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!!

What can I say…who on Earth does not like pizza?!

This time I’ll share with you my mom’s recipe, which for me it is the most delicious in the world

The result is a pizza with a thick, yet extremely tender dough, a thick layer of tomato sauce and whichever toppings you fancy.

Ingredients (gives 4 middle size pizza’s):

- 2 pound / 1kg flour

- 3.5 ounces / 100 g yeast

- 1 tsp sugar

- lukewarm water (the temperature of the water is really important, if it is too hot or too cold the yeast will not “react”)

- 4 tbsp olive oil

- 2 tsp salt

- tomato sauce (explained in my gnocchi recipe in this blog)

- mix of Italian herbs: oregano, basil…

- the toppings of your choice: I used Gouda because I find it tasty and I like how it melts, and some cooked ham in strips

Cooking instructions:

Pour the flour in a large bowl and make a pit in the center. In it put, without mixing, add the yeast, sugar, oil and about 150ml lukewarm water. Leave to rest for a while until the yeast comes to the surface of the liquid, forming a big”cloud” or “stain” all over the surface (when in doubt, wait some more minutes).

Then add the salt, and knead the whole with your hands. Add more lukewarm water if needed, until you get a soft, tender and smooth dough.

Leave it in the big bowl in a warm place, covered with cling film, until it doubles the volume.

Then cut the dough in 4 equally heavy pieces. Spread each one, top with the tomato sauce, herbs, cheese and ham.

Bake the pizza’s in a pre-heated oven at 356°F / 180°C for 20 minutes.

Once cool, the pizza’s can be frozen, and later on, thawed in the oven.

Now, didn’t I tell you it was gorgeous?

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…

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!!

Ahhh, tomatoes…such a versatile, gorgeous product. This tart brings me memories of the South, of summer, of dining ‘al fresco’…

In this recipe of Cafe Fernando a special mention needs to be done for the “pâte brisée”, which was buttery delicious!! This is definitely the recipe that I am going to use as from now for every tart I make. Unrivaled!

Ingredients:

- 2 pound/1 kg cherry tomatoes, which I halved

- 10 ounces/300g feta cheese

- thyme (I did not have fresh handy, so I used dried thyme)

- extra virgin olive oil

- for the pâte brisée (just enough for a small baking tin, if yours is large double this recipe) : 1 1/4 cup (180g) flour, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 stick (115g) of COLD butter cut in pieces, 2 tbsp ice cold water

Cooking instructions:

Mix in the food processor the flour and the salt, add then the butter and the water, mix just until the dough holds together (but do not overwork, it should be “crumbly”). Extend the dough in the baking tin, put in the freezer for at least one hour. In the meantime, preheat the oven at 425°F.

Take the tin with the dough out of the freezer. Extend the crumbled feta on the bottom, then arrange the tomatoes on top, and drizzle with a bit of olive oil and with thyme.

Bake for 30-40 minutes, until the dough starts getting a golden colour. Take out of the oven and serve at room temperature.

Enjoy!!

Pulses…another love of mine. Give me chickpeas, red, black, white beans, lentils…and you’ll make me a happy woman! Any other fans out there?

This is a creamy, velvety, delicious soup that will comfort your soul in the cold winter nights, and make you feel you are truly a better person

Ingredients:

- 2 tbsp olive oil

- 1 large onion, chopped

- 1 tsp salt

- 1/2 tsp ground pepper

- 1 pound split peas (500g)

- 2 Maggi cubes (I used the vegetables type)

- paprika

- some extra olive oil, to serve

- optional: some raw ham or fried bacon cubes

Cooking instructions:

Heat the oil in a big pot and stir in the onion until soft and transparent (a couple of minutes). Add the split peas, the Maggi cubes, the salt, the pepper, and enough water to cover the split peas + 3 extra fingers of water. Cover and let simmer until the peas are cooked through (30-40 minutes).

Puree the soup with a blender and serve with some paprika and a drizzle of olive oil. Some ham or bacon would be gorgeous with this soup!!

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.