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!!

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!!

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!!

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!!

I love red kidney beans, and it turns out that they are rich in proteins, vitamins and minerals, so I frequently have them in order to limit the intake of meat.

This time I based myself on a recipe from Zaiqa, who writes in her blog about a special type of Indian cuisine. I will omit here below the curry leaves because they gave a rather bitter flavour to the dish, so I think it is better to skip them.

Ingredients:

- 1 pound/500g red kidney beans, cooked
- 1 28 ounces/450g can with peeled or chopped tomatoes
- salt
- ground black pepper
- 1 tsp dried chili flakes
- 3 tsp garam masala
- 1/2 large onion, chopped
- vegetable oil
- 5.6 fl ounces/165ml coconut milk

Cooking instructions:

In a saucepan, stir fry the onion in a bit of oil. When the onion turns transparent, add the beans, the tomatoes, the salt, pepper, coconut milk, chili flakes and garam masala. Stir and cover the pan, let simmer for 15 minutes. Serve warm with some rice.

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!!

Or the beauty of the simple things…

Olives, capers, anchovies and tomatoes +  pasta cooked al dente…

When you try this dish you fully understand why it was associated to the “girls of pleasure”

Ingredients:

- 3 tbsp olive oil

- 3 garlic cloves, chopped

- 1 small anchovies tin (approx. 15 fillets), chopped

- 7 ounces / 200g black olives

- 3 tbsp capers, drained

- 1 pound / 500g pasta

- 1 tsp dried chili flakes

- 2 pound / 1 kg fresh tomatoes (if you are short on time canned tomatoes will do too)

Cooking instructions:

Cook the pasta “al dente“.

With the tip of a sharp knife, make a cross on the bottom of each tomato. Bring a pan full of water to boil. Remove from the heat. Submerge the tomatoes in the hot water, leave them until the skin starts to peel off. Carefully (do not burn yourself), remove the tomatoes from the hot water and peel them. Then chop them.

If you used canned tomatoes, skip the previous step, you should only chop them.

Heat the olive oil in a saucepan. Add the garlic and the anchovies, stirring. Add the capers, the chili and the olives. Stir and add the tomatoes, let simmer for 15 minutes, until it thickens.

Toss the sauce with the pasta, and serve this fascinating combination of flavours…

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!!

I have a confession to make…I am a potato person. There, I said it.

Potatoes in all forms, sizes and formats. Fried, steamed, cooked, in the oven, you name it!

Gnocchi are another delicious excuse to consume potatoes, which explains why this recipe MUST appear in this blog, and why this is one of the few dishes I consume on a regular basis.

I must say, for me the best gnocchi in the world are the ones made by my Uruguayan grandma. The thing is, Uruguayans (like Argentinians) are mainly of Italian and Spanish descent. And besides the out-of-this-planet meat and BBQs, they traditionally eat many dishes which have their origins in Italy. The funny thing about it is that the dishes keep their Italian names yet they are written like they sound in Spanish. This is how “gnocchi” become “ñoquis” in Uruguay (and Argentina, for that matter).  You see? With only 3 million inhabitants this country is full of surprises.

My granny is faraway, and it never occurred to me to ask her her recipe yet (definitely something for my to-do list!). But this is not keeping me from enjoying these little, soft, golden, cute dough balls, because I am making them based on a great recipe from “From Argentina with love”.

So let’s get to it…

Ingredients – gnocchi:

- 1 pound potatoes (500 g), peeled, quartered, cooked in boiling water until tender and drained (note: keep the water, which you can use later to boil the gnocchi)

- 2 eggs

- 1 cup ricotta cheese (125g)

- 2 cups flour (285g)

- salt

Cooking instructions – gnocchi:

Mix all the ingredients and mix well using first a potato ricer, then a fork or (like me) use your hands, until you get a firm ball of dough.

Take a handful of dough, and make a long, thin roll out of it (it should be as thick as a thumb). With a fork or a knife, cut the roll in little portions (as long as half a thumb). While in this process, add some flour if the dough is too sticky.

Repeat with the rest of the dough. Now all that is left is to roll the gnocchi down a fork, to obtain a nice indented pattern that will absorb a maximum of glorious tomato sauce. Once you have done that you throw them in a pot with boiling water, and as soon as they start floating on the surface, collect them with a slotted spoon and serve with any sauce of your liking, and eventually with some grated Parmiggiano.

While my grandmother would serve it with “tuco” (I also need to ask her about this recipe), this below is my own (free) interpretation thereof…

Ingredients – tomato sauce:

- 2 pound  tomatoes (1 kg)

- salt

- black pepper

- 1 tsp dry chili flakes

- 2 tbsp olive oil

- 2 garlic cloves, minced

Cooking instructions – tomato sauce:

With the tip of a knife, make a cross at the bottom of each tomato. Put them then in a pot full water that has just boiled. When the skin starts pulling off, drain the tomatoes and chop them or blend them, depending on how thick you like your sauce.

Heat up the olive oil on a pan, toss in the garlic. Leave one minute, then add the tomatoes, the salt, the pepper and the chili. Let simmer until the sauce thickens a bit.

Serve with your gorgeous gnocchi, and eventually some grated cheese, fresh basil…

Enjoy!!

UPDATE:  last time I prepared gnocchi (photo above) I added half a cup of flour to make them a little bit more firm to the bite, I have already adapted the recipe accordingly. I also added two grated carrots to the sauce (hence the orangish colour of the sauce, and its runny texture), but in retrospective I think it had been better to add only one. Finally, I added some grated Parmesan on top, which was de-li-cious. Feel free to experiment yourself!