HOMECOOKING WITH TERESA

Simple, delicious, healthy.... What else do you want? Add a green salad on the side and you have your perfect lunch or dinner. Or, you can cut it into cubes and add some alfalfa sprouts on top and it can be as part of a platter to entertain your friends. Put the relish on a bowl to dip in the frittata. INGREDIENTS 20g unsalted butter 1 Tbsp olive oil 1 leek (white part only), thinly sliced 400g button or mixed mushrooms, washed and sliced 2 garlic cloves, crushed 8 eggs 150ml thickened cream 1/3 cup (40g) grated Parmesan 3 Tbsp (1/4 cup) torn basil leaves tomato relish, to serve Preheat oven to 180°C. Lightly grease a 20cm square cake pan. Melt the butter with the oil in a large frypan over a medium-low heat. Add the leek and cook for 5 minutes, until soft but not browned. Add the mushrooms and garlic and stir for 5 minutes or until the mushrooms are soft and they have drank all the water released. Meanwhile, whisk the eggs, cream and Parmesan in a bow

These tarts are absolutely delicious and very easy to make if you use bought hummus. I actually cheated a bit with the pastry, because I had some homemade shortcrust pastry already made in the freezer. It was thin and crisp. I added a pinch of paprika to the hummus. Here is the link to the pastry I used if you prefer it. Basic shortcrust pastry. INGREDIENTS 125g plain flour 1/2 tsp mild paprika 65g unsalted butter 1 egg, beaten 4 Tbsp (80ml) extra-virgin olive oil 2 Tbsp (40ml) lemon juice 1 1/2 cups (100g) mixed baby salad leaves 1 cup (260g) good-quality hummus METHOD: Sift the flour into a bowl, add a pinch of salt and the paprika. Rubin the butter with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add half the egg and mix first with a knife, then with your hands, until the mixture comes together to form a smooth ball. Wrap in plastic for 30 minutes, then roll out thinly on a lightly floured surface. Line six 9 cm-diameter loose-bottomed tart pans

This pork belly is very easy to do and it is amazingly good. The combination of the caramel sauce with the pork together with the herbs, it's just awesome!! INGREDIENTS 1kg boneless pork belly, skin on 1/2 cup (110g) firmly packed brown sugar 1/3 cup (80ml) red wine vinegar 2 star anise juice of 1 lime, plus wedges to serve 1 cup mint leaves 1 cup coriander leaves 1 cup Thai basil leaves 3 spring onions, thinly sliced 1 long red chilli, seeds removed, thinly sliced METHOD: Preheat the oven to 220°C. Score the pork belly skin at 1 cm intervals. Place the pork on a rack in a roasting pan, skin-side up. Rub 2 tablespoons salt into the skin, then pour in enough water to fill the pan to just under the rack. Roast for 30 minutes or until the skin is crispy, then reduce the oven to 180 °C and roast for a further 1 1/2 hours or until the meat is tender, topping up with water as necessary. Meanwhile, place the brown sugar, vinegar and star anise in a pan over lo

This is a lovely salad that goes well with many dishes. Very refreshing. From the cookbook 'Indian Food Made Easy'. INGREDIENTS 3 handfuls of baby spinach leaves 1/2 red onion, peeled and sliced 1 tomato, sliced into thin wedges Dressing 2 heaped Tbsp roasted peanuts 20g fresh coriander, leaves and stems 10g fresh mint leaves salt to taste 1/4 tsp cumin 1/4 tsp garlic paste 1/4 tsp ginger paste 2-3 tsp lemon juice, or to taste 3-4 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil or groundnut oil METHOD: Blend together all the ingredients for the dressing until well mixed. Lightly toss the spinach leaves, sliced onion and tomato in the dressing and serve. Lovely with the Bengali style fish and eggplant . (See recipes in blog) Serves 4

This eggplant recipe is just delightful. It works really well as a side dish for any Indian recipe. I could eat it almost every day. From the cookbook 'Indian Food Made Easy'.  😋😍 INGREDIENTS 400g small eggplants, thinly sliced into rounds 1 Tbsp ground turmeric salt, to taste 1/2 tsp red chilli powder 2 Tbsp vegetable oil 250ml plain yoghurt 1 - 1 1/2 tsp sugar 1 tsp cumin seeds, roasted and ground large handful of fresh coriander leaves and stalks, chopped Put the turmeric, salt and pepper in a plastic bag.  Add the eggplant and shake until well coated. Fry in the oil in a large, nonstick frying pan until soft and the point of a knife goes through with no resistance. You may do this in two batches. Drain on a plate lined with kitchen paper and set aside. Beat 200ml of the yogurt with the sugar, salt to taste and the remaining red chilli powder and add to a small saucepan. Heat, stirring, over a low heat until warm - this takes a good 5 m

This is the first time that I cooked this fish recipe. It is not hot at all and has a very nice fresh taste. Ideal for the people who do not like food too spicy. Cookbook 'Indian Food Made Easy'. INGREDIENTS 1 Tbsp poppy seeds 1 tsp mustard seeds 2 heaped Tbsp plain yoghurt 1 Tbsp fresh ginger, grated 1 green chilli, chopped ( deseed it if you don't like it too hot ) salt, to taste good pinch of black pepper 1 tsp coriander powder a good handful fresh coriander, leaves and stalks 2 pieces of white-fleshed fillets, such as haddock, sole, etc. (or more if they are very small) vegetable oil 10g butter lemon juice, to taste METHOD Preheat oven to 190 °C. Make a paste of the poppy seeds, mustard seeds, yoghurt, ginger and chilli. Use a mortar and pestle or a blender. Stir in the salt, pepper, coriander powder and fresh coriander. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Put the fish fillets in a bowl and add the mixture. Coat the fish with the paste. Place th

This Italian recipe from the cookbook 'The Food of Italy' is simple to cook and it is just gorgeous. We had friends for dinner and was able to make it the previous night. Just make sure you serve it at room temperature. You will make it over and over again.  INGREDIENTS Pastry 150g plain flour 60g caster sugar 1 tsp grated lemon zest 60g unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small cubes 1 egg yolk Mascarpone cream 125g mascarpone 60g caster sugar 1 egg 1/4 tsp vanilla extract 1 Tbsp plain flour 2-3 Tbsp milk, as necessary 4 ripe pears ( if possible I like to use the bosc pears, but couldn't find it this time! ) juice of 1/2 lemon 45g roasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped 1 1/2 Tbsp caster sugar 1 Tbsp apricot jam 1 tsp pear liqueur or other fruit flavoured liqueur (Cointreau) METHOD: To make the pastry, mix the flour, sugar, lemon zest and a pinch of salt in a bowl. Rub in the butter, then add the egg yolk and 2-3 teaspoons cold water and mix unt