HOMECOOKING WITH TERESA

  This is a very traditional Catalan dish that is absolutely delicious. Samfaina is similar to the Southern French ratatouille or to the Sicilian Caponata. It is served with either poultry, rabbit or fish, and you can make a large batch of the sauce and store it in jars. It is even better the day after, so you can prepare it in advance.  Ingredients 6 cod fillets ( if salted, they must be soaked in water for at least 3 or 4 days, changing the water every day ) flour for coating Samfaina 2 eggplants, diced 1 red capsicum, sliced 1 green capsicum, sliced 3 zucchini, diced 1 x 400g tin fresh tomatoes a handful of parsley, chopped sweet paprika olive oil  a pinch of sugar  salt and pepper Preparation Start by making the samfaina. Put a bit of oil in an ovenproof casserole. Add the capsicum, stir well and cover and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the eggplant and stir well. Again, cover and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the zucchini and cook covered until soft, about 5 minutes

  Today I wanted to make a dish that I haven't eaten for many, many years. My mother is a very good cook, but I have never really liked her casserole noodles.... I looked up several noodle recipes in my cookbooks and also recipes on the web... and I have tweaked them a little to suit my own style. They came out great, and I'll make them again for sure, especially in the winter time. Ingredients 200g of pork belly bacon, diced, or smoked speck 2 small chorizo sausages, cut into slices 2 pork sausages, sliced or pork loin, cut into small cubes 2 onions, finely chopped or grated 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped 1 good splash of sherry 2 bay leaves 400g canned chopped tomatoes 1 tablespoon smoked paprika a few saffron threads 1 good splash of brandy 500g short noodles 1 1/2 litres chicken stock or water black pepper salt oil 1 picada (6 almonds, 1 clove of garlic and parsley) Method 1. Put a little oil in a oven-proof casserole and cook the bacon and chorizo until well browned. Remo

  Today for dinner I made for the first time a Catalan dish ‘Popets amb ceba i cigrons’. I adapted this recipe from one I got from a fellow member of a cooking group and also from a Catalan cookbook I have. It turned out really yummy! The octopus was super tender, and I finished the sauce with chopped garlic, almonds, hazelnuts, pine nuts, a teaspoon of sweet aniseed and a dash of olive oil. Unbelievably good ..... 😋🥰 Ingredients 1 kilo of medium octopus, cut into chunks (previously frozen and defrosted) 4 large onions 4 garlic 1 bay leaf 1 cayenne pepper (optional) 1 glass of dry white wine 1 cup of crushed tomato (pasata) 500ml fish stock 1 teaspoon of paprika 1 picada (almonds, hazelnuts, pine nuts, black pepper, garlic, a teaspoon of sweet aniseed and a drizzle of olive oil) 2 x 400g tins of chickpeas olive oil salt Method Clean the octopus and, once clean, drain. Peel and cut the onions into julienne strips and cook over a low heat in a frying pan with olive oil. Add a pinch o

On Monday I made beans with octopus and prawns. I had the octopus frozen and they had to be used. They turned out very tasty. I adapted some recipes I had used to cook squid, and octopus with chickpeas, etc, but I kept tinkering and testing the sauce until it was to my liking. As the temperatures dropped due to the rain, it was perfect for us. Ingredients 1 kg baby octopus 12 fresh prawns 800g cooked beans (I used butter beans) 1 small onion, finely chopped 2 crushed garlic cloves 2 tablespoons homemade tomato paste (or 200g natural tomato) 2 bay leaves 200 ml red wine 1/2 litre fish stock (extra) olive oil Salt, black pepper and paprika garlic, finely chopped parsley, finely chopped 1 teaspoon chilli jam (optional) Preparation Peel the prawns and place the heads and skin in a medium saucepan. Add 500 ml of water and bring to the boil. Boil for about 25 minutes and then blend lightly with a blender. Strain and set aside. Meanwhile, put another medium saucepan on the stove, add the octo

This pork recipe is a version of two recipes, one from Jamie Oliver and the other is a traditional Italian recipe called Saltimbocca alla Romana. My recipe is a mixture of the two. Here served with Baked asparagus with feta . Ingredients 4-6 pork scotch fillets (or 1 pork fillet butterflied and cut into small portions) 6 garlic tooth, finely sliced 15 sage leaves (if they are small, less if they are big) 15 - 20 g butter 150ml white wine salt and pepper olive oil Method Season the fillets with salt and pepper and fry them in a non-stick frypan with a bit of olive oil. When lightly brown transfer to an ovenproof serving dish and keep in the oven (while the asparagus are cooking). Add the butter to the frypan and when melted, add the garlic and the sage. Make sure you stir the garlic so that it doesn't burn. Cook until lightly brown. Add the wine and cook until it has reduced by half. Pour on top of the pork fillets and serve immediately. Serves 2

  This is a lovely frittata that it is easy to make and it only takes 30 minutes to cook. It is fantastic to have it for lunch with a side salad, or you can serve it as a starter for dinner. This time, I used hot smoked salmon instead because I had it in the fridge and needed to be used. It is delicious!! Ingredients 12 spears asparagus (preferably thin stemmed), trimmed 8 eggs 3 Tbsp chopped dill 200g smoked salmon, cut into strips 50g grated parmesan Method Preheat oven to 150C. Line a 20cm square cake tin with baking paper. Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil, add the asparagus and cook until just tender. Drain and rinse under cold water, then cut into 1cm lengths. Whisk together the eggs and dill in a bowl. Season then stir in the asparagus and smoked salmon.  Pour into the prepared tin. Sprinkle with grated parmesan.  Bake for 25 minutes or until just set. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.  Cut into pieces and serve with a green salad. Serves 4 1 SERVE = 1 1/2 units