VATAPÁ

A delicious seafood dish from Brazil. One with Portuguese and African influence in the Brazilian cuisine. Let’s cook.

Ingredients:

1 cup dried tiny shrimp (They are really small shrimp. You can get them in Asian stores or in good supermarkets. They have a very strong flavor. If you cannot get them, you can make your Vatapá without them. With the dried shrimp you will get a strong Vatapá; without them, a lighter one)

½ chopped onion

1 cayenne chili pepper, chopped (with the seeds if you want a hot Vatapá, and without seeds if you want something lighter)

1 clove of garlic, chopped

½ teaspoon pimentón

Some extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons grated coconut

1 cup coconut milk

1 cup crushed tomato

3 tablespoons bread crumbs

2 tablespoons peanut butter

15 big shrimp, peeled

1 desalted cod filet, chopped

Some cilantro, dried or fresh

Some salt to taste

Some freshly ground black pepper, to taste

You should start soaking the dried shrimp in hot water. Soak them for about 20 minutes. Then rinse them well and chop them. Reserve them.

Heat some oil in a pan. Not too much, just a couple of tablespoons. Then, when it is hot, sauté the onion. Add the chili pepper and the garlic one minute later. Add the pimentón, but be careful so that it does not get burned. Next add the dried shrimp. Then add the grated coconut, the coconut milk and the tomato. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat and let it simmer for about ten minutes.

In the meantime, using another pan, sauté the shrimp in some hot oil, just one tablespoon of oil.

Once the shrimp are done, reserve them and sauté the cod in the same way. Just a couple of minutes.

Now we will add the bread crumbs and the peanut butter to the pan. Mix well and keep on simmering it.

Finally, add the shrimp and the cod to the pan. Mix well and let it simmer for a couple of minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. The last touch is adding the cilantro. If you have it fresth, the better. It can be served with cooked rice.

A delicious recipe, different but really good. Cook it! Enjoy!

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HOLLOW POTATOES

A different recipe. Potatoes in an interesting approach. Popular in some parts of Spain, but not everywhere. Now you can cook them. Let’s cook.

Ingredients:

2 potatoes

2 eggs

3 tablespoons flour

1 bay leaf

Some salt to taste

Some freshly ground black pepper, to taste

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon turmeric

Some extra virgin oilve oil

To start, wash and peel the potatoes. Cut them in pieces. Then boil them in water with a bit of salt the bay leaf. Once the potatoes are done, rinse them in cold water. Remove the bay leaf. Mix the potatoes with the eggs. Add the flour and mash everything well. Add the baking powder and some salt and black pepper. I like to add some turmeric. Just to add a bit of colour. We must get a mixture to make like a sort of croquettes later.

If it is needed, you can add more flour, but do it little by little anyway. When you have the mixture, let it rest for 15 minutes.

Then, with the help of a wooden spoon, shape the potato croquettes. Heat some oil in a pan and when it is hot, fry the Hollow Potatoes. Some minutes on one side, some minutes on the other side.

If you want, you can add some herbs to the mixture, but do not overuse herbs. Serve hot. You can serve them as a tapa or as a side. They are different and delicious. Enjoy!

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POMFRET RACHEADO

More fish for today. And a recipe from India, from Goa. Delicious. Very easy to make, too. Let’s get started.

Ingredients:

2 pomfrets

3 tablespoons Racheado masala

Some salt to taste

Some flour

Some drops of extra virgin olive oil

2 papadums

To start with our recipe you will have to prepare the fish. Pomfrets are easy to clean. Remove the insides of the pomfrets. The fins and the tail too. You can leave the head if you want.

Once the pomfrets are clean, make some cuts on the sides.

The next thing is using that wonderful masala. Racheado masala. You can find it easily in Asian stores. Put the masala inside the pomfrets and through the cuts you made to the sides.

And now to the grill. Heat the grill and drop some extra virgin olive oil. Cook the pomfrets for some minutes. Both sides. Make sure they are not overcooked.

You can serve them with pappadums. To prepare the pappadums first you have to heat a pan. When it is really hot, put a pappadum and let it cook. You have to be careful. Be alert so that the papadum does not get burned. When you see the papadum is changing colour, turn it and cook it for some seconds on the other side. Remove it from the pan and let it cool. Repeat the procedure with the other papadum.

And now you will have everything ready to serve. Serve one pomfret per person along with one papadum. Good fish. Enjoy!

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BONITO IN TOMATO AND PEPPER SAUCE

A wonderful fish dish for today. Bonito! I love Bonito. If you cannot find it, you can use regular tuna. Let’s cook.

Ingredients:

½ chopped green pepper

½ chopped onion

1 clove of chopped garlic

2 good cuts of Bonito or tuna

Some extra virgin olive oil

1 cup crushed tomato

½ teaspoon thyme

½ teaspoon oregano

Some salt to taste

Some freshly ground black pepper, to taste

First, prepare the vegetables. Chop the onion, the green pepper and the garlic. Next prepare the bonito. Cut it in pieces.

Heat some oil in a pan and when it is hot, fry the bonito for a couple of minutes. Remove the bonito from the pan and reserve.

Next, add some olive oil to the pan, heat it and sauté the onion and the green pepper for about two minutes. Then add the garlic. Cook for one minute and then add the tomato. Add the herbs and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for some ten minutes and then add the bonito to the pan. Simmer for two more minutes, till the bonito pieces are warm. When the bonito is warm again, the dish is ready. Ready to eat. Eat it with some good bread and enjoy!

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BUTTERNUT SQUASH, POTATO AND LEEK CREAM

I love this cream. It is delicious and easy to make. A wonderful cream that I am pretty sure everyone will enjoy. This time I will give it a different touch with coconut milk. Let’s get started.

Ingredients:

1 leek

2 potatoes

1 butternut squash

A pinch of fresh ginger, chopped

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 bay leaf

½ teaspoon parsley

½ teaspoon thyme

½ teaspoon rosemary

½ teaspoon ground sage

Some water or chicken broth

½ cup coconut milk

Some salt to taste

Some freshly ground black pepper, to taste

The first thing you should do is preparing the vegetables. Clean the leek well. Cut it in slices. We are only interested in the green part. Wash and peel the potatoes and cut them in pieces. Peel the butternut squash and cut it in pieces too. Peel the ginger and chop it.

Then, heat the oil in a big pan and sauté the ginger and the leek. Three minutes later, add the potato and the butternut squash. Saute for a couple of minutes and then add the bay leaf and the spices and herbs. Cover the vegetables with the water or the broth. Bring to a boil and then lower the heat and let it cook till the vegetables are done. Remove the pan from the fire and blend the contents with the help of a handblender. Once blended, put the pan on the fire again. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add the coconut milk, stir and let it simmer for five minutes. Serve hot.

A delicious cream. Good for everyone. Enjoy!

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HAKE PAPILLOTE

Some fish for today. We should eat more fish. Hake is a very popular fish in Spain. It is considered one of the best in my country. I will cook it in a different way today. Papillote. Let’s cook.

Ingredients:

2 green onions

½ carrot

1 clove of garlic

¼ red pepper

¼ green pepper

1 pound hake

Some salt to taste

Some freshly ground black pepper, to taste

½ teaspoon parsley

½ teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon Sherry vinegar

1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

First prepare the vegetables. They have to be finely cut. Carrots and peppers in julienne. Garlic and green onions chopped. Then prepare the hake. We want clean fillets  Remove the skins and bones from the hake. Once the fish is clean, put it on a piece of foil and add some salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. On top of it, put the vegetables. Then add the parsley and the oregano. Finish it with the vinegar and the olive oil. Close the foil and take it to the oven, preheated to 350ºF. Bake it for about 25 minutes. After that time, remove from the oven and let it rest for five minutes. Open the foil and serve.

A wonderful papillote. Enjoy!

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PANEER WITH SPINACH

An Indian recipe for today. A recipe with Paneer, a typical Indian cheese. You can find it in Indian stores and in many supermarkets nowadays. I hope it is not very difficult to find for you.

Ingredients:

10 oz spinach

16 oz paneer

Some extra virgin olive oil

½ teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon turmeric

½ teaspoon ground Kashmiri red chillies or hot pimentón

1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger

8 oz crushed tomato

1 tablespoon flour, dissolved in some water

4 oz milk or cream

Some salt to taste

4 slices of tomato

Start preparing the spinach. To do that, wash them and remove the stalks. Then put the spinach in a pan with water. Bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes. After that, remove the spinach from the pan, drain it and cut it in little pieces. Reserve the spinach.

Now take the paneer and dice it. Next, put some oil in a pan, heat it and cook the cheese for about 4 minutes. Remove the cheese from the pan and reserve it.

In the same pan, and after turning the fire low, put the cumin, the turmeric and the ground Kashmiri or the pimentón. Stir well and then add the ginger. Add the tomato and go on cooking for about two minutes. Then add the spinach and mix well.

Now add the flour dissolved in water, stir and add the milk or cream. Make sure if it needs some salt and let it simmer for five minutes.

Finally, add the cheese, mix well and simmer for two more minutes.

You will have your paneer ready now. Serve when it is hot. Add the tomato slices over the dish. Enjoy!

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KOFTA

Ground lamb with spices. A recipe, with many variations, well known around the world, from the Mediterranean to India. Wonderful.

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon coriander seeds

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

2 cloves

1 teaspoon cardamom seeds

10 black peppercorns

A pinch of cinnamon

A pinch of nutmeg

½ teaspoon hot pimentón

½ teaspoon salt

½ small red onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 teaspoon parsley, chopped

1 pound ground lamb

Start preparing the wooden skewers. It is highly recommendable to soak them in water for half an hour at least.

Then prepare the spices. Put in a mortar the coriander, the cumin, the cloves, the cardamom and the pepper. When it is well ground, add the cinnamon, the nutmeg, the hot pimentón and the salt. Mix well.

Prepare the onion too. Chop it. Do the same with the garlic. Then, in a bowl, mix the ground lamb, the ground spices, the onion, the garlic and the parsley. Let it rest for 20 minutes.

And then start preparing your Kofta skewers. Take a piece of ground meat, already mixed with the spices, and make a cylinder around the skewer. Go on doing this, about three pieces per skewer, making sure that are firmly attached to the skewers.

The ideal thing is cooking the skewers on a grill, but you can also do it in an oven. If you do it in an oven, put the skewers on the brim of an oven tray. The oven must be preheated to 350ºF. Cook the Kofta in the oven for about 20 minutes. Do not overcook, though. Be careful.

You can serve it with pita bread and alioli sauce. Delicious. Enjoy!

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ONIONED TUNA

This is lovely. Another recipe from my childhood. Onioned Tuna. I really love it. Tuna is so good. And in this recipe it is really delicious. Let’s cook

Ingredients:

A big cut of fresh tuna

1 onion, julienned

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 tomato, chopped

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon parsley

1 teaspoon oregano

Some salt to taste

Some freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Some extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

½ teaspoon sweet pimentón

To start with our recipe, heat a pan with olive oil. When it is hot, add the onion and sauté it. A couple of minutes later add the garlic and the tomato. Add the spices too: the bay leaf, the parsley and the oregano. Then add the vinegar and water if it is necessary. When the tomato and the onion are a bit done, add the tuna to the pan. Cook it about five minutes on one side and then do the same with the other side. Add the pimentón just at the last moment. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cover the pan and let it simmer for a couple of minutes. The fire must be very low. You can even turn the fire off. It depends on the piece of tuna. If you cook the tuna in small pieces, it will be faster. But I love those big tuna slices.

Serve hot, though cold it is also delicious. And enjoy!

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PINTO BEAN STEW

I love bean stews. We should eat them more often. Today we will eat Pinto Bean Stew. Let’s cook.

Ingredients:

1 cup dry Pinto Beans

½ chopped green pepper

½ chopped red pepper

½ chopped squash

½ cup chopped celery

½ chopped onion

1 clove of garlic, chopped

Some extra virgin olive oil

Some salt to taste

Some freshly ground black pepper, to taste

2 bay leaves

½ teaspoon oregano

½ teaspoon thyme

1 teaspoon Jamaican curry powder

½ teaspoon sweet pimentón

1 Spanish green guindilla, chopped

To start with our recipe you will have to soak the beans in water overnight. Make sure you use enough water. The next day remove the water and put the water in a pan with plenty of water. Add some olive oil, just a teaspoon and a pinch of salt. Cook the beans, bringing them first to a boil and then turn down the fire. Cook them till the beans are soft. When they are done, remove but keep the liquid.

While the beans are being cooked, we will prepare the vegetables. Heat some oil in a pan and sauté the the pepper, the celery and the onion. Add the squash, the garlic and the bay leaves three minutes later. Then add the oregano, the thyme, the curry powder, the pimentón and the guindilla too. Add salt and pepper to taste. Now, add the contents in the pan to the beans. And now we can add the liquid we want to our beans, according to your taste. If you like soup, add more liquid. If you prefer your beans thicker, add less liquid. Simmer for some minutes. And then serve and enjoy!

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MARLIN WITH GRILLED VEGETABLES AND ROMESCO SAUCE

A wonderful fish for today. Not very known but really good. I love this kind of fish. Firm and perfect for grilling. Let’s go to the kitchen.

Ingredients:

1 tomato

3 green onions

2 cloves or garlic, chopped

Some extra virgin olive oil

¼ teaspoon thyme

¼ teaspoon parsley

Salt to taste

Some freshly ground black pepper, to taste

2 good pieces of marlin

First thing is preparing the vegetables. Cut the tomato in stripes. Chop the garlic. Do not chop the green onions. Keep them long.

Heat some oil in a grill pan and when it is hot, sauté the vegetables lightly. Once done, reserve them. Now we will cook the fish. Sauté the pieces of marlin in the same grill pan. Do not cook it too much. But do it on both sides. At the last moment add the vegetables to the pan. And it will be ready to be served.

Serve with Romesco Sauce and good bread. Delicious. Enjoy!

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ROMESCO SAUCE

This is one of my favourite sauces. Romesco Sauce. You can use it with fish, meat, vegetables… A very rewarding sauce. Let’s cook.

Ingredients:

2 dried red peppers

2 small mature tomatoes

1 garlic bulb

12 roasted almonds

12 roasted hazelnuts

A slice of bread

Some extra virgin olive oil

Some red wine vinegar

½ teaspoon pimentón

Salt to taste

Some freshly ground black pepper, to taste

A pinch of cayena pepper

First we will have to prepare the dried red peppers. Soak them overnight in a container. The next day, open them and remove the seeds. Then take the flesh of the peppers and discard the skin. Reserve the flesh.

The next step is roasting the tomatoes and the garlic. The oven has to be preheated to 400ºF. Roast the tomatoes for about 20 minutes and the garlic bulb for 10 minutes. When they are roasted, remove the skin from the garlic and cut them in little pieces. Wrap the tomatoes in paper for 10 minutes and then remove the skin from them. Get rid of the tomato seeds too. Then cut them in little pieces.

Take the bread and fry it a bit with some drops of olive oil. Then break it into pieces and reserve.

You can use a food processor or a mortar. I will use a food processor because it is more convenient.

Once we have all the ingredients ready, put them in a food processor. Add a bit of olive oil and a bit of good red wine vinegar. And start blending. What we have to do is blending, stopping and stirring the sauce so that we get a well blended sauce. And add more olive oil little by little. You might have to add some more vinegar too. Check that too. If you want, you can add some spicy ingredients, but do not add too much.

The secret is to taste the sauce so that we get the correct taste and consistency. You can get the consistency you like. I do not like it to be too soft. It is important not to add too much oil or vinegar at the beginning. It is better to be adjusting it in the process. Add some salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.

You can serve the Romesco Sauce once it is prepared or preserve it in a glass jar and let it rest. It is tastier after some time. Really delicious. Enjoy!

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BAGUETTES

Bread!!! I love bread. And I love Baguettes. I grew up with this kind of bread and that cannot be easily forgotten. Let’s make bread!

Ingredients:

1 cup and 1 tablespoon water

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon sugar

½ teaspoon salt

3 cups bread flour

2 ¼ teaspoons yeast

I normally use my bread machine to make the dough for my baguettes. You can make it by hand too. Or even a stand mixer or a good food processor that can make dough bread.

I used the bread machine and I put the ingredients in this order: water, oil, sugar, salt, flour and yeast. I selected the program just to knead the dough and turn the bread machine on. The machine will do its job and then it will let the dough grow.

If you want to make your dough by hand, you can do it placing the flour on a table making a well with the water inside. Add the rest of the ingredients and make the dough. And then you will have to knead the dough properly. Knead and knead till the dough is elastic. Let it rise in a bowl covered by a wet cloth.

It is important to let the dough rest and rise. To make good bread you cannot do it in a fast way. Good bread takes its time. Let it rest for an hour or so.

Now shape your Baguettes and let them rest for an extra 30 minutes on the oven tray.

A word about humidity. I like crusty baguettes. And to get that you need to have humidity in the oven. This is sometimes difficult to get. The problem is that if you do not have an oven that can provide the necessary humidity, you will have to take care of it. What I do is opening the oven two or three times and spraying the baguettes with some water. By doing this you give humditiy but you also lower the temperature in the oven while opening the oven door. You have to be quick so that the temperature does not get too low.

Let’s come back to our baguettes. Once they have rested, we will start baking them. Make some cuts in the baguettes. Put the baguettes on an oven tray. This tray must be lightly greased. The oven must be preheated to 450ºF. Put another tray with water at the bottom of the oven. Try not to open too much the door of the oven when you spray some water on the baguettes. And be quick doing it. Losing temperature is not good. The time of the baguettes on the oven will depend on the times you open the door and on the water you spray. Minimum 30 minutes. Make sure the bread is well baked.

And then you will have your homemade Baguettes. Crusty Baguettes!

Enjoy!

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CARDAMOM BROWNIES

Brownies! Chocolate Brownies with a plus. Cardamom! You are going to love these brownies.

Ingredients:

5 ounces chocolate, sweet or bittersweet, finely chopped

7 ounces unsalted butter

4 eggs

4 ounces sugar

The seeds of 12 cardamom pods, ground in a mortar

3 ½ ounces flour

1 cup of almonds, roasted and chopped

First we will melt the chocolate. It will be easier if you have it in little pieces. You can melt it in the microwave oven or using the bain-marie method. Anyway, you have to be careful so that the chocolate does not get burned. I prefer to use a good chocolate without milk, but, of course, you can use chocolate with milk. Use the one you prefer. Once it is melted, reserve.

Then we will put the butter in a big bowl. If we melt it a bit previously, the better. Then, add the eggs, little by little, mixing them with the butter. The next thing is adding the sugar and mixing well. Then, add the cardamom, well ground in a mortar. Mix well and add the melted chocolate. We only will have to add the flour and the almonds. Mix again so that everything is ready for the oven.

Now we can put it in an oven tray that must be lightly greased with a little butter. Put the tray in the oven, preheated to 350ºF. Bake for about 25 minutes, then turn the oven off but let the tray in the oven for five more minutes before taking it out. Let I cool a bit and cut in squares to get your delicious brownies. Now you will have your brownies. Not for long! Enjoy!

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GRILLED SARDINES

Sardines! So many memories! We should eat more fish. And more kind of fish like Sardines. They are delicious and healthy. If you are not eating them, you do not know what you are missing! Let’s cook them today!

Ingredients:

4 sardines

Some salt

Some extra virgin olive oil

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

Some fresh parsley, chopped

½ teaspoon pimentón, sweet or hot, to taste

Some drops of lemon juice

First, clean the sardines. Remove the head and the inner parts. Basically everything. We only want the fillets. You can also cook them without removing anything if the sardines are small. They are good in both ways. But I prefer to have just the fillets.

Then put some extra virgin olive oil in a grill pan. Just some drops. Heat the pan and then put the sardines. Fry them around three minutes and then turn them and cook them for 2-3 more minutes on the other side.

In the meantime, you can prepare a delicious seasoning. Mix three tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil with the garlic, the parsley and the pimentón. You can use sweet or hot pimentón. It is your choice but I prefer the hot one. Add some drops of lemon juice and mix well.

And everything is ready for our sardines. Serve them along with the seasoning. Use it generously on the sardines. And why not? Serve them with a good white wine. A recommedation: Portuguese Vinho Verde. I love it. You will. Enjoy!

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FISH AND SEAFOOD BISQUE

Soup. Soup. Soup. A Fish and Seafood Bisque for today. This is delicious. And really comforting and rewarding. Let’s cook.

Ingredients:

A fillet of amberjack

10 peeled shrimp

2 bay leaves

3 tablespoons chopped carrot

3 tablespoons chopped onion

3 tablespoons chopped celery

4 tablespoons chopped tomato

3 tablespoons frozen corn

1 clove of garlic, chopped

2 tablespoons butter

½ liter milk

1 teaspoon cornstarch

1 teaspoon sherry

Some salt, to taste

Some freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 teaspoon sweet pimentón

1 teaspoon thyme

Some drops of Tabasco

First we will have to prepare the fish. Clean it and remove the skin. Then cut it in little pieces. Then we will prepare and cut the vegetables.

And now to the pan. Put the butter in a pan and heat it. When it is hot, add the bay leaves, the onion, the carrot and the celery and cook for two minutes. Then add the tomato, the corn and the garlic. Cook for three more minutes. Now we can add the fish and the shrimp. Mix the cornstarch with the milk and then add it to the pan too. Some drops of sherry are perfect too. Add them now. And the following to add to our delicious bisque is the salt and pepper, the pimentón and the thyme. Turn the fire low and cook for some minutes. When the fish is cooked the bisque will be ready. If you want it to be a bit thicker, you can add more corn starch. But be careful.

I like to add some drops of Tabasco. It makes it tastier.

Serve hot and enjoy!

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‘SAMOSAS' DULCES DE COCO Y GUAVA

Samosas dessert. Something different. Coconut and Guava inside a samosa. Let’s cook.

Ingredients:

Some spring roll pastry

One coconut or some frozen coconut

4 tablespoons sweet guava paste

4 tablespoons sweetened cocoa powder

A teaspoon of vanilla

One egg or some milk

Some confectioner’s sugar

First we will thaw the spring roll pastry that we will need. Leave it thawing on a kitchen cloth. Prepare the coconut. If it is fresh, cut it in little pieces, almost ground. Put the coconut in a container and add the guava paste, the cocoa powder and the vanilla. Mix well.

Now you will have to prepare the pastry. And fill it. First, put a pastry sheet on a wet cloth. Then fold it in half. Now fold the left bottom corner to the top. Next, fold the left top corner to the right bottom corner. With this, you will have a cone which can be hold while you fill it with the filling using your other hand. Then wet the ends of the pastry a bit and close the samosa. Repeat this with the rest of them. Keep them on a wet cloth.

When you have all the samosas ready, put them on an oven tray, slightly greased. Paint them with a beaten egg or with some milk.

Then the only then we have to do is taking the samosas to the oven. Have it preheated to 300ºF. Have them there for about half and hour. When they are ready, you will only have to serve them. Do this adding some confectioner’s sugar. A different dessert. Enjoy!

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SAMOSAS

I love them. Samosas are one of those delicacies from India that everybody should eat at least once in their lives. Although that would be difficult. Eating only one samosa. They are so good. There many kind of samosas. I will cook vegetarian samosas today. But there are with meat too. Let’s start.

Ingredients:

1 potato

¼ onion

4 tablespoons corn

4 tablespoons chopped squash

3 tablespoons red pepper

2 tablespoons green pepper

1 small green chili

1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger

1 tablespoon chopped garlic

Some vegetable oil

Some spring roll pastry

½ teaspoon cardamom

½ teaspoon garam masala

½ teaspoon cumin

½ teaspoon coriander

½ teaspoon turmeric

½ teaspoon dried cilantro

¼ teaspoon dried mint

½ teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder

Some salt to taste

Some freshly ground black pepper

I will cook my Samosas with spring roll pastry. It is not the most common way, I know. Normally you should do it with maida dough. But the results are quite good and the Samosas will be crispy. Sometimes samosas are soggy. And these ones will not be. I promise.

First we will cook the potato. Wash it and peel it. Boil it in a pan and reserve. Then prepare and cut the vegetables.

Make sure you have the spring roll pastry ready. We do not want it frozen when we are ready to cook. Keep it on a clean cloth.

Now we will prepare the filling. To do that, heat some vegetable oil in a pan. Then add the onion and the peppers and cook for a couple of minutes. Now add the squash, the garlic, the ginger and the chili. Go on cooking it.

We also have to prepare the spices. Mix and blend them in a mortar. Then add it to the vegetables.

Mash the potatoes lightly. Then add them to the vegetables. We will have the filling ready now.

The next step is filling the samosas. It is not difficult. First, put a pastry sheet on a wet cloth. Then fold it in half. Now fold the left bottom corner to the top. Then fold the left top corner to the right bottom corner. With this, you will have a sort of cone which can be hold while you fill it with the filling using your other hand. Then wet the ends of the pastry a bit and close the samosa. Repeat this with the rest of them. Keep them on a wet cloth.

Heat some oil in a pan. And when it is hot enough, fry the samosas. Do it in several batches if needed. Once fried, leave them on kitchen paper towel because we do not want too much oil.

And the Samosas will be ready. Serve them as a side with an Indian curry. Perfect with a chutney. Enjoy!

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ARAGONESE LAMB

Back to my roots. The ideal thing would to cook this with Ternasco de Aragón, a very tender young lamb from Aragón, my home land. But as I could not get that, I will cook it with the lamb I could get in the supermarket. Let’s go to the kitchen.

Ingredients:

½ lb lamb steak

2 potatoes

Some extra virgin olive oil

1 clove of garlic, chopped

½ teaspoon oregano

½ teaspoon thyme

½ teaspoon rosemary

½ teaspoon parsley

¼ teaspoon sage

Some salt to taste

Some freshly ground black pepper

To start with our recipe, wash and peel the potatoes. Then slice them. Get ½-inch slices. Heat some extra virgin olive oil in a pan, and when it is hot, start frying the potato slices. Do it in both sides but do not fry them completely because they will go to the oven later. Get rid of some of the oil in the potato slices.

Then put the potato slices on an oven tray. The lamb must go on top of the potatoes. Add some salt, black pepper and some drops of olive oil. The oven must be preheated to 350ºF. Let it cook and have a look from time to time. If you see that the meat is too dry, you can add some drops of water or more olive oil. The lamb will be ready in 30-45 minutes, depending on how thick the pieces are. Always have a look to the meat in the oven. You do not want it too done.

Meanwhile you can prepare a seasoning with some extra virgin olive oil, the garlic and the herbs and spices: oregano, thyme, rosemary, parsley, sage, salt and black pepper. Mix this well. Five minutes before the lamb is done, add the seasoning to the meat, on top of it. Make sure the herbs are not burned.

Serve the lamb with the potato slices. Something delicious. Enjoy!

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BAKLAVA

A dessert from the Mediterranaean. This is really good. I love these Baklava and one day I decided to try to make them myself. Not bad indeed. I will show you how. It is some work but in the end the resultas are really good.

Ingredients:

A packet of filo dough

Some butter, unsalted and melted

2 tablespoons chopped pistachios

2 tablespoons almonds, peeled and chopped

2 tablespoons chopped hazelnuts

2 tablespoons chopped raisins

½ ground cinnamon

½ cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon orange juice

1 tablespoon rose water or orange blossom water

1 tablespoon honey

To start with our Baklava we will prepare our filo dough. I buy it frozen. Making it at home is quite hard. And the one you can buy frozen is really good. Filo dough is very thin dough. You use it in many layers. It is very fragile so you have to be very careful while handling it. You can buy frozen filo dough in almost any grocery now. You will have to let the filo dough thaw by itself. Follow the instructions in the package. Once it is ready, reserve it.

While the filo is thawing, we will make the syrup. To do this, take a small pan and put in it the brown sugar, ⅓ of the volume of sugar in water, that is to say, ⅓ of half a cup water, the rose water or orange blossom water and the lemon and orange juice. Heat it, and when it boils, let it simmer for about five minutes, stirring with a spoon. Once it is done, let it cool and when it is cool enough, put it in the fridge. The syrop must not be too thick.

Now we will prepare the filo and its filling. For the filling, take a bowl and put all the nuts there. Add the cinnamon too. Mix well with some drops of honey so that the filling is a bit moist. You have to make enough so that there is plenty of it for the filling.

We will come back to the filo dough now. Prepare a shallow oven container. Spread some melted butter on it. Take a sheet of filo dough and put it in the container. Brush it gently with melted butter. Do this layer by layer. A layer of filo, a layer of butter, a layer of filo… Do not overuse butter, though. You just have to put a thin layer of butter to wet the filo. It is hard work, but in the end, the the results will be amazing. When you have used half the filo, it will time to spread the nut filling. I normally make only one layer of filling, but if you want, you can divide the filling in several layers. Once you have spread the filling, go on with the layers of filo and butter, as we have done previously. And with this, we will finish preparing the baklava.

Turn on the oven to 350ºF. Put the tray with the baklava inside the oven. Bake it for 45 minutes. When the baklava gets a golden color, take it out of the oven and then it is the time of pour the cold syrup over it. Let it cool at room temperature and when it is cold enough, put it in the fridge. Now the syrup will have to wet the filo and the filling.

The secret is the difference in temperature. If the filo with the filling are hot, the syrup has to be cold. It can also be done the other way around: the filo and the filling cold, and the syrup hot. I have not tried it this way, though.
To serve it, cut the Baklava in little pieces with a very sharp knife. Now you only have to do once thing. Enjoy your Baklava!

**more pics**