Rico | Tried and Tested Recipes

Super Light Chocolate Mousse

2009-11-10T17:01:00.004Z

Ingredients:

1 egg (separated 1white, 1 yolk)
300mls whipping cream
75grs 60% cocoa dark chocolate
1 soup spoon of butter
1 handful of sliced almonds (dry roasted in a pan)
1 tea spoon of vanilla essence
2 (flat) soup spoons of icing sugar
1 soup spoon of cream

In two separate bowls whisk the egg white on one and the cream on the other, half way through to peaking add a (flat) soup spoon of icing sugar to each whip and continue to whip them till very firm.

Place a small pan with a little water and over that place a small glass bowl put the chocolate there into squares and keep stirring until this one melts completely, now add the spoon of butter, and once this one melts add the vanilla essence and the egg yolk mixed with one soup spoon of cream. Keep stirring for about 30 secs to 1 minute this will go into a rich smooth silky and glossy chocolate sauce, remove the bowl from the water and let it cool or pour it into a cold bowl to cool faster.

Add the egg white to the whipped cream and in a folding action mix the two, then add the chocolate, and again with a folding action mix it in. Then pour into ramekins top it with grated chocolate and roasted flaked almonds refrigerate for an hour or more and eat....enjoy the lightest and most rich & delicious chocolate mousse ever. Bon apetit!!!

Pumpking Mousse with Pan Roasted Pumpkin Seeds - Halloween

2009-10-29T12:40:00.002Z

Ingredients: (enough for 4-5 ramekins)

1 thick pumpkin slice (pealed and chopped into little pieces)
1 orange (juice and pulp)
2 soup spoons of sugar
250mls whipping cream (to whip into Chantilly)
1 one heaped tea spoon of icing sugar
1 hand full of pumpkin seeds

Preparation:

Easy, put a frying pan on the stove medium heat, place the seeds of pumpkin inside and keep stirring the frying pan (as if you were doing popcorn), once hot the seeds start to pop when these to stop popping they are ready. Put them on a plate and let them cool.

Meantime in a small pan put the chopped pumpkin plus the sugar and the juice (pulp) of the orange, let it come to boiling point and reduce the heat to minimum leaving it to cook for around 20 minutes stirring occasionally. once the pumpkin is semitransparent, then crush it (for example with a fork. masher) adds two or three tablespoons of water and keep it boiling for a further 10-15 minutes, until being like a moist compote , withdraw of the heat and leave to cool completely.

In a bowl whip the cream and halfway to becoming whipped cream add the powdered sugar in and beat the rest until quite firm, then add the compote of pumpkin and and most of the pumpkin seeds (pre-crushing these with your hands, and reserve a few to decorate the top of the sweets), once done refrigerate for at least 1 hour and eat it with pleasure.

It will have amazing textures and flavours the textures are, the crunchiness of the pumpkin seeds and the puking itself has a stringy but soft texture and the velvety smooth texture of the cream are a perfect combo here, as to the flavours pumpkin and orange what a blast and bursting smooth and zingy taste smoothed out by the cream WoW..you must make these they are great will make 6 ramekins.

Curried Pumpkin and Chicken Stew - Halloween

2009-10-21T11:50:00.002+01:00

Ingredients: (enough for 3 people) “for more add more potatoes”

1 small pumpkin (peeled, cut into pieces)
1 large potato (cut into pieces)
1 can of cooked chickpeas
1 large onion (cut in pieces)
2 garlic cloves (perforated)
4 Cardamoms (just the seeds)
2 Chicken breasts (cut into cubes)
1/2 cup tomato pulp
1 soup spoon of curry powder (not very spicy)
1 flat soup spoon of turmeric
1/2 soup spoon of paprika
6 great mushrooms (or 12 small ones)
1 bunch of coriander (chopped)
a little of olive oil and coarse salt.

Preparation:

Put in a pan it a little olive oil to cover the bottom plus pinch sea salt, once hot add the onion, the garlic, the cardamoms seeds, the onion and the pumpkin, always stirring until it goes golden.

When is golden (a little caramelized) then add the chicken, stirring it regularly to seal it all around, then add the tomato pulp, the paprika, the chickpeas, the turmeric, the mushrooms (if they large cut in quarters, if small in halves), the potato and the curry powder. Now it cover the pan with a lid and as soon as it starts boiling, reduce to minimum and leave it to cook for 25 minutes (+or-) adding a little water if it needs.

After is cooked, add the coriander and cook for a further minute and then serve it.

The inspiration for me was the Halloween pumpkin , carved with the flame inside, represented in this dish, the flame heat by the spicy hot kick and its softness pumpkin flesh, this is a dish partly sweet dish and partly spicy, and the textures are soft and at the same time grainy and silky.
Excellent Halloween representation. Yum yum, one that you really need to make.
if you want a greater visual use pumpkin halves as bowls to serve this delish meal in.

Fresh Cod Fillets with Potatoes Cooked In a Rose Wine Sauce

2009-10-06T13:13:00.002+01:00

Recipe Ingredients:(Good for 4 people)

4-6 cod fillets (no bones or skins)
8 medium potatoes (peeled and sliced)
1/2 bottle of rose wine (the bottle being 750ml)
1 large white onion (finely chopped)
3 garlic cloves (minced)
2 heaped soup spoons of fresh coriander (chopped)
1 fish stock cube (knorr or similar)
100mls fresh cream
1 soup spoon of butter
1 soup spoon of plain flour diluted in half a glass of water
a little olive oil, rock salt and freshly ground black pepper

A very simple preparation, place a pan with a little olive oil a pinch of rock salt and a pinch o black pepper on the heat, once well heated add there the garlic and the onion, stirring it frequently let it get golden (caramelized a little). Once that happens add the sliced potatoes and the rose whine and on top of those place the fish, adding a little more black pepper and a little salt over each fish fillet, put a lid on and once it starts to boil reduce to minimum allowing it to simmer for around 20miutes, to turn the sauce simply move the pan around with an angle (don't use spoons as to not break the potatoes or fillets).

After the 20 minutes remove the lid and add the butter and fresh cream as well as the flour and water mix (add more water if necessary), but mix the sauce again by swirling the pan do this occasionally until the sauce thickens which then means is time to put in the coriander and a couple of swirls of the pan, put the lid back on let it simmer a further 3 minutes and is ready to serve.

I wanted it this simple, obviously nothing stops you from adding to the cooking some carrot cauliflower broccoli etc... it really is up to you, but I really enjoyed the simplicity of this dish and the superb smooth silky textures and mild tastes it offered.

King Prawn Bean Stew with Garlic Basmati

2009-09-17T10:53:00.006+01:00

Recipe Ingredients: (enough for 4)

400 grs basmati rice
3 cans (400grs each) borlotti or butter beans
350 grs skinless king prawns (uncooked)
50 grs of chourizo thinly sliced
1 carrot minced
1 onion minced
3 garlic cloves minced
150 mls tomato pulp (or passata)
1 pinch of cayenne
1 soup spoon of paprika
1 bunch of coriander finely chopped
2 large bayleafs
a little olive oil, salt and black pepper (to taste)

One of the tastier things I have ever eaten in the restaurant MetrisPlanet in Faro Portugal. I loved it so much that I had to recreate it, also must confess that I went back and back to that restaurant to eat that meal over and over again during my holidays. Of course they didn't give me the recipe so I had to create my own version based on taste and look s alone, and if I may say turned out quite excellent.

I used butter beans which were nice however whenever I will do this again I will use either borlotti or white beans, as the butter beans were a little floury in texture and I prefer a smother texture almost creamy. At Metris Planet restaurant a portion for two was €16 which means only €8 per person, which is a great price, but think the portion given in quantity was really enough for over 4 people excellent value, if ever in Portugal in the Algarve I would recommend you to visit this restaurant.

Well... To make this dish, place a wok pan on the heat and add to it a little olive oil once well hot ad to it: garlic, onion, carrot, bay-leafs, chourizo, cayenne pepper and the paprika. Let these cook up until the onion starts to caramelize, which then you add the: drained beans and tomato pulp, and once is back to boiling put the lid on reduce heat to minimum and let it simmer for around 40 minutes, mixing occasionally so that it doesn't stick to the bottom. Twenty minutes into the cooking add the salt and black pepper.

Lastly ad the prawns and the chopped coriander (reserving a little coriander for the decoration of the dish), cooking these for 3-4 minutes the prawn will change from a greyish colour to the nice orange colour when cooked, must not overcook them as instead of soft they will turn hard and rubbery.

As to the rice cook this one in water and salt with a little of oil and a couple of crushed garlic cloves for the garlic flavour cook it for 10-12 minutes (check pack for cooking times). Once fully cooked I drained the rice and while draining passed boiling water through it to remove excess starch as this is no good for your health.

Then is just a matter of dishing it and eating it....Bon Appetite xxxxxxx

Quorn "Meat" Balls with Tomato and Mint Sauce

2009-08-31T12:04:00.003+01:00

Recipe Ingredients: (enough for 4)

1 pkt of Quorn balls (these can also be soya balls or any other vegetarian substitute, in the case of not being able to find these you can use full button mushrooms about 300 grs, or real meat)
300 grs spaghetti
1 diced onion
1 large diced courgette
1 very finely diced carrot
2 garlic cloves minced
1 piece of ginger root the size of a garlic piece minced
2 finely chopped medium hot chillies
1 vegetable stock cube
1 can of Italian plum tomatoes diced
1 soup spoon of paprika
11 chopped fresh mint leaves
a little bunch of chopped parsley
4 soup spoons of fresh single cream (I used very little as I wish this dish to be healthy)
a little olive oil, salt and black pepper (to taste)

To cook the spaghetti put a pan on the stove with some water and a little salt and vegetable oil (a couple of soup spoons full), the salt will enhance the spaghetti flavour and the oil will stop the water over-frothing when boiling the pasta due to the starch in the spaghetti. This will take 10-12 minutes to be fully cooked which should be enough time to do the sauce.

To do the sauce I used a wok pan, with a little olive oil on the stove high temp, once hot I added the, onion, courgette, garlic, carrot, ginger and chilli + seasoning. Once the onion is semi-transparent (around 4 minutes add the Quorn balls, stock cube and tomatoes, bring this to the boil and reduce heat to medium let it cook another 6-10 minutes at this stage add the cream and mint cook for a further 1-2 minutes, remove from the heat and add the parsley, mix well and serve over the spaghetti. Enjoy!!!

Broccoli Spears and King Prawn Quinoa

2009-08-21T19:04:00.006+01:00

A delicious and healthy recipe, that is light and well suited to this time of year (summer). Also long awaited by you my followers, with my apologies for the wait.

Recipe Ingredients: (for 4 people)

350grs Quinoa
250 Pealed Prawn (raw) cut in halves
1 white onion, chopped
1 medium carrot, diced
2 spring onions, thinly sliced
200grs broccoli spears, (branches sliced)
2 garlic cloves, crushed and chopped
4 mild chillies, chopped
1 piece of ginger (size of a garlic clove) minced
1 fish stock cube (like knorr or Oxo)
1/2 can plum tomatoes pealed and chopped
1 soup spoon of turmeric
1/2 soup spoon of paprika
2 soup spoons of chopped coriander
olive oil, salt and black pepper to taste (+ 1/4 glass of wine "red or white)

Preparation:

Put In a pan about three to four tablespoons of olive oil ,a pinch of salt and a little pepper. Place this one on the heat and let it heat, once hot add the onion, garlic, ginger, carrot, chilli, chopped branches of broccoli, chives, paprika and turmeric. Cook a little for about 1 to 2 minutes stirring occasionally, when it starts to get a little stuck to the pan, de-glacé it with 1 / 4 cup of white or red wine, and it will form a thick sauce, to which you add a glass of water, the tomatoes, broccoli, the fish stock and the Quinoa .

Once boiling reduce the heat to minimum and put a lid on the pan, watching it from time to time to see if a little more water is needed, let cook for about ten minutes, then add the prawns and let it cook three to four minutes more stirring occasionally, adding last coriander cover the pan again with the lid and let stand about two to three minutes which will make it ready to serve .... bon appetit.

Holidays, and apologies!!!

2009-08-13T19:31:00.007+01:00

Me and my pearly whites (hair too) :)
and you can see I just been on hols as I am unshaven.

Quarteira Beach

I have been on holidays, all went well and I had a whale of a time, as I ate fresh fish nearly everyday ... which was planed so as here in the UK is difficult to get fish of that same quality and as fresh, unless you live by the seaside. But mainly I went to to Portugal to have an implant done, and to whiten my teeth, which I done both....was totally painless and at a fraction of the price here in the UK (I will put details bellow) The total cost of an implant including bitumen and crown (zicornea porcelain) is around 1200 Euros, while the starting price for a lower quality implant in the UK is £2000. The clinic is in Faro, a few minutes in a car from the airport, Dentist Nuno Jorge, Dental Clinic Ria Faro (picture Bellow) well worth the trip a holiday and super cheap cosmetic dental treatments as well as normal ones too.

Now MY APOLOGIES, for not having communicated that I went on holidays and not posting here, leaving you to guess. I am so sorry but the trip was sudden. Hope I am forgiven.
Will soon post pics of the holidays. Thanks for following me and supporting me...appreciated.

Fruit Salad with Port Wine

2009-07-09T10:02:00.003+01:00

Recipe Ingredients:

1 Round Melon (cut into two halves, flesh removed and cut into pieces)
3 Fleshy Oranges (segments removed without skin, pip's or membranes)
1 bunch of grapes seedless (cut in halves)
1 banana (cut in slices)
1 Red apple (cut in quarters and then slice with the skin)
1 tin of pineapple (or half of fresh pineapple) (cubed)
1 Ripe peach (cut into little pieces)
1/2 fresh orange juice
1/2 pineapple juice
juice of a whole lemon
2 shots of Port wine
pinch of cinnamon
a couple of scrapes of nutmeg
1 soup spoon full of denmerra sugar

The preparation is simple, just mix all the chopped up fruit in a ceramic bowl, the melon skins should be immediately refrigerated after the flesh is scooped out. Then mix into the fruit all the liquids and condiments. and leave these to mature and ferment for a minimum of two hours (I prefer leaving them overnight) in the fridge.

Then you present the salad in the chilled melon halves, or in small ramekins etc, you you'd like to indulge you can also place a spoon of clotted cream on each serving on top and a mint leave.

Beetroot Linguine with Courgette and Mushrooms

2009-07-02T19:56:00.003+01:00

Recipe Ingredients: (enough for 4)

400grs linguine pasta
3 small cooked beetroot (finely chopped)
1 courgette (finely chopped)
2 garlic cloves (finely chopped)
1 onion (finely chopped)
12 mushrooms (cut in halves)
2 soup spoons of fresh cream
1 glass of semi skinned milk
1 teaspoon of corn starch diluted in a little water
2 soup spoons of grated cheddar cheese
some, salt black pepper and olive oil.

Place some water in a pan with a little salt and a drizzle of olive oil, once boiling insert the linguine there, letting this one cook for 12-14 minutes, once done (should be al dente), drain it and while draining pass through it some more fresh boiling water, to remove excess starch. Continue to drain it.

Meanwhile put a little olive olive oil in a wok (about 3 soup spoons full). once hot add the onion and garlic, once these start going blond, add the remaining vegetables (the beetroot, courgette, and mushrooms) let these cook well for around 7-10 minutes, adding a little water every time it feels a little dry and stirring occasionally.

After they are cooked, add the fresh cream at this stage and the milk, bring it to the boil, and as soon as it starts to boil add the corn starch diluted in the water, the cheese, and stir regularly allowing it to thicken, once thickened place the linguine inside and stir come more as to mix well the sauce with the pasta, serve it now while very hot, it is delicious.

The beetroot is lovely in this dish as it does not just add colour it adds flavour and texture, and creates a varied different levels of textures and flavours, the beetroot should remain slightly crunchy the mushrooms meaty and juicy and the courgettes soft and creamy. Also bothe the beetroot and the mushrooms give this dish an excellent earthy flavour which is mellowe by the silky cream of the fresh cream, milk and cheese. Bon Apetit!!

** this is a valentines day inspired dish, for the colours and textures within**

Prawn Cakes with Saffron Bulgur and Salad

2009-06-27T11:35:00.005+01:00

Recipe Ingredients: (Enough for 4)

200grs large prawns (puréed)
150grs cooked potato (puréed)
300grs Bulgur Wheat (medium)
1 egg (yolk to one side, whipped white to another)
1 Gem Lettuce (well crispy separated into leaves)
1 onion (finely chopped)
1/2 half a red pepper (finely chopped)*reserve a little for decoration*
2 garlic cloves (minced)
1 piece ginger (minced)
1 soup spoon of turmeric + 3 strands saffron
1 pinch chilli powder
seasoning (salt and pepper)
oil to fry
some olive oil

One more easy to prepare recipe, that is tasty wholesome and easy on the waste line. Mix the potato purée and prawn purée with the egg yolk and some seasoning, after well mixed add the whipped egg white, and mix this well too, to form a paste. Place the oil on a pan or fryer, and to form the cakes you use two spoons, and scoop from spoon to spoon which will for the cake which you will then drop into the very hot oil, cooking them on both sides until golden brown (see picture). After they are cooked put them on a plate containing several kitchen towels to remove excess oil.

The accompaniment is bulgur, which is cooked just in boiling water as you would do rice, placing in the water a little oil and some salt, it will cook in around 10-12 minutes, then you drain it and pass through it while draining some boiling water to remove starch. The grains will be well fluffy.

While it's draining, put a wok on the fire (or large frying pan) with a little olive oil, once hot add the onion, pepper, garlic, ginger and seasoning once golden golden add the turmeric and saffron as well as the chilli powder, stir for around 1-2 minutes, then add a little water like 1/3 of a glass,cook a further 1 minute and then add the drained bulgur, turn the heat off and mix it really well so that the whole flavour infuses it.
Then is just a matter of arranging this light meal on a plate, you can do it as it is shown in the picture or use your own ideas. I used some strips of red pepper to decorate the bulgur, and used the larger gem lettuce leaves to bed the prawn cakes, and with the remaining leaves I shredded them added a few bits of tomato & grated carrot, and drizzled them with balsamic vinegar and some olive oil.

Was delicious. hope you enjoy this summer meal.

I was awarde this special token by my dear friend Kim From the blog Ordinary Recipes Made Gourmet she is a great friend, and normally i don't accept tokens as I just don't have the time required to post them and to attribute to deserving blogs.

Also, like her I feel I would be fair to just select a few of my friends foodies as all that visit me I feel deserve tokens like this one, so I am not passing it around as all of you are deserving of it. But I am linking back to the person that gave it to me, as she deserves it. She is fun to talk to, full of energy and helpful, her foods are full of quality even when she makes simple or classic foods. I suppose that is her motto anyway, she tries hard to succeed and I feel she deserves to have success, she has this Amazon Store you should visit.

Orange Cake "Large" for Slicing

2009-06-20T12:17:00.003+01:00

Recipe Ingredients: (was enough to cut 70 rectangular slices)

300grs of butter (or baking margarine)
300grs of sugar
4 oranges (2 cut in slices and 2 "whole" blitzed into creamy pulp)
6 eggs
300grs of flour
2 soup spoon of baking powder
2 teas spoons of orange essence
a little of dememera sugar

Couldn't be easier... Beat the sugar with the butter, until you obtain a light and whitish cream, once that is done put the eggs (pre-mixed) in, a little at the time keeping the beating of the cream, this way attaining even a more creamy and full of air dough.

Once that is done, add the two oranges in pulp + the orange essence, (mix the pulp in well with a wooden spoon in a folding gentle action to try not to release any of the air contained in the dough), lastly add the flour, a little at the time as well, again folding action and gentle, until all is incorporated in the dough.

Then place the dough in a large tray previously greased and floured, I also used a Teflon baking sheet to avoid the cake sticking to the pan (worked a treat). On top of the dough lay the orange slices and cover the top of each slice with some dememera sugar, to allow them to crystallize and not burn as that would leave a bitter taste, (also if you think the taste of the orange skin may be too strong for you, you can always peals the slicing oranges prior to slicing).

The whole thing goes in a preheated oven at 180ºC for around 20-25 minutes, once done remove the cake from the oven, and let it cool a little before attempting to remove it from the container, this is where the Teflon came in handy as I just picked the four corners of it to remove the cake from the container to a cooling rack.

Optionally at the end, you can also squeeze a further two oranges and boil the juice with some sugar to make a liquid syrup to pour over the cake and get it even more moist, as this is a moist cake already, and very spongy and light. Then let it cool completely and slice it into rectangles.

Mini Palmieres Cinnamon | Vanilla

2009-06-19T16:21:00.002+01:00

Recipe Ingredients:

2 pkts of ready made puff pastry
demerara sugar (sufficient)
1 soup spoon of cinnamon
Honey (sufficient)
powdered sugar (sufficient)
vanilla essence

Sprinkle some flour on a table (surface), lay on the puff pastry block and spread it with the rolling pin until it is just about half a centimetre thick, retaining the rectangular shape. Now spread over it the dememera sugar mixed with the cinnamon, lay it on quite thick layer 2-3mllimetres , then from the smaller with side roll the pastry until about half and do the same from the opposite side, until you have like two rolls in the centre, then with a Sharpe knife cut slices about 1cm thick and lay the slices in a tray either previously buttered and floured, or the easy way with a Teflon baking sheet.

It goes in the oven for around 15 minutes at 180-200 Celsius, until golden, then remove them and place them on a cooling rack.

For the second lot repeat the process, but on this one before rolling I put honey mixed with vanilla essence and a little powdered sugar, and once cooled I sprinkled more powdered sugar.
As the pastry has no sweetness at all this may look like a lot of sweet but I assure you is not and turns out really well balanced. Happy party!!

Angel Hair Pasta with Salmon and Hake Soup

2009-06-16T12:36:00.003+01:00

Recipe Ingredients: (eneugh for 4 people)

4-5 "balls" of Angel Hair Pasta (about 200grs)
150grs hake+ 150grs salmon (other fish can be chosen and use even more varieties) (cut the fish in small cubes)
1 onion (finely chopped)
1 carrot (finely chopped)
1 garlic clove (finely chopped)
1 piece of ginger (finely chopped)
1 bunch of parsley "or coriander" (finely chopped)
1/2 tomato pulp "passata"
1 cube of chicken or fish stock (fish stock is better)
Salt, Black Pepper, paprika, chilli powder (a pinch of each)
Olive oil and water (sufficient)

I made the sauce in the Wok, putting there a little olive oil, that once it reached hot temp, I added the onion, carrot, garlic & ginger, letting these cook until golden (stirring occasionally), once they reached that stage I added the fish and stir it occasionally only by tossing avoiding using wooden spoon, continued tossing occasionally but letting the fish to cook for around 2-3 minutes, as the fish cooks quickly.

At this point I've added the a pinch of each condiment, salt, b. Pepper, paprika chilli powder as well as the tomato pulp plus 2 glasses of water and the Angel hair pasta which I crushed with my hands to become just small bits of pasta I also added the stock cube. Then I let this cook for around 5-7 minutes, finally I turned the heat off and added the chopped herb (parsley or coriander) also added a few mint leaves that not only improve the visual they improve flavour and help digestion, I also toasted a few bits of bread and made some croutons, for a lovely soup meal. Enjoy!!

Blueberry Crepes with Strawberry Mousse Filling

2009-06-05T13:13:00.007+01:00

Recipe Ingredients:

1 cup of flour
a glass of whipping cream (around 120mls)
2/3 cup of blueberries
a little milk (sufficient)
4 soup spoons of oil
1 egg
1 soup spoon of sugar
10 strawberries (finely chopped + a soup spoon of powdered sugar if these aren't too sweet)
a dash of vanilla essence
vanilla flavoured powdered sugar (or normal)

These are two combined desserts. Crepes + strawberry mousse.

To make these, put in a bowl, the flour, make a well in the centre and place the oil + the egg there, start mixing in the centre with a whisk, once it starts getting thick add the blueberries (these ones previously crushed + mixed with the sugar and heated for around 1 minute to release their colour), continue whisking and as it gets thick again start adding the milk, and whisk and add milk and so on until it becomes liquid with the consistency of double cream.

Now soak a little bit of kitchen paper towel with a little oil and rub this on a non stick frying pan, heat the pan and once hot reduce to med-low heat and pour a couple of serving spoons inside swirl the pan so that it covers the whole bottom, let it cook for around 1-2 minutes you'll see it going golden through the crepe, with a spatula lift the corners and them with your fingers peel it of and turn it upside down, again 1-2 minutes and is done, set it aside on a plate. Then repeat process until all the crepe cream is used. You should get around 6-8 crepes.

let the crepes go cool as they become more malleable and elastic. Whip the cream and add a few drops of vanilla essence, once whipped add and fold in the chopped strawberries also a soup spoon of powdered sugar if the strawberries are not very sweet, once done refrigerate this will harden mousse further. Finally format the crepes as you like fill them with the mousse and decorate as you will, I used powdered vanilla sugar, than I refrigerated them further ..delicious with a nice hot cup of coffee or tea. cheers ..enjoy

Mascarpone and Strawberry fake Flan

2009-05-31T12:18:00.002+01:00

A super easy and delicious recipe all invented by me, your alternative to Jamie Oliver. Lol...

Recipe Ingredients:

2 x pkts strawberry Jelly (I used Castello brand 135grs each)
1 x pkt of mascarpone (250grs)
3 soup spoons of sugar
1 X punnet of fresh ripe strawberries around 250grs

A very easy to prepare and even easier to eat dessert. Make the two jellies as indicated on the back of the packet. After the jelly dissolved and fully mixed with the water you must let these ones cool until almost cold. While that is happening, wash the strawberries and remove green bits and them chop them into fine slices, place them on a little pan with the sugar and boil them for around 1-2 minutes, set it aside and let it cool completely, (I even put in the fridge to get this done faster as I didn't want the jelly to start solidifying.

Them mix the strawberries with the jelly and whisk them, once well mixed add the mascarpone and whisk come more, until well mixed place in a jelly mould and refrigerate until well solid. To remove run warm water on the sides of the mould until the jelly comes away from the walls then flip it onto a dishing plate ...it tastes great with a little mint.

To get to Know me Better Questionaire

2009-05-29T13:35:00.003+01:00

Questionaire passed to me by, Natasha
and I believe I need to pass it to other 4 bloggers:

Now, on to the questionnaire.

Diamonds or pearls?
diamonds.

What is the last film you saw?
X Men Wolvarine Origins

Your favorite series?
SVU

What kind of breakfast do you have usually?
Milky Coffee and a ham and cheese toastie.

Second given name?
Emanuel

Which kind of food can't you stand?
Leeks yuck...

Favorite name (at the moment)?
Rico

Which car do you drive?
Mitsbishi Space Star, Equipe 1.6L.

Which trait or character don't you like?
users, (peole that use others just because they can taking advantage of good will)

Favorite clothes?
Any nice confortable ones, (preferred materials, cotton and linnen)

If you could take the aeroplane to go somewhere, where would you go?
Brazil.

Where would you want to live when you are retired?
Somewhere hot, not sure yet.

Which birthday do you remember the most?
My darling wife and mine.

Your birthday?
27 Dec

If you were a color, which one would you be?
Black

Chocolate or vanilla?
vanilla

Coffee or tea?
Coffee (of course, unless the tea is herbal, but still coffee)

The last person you had on the phone?
sales from India, of some charity firm.

Sweet or savory?
both...can't choose really.

The day of the week you prefer?
Saturday's

I choose:

Donna-FFW
5 Star Foodie
Chef E
Tangled Noodle

Tagliatelli a la Rico

2009-05-27T13:27:00.003+01:00

Recipe Ingredients: (enough for 4 or 3 very hungry ones)

400grs mixed tagliatelle egg and spinach
1/2 can of black olives (cut in halves) roughly 120gr +or-
12 cherry tomatoes (cut in halves) with skin
1 courgette (cut in small cubes)
4 spring onions (cut in slices)
1 garlic clove minced
1 lid of nice balsamic vinegar
1/4 fresh cream
2 soup spoons of grated cheddar cheese
1 coriander bunch (finely chopped)
sufficient, salt, black pepper and olive oil

From beginning to end it only took me 15 minutes to complete this meal. Put a pan with boiling water on the stove + a little salt and oil (tip, the oil prevents water from foaming up as well as it keeps pasta separated after cooked, rather than clumping up, I learnt this from the age of 9) in there put the pasta cooking.

Wile the pasta is cooking put a Wok on the stove, and in it add a little olive oil enough to cover the bottom, heat it up and as soon as fumes start coming out of it, add in there the following vegetables, courgette, spring onion and garlic + seasoning (salt and B pepper). Let these ones cook for around 3 minutes, stirring regularly, then add the tomatoes and onion + a the balsamic vinegar, and continue to stir for a further 3 minutes.

To that now you add the fresh cream and the cheese, and stir for a further 2 minutes, add to it now the drained tagliatelli, give it a few more turns, than switch the fire of on the stove and throw in the coriander, giving it a few more turns to mix it in well, then serve and (optional) you can add extra B pepper and or Grated dried parmesan cheese...And have a nice quick healthy cheap meal.

Almond filled Sponge Cake (was Anniversary Cake for my Twins on the 16May)

2009-05-20T09:59:00.007+01:00

Ingredients: (for the cake)

200g butter
200g self raising flour
200g sugar
4 eggs

Preparation:
Mix the butter (soft) with the sugar, mixing it well with the mixer (or hand mixer)for enough time for the mixture to become a whitish cream, at this stage mix the eggs in a little at the time until they are all blended with the mixture, as you want this cream to be as airy as possible. Next is the flour, but this one you can fold in using maybe a spatula, as you want to preserve all that air you knocked in with the mixer, divide this cream into two pre-greased and floured baking tins, and goes in the oven at 180c for 20 minutes (do the toothpick check) just to ensure they are well cooked, let them cool a little then remove them from the baking tin and place them on a cooling rack.

Ingredients: (for the filling)

50g caster sugar
15g corn starch
2g salt
235ml milk
30g grated almond
2 eggs
2 tea spoons of almond essence
1 Vodka lid

Preparation:

Mix all the dry ingredients well, place all the wet ingredients in a small pan (minus the Vodka), now add all the dry ingredients to the wet ones in the pan, and put it on a medium heat and whisk it continuously as soon as it starts to thicken up reduce the heat to nearly minimum, otherwise will thicken too quick and will get lumpy, you want a smooth cream. After is thickened and will thicken no more cook for a further 2 minutes, then remove from the heat, add the vodka let it cool completely before using it you can even refrigerate.
(this almond cream is also excellent for profiteroles, croissants and much more)

Ingredients: (cake topping)

1 glass of double cream
3 soup spoons of powdered sugar
1 tea spoon of vanilla essence
1 hand full of hand chopped almonds (with the skin preferable)

Preparation:

Whip the double cream to make the whip, once whipping is about half way through add the vanilla essence and when is two thirds from being done add then 1 soup spoon of the powdered sugar and when is completed add the other 2 soup spoons of powdered sugar whisk a little more just enough to mix it and it is done to cover the cake.
Cover the cake with the aid of a spatula and then spread the hand chopped almonds over it.

Knife chopped almonds ...yum!!

Cake assembly:

decide which disc is going to be the base then level it by cutting it's top (see picture), this will aid in the filling adhering better and soaking in a little, also securing better the other disc.
So you then assemble it as follows, after cutting the base spread the filling around one centimetre thick all over the base, then place the second disc on top, then cover the whole cake with the whip and spread the almonds on top, the refrigerate at least half an hour before serving, more time even better, absolutely lovely with a nice strong coffee, there is something magical when coffee and almond flavours meet in your mouth.

I received these awards from Nina's Recipes and was very happy to have them, there are no rules written, so I assume one has to pass them along to about 7 other blogs as that is how many Nina passed.
Nominees please pass the awards bellow to 7 nominees (or more) of your choice, linking them to the award + linking on your post who nominated you, these are the simple rules

I am please to nominate for the above awards:
5 Star Foodie
My Kitchen Treasures
Chef E
Ninas Recipes
Duo dishes
Tangled Noodle
Sophie

And this award was given to me by Sophie a long standing foodie friend here in my blog, which makes me very honoured to accept such a nice award.

In keeping with the tradition of passing this award forward, here are the rules. The Sisterhood Award is an award from bloggers to bloggers in recognition of a blog spot which shows attitude and/or gratitude.

1. Put the logo on your blog or post.

2. Nominate up to 10 blogs which show great attitude and/or gratitude

3. Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.

4. Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog, or sending them an email.

5. Remember to link to the person from whom you received your award.

I am please to nominate:
5 Star Foodie
My Kitchen Treasures
Left over Queen
Chef E
Ninas Recipes
Coffee and Vanilla
Duo dishes
My Tasty Treasures
Tangled Noodle
Food and Travel

Stuffed Ball Courgette with Pink Salmon covered in a Ginger and Mushroom Topping

2009-05-12T11:53:00.005+01:00

I saw these courgettes for the first time in 24 years of living in the UK, and I was completely inspired by them so much so I had to buy them, I asked the owner of this little veg shop how often does she get them in, she replied is only the second time I have had them since I opened this shop. So I had to think of something really special for them....hope you like it.

Recipe Ingredients: (enough for 4)

4 Skinless Pink Salmon Fillets
4 medium or large Ball Courgettes (cut the top scoop the inside, and reserve this inside for cooking finely chopped).
1/2 tin of fine Italian plum tomatoes (you can also use fresh tomatoes, 2)
1 medium onion (finely chopped)
1 handful of chopped almonds
2 garlic cloves (minced)
1 soup spoon of butter
1 piece of ginger the size of a garlic clove (minced)
1/2 cup of pearl barley flakes
2 soup spoons of mozzarella cheese (grated)
10 medium button mushrooms (cut into quarters) please don't use canned ones
salt and black pepper (to taste)
a little olive oil.

Preparation:

Is quite simple to make too. After you cut the lids of the ball courgettes, and remove their insides, place them in a pan covered in water and a little salt, cook these for around 20 minutes, careful not to overcook them as they get too soft to handle for the stuffing.

Meanwhile make the stuffing sauce, bear in mind you should have a little excess to go outside the stuffed ball to accompaign the lid as this one is edible too. Place a frying pan on the stove with a little olive oil, once hot add half of the chopped courgette (pulp) , one of the garlic cloves, the onion and a little seasoning (salt and black pepper), fry these stirring regularly. Once the onion reaches its semi-transparent stage add the 1/2 tin of tomatoes, and brig it to the boil again, then add the butter and as soon as this one melts the pearl barley flakes, mix occasionally until these are cooked through, if it gets too dry add a little water (just a little to keep it moist, as you want quite a thick consistency). Once cooked turn the fire off and add the mozzarella, giving it a stir so that it melts in.

Once cooked drain the courgettes from the water, stuff them with the barley filling all the way to the top, and then place these in a preheated oven to 200c for 15-20 minutes until golden brown on the top (see picture), the lids do not go in the oven you save these on the side.

Meanwhile, place a frying pan on the stove with a little olive oil and some seasoning (salt & pepper) and as soon as is hot add the salmon fillets they will cook through (depending on thickness) in about 3 minutes on each side, once they are 1 minute from being totally cooked add the remaining garlic, once fried remove them from the pan and set them aside, add to the pan the ginger, cook for around 1 minute then add the remaining courgette, the almonds and the mushrooms and if need be a couple of spoons of water, these will cook quick between 3-5 minutes, meanwhile the courgettes are done. Start serving and even with the oven just switched off put the fish in just to heat it a little, serving it last, so that all is hot (or do it your own way lol). Then plate as per picture or make your own arrangement as the eyes also eat. It was SUPER.

..when I invented this, I had not though of it being so nice...

Butternut Squash and Runner Bean Spring Soup

2009-05-12T11:34:00.002+01:00

Recipe Ingredients: (for 4+ people)

2 Large Potatoes (cubed)
1/2 Butternut Squash (cubed)
1 Onion (finely chopped)
2 Celery Sticks (coarsely sliced, I removed strings first, unless you using baby or celery heart)
1 Garlic Clove (finely chopped)
2 Carrots (finely sliced)
12 Stringless Runner Beans "large" (finely sliced)
salt black pepper and olive oil (sufficient)

Is super simple. Put a pan on the stove with enough olive oil to cover the bottom, once really hot add the, onion, garlic and the celery. Let these cook until they start getting golden, at this stage add the potato and the squash, always stirring, letting it cook for around 3 minutes, is alright if it starts to get a little stuck to the pan. After that add in about 1 and 1/2 litres of water + salt and black pepper to taste, and deglacée de stuck bits of the side of the pan, as these add to the soup flavour, let it cook for about 20-25 minutes.

Once cooked blitz it all to form the smooth silky purée , once that is achieved add the runner beans and the carrots let these cook for another 20-25 minutes and there...it's ready to eat, obviously let it cool a little you don't want to burn your mouth like I did lol ... cheers!!! Is that easy.

In Portugal if you want a soup to be more of a meal, like ...you just want to have the soup for lunch/dinner just add to the soup once done one sliced boiled egg per person inside the soup, easy and delicious alternative.

Courgette Risotto (vegetarian)

2009-05-08T13:18:00.002+01:00

Recipe Ingredients: (enough for 4)

400grs Risotto rice (American Long Grain will also work)
1 courgette (sliced into little cubes)
150grs Button Mushrooms (if bigger cut in halves) please do not use canned..not the same.
1 large onion (finely diced)
1 Garlic Clove (minced)
1 Vegetable stock cube (Oxo is fine or Knorr)
1 heaped soup spoon of chopped up parsley.
a little olive oil
25-30grs butter
salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 soup spoons of fresh single cream
(optional) shavings of cured parmesan cheese (optional extravagant) shavings of Truffle

Place a pan on the stove with enough olive oil to cover the bottom, once hot add the, onion, garlic, courgette and seasoning (salt and pepper), let them cook stirring it occasionally once the onion is semi-transparent add the rice, stirring it to be completely covered in the olive oil, let the rice cook around 3 minutes stirring frequently, this will make the rice thirsty and ready to start absorbing the stock, you make this by adding the stock cube to about 70dcl of warm water, making sure is well dissolved. So you add some stock just enough to cover the rice and continuously stir, as it dries add a little more stock and so on until it finishes,but when you have used 2/3 of the stock is time to add the mushrooms and the butter, and then continue the process as before.

The risotto requires that the rice is fully cooked but still firm in the grain interior, so don't be afraid test and taste it as you cook, you'll know when is right for you, it should never be overcooked and soft all the way through, once I almost finished cooking I added then the three spoons of fresh cream, and let it cook just one further minute then added the parsley and gave it one last stir, and served it. It is lovely to then put on top for both decoration and flavour the optional bits, just slithers of cured parmesan, or shavings of truffle, or both..hehe you decide how extravagant you wanna be.....It is also lovely with a nice medium dry ice cold white wine...have fun ..is easy and you don't need the optionals to be good... cheers!!!

Sun on Your Plate - Hake with Saffron pan fried Potatoes and Butternut Squash - Yellow Theme

2009-05-07T11:02:00.004+01:00

Recipe Ingredients: (enough for 4)

4 skinless and boneless hake fillets (you can also use fresh cod)
8 medium potatoes (cubed)
1/2 butternut Squash (cubed)
5 garlic cloves (minced)
1 piece of ginger (minced)
8 baby corn (cut in half length ways)
1 tea spoon of turmeric
1/3 tea spoon of saffron
a little olive oil
salt and black pepper (to taste)

Preparation:

Place a two pans on the stove with some water on one you put in the butternut squash and two of the potatoes + one garlic clove, a little salt, on the other just the remaining potato and get these cooked, it should take around 15-20 minutes. (careful not to overcook them)

Meanwhile blend 2 garlic cloves, a little salt pepper, turmeric and two soup spoons of olive oil, the idea is to make a marinade paste to place on the fish, so coat the fish on both sides with it, for a super flavour. As soon as the potatoes are cooked, put the fish in a non stick tray and in the oven preheated to 200c, it will take around 10 minutes to be cooked.

Drain the potatoes (on their own), and place a wok or a large frying pan on the stove, with the bottom covered with olive oil, once hot add 2 garlic cloves, the saffron a little seasoning and the potatoes, let them crisp up before tossing for turning them (don't use utensils to turn them to avoid further mashing of the potatoes) crisp and toss, do this for around 7 minutes. It will get a mix of textures crisp ones and smooth. The flavours gained from the saffron and garlic are amazing couple with the textures.

also while doing that, place another little frying pan on the stove this one with a little olive oil and once hot add the ginger and a little seasoning as well as the corn, and keep tossing it ass you don't want it to burn, as it dries add a few drops of water and again toss and toss, and a few more drops of water until is cooked but you want it still crunchy, to contrast with the pure.

Now drain the potatoes with the buttenut, mash them all nice and smooth and there you have the pure, if you want more creamy ad a soup spoon of fresh cream. That is it just serve your sunshine and eat.

My family when ate this, couldn't even speak, just the following sounds came out Huuummm!!! Aaaahhh! ...well hope you like it too. Cheers!!

Duo Pizza - Thin and Crispy (Italian Type)

2009-05-06T16:43:00.003+01:00

Receita em Português

Fiz estas pizas para o jantar no outro dia, ficaram uma delicia, já há muito tempo que não comia piza assim, sem estar oleosa e fofa, só fiz uma coisa que modificava, mas foi por preguiça. Nesta só me ti cheddar queijo, quando devia também ter posto mozarella, mas não estava com paciência para ir a loja, então podia ter ficado mais gostosa, mas também teria ficado mais calorifica. hehe O que se há de fazer?

Recipe Ingredients: (enough for 4 or two hungry ones)

2 tall glasses of strong plain flour
1 tall glass of water (+or-)
1 glass grated cheddar
1 glass of grated Mozarella (I didn't put this but is definitly better with it)
1 glass of pitted black olives
1 glass of mushrooms (thinly sliced)
1 large onion very thinly sliced
1/2 glass of tomato pulp (tempered with: a little salt and black pepper, a tea spoon of oregano, and a pinch of garlic granules)
1 tea spoon of instant fast action east
salt
olive oil

Preparation:

A very simple and fast recipe to accomplish. In a bowl I placed the flour and the east, which I mixed well, then followed by a large pinch of salt and the water (preferably warm), mix it well in with your hand, until it comes away from the walls of the bowl, transfer it onto a floured table, and sprinkling more flour kneed it stretching it to break down the starch in the dough making it silky and smooth, do this for around 5 minutes. Split the dough into two balls, and roll them with a rolling pin to the size of the trays you wanna put them in, with a tissue rub some olive oil at the base of the tray and then place the dough there, and you cover it with some kitchen cloths (sprinkle a little coarse polenta so it doesn't stick to the cloth) place them in the oven (switched off) for around 30 minutes, to allow the dough to rise a little.

After that remove the trays from the oven, and turn the oven on to preheat to 180-200c.
Split the sauce between the two pizzas, making sure you leave off around 1cm from the edge, leaving the dough exposed there, so you get a nice crust. Then put half of the mix of mozarella and cheddar dividing by the two pizzas over the dough. Followed by the toppings, (half for each) olives, onions, mushrooms (i made one without mushrooms as one of my kids do not like e'm), then followed by the remaining mixed cheddar and mozarella, a sprinkle of oregano on top of each, and oven with them for around 18 minutes, until golden, then I served with a little mixed salad and balsamic vinaigrette.

Remember you put whatever topping you want, and that this is also great to use left overs, of cooked meat or fish etc... (or even use ham, pineapple etc). just cut them into chunks and on top they go. Very nice with a glass of nice light red wine, like a good Californian red.

Adzuki Bean and Cabage Stew (Vegetarian/Vegan)

2009-05-04T11:15:00.005+01:00

Receita em Português

Recipes Ingredients:(enough for 6)

1 Small Savoy cabbage (leaves separated and cut into pieces)
500grs Adzuki beans (soaked in water for 1.5 days)
4 large carrots (cut into pieces)
1 large onion (chopped)
1/3 tea spoon of cayenne
300grms of Quorn (or soya pieces)
1/5 tomato pulp
3 garlic cloves (minced)
1 soup spoon of smoky paprika
salt and black pepper
a little olive oil

This is a delicious and easy recipe to make, a Vegetarian/vegan option of the Portuguese bean stew known as "Feijoada".

The dried Adzuki beans were soaked for 1.5 days to get them ready for cooking, changed the soaking water once in the middle of the soaking. Than simply put the beans in a pan covered with water and a little salt and cooked them for 1hour and 10 minutes (more or less, so test beans near that time). Meanwhile I started the stew, by putting another pan on the stove with a little olive oil, garlic, onion, carrots, cayenne pepper and paprika, and let these cook until the carrot is cooked through, stirring occasionally.

While that was doing, I boiled a kettle of water, placed the cabbage in a bowl and poured the boiling water over it, leaving it submerged in the boiling water for about 3-5 minutes. Coming back to the stewing carrots, once these were cooked I added seasoning (sat and black pepper) as well as a tea spoon of sugar (to cut the stew acidity), then I added the tomato pulp the Quorn (or soya) the cabbage and the beans as well as a glass of water, placed a lid on the pan and once to the boil reduce to minimum and allowed it to cook for a good 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally. I've done this type of food in the past and added to it a little pasta, it is a little more fattening but it does change from a spring food to a winter one fairly easily, obviously a little more water is required when doing that. This is a lovely and healthy meal, as the roughage helps with bowls problems, and is full of vitamins and minerals, from the greens etc.