These recipes from David Lebovitz can be served as an appetizer or as a light dinner, with some French or Italian bread, in a salad, or even with pasta.

This is Mediterranean gastronomy at its best!

Ingredients for the confit of tomatoes (preserved tomatoes):

- 1 kg / 2 pound tomatoes

- abundant olive oil

- black pepper

- salt

- 3 or 4 garlic cloves, peeled

- a few bay leaves

- the herbs you prefer: I added some dried rosemary and oregano

Cooking instructions for the confit of tomatoes:

Wash and cut the tomatoes in two.

Put them in a baking tin, season with salt, pepper and herbs. Tuck in the garlic and the bay leaves as well.

Pour about 1 cm/ half an inch of olive oil on the tomatoes. Don’t worry about the quantity, if you cannot finish it afterwards it can be recuperated and used to season a salad, pasta, or it can be even drizzled on a slice of (toasted) bread.

Put in the oven at 180°C / 350°F until the tomatoes are soft. Serve at room temperature.

Ingredients for the tuna spread:

- 280 g / 10 ounces of tuna canned in olive oil, drained

- 70g / 5 tbsp butter (I used unsalted), at room temperature

- 1 tbsp light soy sauce

- 1 tbsp lemon juice

- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

- a pinch of chili powder (I used Spanish hot paprika powder)

- 2 tbsp heavy cream (which I did not have, unfortunately as it would have contributed to the “spreadability”)

Instructions for the tuna spread:

Mix the soy sauce, the balsamic vinegar, the chili powder, the heavy cream and the lemon juice together.

In a food processor, mix the tuna flakes with the liquid mixture.

Add butter little by little, until incorporated.

And there you have it! Your fabulous tuna spread is ready, enjoy!!

Today we’ll do another good recipe from Blogchef…

I particularly like it because the beef stays tender and moist, because it contains yummy vegetables and because the sauce is delicious!

Ingredients:

- 750g / 1,65 pounds steak sliced into thin strips

- 3 tbsp cornstarch

- vegetable oil

- 2 cloves of garlic, minced

- 1 red bell pepper, I sliced it in thin strips too

- 1 green bell pepper, also in thin strips

- 1/2 onion, in slices

Ingredients for the marinade:

- 1 egg

- 1/2 tsp salt

- 3 tbsp water

- 1 tbsp cornstarch

Ingredients for the sauce:

- 4 tbsp water

- 4 tbsp sugar

- 3 tbsp ketchup

- 1 tbsp vinegar

- 1/2 tsp dried chili flakes

- 2 tsp cornstarch

Cooking instructions:

In a bowl, mix the ingredients for the marinade together with the beef. Marinate for 15 minutes.

Then mix the ingredients for the sauce in a separate bowl.

Add the 3 tablespoons of cornstarch to the beef, and deep fry in a wok in batches until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.

Remove all the oil from the wok except a couple of tablespoons. Add the garlic and fry for a few seconds. Add the peppers and the onion and stir fry as well, until you reach the desired level of “softness” for the vegetables. It should take less of 5 minutes though, or else the vegetables will disintegrate. Set aside the vegetables.

Remove all the oil from the wok and pour the ingredients for the sauce in it. Heat until it boils and remove from the heat.

Add the beef and the vegetables into the wok and coat them with the sauce.
I served it with some white rice,

Enjoy!

I was introduced to alfajores by my Uruguayan and Argentinian family. These cookies exist in both a home-made version and an industrially manufactured version. Oddly enough, both versions have practically nothing in common.

Me, I like the home-made version, not only because it reminds me of my grandma and my aunts, but also because it has an unique gustative experience, impossible to replicate in a factory.

Home-made alfajores consist of a sandwich of two crumbly, fragile cookies with a generous layer of “dulce de leche” in between, and rolled in grated coconut.

Dulce de leche deserves not a post, but a monument. If you like the flavour of caramel you will become addicted to this stuff. I can guarantee you that.

There are two ways of preparing dulce de leche: the first method is slowly simmering milk with sugar and stirring regularly until it forms a dense paste. The second method is the one I’m going to explain here; it can’t be easier but it requires a bit of time. If you live in the USA you can forget about this altogether and simply buy a can of Nestlé LA LECHERA dulce de leche.

To my utter delight, my first attempt at making alfajores was a great success. I used a recipe I found on an Argentinian culinary blog.

While I was trying the alfajores I closed my eyes and I was instantly back in my grandma’s kitchen in Montevideo, savoring every particle of dulce de leche in it.

Ingredients for the dulce de leche:

- 1 400gr/14 ounces can of Nestlés sweetened condensed milk

Ingredients for the alfajores:

- 200 gr/1.5 cup flour

- 300 gr/2 cups cornflour

- 1/2 tsp baking soda

- 2 tsp baking powder

- 200 gr/ 5.3 ounces margarine

- 150 gr/0.8 cup (a little bit more than a 2/3 cup) sugar

- 3 egg yolks

- 1 tbsp cognac (brandy)

- 1 tsp vanilla extract

- 1 tsp grated lemon skin

- dulce de leche

- 1 pack of grated coconut (you will not need much)

Cooking instructions for the dulce de leche:

Put the can of condensed milk in a cooking pan with enough water to cover the can entirely. Bring to boil.

The water will evaporate slowly, keep an eye on it and add more (hot) water whenever necessary, in enough quantity to keep the can fully submerged at all times.

I only remove the can from the water after 3 hours because I like the dulce to be thick, but my mum only keeps it for about 2h. No rules here, it is a question of trying and finding out which texture and flavour (more or less concentrated) you like more.

Now, this is very important for your safety: LET THE CAN COOL (until you can grab it with your fingers without burning yourself) before opening it.

Cooking instructions for the dualfajores:

In a bowl sift the flour, the cornflour, the baking soda and the baking powder.

In a separate bowl, mix the margarine with the sugar. Incorporate the egg yolks one by one while you keep on mixing. Then add the sifted (dry) ingredients. And finally add the brandy, the vanilla extract and the lemon skin. Mix well.

No need to knead. Spread the dough on a flat surface which has been sprinkled with some flour until the dough is 0.5 cm/0.2 inches thick, using a rolling pin.

Cut circles with either a cookie cutter or a glass. I used a champagne flute because the alfajores should have a diameter around the 4cm/1.6 inches.

Cover the oven baking sheet with parchment paper and lay the cookies on it.

Bake for 7 minutes at 160°C / 320°F. Then turn the cookies upside down and bake for another 3 minutes. The cookies should not get a golden colour, they are supposed to be ‘pale’. Get them out of the oven.

Bake the rest of the cookies using the same method.

Now take a cookie and delicately (because they are fragile) spread a good layer of dulce de leche on it. Top with another cookie to form a sandwich.

Spread a bit of dulce de leche on the outer rim of the alfajor.

Pour the grated coconut on a dish and roll the sides of the alfajor (as it was a wheel) on the coconut. The coconut should stick to the sides.

Now serve and enjoy!!

Great with mate, mate cocido/with milk, tea, coffee, milk…

I’ll do my best to post more regularly from now on

cheers to all

The gastronomy of the Near and Middle East is really something to explore. I can’t say I know much of it, but more often than not, whenever I try something new, I am quite pleasantly surprised.

Today we will recreate a quite popular sauce called hummus. Great with some pita bread and other appetizers.

Ingredients:

- 1 420g – 14 ounces can of chickpeas, drained

- 2 or 3 cloves of garlic, pressed

- 1 tsp cumin

- lemon juice to taste

- 1 tsp Cayenne pepper or Spanish hot paprika powder

- olive oil and sweet paprika powder for decoration

Cooking instructions:

Mix everything, but the olive oil and the sweet paprika powder, in a blender.

Serve in a bowl, drizzle some olive oil and sprinkle some paprika powder on top.

Enjoy!!

I have a special weakness for whichever dish bears the adjective “Thai”.  I would probably try a stew of frog’s tripes if you told me it was “Thai”…or maybe not, but you know where I’m heading to 

These precious balls would be great as an appetizer, or as a party snack.

Ingredients:

- 350g – 12.35 ounces chicken minced meat

- 120g – 1/2 cup roasted peanuts (I roasted them in a non-stick frying pan without oil), chopped

- 1 tbsp fish sauce

- 50g -  1/4 cup breadcrumbs

- 1 tbsp red Thai curry paste

- 1 tbsp lime juice

- 3 kaffir lime leaves (I used the dried ones, and removed the central nerve of each of them), crushed

- 2 tbsp sweet chili sauce

- 2 tbsp coriander, chopped

- 3 tsp brown sugar

- vegetable oil, to fry

- more Thai sweet chili sauce, to dip

Cooking instructions:

Could not be easier: mix all ingredients but the vegetable oil. Form balls with this mix of the size of large marbles.

Fry the balls in hot oil, until golden. And that is it!!

I served them with Thai chili sauce and accompanied with a salad made of Chinese cabbage, red pepper, cucumber, seasoned with a mix of brown sugar, fish sauce, lime juice, water in more or less equal quantities.

Enjoy!!

This quiche is chock-full of tasty ingredients such as ham, cheese, cream…And because it includes broccoli as well I tell myself that it is surely healthy too (eheum)…

Ingredients:

1 roll of ready-made puff pastry

1 broccoli, cut in florets

3dl – 1 cup cooking cream

3 eggs

100g – 3.5 ounces grated Emmental cheese

50g – 1.75 ounces grated Parmesan cheese

100g – 3.5 ounces Serrano ham in tiny strips

Cooking instructions:

Pre-heat the oven at 180°C – 356°F.

Cook the broccoli in boiling salted water for 3 minutes. Drain well.

Spread the puff pastry over the baking tin and spread the broccoli on top of it.

Mix in a bowl the eggs, the cheese, the cream, and the ham. Add salt and black pepper to taste. Pour this mix onto the broccoli.

And that is it my friends! It really can’t be easier…

Put the quiche in the oven, let bake for 40 minutes and serve.

Enjoy!!

I’m not a very carnivorous person, but when it comes to spareribs I know when I start to eat but I do not know when I will stop

This time I tried a recipe (with some small modifications) from Curiously Ravenous, who in turn, replicated a recipe from her Chinese grandfather.

I would encourage you to try it, it is literally and figuratively to lick your fingers!!

Ingredients:

- pork spare ribs (I used 2 regular racks, the ones you find in any supermarket)

- 1 inch/ 2.5 cm ginger, grated

- 1 cup / 235 ml water

- some freshly ground black pepper

- 2 whole star anise

- 1/2 Maggi cube (chicken stock cube)

- 2 tbsp black Chinese vinegar

- 3 tbsp soy sauce

- 1/4 cup Shaoxing cooking wine

- 1/4 cup sugar

- 3 garlic cloves, minced

Cooking instructions:

Cut the meat strips in individual ribs. Put them in a large pot, fill with water, boil for 1 hour.

Drain the ribs and dry them with some kitchen towels. The original recipe recommended to then fry the ribs in a wok with a couple of tablespoons of vegetable oil, but I found that this step can be skipped without any major sacrifice of the taste, while it is a little healthier.

Alternatively, if you are short of time or starving to death, you could omit the boiling and just fry the ribs, but they won’t be as tender…

Now mix the rest of the ingredients to make the sauce (feel free to double the quantities if you are making lots of ribs or if you like them with lots of sauce), pour it in a wok together with the ribs and mix. Leave for a couple of minutes until the ribs are well coated in hot sauce.

Serve with plenty of kitchen towels

Enjoy!!

The “plantain” banana is a staple food in many tropical countries. This specific banana is not very sweet when consumed green, and it is very often fried, to serve it either as a side or as a snack.

Here in Europe I don’t think it is available in regular supermarkets, but you should be able to find it in shops selling African food products.

Today we are making “aloco”, or fried plantain as they named it in Ivory Coast. Aloco together with spicy tomato sauce (and grilled fish or meat) is a popular dish in West Africa.

Ingredients:

- green plantains

- vegetable oil

- coarse salt

- onion

- tomatoes

- optional: 1 chicken Maggi cube

- dried chili flakes, or sliced fresh chili

Cooking instructions:

To make the tomato sauce, first make a cross at the base of each tomato with the tip of a knife. Then submerge the tomatoes a couple of minutes in boiling water, peel them and chop them. Chop the onion as well.

Heat a couple of tablespoons of oil in a skillet (in Africa they would add much more oil), and fry the onion on medium heat until soft. Then add the tomatoes, the Maggi cube (or some salt instead) and the chili. Let cook until the sauce thickens up.

In the meantime, peel the plantains, then slice them either in rounds or in the length. Sprinkle some coarse salt on top. Fry them in abundant hot oil until they are brownish outside and tender inside.

Serve the plantains together with the tomato sauce. I sprinkled a little bit of parsil on top for the visual effect.
You will see, this combination is absolutely irresistible!

Enjoy!!

Yes, I know, it has been a while since I posted, apologies for this. It so happens that mama came to visit us, and in between visiting and shopping, we also did some sewing and cooking.

Lately, whenever we spend time together I’m trying to absorb as much as I can from her domestic-tasks-wisdom. It is just great to learn those age-old tricks that she has accumulated through observation of the elder women in the family, friends and years of trial-and-error experiences. Every time I learn these tricks from her I feel so privileged…

Now, my friends, I feel that I have to share this goodness with humanity by explaining here her recipe for the Spanish tortilla de patatas, another book-case example of how a couple of good, yet simple ingredients can produce the most flavourful, amazing result.

This specific tortilla, the first pictured above, was without contest, the BEST tortilla I ever ate. Ever, ever, ever!!!

Hubby even said that it was so tasty that ‘no meat’ was needed with it, which coming from him it is a HUGE compliment, even more so because he had never said this about a dish before.

The second picture is from another tortilla I made later on, to which I added some strips of Spanish chorizo. Notice how the tortilla is gooey and soft  inside, this is the proof that you did not overcook it and that the tortilla will not be too ‘dry’, mmmmm…

Ingredients:

- potatoes, we used a bit over 1kg /2 pound, Nicola variety (hard)

- eggs, we used 6

- olive oil, we used about 6dl – 2 1/2 cups of the cheapest extra virgin variety (no need for fancy stuff)

- 1 small onion

- salt

The amounts can vary depending on how large is your frying pan, the one I used measures about 30 cm/11.8 inches, and the content (onion, potatoes and hot oil) represented about 2/3 of the volume of the pan.

Cooking instructions:

While this dish is not difficult at all to prepare, it is not easy to get the PERFECT tortilla: it can turn too hard, too salty, too dry… Therefore I’m sharing my mum’s tricks, which guarantee that absolute perfection. I’m also giving indications that will allow you to check whether you are on the right track or not. So here we go…

Peel the potatoes, wash them, chop them in very small dices, sprinkle some salt on top.

Chop the onion as well, in very tiny pieces.

Fill about half frying pan with the oil, put it on the stove. Remember that the volume of the oil will increase as it heats up, so do not fill the pan beyond two thirds of its volume.

When the oil is hot add the potatoes and the onion, which should be almost fully submerged in the oil (add more hot oil to the pan if this is not the case or else reduce the amount of potato and onion).

Trick #1: Do use the onion, because its flavour is slowly released in the oil, which in turn is partly absorbed by the potatoes, giving them a ’sweet’ flavour.

Trick #2: Do not fry the potatoes (until they get a hard crust). Instead cook them slowly in the oil at low heat, and turning them every now and then until they break easily when poked with a spoon. They should actually start becoming mushy. Then drain the onion-potato mix, but keep the oil in a container as it can be re-used for other tortillas or dishes.

Break the eggs in a bowl, add a bit of salt and whisk slightly.

Trick #3: Do not whisk the eggs for too long because this would make the tortilla ‘hard’.

Add the drained potatoes and onion to the eggs and mix well. At this point, if the potatoes and onion are not fully ’submerged’, add more whisked egg and mix again.

Now, because we noticed that the potatoes had ’shrinked’, we decided to pick a smaller non-stick frying pan, in order to obtain a tortilla of 2cm/0.8 inches of height.

So we put this smaller pan on the stove at medium heat, we added 2 tbsp olive oil, and when it was hot, we poured the egg-onion-potato mixture in it.

Trick #4: At this moment it is crucial not to overcook the tortilla or else it will be hard and dry. The result you are looking for: slightly golden outside and gooey inside.

In a couple of minutes the bottom of the tortilla hardens and becomes loose, you should now turn the tortilla upside down -carefully- with the aid of a plate. Cook the other side a couple of minutes more and then serve.

In Spain we eat the tortilla cold, hot, in a ‘tapa’, in a ‘montadito’ or in a ‘bocadillo‘ (in between a baguette cut in half in the length). We can eat it half-morning, for lunch, before and during dinner. Sometimes alone, sometimes with a salad, with other tapas or with cold cuts. My favorite: together with some slices of ripe tomatoes drizzled with virgin olive oil, salt and oregano.

Now, if this is not absolute HEAVEN…