when you have used 2/3 of the stock is time to add the mushrooms and the butter, and then continue the process as before.


The risotto requires that the rice is fully cooked but still firm in the grain interior, so don't be afraid test and taste it as you cook, you'll know when is right for you, it should never be overcooked and soft all the way through, once I almost finished cooking I added then the three spoons of fresh cream, and let it cook just one further minute then added the parsley and gave it one last stir, and served it. It is lovely to then put on top for both decoration and flavour the optional bits, just slithers of cured parmesan, or shavings of truffle, or both..hehe you decide how extravagant you wanna be.....It is also lovely with a nice medium dry ice cold white wine...have fun ..is easy and you don't need the optionals to be good... cheers!!!

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!!

Duo Pizza - Thin and Crispy (Italian Type)

Receita em Português

Fiz estas pizas para o jantar no outro dia, ficaram uma delicia, já há muito tempo que não comia piza assim, sem estar oleosa e fofa, só fiz uma coisa que modificava, mas foi por preguiça. Nesta só me ti cheddar queijo, quando devia também ter posto mozarella, mas não estava com paciência para ir a loja, então podia ter ficado mais gostosa, mas também teria ficado mais calorifica. hehe O que se há de fazer?

Recipe Ingredients: (enough for 4 or two hungry ones)

• 2 tall glasses of strong plain flour
  
• 1 tall glass of water (+or-)
  
• 1 glass grated cheddar
  
• 1 glass of grated Mozarella (I didn't put this but is definitly better with it)
  
• 1 glass of pitted black olives
  
• 1 glass of mushrooms (thinly sliced)
• 1 large onion very thinly sliced
  
• 1/2 glass of tomato pulp (tempered with: a little salt and black pepper, a tea spoon of oregano, and a pinch of garlic granules)
• 1 tea spoon of instant fast action east
  
• salt
• olive oil
  

Preparation:

A very simple and fast recipe to accomplish. In a bowl I placed the flour and the east, which I mixed well, then followed by a large pinch of salt and the water (preferably warm), mix it well in with your hand, until it comes away from the walls of the bowl, transfer it onto a floured table, and sprinkling more flour kneed it stretching it to break down the starch in the dough making it silky and smooth, do this for around 5 minutes. Split the dough into two balls, and roll them with a rolling pin to the size of the trays you wanna put them in, with a tissue rub some olive oil at the base of the tray and then place the dough there, and you cover it with some kitchen cloths (sprinkle a little coarse polenta so it doesn't stick to the cloth) place them in the oven (switched off) for around 30 minutes, to allow the dough to rise a little.

After that remove the trays from the oven, and turn the oven on to preheat to 180-200c.
Split the sauce between the two pizzas, making sure you leave off around 1cm from the edge, leaving the dough exposed there, so you get a nice crust. Then put half of the mix of mozarella and cheddar dividing by the two pizzas over the dough. Followed by the toppings, (half for each) olives, onions, mushrooms (i made one without mushrooms as one of my kids do not like e'm), then followed by the remaining mixed cheddar and mozarella, a sprinkle of oregano on top of each, and oven with them for around 18 minutes, until golden, then I served with a little mixed salad and balsamic vinaigrette.

Remember you put whatever topping you want, and that this is also great to use left overs, of cooked meat or fish etc... (or even use ham, pineapple etc). just cut them into chunks and on top they go. Very nice with a glass of nice light red wine, like a good Californian red.