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!!

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.

Nut Free Salad Pesto Pasta with a Pan Fried Cod Loin

Easiest and fairly healthy meal. Recipe Ingredients:

• 400grs fresh pasta (I used spirals)
• 250grs packet of three leaves salad (mine was, spinach, rocket and water cress)
• 3 garlic cloves (minced)
• 1/2 red bell pepper
• 1/2 red chilli
• some olive oil
• 1 juice of whole lemon
• 4 fresh cod loins
• salt and pepper to taste

In a frying pan put a little olive oil and two of the minced garlic cook for 1 minute add the salad, and toss it quickly when it goes limp and darker in colour pour it all into a jug and add 3 glugs of olive oil, the lemon juice the bell pepper and chilli, blitz it all with the blender. Meanwhile cook the pasta in boiling water with a little salt and a little vegetable oil, it takes around 15 minutes to cook once cooked add the pesto, you made. Also on the pan you sautéed the salad add a little more olive oil the remaining garlic a little salt and pepper, and the cod loins you can squeeze a little lemon juice over them if you want it will take around three minutes on each side to cook completely depending on thickness, and is all done ...check the times and plan how and when to cook things so that all finishes at the same time, this is a lovely light and fast meal yet very filling and colourful. cheers!!

Lemon Chicken with Lemon Sauce - Blueberry Cottage Cheese Cakes

Receita em Português AQUI

Recipe Ingredients: (feeds 4-5)

• 4 medium chicken breasts (each breast cut length ways to for two steaks)
  
• 2 lemons (one of which is to be cut in slices) *
• 2 soup spoons of butter
  
• 1 glass of white wine
  
• 2 garlic cloves (minced)
  
• 2 bay leaves
  
• salt and pepper to taste
  
• a little olive oil
  
• parsley bunch (finely chopped)

After you made the chicken breasts into steaks, put them marinating in "vinha de alhos" roughly translates to Garlic Winery, which means you cut a couple of garlic into slithers, put them in the chicken in a bowl fill it with half white wine until it just covers the chicken, and add the juice of one lemon plus a couple of bay leaves and a little salt(these ingredients are not part of the recipes list, so these are extra), let these marinate for minimum 30 minutes best if over an hour.

Now place a pan on the stove on high, put a couple of glugs of olive oil enough to cover the bottom of the pan, once hot add the chicken steaks one by one, and turn them around as soon as they sealed, at that stages ad the remaining contents of the marinading bowl, also add the juice of one lemon, cut the remaining into slithers and throw it in also and add on as well the garlic, lemon slices, the butter, white wine, bay leaves + salt and pepper to taste, bring these to the boil, then ad a lid to the pan and reduce it to min. Let it simmer for 30 minutes, stir occasionally, and check if it does get low on liquid (it shouldn't) add a little more White wine.

*(tip this chicken will get quite zesty and lemony, if you don't want that zesty after taste (a little bitter) just remove the yellow part of the skin of the lemon before you juice it and/or cut into slices and ad it to the food. One more thing if you want the slices of lemon to remain more intact, only add these 10 minutes before it is all done)*

Now that the 30 minutes passed add a tea spoon of flour to a little water mix well than pour it in the pan as well as the parsley, swirl it around and that will form the nicest lemony wine sauce, really great, and if you not afraid of you stomach lol add a little cream (optional, for a more smooth cream).

Serve the chickens steaks on the plates top them with a little sauce, and place a slice or two of lemon from the sauce on top. Serve with that your roasted/boiled vegetables, mine were roasted potatoes, parsnips, butter steamed red cabbage, and some boiled Brussels Sprouts with garlic butter.

Recipe Ingredients: (enough for 6 ramekins)

• 300grs Cottage cheese.
  
• 150grs self raising flour
  
• 1 large egg (separate yolk to one side, white to other and beat the with to peak)
  
• 250grs blueberries (any other berries will do: strawberry, raspberry etc etc)
  
• 6 spoons of sugar (2 to one side) (4 to another side)
  
• a little water and lemon juice.
• 200ml whipping cream
  

On a little pan you put the 2 soup spoons of sugar, 2 soup spoons of water and the fruit. Take this to the stove high temp and let it start to boil, once it reaches boiling point reduce it to minimum temp, and let it simmer until the fruit is cooked about 3-4 minutes, mash it with a potato masher let it cook for a further 2-3 minutes (if it starts getting to dry add a little more water) you want a consistency of runny jam.

For the cake, in a bowl put the cheese, egg yolk, 4 soup spoons of sugar and two thirds of the fruit jam, mix this very very well, once that is done mix in the flour bit by bit fold it in, it will get quite tough and sticky, so now add the beaten egg white and fold this one in too, now you should have a more caky mixture, spoon it into ramekins (that have been previously greased and floured) up to two thirds full, them add a tea spoon of the fruit mix into the centre of the dough, now add one more soup spoon of the dough to completely cover the jam you just put in and goes in the oven at 200c for 20 minutes depending on oven so check at 15. You want a golden brown top see picture. Once cooked let it cool down a little and serve it warm topped with icing sugar a dollop of whipped cream and the remaining jam add a little lemon juice heat it up and pour a spoon over the cake and cream see picture,,,,,is delicious....have fun!!!

Lamb Fillet with Paprika Potatoes and Grilled Halloumi Cheese

Recipe Ingredients:

• 10 Small potatoes with skin (cut into quarters)
  
• 2 Garlic cloves (minced)
  
• 6 sliced of halloumi cheese about 1/2cm thick
  
• 1 Lamb fillet (about 300grs, marinated in salt, pepper, garlic and lemon juice..for 20-30mins)
• 300grs mushrooms (cut into quarter, I used mixed brown and white for greater flavour)
  
• 1 parsley bunch (finely chopped)
  
• 1 soup spoon of butter
  
• a little olive oil
  
• 1 tea spoon of paprika
  
• salt and pepper to taste
  
• a little lemon juice
  

Place a pan with water and salt on the stove, once boiling add the quartered potatoes and let these cook until they are about 3 minutes from being fully cooked (is intentional that I am not giving you times as cooking times vary depending on potato quality and time, you should know the potatoes you use cooking times). Once that happens remove them from the stove and drain them and place them in a bowl, adding to them salt pepper a drizzle of olive oil 1 garlic minced and the paprika, toss the potatoes in the bowl (not using instrument, only by moving bowl as you want potatoes to remain whole), and once they are all covered you place these in a tray and in a pre-heated oven to 200c for about 25 minutes.

Now place a frying pan with a glug of olive oil on the stove and once very hot, place the lamb fillet within. The idea is to seal and brown off all the way around the fillet, once this is achieved you set the meat aside and let it rest, until there is only about 15 minutes till the potatoes are done, once that happens, place the fillet in a Pyrex and insert it in the oven as well.

Five minutes away from what is in the oven being cooked, place the same pan you used for the meat, on the stove add a little more olive oil, the butter , and the remaining garlic (minced) a little seasoning salt and pepper, and the mushrooms, as it get hot with the pan start tossing the mushroom, regularly until they are 1 minute away from fully cooked (as they take about 5 minutes in all) at this stage add the parsley turn the fire off and toss them a few times. And as you can see all is done at the same time.

While someone serves, you should have a hot griddle, and a little pepper and lemon drops over each halloumi cheese, the griddle must be non stick (don't have one use a non stick pan or frying pan) put a drizzle of olive oil and grill the cheese for about 1 &1/2 minute on each side, and then plate it ...see picture.

This meal also goes well, if you want to replace the meat , with for example home made fish cakes..you decide.. bom apetite!!!

Mascarpone and Creme Fraiche Mousse with Blueberries

This was made when I received the day before yesterday all my family in my house for diner (they had come from Portugal) so I wanted to impress a little, and may I say with a big head I didn't disappoint them ...according to their comments.

Recipe Ingredients:

• 8 digestives
• 1 soup spoon of butter
  
• 1 pkt of mascarpone (about 200grs)
• 1 pkt of crème fraiche (about 250grs)
• 1 punnet blueberries (about 250grs)
• 4 soup spoons of sugar (+ a little extra)
• 1/2 lemon (just the juice)
• 1 lid of vanilla essence

Just put a the lemon juice the sugar and the berries in a little pan and take it to the stove medium heat, after about 3 minutes the berries start bursting (you know this as the liquid starts to gain the berries colour) squish them with a potato masher, and then let them cook for a further about 5 minutes. Set it aside ready to mix with the mousse.

Prior to making the mousse, you need to line the base of the ramekins with the digestive, so to prepare the digestive for this, in a bowl with your hands crush the digestives until they nothing but powder, then put the butter and the vanilla essence in and still with your hands mix it in until it resembles crumbs, at this stage divide them equally through the ramekins and flatten it down with the base of a glass that fits into the ramekin. They are now ready for the mousse.

On a bowl mix the mascarpone and the crème fraiche and a little sugar (about one heaped then spoon) with a whisk until a smooth paste achieved , pouring in a bit at time of the blueberries compote keep whisking and add it till all is in, than spoon them evenly to the ramekins and refrigerate for a minimum of 30 minutes before serving and that is it.

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.