Stuffat tal-Qarnit - Maltese Octopus Stew

Well here is another classic from the Maltese islands which is one of Amanda's favourites...oh and mine as well!! Not everyone like octopus because of its rubbery texture but try and cook it this way and you will definitely love it. It is absolutely gorgeous served on some freshly cooked spaghetti (that is how this stew is usually served in Malta). Octopus in the Maltese islands is very common and is quite easily caught as they lurk around the rocky seashores of the islands. I remember going to the very famous Marsaxlokk market (do check it out if you ever visit Malta) on a Sunday morning and having a peek at these creatures that used to be still alive, crawling around the fish trays of the fishmonger. I also remember that every time we bought a huge octopus to cook at home, my mother used to put it in the kitchen sink with some salty water before cooking it and it was not the first time that we saw the octopus crawling out and attaching its tentacles to my mother's kitchen tiles. It was hilarious. Any way, do try this recipe as it is delicious. For 4-5 people you will need...

• 500g spaghetti
• 1 kilo octopus, cleaned and cut into bite size pieces
• 2 medium onions, roughly diced
• A handful of frozen peas, defrosted
• 6 small potatoes, cut in half or thirds
• 500ml tomato passata
• 250ml boiling water
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• A handful of green olives
• ½ cup red wine
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• Salt & pepper, to taste

How to,,,

1. In a heavy based pot heat the oil and cook covered on medium heat until soft and transparent.
2. When onions are cooked add the octopus and increase the heat, cook for about 10-15 minutes stirring occasionally. Sometimes it releases a lot of water so make sure all the water is evaporated.
3. Add the wine and stir until all the wine has evaporated. 
4. Now add the passata, water, tomato paste, olives, potatoes, sugar and season well with salt and pepper. Stir well bring to the boil and simmer on medium heat for about 45 minutes stirring occasionally so it does not stick.
5. In the meantime cook the spaghetti al dente.
6. After 45 minutes, add the peas to the octopus sauce and simmer gently for another 15 minutes.
7. Drain the spaghetti. Serve in a bowl or plate and spoon some octopus stew/sauce on top.
8. Serve hot.

Enjoy!!

R&A

Papas a la Huancaína - Potatoes in a Peruvian Cheese Sauce

Recently I got my hands on some Aji Amarillo (PeruvianYellow Chilli). Aji Amarillo is extensively used in any Peruvian kitchen and it is added to a lot of recipes. The cheesy sauce that smothers these potatoes is so tasty that, believe us, and even if you do not like letuce, you will devour anything that is covered in this awesome sauce. If you cannot find Aji Amarillo, you can use Jalapeño peppers instead, it's basically contains the same heat. Also, you might seem that adding crackers sounds odd but they are added to thicken the sauce. The sauce is so easy to prepare so you definitely should try this recipe. When we boiled the potatoes, we scrubbed them and left the skins on so as they stay in one piece. Once the potatoes are cool, you can peel them easily. You will need...

• 4 large potatoes, boiled, peeled and sliced
• 1 small tin evaporated mik
• 2 salted crackers
• 1 dried aji amarillo. rehydrated for 20 minutes in boiling water, deseeded and chopped (or jalapeño)
• 1/4 cup [60ml] vegetable oil
• 250g Feta cheese, crumbled
• 5 lettuce leaves, to serve
• 2 hard boiled eggs, sliced or quartered, to serve
• Handful pitted black olives, to serve

How to...

1. Put the evaporated milk, crackers, aji amarillo or Jalapeño & crumbled Feta cheese in a blender and blend. While still blending trickle the oil from the hole in the lid until all oil is used. Keep blending until you get a smooth sauce.
2. On a large serving plate, put the lettuce leaves and slice potatoes.
3. Pour the sauce over the potatoes, using a spatula to get every drop of sauce out of the blender. 
4. Garnish with the eggs and olives.

Enjoy!!

R&A

Zorza Gallega - Marinated Diced Pork Loin Galician Style

Zorza is a very famous dish in the Northwest Spanish region of Galicia. Basically, it is similar to the meat mixture used in the production of chorizo. One of the differences is that for Zorza the meat is chopped in coarser pieces. The impressively delicious taste of this pork dish comes from the long marination period. It is usually left to marinade for 24 hours in the fridge. The ingredients are quite basic but I did use proper Spanish pimentón (paprika) which gives the dish its distinctive red colour and above all a delicious flavour. If not available you can use normal paprika but make sure it is fresh as 'old' paprika tends to lose its flavour. Worth mentioning also the fact that Zorza is traditionally served with deep fried diced potatoes and fried eggs. One thing is for sure that your family and friends will love it no matter how it is served. We recently prepared a lot of it and we took it to a Spanish fiesta and our friends (Spanish and not) loved it and the Zorza was the first of the tapas to disappear from our table!! So do give this a go. The amounts below are for 6 people (if served as a meal) or 10 people or more if served as a range of tapas!!

• 1 kg pork loin, chopped into small dice (about 0.5 cm cubes)
• 3 tbsp sweet pimentón (paprika)
• 1/2 tbsp hot pimentón (paprika)
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp fine sea salt
• A large zip-lock bag

TWO TIPS: 

1. Make sure the meat is cut in equal pieces so as it cooks evenly.
2. If using 1 kg of meat cook it in two batches.

How to...

1. Put the meat and all the remaining ingredients in a large zip-lock bag, partially close and let all the air out. Now close the bag entirely and start mixing the meat and the ingredients by gently massaging the back. Keep doing this for about 10 minutes until the meat turns red and all the other ingredients are mixed in.
2. Put in the fridge and leave to marinade for 24 hours.
3. When it's time to cook your Zorza, heat up a wok or a  shallow pan on high heat and carefully start stir-frying the Zorza quickly, make sure your stir continuously to avoid it from sticking to the pan. Zorza takes less than 10 minutes to cook.
4. Serve warm with deep fried potatoes (cut the same size of the meat) and a fried egg per person. You can also put in a bowl for everyone to help yourself when you do your Spanish fiesta. Tapas are awesome!!!

Enjoy!!

R&A

Nicoise Salad - Salade Niçoise

Salade niçoise comes from southern France and it is one of our favourite salads. The main ingredients that make up this wonderful salad are tuna and anchovies. We always try to find fresh tuna but sometimes here in England is hard to find and when you find it, it can be very expensive. So we use good quality canned tuna fillets. Also it is usually made with niçoise olives, which are small black olives but any small black olives will do if these are not available. As per every salad there is a myriad versions of the actual recipe so it very hard to find out exactly what goes in a proper salade niçoise. Cucumber, preserved artichoke hearts, radishes, new potatoes, raw green peppers, sweet shallots are all different vegetables that are used...depends where you get the recipe from! Hard boiled eggs are a must as well. Our version for a substantial meal for two people is as follows...

For the salad

• About 100g mixed salad leaves
• 2 ripe but firm tomatoes, sliced
• 8 new potatoes, boiled
• 2 hard boiled eggs, quartered
• A handful of black olives
• 100g French fine green beans, cooked
• 2 tuna steaks (about 150g each, grilled to your liking and left to cool down slightly) or 2 cans of tuna chunks
• 8 anchovy fillets

For the dressing

• Red wine vinegar
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Salt & pepper

1. This has to be the easiest method ever. Just arrange all the salad ingredients onto the serving plates, leaving the tuna and anchovies for last.
2. Mix the dressing ingredients in a small bowl. The amounts are entirely up to you.
3. Dress the tuna and salad leaves.
4. Serve.

Enjoy!!

R&A

Cottage Pie

The term Cottage Pie has been around for centuries and the actual name is known to have been around since 1791. Incidentally, this year was when potatoes started being introduced as an edible crop which was available to the poor.  Initially made with leftover meat, this pie took its name from the meaning of the term cottage, which actually means a humble residence for farmers. (Ref: Wikipedia) Cottage Pie has been a favourite in our family for decades and have been loving it since I was a child as my mum prepared it frequently. So this is our take on a classic British dish. Needless to say it is very easy to prepare, I mean the meat mixture is not rocket science and boiling potatoes is quite a low ability task. So this recipe does go with the easy ones. It is the ultimate comforting food and you will definitely ask for seconds. You will need...(this amount of ingredients will make a medium pie)

For the meat mixture

• 500g lean beef mince
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 carrots, finely diced
• 1 celery stick, finely diced
• 250ml prepared gravy (I use Bisto Best), this acts as a thickening agent
• ½ teaspoon dried mixed herbs
• ½ teaspoon hot paprika
• ½ tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 beef stock pot/cube
• Ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce (or to taste)
• 25g butter, for frying

For the mashed potatoes

• 750g potatoes, boiled
• 40g butter
• A splash of milk, (you want the mash to be quite firm)
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg (optional)
• Sweet paprika, to garnish
• Ground black pepper, to garnish

How to...

1. Start by preparing the mashed potatoes. Boil the potatoes and add the butter, milk and ground nutmeg (if using) and mash to the desired consistency. Set aside.
2. Prepare the meat mixture. In a large frying pan, on a moderate heat, heat the butter until it melts and starts sizzling, then add the onions, carrots, celery and mixed herbs. Cover and cook, stirring frequently, for about 10 minutes or until onions, carrots & celery are soft. Add some black pepper if you want to at this stage (We do!).
3. Add the beef mince and stir in to mix in with the vegetables. Now add the tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, beef stock pot/cube more black pepper, hot paprika and cook uncovered until the meat is done and all the liquid has nearly gone.
4. When meat is cooked add the prepared gravy and stir in well. Lower the heat and simmer until the meat mixture for a minute or two. 
5. In the meantime preheat the oven to 180°C.
6. To assemble your cottage pie, you just pour the meat mixture in a deep pie or casserole dish, level the mixture withe back of a spoon and cover with the mashed potato. Use a palette to level the mash on top of the meat mixture. Try and seal it well to prevent it from leaking. You can also prick some holes into the mashed potato topping so as steam can escape.
7. Sprinkle with sweet paprika and ground black pepper and bake in the oven for about 25 minutes.
8. Take it out of the oven and leave to cool down for about 15 minutes. It is now ready to serve. 

Enjoy!!

R&A