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 t...

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....

Patatas bravas is on of the most famous tapas dish in Spain. You can find them in almost every single tapas bar and they are super delicious. However, like many other traditional dishes, every one seems to have their secret ingredients when making the tomato sauce - salsa brava. This recipe is from a famous Catalan chef, Jordi Cruz , who was awarded his first Michelin star when he was only 18. I have adapted his recipe because I was short of time, but would love to confit the potatoes next time I make this recipe. I must admit, the sauce is to die for, it's heaven on the plate. INGREDIENTS For the salsa brava - 1 kilo of ripe tomatoes or 3 x 400g cans crushed tomatoes - 300 g onions - 2 cloves garlic - 2 red chillies - Nyora (optional) soaked in hot water, and pulp scraped - 2 g of sweet paprika - 3 g of hot paprika - 10 ml Worcestershire sauce - 100 g of double concentrated tomato - Salt and pepper For mayonnaise foam (or, if we want, just mayonnaise) - 100 ml of sunflower oil - 2...

This is the second time I make this soup. It's super easy to make and it is yummy. I have made it to take to work for lunch. With the weather being a little cooler, soup is a nice thing to eat. It doesn't have many ingredients, but it has a lot of flavour. I have blitzed it a bit to make it smoother, but the first time I didn't and it was really delicious too.  Ingredients 2 tbsp coconut oil (or sunflower oil) 1 onion, finely chopped (160g) 1 tbsp medium curry powder ¼ tsp chilli flakes 2 garlic cloves, crushed 4cm piece of ginger, peeled and finely chopped (30g) 150g red lentils, rinsed and drained 1 x 400g tin of chopped tomatoes 25g coriander stalks, roughly chopped, plus 5g picked leaves, to garnish 1 x 400ml tin of coconut milk salt and black pepper Method Thermomix 1. Put the oil into a medium saucepan and place on a medium high heat. Add the onion and fry for 8 minutes, stirring frequently, until soft and caramelised. Add the curry powder, chilli flakes, garlic and...

      I first made this ketchup a few months ago to accompany some vegetarian cheese sausage rolls. It was delicious, and it is also fantastic to use with both vegetarian and meat burgers as well as in ham & salad sandwiches. It has a thick consistency, between ketchup and chutney. This time I had to change the recipe a bit because of not being able to get some ingredients (see variation below) but it turned out deliciously good too! You need to keep it refrigerated. I will freeze some too. Would go great with a BBQ or pork ribs. Difficulty:  easy Preparation time:  20min Total time:  1h Serving size:  2 bottles Ingredients 10g fresh ginger, thinly sliced 1 red capsicum, seeded 2 red onions, halved 700g tomatoes, cut in half 300g strawberries, cut in half 250g cane sugar 100g of tomato paste 70g raspberry vinegar 1 tsp of salt 1 heaped tsp sweet paprika ½ tsp hot paprika 3 tbsp. curry powder, mild (45g) Preparation Place ginger and chili in mi...

This recipe is a favourite in our family. My mother used to make it often, especially when having a celebration lunch, and everybody in the extended family cooks it slightly differently. This recipe is a combination of the recipes of 3 family members and then adapted to cook it on the Thermomix. I couldn't find salted cod where we live, so I have used fresh cod instead. I can tell you that the difference is just minimal and it is easier to prepare because you do not have to soak the cod for at least 24 hours. In fact, in my family they soak it for a week! There is nothing worse than a really salty, dry cod. Difficulty : easy Preparation time : 25min Total time : 24h 35min Serving size : 4 servings Ingredients 600g salted cod, soaked for at least 24 hours, or 600g of fresh cod 5 sprigs of fresh flat-leaf parsley 300 g of water 3 cloves garlic 1/2 onion 50g olive oil 2 small potatoes, cut into pieces 70g cream a pinch of ground pepper, to adjust according to taste a pinch of nutmeg (...