Risonni & Pea Salad

Again this was a dish that was thrown up in 15 minutes with stuff that was laying around my fridge, really quick and easy.

Serving 3 as a main:

250g Risonni (you can use other type of small pasta, or even pearl couscous), 2 cups of peas, 1 good handful of baby spinach and rocket leaves, some chopped parsley, olive oil, juice of 1 small lemon, salt & pepper.

1. Cook the risonni until its "al dente", add the peas and cook them together for a couple of minutes. 2. Rinse the spinach leaves and place them in a bowl.
3. Add the risonni and the peas, mix them well. 4. Season with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper until the salad is of your liking.

WEEK 5

This week continues the previous trend of me being really busy and on top of that there are some holidays around here which makes it hard to plan properly, so I'm going to write as days go along and hopefully have time to cook and photograph and write and work in 2 places and prepare our long waited holiday from next week all by myself.
Wish me luck.

Sunday:
_dinner: Risonni & Pea salad

Monday:
_lunch: Risonni & Pea salad
_dinner: Chili Prawn & Tomato Pasta

Tuesday:
_dinner: Chicken & Apricot Stew w/ Couscous

Wednesday:
_lunch: Chicken & Apricot Stew w/ Couscous
_dinner: Grilled Basa with Potato and Caper Salad

Thursday:
_dinner: Chicken & Basil Stew

Friday:
_lunch: Chicken & Basil Stew

recipe: Warm Brown Rice & Spinach and Lentil Salad

This week was chaos, really. The pasta meal has been discarded and I will post this one which we both really liked and I am hoping I can get on track with our meals next week....no promises though...

for 4 main meals or around 6 serves as a side:

1 cup long grain brown rice, 2 garlic cloves crushed, 2 tbs olive oil, 3 tea spoons Dijon Mustard, 1 tbs balsamic vinegar, 1 good handfull of baby spinach ( or baby spinach & rocket salad mixture like I used), 3 spring onions thinly sliced, 1x 400g can brown lentils rinsed, 1/2 cup mint leaves crushed, salt & pepper

1. Cook the rice in salted water.
2. Mix the garlic cloves, mustard, oil and vinegar in a bowl. 2. Wash the spinach and rinse the lentils. Mix them in a bowl. Add the onions and mint.
3. When the rice is cooked, drain and rinse. Add to the salad mixture.
4. Mix all the ingredients, add the mustard sauce and you are ready to go. Its a really quick, healthy meal that actually makes you feel quite full for a long time and it works well both as a main course or a side.

recipe: BEEF & MUSHROOM SOY & GINGER SKEWERS W/ NOODLES

Somehow I forgot to insert the memory card into my camera so you'll get only the finished product picture...., it was really good though, reminded me of when I used to live in Japan and it is a bit similar to the Poached Chicken Noodles but with Beef Skewers instead...

lets go then, for 4:


600g rump steak cut into small pieces, bamboo skewers, 1 teaspoon grated ginger, 2 garlic cloves crushed, 1/4 cup soy sauce, 1/4 cup mirin, about 6 button mushrooms halved, 2x 270g ramen noodles, 4 choped spring onions, 1 carrot grated, 3 tbs soy sauce, 3 tbs mirin, 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil


1. mix the ginger, garlic, 1/4 cup soy, 1/4 cup mirin in a bowl and pour over the sliced beef. Let it marinate for about an hour or longer if you have the time.
2. Cut the mushrooms and add them to the marinate 10 minutes before you make the skewers.
3. Meanwhile, cook the noodles according to packet instructions, rinse and let them cool.
4. In a bowl, mix the noodles, grated carrot, onion and remaining soy, mirin and sesame and let it rest.
5. Heat the grill in medium heat. Pierce the pieces of meet and the halved mushrooms with the bamboo skewers and place them in a baking tray (on foil(.
6. Grill them for about 8 minutes each side or until they are cooked to your liking.
7 Serve with the noodles.

recipe: BABA GHANOUSH

First time trying to make baba ghanoush and I think it went pretty well... not sure how original it is, but we were quite happy with it.

for 1 bowl:
2 medium/ large eggplants, 2 tbs greek yoghurt, 1 1/2 tbp tahini, 1 tbs lemon juice, 1 tbs olive oil, salt, 2 tbs chopped parsley and olive oil to serve.

1. Place the eggplant on a grill (or in an oven grill) and grill them until they are very soft and dark on the outside. Let them cool for a while.
2. Scoop the flesh of the eggplant, chopp it and throw it in a bowl. (from now on you can do the following steps in a food processor, but we like it coarse and chunky so I made it with a fork in a bowl)
3. Add the yoghurt and mix well.
4. Add the tahini and keep mashing.
5. Squeeze the lemon juice in, ol ive oil add some salt and try it. Here you have to go with your guts and add salt until it tastes good!
6. When it does, pour it into a bowl, top with some chopped parsley and a little olive oil and serve it with crackers. (we found these rosemary and garlic crackers that were to die for!!

recipe: Peach Crumble

This was an extra from Sunday night...decided to try a dessert and this was really good although I think I was a bit heavy n the butter side....

for 2:

2 ramekins, 8-10 peach slices (I used canned ones but go crazy if you have fresh ones), pinch of cinnamon, 2 tbs peach juice (from the can), 1 teaspoon gin, 2 tbs self raising flour, 2 tbs brown sugar, 1 tbs almond meal, a knob of butter *about 10-15 g, slivered almonds.

1. Place the peaches on the bottom of the ramekins and add the cinnamon.
2. Mix the juice with the gin and pour over the fruit.
3. In a bowl, mix the flour, sugar, almond meal.
4. Rub the butter in the flour mixture until you have coarse crumbs. Top this mixture in the ramekins. add some slivered almonds.
5. Bake for 30 minutes in a pre-heated oven (160C).

They were very decadent....but it was Sunday night...

recipe: TUNA LASAGNE

So, this is a "whatever you have in your fridge" kind of lasagne, plus it does not contain any cheese so basically is a very far related cousin of a real lasagne. You are free to use your own bechamel sauce and sprinkle stinky cheese all over it, but this is my version:

For 4 serves:

fresh lasagne sheets, 1 x 425 g can of tuna, 1 x 400ml can of crushed tomatoes, 400g lasta sauce with italian herbs (if you cant find it just use real herbs - basil, parsley, etc- I was CHEATING), 1 chopped onion, 1 chopped garlic clove, 1 chopped red capsicum, 1 tbs oregano, 1 tbs lemon juice, black pepper, "my bechamel sauce" (see Chicken & Leek Potato Bake)

1. Pre heat your oven to 160C.
2. Heat some olive oil in a dee sauce pan and add the chopped garlic and onion. Cook for about 5 minutes or until soft.
3. Add the capsicum and cook for another 3 minutes before adding the crushed tomatoes and the past sauce.
4. After adding the tomatoes, stir and add some water if needed. Rinse the tuna and add to the sauce. Let it simmer in low heat for about 15 minute sor until capsicum is cooked.
5. Add oregano and pepper. ( I didn't need any salt)
6. Prepare the bechamel sauce according to the "Chicken & Leek Potato Bake" recipe or add your own "white sauce".
7. Drizzle a bit of olive oil to the bottom of an ovenproof dish and start layering your lasagne. Lay a portion of lasagne sheets first, a layer of tuna sauce, another layer of pasta and some of the bechamel sauce. *add cheese here if you are doing that version
8. Repeat the layers, 2 o3 3 times depending of the size of your dish and pour the remaining bechamel on top of it.
9. Bake for 30-35 minutes and serve with a rocket salad.

WEEK 4

Although I had said I didn't know if I'd be able to keep on writin gthis blog last week, I'm happy to say that even though I was quite busy, I was still able to do it...just have to adjust myself to this new time management and hopefully week 4 will go well too.
The plan is as follows:

Sunday:
_dinner: Tuna Lasagne

Monday:
_lunch: Tuna Lasagne
_dinner: free

Tuesday:
_dinner: Beef & Mushroom Soy & Ginger Skewers with noodles

Wednesday:
_lunch: Beef & Mushroom Soy & Ginger Skewers with noodles
_dinner: Warm brown rice, spinach & lentil salad

Thursday:
_lunch: Warm brown rice, spinach & lentil salad
_dinner: Chili Prawn & Tomato Pasta

Friday:
_lunch: Chili Prawn & Tomato Pasta

recipe: CUMIN SPICED CHICKEN & LENTIL/ORANGE SALAD

...getting late writing my posts, it has been a busy week, feeling like I'm dumb as hell in my new job... guess its like that whenever you start a new job at a new place where you cant speak your mother language...

so, getting to business, I was really excited about this dish and was a bit disappointed in the end, I think I used far too much orange in the chicken and not enough salt, so, if you try it on be careful with the seasoning and I am going to give you the recipe with 1 orange, rather than 2, so it should be better. the salad was great though!

Here it goes, for 4:

Skewers previously soaked, 4 chicken thigh pieces chopped, 1 orange (rind, peeled and cut into wedges), 1 tbs ground cumin, 2 tbs olive oil, salt & pepper, 2x 400g cans of lentils rinsed, 2 lebanese cucumbers thinly sliced, 1/2 cup firmly packed chopped parsley, 1 tbs chopped chives, salt & pepper, olive oil & vinegar, natural greek yoghurt

1. Pre-heat the grill at medium heat. Place the cumin, orange ring, olive oil in a bowl, mix and coat the chicken pieces. Rub them with salt and pepper and place about 4 pieces into each skewer. Grill it in your oven for about 10 minutes each side. (It really depends on your oven, so take a look eevry 5 minutes to see how they-re going)
2. Place lentils in a large bowl, add the cucumber, orange wedges, parsley, chives, and mix.
Season with salt, pepper a drizzle of olive oil and vinegar.
3. Place a portion of the salad on a place, top with the chicken skewers, serve it with a dollop of yoghurt topped with a pinch of cumin, ground pepper and a drop of olive oil (or lemon juice).

Done, easy easy...

recipe: "MOROCCAN" CHICKEN RICE

Serves 4: 2 large chicken breasts barbecue & shredded, 1 1/4 cup white rice (long grain), 1 small red onion chopped, 1 tbs olive oil, 1 1/2 tbs moroccan spice mix, 1/3 cup flaked almonds roasted, 1/4 cup sultanas, 2 celery sticks chopped, 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes chopped, 1/3 cup chopped mint, 2 tbs chopped parsley, lemon juice, red vinegar, salt

1. Cook the rice, drain and wash it. Place it in a large bowl.
2. Heat the olive oil, cook the onions until they are golden, add the spice mix, chicken, almonds and sultanas.
3. Add the chicken mixture to the rice. Stir in the celery, tomatoes and herbs.
4. Correct the flavours adding salt and finishing with the lemon juice, red wine vinegar and a bit more of olive oil if you like.

recipe: my GUACAMOLE

I know I said there would be no dinner on Tuesday night, but we had to eat something...so, we decided to have some antipasto, mini toasts, salad and I decided to make my Guacamole. It takes you 10 minutes and its really yumm!

You'll need:

1 ripe avocado, 1 tea spoon chopped garlic, 1 small tomato, 1/4 onion chopped, 1 tbs chopped coriander, 1 tbs dried flaked chillies, 1 tbs salt, 1/2 lemon juice, drizzle olive oil, black pepper

1. Take the avocado peel and place it in a mortar & pestle. Crush it to make it into a coarse paste.
2. Add the garlic and keep on mixing. Repeat with the chopped tomato and onion.
3. Add the chilli flakes, olive oil, lemon juice and salt. Mix everything and adjust the flavours.
4. Add the chopped parsley, mix and top with the pepper to serve.

Delicious.

recipe: SALMON EN PAPILLOTE

This recipe is really healthy and easy to make:

for 2 serves:

1 potato cut into quarters, 2 carrots cut leghtways and across, 2 salmon fillets, lemon slices, baby capers, oregano, pepper, lemon juice, sun dried tomatoes, baking paper, 1 handful of mixed salad leaves, half a red capsicum sliced, 1 tomato, cut in half moons, oregano, chopped parsley, chopped chives, flaked almond, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt & pepper

1. Boil water in a sauce pan and throw the potatoes and the carrots. Cook till they are soft.
2. Make a salad. In a bowl, place the mixed leaves, capsicum, tomato, oregano, parsley, chives, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and some flaked almonds.
3. Pre-heat the oven to 180C. Place the salmon fillets in individual round pieces of baking paper.
4. Top with the lemon slices, lemon juice, capers, oregano, one sun dried tomato and some pepper.
5. Place another round piece of baking paper over the salmon, and fold the edges together to seal.
6. Bake for 15 minutes. Season the potatoes and carrots with oilve oil, salt and lemon. Serve with the salad.


Enjoy!

recipe; CHICKEN & LEEK POTATO BAKE

For 4 serves:

2 chicken breasts, 1 garlic clove thinly sliced, 1/2 lemon juice, pich of oregano, salt & pepper, 5 potatoes thinly sliced, 1/2 cup milk, 1 cup water, 1 tbp flour, 1 tbs mustard, salt & pepper, 1 leek, thinly sliced, 1 tbs chopped thyme, 3 garlic cloves crushed, olive oil

1. Pre heat the oven to 180C. Cut some slits on the chicken breast and place the garlic clove slices on them, rub the chicken with oregano, salt, pepper and the lemon juice. Marinate for half an hour.
2. Place the chicken in some aluminium foil and bake in the oven until cooked.
3. Heat some olive oil in a sauce pan, add the crushed garlic cloves, leek and cook until soft.
4. Shredd the chicken and add to the leek mixture.
5. Mix 1/4 of milk with the flour. In a sauce pan, bring the remaining water and milk to the boil, add the flour mixture, mustard, salt and pepper and stir until the sauce has thickned.
6. Rub some olive oil in the bottom of an oven dish and add 1/3 of the potatoes to the bottom forming the first layer. Add half of the chicken mixture and 1/3 of the sauce. Repeat with a layer of potatoes, the remaining half of the chicken, 1/3 sauce, final potato layer and remaining sauce.
*If you are a cheese lover, feel free to change the recipe and add some in between the layers. also i added salt to every potato layer, and black pepper to the final one.
7. Bake covered in foil for 50 minutes. Remove foil, increase the temperature of the oven to 180C, 200 C and bake uncovered for another 15 minutes.
8. remove from the oven, rest for about 10 minutes and serve with a green salad.
Perfect for Sunday dinner.

WEEK 3

Life is funny, when you expect something to happen quick, things stagnate and you wander through your life waiting indefinitely for change. Then when you forget about whatever you were hoping to happen to occur, and you lose all expectations and start looking in other directions, life comes again to sweep you away and brings you a basket full of stuff that you have to deal with ASAP.
And thats what happened last week, so, sorry for not posting the last recipe, but I got a Planning permit and have a building to design, and got offered another job starting next week.
And now that I was enjoying my meal planning sessions...
So, I will try and post whenever I have time, and we are still planning meals ahead, so something will appear on the blog and for this Week, the menu is as follows:

Sunday:
_dinner: Chicken & Leek Potato Bake

Monday:
_lunch: Chicken & Leek Potato Bake
_dinner: Salmon en Papillote

Tuesday:
_dinner: "Moroccan" Chicken Rice

Wednesday:
_lunch: "Moroccan" Chicken Rice

Thursday:
_lunch: Lentil &Orange Salad
_dinner: Cumin Chicken Skewers with Lentil & Orange Salad

recipe: LEMON & OREGANO CHICKEN WITH TOMATO RICE

This recipe is worth it for the rice! Yes, I wasn't that impressed with the chicken, although it was good, but the rice was SWEEEEEET!! ( I mean good, not really sweet...)

So, for 4 serves you will need:

4 pieces of chicken (I used chicken thighs, but you can use whatever you want, even the whole chicken that you will have to bake for longer.), 1 tbs dried oregano, 50 g soft butter, 2 tbs finely grated lemon rind, half a lemon's juice, 1 tbs olive oil, salt & pepper, 1 cup rice (I used normal long grain rice, but risotto rice would be good too), 1 tbs olive oil, 1 small onion chopped, 2 small tomatoes chopped, 1/3 cup tomato & basil pasta sauce, salt and basil leaves.

1. Prepare the filling. Mix the most of the oregano, lemon rind, chopped garlic and butter and make a paste. Divide this paste amongs the chicken thighs, fold the meat and use skewers to keep them in place.
2. In a bowl mix the olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper and a pinch of oregano and rub this mixture over the chicken.
3. Place the chicken in a baking tray and bake for half an hour in high heat (220C) for 15 minutes and then medium heat (180C or 160C) for another 15 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a saucepan, add the chopped onion and fry it until it becomes golden.
5. Add the chopped tomatoes and stir for about 5 minutes.
6. Add the rice and fry for a couple of minutes before pouring in the water.
7. Pour the water and the tomato/basil paste and stir.
8. Keep stirring and adding water if needed until the rice is cooked.
9. Serve the rice and sprinkle with basil leaves. Top with one chicken fillet, pour some more basil, and you're ready to go.
Yummmmmmmm!!!

recipe: SOY BRAISED BEEF WITH PASTA

I got a little busy the last couple of days so I'm going to leave you the recipe, but with no images, I'll post them later:

for 4 serves:
800 g beef cut into strips, 400 g dry fettucine, 1 cup red whine, 3/4 cup soy sauce, 1 (full) tbs of grated ginger, 1 tbs minced garlic, 15 cm orange rind peel, 5 cups chicken stock, 2 tbs sugar, 1 cinnamon stick, olive oil, dutch carrots

1. Place whine, stock, soy, ginger, garlic, cinnamon, sugar and orange peel in a sauce pan and bring it to a boil. When it boils, reduce heat and simmer for about 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile heat the oil in a fry pan and cook the beef in batches.
3. Pre-heat the oven to 150C, and arrange the beef in an oven-proof dish.
4. Pour the sauce over the beef, cover with foil and cook for about 2 1/2 or 3 hours.
5. Serve with Fetuccine and steamed dutch carrots.

p.s. The longer you cook the tender the meat will get, and if you leave it to cool overnight and serve it the next day the flavours will blend perfectly.

This is a really easy recipe, but a bit time consuming so I'd recommend leaving it for a weekend or if you're having a dinner party.

recipe: CAPSICUM & BREAD SALAD

This recipe is really easy and perfect for hot summer days.

For 4 people:

2 red capsicums, 1 yellow capsicum, 1 lebanese cucumber, 3 tomatoes, 1/4 red onion, 1/2 cup basil leaves, 100 ml olive oil, 1 tbs vinegar, 1 tbs water, salt & pepper

1. Grill the capsicums of bake them in the oven ( I just turn the oven to 180/200C and place the capsicums on foil for a hilw, turning them every 10 minutes). When they are soft, remove them from the oven and let them cool.
2. Toast 5 slices of Italian bread, let them cool and cut them into squares.
3. Meanwhile, chopp the cucumber coarsely and place in a large bowl.
4. Slice the onion and add to the the bowl.
5. Chop the tomatoes and add to the salad.
6. Remove the skin and seeds of the capsicums and cut them in pieces. Add to the bowl.
7. Tear the basil leaves, add them to the salad, toss the bread in and mix everything.
8. Drizzle the salad with the olive oil, vinegar and water and toss to coat. Ready!

Lovely, colorful and fresh!

WEEK 2

So, this week's menu is:

Monday:
lunch_Mini chicken pies with corn, peas and cucumber salsa
dinner_Capsicum and Bread salad

Tuesday:
lunch_Capsicum & Bread Salad
dinner_Soy Braised Beef with Pasta

Wednesday:
lunch_soy Braised Beef with Pasta
dinner_Lemon & Oregano Chicken with Tomato rice

Thursday:
lunch_Lemon & Oregano Chicken with Tomato rice
dinner_out

Friday:
lunch_Chickpea and Capsicum salad
dinner_out

recipe: PORTUGUESE CHICKEN PIE

This was the first time I made this and I was soo proud of it. It tasted almost exactly to the ones you get in Portugal, only....better! cause I made it and they were a huge success. Now, I will give you the recipe for the filling, which you can use however you like, in a big pie, several small ones or for rissois (the previous recipe: I made some and they were great too).

You will need:
1 chicken cut into pieces, 1/2 onion chopped, 2 tbp olive oil, 1 bay leaf, 1 cup of diced tomatoes, 1 chicken stock cube, 100 ml white wine and 750 ml water, 1/2 onion chopped, 30 g butter, plain flour, chopped parsley, nutmeg, salt/pepper, 3 egg yolks and a squezze of lemon juice. (rissois dough or puff pastry sheets)

1. Heat the olive oil in a sauce pan with the onion and bay leaf. Let the onion become golden.
2. Add the chopped tomatoes, cook for a couple of minutes and add the chicken pieces.
3. Let the chicken cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally and when the skin starts to turn golden add the wine, stock cube and water.
4. Cover and let it simmer in medium/low heat for half an hour.
5. Remove the chicken pieces to cool and reserve the stock.
6. When cold, remove skin and bones and shred the chicken.
7. Heat the butter in another sauce pan in low heat and add the chopped onion.
8. Add the flour (about a cup)and stir constantly. Start to add the previously reserved stock and stir. You need to get a creamy consistency so if you need more flour, add it now.
9. When you've added the stock and achieved a creamy consistency, add the chicken and stir for a couple of minutes.
10. Add the chopped parsley, a good pinch of nutmeg, salt and pepper and adjust the flavours.
11. Add the egg yolks and mix them gently to the chicken, remove from the heat and let it cool for a while.
12. Now you have the filling ready, use your imagination.

recipe: RISSOIS DE BACALHAU

Staying on the same mood and going back 2 recipes, you may remember I left half the bacalhau mixture from the pie? So, with this half I made "Rissois", something my mother is an expert making and I had to try her dough recipe. I was successful and needless to say you can fill them with whatever filling you want.

For about 8 of these:
1 cup of water, pinch of salt, splash of olive oil, 1 cup of plain flor plus more to dust and knead, egg whites, breadcrumbs, vegetable oil to fry, filling (the filling cannot be very liquid)


1. Prepare a surface in which you can knead the dough and dust it with flour.
2. Heat the water in a small sauce pan, add the salt and olive oil. When it starts to boil throw the flour in and mix with a wooden spoon as you reduce the heat to low. (You'll have to be quick here)
3. When mixed, take from the heat and place it on the dusted surface. Now, start kneading with your hands and adding flour until it doesnt stick to your hands or the surface.
4. Using a rollling pin flatten the dough on your surface and when it is about 4 mm thick place a spoonful of your filling on it.
5. Fold the dough over the filling and using a glass place it over the dough and cut "half-moons" with it.
6. Set aside. Repeat with the rest of the dough until it is over.
7. Place the egg whites on a bowl and the bread crumbs in a shallow plate.
8. Take the dumpling with one hand, place it in the eggwhites to coat and transfer it to the breadcrumb plate. With your other hand coat the dumpling with breadcrumbs and set aside on a plate. Repeat until all are done.
9. Heat the oil in a fryer and fry the dumplings in high heat until they are golden.

recipe: PASTEIS DE BACALHAU (CODFISH CAKES)

Following the last recipe and because I had a weekend of trying to cook familiar tastes, here goes one of the most ubiquitous treats in Portugal, you can find then in almost every small cafe, we call them "Pasteis de Bacalhau".

For about 25 units, you'll need:

1 150/200g piece of Bacalhau (salted codfish) soaked over night, 5/6 medium potatoes, 1/2 onion chopped, 3 tbs chopped parsley, pinch of nutmeg, black pepper, 1 egg and vegetable oil to fry .
1. Boil the cod until cooked, remove from the pan, dry and shredd.
2. Boil the potates and make a coarse mash with a potato masher.
3. In a boil, place the mash and the 1/2 onion thinly chopped, With a fork, mix everything together.
4. Place the shredded cod in the bowl and mix again (mixing with a fork constantly will make sure the flavours mix together and it will smoothen the potatoes further)
5. Add the chopped parsley, nutmeg and ground black pepper, mix and try it on. If it needs any salt, add it now. (i didn't need any because I used salt-dried cod)
6. Finally add the agg and mix everything very well.
7. Using 2 spoons, take a piece of the mixture and by pressing the spoons together back and forth, make the cakes.
8. When they are ready, deep fry them in hot vegetable oil and they'll be ready to eat. (I fried some and froze the rest)

Enjoy.

recipe: BACALHAU PIE

"BACALHAU" or dried & salted cod is probably the most ubiquitous food in Portugal. 500 years ago when there were no freezers, somebody decided to salt cod to preserve it and somehow, we still do it and love it! Now, I'm not sure why we keep doing it, because you can just use fresh cod, but we seem to be proud of this tradition and have more than (we say) 1001 says of cooking it. This recipe reminds me of home and it changes everytime I do it. And tonight I made it just for myself...ultimate comfort food.

IMPORTANT::: if you are using salted/ dry cod, you will need to soak it overnight and change the water several times so it doesn't taste like pure salt!!

Now, I thought I was making it for 2 meals for me (I'm a petite so, It isnt's much), but in the end I ate it all...bad bad girl...so, give it a go and double or triple the recipe if you are making it for more than 2 people.
1 piece of salted cod (150/200 g) soaked overnight, 2 tbs olive oil, 1 bay leaf, 1 garlic clove crushed, 1/2 onion thinly sliced, 1 red capsicum, 2 handfuls of spinach (not necessary, I had spare), 1/4 cup white whine, 3 tbs flat-leaf parsley chopped, 1 egg lightly beaten, freshly ground black pepper, pinch of nutget, 2 large potatoes, salt, a knob of butter and a splash of milk

1. Boil the bacalhau, when it is cooked, remove from the pan, let it cool and flake it removing the skin and bones. Set aside
2. Boils the potatoes and make mash: add butter, some milk (or water), salt and pepper to taste (do not use too much salt at this stage since the cod could still be quite salty, wait till the cod mixture is done and then adjust the flavours)
3. Heat the oil in a sauce pan, add the garlic and bay leaf. Cook for a couple of minutes and add the onion (cook in low heat). Cook the onion, stirring occasionally until it softens.
4. Add the capsicum previously diced in tiny squares and let it cook for about 5 minutes.
5. Add the cod and the wine and cook for another 5 minutes.
6. Finally add the spinach and mix everything. Remove from heat and add the chopped parsley. (don't forget to remove the bay leaf)
7. Turn your oven on to 180C and pour half the cod mixture on to a small baking pan (I used a 15x15x 6 cm one)
8. Put the mashed potatoes over the top and brush with the egg wash. Coarsely ground some pepper over the top and its ready to go to the oven.
9. Bake for 30 minutes or until its golden on top. Serve with a salad.

p.s.1. I didn't need any salt for the cod mixture since the bacalhau was salted, but you will have to adjust the flavours as you go along.

p.s.2. I have made this dish for a dinner party and replaced the spinach for 1 diced tomato and used yellow, red and green capsicum so it was really colorful and pretty and everybody said it was good!

p.s.3. The remaining half of the bacalhau will be used tomorrow for another pie or for small pastries, depending on my mood.

Hope you like it.

weekend plan

So, husband is out of town for the weekend, coming back on Sunday, which means, more cooking for me, but no worries about low-carb/ calories and I have something on my mind already...
"bacalhau pie" (more explanations on that soon), chicken "cakes"/pies, "pasteis de bacalhau" and more ideas that will be posted any time soon.

disclaimer

So, before this blog thing becomes more serious, there are some things we need to get clear about.

I am a "Cheese Purist". You ask, what is "Cheese Purist"? Well, I am basically really picky and can only eat cheese by itself or with something neutral like bread. uff, thats done!
Sooooo, you will not find cheesy recipes in this blog for the solely reason that I cook mostly for myself and my husband (and make him eat the things I like! :)). But as you may have noticed, I write because I have to fill in my time and these recipes are suggestions for your weekly meal planning, therefore you may add cheesy bits to them as you go along.

Other things I don't eat: olives (I'm a terrible mediterranean specimen), ham, chorizo, double cream, raw fish eggs, whale or raw meat (I lived in Japan so i feel like I have to mention these...) and milk is mostly a "no-no" in most savory dishes!

This was a relief, and by the way, feel free to comment if you cook any of these recipes or just clic on some of the adds...who knows, maybe I'll get some money!

Thanks for stopping by and reading my rants.

recipe: CHICKEN & SOBA NOODLE SALAD

I discovered this recipe recently on a magazine and became an instant fan. I want to have it all the time.

For 2:
2x 270g soba noodles, green beans & or asparagus trimmed and sliced, 4cm piece of ginger, 2 chicken thigh pieces or 1 large chicken breast, 6 spring onions, 1 garlic clove crushed, 1 tbs soy sauce, 1 1/2 tbs rice vinegar, 1 1/2 tbs mirin, 2 tbs sesame oil

1. Place water the chicken in a sauce pan, cover with water, add the ginger and 4 spring onions sliced. Poach the chicken and when its done shredded with 2 forks.
2. Prepare the noodles according to the package instructions. Rinse and coat with the sesame oil.
3. Meanwhile boil or steam the greens.
4. Mix the garlic, soy sauce, vinegar and mirin in a bowl and let the flavours sink in (I did it the day before)
5. Add the shredded chicken and the green beans to the noodles, mix everything and season with the sauce.

Its great by itself on warmer days and a really healthy choice.

















p.s. I saved the liquid used to poach the chicken and used it as stock in other dishes later

recipe: SALMON W/ SESAME, MUSHROOMS AND ASIAN GREENS

You'll need to start preparing this a day before (or at least a couple of hours) to marinate the salmon.
The best thing about it is that I used no salt at all, so I'm guessing thats a good thing...

for 2 people: 2 salmon fillets boned, 1 tbs honey, 2 tbs sesame oil, 1 teaspoon szechuan seasoning, 1 tbs soy sauce, 1 cup pearl couscous, some green beans trimmed, a handfull of spinach, 4 big mushrooms sliced (better if you can find shiitake), 2 tbs oyster sauce, 1 garlic clove crushed, 2 tsp sesame oil, 1/2 lebanese cucumber sliced

1. The day before, mix the honey and sesame oil and pour it over the salmon to marinate. Season the fillets with the szechuan mixture and leave it. 2. Prepare the couscous according to the package instructions. 3. Mix the oyster sauce, crushed garlic and remaining sesame oil on a bowl and let the flavours sink in. 4. Grill the salmon on a frying pan, and drizzle over the marinate juices and the soy sauce, set aside. 5. On the same pan fry the mushrooms, green beans (previously steamed or par-boilet) and finally stir in the spinach while reducing the heat to low. Stir in the oyster sauce mixture and let the spinach wilt.

Done!

recipe: LAMB KORMA (slight change of plans)

I had a slight change of plans this week due to being a bit sick and couldn't be bothered going shopping...so instead of the lamb/ burghal salad I made Lamb Korma using a curry paste for the first time. And was pretty happy with it.

For about 3 people: 300g lamb (cut into pieces), 1 large onion, olive oil, 1x can Korma Mild curry paste, 2 medium potatoes, couple of spoonfulls or natural yoghurt or 1/2 cup of milk

1. Heat some oil in a sauce pan, add the chopped onion and let it become golden. Add the lamb and cook for a couple of minutes stirring. 2. Add the chopped potatoes and stir everything for a couple of minutes in medium heat. 3. Add the curry paste, cook for a couple of minutes and finally add the yoghurt in spoonfulls stirring gently. Let the mixture simmer for about 30 minutes or until the lamb is tender. 4. Serve as is with a salad, bread or white rice.

recipe: WHITE FISH FILLETS WITH LEMON CAPER SAUCE

So we had this for dinner last night with Butter Bean mash and asparagus and it was a great success, a delicious light dinner perfect for summer nights.

For 2 people:

2 white fish fillets (whiting or cod, any fish of your liking), 1 lemon, dill, salt & pepper, 1x can butter beans rinsed, pinch of ground cuming, 1teaspoon diced garlic, 1/2 tbs olive oil, 1 bunch asparagus, 20 g butter, 1tbs lemon rind, 2 tbs lemon juice, 1 teaspoon baby capers 1. Turn the grill of your oven on to pre-heat and line a baking tray with foil. Place some lemon slices on the tray and lay the fish fillets on top of it. Place some more lemon slices and dill on top, salt and pepper and grill it for 5 minutes or until ready. 2. Meanwhile boil or steam your asparagus cut in long slices. 3. Heat the olive oil on a saucepan, add the chopped garlic and the beans. Mix everything, add a pinch of ground cumin and salt and mash with a potato masher. Correct the flavours and set aside. 4. In another saucepan melt the butter, add the lemon rind, juice and baby capers and set aside. 5. Place half the mash on a plate, 1 fish fillet on top, half the asparagus around and drizzle the butter sauce on top of it. Repeat on another plate and you're ready to go. Yummy!

recipe: MINESTRONE

Minestrone is an Italian soup and I don't want to claim this recipe as the truly original Minestrone, first because I am not italian and second because the recipe keeps changing depending on whats in season, and thats a great thing about this soup, you can follow the recipe but you can add stuff and chose whatever veggies are in season.

It's quick, healthy, comforting and delicious in a cold night. Serve it with some toasted sourdough bread or if you want to be naughty, GARLIC BREAD! (I am salivating already, apologies.)

So, for 4 serves:
2 tbs olive oil, 1/2 onion (usually I don't use onion, but I had a leftover), 1 clove of garlic crushed (also ommitable), 1 carrot chopped into small cubes, 1 leek chopped horizontally, 1 zuchinni chopped into small cubes, 1x 400g can of diced tomatoes, about 4 cups of chicken stock (or water if you don't have any), 1x can of cannelini beans, rinsed (or kidney beans), 1 handful of risoni (or other small pasta or pearl couscous or even rice!), basil leaves (I didnt have any so I used lamb herb mix, you can use oregano, mint, parsley, thyme and so on), salt and pepper

1. Heat the olive oil in a sauce pan, add the onion, crushed gralic and leek. Cook for about 3 minutes and add the carrots. Stir for about 4 minutes or until the vegetables are coated and the onion and leeks are golden.
2. Add the diced tomatoes, and the stock and stir. Take the mixture to a boil and the reduce the heat to simmer for about 5 minutes or until the carrots are softer. (This depends on how you like them, some people prefer them crunchier)
3. Add the zucchini and let it cook for about 5 minutes.
4. Add the pasta and stir it frequently or it will stick to the bottom. When the pasta is cooked, add the beans and check the salt.
5. Take the soup from the heat, add the herbs and correct the flavours.
6. Serve with basil on top, ground black pepper and a splash of olive oil. It will surely heat you up in a winter night.

recipe: COCONUT MUFFINS

Alright, so I got bored this afternoon and craving for something to go with my afternoon tea. The answer...muffins...an adaptation of a coconut berry cake I made a while ago and in an (almost) individual version. So, for 2 of these cuties, you'll need:
a muffin tray greased with butter ( I made 2 but you can make 3 little muffins as well) and breadcrumbs (I like the texture the breadcrumbs give to the exterior of the muffins, plus its really easy to take them out of the tray!), 1/2 cup plain flor, 1/3 cup almond meal, 1/3 cup caster sugar (or brown cugar),1/3 shredded desicatted coconut, 30g butter, 1 egg, 1/4 cup of milk

1. Pre-heat the oven to 160C
2. Melt the butter and prepare the muffin tray
3. Mix flour, sugar, coconut, almod meal in a bowl. Add the melted butter, egg and milk and mix everything really well.
4. Pour the mixture into the muffin tray and bake for about 40 minutes.

* You can add chocolate chips to the mixture or any kind of berries (frozen also OK!).
and ENJOY!