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: 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: 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.