Oven Baked Fresh Cod with Potatoes and Charlottes

Ingredients: (for 4 people)

• 2 fresh cod fillets (about 700grs) skinless and boneless (cut into small pieces)
• 4 Large pealed potatoes cut into very thin slices (about 5mm thick)
• 8 Charlotte's (thinly sliced)
• 8 Spring onions (sliced)
• 2 Broccoli heads (cut into pieces)
• 4 Garlic cloves (finely diced)
• 250mls fresh cream (you can use creme fraiche)
• 1 fish stock cube (knorr or any other brand)
• 1 bunch of parsley (finely chopped)
• 1/2 Glass of white wine (sweet)
• Juice of 1 lemon
• A little olive oil, salt, black pepper and butter.

An uncomplicated recipe, simply cook the potatoes in water until they become translucent, but not completely cooked (cooking for around 7-10 minutes depending on the potatoes quality), at the same time place on a frying pan a little olive oil and as soon as is very hot add the Charlotte's and the garlic with a pinch of both salt and pepper, stir regularly until these become golden, which then you should add the wine and the spring onions, leaving these to cook until soft (about 3-4 minutes.

In a Pyrex tray, cover the bottom with a film of olive oil, then lay out the sliced potatoes until the bottom is covered, on top of these place half of the onions mixture and also crumble half of the stock cube over it, repeat the process potatoes and onion mixture and stock cube, on on top of this final layer place the filleted fish pieces on top, and cover the fish with sliced red (or white onions) and finally to top it all add the fresh cream over it all, cover the tray with foil and place in a 180 degrees Celsius preheated oven for 20 minutes.

Once the 20 minutes are over, remove the aluminium foil from the tray, with care not to burn yourself or for food to be stuck to it, and let it remain in the oven at the same temperature for a further 20 minutes.

During the last 20 minutes place a deep pan on the stove with two fingers deep of water in it adding to it the broccoli put the lid on and once reaches the boil reduce to minimum leaving it to cook for those 20 minutes.

During the last five minutes before the broccoli are ready, place a little bowl in bain-marie and place in it a little butter around two soup spoons, until its melted adding to it at this stage the chopped parsley    and the lemon juice.

Now that all is ready at the same time is just to assemble the dish on the plate and eat it. Bon apettit!!

Extra wide tagliatelli with Shrimp and Natural Yoghurt Sauce

Ingredients for Recipe:

• 350 g tagliatelle large
• 1 large carrot (peeled and thinly sliced the cartoons)
• 1 large courgette (cut into very thin strips)
• 250grs peeled raw shrimp (cut into halves)
• 1 small pot of yoghurt
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 finely chopped garlic (+1 crushed)
• 1 / 2 an onion (thinly chopped)
• A cube of fish stock (knorr or other brand)
• 2 teaspoons flour (diluted one-third of a cup of water)
• Some olive oil, salt and black pepper

  

   A very simple dish to make quick and tasty as well as having a yoghurt tang which is unparalleled resembling a lemony taste.

   Prepare all the ingredients, once prepared the dish takes only about 15 minutes to make.

 

  Put the pasta cooking in boiling water with a crushed garlic clove, and at  the same time place  a large skillet with a drizzle of olive oil, and the (2 finely chopped) garlic,  to that add the onion and carrot bring it to sizzling point, stirring constantly to avoid burning (for about 5 minutes).

  Once the carrots soften then add the courgette the bay leaves the fish stock and 1 / 3 cup water, bring to a boil stirring regularly for 5 minutes. Finally add the tablespoon of butter and (water diluted ) flour, yoghurt then let it reach boil and add the shrimp, reduce the heat to minimum and cook for another 3-4 minutes stirring occasionally (do not forget to taste it to see if you need adding any salt and or black pepper).

 

   Drain pasta and serve it on a plate making a nest, in the middle place the shrimp sauce and finally add a little drizzle all around of extra virgin olive oil .Bon appetit!

Chicken and Mushroom Strogonoff (with a fresh mint touch)

Ingredients for the Recipe: (enough for 2)

• 2 chicken thighs (cut into small cubes)
• 200 grams of whole fresh mushrooms
• 1 and 1 / 2 cup of rice pilau
• 1 garlic clove, (finely chopped)
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 / 2 cup white wine
• 2 tablespoons of "creme fraiche"
• 2 tbsp chilli oil
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon of "chives" baby spring onion chopped baby 
• 1 / 4 cup of water with a teaspoon of Gravy (if you have no gravy, use the same amount of water with a tablespoon of plain flour ½ cube of meat stock) 
• Salt and mint leaves to taste

The preparation of this tested delicacy is very quick, it only needs a pan to cook the rice for about 12 minutes containing only salt and water, plus you will need a frying pan.
Place a tablespoon of olive oil in the frying pan until very hot. Once hot, add the garlic, the bay leaf and a pinch of salt, and stir-fry the garlic (which is pretty fast) adding the chopped chicken once the garlic is golden, stir regularly with a wooden spoon so that the chicken can be sealed all-over,  let the chicken gain a little colour, and at this stage add the wine, the chilli oil and the fresh mushrooms.

Continue stirring frequently for about 3-4 minutes, add the crème fraiche and a quarter cup of water with "gravy powder" (if you have no gravy use a quarter cup of water with half a cube of bouillon and a teaspoon of plain flour diluted, it will form a thick liquid "not too thick though" . 

Once it reaches boiling again, reduce heat and simmer it for 10 to 15 minutes. In the last five minutes add the chopped chives.
Serve and garnish with mint, which is also to eat as is super delicious and compliments the dish. If you fancy something more exotic arrange more chopped mint and use it instead of chopped chives. 

 YUM YUM! must try.

Drunk Duck with Chorizo With Herbed Oven Backed Potatoes and Veg

One more of my personal recipes, that is easy to make yet healthy and as always it has been tried and tested by me and my family, in order to guarantee a successful meal for you.

For this you will need: (for 4 people)

4 Duck full legs (drum and thigh)

5 Large potatoes (cut into eight parts length ways to form wedges)

4 Large carrots (peeled and sliced)

3 Garlic cloves (2 sliced, 1 minced)

2 large brocolli heads (cut into pieces)

20 slices of spicy chorizo (Portuguese or Spanish)

2 soup spoons of butter

1 lemmon (juice)

1 bunch fresh parsley (chopped)

1 Glass of white wine (cheap one will do, or even some old beer)

Salt, pepper, bay-leaves, olive oil and chilli powder (to taste)

To prepare this delicious meal, you place the duck in a container after making some insisions into the skin (see photo). Over it you poor the wine (or beer) and sprinkle it with some rock salt some pepper, a couple of bay leaves and some chilli powder. Place it in the fridge and let it marinade for two hours or more (as the more the better).

Later when you ready to make the meal take the duck out of the marinade and prepare it to go in the oven by inserting in the incisions a couple of slithers of garlic, a piece of bay-leaf and a slice of chorizo (each leg should have about 5 of these incisions), once done powder it with some chilli powder (or smoked paprika if you don't like it hot) another sprinkle of salt and black peper place in a tray (pyrex dish will do) and pour the marinade liquid around it. Place it in the oven which should have been preheated to 180/190 degrees Celsius, set it for 20 minutes.

After the 20 minutes have passed remove the duck from the oven and from the tray, and put the liquid marinade into a container place a wire rack into the pyrex and put back the duck on top of it basting it with some of the liquid marinade, and placing it in the oven for a further 30 (in which for each five minutes you baste them again). Simultaneously put the wedges in a bowl sprinkle it with rock salt, dried parsley, half of the lemon juice, chilli powder, the minced garlic and a bout 3 soup spoons of olive oil....toss these well together place them in a baking tray and place it in the oven with the chicken.

After 10 minutes, of the second oven stage of the duck place the carrots and the brocolli (in pieces) in a pan add about 1 glass of water cover it with a lid and place it on the stove on a medium to low heat once the water boiled.

It will all now be ready at the same time so all you need to do is dish it all together, in bain Marie melt the butter add the other half lemon juice and some fresh chopped parsley to pour over the veg (alternatively you can make a thick bechamel sauce, and pour this over the veg). How easy was that a meal, all in all 50 minutes from beginning to end.