Quinoa Fritters & Aioli

 Ingredients

• 1/3 cup quinoa
• 1/2 tbsp olive oil
• 3/4 cup chicken or vegetable stock
• 1 large carrot, grated
• 1 tbsp chopped chives
• 1/4 cup chopped scallions (white parts only)
• 1 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1/4 tsp curry powder
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 3 eggs
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• Salt and pepper
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 tsp garlic infused oil

Instructions

Rinse the quinoa, place into saucepan with olive oil, toast a minute or so over high heat then add the stock. Bring to a vigorous boil then turn down heat and simmer until cooked, ~12-15 minutes.

Whisk eggs and flour, add curry powder, paprika, carrot, chives, cilantro and scallions. Mix well, season, add quinoa and mix further. 

Heat frying over medium heat, when hot measure out ~1/4 cup scoops of fritter batter. Cook about 3-4 minutes per side. 

Make the aioli by combining the mayonnaise, garlic oil and lemon juice in a blow with black pepper to taste.

Onion-free vegetable curry

 Ingredients

• 2 cups cauliflower cut into florets
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 carrot diced
• 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
• 1 zucchini, skin on, diced
• 6 medium tomatoes
• 1/2" ginger
• 1 green chile (jalapeno, serrano...)
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/8 tsp asafetida
• 1/4 tsp turmeric
• 1/4 tsp hot chile powder
• 1 tbsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tbsp corn starch
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 2 tbsp cilantro chopped

Instructions

Mix the cornstarch with 1/4 cup water and set aside.

Blend 5 of the tomatoes, green chile, and ginger to make a paste.

Slice the remaining tomato thinly and set aside.

Heat oil, when hot (test by dropping in a single cumin seed) add cumin, asafetida, and then when the seeds pop add the tomato-chile-ginger paste. Immediately add the coriander, turmeric, sugar and salt. Cover and cook 5 minutes.

Add the cauliflower, peas, carrot, mushrooms and zucchini and 1/4 cup water. Cover the pan and cook a further 10 minutes over medium heat.

Add the cornstarch set aside earlier and cook a couple minutes to thicken the sauce.

Turn off the heat, add the reserved tomato slices, garam masala and cilantro. Stir, cover and leave a few minutes for flavors to infuse.

Serve with some or all of dal, rice, raita, flatbread (naan, etc.)

Saffron fig and spinach chicken rolls

Ingredients

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 4 tbsp sesame oil
• 1/2 cup dried figs, chopped
• 6-10+ saffron threads
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
• 1 pound baby spinach
• 1/2 tsp cayenne or hot Indian chili powder
• Salt
• 2 tsp finely chopped garlic
• 2 tsp finely chopped fresh ginger
• 1 cup tomato sauce (or canned chopped tomatoes for more texture)
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped

Put the chicken under some plastic wrap or similar and bash it with a heavy rolling pin into a uniform thickness.

Heat 2 tbsp of the sesame oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add figs and saffron and stir fry for 2 minutes until they soften up and take on saffron color.

Add cumin seeds and chopped onions and stir fry about 5 minutes. Mix in the spinach and stir until incorporated and they are well wilted. Stir in cayenne pepper and about 1/2 tsp salt or so to taste.

Spread the spinach and fig stuffing over each chicken breast and wrap and roll over the stuffing (difficult, messy). Secure the breasts with toothpick (not strictly necessary).

Heat remaining 2 tbsp sesame oil in another, smaller skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant. Add tomato sauce (or chopped tomatoes) and heavy cream and cook till sauce is thick and smooth. Add a little salt, maybe 1/4 tsp or so. 

Preheat the over to 350F. Arrange chicken breasts in a shallow baking dish and pour the tomato sauce over them. Bake for 45 minutes.

Serve on a bed of rice garnished with chopped cilantro.

 

Greek salad

Salad ingredients

• Between a third and one half English cucumber, peeled, quartered, seeded, sliced 
• Green bell pepper, chopped into 1-inch pieces
• 16-20 cherry tomatoes, halved
• Half a red onion, sliced
• ~14 pitted Kalamata olives
• 4 ounces feta cheese, cubed

Salad dressing

• Quarter cup extra-virgin Greek olive oil
• 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 0.5 tsp dried oregano
• 0.25 tsp dijon mustard
• 0.25 tsp sea salt
• Black pepper to taste

Lemon & Thyme salmon

1 - 1.5lbs salmon
~2-3 tsp fresh thyme leaves
Juice of 2 lemons
1-2 garlic cloves
1 tsp sea salt
4 tbsp olive oil

Put the marinade ingredients in a jug or bowl and combine well. Pour over salmon and marinade for 3-60 minutes.

Bake at 280F for 18 minutes.

Santa Fe style Huevos Rancheros

Inspired by breakfast at Tia Sophia's.

4 blue corn tortillas
4 eggs
Some good quality sliced ham
1/2 can black beans, drained & rinsed
Red chile sauce, made using some good medium hot red chile powder
Some kind of mild cheese that melts well (grated/shredded helps)

Start by placing two large plates into a low oven to warm them. Move on to preparing the tortillas, i.e. heating them through on a cast iron skillet. A little oil can be useful. With the brand I linked to above they are partially cooked, so I actually shallow fry them and then sprinkle with some sea salt and let them drain on kitchen paper.

If using the ham, fry it in a non-stick pan with a little oil. Mostly you're trying to warm it through and add a little color. Remove your warmed plates from the oven and arrange two tortillas on each with the ham on top of those. Now fry the eggs. Place these on top of the ham.

Finally warm up the chile sauce and beans (I usually just do this in the microwave).

Scatter the cheese on top of the eggs and tortillas along with the black beans, then cover fairly generously with the red chile. Grill under a hot broiler until the cheese melts.

Roasted Garlic & Prosciutto Alfredo

1-2 bulbs of garlic
1 pack prosciutto
1/2 - 1 pint of heavy cream
Some good quality Parmesan cheese, grated
Olive oil and butter
Black pepper
Sea salt
Fettuccine

Take as much of the outer layers of skin off the garlic bulb as you can, then slice it across the top so the majority of the cloves have been exposed. Place into a small ovensafe dish that has a lid (casserole or similar) and drizzle with olive oil and a pinch of sea salt. Put the lid on a bake in the over at 325F for an hour.

When done, remove from oven and place on a plate to allow to cool. Once cool enough to handle, you should be able to easily squeeze out the cloves.

Heat olive oil and butter (about 1tbsp of each) in a large saute pan. Once the butter is melted, add the roasted garlic cloves and prosciutto (tear it up into smaller pieces). Fry until the prosciutto is fragrant and changing color a little. Now add the heavy cream and bring the temperature up high until it starts to bubble. You want to keep it this way until it has reduced down to a thicker sauce; just watch it doesn't boil over.

Once the sauce has thickened up add the Parmesan and stir it in until melted. Taste and season as required (you may not need any salt as the prosciutto and Parmesan already have quite a lot).

You'll want to cook the fettuccine alongside the making of the sauce so that at the end you can bring it all together and serve.

Ginger, Turmeric & Carrot Soup

1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp curry powder 

1 tsp turmeric powder
1 yellow onion, roughly chopped
5 carrots, sliced
2" piece of ginger, peeled and chopped
1 15oz can coconut milk
3 cups stock (vegetable or chicken)
Salt and pepper to taste

• Cook onion in olive oil until soft and translucent, add the ginger, turmeric and curry powder, cook another minute or two.
• Add the carrots and cook several minutes until they soften a little.
• Add stock and coconut milk, stir, season with salt and pepper.
• Simmer everything for 25 minutes or so until the carrots are very soft.
• Transfer to a blender and puree until completely smooth.

Good topped with some chopped cilantro.

Basic salad

Whole lettuce of your choice
Handful of cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
Half yellow bell pepper, sliced
Half green bell pepper, sliced
Half red onion, sliced
Vinaigrette

Arrange thusly...

Grilled lemon chicken

3-4 chicken breasts

1/3 cup olive oil
2+ cloves garlic, finely chopped
Zest and juice of one large lemon
1 tsp honey
Some parsley, chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Combine marinade ingredients and then place it with chicken in container or ziplock bag. Marinade at least 30 minutes or overnight. Grill the chicken (duh).

Calabacitas

1 x zucchini (aka courgette)
1 x yellow squash
1 x white onion
3-4 cloves garlic
1 x poblano pepper
1 x jalapeno
3-4 x roma tomatoes
1 can sweetcorn
salt and pepper for seasoning
Cotija cheese (can substitute with feta) and chopped cilantro for garnish

Start by roasting the tomatoes at 400F for 30 minutes.

Next, quarter the zucchini and squash lengthways then chop into thin slices. Deseed the poblano and cut into small chunks. Quarter the jalapeno (do not deseed). Finely chop the garlic.

Roughly dice the onion and fry it and the poblano in a tablespoon of oil over medium heat in a large frying pan -- cook for somewhere between 5 and 10 minutes until the pepper has softened and the onion has got some color on it. Add the garlic and stir; cook another 30 seconds or so until fragrant.

Transfer a few spoonfuls of the onion/pepper/garlic mix to a blender, then add the zucchini and squash to the pan. Season well and stir to combine. Lower the heat while you prepare the tomatoes which have hopefully finished roasting about now if your timing is good :-)

Pull off as much skin from the roasted tomatoes as you can and drop into the blender along with one quarter of the jalapeno. Blend until smooth and taste -- if not sufficiently spicy add another jalapeno quarter and try again. Repeat until you get the heat you want.

Add the tomato puree to the pan and stir to coat. If it seems a bit dry add some water -- you might rinse out the blender with some water to get every bit of tomato out from there.

Return the heat to medium, add the sweetcorn and simmer for around 8 minutes. Don't overcook or the vegetables lose their bite.

Absolutely fantastic in tacos with cotija (or feta) and cilantro topping.

Chicken Pita Sandwiches

Chicken and marinade
~1.5lbs chicken tenders
1 cup Greek yoghurt
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

To serve
Pita bread
Tzatziki sauce
1 small red onion, sliced or diced
1 large tomato, sliced or diced (or sub for some cherry/grape tomatoes)
1 green bell pepper, sliced or diced
Half a cucumber, peeled, de-seeded and diced
Some pitted Kalamata olives

Mix the marinade in a large bowl. Add the chicken and cover. Leave for at least 30 minutes, overnight is better.

Fry the chicken in a little olive oil. Try not to bring too much of the marinade along for the ride. Set aside and keep warm.

Warm the pita bread (easy technique: wrap in damp kitchen paper and microwave). Place the pita into a square of aluminum foil, spread generously with tzatziki and then add chicken and veggies. Fold up and secure with the foil. It's ready to eat...

One-bottle sangria

1 x 750ml Spanish Rioja red wine
Half a green apple (granny smith or similar)
Half a lemon
1 large orange
1/4 cup brandy
1/4 cup brown sugar + 1/4 cup water to make syrup

Dice the apple, lemon and half the orange -- place into a pitcher and add the brandy. Juice the remaining half orange and add that in too. Muddle to release some of the juices from the solid fruit. Add the bottle of wine and stir to combine.

In a small saucepan bring the sugar and water to a vigorous boil and maintain that for several minutes. Take off the heat and allow to cool for a few minutes; you should have a sweet thin syrup. Add about half to the sangria mix, stir and taste. Add more to taste as required.

Chill the pitcher of sangria in the fridge for a couple of hours to allow the flavors to develop.

Serve over ice -- add some sparkling water if you wish.

Tiramisu

24 Savoiardi biscuits ("ladyfingers")
7fl oz / ~200ml instant espresso (or go get the real thing from a coffee shop)
2 tbsp brandy + 2 tbsp dark rum (miniatures are good enough)
4 eggs, separated
75g (~1/3 cup) caster sugar
500g (~17oz) marscapone (in the US this seems to often come in 8oz containers and 16oz is good enough)
Pinch of salt
High quality cocoa for dusting the top



Start by making the espresso and place it in a shallow dish along with the booze.

Next place the eggs yolks in a large glass bowl and the egg whites in another.

Add the sugar to the yolks and beat with a hand mixer until you have a smooth pale yellow custard-like sauce. Add the marscapone and continue to mix until fully incorporated.

Now add the salt to the the egg whites and (with clean beaters) mix until they are stiff. Add to the bowl containing the yolk and marscapone mix. Fold in gently until you achieve a uniform mix.

Taking one ladyfinger at a time, dip into the coffee + booze mix and place into a 9" x 13" baking dish. Don't dunk them in too long, or they will go soggy and collapse...but equally don't scrimp too much or they'll lack flavor.

Cover the biscuits with half the egg and marscapone mix. Now add on a second layer of biscuits and top with the remaining mix. Finally shake over a generous dusting of cocoa powder.

Place in the fridge for at least 6 hours to allow everything to firm up and further soften the biscuits before serving.

Switchel

2-3" piece of ginger
2 1/4 cups of water
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup runny raw honey


Peel the skin off the ginger and slice into thin sections. Place in a saucepan with the water, bring to a boil and then cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Take off the heat and allow to cool for 10 minutes.

In a quart sized mason jar place the honey and vinegar. Add the still warm ginger water (ginger included) and then screw the lid on tight and give a good hard shake. You want the honey to be completely dissolved.

Allow to cool then place in the refrigerator for two days. (You can drink it sooner if impatient or let it go longer for a stronger flavor).

To server: in a glass tumbler place several ice cubes and then pour over the switch until about 1/2 to 2/3rds full. Top up with sparkling water.

"Muy Fuerte" Margaritas for two

3oz lime juice (typically 3 limes)
3 oz Cointreau
5 oz blanco tequila
Juice of one large orange
Small drizzle of agave syrup (optional, adds some sweetness, don’t overdo it)

Prepare two glasses -- salt the rim if desired, then add a decent amount of ice cubes.

Add ingredients to a cocktail shaker that's just over half full of ice cubes. Shake for one minute. Pour into glasses. Add a wedge of lime.

Hummus

1 cup dried chickpeas
2 teaspoons baking soda
Juice of 1-2 lemons (depends on size, juiciness, how much lemon you like)
4 cloves garlic, crushed or finely chopped
1.5-2 tsp salt
1 cup tahini
0.5 tsp cumin powder
Iced water (chips work good for this)

Put chickpeas in a dutch oven and add cold water until they are submerged by at least 2 inches. Add 1 tsp baking soda and let them soak overnight. In the morning drain and rinse in a colander.

Return to the dutch oven and cover with fresh water until submerged by at least 4 inches. Add the second tsp of baking soda. Bring to a boil and then simmer vigorously for between 1 and 1.5 hours. They will be seriously soft at this point; this is good. Drain the water.

When the chickpeas are close to being done make the tahini sauce. In a blender combine the lemon juice, garlic and 1/4 tsp salt. Let this sit 10 minutes then add the tahini, the remaining salt and the cumin. Blend into a thick paste.

With the blender running, add 1/3 to 2/3 cup of icy water, a little at a time until you get a smooth creamy sauce.

Add the still warm, drained chickpeas to the blender and blitz until smooth. Probably two minutes plus. Add more water if it seems to stiff. Taste, adjust salt/lemon/cumin if desired.

Serve with a dusting of paprika, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and some fresh chopped parsley.