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!!

Salmon with Philadelfia and Caremalized Onions En-croute

Beautifull en-croute, made with salmon and a topping of caramelized onions and Philadelphia cream cheese.

Recipe Ingredients: (enough for 4)

• 1 skinless and boneless salmon fillet (I purchased it with skin and removed it after as is cheaper this way)
  
• 1 packet of puff pastry (I purchased it already rolled, as I didn't want the trouble to make it myself)
  
• 1 Large Onion (finely chopped)
  
• 2 tomatoes sliced
  
• 2 minced garlic cloves
  
• 21/2 a shot of Port Wine
  
• 2 Heaped soup spoons of Philadelphia Cream cheese (or similar)
  
• 1 bunch of parsley (finely chopped)
  
• a little salt, black pepper and virgin olive oil
  
• 1 egg yolk to brush the pastry
  

In a frying pan put a little olive oil and once hot add (salt and pepper), onion and garlic. Let them cook until they caramelize well, when this happens add the port wine, cook for another minute, remove from heat and leave to cool.

After cooling add the two tablespoons of Philadelphia over the chopped parsley and stir until it becomes consistent. Place the fillets of raw fish over the pastry (add a little salt and pepper on top), spread fillets with cream cheese and onion, put on top of the slices of tomato.

Now lift the flaps of the pastry covers the fish but do not completely cover it, use the excess of the ends of the wrap to make the strips to put over, these will not let the dough open more when cooking (see photo). Press the edges with the teeth of a fork and brush the dough thoroughly with the egg yolk. insert it in the hot oven (200 degrees C) for 25 minutes, and is ready to serve.

The vegetables are just boiled, I used as you can see, round beans, carrots and potatoes. You can use the same or even cauliflower, broccoli etc. You can also quickly after boiling the vag sauté them for one minute with butter on a frying pan then sprinkle some chopped parsley and a little lemon juice.

For the sauce puts the milk in a saucepan with the nutmeg, butter plus a dash of salt and pepper. Once it boils, mix the wine with the flour premixed, and stir until it thickens, finally add the chopped parsley and is done, pour over the vegetables. Bon Appetite

The Perfect Bangers and Mash with Onion Gravy

A very, very traditional British meal made luxurious and super delicious.

Recipe Ingredients:

• 6 fresh sausages (minimum 65% pork shoulder, preferable)
• 1 large onion (thinly sliced)
  
• 4 large potatoes (pealed and cut into small cubes for fast cooking)
  
• 2 heaped spoons of Gravy powder
• 1 bunch of chopped parsley
• 1 soup spoon of butter
• 1/4 tea spoon of ground nutmeg
• 1 small glass of milk
• olive oil salt and pepper (sufficient)
  

Butterfly cut all the sausages (slice them down the middle without separating the halves). Then put a non stick frying pan on the stove at medium heat with a little olive oil. Once hot add the sliced onion and stir occasionally until it starts to get golden.

While that is happening put a pan on the stove with boiling water and place the cubed potatoes inside (+a little salt) and boil them till cooked.

On the frying pan now that the onions started to caramelize move the onion to one side and place the sausages split down first in the pan then cover them with the onions, and let them cook for about 3-4 minutes, after that turn them and let the onions fall under the sausages and cook for another 3-4 minutes stirring occasionally. This will allow the sausages to cook but more importantly will allow the onions to caramelize further.

Now the potatoes should be cooked so strain them and at the same times remove the sausages from the pan (dish them in pre heated plates to conserve them hot) leaving only the onions. Add to the onions a large glass of water with the gravy powder diluted in it, and bring it to the boil until the gravy thickens and infuses with the caramelized onions and sausage meat flavours from the pan.

While the gravy is making, mash the potatoes with the potato masher, once smooth add the butter + the parsley + the milk and nutmeg and mix well.

Than dish it all and eat this simple traditional yet super delicious meal. :)

Curried Pumpkin and Chicken Stew - Halloween

Ingredients: (enough for 3 people) “for more add more potatoes”

• 1 small pumpkin (peeled, cut into pieces)
• 1 large potato (cut into pieces)
  
• 1 can of cooked chickpeas
  
• 1 large onion (cut in pieces)
• 2 garlic cloves (perforated)
• 4 Cardamoms (just the seeds)
  
• 2 Chicken breasts (cut into cubes)
  
• 1/2 cup tomato pulp
  
• 1 soup spoon of curry powder (not very spicy)
• 1 flat soup spoon of turmeric
  
• 1/2 soup spoon of paprika
• 6 great mushrooms (or 12 small ones)
• 1 bunch of coriander (chopped)
• a little of olive oil and coarse salt.

Preparation:

Put in a pan it a little olive oil to cover the bottom plus pinch sea salt, once hot add the onion, the garlic, the cardamoms seeds, the onion and the pumpkin, always stirring until it goes golden.

When is golden (a little caramelized) then add the chicken, stirring it regularly to seal it all around, then add the tomato pulp, the paprika, the chickpeas, the turmeric, the mushrooms (if they large cut in quarters, if small in halves), the potato and the curry powder. Now it cover the pan with a lid and as soon as it starts boiling, reduce to minimum and leave it to cook for 25 minutes (+or-) adding a little water if it needs.

After is cooked, add the coriander and cook for a further minute and then serve it.

The inspiration for me was the Halloween pumpkin , carved with the flame inside, represented in this dish, the flame heat by the spicy hot kick and its softness pumpkin flesh, this is a dish partly sweet dish and partly spicy, and the textures are soft and at the same time grainy and silky.
Excellent Halloween representation. Yum yum, one that you really need to make.
if you want a greater visual use pumpkin halves as bowls to serve this delish meal in.

Fresh Cod Fillets with Potatoes Cooked In a Rose Wine Sauce

Recipe Ingredients:(Good for 4 people)

• 4-6 cod fillets (no bones or skins)
  
• 8 medium potatoes (peeled and sliced)
• 1/2 bottle of rose wine (the bottle being 750ml)
  
• 1 large white onion (finely chopped)
• 3 garlic cloves (minced)
• 2 heaped soup spoons of fresh coriander (chopped)
• 1 fish stock cube (knorr or similar)
• 100mls fresh cream
  
• 1 soup spoon of butter
  
• 1 soup spoon of plain flour diluted in half a glass of water
  
• a little olive oil, rock salt and freshly ground black pepper
  

A very simple preparation, place a pan with a little olive oil a pinch of rock salt and a pinch o black pepper on the heat, once well heated add there the garlic and the onion, stirring it frequently let it get golden (caramelized a little). Once that happens add the sliced potatoes and the rose whine and on top of those place the fish, adding a little more black pepper and a little salt over each fish fillet, put a lid on and once it starts to boil reduce to minimum allowing it to simmer for around 20miutes, to turn the sauce simply move the pan around with an angle (don't use spoons as to not break the potatoes or fillets).

After the 20 minutes remove the lid and add the butter and fresh cream as well as the flour and water mix (add more water if necessary), but mix the sauce again by swirling the pan do this occasionally until the sauce thickens which then means is time to put in the coriander and a couple of swirls of the pan, put the lid back on let it simmer a further 3 minutes and is ready to serve.

I wanted it this simple, obviously nothing stops you from adding to the cooking some carrot cauliflower broccoli etc... it really is up to you, but I really enjoyed the simplicity of this dish and the superb smooth silky textures and mild tastes it offered.

King Prawn Bean Stew with Garlic Basmati

Recipe Ingredients: (enough for 4)

• 400 grs basmati rice
  
• 3 cans (400grs each) borlotti or butter beans
  
• 350 grs skinless king prawns (uncooked)
• 50 grs of chourizo thinly sliced
  
• 1 carrot minced
  
• 1 onion minced
  
• 3 garlic cloves minced
  
• 150 mls tomato pulp (or passata)
  
• 1 pinch of cayenne
  
• 1 soup spoon of paprika
  
• 1 bunch of coriander finely chopped
  
• 2 large bayleafs
  
• a little olive oil, salt and black pepper (to taste)
  

One of the tastier things I have ever eaten in the restaurant MetrisPlanet in Faro Portugal. I loved it so much that I had to recreate it, also must confess that I went back and back to that restaurant to eat that meal over and over again during my holidays. Of course they didn't give me the recipe so I had to create my own version based on taste and look s alone, and if I may say turned out quite excellent.

I used butter beans which were nice however whenever I will do this again I will use either borlotti or white beans, as the butter beans were a little floury in texture and I prefer a smother texture almost creamy. At Metris Planet restaurant a portion for two was €16 which means only €8 per person, which is a great price, but think the portion given in quantity was really enough for over 4 people excellent value, if ever in Portugal in the Algarve I would recommend you to visit this restaurant.

Well... To make this dish, place a wok pan on the heat and add to it a little olive oil once well hot ad to it: garlic, onion, carrot, bay-leafs, chourizo, cayenne pepper and the paprika. Let these cook up until the onion starts to caramelize, which then you add the: drained beans and tomato pulp, and once is back to boiling put the lid on reduce heat to minimum and let it simmer for around 40 minutes, mixing occasionally so that it doesn't stick to the bottom. Twenty minutes into the cooking add the salt and black pepper.

Lastly ad the prawns and the chopped coriander (reserving a little coriander for the decoration of the dish), cooking these for 3-4 minutes the prawn will change from a greyish colour to the nice orange colour when cooked, must not overcook them as instead of soft they will turn hard and rubbery.

As to the rice cook this one in water and salt with a little of oil and a couple of crushed garlic cloves for the garlic flavour cook it for 10-12 minutes (check pack for cooking times). Once fully cooked I drained the rice and while draining passed boiling water through it to remove excess starch as this is no good for your health.

Then is just a matter of dishing it and eating it....Bon Appetite xxxxxxx

Quorn "Meat" Balls with Tomato and Mint Sauce

Recipe Ingredients: (enough for 4)

• 1 pkt of Quorn balls (these can also be soya balls or any other vegetarian substitute, in the case of not being able to find these you can use full button mushrooms about 300 grs, or real meat)
• 300 grs spaghetti
  
• 1 diced onion
  
• 1 large diced courgette
  
• 1 very finely diced carrot
  
• 2 garlic cloves minced
  
• 1 piece of ginger root the size of a garlic piece minced
  
• 2 finely chopped medium hot chillies
  
• 1 vegetable stock cube
  
• 1 can of Italian plum tomatoes diced
  
• 1 soup spoon of paprika
  
• 11 chopped fresh mint leaves
  
• a little bunch of chopped parsley
  
• 4 soup spoons of fresh single cream (I used very little as I wish this dish to be healthy)
• a little olive oil, salt and black pepper (to taste)
  

To cook the spaghetti put a pan on the stove with some water and a little salt and vegetable oil (a couple of soup spoons full), the salt will enhance the spaghetti flavour and the oil will stop the water over-frothing when boiling the pasta due to the starch in the spaghetti. This will take 10-12 minutes to be fully cooked which should be enough time to do the sauce.

To do the sauce I used a wok pan, with a little olive oil on the stove high temp, once hot I added the, onion, courgette, garlic, carrot, ginger and chilli + seasoning. Once the onion is semi-transparent (around 4 minutes add the Quorn balls, stock cube and tomatoes, bring this to the boil and reduce heat to medium let it cook another 6-10 minutes at this stage add the cream and mint cook for a further 1-2 minutes, remove from the heat and add the parsley, mix well and serve over the spaghetti. Enjoy!!!

Broccoli Spears and King Prawn Quinoa

A delicious and healthy recipe, that is light and well suited to this time of year (summer). Also long awaited by you my followers, with my apologies for the wait.

Recipe Ingredients: (for 4 people)

• 350grs Quinoa
• 250 Pealed Prawn (raw) cut in halves
  
• 1 white onion, chopped
  
• 1 medium carrot, diced
  
• 2 spring onions, thinly sliced
  
• 200grs broccoli spears, (branches sliced)
  
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed and chopped
  
• 4 mild chillies, chopped
  
• 1 piece of ginger (size of a garlic clove) minced
  
• 1 fish stock cube (like knorr or Oxo)
• 1/2 can plum tomatoes pealed and chopped
  
• 1 soup spoon of turmeric
  
• 1/2 soup spoon of paprika
  
• 2 soup spoons of chopped coriander
  
• olive oil, salt and black pepper to taste (+ 1/4 glass of wine "red or white)

Preparation:

Put In a pan about three to four tablespoons of olive oil ,a pinch of salt and a little pepper. Place this one on the heat and let it heat, once hot add the onion, garlic, ginger, carrot, chilli, chopped branches of broccoli, chives, paprika and turmeric. Cook a little for about 1 to 2 minutes stirring occasionally, when it starts to get a little stuck to the pan, de-glacé it with 1 / 4 cup of white or red wine, and it will form a thick sauce, to which you add a glass of water, the tomatoes, broccoli, the fish stock and the Quinoa .

Once boiling reduce the heat to minimum and put a lid on the pan, watching it from time to time to see if a little more water is needed, let cook for about ten minutes, then add the prawns and let it cook three to four minutes more stirring occasionally, adding last coriander cover the pan again with the lid and let stand about two to three minutes which will make it ready to serve .... bon appetit.

Beetroot Linguine with Courgette and Mushrooms

Recipe Ingredients: (enough for 4)

• 400grs linguine pasta
  
• 3 small cooked beetroot (finely chopped)
• 1 courgette (finely chopped)
• 2 garlic cloves (finely chopped)
• 1 onion (finely chopped)
• 12 mushrooms (cut in halves)
• 2 soup spoons of fresh cream
  
• 1 glass of semi skinned milk
  
• 1 teaspoon of corn starch diluted in a little water
  
• 2 soup spoons of grated cheddar cheese
  
• some, salt black pepper and olive oil.
  

Place some water in a pan with a little salt and a drizzle of olive oil, once boiling insert the linguine there, letting this one cook for 12-14 minutes, once done (should be al dente), drain it and while draining pass through it some more fresh boiling water, to remove excess starch. Continue to drain it.

Meanwhile put a little olive olive oil in a wok (about 3 soup spoons full). once hot add the onion and garlic, once these start going blond, add the remaining vegetables (the beetroot, courgette, and mushrooms) let these cook well for around 7-10 minutes, adding a little water every time it feels a little dry and stirring occasionally.

After they are cooked, add the fresh cream at this stage and the milk, bring it to the boil, and as soon as it starts to boil add the corn starch diluted in the water, the cheese, and stir regularly allowing it to thicken, once thickened place the linguine inside and stir come more as to mix well the sauce with the pasta, serve it now while very hot, it is delicious.

The beetroot is lovely in this dish as it does not just add colour it adds flavour and texture, and creates a varied different levels of textures and flavours, the beetroot should remain slightly crunchy the mushrooms meaty and juicy and the courgettes soft and creamy. Also bothe the beetroot and the mushrooms give this dish an excellent earthy flavour which is mellowe by the silky cream of the fresh cream, milk and cheese. Bon Apetit!!

** this is a valentines day inspired dish, for the colours and textures within**

Angel Hair Pasta with Salmon and Hake Soup

Recipe Ingredients: (eneugh for 4 people)

• 4-5 "balls" of Angel Hair Pasta (about 200grs)
• 150grs hake+ 150grs salmon (other fish can be chosen and use even more varieties) (cut the fish in small cubes)
  
• 1 onion (finely chopped)
• 1 carrot (finely chopped)
• 1 garlic clove (finely chopped)
• 1 piece of ginger (finely chopped)
• 1 bunch of parsley "or coriander" (finely chopped)
• 1/2 tomato pulp "passata"
• 1 cube of chicken or fish stock (fish stock is better)
  
• Salt, Black Pepper, paprika, chilli powder (a pinch of each)
• Olive oil and water (sufficient)

I made the sauce in the Wok, putting there a little olive oil, that once it reached hot temp, I added the onion, carrot, garlic & ginger, letting these cook until golden (stirring occasionally), once they reached that stage I added the fish and stir it occasionally only by tossing avoiding using wooden spoon, continued tossing occasionally but letting the fish to cook for around 2-3 minutes, as the fish cooks quickly.

At this point I've added the a pinch of each condiment, salt, b. Pepper, paprika chilli powder as well as the tomato pulp plus 2 glasses of water and the Angel hair pasta which I crushed with my hands to become just small bits of pasta I also added the stock cube. Then I let this cook for around 5-7 minutes, finally I turned the heat off and added the chopped herb (parsley or coriander) also added a few mint leaves that not only improve the visual they improve flavour and help digestion, I also toasted a few bits of bread and made some croutons, for a lovely soup meal. Enjoy!!

Stuffed Ball Courgette with Pink Salmon covered in a Ginger and Mushroom Topping

I saw these courgettes for the first time in 24 years of living in the UK, and I was completely inspired by them so much so I had to buy them, I asked the owner of this little veg shop how often does she get them in, she replied is only the second time I have had them since I opened this shop. So I had to think of something really special for them....hope you like it.

Recipe Ingredients: (enough for 4)

• 4 Skinless Pink Salmon Fillets
  
• 4 medium or large Ball Courgettes (cut the top scoop the inside, and reserve this inside for cooking finely chopped).
• 1/2 tin of fine Italian plum tomatoes (you can also use fresh tomatoes, 2)
  
• 1 medium onion (finely chopped)
• 1 handful of chopped almonds
  
• 2 garlic cloves (minced)
  
• 1 soup spoon of butter
  
• 1 piece of ginger the size of a garlic clove (minced)
  
• 1/2 cup of pearl barley flakes
  
• 2 soup spoons of mozzarella cheese (grated)
  
• 10 medium button mushrooms (cut into quarters) please don't use canned ones
  
• salt and black pepper (to taste)
  
• a little olive oil.

Preparation:

Is quite simple to make too. After you cut the lids of the ball courgettes, and remove their insides, place them in a pan covered in water and a little salt, cook these for around 20 minutes, careful not to overcook them as they get too soft to handle for the stuffing.

Meanwhile make the stuffing sauce, bear in mind you should have a little excess to go outside the stuffed ball to accompaign the lid as this one is edible too. Place a frying pan on the stove with a little olive oil, once hot add half of the chopped courgette (pulp) , one of the garlic cloves, the onion and a little seasoning (salt and black pepper), fry these stirring regularly. Once the onion reaches its semi-transparent stage add the 1/2 tin of tomatoes, and brig it to the boil again, then add the butter and as soon as this one melts the pearl barley flakes, mix occasionally until these are cooked through, if it gets too dry add a little water (just a little to keep it moist, as you want quite a thick consistency). Once cooked turn the fire off and add the mozzarella, giving it a stir so that it melts in.

Once cooked drain the courgettes from the water, stuff them with the barley filling all the way to the top, and then place these in a preheated oven to 200c for 15-20 minutes until golden brown on the top (see picture), the lids do not go in the oven you save these on the side.

Meanwhile, place a frying pan on the stove with a little olive oil and some seasoning (salt & pepper) and as soon as is hot add the salmon fillets they will cook through (depending on thickness) in about 3 minutes on each side, once they are 1 minute from being totally cooked add the remaining garlic, once fried remove them from the pan and set them aside, add to the pan the ginger, cook for around 1 minute then add the remaining courgette, the almonds and the mushrooms and if need be a couple of spoons of water, these will cook quick between 3-5 minutes, meanwhile the courgettes are done. Start serving and even with the oven just switched off put the fish in just to heat it a little, serving it last, so that all is hot (or do it your own way lol). Then plate as per picture or make your own arrangement as the eyes also eat. It was SUPER.

..when I invented this, I had not though of it being so nice...

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!!!

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.

Left Over Beef Stew

Well I made a small mistake on this one, not to be repeated, so I am owning up as to prove that everyone makes mistakes from time to time. I made this stew with red skin potatoes with the skin, thinking more flavour and more roughage but I ended up with quite rough red skins well noticeable in my velvety stew, I now know not to use skin on potatoes in stew unless using new potatoes where the skin is so thin that is bearably noticeable (especially when I used old potatoes).
Everything apart from the beef in this stew was old and nearly going off, but it turned out one of the best stews I made so far, I can only assume this being due to the vast variety of veg that went in, the beef was braising steak cut into pieces.

Recipe Ingredients: (enough for 4)

• 400grs braising steak (diced)
• 50grs pancetta (or smoked bacon)
  
• 500grs red skin potatoes (cubed) please remove skin unless they are new potatoes
• 1pkt mushrooms brown cap (halved and quartered depending on size)
  
• 1 onion (diced)
• 2 garlic cloves (minced) + a pinch of garlic powder
• 6 spring onions (sliced)
• 1 celery heart (sliced)
• 3 carrots (sliced)
• 1pkt mangetout (cut into three parts)
  
• 1 pepper (diced)
• 1 chilli (chopped) 1 a pinch of cayenne pepper
• 1 tin plum tomatoes (chopped)
• 2 spoons of tomato paste (diluted in half glass of water)
• a pinch of paprika
• salt and pepper to taste
• olive oil to taste

Very simple to make so is short and sweet. Put a pan on the stove with a little olive oil, once hot add the garlic, onion, chillies, (both) pancetta, salt and black pepper. Let these cook until the onions and pancetta are starting to go golden add the beef and stirring it occasionally until is sealed (you know this as should go brown all around), then add chopped tomatoes, put a lid on and let it cook for around 40 minutes on lowest of heat, then add the tomato paste and all the rest of the stuff you have left celery, potato, carrots, pepper , spring onion, mangetout, mushroom and paprika. Put the lid back on and let this now cook for around 25 minutes. Optionally at the end you may add some flat leave parsley. And that is it ready to eat.

The mushrooms were crinkly, the celery limp, potatoes were starting to grow roots, carrots had whiskers, garlic little sprouts, mangetout limp and so on this was the state of my veg as if I didn't use it would go to be compost, I am glad I did use it as it made one of the best tasting meals I ever ate (well made by me) I am in no way suggesting you use veg like these you can use fresh veg I am sure the result will be the same or better, I am only asking that you think before you throw anything away...As there are millions of people in the world starving that would eat those thing that you, me would throw away, lets not then. Thanks for reading. hope you enjoy this post.

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.