Vegetable Soup

This is called 'Escudella Fresca' here in Majorca and it can be made any time of year. It is best in summer when the green beans are in season.

Ingredients for 4:
1 medium onion, chopped
2 ripe tomatoes, chopped
2 garlic cloves
1/2 marrow
100 gr piece of Serrano ham or bacon, diced
250 gm green beans, frozen are fine
2 small potatoes, diced
1 ½ litre chicken stock. Stock cube is fine
salt and pepper to taste

Heat one tablespoon of oil in a large pan and gently fry the onion for 5 minutes. Add the garlic, ham or bacon, tomatoes and the potatoes, cover the pan and cook them for 5 minutes. add the rest of ingredients and bring to the boil. Cook for 20-30 minutes until the potatoes are tender.
This can be served as a once course meal, with crusty bread.
Some People like to chop up some cooked eggs and sprinkle them over the soup
I also like to add one or two sliced black Majorcan pudding, known as 'butifarron'.

Argentine Empanadas (pasties)

These 'empanadas' are very well known by Argentinians, they adore them and so do all of my family and friends.
You can make other fillings for them such as cheese and onion, spinach, ham and cheese.

       Here is the basic recipe for the traditional meat stuffed empanadas. This makes enough for 20 empanadas.
       They are served as appetizers, or also as a light lunch or dinner, with a green salad.

For the Pastry:

• 150 ml melted lard
• 150 ml water or milk
• pinch of salt
• plain flour, about 350-400 gr

Pout the lard into a bowl and mix in the water or milk and the salt.
Now add flour little by little and mix in with a wooden spoon until a dough starts to form. Once the dough comes together you can start using your hands to finish. Do not overwork the pastry.
Cover the pastry dough in cling film and refrigerate until needed.

Meanwhile prepare the filling:

• 150 gr minced meat (preferably beef)
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 small green pepper, chopped
• 1 small potato, cooked and chopped
• 1 cooked egg, chopped (optional)
• a few black olives, chopped (optional)
• 1 tsp whole cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• salt, pepper
• pinch of nutmeg

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a pan, add the spices and stir for a few seconds. Add the meat and separate it with a fork; add the onion and the peppers; fry for 5 minutes, until the meat is cooked through.
Take the meat out of the pan and put it in a bowl to cool down. You can now add the potato and the egg and olives if you are using them. Let the filling cool down completely.

Assemble the pies:
Roll out the pastry and cut circles that are 10cm across. You should get 16-20 of them.
Hold one pastry circle in one hand and put a teaspoon of the filling inside.
Close the pasty and crimp it to seal.
Make the rest of the pasties in the same way; arrange them on an ovenproof tray; sprinkle them with oil.
Bake in the oven at 180ºC for about 35-40 minutes until golden.
Serve hot.

Roast Chicken

I happen to have an oven with a spit roast facility that I use for chickens, it makes them really juicy. This recipe works a treat with a spit roast, but it also works for conventional roasting on a tray.

Ingredients:
1 chicken, weighing 1.8 kg approximately
1 clove garlic
half a lemon
salt, pepper, paprika

Clean the chicken; remove any feathers that might still be attached to it. Place a garlic clove, half a lemon, 1tsp salt and pepper inside the cavity of the bird.
Now tie it up neatly with kitchen string so the legs don’t move.

If using the spit, slide the oven skewer through the bird and secure it tightly on both ends. Rub more salt, pepper and paprika on the skin of the bird. Place the chicken on the spit in the oven at 180ºC. Put a baking tray under the bird so that the juices fall into it while cooking. You will need them for the gravy.
Roast the chicken for 90 minutes.

Roasted Pepper Salad

This is a typically summer salad in Majorca. It is served cold to accompany meats or fish.
Take 2-3 large red or green peppers, wash them and put them on an ovenproof dish.
Bake in the oven for 45 minutes at 180º Celsius.
Take the peppers out of the oven and let them cool
With clean hands, peel the outer skin off and remove the seeds from inside the peppers.
Using your fingers, cut the peppers into thin strips and arrange on a plate.
Dress them with olive oil, crushed garlic, salt and pepper. Srpinkle some chopped parsley to garnish.

Curried Rice Salad

This Salad is a family favourite, and very much in demand whenever a cold lunch is required. I make it with my own spice mix, here is an easier version using curry paste.

Ingredients for 4:
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tablespoons curry paste
1 large onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1tbs vinegar
2 cups cooked basmati rice
3 tablespoons toasted peanuts or other
Salt & pepper
Bunch of coriander leaves, to garnish

Heat a pan, pour the oil, salt, pepper and the curry paste; stir for a few seconds and add the onion, fry it for 1 minute, add the pepper and the vinegar, turn off the heat without letting the peppers cook through.
Mix the onion and peppers with the rice in a bowl. Stir in the toasted peanuts or any other nut you have, I often use sunflower seeds. Check the seasoning.
Chop the coriander and sprinkle over the top of the salad.
Refrigerate for up to 24 hours.

Risotto Milanese

This basic recipe can be varied according to what is in season, or in your refrigerator. I made the recipe in the picture with bacon and onion.

Ingredients for 4 people
1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp butter
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
250g/10 oz Arborio or short grain rice
150ml/1⁄4 pint dry white wine
1.2 litres/2 pints hot vegetable stock
15gr - ½ oz butter
150 ml whole milk
salt and freshly ground black pepper
freshly grated Parmesan cheese, to serve

Method
Heat the oil and butter in a large, heavy based saucepan; add the onion and garlic. Fry over a gentle heat for 2-3 minutes, until softened but not coloured.
Stir in the rice and coat in the oil. Pour in the wine and simmer, stirring, until the liquid is absorbed. Add a ladle full of the stock and simmer, stirring again, until the liquid is absorbed. Continue adding the stock in this way, until all the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is plump and tender.
Stir the butter, milk, salt and pepper into the risotto. Serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Prawn risotto: add 150 gr. prawns and a handful of peas toward the end of the cooking, when the rice is nearly cooked. Continue as above.
Bacon and mushrooms: Add bacon and mushrooms when frying the onion.

Spaghetti with Sobrasada

This curious recipe was given to me by a French lady who lived in Algeria until the 60's when she had to move to France. There was an important Majorcan colony living and working in Algeria at the beginning of the 20th century. They manufactured tobacco products, and because they wanted to eat the same foods as in Majorca, they also produced the famous sobradasa, a spicy red sausage that can be spread on bread and which every Majorcan adores.

This is also a fast food recipe. It takes 15 minutes to make and requires very few ingredients.
Ingredients for 4:
30o gr spaghetti
150 gr sobrasada
Olive oil

Cook the spaghetti in plenty of salted boiling water for 6-8 minutes until just booked. Drain and set aside.
Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a pan and add the sobrasada, melt it gently separating the meat with a fork. Add the drained spaghetti and mix well, with a fork.
Serve hot.