HOMECOOKING WITH TERESA

St John's Eve, on the 23rd June is celebrated in many European countries. Traditions vary, but in most of them there is a bonfire involved. In Catalonia, "La Revetlla de Sant Joan" is celebrated in every single town, big and small. It coincides with the summer solstice - the shortest night of the year! When I was growing up there, teenagers went around the houses of the village to ask for anything old that could be burnt, and we piled it up in the middle of the main square to get it ready for the bonfire that night. People celebrate it with music, a glass of cava and the traditional dessert: La coca de Sant Joan. Although the Sant Joan festivities have been held since time immemorial (along with the tradition of lighting bonfires to ward off evil spirits), the tradition of the flame of Canigó dates back to 1955. Since then, every 22nd June, at midnight, the flame, which is kept burning all year round at the main museum in Perpignan, is carried to the top of Mount Canigó w

What a fantastic recipe from the cookbook Falastin by Tamimi. It's actually very easy to make and the flavours are amazing. Loved it with the Roasted squash and courgettes with whipped feta and pistachios from the same cookbook and the Spicy carrot salad from Ottolenghi's Jerusalem cookbook. It was a real comfort food feast! And... we ate the leftovers the following day and it was even better. The flavours had time to develop and the meatballs were to die for.....  Ingredients 2 very large (or 3 large) aubergines, as wide as possible (850g), peeled in alternate long strips (to look like a zebra), then cut widthways into 12 slices, about 2½cm thick 60ml olive oil 3 large beef tomatoes, cut widthways into 12 slices, about 1cm thick (500g) 1 large green chilli, thinly sliced (20g) Salt and black pepper TOMATO SAUCE 2 tbsp olive oil 1 onion, finely chopped (150g) 6 garlic cloves, crushed 2 tsp tomato purée 1 x 400g tin of chopped tomatoes ¼ tsp caster sugar 1 tsp dried mint ½ ts

This is the first time I made prawn and zucchini risotto using a Thermomix recipe. I had to change it a bit. If I had followed the recipe steps the rice would've been uncooked and the prawns raw. Luckily I have cooked many risottos in the proper way and was able to adjust the time of cooking. To be honest it tasted really nice for a mid-week meal and I can see myself cooking it again, especially when you're tired and cannot bother to stand up in front of the pan stirring the rice . Ingredients 12 - 16 raw prawns, heads and tails intact 50 g olive oil 1000 g water 200 g zucchini, cut into pieces (2 cm) 1 brown onion (approx. 120 g), cut into halves 1 garlic clove 320 g Arborio rice 100 g dry white wine 1 tsp salt 50 g unsalted butter, cut into pieces 1 tbsp lemon juice Preparation Remove and reserve prawn heads and tails, then devein prawns. Transfer prawn meat into a bowl and set aside. Place prawn heads, tails and 20 g of the oil into mixing bowl and cook 5 min/Varoma/speed 1.