Frittata Primavera

I just created this frittata this morning for our brunch. I opened the fridge and thought with what can I come up with and this is the result. :) The end result was delicious and I thought I'll share this creation with you guys. If fresh herbs are not available use a pinch of dried herbs instead. Also, if you would like to make this dish as a vegetarian meal just omit the ham and salami. So, this is basically what you will need...

• 5 eggs, beaten
• 1 red pepper, finely diced
• 1 courgette (zucchine), finely diced
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 2 fresh basil leaves, finely chopped
• 4 mint leaves, finely chopped
• Fresh chives, finely chopped
• 50g Ham, chopped
• 50g German salami (or any other salami), chopped
• Pinch ground cumin
• Pinch cayenne pepper
• Ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 tbsp grated hard cheese (Parmigiano, Grana or Kefalotiri)
• Olive oil

Method

1. Heat the olive oil and add all the ingredients apart from the eggs and cheese.
2. Cover and cook until pepper and courgette are soft. Make sure you keep mixing frequently.
3. When veg is soft, distribute the mixture in the pan evenly.
4. Beat the eggs in a bowl and add the cheese and more black pepper. Mix well.
5. Add the egg mixture to the pan.
6. Lower the heat and cook covered until eggs set.
7. Serve with buttered wholemeal bread.

Enjoy!!!

R&A

Pasta & Aubergine Bake

Yet another favourite dish of the Farrugia's...bursting with Mediterranean flavours! Amanda found this recipe in one of our recipe books and it is a must on our menu now. The grilled peppers, the aubergines, the olive paste...wow! For the peppers, we either make our own grilled peppers in oil or when short of time, we use grilled peppers in oil (and not in brine or vinegar) from a jar. Regarding the olive paste we use either Rio Mare Paté alle olive or olive pâté found in main supermarkets but we sometimes make our own and it lasts for ages in the fridge [recipe here]. When it comes to the cheese if you do not find Taleggio you can use Fontina or Mozzarella instead. Also, always make sure that you remove the bitter juices from the aubergines before cooking by using the method described in step 1. This is a vegetarian dish and can be enjoyed by everyone. Hope you try it...this is what you will need...

• 1 Large aubergine (about 700g), diced in 2cm cubes
• 2 tsp coarse sea salt
• 1 jar of sliced mixed peppers in oil
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 500ml Tomato Passata
• 300ml [1pt] Vegetable stock [1-2 cubes in boiling water]
• 2 tsp Olive Paste
• 200g Cellentani, spirali or Fusilli Pasta
• 150g Taleggio or Fontina or Mozzarella cheese, diced in 1cm cubes
• 6-8 tomatoes, sliced & deseeded
• 1 egg
• 150ml Single/Fresh Cream

How to...

1. Put the aubergine cubes in a colander & sprinkle with the rock salt & leave for about 30 minutes until the bitter juices run out.

2. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Strain the oil off the jar of mixed peppers and reserve.

3. Pour 2 tbsp of the reserved oil into a large saucepan & add the onion & garlic. Fry over medium heat until onion is transparent but not brown.

4. Rinse the aubergine cubes & pat them dry with kitchen towels. Stir them into the onion and garlic mixture and fry for 10 minutes or until softened, adding more of the reserved oil if necessary.

5. Add the peppers, the passata & the vegetable stock and stir well to combine. Stir in the olive paste, then simmer on high heat until sauce reduces.

6. Remove the pan from the heat and add the pasta shapes. Mix well to separate the pieces. Then pour the mixture into an oven-proof dish. Dot with the cubes of taleggio/mozzarella, then layer the tomatoes over the top.

7. Lightly whisk the egg, then add the fresh cream and stir to combine. Pour the mixture over the pasta mixture, then bake for about 45 minutes or until pasta is cooked through.

Enjoy!!!
R&A

Delicious Sweet Sticky Chicken Wings

Wings are the cheapest joint from the chicken. They are so underrated. But when they are marinated in a proper marinade and grilled or baked they turn into scrumptious finger food, snack or why not have them for lunch or dinner!! You can serve them with some nice basmati rice, chips, roast potatoes...whatever suits you really!! 

In this particular recipe we used Kecap Manis Sedang as one of the main ingredients. Kecap Manis Sedang is the lighter version of Kecap Manis, an Indonesian sweet soy sauce which can be found in Asian food shops or Asian food aisle in supermarkets. If you cannot find it simply use dark soy sauce and add an extra tablespoon of brown sugar to the mixture. Well, enough words for now :)...here is what you will need...

• 1 kg Chicken Wings, cut into 2 pieces
• 4 tbsp Tomato Ketchup
• 4 tbsp Kecap Manis Sedang or Dark Soy Sauce
• 2 tbsp Sweet Chilli Sauce
• 3-4 tbsp Light Brown Sugar
• 4 Garlic Cloves, crushed

Method

1. Mix all the ingredients, except the wings, in a bowl.
2. Put the wings in a zip-lock bag and pour the marinade mixture in. Close the bag and shake well so as to coat every corner of the wings...or if you do not have a zip-lock bag you can always put the wings into the bowl and mix everything up.
3. Put them in the fridge overnight or longer. (If using the bowl make sure you cover the bowl with cling film).
4. When ready to cook, preheat oven to 180°C. 
5. Put the wing with the marinade in an oven tray and bake for about 45-60 minutes.
6. Serve in whatever way you deem fit :)

Enjoy!!

R&A

Surimi Sticks [Crab Sticks] Filled Rolls/Sandwiches

This is one of our favourite sandwich fillings...they are so good and tasty! Very easy and quick to prepare as well. You can fill whichever bread you like...buns, rolls, baps, sandwiches...and most of all you can prepare them in advance. We sometimes add tarragon instead of chives. You can take a couple of them with you at work for lunch or in your kids' lunch-boxes or take them in your picnic basket when you are off to the park or beach...here is what you will need...

• 2 packets Surimi sticks [Crab sticks], sliced into 1cm chunks
• 3 or 4 tbsp Mayonnaise 
• Snipped fresh chives [or 1 generous tsp of dried chives]
• Pinch of sweet paprika
• Ground white pepper, to taste
• Lettuce leaves, to serve (optional)
• 6-8 Rolls/Baps/Buns

1. Put them Surimi sticks, mayo, paprika, chives and white pepper in a bowl and mix gently, not to mash the surimi up.
2. Put a lettuce leaf (if using) and fill them up with the surimi mixture.
3. Serve!

Enjoy!!
R&A

Pumpkin & Courgette Lasagna

These delicious lasagne are made as the title obviously says with pumpkin and zucchine. Unfortunately during Halloween, pumpkins in the UK are just used for carving and the flesh discarded, which is a pity as they can be used in various recipes, from savoury to sweet. Here in the UK they mostly use the butternut squash which is similar to pumpkin. Well luckily, that said it was a very big advantage for us as we bought two massive pumpkins for just £1 each, chopped them into chunks and froze them in freezer bags as by the way they only appear during Halloween over here. Back to the lasagne, this is prepared with layers of grilled zucchine, sliced mozzarella, single cream and delicious pumpkin and bacon purée. The most time consuming procedure of this recipe is preparing and grilling the zucchine, which you can always prepare in advance if you like. If you do not have or you cannot find pumpkin you can do this with butternut squash. Also, if you want some delicious vegetarian lasagne just leave the bacon part out! If you omit the cream, the lasagne will end up very dry so do use it, you can use light cream or even milk thickened with flour instead. Anyhow here are the ingredients that you will need...

• 4 large zucchine/courgettes, sliced lengthwise
• 1.5 kg pumpkin, cut into large pieces
• 3 mozzarella balls [375g], sliced
• 100g streaky bacon, chopped into small pieces (optional)
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 150ml single cream
• 250g lasagne sheets
• Pinch ground nutmeg
• Salt & pepper, to taste
• Olive oil

How to...

1. Firstly prepare the zucchine. Start by brushing them with olive oil, then grill them until soft. [The thinner you slice them, the quicker they will cook]. When done put them on a plate with kitchen roll and set them aside.
2. Next fry the onion in 2 tbsp of olive oil until soft and transparent. When the onion is done, add the bacon and the garlic and cook until the bacon is golden. Set aside.
3. Preheat the oven to 220°C. Put the pumpkin in a large oven tray skin side up, add a small glass of water. Bake in the hot oven for about 30 minutes. When cooked, carefully peel the skin off or scoop the flesh with a teaspoon.
4. Next put the cooked pumpkin together with the onion/bacon mixture in a blender, add some olive oil and the nutmeg, season well with salt & pepper and blend until you get a smooth purée.
5. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
6. Now it is time to start layering the lasagne. Start by pouring some cream, then some pumpkin mixture, then lasagne sheets, then another layer of pumpkin purée, sliced zucchine, mozzarella slices, then start all over again and continue until you have used all of the ingredients. Be careful not to press the lasagne sheets too much, just put them loosely.
7. When done, put in the hot oven and bake until the top is brown and bubbly. Around 30 to 45 minutes.

Enjoy!!!!

R&A