Arepas, Caribean flavours...

This week a very special recipe: the first published by a reader of this blog. I had the opportunity to enjoy the company of Irma and, not less important, to taste this marvelous Arepas she prepared us...

You will need:

Pre cooked corn flour (Harina Pan is the more used brand)

water

salt

The preparation of Arepas is very simple, usually we don`t measure the ingredients, but a trick will be to use the same amount of water and flour.

Start by placing a cup of water into a bowl. Add a bit of salt and a cup of flour. Start kneading till it is consistent and without lumps. The dough is ready when it no longer sticks to your hands. If it continues to stick, add a little bit more flour to achieve the perfect texture. When the dough is ready, make balls and mold it to the shape of pancakes, thicker or thinner depending on your taste.

Using a non-stick frying pan in medium temperature, cook it till it is golden on both sides and turn it frequently in order to avoid that it burns. 

Serve immediately and ideally open them in half and fill with whatever you prefer: cheese, ham, pepperoni, meet, chicken... Whatever you fill it with it will be delicious!

Castellano

La preparación de la arepa es muy sencilla, por lo general los ingredientes se colocan a ojo pero, se puede dar alguna aproximación de las cantidades. 

Los ingredientes que se necesitan son:

-          Harina de Maíz pre cocida (Harina Pan es la marca que se suele utilizar)

-          Agua

-          Sal

PREPARACIÓN:

Para 2-4 arepas (depende del tamaño)

Primero se coloca en un bol una taza de agua. Se coloca sal al gusto y se agrega una taza de harina. La medida siempre va a ser por cada taza de agua que se ponga, una taza de harina. Se comienza a amasar la masa de manera que quede consistente y sin grumos. La mejor forma de saber que la masa está lista es que no se pegue en las manos. Si esto sucedes hay que agregar un poco más de harina hasta que se consiga la textura perfecta. Una vez se tenga lista la masa se hacen bolas y se comienzan a aplastar con las manos de manera que se ponga la masa con la forma de una torta, redonda y del grosor que el comensal prefiera, puede ser más delgada o más gruesa.

Una vez que se tengan listas, se colocan en el sartén a fuego medio y se van dando vueltas cada cierto tiempo hasta que se doren por ambos lados. Se sirven y lo ideal es abrirlas por la mitad y rellenarla con lo que nos provoque: queso, jamón, chorizo, carne, pollo. Con lo que sea son exquisitas!

Recipe of the week: Spinach Soup

This week's recipe has a very special meaning to me. Like many children, during my childhood, I simply hated spinach so, it was one of soups that traumatized me and I disliked most. Years later I prepared it for the beginning of january detox...

You will need (for 4 people):
1 large onion or 2 medium onions
1 garlic clove
1 leek
2 carrots
1/2 courgette
2 medium potatoes
vegetable stock or water as needed
1 bunch of spinach
salt & pepper
Extra virgin olive oil

In a pan with a splash of olive oil, sauté the chopped garlic and onion and then add the remaining vegetables cut into cubes. Add water till it almost covers the vegetables or, as in my case I'd just make a vegetable stock, replace the water by vegetable stock. This will enhance the flavour of your soup and bring it to another level. Season with salt and let it cook. Grind well, put it again on the heat and add the previously washed spinach leaves. Let it boil for about five minutes and grind it well.

As in all of my soups, serve it with grinded pepper and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Recipe of The week: Onion soup, perfect to raise you temperature...

After almost a couple of months we are back with an excellent recipe for this freezing days, at least here in Madrid: an onion soup. This time a version that I've picked from Portuguese Chef. Henrique Sá Pessoa program secret ingredient. (Please click here to read the other version we've published a couple of years ago)

You will need (for 3 persons):

3 onions

1L of Chicken Stock (Click here to see our homemade recipe)

a generous knob of butter

1 bay leaf 

olive oil

2 spoons of flour

salt & pepper

thyme

6 bread slices

Gruyere cheese 

Start by slicing the onions as thin as you can, (this will make all the difference on your soup final result), then, in a pan with a splash of olive oil, add a generous knob of butter and a bay leaf. When the butter is melted add the onions and let it cook. This is the second most important step, the best cooked the onions better soup you will obtain. Add a bit of thyme and season it with salt and pepper, being careful with the salt as you will add chicken stock.

Add two spoons of flour and stir it well. Add part of the chicken stock and mix it well. Add the rest of the stock and let it cook for about 15-20 minutes.

Meanwhile put in a tray 6 bread slices, add a drizzle of olive oil to avoid it to dry and cover with a slice of Gruyere cheese. take it to the oven at 200ºC for about 5 minutes.

Serve it as it is shown on the picture and enjoy it!

The easiest and quickest Hot sauce!

Last week I was asked to prepare a simple recipe to help one of our readers start cooking at home. So the recipe of this week is the easiest chili sauce, even easier than buy it!

You will need:
Hot pepper, (depending on your taste you can choose softer or hotter)
Whiskey 
Extra virgin olive oil

In a jar, add the chopped hot pepper, and add 1/2 of whiskey and 1/2 of extra virgin olive oil, and that's it!

 I prefer like this as it stays less greasy and more aromathic but, as an alternative, you can also add 1/3 of whiskey and 2/3 of extra virgin olive oil...

Recipe of the week: Gooseneck Barnacle 100% sea flavour!

Specially in Madrid, autumn decided to arrive earlier this year and forced us to anticipate the end of the beach season... To compensate this trauma, this week I decided to share a recipe that allows you to feel the sea during the whole year, Gooseneck Barnacles are 100% pure sea flavour and aroma and one of the best ways to feel the summer during the rest of the year...

You will just need:

- Gooseneck barnacles

- sea water or water and salt 

This may be the easiest and the quickest recipe I've ever shared on this blog. If you cannot use sea water add 70 gr of salt per liter of water and heat till it starts boiling. At the same time, wash very well the Gooseneck Barnacles, taking out the rocks, algae and sand. Put the seafood in the boiling water and let it cook till it starts to boil again. you may serve it immediately or serve it cold, depending on your personal taste.

Recipe of the week: Fried noodles with chicken

A good way to remember those unforgettable holidays in Bali, the paradise and relaxing Indonesian island,  is the recipe of this week... 

The biggest tip about this recipe is not be keen on follow it strictly as this may vary significantly according to the vegetables you have in the fridge. So, the main rule to follow is using equal parts of vegetables and chicken breast  

You will need: 

1 chicken breast 

red/ green sweet pepper 

8 spring onions

two garlic cloves 

1 carrot 

Salt and pepper 

soy sauce 

rice vinegar 

ginger 

Hot Sauce 

2 eggs 

As the cooking times are not so long it is easier if you start by chopping/prepare all ingredients: Start by cutting the carrot into small strips, sweet peppers into small cubes, chop the spring onions and slice the garlic cloves. Also cut the chicken breast into small strips and set aside. 

Then in a wok or a deep frying pan and with a drizzle of olive oil start by putting the garlic, then the carrots and a bit later the rest of the vegetables. let it cook for about 5 minutes and add the chicken. At the same time, in a pan with boiling water and let the noodles boil according to the instructions (in my case for 3 minutes). Add soy sauce and the like in my case I normally add rice vinegar (both 25ml), a bit of grated ginger (about the size of a thumb). If you are comfortable with hot sauce add it to the mixture, and you will see that your noodles will raise to another level... 

In a hot frying pan with a little olive oil, add the two scrambled eggs, stir and add the noodles, mix it well and add to the vegetables. 

Mix well and enjoy ... 

Tip: as mentioned above taste it and adjust the intensity to your personal taste playing with ginger, soy sauce and rice vinegar like, I started to use this for sushi and now I use it frequently for lots of other dishes...

Recipe of the week: Smoked salmon wrap

This week a very quick, easy and fresh recipe for you to enjoy each of the remaining minutes of this summer...

You will need:
Tortitas
Smoked salmon
Avocado
Cream cheese (philadelphia light)
Lettuce
lemon 
freshly ground pepper

Spread the cream cheese over all the area of the tortita, put the smoked salmon, then the avocado and season with some drops of lemon juice and freshly ground pepper, add the lettuce, roll it and in the middle of the tortita apply a diagonally cut...

This is such an easy and quick recipe that you may take more time to read this recipe than preparing this marvellous wrap...

Recipe of the week: Cauliflower Soup

This was one of the recipes that made me very curious when I saw Chef Henrique Sá Pessoa preparing it. The reasons were simple: one of the quickest and simplest recipes I've ever saw and with the interesting option of allowing you to eat it cold or hot, depending on season and on your taste ... 

You will need: 
1/2 Cauliflower 
1 shallot 
25 g butter 
milk 
Sesame seed 
1 bay leaf 
salt 
olive oil 
Truffle oil to taste 

Cut the cauliflower into pieces, add the shallot and bay leaf and sauté it slowly,  in butter and a splash of olive oil for about 5 minutes. 
Add the milk till covering the cauliflower and let it cook for about 4 minutes. 
In a skillet toast sesame seeds carefully. 
Grind it well and serve with the toasted sesame seeds and truffle oil to taste. 

Tip: Depending on the season try to serve it hot or cold...

The Recipe of this week is... a Cocktail: Primo Basilico

This week another recipe from Chef José Avillez book: O Cantinho do Avillez. A cocktail that my friends loved on the last cocktail party we did at home...

You will need:

75 ml gin

35 ml lemon juice

25 ml simple syrup

8 basil leaves

3 drops of Pernod

20 ml egg white

ice cubes

Lemon zest

Simple syrup:

100 gr sugar

60 ml water

For the simple syrup, bring the sugar and the water to boil in a pan. Let it boil for 30 seconds, remove from the heat and let it cool.

Put the basil leaves in a shaker and pound well. Add the Pernod, the lemon juice, the gin, the syrup, the egg white, close the close it and shake. Open the shaker, add a few ice cubes and shake again until the shaker is very cold. Open the shaker and, with the help of a strainer drain the cocktail into the glass. Squeeze the lemon zest over the cocktail to give extra freshness, to release the oil. Finally, run the zest around the rim of the glass and serve it immediately.

Recipe of the Week: Mushrooms Tagliatelle

Today a recipe of Gennaro Contaldo, this fabulous pasta that I've prepared for today's dinner...

You will need:
- Blend of Mushrooms
- Tagliatelle
- Parsley
- chilli
- 1 clove of garlic
- Vegetable stock
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Parmesan
- Salt and pepper

In a frying pan with a splash of extra virgin olive oil, add the finelly chopped garlic, the chilli, and then the mixture of mushrooms you have at home (in this case I used portobello mushrooms and Agrocybe aegerita). Add a bit of vegetable stock, season with salt and pepper and cook the mushrooms. Simultaneously bake the pasta into boiling water.
Mix the pasta with mushrooms, if you need add a bit of the pasta cooking water, and mix well.
Serve on a platter and sprinkle with freshly grated Parmesan.

Cream of Asparagus Soup

I discovered this recipe from Portuguese Chef. Henrique Sá Pessoa on youtube and as it seemed to be quick, easy and incredibly tasty I said: I must cook it!

You will need :

asparagus

2 onions

spinach

butter

olive oil

chicken stock

extra virgin olive oil

Start by peeling the asparagus. Enjoy scrap and stalks of asparagus and boil with the chicken broth. Boil the asparagus with a pinch of salt for 2-3 minutes. Peel and chop the onion, in a pan, add a splash of olive oil, two knobs of butter and let the onions cook for 4-5 minutes. Remove the water from the asparagus, put it in cold water and set aside.

When the onion is cooked, add the asparagus cuted in pieces, cover it with chicken stock and let it boil.

Remove from heat and mash, add one knob of butter to turn it more creamy. Add a few leaves of baby spinach, which will give a little more green to the soup without overpowering the flavor of asparagus . Add 5 tablespoons of cream mix well and it's ready.

Tips: 

Serve with a drizzle of olive oil and freshly ground pepper...

You can also serve it in a shooter glass

A Salad to recover from any excess...

In the northern hemisphere, January is incredibly similar to the late spring months. Despite the different reasons almost everyone is willing for more light meals or even diets...

The recipe this week is a typical example of what I've just wrote . Although we are in the middle of winter in Spain a salad was the perfect way to start recovering from the festive season that just ended and, not least important, to take a few ingredients that were about to go off...

Despite being very similar to a recipe I shared with you before, this week I bring you this salad because this is an example that salads should not be boring, totally the opposite a salad is a perfect way to work your creativity and have fun in the kitchen. Do not forget that sometimes just a small detail may transform your plate and give it a totally different personality. In this case the anchovy brougt that taste of the sea adding more rock & roll than on the previous version .

You will need ( 2 pax ) :

2 diced avocados 

2 diced tomatoes

10 diced anchovy fillets 

a bit of red onion, finely chopped

Shredded Parmesan cheese

salt and extra virgin olive oil

lemon juice

basil

In a cup make a basil vinaigrette with olive oil, lemon juice (3:1), salt and some basil leaves, and set aside.

With the help of a mould, place the diced avocado in the bottom , followed by tomatoes, finally the anchovy fillets and roughly chopped onion. Top it with the grated parmesan , season , and after little more than 5 minutes is ready !

Duck Breast with Chimichurri Sauce

Last Friday I was just starting to prepare a couple of duck breasts to prepare the recipe I shared earlier here on the blog - remember here magret of duck with sweet potato and basil purée, and suddenly I had to improvise ... I had just put the two duck breasts in the honey and orange juice sauce to marinade when I was told that our visit had just cancelled the dinner ...

It was when we thougt why not surprising some friends with a mini catering at their home? the time to get there was just the time that the magrets needed to rest in the recipe I had previously read on the Ferran Adrià app...

You will need :

Magret of Duck

Chimichurri Sauce , (remember the recipe here )

Salt and Pepper

Start by making a few cuts in the grease of duck breast , being careful not to cut the meat, forming a grid format , this will help the duck to cook on its own fat. In my case I marinated the duck in orange juice and honey sauce as in the previous recipe, but as we will use chimichurri sauce you may just season it with salt and freshly ground pepper. In a pan, brown the duck breast with the fat side down for about 3 minutes, turn and mark the meat for about 30 seconds. Wrap in aluminium foil and let rest for 15 minutes.

cut it in thin slices, season with salt and pepper and cover with chimichurri sauce ...

Hope you enjoy, how do you prepare it?

Recipe of the week: Pumpkin Soup

If you are looking for a quick, simple and tasty soup this is a very interesting option. 

You will need:
400 gr of pumpkin
200 gr of potatoes 
2 carrots 
1 leek 
Salt & Pepper
Extra virgin olive oil

Peel the pumpkin, the carrots and the potatoes and cut it into small cubes, Chop the white part of the leek, put everything in a small pan and add just the water needed to cover it. Season it with a pinch of salt and a splash of olive oil and let it cook for aprox. 25 minutes. Grind it and that's it! 
Serve it with a bit of extra virgin olive oil and freshly grounded black pepper.

Tip: this is a great option for a cocktail starter or amuse bouche... 

Beef steak with Soya sauce and Asparagous

I was looking for a different recipe to use the asparagus I had in the fridge in order to avoid avoid it to spoil during my holidays, and I found this fabulous recipe from the Portuguese Chef Henrique Sá Pessoa , beef steaks with soy sauce and asparagus.

You will need :- Asparagus (1 per steak )- 4 beef sirloin steaks
- 1 tablespoon of sugar- 75 ml light soya sauce (as I only had normal soya sauce I added about 5 ml of rice vinegar)
- Ginger ( a bit smaller than the thumb )- Chives
- Olive oil and pepper
Cut the head of the asparagus and sauté in a hot pan with a drizzle of olive oil. Cut a sheet of cling film and place on the board , put the steaks over the sheet, cover with another sheet of cling film and flatten the meat with hand. Remove the cling film and set aside. In a bowl mix together the light soya sauce , 1 tablespoon sugar and the grated ginger.Season the steaks with pepper and then brush them with the soya sauce, add the chopped chives and roll the steaks around the asparagus head . Brush again with the soya sauce and season with pepper.
Fry on a hot pan with a drizzle of olive oil, brushing the meat again with the sauce. when it is ready dredge it with chopped chives and serve it immediately.

A must use ingredient for your Barbecue: Chimichurri Sauce!

For those who are now entering the spring, a great suggestion for your weekend barbecues, and for those who have just left the summer, a chimichurri sauce is always a great choice for any grilled meat dish...

For approx. 1.5 kg of sauce, you will need:

75 gr. parsley
750g ripe tomato
zest of half a lemon
3 g of dried thyme
50 grams of Garlic
6 gr sweet chili
1 small chilli pepper
375 ml of extra virgin olive oil
75 ml sherry vinegar
18 gr of oregano
175 gr onion
1 g ground cumin
17 gr of salt
125 ml of white wine vinegar
375 ml water
250 ml Sunflower Oil

Peel and finely chop the onion, then the garlic, parsley, tomato, (remove the seeds). Remove seeds from peppers and chop. Add all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Grate half a lemon peel and finally add preheated water. Mix and enjoy this delicious sauce ...

Gordon Ramsay's Honey Mustard Pork chops

Last weekend I was on a cruise on Portuguese Douro Valley about which I will write soon. This was the reason why the recipe of the week only comes today... But as it is comonly said: better late than never...

The main tip for the recipe of this week is to prepare the marinate with few hours before of even the night before, basically the more time you have it, the more flavour you will get.

you will need:

Pork chops, (I used black Iberian pig chops)

Marinade

2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard

4 tablespoons of wholegrain mustard

6 tablespoons of honey

4 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce

4 tablespoons of light soy sauce

In a bowl mix all the marinade ingredients. Add the pork chops and turn it to coat well. Cover with cling film and marinate it in the fridge for a couple of hours or overnight.

Grill it on a griddle pan or barbecue and for about five minutes each side brushing it with the marinade occasionally.  Let the chops rest about 5 minutes and serve it with a salad or a grilled vegetables couscous.

Onion soup, will you try it?

After a week pause for vacations we're back with a recipe that usually divides the opinions: the ones who never tasted and don't even think in trying it and the ones who love it...

Ingredients

25 g of butter

5 tiny sliced onions 

1  tea spoon of wheat flour 

1/4 de white wine cup

750 ml de meat stock

Salt & pepper 

mini toasts

Grated cheese

In a large pan, melt the butter in low heat. Add the onion and cook it, stirring it, till it gets blonde, (about 15-20 minutes). add the flour and mix it. Add the meat stock and let it cook about 20 minutes and season it with salt and pepper.

Divide the soup in bowls that can go to the oven and cover it with mini toasts and finally with cheese. Take it to the oven, pre-heated to 180ºC till the cheese melts, (I usually connect the grill for a little bit).