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 so...

  This is a recipe that can be used as a sauce to accompany many dishes. I've used it to accompany all kinds of fish, grilled, crumbed, or simply fried, and we also love it when mixed with mayonnaise to accompany baked potatoes. It tastes similar to the salsa brava that we like so much. It has a sweet and sour touch and if you do not like it too spicy, you can put less chilli peppers. Ingredients 1000 g of tomatoes cut in quarters 40 g fresh ginger root, peeled and cut in round slices (2 mm) 40 ml oil 80 g fresh red chilli peppers, seeded and cut into pieces (2 cm) 10 garlic 100 g white wine vinegar 200 g sugar 2 teaspoons fine sea salt Preparation Thermomix 1. Put the tomatoes, ginger, oil, chilli peppers and garlic in the bowl and chop them for 10 seconds at speed 7. 2. Add the vinegar, sugar and salt and, using the basket instead of the measuring cup, cook 60 min/Varoma/speed 3. 3. Remove the simmering basket and insert the measuring cup, then puree 1 min/speed 5-9, gradually in...

This is my adaptation of a very old recipe from Karlos Arguiñano. It is very simple to make, and yet it is delicious to eat. I used pappardelle this time, but in the past I mostly made it with spaghetti. I loved the texture of the pappardelle with the rest of the ingredients. Comfort food at its best! Ingredients 250g pasta 250g raw prawns, peeled and deveined with tails intact ( keep the heads ) 250g mushrooms, thinly sliced 6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced 2 small red chillies big handful of Italian parsley, chopped a splash of sherry or brandy 1/2 cup dry wine (white or red) olive oil salt and freshly ground black pepper cherry tomatoes  Method Preheat the oven to 200C. Place the tomatoes in an ovenproof dish. Drizzle one tablespoon of oil over the tomatoes, sprinkle with salt and pepper and roast in the oven for about 8 minutes. Keep warm. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat.  Add the pasta and cook, stirr...

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 t...

If you ever had ratatouille and you liked it, this one is even better. The vegetables, mixed with the berbere spice, are just delightful. Here the tomatoes are not cooked, and adding the dressing to the tomatoes first, it really helped to develop the flavours, and the hot vegetables mixed with them, turned up just so delicious, you can add it next to any kind of protein and it will go fantastically well. I also found that cooking the vegetables in the oven, worked better than when I have done it on a pan and not as oily. This recipe makes a big batch, and will have it with Healthy Baked Potatoes with Ratatouille in the next couple of days. I have to admit that the Olive Oil Flatbreads with the tree-garlic butter were just amazing to eat with it. Just make sure you do not put any tomatoes on top. The ratatouille is enough! Ingredients 4 medium aubergines, cut into 2½cm squares (1.1kg) 4 mixed red and yellow Romano peppers, deseeded and cut into 3cm pieces (420g) 2 kohlrabi, peeled and c...

  According to the cookbook, this salad is made every day in Moroccan households for the midday meal. It is delicious and the only difference I made was to add some avocado - it needed to be eaten. Loved it! INGREDIENTS: 2 green capsicums ( I used a green and a yellow one for colour! ) 4 tomatoes 1 red onion 1 garlic clove, finely chopped 1 Tbsp finely chopped flat-leaf parsley ( I didn't have any! ) 80ml (1/3 cup) olive oil 1 Tbsp red wine vinegar salt and freshly ground pepper 1 avocado (optional) METHOD: Cut the capsicums into large flattish pieces and remove the seeds and white membranes. Place the pieces, skin side up, under a grill and grill until the skin blackens. Turn them over and cook for 2-3 minutes on the fleshy side. Remove the cooked capsicums and place in a plastic bag, tuck the end of the bag underneath and leave to steam in the bag until cool enough to handle. Remove the blackened skin and cut the flesh into short strips. Place in a bowl. Peel the tomatoes. To do ...

We love warm salads, and this one is full of flavours. It is amazingly delicious. You don't need to eat anything else. It is a meal on itself.  INGREDIENTS 4 roma tomatoes, quartered lengthways pinch white sugar 125ml olive oil 1 large eggplant, thinly sliced 450g piece beef fillet 240g rocket or rocket & spinach mix 1/3 cup (90g) fresh pesto Dressing for rocket 1 clove garlic, crushed 1 tsp wholegrain mustard 3 tsp white wine vinegar 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil salt and black pepper Fresh pesto 150g basil, leaves removed 140g Italian parsley, roughly chopped 1 cup (100g) grated Parmesan cheese 1 garlic clove 1/2 cup (80g) pine nuts, toasted 2/3 cup (170ml) olive oil METHOD: To make the pesto, put the basil, parsley, Parmesan, garlic and pine nuts into a food processor or a pestle and mortar and blend or pound the mixture to make a thick paste. Add the oil in a steady stream until the paste has a spoonable consistency. If you want to keep your pe...

This is great for entertaining or as part of an antipasto platter. It takes nothing to prepare and it is delicious. Just use your imagination and fill the skewers with some yummy ingredients. For this one, I used the following ingredients, but you can change them according to your preferences. I also made some meatless ones for the vegetarians. INGREDIENTS pitted black kalamata olives stuffed green olives thinly sliced chorizo  thinly sliced salami mini bocconcini cocktail onions thinly sliced Jarlsberg cheese hummus filled bell peppers Serrano ham mixed mini tomatoes basil pea shoot sprouts  extra-virgin olive oil raspberry finishing vinegar crispbread and crustini METHOD: Thread deli delights onto short skewers, arrange around a bowl in a serving platter, add some fresh herbs such as basil and peas shoots, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and a sweet finishing vinegar - I used raspberry - and serve with biscuits and bread sticks. SERVES 6 - 10