Stuffed tomatoes
Posted: July 22, 2011 Filed under: Beef, Pork, Vegetables | Tags: Beef, Herbs, Pork, Spices, Tomato Leave a comment
This dish started with a culinary crisis. What to to cook for dinner when all you have in the fridge is minced meat, loads of good looking tomatoes and you are not allowed carbohydrates? Easy solution: stuffed tomatoes. Technically, stuffed tomatoes have rice or bread crumbs on their filling. But, I was not going that detail to get in the middle of a respectable meal.
Stuffed tomatoes
Ingredients
- 1 Kg of tomato (it depends a lot on the size of the tomatoes).
- 500g of minced meat (for best results, I use a mix of pork and beef)
- 3 small yellow onions finely sliced
- 1 clove of garlic grounded
- Olive oil
- Chinese five-spice powder to taste (or, if you want a more mediterranean taste a mix of rosemary, tarragon, thyme, oregano and basil).
- Hot paprika
- Sultanas to taste.
- Quark to taste
- Freshly ground salt and pepper
Method
Slice off the top of the tomatoes and hollow out with a spoon, leaving a thick shell (about 2cm).
In a large frying pan, put about 2 table spoons of olive oil and let it heat until is sizzling. Put the onions and the garlic and mix well. Season with freshly ground salt and pepper to taste. Put the heat to medium and let the onions caramelize.
When the onions are golden and soft, add the minced meat and mix well. Add the Chinese five-spice powder and the paprika to test. Let the minced meat brow. If you want, you can add sultanas.
Once the meat is brown, add quark until you obtain a consistent paste.
Fill the tomatoes with this mix and put them on a oven proof dish, previously greased with olive oil (a thin layer will do). Sprinkle with olive oil, salt and pepper.
Bake for about 15min at 200 oC.
Asparagus tart
Posted: May 7, 2011 Filed under: Pastry and Baking, Vegetables | Tags: Asparagus, David Leite, Quiche, spinach Leave a comment
I found this dish by accident in Leite’s Culinaria. And it was just what I was looking for: asparagus are in season, a party was on the planning and if not edible, at least it was decorative. Truth to be said,it was a pretty good idea. It even passed the 11 year old test (minus asparagus).
Asparagus Tart Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 bunch asparagus, ends snapped off
- 1 bunch fresh spinach (about 20 largish leaves), stems trimmed (optional) (I used 500g frozen spinach, prepared as in the packet instruction)
- 4 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1 pound phyllo, thawed according to package directions (used regular puff pastry, bought in the supermarket).
- 1 3/4 cups grated Gruyere
- 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 cup heavy cream (used soya cream)
- 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- Sea salt and finely ground black pepper
Method
1. To make the asparagus tart, preheat the oven to 175°C.
2. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Have a bowl of ice water ready. Plunge the spears into the water for just a moment to blanch it, then remove it and toss it into the ice water. Do the same with the spinach, if using.
3. Meanwhile, brush a 23cm square tart pan or a 36cm rectangular tart pan with a little melted butter and line it with a sheet of phyllo pastry, pressing the phyllo against the side of the pan and allowing the excess to hang over the edge of the pan. Brush the top of this sheet with more butter and top it with another sheet of phyllo. Repeat until all the phyllo is used. Trim the edges of the phyllo flush with the top of the tart pan. (Phyllo can me a nightmare to work with, and I was in a hurry. Just got some regular puff pastry from the supermarket, buttered the tart tray and put the sheet in).
4. Drain the asparagus and the spinach, if using, and pat them completely dry.
5. Setting the quiche:
If using spinach: Arrange a layer of spinach on the phyllo. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Add the Gruyere, a second layer of spinach, and season again. Beat the eggs, cream, and nutmeg in a bowl, then pour the mixture over the tart. Arrange the spears in a row on the tart. Brush the exposed pastry edges with a little butter. Cut a piece of parchment or foil that covers the inside of the asparagus tart but leaves the phyllo edge uncovered.
If not using spinach: Sprinkle the Gruyere over the phyllo. Beat the eggs, cream, and nutmeg in a pitcher or bowl, then pour the mixture over the tart. Arrange the spears in a row on the tart. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Brush the exposed pastry edges with a little butter. Cut a piece of parchment or foil that covers the inside of the asparagus tart but leaves the phyllo edge uncovered.
6. Bake the asparagus tart, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Cover the center but not the edge of the pastry with the parchment or foil and continue to bake until the center of the tart is just set, 15 to 20 minutes more. Let the asparagus tart rest a few minutes before slicing. (I was not very precise with the paper foil, and the edges got slightly burn).
Courgette and feta fritters
Posted: April 27, 2011 Filed under: Vegetables, Vegetarian | Tags: Courgette, Fritters, Spices, Zucchini 1 Comment
Other than his very popular New Vegetarian column at the Guardian, Yotam Ottolenghi also writes for Here Is The City News. And, he doesn’t hesitate to use recipes the editor of the Guardian didn’t see fit to publish. This one had to be dropped from a section on quick and healthy breakfasts. Having tried it, I can certainly understand why. It took me a couple of hours and a dishwasher load to have it ready. It might be delicious, but it is not exactly what you need to to start the day… Unless you go to Nopi’s and order it from the menu.
Courgette and feta fritters
- 200g soured cream (I replaced it by lactose free yogurt)
- 2 tbsp roughly chopped coriander
- ½ tsp ground cardamom
- 70ml sunflower oil
- Zest and juice of 1 lime
- Salt and black pepper
- 3 medium courgettes
- 2 small shallots, finely chopped (but very very finely, otherwise you will feel you are chewing onions)
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- Grated zest of 2 limes
- About 60g self-raising flour
- 2 large free-range eggs
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp ground cardamom
- 150g manouri cheese (or feta)
In a small bowl, mix the cream, chopped coriander, half a teaspoon of ground cardamom, two teaspoons of oil and the lime zest and juice. Season to taste, cover and chill.
Chop off the ends of the courgettes, then grate the flesh into a bowl. Sprinkle with half a teaspoon of salt and leave for 10 minutes so they release their juices. Squeeze the courgettes to remove most of the liquid, then add the shallots, garlic, lime zest, flour, eggs, ground coriander, the remaining cardamom and a pinch of pepper. Mix to form a thick batter (add some flour if it’s a bit runny), then fold in the manouri.
Heat 2-3mm of oil in a large frying pan and add heaped dessertspoons of the batter (in batches, if need be), flatten a little and cook on each side for around three minutes. Remove and drain on kitchen paper. (larger portions than a tablespoon will give very messy fritters. Do not forget to flat).
Serve three fritters per portion with a generous dollop of the sauce.
Leek fritters.
Posted: March 27, 2011 Filed under: Vegetables, Vegetarian | Tags: Fritters, Leeks, Spices, Yoghurt, Yotam Ottolenghi Leave a comment
A Yotam Ottolenghi‘s family dish, with its usual kilometric list of ingredients and a recommendation: do not skip any of them. If anything, spare yourself the bother of doing the sauce. Recipe was found on Plenty, his latest cookbook.
Ingredients
For the sauce
- 100g Greek yogurt
- 100g sour cream
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- salt to taste
- 20g finely chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves
- 30g finely chopped coriander leaves
For the fritters
- 3 leeks (450g trimmed weight)
- 2 banana shallots, peeled and finely chopped (I used regular red onions)
- 140ml olive oil
- 1 red chilli, deseeded and sliced
- 25g parsley, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoons coriander seeds, crushed
- 1 teaspoons ground cumin
- ½ teaspoons ground turmeric
- ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoons sugar
- salt to taste
- 1 egg white
- 120g self-raising flour (or regular all purpose flour with 2 teaspoons of a raising agent, like Royal).
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1 egg
- 150ml milk
- 55g unsalted butter, melted
Method
Start by making the sauce. Put all the sauce ingredients into the bowl of a food processor, blitz together until a uniform green, then set to one side.
Cut the leeks into 2cm thick rounds, rinse and dry. Over medium heat, sauté the leeks and shallots in a pan with five tablespoons of oil until soft – about 15 minutes – then transfer to a bowl and add the chilli, parsley, spices, sugar and salt. Leave to cool.
Whisk the egg white to soft peaks and fold it into the vegetables. In another bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, egg, milk and butter to form a batter. Gently mix this into the egg white and vegetable mixture.
Put two tablespoons of oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Spoon the mixture into the pan to make four large fritters, and fry for two to three minutes a side, until golden and crisp. Transfer to kitchen towel and repeat, adding oil as needed, until the mixture is used up. Serve warm with the sauce on the side or drizzled over.
Mash with a twist
Posted: March 23, 2011 Filed under: Vegetables, Vegetarian | Tags: Mash, Nigella, Potatoes Leave a comment
A mash is a mash is a mash. That is, mashed potatoes. Boil the potatoes, add butter and milk, salt and pepper and then mash. But, a special dinner calls for a special dish. After a brief consult with Todpop, I decided to give it a go to Nigella‘s mash with a twist.
Mash with a twist
Ingredients
- 1.2 Kg starchy potatoes
- 0.6 Kg parsnips (also known as pastinaki)
- 300 mL buttermilk (or diluted cream)
- 1 root of ginger broken down in pieces.
- olive oil
- Asian sesame toasted oil to taste
Method
Peel the potatoes and the parsnips and put them to cook with the ginger root. When cooked, take out the ginger.
Put the potatoes in a big glass bowl, and add the sesame oil, the olive oil, the buttermilk and salt&pepper to taste. Mash the all the ingredients. Once they are mashed, fluff them with a wooden spoon.
Nigella – also know as the Queen of porn food – explains how to do this mash in this TV appearance.
Roasted vegetables
Posted: March 5, 2011 Filed under: Vegetables, Vegetarian | Tags: Apricots, Carrots, Chickpeas, Pumpkin, Spices Leave a comment
Sara’s Roast Chicken with Sage and Garlic
Posted: January 25, 2011 Filed under: Chicken, Vegetables | Tags: Chicken, Roast, Vegetables Leave a comment
Todpop mentioned on a couple of times this recipe. It-never-fails!, she assured. As always, Todpop was right. The chicken is absolutely delicious, and this dish is highly recommendable for a special occasion roast. You might want to take into consideration that garlic, sage and butter will leave a bit of a stink in the kitchen.
Sara’s Roast Chicken with Sage and Garlic
Ingredients
- 1 chicken
- 1 lemon
- 22 fresh sage leaves
- 3 cloves garlic
- 6 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
- Salt
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- Ground black pepper, to taste
- 8 sprigs parsley
- 2 small onions, quartered
- 2 carrots, cut into 5cm pieces
- Fleur de sel
Methods
1. Heat oven to 200°C. Rinse the chicken under cold water; pat dry with paper towels. Peel the lemon, avoiding white pith. Finely chop the lemon peel, sage, and garlic together; place in a bowl. Add butter and 1 table spoon of salt. Stir to combine. Quarter the peeled lemon; set aside.
2. Using your fingers and a small, sharp knife, loosen skin of chicken from breasts and thighs. Slip butter mixture between skin and flesh, spreading it evenly. Rub skin with oil; season skin and cavity with salt and pepper to taste. Stuff with quartered lemon, parsley, and 1 quartered onion. Tie legs together with kitchen twine, if you like.
3. Put remaining quartered onion and carrots into center of roasting pan and place chicken on top of them. Roast for 20 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 180˚. Continue roasting for about 1 hour more. Transfer the chicken to a platter; sprinkle with fleur de sel; let rest for 10 minutes before carving.
Roasted sweet potatoes pan fried with roasted red onions, pine nuts and feta cheese
Posted: December 18, 2010 Filed under: Vegetables, Vegetarian | Tags: Carlos Horrillo and Patrick Morcas, Feta cheese, Pine nuts, Red onions, Roast, Sweet potato 2 Comments
I have already mentioned it a few times: Tapas – Simple Flavours, Striking Combinations, by Carlos Horrillo and Patrick Morcas, is one of my favorite cookbooks. And, the roasted sweet potatoes is one of my favorite dishes. It looks a bit laborious, but most of the roasting can be done in advance.
Roasted sweet potatoes pan fried with roasted red onions, pine nuts and feta cheese
Ingredients
- 3 large sweet potatoes cut in 3 cm slices
- garlic infused oil (I normally out 4 crushed cloves in 100ml olive oil and let it rest for a while)
- salt and pepper
- 3 red onions cut into quarters
- 1 heaped tablespoon of pine nuts
- 75g of feta cheese
Method
The stove goes at 200oC (mark 6).
Put the sweet potatoes in roasting tray and drizzle generously with garlic oil until they are well coated. 2 pinches of salt and 3 pinches of pepper and then mix well. Put in the middle of the stove for about 1h, and mix every now and again to ensure they don’t burn.
Put the onion quarters in a small roasting tray and drizzle with garlic oil. Season with salt and pepper. Place them at the bottom of the stove and cook for 20min.
For the pine nuts, get a small frying pan and put it at low heat. Do not add oil. Drop in the pine nuts and fry gently stirring constantly until they are golden brown. Reserve.
When the onions and sweet potatoes are ready, place a large heavy based non sticky frying pan on a medium to high heat and put enough garlic oil to cover the bottom Drop in half the roasted sweet potatoes and fry until they start to break. Add half the roasted onions and give everything a good stir. Cook for 5min, stirring the whole time to avoid burning. Take it out from the pan and keep it hot. Repeat with the remaining roasted potatoes and onions.
When the second batch is almost ready, add the first batch to the pan and reduce the heat to low. Carefully stir in the feta cheese and the pine nuts and continue cooking until the feta is almost melting. Serve straight away.
The ultimate Winter couscous
Posted: November 30, 2010 Filed under: Grains, Pulses and lentils, Vegetables, Vegetarian | Tags: Apricots, Carrots, Chickpeas, Couscous, Parsnips, Pumpkin, Roast, Spices, Yotam Ottolenghi Leave a comment
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