Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from 2022

BEETROOT GAZPACHO WITH RED CABBAGE SALAD AND FETA CHEESE - TM & TRADITIONAL METHOD

This is an exceptionally good recipe, as it is not only easy and fast to make, but it is also healthy and delicious. It is a great plate to serve at a vegetarian, or not, dinner party. It looks great on the table ... the only thing you must take into account is that it needs to be served very cold. Today I didn't have any sprouts, but if you use them, it gives the dish an extra beautiful look - see picture at the end. Ingredients Red cabbage salad 200 g red cabbage in 5 cm pieces (stem removed) 60 g carrots in 2 cm pieces 1 apple (any type), skinned and cored, quartered and halved each quarter 2 - 3 sprigs of fresh mint (only the leaves) 30 g dried cranberries 1 pinch of salt 1 ground black pepper 20 g olive oil 10 g apple cider vinegar 1 dash of honey Beetroot gazpacho 500gr cooked beetroot in chunks 500gr ripe tomato 50gr onion 40gr green pepper 50gr cucumber 1 clove garlic 200gr ice cubes 20 - 30 g vinegar 1 - 2 teaspoons salt 1 - 2 pinches of ground pepper 80 g olive oil To ser

HONEY-BRAISED DUCK WITH ALMONDS & RAISINS

Tonight's dinner was this recipe from Neil Perry's Simply Good Food cookbook called Honey-braised duck with almonds and olives, but I followed his suggestion and used raisins instead of olives. I like recipes that mix duck with fruit..... It is super easy to make and loved the fact that it is not too greasy - you get rid of the rendered fat from the duck. Also, I used free range duck legs. I used the lemon juice, but I put it as an optional ingredient because it gave the sauce a bit of a sour and acidic flavour, that some people might not like. I think it works well when using raisins, because it cuts through its sweetness and balances the flavours. Anyway, it was delicious and the meat was falling off the bone. Served with some wholemeal couscous as suggested, it was certainly a scrumptious meal 😋😍🥰😁! Ingredients 4 large duck legs sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil 8 brown shallots, halved lengthways if large 500 ml chicken stock 1 Tbsp

PIZZA QUATTRO STAGIONI

  Ingredients 1 x 30cm pizza base 1 quantity tomato sauce (or you can use tomato sauce from a jar) 1 Tbsp grated parmesan 60gr mozzarella, chopped 30g thinly sliced prosciutto, cut into small pieces 1 ripe tomato, thinly sliced 3 basil leaves, shredded 4 small artichoke hearts, marinated in oil, drained and quartered 4 button mushrooms, sliced pinch of dried oregano 1 Tbsp olive oil Pizza base 220 g water, room temperature 1 tsp sugar or malt powder 2 tsp dried instant yeast (8 g) or 20 g fresh yeast, crumbled 400 g strong white bread flour 30 g extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for greasing 1 tsp fine sea salt corn meal Tomato sauce 120g plum tomatoes 3 basil leaves 2 garlic cloves, crushed 1 Tbsp tomato passata 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil Method Pizza base - TM Lightly grease a large bowl and set aside. Place water, sugar and yeast in mixing bowl then mix 20 sec/speed 2. Add flour, oil and salt then knead Dough /2 min. Transfer to prepared bowl and bring together into a ball. Cover

WICKED BAKED SARDINES

     These sardines are simple to make and delicious to eat. You can have them as a snack, one or two will be enough; as an entrée with a small salad, or as a main with chips and salad or something else. Serve them with a lemon wedge and you will be eating sardines even though you do not like the tinned ones! Ingredients 1 small bulb of fennel, with the leaves 1 cup fresh breadcrumbs or panko breadcrumbs 1 handful of lightly toasted pine nuts 1 handful of marjoram, oregano or parsley, leaves only a little grated parmesan or pecorino (optional) sea salt and freshly ground black pepper extra virgin olive oil 8 slices of pancetta or cured smoked bacon 8 fresh sardines, scaled, gutted and filleted 8 sprigs of rosemary or toothpicks Method Remove the leafy tops and stalk from the fennel. Put the leafy bits to one side and discard the stalks. Halve the fennel bulb, and finely chop with a knife, then put the crumbs into a bowl with the fennel, pine nuts and herbs. Season well and mix in 4 or

CANNELLINI BEANS WITH PRAWNS & CLAMS

Today for dinner I made dried beans with prawns and clams. It's the first time I've made this dish and I did it a bit on my way.... It turned out great and now that I know where to find (frozen) clams... I'll be able to make it more often. I tried this recipe -without the prawns- in a small restaurant in Catalonia many years ago and I loved it.... Today it has brought back memories of that day. Ingredients   ½ kg clams  12 peeled prawns  2 x 400g cannellini beans  2 tomatoes, grated  1 small onion, finely chopped  garlic, finely chopped  parsley, finely chopped  200 ml white wine  olive oil  salt, pepper and paprika Preparation   Put a large frying pan on the heat, add the clams with 100ml of white wine, cover the pan and let the clams cook for about 5 minutes, or until the shells open. Put the clams and juices in a large bowl and set aside. In the same pan, add a little oil and fry the prawns for about two minutes or until almost cooked. Transfer the prawns into the bowl

SAVOURY STILTON CHEESECAKE - TM

'A crumbly oatcake base, a layer of fig jam, creamy Stilton cheese and a scattering of balsamic-caramelised walnuts… this is a cheese board like never before. The sweetness of the fig jam and walnuts balances the salty, savoury Stilton, and there’s enough of a mix of textures that each bite is different. This is a rich, decadent final course for a dinner party.' This definition of the recipe, was what made me think of making it to take to an engagement party to which we had been invited, and where we had to bring a vegetarian dish..... The response was varied, as there were people there who did not like 'blue' cheese, others who loved it, and others who mistook it for a sweet cake, and felt a bit confused with it..... We liked it very much, but when I make it again, I will serve it with a green salad with balsamic dressing, or as a dessert, part of a cheese table..... and, a thin slice is just sufficient!!! Ingredients 200 g oatcakes, broken in pieces 125 g unsalted but

PICKLED SARDINES FOR CROSTINI

  I love fresh sardines, but until recently, they were hard to find in the area where we live. Lately, I have found a fish shop where they seem to have them most of the time, and I am really enjoying to try different recipes. This time, I followed a recipe from Stephanie Alexander to pickle them. She mentions in her cookbook Home, that she learnt this recipe from a Sicilian woman from WA. It is so simple to make if you follow the instructions carefully! And we were amazed about how delicious they are. I didn't have any fresh parsley at home, so we just had a small nibble and had one with the sardine by itself, and the other with romesco sauce I had previously made (recipe at the bottom of this page) and that took it to another level altogether. Scrumptious recipe!! Ingredients fresh sardine fillets kitchen salt best-quality red-wine vinegar extra-virgin olive oil dried oregano sliced or minced garlic freshly sliced red chilli or Alepo pepper flakes Preparation Arrange the filleted