HOMECOOKING WITH TERESA

This is at the top of my list of comfort foods. I grew up with it in Catalonia and it was one of my favourite Sunday lunch recipes. Macaroni with a ragu sauce and then covered with Bechamel sauce (white sauce) and grated Manchego cheese and put in the oven for about 30 minutes. Here is a recipe for the ragu , today I used veal and pork mince and 6 rashes of bacon. It was soooo yummy! The traditional recipe, however, is done is only pork mince and a sofrito of tomato passata. Nice and simple. Ingredients 500g macaroni or penne rigatto 1 quantity ragu sauce 70g grated Manchego or Parmesan or Pecorino cheese 10g butter, extra Bechamel sauce (TM recipe) 40 g unsalted butter 40 g of flour 500 g of milk ½ teaspoon of fine salt, or to taste 2 pinches of ground black pepper 2 pinches of nutmeg powder (optional) Method: Cook ragu as per recipe. Towards the end of cooking the sauce, put a large pot with water and salt on the stove and bring it to the boil. Cook the pasta for about 12 minutes or ...

This is another very traditional Catalan recipe and every family has its own variation. I have added some mushrooms to mine and a combination of beef and pork mince. It takes quite some time to prepare, so it's certainly a weekend or especial celebration recipe. However, it's worth the effort, it's just delicious. INGREDIENTS: 6 medium size squid tubes, cleaned and with tentacles and wings kept separate Stuffing 250g beef mince 250g pork mince squid wings and tentacles, chopped 10 medium mushrooms, chopped finely 3 boiled eggs, chopped finely salt and pepper oil splash of dry sherry (optional) toothpicks to secure tubes Sauce 400g tin chopped tomatoes  250ml dry white wine 1 1/2 Tbsp pine nuts 2 Tbsp parsley 4 cloves garlic 1 medium onion, chopped or grated 1 fresh bay leaf flour for dusting liquid set aside from squid stuffing 250ml water salt and pepper 2 small red chillies (optional) METHOD Put some oil in a frying pan ...

This recipe is a combination of the recipes from Adam Liaw, Karen Martini and Kylie Kwong. You can have it as an entrée , but we usually eat it as main. No need to cook anything else. INGREDIENTS: 500g pork and veal mince 1 Tbsp grated ginger  2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 8 dried shiitake mushrooms (or fresh if you can find them) 1 small carrot, peeled and finely sliced 12 green beans, cut into 1cm  length 1 stick of celery, finely diced 1/2 red onion, finely sliced 2 long red chillies, finely sliced 2 spring onions, finely sliced 115g bean sprouts a handful of coriander sprigs 4 Tbsp peanuts, toasted 2 Tbsp Shaoxing wine 1 Tbsp light soy sauce 2 Tbsp oyster sauce 2 Tbsp sugar 1/2 tsp sesame oil 2 tsp cornflour 1 tsp dark soy sauce 2 Tbsp peanut oil or any other vegetable oil 1 iceberg lettuce 2 Tbsp hoisin sauce, to serve METHOD Soak the mushrooms in hot water for 20 minutes, then remove from the liquid (reservin...

This is a very traditional Catalan recipe that is very easy to make and it comes out really yummy. There are many versions to the recipe, and it is more traditional to do it with cuttlefish than calamari. However, because we live in the country, and we do not have access to big fish co-ops or markets like the ones in Australian big cities, I have adapted the same recipe using calamari. It's still sooo good, you want to make it for a special day when you feel like having the ultimate comfort food.  INGREDIENTS: For the meatballs 500 g pork and veal mince 300 g green prawns, peeled and chopped ( keep the prawn heads )  1 egg 1 garlic clove, finely chopped 1 bread slice, without the crust, soaked in milk 1 handful of parsley, chopped a pinch of ground cinnamon olive oil salt and pepper flour For the calamari 600 g calamari or cuttlefish, cut into 5 cm squares 250 ml red wine For the sauce 1 onion, chopped very finely 250 gr chopped tin tomatoes 250 ml chick...