Tuesday 31 March 2009

Spaghetti Bolognese with Pancetta and Chorizo



Recipe Ingredients: (enough for 4)
  • 500grs minced meat (beef)
  • 400grs spaghetti
  • 40grs Pancetta (or smoked bacon)
  • 20grs chorizo (diced)
  • 1 onion (finely diced)
  • 3 garlic cloves (finely diced)
  • 1 plum tomato tin (finely diced) best if "Italian"
  • 1 soup spoon of tomato concentrate (diluted in 1/2 glass of water)
  • 1 chicken stock cube
  • enough olive oil
  • bunch of coriander
  • enough salt and black pepper
Put on the stove a frying pan with a little olive oil, once well hot add the onion, the garlic and cook these well until golden, and at this stage add the pancetta and chorizo fry them for a further 3 minutes stirring always, follow it them with the addition of the minced beef, and still stirring it this time occasionally cook until all of the beef is browned, at which stage you now add the tomatoes both plum and concentrate, once it gets to boiling point reduce the flame to minimum and let it cook for about 20-30 minutes.

Eleven minutes before the sauce is ready, place a pan of boiling water with little salt and vegetable oil (like 2 soup spoons), stick the spaghetti inside and this will be ready in 11 minutes should still be a little "al Dente" as it should, as is delicious if it offers a little resistance when you bite it, drain it in a colander pouring boiling water over it to remove the starch still draining it. Serve and eat is delicious, and very simple.


Sunday 29 March 2009

Quorn Enchiladas (you can use alternatives, Inc meat)




Well for a good enchilada you need a good tortilla wrap, normally I make my own as is best, however trying to save time I purchased some decent ones, ready made.

I also prepared the tray for the oven straight away, with a drizzle of olive oil so that the enchiladas don't get stuck when cooking.

And this is the filling already cooked:

Recipe Ingredients:
  • 1 packet of Quorn about 250-300grs
  • 1 Red bell pepper (cut into strips)
  • 2 white onions (cut into strips, these are sweeter)
  • 1 can of Flagleotti beans (but also any red small bean will do)
  • 3 garlic cloves (minced)
  • 1 red chilli (hot, cut into strips)
  • 1/2 soup spoon cumin powder
  • 1/2 tea spoon Cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 soup spoon oregano
  • 2 soup spoon tomato concentrate diluted in half glass of water.
  • salt and black pepper
  • a little olive oil
Put a frying pan on the stove with a little olive oil, when hot adding also the garlic, bell pepper, cayenne, cumin powder, salt & Black pepper. Let these fry for 5 minutes stirring occasionally, then add the Quorn and the "diluted" tomato concentrate, plus the cayenne and oregano, let it cook a further 5-7 minutes stirring occasionally and the sauce is done (adding the beans around 3 minutes before cooking finishes).


The the bechamel, as done in previous recipes, so is unnecessary to give the recipe again, as you know already how it is done or you can check previous recipes.

Then I lay the sauce with the shape of a fat sausage in the middle of the tortilla living a little room from the sides, so that it doesn't spill when I roll em up.

Followed by a line of thick bechamel over the top as you can see on the photo, note that bechamel needs to be very thick.

One by one I stuffed all the enchiladas in the tray, poured bechamel over all of them followed by a line of diluted tomato concentrate + a little cheddar sprinkles on top as well as some oregano.

Then oven for around 27 minutes @ 200c, until golden brown. This has to be a must make them sometime. Yum yum!

No photo above which represents that it was all eaten. I made this one with a step by step photos etc. as to show how easy it is to make them, and how delicious it gets, so that you are encouraged to make them too, like I said at the beginning, you can use meat instead if you prefer. I accompanied this with a nice beer from Morrison, a Brazilian beer called Barahma, and was a very light in taste beer, yet fair amount of alcohol...nice.

Friday 27 March 2009

Ginger and Paprika Cod with Prawn Rice

Receita em Português AQUI



Recipe Ingredients: (Enough food for 4)
  • 300grs rice
  • 4 fresh cod fillets (skinless)
  • 1 piece of ginger the size of 2 garlic cloves (minced)
  • 4 garlic cloves (minced)
  • 200grs prawn (uncooked and pealed)
  • 1 onion (very finely diced)
  • 1 courgette (diced)
  • 1/2 green pepper (diced)
  • 1 soup spoon of turmeric
  • 1/2 tea spoon of cayenne pepper
  • 2 soup spoons of tomato concentrate
  • 1 fish stock (knorr or Oxo or similar)
  • a little olive oil
  • (optional a little chorizo, diced)
Marinade the fish rubbing on it a mixture of two garlic cloves with some olive oil a little salt and pepper, paprica and ginger, on both sides, and let it flavour for at least half hour.

On a pan you need to cook the rice, which will take about 10-12. Cook it until is virtually cooked but not quite done, drain it and while draining it run some boiling water through it as this will remove the excess starch as well as leaves it wanting to absorb the rest it needs to finish cooking, this is so that when you add the sauce it swells the rest and acquires fully the sauce flavour as if it was cooked in it, just without the stodginess.

In a pan you put a little olive oil together with the onion, pepper, remaining 2 garlic cloves, cayenne, salt and pepper. So you cook these until the onion is slightly browned, at this stage you add the courgette the 2 spoons of tomato concentrate "diluted in a little water", and the fish stock, let it all boil for about 15 minutes, at the end of that add now the prawns (and optionally the chorizo) let it cook for a further 3-4 minutes (not any longer or the prawn will go rubbery) and is ready to serve after you add the rice to the sauce give it a stir, put the lid on and let it rest around 2-3 minutes.

Obviously controlling the time, you will have started the fish while doing the sauce even though this one is quite quick to do. Put a skillet or frying pan that can go in the oven, on the stove with a little olive oil, once hot add the fish, and quickly seal it around 2 minutes on each side, then you stick the fish in the oven preheated to 180 Celsius (gas mark 4) for about 10 minutes. And that is as simple as it gets.. A wonderful easy and very healthy economical meal.


Sunday 22 March 2009

Somked Hadock Filled Portabello Mushrooms Grattin

Receita em Português AQUI



This was a very delicious meal I was fortunate to prepare. An invention no doubt, and like all inventions I was afraid of failure, but not the case, this was a success with the family.

Recipe Ingredients:(enough for 4)
  • 4 Portabello mushrooms (if not portabello large open ones will do)
  • 2 Bunches of broccolis spears (about 400grs)
  • 400grs mixed red and white new potatoes (cut in half)
  • 125grs fresh single cream
  • 2 soup spoons of Gruyère pieces (if not available, extra mature chedar will do"grated")
  • 2 soup spoons of mild cheddar (grated)
  • 1 glass of milk
  • 50grs butter
  • 1 big bunch of parsley (finely chopped)
  • 1/2 reb bell pepper (cut into little strips)
  • 4 garlic cloves (finely chopped)
  • 300grs smoked hake (no skin and chopped into small cubes)
  • 1/2 lemon juice
  • 1 pinch nutmeg
  • Olive oil
  • salt and pepper to taste





Put the potatoes cooking in a pan with a little salt, these will take about 15-20 minutes depending on their size. On another pan cook the broccoli spears, these will take between 7-10 minutes to be cooked so only start cooking these 10 minutes after you have put the potatoes on, once the broccoli is cooked just put a little butter in them (optional).

However before all that you need to prepare the mushrooms as these will take around 20 minutes in the oven (at 200c). So to prepare them drizzle a little olive oil in a large pirex dish to fit all mushrooms or 2 small ones, put the mushrooms upside down in the dish and previously remove the stalk, chopping them into small bits. Now season the mushroom with some salt and pepper, then top it with (dividing by the 4), 2 chopped garlic cloves, chopped mush stalk, the pepper (save a little to also decorate), half of the parsley and the smoked fish, finally the bechamel (see how to make this bechamel bellow) and on the top of the bechamel, the mild cheddar and the remaining pepper for decor.

For the bechamel you place in a little pan, the cream and the milk, let it get very hot at that stage add a little seasoning, salt pepper, a pinch of nutmeg and the Gruyère cheese. Once all melted get 1/3 of a glass with water and mix in a soup spoon of plain flour, once well mixed , pour it into the sauce and stir briskly and the sauce will thicken substantially, should be the consistency of runny mayonnaise.

Once the potatoes are cooked put them in a frying pan with the butter, remaining parsley and remaining garlic and fry them for 3 minutes adding the lemon juice at the end, plate it all up and you're done. Is super delicious I cannot tell you how much you need to make it and find out.


Attribute

If you use any recipes from this site on your blog and/or are inspired by them in the making of a dish on your blog, please acknowledge it by attributing a link as a thank you concerning it's source.... THANK YOU.

PS:
No spam or advertizing will ever be plubished here, don't even try as all comments are checked before publishing.
If you want to place an advert here, payment must be arranjed first.

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.

I also want this opportunity to say, thank you al that have continuously vsited me and new people visiting me you are the reason why I am here, I am not here just to get numbrs or self publicise, I am here for real friends and real opinions and to be nice to all. THANK YOU ALL :) xx

Don't just visit in a rush...subscribe to a feed, get updated automatically when I put new foods up, it is fun.