Meatballs in rich tomato sauce
Posted: April 9, 2012 Filed under: Beef, Pork, Vegetables | Tags: Beef, Carlos Horrillo and Patrick Morcas, Pork, Spain, Tomato Leave a comment
A few weeks ago, I posted the watered down light version of this dish. A dinner party loosely inspired in Spanish cuisine prompted me to do the actual thing, with all its condiments, red wine and olive oil. Mind you, for extra slow-home-made-cooking points, the meatballs were rolled by hand with all love and care by T. and myself. It seemed like a lot of food, but at the end all it was left was the meatballs used for this snapshot. And, I had to hide it in a dark corner of my fridge.
Meatballs in rich tomato sauce (adapted from Carlos Horrillo and Patrick Morcas’ Tapas: Simple Flavours, Striking Combinations)
Ingredients
For the meatballs
- 650g of minced pork and beef
- 2 pinches of very finely chopped fresh rosemary, thyme, mint, basil, tarragon, coriander and oregano.
- 1large egg
- small yellow onion, finely diced
- 1 red chili, finely chopped (or to taste)
- 300g fresh breadcrumbs
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Enough olive oil to coat the baking tray
For the tomato sauce
- Olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion finely chopped
- 1 medium carrot, peeled and finely sliced
- 1 stick celery, finely diced
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 70mL ruby Port
- 250mL red wine
- 3 cans of 400g-chopped plum tomatoes
- 10 fresh basil leaves
- 2 bay leaves
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180 oC.
2. Put all the meatball ingredients in a large bowl, and season all the salt and pepper. Combine with your hands until you have a consistent mixture which allows you to form the meatball.
3. Start rolling the meatballs with your hands.
4. Put a generous amount of olive oil in baking tray
5. Drop in the meatball, stirring them to coat them evenly.
6. Put the tray in the oven for 30min, or until the meatballs are all golden brown. Do not forget to stir them occasionally to cook them in all directions.
7.While waiting for the meatball, start the tomato sauce. Place a large, deep sided saucepan on a low heat and pour in enough olive oil to coat the bottom. Add the sliced vegetables and season with salt and pepper. Fry gently until they are soft and start to color.
8. Poor in both wines, and bring to boil.
9.When the wine is boiling and has reduced to half the volume, drop in the tomatoes. Season again, and bring to boil, stirring at all times.
10. Turn the heat to low and let simmer for about 15min.
11. Once the meatballs are cooked, fold them in the tomato sauce. Let it simmer for 10min more. (in reality, what I did was to do the tomato sauce and the meatballs in advance. On the day of the party, I combined them both while cold. Then, I slowly warm them. It actually tastes better, as the flavors combine and develop).
Idiazábal cheese and caramelised onion tapa
Posted: March 30, 2012 Filed under: Snacks, Tapas, Vegetables | Tags: Cheese, Onions, Simone & Ines Ortega, Spain, Tapas Leave a comment
Nowadays, you can get decent (and indecent, for that matter) Manchego cheese in almost every supermarket. But, Idiazábal cheese is only to be found in high end delicatessen shops, at the price of an arm, a leg, and your children corneas. I only remember having it once in the 9 years I have been living in Switzerland, and truth to be said, it was a Spanish acquaintance who smuggled it in gruyère -land.
In case you are wondering, Idiazábal is a Denominación de Origen [Protected designation of origin] hard sheep cheese from the Basque and Navarre regions, which has a rich smoky flavor. Apparently, the Basque shepherds used to store the cheese in their huts over Winter. The smoke coming out of their fireplaces eventually permeated their dairies, giving it a new flavor that the shepherds preferred. All I can say is that the flavor (and aroma) is strong. Very strong…
In fact, so strong I thought my suffering testers dinner guests wouldn’t appreciate it to its full splendor. I resorted to Simone and Inés Ortega’s The Book of Tapas for help, and as it turned out, it was actually a very good idea to serve this tapa rather than the pure thing. The sweetness of the onion and honey complement to perfection the slightly less smokey and hot-ish flavor the cheese, for complete delight of guests and cook.
Idiazábal cheese and caramelised onion tapa (adapted from Simone and Inés Ortega’s The Book of Tapas)
Ingredients
- 200g Idiazábal cheese, rind removed and sliced
- 1 cup (=250mL) milk
- 2 teaspoons black peppercorns, slightly crushed
- 1 cup olive oil
- 1 onion, finely sliced
- 6 slices of French baguette
- 1 teaspoon honey
Method
1. Put the cheese in a bowl, add the milk and the crushed peppercorns. Let it sit for about 30min (until it is a bit softer)
2.In the meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a non-adherent frying pan until it shimmers. Drop in the onion, and let it caramelise, stirring every now and gain.It should take about 15min.
3. Fish the cheese out of the bowl and pat dry with kitchen paper.
4.Place each slice of cheese on top of the bread and drop about 1 teaspoon of the caramelised onions over it. Finish the tapa by drizzling a little honey over it.
Fish wrapped in ham with crushed peas and warm tomato
Posted: February 21, 2012 Filed under: Fish, Vegetables | Tags: Cod, Fish, Ham, Mafalda Pinto Leite, Peas, Tomato Leave a comment
Another MaMafalda Pinto Leite’s Cozinha Para Quem Não Tem Tempo [Cooking for those who have no time]. It is quick, easy and a spectacular combination of flavors. I was a bit too slow, but the author probably only set up the alarm clock once she got all the ingredients prepared. Still, it is worthwhile doing it.
Fish wrapped in ham with crushed peas and warm tomatoes
Ingredients
- 4 rosemary springs
- 4 white fish firm fillets (I used fresh cod)
- 4 prosciutto or jamón slices
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 leek cut in slices (only the white parts)
- 2 tomatoes finely chopped
- 2 cups of frozen peas
- 1/2 of vegetable or chicken stock
- 2 tablespoons chopped minth
- Salt and pepper to taste
Method
Put the rosemary springs on top of each fish fillet. Pepper it. Wrap each fillet with one ham slice.
Heat half the olive oil in a frying pan in medium-high heat. When it is hot, put the fish in, and cook for 4 minutes or until it is done. Transfer to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm. Fold the tomato into the same frying pan and cook for about 1 minute or until it is warm.
In the meanwhile, heat the other half of the olive oil in a medium size sauce pan. When it is pipping hot, fold in the sliced leeks and sauté until they are soft. Poor in the stock and let it boil. Then, add the peas and bring to boil for about 6min. When ready, add the mint, salt and pepper to taste. Crush the peas.
Serve the fish together with the tomato and the crushed peas.
Chestnut soup with rosemary pesto
Posted: February 17, 2012 Filed under: Soup, Vegetables | Tags: Chestnuts, Herbs, Mafalda Pinto Leite, Pesto, Soup 1 Comment
Still bitterly cold in Zurich. The type of weather that calls for a hearty soup to keep you warm… Randomly found this recipe in Mafalda Pinto Leite’s Cozinha Para Quem Não Tem Tempo [Cooking for those who have no time]. The combination of flavors looked exactly what I was looking for and I even fancied chestnuts, for whatever obscure metabolical reasons. You cannot wrong with this recipe, but this gets hardly done in the 30min she claims it take. The original recipe called for 150mL of cream to be added at the end. I found it a bit excessive and replaced the cream an equivalent quantity of chicken stock.
It was really good and soul warming. And, it is really worthwhile to make the rosemary… it just gives the soup a little punch, making it more interesting.
Chestnut soup with rosemary pesto
Ingredients for the soup
- 800g of peeled chestnuts (I used frozen ones)
- 1/2 cup of olive oil – about 120 mL
- 2 yellow onions chopped
- 3 celery sticks sliced
- 125g bacon slices, shredded
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 red skin potato
- 1,5L chicken stock
Ingredients for the rosemary pesto
- 1 table spoon of finely chopped rosemary
- 1 garlic clove
- 20g pinenuts
- salt
- 40g of grated Parmesan cheese
- 100 mL olive oil.
Method
Heat the olive oil in a big saucepan until it shimmers. Add the onion, celery, bacon and garlic. Cook for 10min or until the onion get soft and the mix start to color.
Add the chestnuts, the potato and the garlic. Add in salt and pepper to taste.
Bring it to boil, cover, and then let it simmer for about 25min, or until all ingredients are soft.
In the meanwhile, start the pesto. Put the rosemary, garlic and pinenuts in a mixer. Blend and after, add the cheese and the salt. Add slowly the olive oil, mixing at the same time so you get a creamy mixture.
Finally, blend in the soup (if you want to add cream, this is your chance to do it).
Serve the chestnut cream sprinkled with the pesto.
Roasted chicken with sweet potato
Posted: February 5, 2012 Filed under: Chicken, Vegetables | Tags: Chicken, Honey, Leeks, Mafalda Pinto Leite, Sweet potato 3 Comments
I had done dishes by Mafalda Pinto Leite before (here and here), and I knew she has good hand with combining different tastes and textures. Last time I was in Lisbon, I bought her book Cozinha Para Quem Não Tem Tempo [Cooking for those who have no time], to give it a try. Now that I have a regular office job again, it seemed like a good idea to have a bunch of recipes that are easy, quick and good all together. This was my first dish out of that book, and I have to say it seems I only got the last one right…. It is indeed an excellent combination of flavors and it warms your soul. However, it actually took way longer than she claimed and the recipe was a bit confusing. Nothing a good cook cannot fix, but nevertheless, a bit lame… Still worthwhile redoing and eating for as long as the Winter is here. Mind you, I ate it all and scrapped the Pyrex.
Roasted chicken with sweet potato
Ingredients
- 4 pieces of chicken (either breast or thighs)
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 cup of chopped coriander
- 3 baby leeks, finely sliced (or 2 regular leeks, only white parts)
- 1 teaspoon of lemon zest
- 2 teaspoons of grated ginger
- 2 tablespoons of soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons of runny honey
- 1/3 water cup
- 200g sweet potato, peeled and sliced
- Olive oil to brush
Method
Pre-heat the oven griller to medium-high
Put the garlic, coriander, baby leeks, lemon zest, ginger, soy sauce, honey and water in a tall jug or beaker. Blend in with a mixer for about 2 minutes, until is chopped but still with pieces. Poor this sauce on top of the chicken and spread well. Reserve.
Brush the sweet potato with olive oil.
Put the chicken and the sweet potatoes on an oven proof dish and grill until it is golden and cooked.
You can serve this dish with a green salad.
Pork loin with roasted peppers and garlic & parsley olive oil
Posted: January 2, 2012 Filed under: Pork, Vegetables | Tags: Ferran Adria, Garlic, Olive oil, Pork, Red pepper 1 Comment
Of course I had to get Ferran Adrià‘s The Family Meal. How could I not, specially if Ferran Adrià promises dishes any cook can do, at an affordable price of €5 per person? And, this is the first dish I did. While I am very proud I could pull an Adrià dish all by myself, I also have to say it was not horribly complicated. It could even be a weekday meal…. The dish itself s great – the sweetness of the red pepper combines to perfection with the pork. The parsley and garlic olive oil is fresh and has a delicate flavour. All in all, a delicious no-too-much-fuss.
Pork loin with roasted peppers and garlic & parsley olive oil
Ingredients (for 6)
- 2 large red peppers
- 100mL olive oil, plus extra for frying
- 6 garlic cloves (peeled)
- 3 springs fresh parsley
- 18 thin cut pork loin steaks
Method
Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas mark 6. Rinse the peppers, and then place in a roasting tin while still slightly wet.
Drizzle with a little olive oil and roast for 45min
Fill a small saucepan with water then add the garlic. Bring the pan to boil.
Lift the garlic out of the water and into a bowl of iced water to quickly cool. Repeat this twice, starting with cold water in the saucepan each time
After 45min, the peppers will be blackened and soft. Leave until cool enough to handle. Keep any juices that have collected in the pan.
Peel the skin from the peppers and remove the seeds. Do this over a bowl to catch any juices.
Cut the pepper flesh into thin strips. Put the peppers and the reserved juices into a pan and simmer over a low heat for 5min.
Pick the leaves from the parsley leaves from its stems.
Put the drained, blached garlic, parsley leaves and remaining oil into a tall jug or beaker. Process with a hand held blender until finely chopped.
Place a large frying pan over a high heat and add a little olive oil. Fry the pork for 1 1/2 min until golden on both sides and juicy in the middle.
Season the pork with salt and pepper, and serve with the peppers. Finish with a tablespoon of garlic and parsley oil.
Pumpkin Soup with Chicken and Ginger-Braised Leeks
Posted: December 7, 2011 Filed under: Chicken, Soup, Vegetables | Tags: Autumn, Charlie Trotter, Chicken, Ginger, Leeks, Pumpkin, Soup Leave a comment
This is not an easy to make soup. But, it is totally worth the effort… It might even be the best pumpkin soup I have had, with the obvious exception of Mrs Caramelized Sr’s creations. Just bumped into the recipe almost by accident on David Leite‘s website. By coincidence, I had all the main ingredients, a lot of time in my hands and the inclement weather was unsuitable for any attempt to try anything outdoors.
Half way through the making of the soup, while struggling with so many elements and details, I took a closer look to the post header. It turned out this dish is authored by Charlie Trotter, better know for its stylish and imaginative cuisine (meaning – a bit too difficult for the rest of us mortals). I probably would have never had the guts to try it if I had realized this earlier. But, once you start doing it, what else can you do but carry on and finish the dish?
A couple of tweaks were made though. The original recipe calls for thyme to be added to the pumpkin roast, and sage to finish the dish. I had none, either dry or alive, and simply omitted it. Also, instead of chicken breasts I had chicken thighs. Ended up doing the same that Yotam Ottholengi does for its chicken and buttermilk cold soup.
Pumpkin Soup with Chicken and Ginger-Braised Leeks
Ingredients
For the preserved ginger
- 6 tablespoons peeled and julienned fresh ginger
- 1 1/2 cups (=300g) sugar
- 1 1/2 cups (=375mL water)
For the soup
- 1 small pumpkin, halved and seeded (I picked already cut pumkin, about 1,5kg)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
- 4 chicken thighs
- 1 yellow onion
- 1 garlic clove
- 4 cups (=mL water) chicken stock, or enough to cover the chicken thighs
- 2 leeks (white part only), cut into 1 cm inch-thick slices
- 5 tablespoons (=70g) unsalted butter
- 3 cups (= 375mL water) chicken stock (or enough to cover the chicken thighs)
- 1 tablespoon plus 1/4 cup preserved ginger
- 4 chicken thighs
Place the ginger, 1/2 cup (=100g) of the sugar, and 1/2 (=125mL) cup of the water in a small saucepan. Simmer for 10 minutes, strain the liquid, and repeat the process two more times, reserving the final cooking liquid to store the ginger. Use immediately, or refrigerate for up to 1 week.
Make the soup
Preheat the oven to 350°F (=175°C). Season the flesh of the pumpkin with salt and pepper and rub with the olive oil. Place the pumpkin pieces on a baking sheet. Add enough water to have about 1cm water in the oven dish 45 to 60 minutes, or until tender.[the recipe called for thyme sprigs to be put under the pumpkin, but I had none at home.]
In the meanwhile, start the kitchen broth. Heat two tablespoons of oil in a large saucepan and sauté the onion and garlic on a low heat for five to 10 minutes, until soft but not coloured. Add the chicken, and the salt and the pepper to taste. Pour in stock just to cover and simmer gently for 30 minutes, until the chicken is cooked. Reserve the broth and shred the chicken off the bones while it is hot . I always discard the skin, but that is entirely up to your taste.
Cook the leeks with 2 tablespoons (= 30g) of the butter in a saucepan over medium heat for 10 minutes, or until translucent. Add 1 cup of the stock and the 1 tablespoon ginger and cook over medium-low heat for 25 minutes, or until the leeks are soft and most of the liquid has been absorbed. Keep warm.
Puree the 1/4 cup ginger and any residual ginger juice, the chicken broth, and the pumpkin pulp until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Cook the soup in a saucepan over medium heat for 5 minutes, or until warm. Whisk in the remaining 3 tablespoons (=40g) butter and season with salt and pepper.
Spoon some of the leeks into the center of each bowl and ladle the soup around the leeks. Arrange some of the shredded chicken in the center of each bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and serve immediately. [the recipe called for sage leaves to be added, but I had none at home.]
Baked stuffed zucchini
Posted: November 8, 2011 Filed under: Beef, Pork, Vegetables | Tags: Beef, Courgette, minced meat, Pork, Tomato, Zucchini Leave a comment
Another recipe with minimal verbiage. I happened to have all these ingredients in the fridge. A few google searches after, I found this baked stuffed zucchini on All Recipes. A few tweaks after, dinner was served.
Baked stuffed zucchini
Ingredients
- 4 large zucchini
- 2 firm tomatoes, seeded and chopped
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 2 tbsp dried mint (fresh mint would have been better, but I had none left)
- 450g g minced meet (pork and beef)
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 250g tomato sauce (I used tomatada, but passata or a lightly diluted tomato sauce could also work well)
- 1 spring chopped fresh rosemary
- 4 tbsp Grana Padano or Parmesan
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
Place the zucchini in a shallow baking dish or roasting tin, cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes or until tender – they should pierce easily with a fork.
Mix the eggs with the chopped plum tomatoes, mint, and pepper to season. Set aside.
Fry the minced meat over a medium heat until browned. Add the onion and garlic, cook for a further 5 minutes until the onion has softened. Stir in the tomato sauce, reserved zucchini pulp and rosemary. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer gently for 10–15 minutes. Stir in the egg mixture and mix together.
5. Spoon the stuffing mixture into the zucchini boats and sprinkle with the cheese. Bake for 15–20 minutes until golden and crispy on top. Serve immediately.
Beef stew with sweet carrots, peas and mushrooms
Posted: October 31, 2011 Filed under: Beef, Vegetables | Tags: Beef, Carrots, Mushrooms, Peas, Stew Leave a comment
No use to fight Autumn anymore – it is arrived and is here to stay until Winter shows up. It is now time to start cooking food that makes you forget the cold outside and puts a note of color in your day.
Beef stew with sweet carrots, peas and mushrooms
Ingredients
- 450g of beef, cut in cubes
- 50g of flour (or maizena)
- 250g of button mushrooms
- 3 onions, cut in half moons
- 5 carrots, cut in 2cm slices
- 1 clove of garlic, minced
- 100ml of red wine
- 1 spring of rosemary
- 200ml of stock
- 250g of peas (I used frozen peas)
- olive oil as required
- salt and pepper to taste
Method
In a frying pan, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil until it shimmer. Toss the mushrooms. Let them fry until soft and fragrant. Reserve.
Place the beef cubes and flour in a bowl, season with salt and pepper and toss to coat. Shake off the excess of flour. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large frying pan over a high heat until it shimmer. Add half the floured meat and fry until sealed and meat has begun to brown. Be careful not too put too many pieces in the frying pan. Instead of frying, the meat will boil to death, with rather unpleasant results. Reserve the meat.
To the same frying pan, add the onion and the carrots. Pan fry until the onions are caramelised and the carrots are soft, stirring occasionally (It will take about 15minutes). Add the grounded garlic and let it combine with the vegetables, stirring for about 1 minute. Take all out of the frying pan and reserve. Pour in the pan approximately 100 mL of red wine stir well to combine and deglaze the frying pan. When the sauce starts to thicken, toss in the meat and reserved vegetables. Mix well to combine, and then add the vegetable stock. Add the bay leave and the rosemary spring.
When it comes to boil, toss the peas in and let simmer for about 15min, until the stock reduces to half and the sauce is a bit thick. Take out from the stove and let it rest for a bit.
Hot sweet baked pumpkin
Posted: October 17, 2011 Filed under: Vegetables | Tags: Ginger, Pumpkin, Spicy, Sugar Leave a comment
And to start well to Autumn, a lovely pumpkin dish by Nigel Slater. Sweet, hot and delicious…
Hot sweet baked pumpkin
Ingredients
- 1,5kg pumpkin or butternut squash, unpeeled weight, chopped in 3cm cubes
- 50g butter
For the dressing:
- sugar 4 tablespoons
- water 200ml
- ginger a thumb-sized lump, chopped
- 1 large, medium hot, chopped ed chilli
- the juice and the zest of 2 limes
- 1 tablespoon of fish sauce
- coriander a small bunch, finely chopped
Method
Set the oven at 200 oC/gas mark 6. Peel the pumpkin, discard the seeds and fibres, and cut the flesh into small pieces, about 3cm in thickness. Put them in a roasting tin with the butter and bake for 50-60 minutes, turning occasionally, till soft enough to take the point of a knife.
Put the sugar and water in a shallow pan and bring to the boil. Turn the heat down and simmer till the liquid has reduced by half. Meanwhile, peel and roughly chop the ginger and put in the bowl of a food processor. Halve the chilli lengthways and chop roughly, removing the seeds if you wish for a less spicy seasoning. Add the chilli to the bowl, then grate in the zest of the limes. Squeeze in the juice from the limes, then process to a coarse paste.
Stir the spice mixture into the syrup and simmer for a minute before adding the fish sauce and coriander. Remove from the heat.
When the pumpkin is fully tender, spoon most of the chilli sauce over, toss gently to coat each piece, then return to the oven for a further 5-10 minutes. Toss with the remaining chilli sauce and serve.
Lucie Loves Food 