Baked Provolone

This is a recipe I learned when I was in Argentina.
I add my own little twist to it and serve it as a light supper dish , with crusty bread and a nice crisp, fruity white wine.
I also serve this as an apetiser at summer barbecues.

Ingredients for a starter for 3-4:

• 200 gr slice of Provolone cheese
• 1 spring onion, chopped
• 1 tomato, peeled and chopped
• chili flakes and oregano, to taste
• crusty french bread, to serve

Preheat the oven to 180ºC.
Place the cheese in a small ovenproof dish. Sprinkle with a little chili flakes and oregano.

Fry the spring onion for 3 minutes. Add a pinch of salt and the chopped tomato; cook for 3 minutes and remove from the heat. Pour the tomato sauce over the cheese.
Bake the cheese for 6-10 minutes, until bubbling.

Serve hot, with salad and crusty bread.
Each person gets a spoonful of lovely melting cheese, with a slice of french bread.

Chocolate Mousse

This is a rich chocolate dessert, only a small portion the size of an espresso cup is needed per person.

Ingredients for 5-6 portions:

• 150gr black chocolate
• 3 whole eggs
• 3tbsp Orange Liqueur or juice
• 25 gr butter

Gently melt the chocolate with the liqueur and butter in a heavy based pan. Turn off the heat as soon as the chocolate is melted and smooth.

Crack one egg, separate the white and place it in a bowl; fold the yolk into the chocolate. Repeat this with the other two yolks.
Whisk the egg whites until stiff.
Take one spoonful of the whisked egg white and mix it into the chocolate to loosen it. Now fold the rest of the egg white into the chocolate.
Pour the chocolate mousse into 6 individual coffee cups or one large bowl.
Refrigerate for at least 4 hours until set.
Serve with a little whipped cream.

Yorkshire Puddings

Yorkshire Puddings

• 2 eggs
• 150 ml milk
• 100 ml water
• 120 gr plain flour
• pinch of salt
• tbsp melted butter
• Extra butter, to cook

Whisk all of the ingredients in a measuring jug, to make it easier to pour into the tin.

Take one large tin or 8 individual molds. put a little butter in the bottom of the tin. Heat the tins with the butter in a hot oven at 180ºC.
When the butter is smoking, take the tins out and pour a little batter into each tin, up to 3/4 of the height as they will rise.
Bake for 30 minutes, until risen and golden.

Serve with roast meat, or with sausages and onion gravy.

King Prawns with Chili Mayonaise

This is a lovely dish to have any time of the year, I like to serve it for a light supper and my children fight over who has the most prawns.
Whole cooked prawns can be bought frozen, they are delicious, and I always use up the heads and shells to make a spicy prawn soup for the next day.

Ingredients for 4:

• 500 gr whole king prawns
• 1.5 litre fish or chicken stock cube
• 2tbsp mayonnaise
• 1 small garlic clove, crushed
• 1 tsp tomato ketchup
• dash of chili or Tabasco

Put a large pan of water to boil, add the stock cube and a pinch of salt.
When the water comes up to the boil, pour in the prawns. As soon as the water comes up to the boil again, turn off the heat and drain the prawns, saving the stock to make a great fish soup for the next day. Place the drained prawns in a serving dish.

Mix the mayonnaise with the garlic, ketchup and chili or Tabasco, taste to check that the flavour is good and strong.

Serve the prawns cold, with the mayonnaise, as a starter or snack.
Because the prawns can be eaten with your fingers, give each person a small bowl of water with lemon juice, so they can clean their finger when finished.

Bread Sticks, Grisini

These are the bread stick served in Italian restaurants, they are fun and easy to make.
Ingredients:

• 100 ml warm water
• 40 ml oil or vegetable oil
• 1 tsp fast acting bakers yeast
• 1/2 tsp salt
  
• 200-300 gr plain flour
• Optional favouring: grated cheese, chopped herbs etc

Mix all of the wet ingredients and the salt in a bowl; add enough flour to make a dough. Knead briefly.
Roll out the dough with a rolling pin. Cut into even sized strips.
Place the grisini on a non stick baking tray, giving them room to rise.

Pour a little extra oil over the biscuits and let them rise for 30 minutes in a warm place.
Bake them at 170ºC for 25 minutes, until golden brown and crunchy.

Serve them before a meal, with a creamy dip such as hummus or sour cream and chives.

Braised Artichokes

Globe artichokes are delicious and easy to find.
They also have an array of properties which are described below.

• 4 medium sized globe artichokes
• 1 clove of garlic
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 3 tbsp white wine
• salt and pepper

Peel the outer leaves of artichokes, cut the stem to 1cm remove the outer leaves until you get to the pale and tenders inner leaves. Cut each artichoke in 8 pieces.

Heat the oil in a large pan, add the whole garlic clove. Tip all of the artichokes into the pan, stir them to mix with the oil and juices. Cover and gently cook for about 10 minutes, until the y are tender.
Serve them hot or just warm, as a side dish.

As a Vegetarian main: Serve simply with cooked rice and a little butter


Nutritional facts of Globe or French artichokes:
This food is very low in Saturated Fat and Cholesterol. It is also a good source of Niacin, Vitamin B6, Iron and Phosphorus, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Folate, Magnesium, Potassium, Copper and Manganese.

Other names:
Alcachofa, Alcaucil, ALE, Artichaut, Artichaut Commun, Artichoke Extract, Artichoke Fruit, Artichoke Leaf, Artichoke Leaf Extract, Artischocke, Cardo, Cardo de Comer, Cardon d'Espagne

Medical uses
Artichoke is used to stimulate the flow of bile from the liver. This is thought to help reduce symptoms of heartburn and alcohol "hangover." Artichoke is also used for high cholesterol, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), kidney problems, anemia, fluid retention (edema), arthritis, bladder infections, and liver problems, including hepatitis C.

Some people use artichoke for treating snakebites, preventing gallstones, lowering blood pressure, lowering blood sugar, to increase urine flow, and as a tonic or stimulant.

Pasta Omelet

This is a classic Italian dish that uses up any leftover pasta, with or without sauce.

• leftover pasta, 1-2 servings
• 3-4 eggs
• 50ml full milk
• salt and pepper
• 50 gr grated cheese

Mix the pasta with the eggs and the milk.
Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large pan and pour the pasta mix over it. Cook this gently on one side for 5 minutes.
Turn the omelet and cook the other side for 5 or 6 minutes.
Alternatively, put the pan under the grill to cook the top side, for 6 minutes.

Let the omelet rest for 2or 3 minutes, until the egg sets
Serve warm or cold, with braised vegetables or salad.

Polenta

Modern polenta is a thick porridge made with cornmeal. I used to find it bland and tasteless until I discovered that cooking it with milk instead of water, makes all the difference.

It is easy to make large quantities of polensa;  remember that when you cook 1 measure of polenta corn meal; you get 4 times the volume of the finished polenta.

Basic polenta serves 4:

• 100 gr fast cooking corn meal or polenta
• 250 ml milk
• 250ml water
• Salt, pepper
• 30 gr butter
• 50gr grated Parmesan cheese
  

Heat the water and milk together in a pan until it comes to a boil, pour in 100 gr approximately of polenta and stir vigorously to avoid lumps, the mass will start thickening very quickly. Mix the butter and Parmesan into the polenta; taste and add more milk, butter or salt to your requirements.

Cooking ideas:
Dry Polenta
Make a very thick polenta and spread it over a greased plate, leave it to cool completely, cut into segments and treat as you would gnocchi (see gnocchi) or shallow-fry to serve with steak.

Wet Polenta
Make a loose polenta with the consistency of mash by adding more milk or cream, and use it to serve with sausages or a meat sauce (see Meat ragú)

Pizza Polenta
For a different take on Pizza.
Cook 100gr Polenta to a fairly thick consistency, spread over a greased pizza sheet. Spoon 3 tbsp tomato sauce over the base; arrange mozzarella cheese and a few bacon rashers cut into strips on top of the tomato, add dried or fresh oregano; and bake for 20 minutes in the oven.

Christmas Apple Pie

For best results use a metal pie plate.

• 100 gr butter
• 200 gr flour
• pinch of salt
• 1 tbsp granulated sugar
  
• 3 tbsp mincemeat
• 2 apples
• 2 tbsp sugar
  
• zest of lemon
• cinnamon

For the pie base:
place the butter and flour in a bowl. Break down the butter with the tips of your fingers until the mix resembles fine crumbs. Add a pinch of salt and the sugar. Bring the pastry together making a ball, cover in cling film and reserve for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 180ºC.
Roll half of the pastry out on a floured surface, to a circle large enough to cover a 20 cm greased pie plate.
Peel and core the apples, chop them roughly and mix in a bowl with the sugar, cinnamon, lemon zest and mincemeat. Pour the apple mix over the pastry base.

Roll the second half of the pastry and use to cover the fruit. Cut any surplus pastry and close the pie by crimping the sides.

Bake for 40 minutes until golden and some of the juices start to come out of the pie.

Serve warm or cold with cream or brandy butter.

Noodles with Ginger and Garlic

Quick Saturday lunch idea

ingredients for 2:

• 160 gr spaghetti
• 1 x 1cm piece of fresh ginger, grated
• 1 or 2 cloves of garlic, sliced
  
• salt, pepper, chili flakes
• soy sauce, to taste
  

Boil the spaghetti according to packet instructions. Drain and set aside.
For the sauce:
Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a large pan, add the garlic and ginger, season with salt, pepper, chili and soy sauce; cook for 15 seconds, then pour the cooked pasta over and toss until combined.
Check the seasoning and serve hot.

Variations: add any leftover meat or cooked prawns to the spaghetti.

Truffled Foie Gras

When Christmas approaches I indulge in this luxurious dish because it is so delicious. One large foie lobe lasts weeks. I serve it with small toasted bread or brioche slices;toghether with a nice sweet wine such as the Spanish Moscatel.

Ingredients for a 500 gr foie:

• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Pinch of sugar
• 100ml ruby port, Madeira or brandy
• 1 small truffle, chopped finely
• 500ml water
• 1 lobe Foie gras

To prepare the foie gras, let it warm to room temperature. Using your fingers and a sharp knife, unfold the liver and try to carefully pull out as many of the stringy veins and bits of connective tissue as you can. Also remove any excess fat. The liver will be very fragile, and will tear and squish as you do this.
Put the liver into a plastic bag with the truffle a cup of decent cognac, Madeira, or port; a good teaspoon of salt, and let it marinate for two hours or overnight. Don't skimp on the salt! Foie gras without enough salt doesn't taste like much of anything.

Remove it from the marinade (don't throw the marinade out yet!) and drain it.

Wrap up the foie gras with the truffle carefully and tightly into a cylindrical shape using a cling film (the "torchon"), and wrap the cling film in Aluminium foil. The smooth exterior surface of the foil should be on the outside. Take the reserved marinade, add a few cups of chicken stock, and bring it to a simmer on the stove. (Don't let it boil!)

Simmer the torchon in the liquid for about 15 minutes, until it is just heated through. Let it cool in its cooking liquid; remove the foie from the liquid and put it in the refrigerator until it is cold and firm.

Take the stock and marinade and reduce it for 15 minutes, let it cook down until it sent into a jelly.

Serve slices of Foie on toasted brioche, with a little of the jelly.

Molded Salmon Appetizer

I found this recipe in an old recipe note book my sister was writing when we were students.
It is a classic mold, suitable for Christmas or a cold buffet.

Ingredients:

• 200 gr canned salmon or tuna in brine
• 200 gr cream cheese
• 300ml can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 packet of gelatin sheets
• 60 ml water
• 1 celery stalk, chopped
• 1 spring onion, chopped
• 200 ml mayonnaise
• 1/2 tsp curry powder

Combine the cream cheese and the can of soup. Heat and stir this mixture until smooth.
Dissolve the gelatin in water according to the packet instructions. Then add to the soup mixture.
Fold in the remaining ingredients and stir until mixed through.
Pour into one mold of 6 individual molds. Refrigerate for 5 hours until set.
Turn out when ready to serve.
Serve with a green salad and crackers.

Aloo Matar. Indian Potato Cakes.

This indian snack is addictive and best served with a chutney and a mint and yogurt sauce.

• 3 large boiled aloo (potatoes)
• 1 tsp salt or as per taste
• 1/4th tsp ground black pepper
• 1 handful chopped coriander leafs

For Stuffing:

• 2/3rd cup matar (green peas) cooked or frozen peas defrosted
• 1/2 tbsp minced ginger
• 1 minced garlic clove
• 1/4th tsp garam masala
• 1/4th tsp salt or to taste
• Red chili powder to taste (optional)
• Oil for pan-frying

How to make aloo tiki :

* Take the defrosted peas and mash them using a fork. Add all the stuffing ingredients except oil and mash briefly. Divide the mixture into 10 equal portions and keep aside.
* Peel the potatoes and mash them very finely into smooth mashed potatoes. Add coriander, salt and pepper and mash until well mixed. Divide it into 10 equal portions.
* Now wash your hands and rub them with little oil.
* Take each portion of potato mixture and make a ball.
* Taking one at a time, gently flatten each ball into a round patty of about 1/2-inch thick and place a portion of stuffing in the center and fold the edges together very finely so that mixture does not come out.
* Gently flatten it into a 2-inch patty. Repeat the procedure for all pieces.
* Heat 1 tsp. oil in a non-stick pan over a low heat. Slip in the patties, not too many at a time, and pan-fry for 3 minutes on each side until crisp golden brown, adding more oil if needed, on a low heat.
* Serve aloo tikki hot with chutney and yogurt and mint sauce.

Note : Boil or microwave the potatoes until fork-tender. For best results, the potatoes can be boiled in advance and refrigerated a day before.

Christmas Turkey

Roast Christmas Turkey with herb Stuffing

Ingredients:

• 1 turkey weighing 5-6 kg
• 4 bay leaves
• 50 gr butter
• 4 lemon slices
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 tbsp pepper
• ½ tbsp paprika

For Sausage meat the stuffing:

• 200 gr. stale bread, chopped roughly
• 400 gr minced pork meat
  
• a handful of chopped sage
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 apple, peeped and chopped
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper

Preheat the oven to 180ºC.
Clean the turkey and remove any feathers still attached to it.
Carefully lift the breast skin by easing your fingers underneath. You do not want to remove the skin, only lift it to add flavourings.

Slide two bay leaves, two lemon slices, 20 gr. butter, salt and pepper under each breast. This will ensure the breast turns out juicy and tasty.
Massage some salt and pepper over the bird; put some salt and pepper inside the body cavity also.

For the stuffing: Mix all of the ingredients in a large bowl. Moisten with 2 tbsp of milk.

Stuff the turkey to a neat shape. Put any leftover stuffing in a pie dish and cook in the bottom of the oven for 90 minutes.
Do not bother tying up the bird, it will cook better if it is not .
Put the turkey breast side down on a large baking tray. This will make the finished meat very tender and juicy.

Roast the turkey at 180º for 60 minutes per kilo. The weight must include the stuffing.

Remove the turkey from the oven and let it rest for 30 minutes before carving.
Meanwhile make some gravy with the pan juices.
Serve with roast potatoes, etc.

Majorcan Chickpea Soup

For best results, make this the day before. It will keep refrigerated for up to 48 hours.
This dish can be made in the same way with lentils or any kind of bean.

• 400gr. can of cooked chickpeas
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 2 potatoes, diced
• 2 tomatoes, peeled and chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic, whole
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 2 black puddings
• 2 red chorizo type sausage
• 100 gr. unsmoked bacon
• 1 bay leaf,
• 300 ml. stock
• 300gr. Shredded cabbage

In a large pan gently stir fry the onion, carrot, potatoes and pepper for 10 minutes, add the meats cut into chunks, garlic cloves, bay leaf, cumin and chopped tomatoes, let it cook 5-6 minutes before adding the beans and the stock. Let it simmer gently for 45 minutes until the potatoes are cooked. 15 minutes before serving, add the shredded cabbage and cook for a further 10 minutes. Check the seasoning and serve as a one course meal.

If you prefer a lighter dish, just add more stock to the pan.
You can add or remove some of the vegetables, depending on what is in your refrigerator.

Chicken and Mushroom Soup

This is a real wintry day soup, designed to warm and cheer you up. Most of the ingredients are store cupboard ingredients, and if you don't have one, change it for another. As any home made soup, it will taste better than any shop bought soup, and it takes as long to make as going to the local take away.
For a variation you can add a small can of corn kernels or cooked chicken when adding the rice.

Ingredients for 4:

• 1 large onion, sliced finely
• 150 gr sliced mushrooms
• 1 garlic clove
• cayenne pepper, to taste
• 1 tbsp tomato concentrate
  
• 1 1/2 litre chicken stock
• 200 gr cooked chicken, roughly chopped
• 50 gr rice or vermicelli pasta
  
• 100 ml cream
  

Start by stir frying the onion and mushrooms in a little oil, for 6-7 minutes until brown. Add the garlic, cayenne and tomato concentrate. Pour in the chicken stock and bring to the boil.
Add the rice and the cream; let it cook for a further 20 minutes.
Just before serving, add the chicken pieces if using them, and serve hot with crusty bread.