White Beans with Lagoustines Stew – Habas/Alubias blancas con Langostinos

Until now I’ve not yet posted a lot of recipes with pulses. Pulses are great source of proteins and they are effectively very versatile, which allow us to combine them with many ingredients.

This inspiration comes from a dish which I got the chance to try in Galicia (Spain) last December. It was in a picturesque village called just in front of the sea and a beautiful island. The ambiance with our friends, the golden sunlight and then this delicious dish made these moments unforgettable.

No wonder I tried to replicate this and adapt the recipe to ingredients I may found at home.

The original included a local lobster kind called “bogavante”, I’m sorry I had to replace it with langoustines, but it turned very delicious with them as well.

For my version it’s very important to prepare a shellfish stock.

As shellfish are generally quite expensive, it makes sense to be using up every last part of the crustacean in order not extract the maximum of the flavour. The shells and legs (once meat has been extracted where possible) of lobsters, crabs, crayfish, langoustines and prawns impart a lot of richness taste – especially after they’re roasted. Good to know: the heads also contain precious juices. While some more old-school recipes require the whole crustacean including its meat, this is a touch more work, but it is gently way to cook the tender flesh (short cooking time) and at the same time get as much taste as possible form the shells (long cooking time). Carefully shell crustaceans and keep the meat separate from the shells to be cooked and eaten separately. Rinse any shells which may be hiding grit or sand (this is particularly important with crabs) and break down larger shells into smaller pieces. This gives them a larger surface area, which touches the bottom of the pan and caramelises, creating more flavour.

• Servings: 3-4 if served with a side dish as rice
• Time: 60 min
• Difficulty: medium
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Ingredients:

• 200 g white beans
• 300 g langoustines (in alternative king prawns)
• Olive oil, to taste
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 big onion, peeled and cut into quarts
• 200 g carrots, peeled cut in big pieces
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 handful pealed roasted almonds
• Salt, to taste
• 1 teaspoon paprika (Pimentón dulce de la Vera)
• 1 tablespoon tomatoes paste (optional)
• 100 ml white wine, quantity to taste
• Parsley, chives or green onion, chopped for serving (optional)

Preparation

1. Soak your beans the night before: put your beans in a pot and cover them in a few centimeters of water. Forgot to soak your beans? Don’t stress out. You can also quick soak beans and get a similar effect. Just put those beans in a pot, cover them with boiling water, and cover the pot and let them sit for at least one hour in the hot water.
2. Drain the beans them to another pot, then cover them in a few inches of water (the exact amount isn’t important). Bring them to a simmer only lightly with little for about 30 minutes.
3. In the meantime peel and devein langoustines. Separate shells from flesh.
4. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a non-sticky skillet and roast the shells until fragrant. Add 2 cups of water, the bay leaf and let simmer for about 20 minutes. Strain and keep the stock.
5. Boil the onion, the carrots and 2 garlic cloves into the prepared stock for about 10 minutes. If necessary add more water. Add the almonds and blend this mixture.
6. Drain the beans and add the broth and veggies mixture to the beans.
7. Season with salt, paprika and add the wine.  Add tomatoes paste. Continue to simmer until the beans are just done. If necessary add more water.
8. Chop the other 2 garlic cloves and fry them until they become fragrant. Add the langoustines or the shrimps on both sides for about 2 minutes until they get lightly roasted colour.
9. Combine the beans stew with the shellfish and serve immediately.
10. Optional add some parsley, chives or green onion for serving

Autor: https://artandkitchen.wordpress.com/  

Avocado and Oranges Salad with Fennel Fronds

Fronds are those cute frilly light green leafy things attached to the stalks that grow out of a fennel bulb. They look like fresh dill, and they have a light taste similar to aniseeds. I grow fennels in my garden especially for these, I add this to spinach or chard to make the Greek kaltzunias (little small pies) and to attract butterflies in my garden. If you buy fennel with these, don’t throw these away and if you do not need them at the moment, freeze them! If you do not get them, then replace them with tinny fennel bulb slices.

The origin of fennel and orange salad is not completely known, but it may have its roots in the Arab world and come to Europe after the invasions of Spain and. The orange salad was created as a poor dish (wild fennel can be found at the border of many roads) and it doesn’t require cooking. Today, the fennel and orange salad is known all over the world and it is served as an appetizer/salad or as a final dish after an important meal.

I love to collect fennel fronds if traveling in Greece in Early spring, the same period as oranges get ripe.

In this recipe I completed the ingredients with avocado for its soft texture and the taste which combines well with citrus, In addition a roasted pine nuts give a welcome crunchy texture.

For the dressing I opted for some white balsamic vinegar flavoured with honey and Dijon mustard.

• Servings: 4
• Time: 20 min
• Difficulty: easy
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Salad

Ingredients

• Green salad leaves to cover the bottom and the sides of the serving bowl, washed
• 2 ripe but firm avocados (reserve some slices for decoration drizzled with lemon juice)
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 oranges peeled and diced (make a few slices and reserve for decoration)
• 2-4 tablespoons fennel fronds, chopped (reserve some for the topping)
• 2-4 tablespoons green onions slices (reserve some for the topping)

Dressing

• 2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons honey
• Salt and pepper to taste

Topping

• Reserved herbs
• 2 tablespoons pine nuts, lightly roasted

Procedure

1. Arrange the green salad in the bowl.
2. Peel and slice the first avocado, place then in another bowl and sprinkle with the lemon juice and toss well with your hands. Peel and slice the second avocado add this to the first and gently again toss them together.
3. Add the other ingredients for the salad over the avocados.
4. Combine well the ingredients for the dressing.
5. Pour the dressing over the salad and very gently toss them together.
6. Place the mixture over the arranged salad leaves, decorate with the reserved avocado and orange slices and sprinkle with the herbs and the pine nuts

Autor: https://artandkitchen.wordpress.com/

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Day 37 Stay at Home or In the Garden: Pulpo a la Mugardesa – Octopus Stew with Potatoes

Mugardos is a small fishing borough and municipality in the Comarca of Ferrol, located in the province of A Coruña in the autonomous community of Galicia, north-western Spain.

It’s here that you can find this delicious octopus stew, but now, as we are not allowed to travel, you can prepare it yourself and create a small vacation at home.

This recipe is calculated for 2 people, but you may boil more octopus and use only the quantity you need (you may also use more) and reserve the remaining for another preparation. 

Note: this recipe is perfect if you have some octopus leftovers and you wish to serve more people! I our case I doubled the quantity of potatoes for a full dinner; for this reason this is a variation of the original dish.

Pulpo alla Mugardesa - Octopus and Potatoes Stew from Galicia

• Servings: 2-4
• Time: 60 min
• Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

• 300 g octopus, cleaned and well washed
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, chopped
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 red pepper, diced
• 1 green pepper (I used another red pepper as did not have the green one), diced
• 250 g potatoes, peeled and diced (I doubled the quantity of potatoes to 500 g)
• 1 bay leaf
• 100 ml white wine
• 200 ml reserved liquid from the boiled octopus
• 1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika powder
• Some smoked paprika (pimienton de la Vera)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

1. Bring a large pot of water to the boil with a pinch of salt, when the water begins to boil you need to grab the octopus from the head and ‘scare it’ by dipping it in the water 3 times and pulling it out. This makes the octopus stiffen, so the skin does not fall during the cooking process and makes the tips of the tentacles curl. Cook your octopus between 20 and 25 minutes on a medium heat. Make sure the octopus is covered with water throughout the cooking. Towards the end of the cooking process, you can check if the octopus is ready by piercing the thicker tentacles with a wooden skewer to check if they are tender enough. Octopus should be al dente, just like pasta. You should feel the same resistance as a cooked potato. Once the cooking time is complete, allow the octopus to rest in the cooking liquid before you drain it and use it for this recipe. I prefer to drain the octopus and let it cool down before slicing. Do not discard the water!
2. Fry onion and garlic in a non-sticky skillet at low temperature until translucent.
3. Add peppers and fry a few more minutes.
4. At this point, add potatoes, bay leaf, and fry for other 2 minutes.
5. Add the wine and cook for 2 more minutes.
6. Now add the cooking water from the octopus, the paprika (as well as the smoked one if you like). Add little salt.
7. Let simmer covered slowly until potatoes are almost done. Add some more cooking liquid form the octopus if needed. The sauce should be liquid but thick enough to bind a little bit.
8. In the meanwhile, slice the octopus.
9. Add octopus and adjust to taste with salt and pepper. Stir only gently and let simmer for 2 more minutes.
10. For the best taste, keep warm (do not boil it again) for about 10 minutes before serving.

Autor: https://artandkitchen.wordpress.com/

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Day 36 Stay at Home or In the Garden: Quick Salmorejo

Salmorejo is a fresh, thick, pink-orange soup consisting of tomatoes, bread and garlic witch is topped with hard boiled eggs and diced jamon serrano (serrano ham). A few days ago I posted the original recipe; now it’s time to post my super quick version for the days you may not have time to wait, but you wish this something fresh and tasty. In these days we try to avoid going out (Coronavirus lockout) and going shopping, we use what we have in the pantry and we adapt the recipes to the ingredients we have on hand.

Salmorejo Cordobés

• Servings: 4
• Time: 15 min (no chilling time)
• Difficulty: easy
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Ingredientes

• 1 tins canned crushed tomatoes (400 g)
• 1 cup ice cubes
• 100 ml oilve oil
• 1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar
• 3 tablespoons tomatoes paste, to taste
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 small white bread, diced of about 150 g
• More water or ice cubes, as necessary
• 10 g salt, or to taste
• 2 eggs, hard boiled, peeled and diced
• 100 g ham or bacon, diced
• Olive oil to drizzle

Preaparation

1. Place all the content of the tin in the stand mixer, add the ice cubes, the oil, the vinegar, the tomatoes paste and the garlic; pulse until smooth.
2. Add the bread piece by piece and pulse until smooth. During this step add more water or ice cubes if necessary.
3. Add salt and more tomatoes to taste if necessary.
4. In a frying skillet roast the ham or the bacon to taste.
5. Season with salt and vinegar to taste. Pulse shortly.
6. Pour the salmorejo in bowl, top with egg and ham or bacon and drizzle a few drops of olive oil.

Autor: https://artandkitchen.wordpress.com/

Day 15: Stay at Home or In the Garden: Spanish Vermouth with Oranges

Today’s travel went virtually to Spain, or better to Andalusia were a few month ago we enjoyed a wonderful week visiting amazing places and we were introduced to the trendy Spanish way to serve Vermouth.

If you are not traveling and you have to stay at home, you can prepare it yourself and enjoy it with you family with some tapas or simply olives!

There are different way to prepare it. Here some suggestions, from super simply to more sophisticated, depending on what you still have at home.

Spanish Vermouth with Oranges

• Servings: 2
• Time: 5 minutes
• Difficulty: easy
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Recipe 1

• 2 slices orange, with peel
  • 4 ice cubes
  • 200 red vermouth

Recipe 2

• 2 slices orange, with peel
  • 4 ice cubes
  • 200 red vermouth
  • 4 drops amargo de angostura
  • 2 tablespoons orange liquor

Recipe 3

• 4 ice cubes
  • 100 ml red vermouth
  • 50 ml gin
  • 100 ml orange juice
  • 1 orange and/or lemon peel strips

Procedure

Add to the glass following the order of the ingredients and enjoy!

Autor: https://artandkitchen.wordpress.com/

Barraquito 3 Ways – Wonder Coffee from Tenerife

The first time I saw this coffee at the table of neighbors in a restaurant I wondered what kind of dessert it was but I did not ask for this. We had a great meal and I really did not need more food or sweets.

A few days later we tried the “café leche leche” witch is a simpler version of coffee with milk and condensed milk without the liquor. But we still did not try the barraquito.

As I wanted to replicate the “café leche leche” I came across the barraquito.

The photos were spectacular and I found that we need to try this and see how it works.

Looking at the pictures in the web I realized that the layers were quite different, mostly 5 different layers but even more.

The density and viscosity of the ingredients are the key of this impressive coffee, but also the technique is very important as pouring the ingredients quickly would. The chronological sequence of pouring the ingredients is also very important and the results may very different.

In some of the descriptions steps 4 and 5 (foamy milk and espresso) are inverted!

Sometimes some of the ingredients are mixed first (coffee + liquor or milk +coffee).

Well, I decide to try as I described but as well as inverting steps 4 and 5. The results?

Guess, look at the pictures? Which one got the espresso first?

Finally I changed the experiment adding in this sequence: condensed milk, liquor, half of the coffee, hot milk, second part of the coffee and foam of the milk (with little milk). I got 6 layers!

There was another problem to solve: I missed Licor 43 or Tía María. I replaced this an orange-liquor. The result? WOW this was so good! Probably the liquor should be think and “heavy” enough. Psst: in my next experiment I combined the orange liquor with agave syrup for less alcohol, this worked perfectly as well!

A barraquito is something between a coffee and a delicious dessert! Next time in Tenerife I try this and I will bring home a bottle of Licor 43 or/and Tía María!

Solution of the question: the glass with high white level just after the liquor got the milk first.

Barraquito Two Ways – Wonder Coffee from Tenerife

• Servings: 1
• Time: 10 minutes
• Difficulty: medium
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You need

• 1small cup of espresso
• Hot milk, to taste
• 2 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk
• 1-2 tablespoons liquor (Licor 43 or Tía María)
• Cinnamon
• Lemon zest

Procedure:

1. First of all you need to have all your ingredients ready, including the hot espresso and the milk. Foam the milk with the shaker or the special blender (I did not foam this enough, next time I will foam this better).
2. In a small glass pour the condensed milk on the bottom first.
3. Now fill the liquor letting it flowing from the wall of the glass or using the back of a spoon.
4. In the same way pour the hot foamy milk.
5. Now pour the espresso looking not to mix the levels. (optional: 5a. some more milk and foam)
6. Sprinkle with cinnamon and add the lemon zest.

Author: https://artandkitchen.wordpress.com/

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Paseos de los Recoletos, Madrid (Spain)

Some pics on a main road: Paseo de los Recoletos in Madrid.

We were surprised how quite it was near this wide road, did everybody leave the city for a refreshing place at the beach?

The Retiro Park, Madrid (Spain)

After publishing many recipes, I would like to post a few photographs of my vacations in Spain.

First of all I will start posting some pictures of the retiro park we visited during the short stop over of a few hours in Madrid.

 

Gazpacho

This world famous soups was created in Spain after the discovery of the New World and its vegetables. Like many other old World Specialties the gazpacho traveled back and became popular there as well.

Sometimes gazpacho is served as chilled soup, sometimes served as appetizer chilled drink, but is also used to describe a type of salad of Spanish origin.

This recipe is based on New World foods: tomatoes and peppers, and it is supposed to be a variant on a much older recipe.

Ajo blanco, or white gazpacho. It is a creamy chilled soup containing ground almonds, cucumbers, yogurt and garlic. The addition of yogurt and almonds can be found in Arabian but also in Indian drinks as well.

Green gazpacho does gets its color from spinach, lettuce, parsley and other greens with the addition of yogurt or chicken broth.

Red or tomato-based gazpacho can be blended or crushed or the vegetables can be finely diced to add more texture and make the soup more salad-like.

Red gazpacho, also known as gazpacho Andaluz, usually includes sweet peppers and cucumber, but no yogurt,.

Traditional gazpacho was flavored with cumin, a spice beloved in the Middle East and in South America.

In the US we can find red gazpacho with cilantro and a dollop of sour cream.
The soup is traditionally served with toasted bread, but would also be excellent accompanied by warmed fresh tortillas or tortilla chips.

You need:

• 1 pound fresh tomatoes, diced
• 1/2 cup sweet red peppers, diced
• 1 garlic clove
• 2-4 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 2-4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 diced chili, optional to taste
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup ice cubes, optional

Preparation:

1. Reserve some diced vegetables and dice them finely.
2. Add all the ingredients to the blender and pulse until smooth.
3. Poor in cups or glasses and top with diced vegetables

 

Cuajada with Caramel Sauce- Spanish and South American Créme Brulée

Cuajada is a compact, almost curd lik product, like curd “grains” coagulate tightly to make a cheese. It is popular in the north-eastern regions of Spain (Basque Country, Navarre, Castilla y León, La Rioja), but you can find it in almost all South and Central American countries as well (Columbia, Nicaragua, El Savador, Mexico, Honduras, Brazil and Costa Rica).

Raw warmed milk is mixed with cuajada powder or rennet or with other plant extracts and left to curdle. It was traditionally made in a clay recipient or a wooden one called a kaiku and heated with a red-hot poker, giving it a distinct faintly burned taste. Cuajada means ‘curdled’ in Spanish.
A similar product named Coalhada is found mostly in northeast Brazil, especially in rural areas. It is made from curdled milk (specifically boiled) and yoghurt. Recipes vary but usually contain sugar and/or fruit juices.

I’ve got this recipe of this traditional pudding from Adi, a Spanish friend, after having enjoyed it her house.

If you not living in Spain it’s probably not so easy to find the “cuajada powder” ingredient, you can try your luck in Spanish specialty shops; but you can make an easy substitution using half tablet “Rennet” (to find in drugstores) of a few drops rennet.

Youn need

Cream

• 175 g philadelphia cheese
• 200 ml heavy cream
• 500 ml milk
• 100 g sugar
• 12 g cuajada powder ( 1 envelope cuajada or 1/2 tablet rennet or 5 drops rennet)

Caramel

• 3 tablespoons sugar

Variation

• about 10 ladyfingers

Procedure

1. Mix all the ingredient for the cream in a pan and wish until the cuajada looks dissolved.
2. Heat it until it begins to thicken.
3. In the meantime spread 3 tablespoon of sugar in your baking mold and place it under grill until it changes the color to medium brown.
4. Take out mold oven and wait until the mold is still warm but not hot.
5. Poor in the cream.
6. Press ladyfingers (if you wish) lightly on the surface of the cream
7. Let cool down and turn on a plate.

Note: you can add some grated citrus peel, cardamom, cinnamon or, or — to add different flavor. You can also top the warm cream in the mold with crumbled cookies; after inverting the curd they will stay at the bottom of it.