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!!

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…

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!!

As it turns out, hubby’s favorite dessert ever is lemon pie. Being the devoted wife I am (sometimes), I’m searching for the ultimate lemon pie recipe.

A couple of weeks ago I tried Fanny’s recipe, it tasted really nice, however the texture of the lemon curd turned quite runny and neither hubby or I were really fond of the meringue. That is why that version never made it to the blog

Today I made my second attempt. I used Fanny’s pâte sucrée, as I had frozen what was left over, and the lemon curd recipe from StoneSoup, which is extremely easy and extremely fast to prepare.  Finally, I decided to omit the meringue.

The result was absolutely delicious! And the curd has a really nice, firm texture.

Ingredients for the pâte sucrée:

- 300g – 10.5 ounces butter

- 190g – 1.5 cup icing sugar

- 60g – 1/2 cup ground almonds

- seeds from 1 vanilla bean

- 2 eggs

- 500g – 4 cups flour

- 1tsp fleur de sel

Ingredients for the lemon curd:

- 1 400g – 9.4 fl oz. can of sweet condensed milk (Nestlé’s)

- 1/2 cup – 125ml lemon juice

- 3 egg yolks

Cooking instructions:

Cream the butter until soft. Then mix in the icing sugar, ground almonds and vanilla seeds. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Mix in the flour and salt, to obtain a crumbly texture.

Form 3 balls with the dough, each weighting approx. 365g (13 oz.), press them down, wrap with cling film and either freeze or refrigerate them overnight (or do what I did: use one ball and freeze the other two).  Line the baking tin with the dough, prick the bottom with a fork to avoid irregular swelling while in the oven.

Bake for about 15-20 minutes in a pre-heated oven at 175°C – 345°F.

Mix all the ingredients for the lemon curd together.

Top the tart crust with the lemon curd, bake in the oven for 15 minutes.

Let cool and enjoy!

This dish is absolutely gorgeous. Another proof that a couple of simple ingredients can produce an adorable result. I felt in love with the tender, lemony chicken meat and the amazing flavour of the potatoes.

I base myself on a recipe from “From Argentina with love”, and it is a dish that I could see my mum doing any time (and she can cook!).

Ingredients:

- A whole chicken, eviscerated

- 1/2 cup – 125ml olive oil

- ground black pepper

- 2 Maggi chicken cubes, crushed

- 1 lemon

- 1/2 cup – 125ml dry white wine

- 5 cloves garlic, peeled

- 1 pound/500g peeled potatoes, cut in ‘fries’

Cooking instructions:

Warm up the oven at 375°F- 180°C.

Prepare a sauce with the olive oil, the ground pepper, the Maggi cubes and the juice of the lemon.

Put the potatoes and the chicken in a baking pan. Drizzle with the sauce, then rub the sauce in the chicken. Stuff the lemon halves into the cavity of the chicken. Place the garlic cloves around in the potatoes.

Bake for about 40 minutes. Then pour the wine over the potatoes. Return to the oven and bake until the chicken turns golden (about 30 minutes more).

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!!