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!

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’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!!

Today we are having a great, Mexican-inspired dinner…The recipes are of an amazing simplicity, but ohhhh so good, and they go perfectly together! Spicy, tender, pork bites combined with a great guacamole and some paprika pita wedges instead of tortilla chips.

The recipe’s were adapted from the David Lebovitz blog…

Ingredients for the “carnitas”:

- 2 pounds/1kg pork shoulder, cut in bite-sized slices

- salt

- 3 tbsp oil

- 1 tsp ground cinnamon

- 1 tsp dried chili flakes

- 2 bay leaves

- 1/2 tsp ground cumin

- 3 garlic cloves, chopped

Cooking instructions:

Pre-heat the oven to 350°F/180°C.

Salt the meat.

Heat the oil in a skillet and fry the pork in it until brown. Get it out of the skillet and put it in an oven-proof pan. Add the spices and the garlic. Add water until the pork is submerged by two thirds. Roast in the oven for about 2 or 3 hours (the longer the better), until most of the liquid has evaporated and the pork is crispy outside and caramelized.

Guacamole:

- 2 avocados, mashed coarsely with a fork

- 1/2 tsp ground cumin

- 1 tomato, diced

- 1 tsp dried chili flakes

- a handful of chopped cilantro leaves

- 2 tbsp lime juice

- salt to taste

It can’t be easier. Mix all ingredients and serve!

Pita wedges:

Cut the pita bread in wedges, brush with a mixture of olive oil and smoked Spanish paprika powder (pimentón), sprinkle some salt and grill on both sides.

Now all that is left is serving with some ice cold Mexican beer. And do not forget the sombrero, it does not taste the same without it

Enjoy!!

Finally spring has arrived, nature wakens up, the days become longer, one feels like spending the day outdoors…It’s time to open the BBQ season!!

Here is the perfect complement, a BBQ sauce based on a recipe from The Perfect Pantry that has nothing to envy to the manufactured versions…

See for yourself…

Ingredients:

- 1/4 cup (60ml) vegetable oil

- 1 cup (125g) minced onion

- 2 tbsp minced garlic

- 28-ounces (800g) can crushed tomatoes

- 2 cups (500g) ketchup

- 1/2 cup (125ml) water

- 3/4 cup (175ml) Worcestershire sauce

- 1/3 (80ml) cup cider vinegar

- 1 cup (200g) brown sugar

- 2 tsp dried chili flakes

- 1/4 cup (60ml) mustard

- 2 tsp ground black pepper

- 1/2 tsp ground allspice

Cooking instructions:

Pour the oil into a large saucepan at medium-high heat. Toss in the onions and stir, cook until soft. Add the garlic and cook for a minute.

Then add the rest of the ingredients, bring to boil, simmer for 10 minutes to thicken.

Cool or chill and then use to slather the meat when it is about to be grilled.

Remainings can be frozen, or else you can choose to halve the recipe

Enjoy!!

Do not be fooled by the picture, they are the size of a large marble…These mini-meatballs are extremely easy to make, and quickly done. They are tiny, they are tender, they are tasty and they are cute! Perfect for children and picky eaters.

I based myself on a recipe from canarygirl, and I served them with some white rice and sweet chili sauce. Some lettuce or cucumber would have been lovely too, but when I made this dish I had ran out of greens!

Ingredients:

- 1 pound/500g of lean pork meat
- half onion
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- ground black pepper
- 1 tsp sugar
- vegetable oil, to fry

Cooking instructions:

I put all ingredients in the food processor (except for the oil) to obtain a paste. I then took little portions of the meat and rolled it to make tiny balls, which I then fried. That is it! I told you it was quick and easy…

Enjoy!!

You remember my confession about me being a potato person? Here goes another recipe to prove it.

I couldn’t believe it at first, but these oven baked fries are a su-perb alternative to the deep-fried French fries.  Lighter and with so much flavour…seriously, can it get any better?? (for me, the answer remains no

Recipe adapted from Cooks’ Illustrated…

Ingredients:

- 6 garlic cloves, chopped (yes 6, believe me, you will not regret it)

- 6 tbsp olive oil

- 10 small-sized potatoes (that is the size I had in the pantry), peeled and cut in wedges

- 2 tbsp cornstarch

- 1 1/2 tsp salt

- ground black pepper

- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Cooking instructions:

Preheat the oven at 200°C-400°F.

Put the garlic and the oil in a pan, heat until fragrant. Transfer 5 tbsp of oil and the garlic in a baking pan.

In a microwave resistant plastic bag (or else a bowl with plastic wrap covering it), add the potatoes and the remaining tbsp of oil.  Microwave on high power for 6 minutes, shaking the potatoes in the bag every other couple of minutes.

Combine the cornstarch, salt, black and cayenne pepper in a small bowl.  Sprinkle over the potatoes and toss to coat.

Arrange the potatoes on a single layer in the baking pan and bake, turning them every now and then, until golden brown and crisp (it took 30 minutes in my oven). Get these little sunny, marvelous creatures out of the oven, and try not to eat them all at once (I dare you!).

Enjoy!!

This is my second favourite salad all time…An incredibly surprising combination of flavours, and some lettuce and tomato to justify it.

There are 1001 variations of the Caesar salad, but I adore this one, a variation of Barefoot Contessa’s…What about you? Do you have a favourite salad? Do you know any tasty variations of the Caesar salad? I’d love to hear about it…

Ingredients:

- Romaine lettuce, washed and sliced

- tomatoes, peeled and sliced in chunks

- some olive oil, salt and ground black pepper

- bacon, in small cubes

- 1 yolk

- 2 tsp Dijon mustard

- 15 canned anchovy fillets

- 2 garlic cloves, chopped

- 125ml lemon juice

- 2 tsp salt

- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper

- 180 ml olive oil

- 125g grated Parmesan

- optional: some extra Parmesan to serve

Cooking instructions:

Preheat the oven at 400°C. Put the tomatoes in a baking tin, toss with some olive oil, salt and pepper. Put in the oven for about 20 minutes, until soft.

Cook the bacon in a skillet on medium-low heat, for 15 minutes.

Mix in a food processor the yolk, the mustard, the garlic, the anchovy fillets, the lemon juice, the salt and the pepper.  While still blending, pour down the feed tube the olive oil, slowly, and finally add the Parmesan and pulse 3 times. There you have it, your own delicious dressing!

On each plate, put some lettuce, some tomatoes, bacon, add the dressing and if desired, toss some extra Parmesan.

Enjoy!!

This article is specially dedicated to the garlic lovers out there. If you are like me, you simply cannot conceive any savory dish without this precious and amazingly healthy ingredient.  Simply because “my mama told me so”, and she is a fantastic cook.

You see,  I was actually born in Gran Canaria (Canary Islands, Spain), and even though I left when I was 4, I still have a bit of a sentimental link to this beautiful spot in the planet. I’d invite you to check this , and this for some general tourism information on Gran Canaria.

As I won’t be visiting these islands any time soon, at least I have the consolation of this fabulous recipe from Canary Girl, who explains how to make this quintessential Canary “spicy sauce”.

Ingredients:

- 7 cloves of garlic (yes, 7, you heard me)

- salt to taste

- 2 dried chili peppers

- 1 generous teaspoon cumin seeds (I used cumin powder)

- 1 generous teaspoon smokey paprika (I used the regular version)

- breadcrumbs to taste

- 1/2 cup – 125 ml olive oil

- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar

-  minty candy/ minty chewing gum (this is my own addition to the recipe – to use liberally throughout the day if there is any chance that you encounter another human being after you have eaten this sauce)

Instructions:

Using a mortar and pestle, mash garlic, salt, cumin and chili to a paste.

Add paprika and mash. Add bread crumbs and mash. Add olive oil and mash again. Add vinegar little by little, mashing constantly. There you go, ready!

I served it with boiled potatoes (in their skin) and plain grilled white fish. I didn’t add any seasoning to the potatoes or fish except for some salt, because mojo picón constitutes an explosion of flavour in itself. A-ddic-tive.