Mujaddara - Arabic Lentils, Rice & Onions - مجدرة

Well what can we say, I made this dish as a quick and cheap end of the month dinner and we fell in love with it....wow...sooo tasty!!! Simple, easy and quick to make I just hope you do try it. Obviously I added some spices to it but they are optional as this dish is quite simple as I said. This recipe is quite old and in fact, the first recorded recipe for Mujaddara appears in Kitab al-Tabikh, a cookbook compiled in 1226 by al-Baghdadi in Iraq. It was indeed known as a dish for the poor and there is a saying in the Eastern Arab world which says, "A hungry man would be willing to sell his soul for a dish of Mujaddara." I added Advieh (which is not an Arabic spice mix but Persian) but you can add Baharat a very popular Arabic spice mix or none at all. It is completely up to your taste! It is vegetarian, although some variations are served with meat but not this one. You can also make it vegan by omitting the yoghurt at the end. So for 3-4 people you will need...

• 3 onions, chopped
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 cup brown or green lentils
• 1 cup long grain rice
• 3 ½ cups cold water
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon Advieh* or Baharat** spice mixture (optional) 
• 1 teaspoon Harissa paste (optional)
• Sesame seeds, to garnish
• Greek (thick) yoghurt, to serve

*To make Advieh spice mixture : Mix 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg, 1 teaspoon ground rose petals, 1 teaspoon ground cardamom, 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin in an airtight glass jar and store in a dry cupboard.

**To make Baharat spice mixture : Mix 2 teaspoons paprika, 2 teaspoons ground cumin, 1 teaspoon black pepper, 1 teaspoon ground coriander, ½  teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom, ¼ teaspoon ground cloves in an airtight glass jar and store in a dry cupboard.

How to...

1. In a small pan heat 2 tablespoons of oil and fry the chopped onions together with the Advieh or Baharat if using on medium heat stirring occasionally until soft and brown. Set aside.
2. In a medium (5 litre) pot add the lentils and water, bring to the boil, lower heat and simmer covered for 15 minutes.
3. Now add the cooked onions, rice, salt and Harissa paste. Stir well and simmer covered on medium heat for 20 minutes, stirring frequently to avoid rice from sticking to the pot. 
4. In the meantime, heat the remaining oil in the same pan that you cooked the chopped onions in and cook the sliced onion until caramelized (stirring frequently).
5. When everything is cooked, serve the lentil/rice/onions mixture hot, some caramelised onions on top, sprinkle some sesame seeds and a couple of spoonfuls of yoghurt.

Enjoy!!

R&A

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

Aljotta - Maltese Fish Soup

This Maltese soup obviously comes to be because of Malta's geographical location, that is, an island in the middle of the Mediterranean sea. Originally this soup was made by fishermen's wives to use up any small fish that would have gotten into the fishermen's nets. Most of the time this soup is made using these very famous Mediterranean small fish called Vopi (in Maltese). Funnily enough, these fish in English are called Boops Boops or Bogue, which is a species of small sea-bream. These fish are available in any Mediterranean fish market from Spain to Turkey but since I cannot find them over here in England I usually use either sprats or sardines. The soup will turn out equally delicious. This soup needs to have liquid consistency, like a broth and usually rice is added to it. Also, Amanda and most of the Maltese people leave this soup as it is but if you do not like small fish bones (which are completely edible) all you need to do is put it through a sieve before you ladle the soup into your serving bowl. It can be served as a starter or even as a main meal on its own when bread with crusty bread (preferably Maltese bread). Give it a go and if you want let us know if you like it or not. For about 6 portions as a starter you will need...

• 500g small fish like vopi, sprats, sardines, gutted but left whole
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 4 tomatoes, de-seeded & chopped
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon dried mint
• ½ teaspoon dried marjoram
• 100ml dry sherry or dry white wine
• 2 Knorr fish stock pots or stock cubes
• 1.5 litres boiling water
• Salt & pepper
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• Lemon wedges, to serve

 How to...

1. Heat the oil and cook the onion & garlic until golden brown.
2. Add the tomatoes, fish, mint, marjoram, salt, pepper and stir slowly, so as not to break the fish. Cook for about 5 minutes stirring occasionally.
3. Add the sherry or wine, give it a stir and cook until all liquid has evaporated.
4. Now add the stock pots or cubes to a measuring jug and dissolve them in some boiling water, about half a litre or so. Now add to the fish in the pot, add the remaining litre of boiling water. Stir carefully, add the tomato paste and stir again.
5. Bring to the boil and simmer on low to medium heat for about 30 minutes.  Now if you do not like munching on the edible tiny fish bones, just pass the soup through a fine sieve before serving.
6. Serve hot with lemon wedges.

Enjoy!!

R&A

Vegan Gluten Free Pizza

So, one of my friends asked me to help her with a vegan gluten-free dough recipe and I said that I will accept the challenge. Well after lots of research and experimentation, I managed to come up with this delicious, tasty millet based dough. It is a very good alternative to wheat if you are gluten intolerant and/or follow a vegan diet. The amounts of the ingredients are for 1 pizza so you have to increase the amounts if you are doing more than one pizza. When it comes to toppings I used what I had in my fridge/pantry and again feel free to use anything you like or prefer. Millet flour is sometimes marketed as Bajra/Bajri flour which is the Indian flour for millet, I made my own and ground some millet seeds in my spice grinder. I also added some ground golden flaxseed/linseed but it is optional if you cannot find it.  It is quite easy and quick to prepare, just throw the ingredients in a food processor and voilà. for one pizza you will need...

For the dough

• 215g millet flour
• 65g coconut oil
• 100ml boiling water
• ½ teaspoon rock salt
• 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed/linseed

For the topping

• 3 tablespoons kalamata olive hummus
• 1 small yellow pepper, de-seeded and cut into rings
• 2 slices white onion, separated into rings
• 1 mushroom, thinly sliced
• 2 smoked garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• Harissa paste, to taste
• Pinch dried oregano
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Freshly chopped dill

How to...

1. Preheat the oven to 240°C/475°F.
2. Prepare the dough, in a food processor  put the millet flour, coconut oil, salt and flaxseed, if using, and blitz until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. With the motor running, add the boiling water tablespoon by tablespoon until you get a smooth dough. I used nearly all of the 100ml. 
3. Now, place a large piece of greaseproof paper on the kitchen top and dust with some millet flour. With your hands take the dough and shape into a ball on top of the greaseproof paper and with a rolling pin slowly roll out into a pizza base about 5mm thick. Don't worry if it is not round!! 
   
4. Spread the pizza base generously with the hummus and spread evenly the sliced pepper, mushroom, onion and smoked garlic. Dot with harissa paste to taste, sprinkle with dried oregano. Carefully transfer onto a large oven tray together with the greaseproof paper.
5. Bake into the preheated hot oven for 15-20 minutes.
6. When cooked take out of the oven, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with freshly chopped dill. Slice into 8 pieces and serve immediately.
   

Enjoy!!

R&A

Shiitake Mushroom & Asparagus Risotto

"Well, that was worth the lifetime wait" That is what I said as soon as I finished my last spoonful of this risotto. The reason behind that saying was the fact that I never had a proper risotto before and also I had never cooked one before yesterday. For some strange reason I never felt confident enough to cook a risotto, always thinking that I'm going to mess it up. But hey, as they say, I nailed it!! I was browsing as usual and found this recipe which I adapted to our own taste. The recipe says to use dry white wine but we used a good Spanish dry sherry, which has the same colour and dryness as white wine but a fruitier crisper taste, in my opinion, but if you do not have it feel free to use a dry white wine. This recipe is completely vegetarian as well. I actually found out that the secret to the perfect risotto is patience, in fact you have stir calmly for nearly 20 minutes but do not be put off by this, it is certainly worth the effort. So here it goes, for 4 people you will need...

• 1.5 litres boiling water
• 2 vegetable stock pots (or cubes)
• 250g (1 ½ cups) Arborio rice
• 150g asparagus, ends discarded and chopped into 3 pieces
• 60g dried Shiitake mushrooms, soaked in boiling water for about an hour
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 120ml (½ cup) Spanish dry Sherry
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 60g (½ cup/½ stick) butter
• 50g grated Parmigiano Reggiano

How to...

1. In a pan add the boiling water and vegetable stock pots. Bring to the boil and throw in the asparagus and simmer for 4 minutes. Take out of the stock and put into ice cold water to stop the cooking process completely. Drain and set aside.
2. Now prepare the mushrooms. Start by discarding the steams and slicing the mushroom caps thinly. Heat the olive oil in a small pan and add the mushrooms, sauté for 5 minutes stirring frequently. Set aside. 
3. In a large heavy based frying pan or pan (I prefer a frying pan because it spreads the heat evenly during cooking) heat up half the butter and add the onion and cook covered on medium to low heat until soft and transparent. When onion is cooked, increase the heat to medium, add the rice and cook, stirring frequently for about a minute. 
4. Now add the sherry and simmer whilst stirring until it is absorbed, this will only take about a minute. Now add a cup of the vegetable stock whilst constantly stirring until all stock has been absorbed by the rice, this takes about 2 minutes.
5. From now on, keep adding the remaining stock ½ cup at a time, always adding the next one when the previous one has been completely absorbed by the rice. Keep doing this until you used all the stock or until rice is looking creamy. It is very important that you keep stirring the rice constantly to ensure an even absorption. This will take about 20 minutes. 
6. When done, take off the heat, stir in slowly the remaining butter and half the cheese. Now stir in carefully the cooked asparagus and Shiitake mushrooms. Serve immediately with extra grated Parmigiano.

Enjoy!!

R&A

Tortelloni Cheese & Peas

Tortellini or tortelloni with cream is quite a famous dish in Malta and is a must on numerous restaurant menus around the Maltese islands. We do like the classic ham, mushrooms & cream but this is another version that we love and thought we'd share it with you all. In this dish, we used whole milk instead of cream but you can use cream as well if you wish. The sweetness of the peas contrasts the sharpness of the Gorgonzola cheese whilst the paprika adds extra flavour. For 3-4 people you will need...

• 2x 250g Packets tortelloni
• 100g frozen peas, defrosted
• 75g Gorgonzola Piccante, cut in cubes
• 75g Extra mature cheddar, grated
• Freshly ground pepper
• ½ teaspoon sweet paprika
• 2 teaspoons corn flour dissolved in 1 cup whole milk
• Chopped parsley, to serve

How to...

1. Cook the tortelloni as per packet directions.
2. In the meantime, start preparing the sauce by adding all the ingredients into a small pan and stir frequently and slowly until all the cheese has melted. Keep stirring until the sauce bubbles and starts to thicken. Turn off the heat.
3. Drain the tortelloni cooked al dente and add to the cheesy sauce or viceversa. Stir slowly and serve hot with plenty of chopped parsley sprinkled on top.

Enjoy!!

R&A

Baked Cod with Sweet Peppers & Cherry Tomatoes

Recently my parents and youngest brother visited us and my dad wanted me to cook something for them so I thought why not cook some local fish with a Mediterranean touch for all of us. So, whilst we were at Doncaster market, I visited my friend Vince of Penny's Fisheries and got a good deal on some fresh cod. Then on our way home I browsed the net  for ideas whilst thinking what I had in our pantry at home and I found a recipe on the BBC Food website and adapted it to our own taste. So, off we headed to the supermarket to buy the rest of the vegetables that I was missing at home. Since cod is not everyone's favourite fish as some might say that it is quite bland on flavour I decided to add some natural flavour enhancers that made this dish super tasty and flavourful. I added some more herbs and capers. As you might imagine this amount of ingredients fed all five of us so feel free so adapt the ingredient amounts. Give it a go, you can use any fish you like and also vary/omit the vegetables to your liking. For 5-6 people you will need...

• 1.2kg fresh large cod fillets
• 4 red sweet peppers, chopped into medium sized-pieces
• 3 yellow sweet peppers, chopped into medium sized-pieces
• 2 red onions, diced into 8 pieces
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed or finely chopped
• 250g cherry tomatoes
• A large handful of green olives
• 2 tablespoons capers
• 500ml (2 cups) tomato passata
• Fresh basil leaves
• Fresh or dried mint leaves
• Some dried oregano
• Dried parsley
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Extra virgin olive oil

How to...

1. Preheat the oven to 220°C/425°F/Gas Mark 7.
2. In a large bowl put the chopped peppers, onions, garlic, cherry tomatoes, olives, capers and some olive oil and mix well. Divide the mixed vegetables between two large oven dishes and put in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes.
   
3. In the meantime cut the large cod fillets in two pieces. When the vegetables are done, leave the oven on, take the vegetables out of the oven and pour 250ml (about 1 cup) of passata on top of the vegetables. 
4. Now, put the cod fillets on top of the partially cooked vegetables. Drizzle with olive oil and scatter with some fresh basil leaves, mint, oregano and parsley. Freshly grind some black pepper and put into the hot oven for a further 20 minutes until fish is flaky and falling apart. Serve hot!
   
   
   

Enjoy!!

R&A

Pineapple & Coconut Kebabs

Watching afternoon TV, I felt like a sweet treat but remembered that I did actually promise myself not to have sugary treats during weekdays and so far I have stuck to it. So, we had a giant pineapple sat on the kitchen floor (that is where we leave it to ripen) and thought that is quite sweet. Obviously, for myself munching on just freshly chopped pineapple is not enough so I came up with these sweet and delicious kebabs. Very quick and easy to prepare and cook you will have a great healthy, sweet treat in minutes. You can used canned pineapple chunks if you like but believe me fresh ripe pineapple is so so good, so do try and get your hands on a fresh pineapple. They are also great to grill on the BBQ to finish a great meal. Give them a go...for 8 kebabs you will need...

• 32 large pieces fresh ripe pineapple
• 6 tablespoons desiccated coconut
• ¼ teaspoon mixed spice
• ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 8 bamboo skewers

How to... 

1. In a bowl or plate mix the coconut, mixed spice and cinnamon well. 
2. Roll the pineapple pieces in the coconut/spice mixture and put 4 pineapple pieces on every skewers.
3. Grill on a hot grill pan or BBQ for a couple of minutes on each side until slightly charred.
4. Serve.

Enjoy!!

R&A

Tunisian Lablabi - لبلابي

Lablabi is Tunisia's national dish. It is very common in eateries all around the country as it is very quick to plate up once you have the base for the dish. The base for the dish is simply a chickpea soup flavoured with garlic and cumin. I cooked the chickpea soup in our slow cooker but you can cook it on the hob by letting it simmer for 3 hours on low/medium heat. It is very important though that if you do not cook the chickpeas in the slow cooker you need to pre-soak the chickpeas before cooking. Once you have the soup, it's all easy peasy from there onwards. Give it a go...you will love it. You will need...

For the soup

500g dried chickpeas 

6 garlic cloves, crushed

1 tablespoon ground cumin

2 litres boiling water

½ tablespoon bicarbonate of soda

To plate up...

• 4 small French Baguettes or other crusty bead
• Tunisian Harissa paste
• 1 Lime, cut into quarters
• Capers
• Olives
• 2 cans Tuna chunks
• Extra virgin olive oil
• 4 Soft boiled eggs
• Ground cumin, to taste

How to...

1. Start by cooking the chickpeas in the slow cooker or on the hob. Remember to pre-soak them if not using the slow cooker. Put the chickpeas in the slow cooker add the garlic cloves, ground cumin, bicarbonate of soda and cover with the boiling water and cook for 4 hours on high. Alternatively, simmer on the hob for 3 hours on a low/medium heat.
2. When the soup is done, cook the eggs to your liking. Traditionally.the egg is served either raw (it cooks in the hot soup) or else soft boiled. To cook a soft boiled egg just plunge it into boiling water for 3 minutes. If you want it hard boiled, leave it for 8 minutes.
3. You are now ready to plate up. Firstly start by tearing the bread by hand into bite pieces and placing it at the bottom of the bowl. Now pour 2 ladles of soup, including chickpeas obviously. From now on, you can put the amount of ingredients you like...more of this...none of that...less of that...whatever you like. I like everything so...
4. Start with a sprinkling of capers, then green olives, then some tuna. Add harissa (as much as you want...be careful it is spicy). Drizzle with the olive oil and lime juice. Sprinkle with extra ground cumin, crack the egg on the dish, mix all up and enjoy!

Enjoy!!

R&A

Amish Baked Chicken

Amish baked chicken is just wow!!!! Crispy, buttery just unbelievably delicious. We had never cooked Amish recipes before and we found this recipe in an ecookbook and adapted it and it turned out to be a winner. As I said there is lots of butter used but it is definitely better than buying take-away chicken or something like that. Amish cuisine is very natural, no additives, no sweeteners and the like. Give it a go and I am quite sure that you will do it again. It is super easy to prepare and cook. for 4 people you will need...

• 1 whole chicken, cut into pieces
• ½ cup (65g) plain flour
• 2 teaspoons sweet paprika
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• ¼ teaspoon dry yellow mustard powder
• 3 teaspoons salt
• 250g (about 1 cup) butter, melted

How to...

1. Preheat the 180°C/350°F.
2. Mix the dry ingredients well in a plastic bag or in a large bowl. 
3. Coat the cut up chicken parts with the mixture. 
4. In an oven dish, pour the melted butter and carefully place the chicken parts in the dish next to each other. Bake in the preheated oven until golden and cooked, about an hour to an hour and a half or until cooked. 
5. Serve hot with a side of green beans.

Enjoy!!

R&A

Summery Millet Salad

I made this salad to take with me at work as my lunch and I must say it was wonderful and so tasty. You can also do this with quinoa or couscous if you like. It is super-easy and super-quick to rustle up, cooking the millet grain is the longest cooking time for this recipe (about 20 minutes). This recipe is vegetarian but for a vegan version just omit the eggs. I adore eggs so I did put 2 hard boiled eggs in my salad but feel free to do one instead or none as I said before none. Anyway, do give it a go and if you have not tried millet grain before do try it, it is so good and I love its fluffy texture. You can do this for a light lunch or even as a side for your dinner (maybe a good steak). You can also take it with you to a BBQ. The following amounts are for one portion so double or quadruple the ingredients for a larger serving. For one portion you will need...

• 60g millet grain, washed
• 1 or 2 hard boiled eggs, chopped (optional)
• 1 tomato, diced
• 1tbsp sliced jalapenos
• 6 green olives
• 2 tsp capers, drained
• 3 sundried tomatoes, chopped (optional)
• ½ teaspoon dried mint
• A couple of fresh basil leaves
• Salt & pepper, to taste
• Sweet paprika, to taste
• Extra virgin olive oil, to taste

How to..

1. Start by cooking the millet by just adding it in plenty of boiling water. Simmer for 20 minutes and drain in a sieve. Whilst still in the sieve rinse the cooked millet grain under a running cold water tap to cool it down. 
2. When cool enough add all the other ingredients, including the salt, pepper, sweet paprika and olive oil to your taste and stir carefully to combine. 
3. This is now ready to serve.

Enjoy!!

R&A

Bzar biz-zalza - Peppers in Tomato Sauce Maltese Style

This recipe is definitely a Maltese classic. A summer classic dish that can be eaten hot or cold and usually eaten with Maltese bread and/or fried fish, mainly Lampuki [Dolphin Fish or Dorado in English]. We love it and whenever we cook it, it reminds Amanda of when her mother used to prepare fried Lampuki and this pepper sauce. My dad love it a lot as well...to be fair, every Maltese person does I guess!! This dish is a relative of the Sicilian dish Peperonata. Give it a go and as I said you can serve it as a side dish or as a delicious vegetarian dish on its own and eat it with some nice crusty bread or tortillas even....preferably Maltese obviously...for 4 people you will need...

• 3 Green peppers, de-seeded & sliced
• 3 Red peppers, de-seeded & sliced
• 700 ml tomato passata
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• Handful whole green olives
• 3 teaspoons capers
• ½ teaspoon dried mint
• 4 Fresh basil leaves
• Salt & pepper
• Extra virgin olive oil

How to..

1. In a medium sized pan heat some olive oil & the garlic and fry until golden brown. 
2. Then add the peppers and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Now add the rest of the ingredients and give it a good stir and simmer on low/medium heat until the peppers are cooked through. We left ours simmer gently for about 3 hours (The longer the simmer, the tastier the sauce...gives it more flavour) but you can simmer for an hour on medium heat always stirring occasionally.
4. Serve hot or cold with bread/tortillas or as a side dish.

Enjoy!!

R&A

Crunchy Summer Berries Breakfast

My breakfast is rarely the same and considering that berries at the minute are in season, I felt like giving my cornflakes bowl a new take...rather than the boring cornflakes and milk. I added some berries, yoghurt and topped it with ground flaxseed for extra nutrition.

Mmmm...delicious!!  You should give this a go to give your breakfast a different take. You will need...

• 2 cups Cornflakes (or as many as you want)
• 5 Strawberries, halved
• 6 Blueberries
• 2 tablespoons Strawberry Yoghurt
• Ground flaxseed [linseed]

How to...

In a cereal bowl put the cornflakes, spoon the yoghurt on top, toss the berries in and sprinkle generously with the ground flaxseed. Serve!

Enjoy!!

R&A

Strawberry & Goat Cheese Salad - Salade Fraises et Chèvre

Amanda and myself were browsing for ideas for our weekly menu and we wanted a fresh summery salad. After gathering lots of ideas, Amanda came across a vlogger that used strawberries in her salad and we said why not...let's have a go! A summer salad with the most famous summer fruit of them all...the juicy strawberry! To accompany it some creamy and mellow French goat cheese. As dressing nothing too complicated...just some extra virgin olive oil and some balsamic vinegar. We had it as a light supper but it can easily be eaten as a quick lunch as well! Give it a go...it was a combination made in heaven. For 2 salads as suppers you will need...

• 1/2 Iceberg lettuce, washed and chopped roughly or any salad leaves
• 1 French Goat cheese, sliced [about 150g]
• 6-8 large strawberries, sliced
• 1 large ripe avocado, sliced
• Toasted flaked almonds
• Fresh basil leaves
• Extra Virgin Olive oil
• Balsamic vinegar

How to...

1. Start by toasting the almond flakes in a small dry pan, stir them occasionally to make sure they do not get burnt, about 5 minute. now divide the lettuce between two plates. 
2. Lay the strawberries, goat cheese and avocado on top of the lettuce. 
3. Sprinkle the toasted flaked almonds and put a couple of basil leaves. 
4. Dress with the olive oil and balsamic vinegar and serve.

Enjoy!!

R&A

Raw All Natural Chocolate Truffles

Now I know that some of the ingredients in this recipe are not that common but if you find them, do try them out. They are so decadent and moreish. If you cannot find the seeds, you can use ground almonds instead but I cannot assure the outcome because I have never tried it that way I'm afraid! These treats are highly nutritious as well as flaxseed, hemp seed and sesame seeds are packed with nutritive value.  They are also suitable for a vegan and/or a vegetarian diet. I know I am a meat-eater myself but it is incredible how much variation of diets and food variations there are out there. Since we were younger we were always exposed to various diets and always tried new foods from every corner of the world. The recent craze about seeds and raw food is definitely not new to myself but I love learning about new diets and options that before where maybe laughed at or frowned upon. But do be adventurous in your kitchen, after all, some great recipes were created by accident!! I also added 2 long pepper to add a certain kick (feel free to click on the link to find out about this great spice) but you can leave it out if cannot find it or even throw in a couple of black peppercorns! So feel free to try these delicious truffles. For 12 truffles you will need...

• 2 tbsp hemp seed
• 2 tbsp flax seed (linseed)
• 2 tbsp sesame seed
• 2 long pepper (optional)
• 4 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 4 tbsp maple syrup
• 2 tbsp crunchy peanut butter
• 2 tbsp water
• Desiccated coconut, to coat

How to...

1. Put hemp seed, flax seed, sesame seed and long pepper in a spice grinder or food processor and grind to a fine powder. Put in a mixing bowl, add rest of the ingredients and mix well until well combined. 
2. Form the ‘dough’ into small balls and roll into the coconut. 
3. Put on a plate with some baking paper and put into the freezer for 20 minutes. Alternatively put in the fridge for a couple of hours before serving. Serve.

Enjoy!!

R&A

Meatloaf

Meatloaf needs no introduction whatsoever. According to Wikipedia, meatloaf originated in Europe, mainly in Germany and Belgium and is also closely related to Dutch meatball. Although, in the 5th century Roman cookery collection called Apiciusas, minced meat was mentioned. The infamous American meatloaf has its origins in scrapple, a mixture of ground pork and cornmeal served by German-Americans in Pennsylvania since Colonial times. Actually, the contemporary version of the American meatloaf has been a must on every American cookbook since the late 19th century. In our version we used only beef but feel free to mix two or three types of meat like lamb or even pork. We found this recipe when we got married in one of Amanda's cookbooks and we adapted it and made it our own ever since. Just give our version a try and you will love it. We serve it with a kind of sweet and sour tomato sauce. So for a loaf you will need...

• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 green pepper, finely diced [optional]
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1kg minced beef
• 1/2 cup breadcrumbs [we used Panko]
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• Freshly ground pepper

• 1 cup tomato passata
• 1 tbsp light brown sugar
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp vinegar
• About 4-5 baby onions, boiled, to serve

How to...

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. 
2. In a small pan heat the butter and fry the onion, green pepper [if using] and garlic until soft. When done set aside to cool a bit.
3. In a large mixing bowl put the beef, cooked onion, pepper & garlic, beaten egg, breadcrumbs, Worcestershire sauce, oregano and black pepper. Mix well with your hands until well mixed (if you do not like messing your hands up use a wooden spoon) but I believe using your hands will infuse the meat with all the flavours.
4. Now transfer the meat mixture into a loaf pan and press down with your hands. Bake in the preheated oven for about an hour and 15 minutes.. 
5. In the meantime, put the passata, vinegar, sugar and mustard in a small pan and heat through. Set aside.
6. When the loaf is done, drain all the excess fat and carefully invert upside down on a serving plate, top with the tomato sauce and onions. Serve hot!!

Enjoy!!

R&A

Raw Vegan Coconut, Vanilla & Hemp Seed Pudding

I must admit that I am falling in love with raw vegan desserts. They are so light, delicious, naturally sweet, light and quite a different and healthy option from the usual desserts. Don't get me wrong I still love me a piece of Banoffee Pie or Tres Leches cake but sometimes I like to vary things and raw puddings are awesome and full of goodness. This particular pudding is full of nutritional goodness, lot of protein from the hemp seed, good fats from the coconut milk and sweetness from the banana. The other ingredients elevate this pudding to another level when it comes to taste! If you cannot find hemp seeds [we buy ours from Asda], you can use chia seeds or linseed [flax seeds]. Try it out, it is super good. 

Note:   The secret to the creaminess of the pudding is a coconut milk high in coconut extract, we used one that contains 75%. You have to store it in the fridge upside down for 24 hours and then invert the can and open it as usual. This procedure will make sure that the actual coconut extract sinks and hardens at the top of the can.

For 4 puddings you will need...

• 1 tin 75% coconut milk [see Note above]
• 1 tbsp hemp seed
• 1 tsp dried rose petals (optional)
• 1 banana, sliced
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 vanilla pod or 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 12 blueberries, to serve

How to...

1. In a spice grinder or mortar & pestle, put the hemp seeds, rose petals and ground cinnamon and grind to a fine or coarse powder [however you like it]. 
2. In a food processor or blender spoon the coconut milk [discarding the liquid], add the ground seeds, petals and cinnamon.
3. Split the vanilla pod lengthways and scrape the seeds with a knife and throw into the blender, alternatively add the vanilla essence. Now add the banana slices and blend until you get a smooth mixture. 
4. Spoon the mixture into ramekins or small bowls, put 3 blueberries on top and chill in the fridge for a couple of hours.

Enjoy!!!

R&A

Creamy Chicken & Venison Sausage Pasta Bake

I came up with the idea for this delicious pasta bake while I was driving back home from work. I stopped at the supermarket and found this dried, cured venison sausage and used it in our bake. If you cannot find anything similar, either replace it with any other dried cured sausage like chorizo, salami or even bacon. You can pre-grill the chicken breast well in advance and keep cool until you use it. For the creamy part I just prepared a quick béchamel sauce which is very easy and quick to prepare. The chicken, sausage, pasta and creamy sauce make this dish a very filling one indeed and can easily be classified as comfort food. To be honest once preparation of the ingredients is complete, it is all a question of mixing it all together. Give it a go to impress your family and friends. You will need...

• 100g dried cured venison sausage, sliced
• 500g grilled chicken breast, diced
• 100g sweetcorn
• 75g frozen peas, defrosted
• 75g button mushrooms
• Salt & pepper
• 300g penne
• 75g grated extra mature cheddar
• 4 teaspoons grated kefalotiri
• 1 beaten egg
• Ground hot paprika

For the béchamel sauce...

• 45g butter
• 45g flour
• 500ml whole milk
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley

How to...

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C.
2. Start by cooking the pasta al dente, about 11 to 12 minutes. Drain and rinse the pasta with cold water, toss slightly and set aside.
3. Cook the mushrooms in a small pan with a tablespoon of olive oil covered for about 5 minutes until soft.
4. Now, prepare the béchamel sauce, by melting the butter, add the flour and stir until the mixture turns golden brown. Add 200ml of the milk and stir well until the butter/flour mixture is dissolved in the milk and no lumps are present. Now add the rest of the milk and stir constantly until the sauce thickens, then take off the heat and stir in the parsley.
5. In a large mixing bowl, add the pasta (if the cold pasta is in one lump, just pour some boiling water on it and you are good to go), béchamel sauce, beaten egg, the cooked mushrooms, diced cooked chicken breast, sliced sausage, peas, sweetcorn and cheeses. Give it a good stir but be careful not to break the pasta. Tip into a greased oven dish, sprinkle with the hot paprika and bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes. Leave to stand for 10 minutes and serve warm.

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

Tuna Empanada Galician style - Empanada gallega de atún

Empanadas are quite common on dinner tables all over the Hispanic world. in Spain they are usually baked as large pies and cut into squares and can be served as tapas. In Latin America, empanadas are small pies with different fillings. Originally empanadas came from the Spanish regions of Galicia & Leon but basically became popular all around the whole world. I had this Galician empanada when I went to Spain a couple of years ago and I had to recreate it over here as it was so good. It can be served either hot or cold. I used two sheets of pre-made pastry which makes things way easier. So give it a go and we're quite sure you will try it again! You will need.... 

• 2 ready to roll shortcrust pastry sheets
• 2 large or 3 medium red sweet peppers, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon pimentón dulce (sweet paprika)
• 1 teaspoon pimentón ahumado (smoked paprika)
• 2 cans tuna chunks (in oil), drained
• Small bunch of parsley, finely chopped
• Handful green olives, stoned and chopped
• 2 hard-boiled eggs, roughly chopped
• Olive oil
• 1 tablespoon olive oil mixed with a pinch paprika, for brushing on final empanada

How to...

1. Pour oil into a fry pan over medium heat and add in garlic. Cook it for 2 minutes, until golden. Then add in onion,pepper, paprikas, tomato paste, salt & pepper to taste and cook until onions and peppers are soft, about 10-15 minutes.
2. Take off the heat and let cool. Once cool, add in tuna, olives and parsley and mix well.
3. Pre-heat the oven to 190°C
4. Roll out the first pastry sheet and spread the tuna/veg mixture in the middle, leaving about one inch from the sides. Crumble the eggs on top and cover with the other pastry sheet. Seal the edges well with a fork and baste the top with the oil/paprika mixture and snip the empanada with scissors with in three or four places (so as steam can escape).
5. Bake for 25 minutes until reddish golden. Remove from the oven and let rest for at least 10 minutes. Serve hot or cold.

Enjoy!!

R&A

Aromatic Beef & Sweet Potato Casserole

This aromatic casserole is guaranteed to make your taste buds work. It is sweet, tart with a hot kick but no flavour overpowers the other. It is just perfect. The vegetables are sweet ones like sweet potato and butternut squash although swede is quite peppery sometimes. I created this dish as I went through my herb & spice pantry which my awesome wife sorted for me lately. It seems that whenever I go to find something there I never do so she made sure that everything is sorted and easy to find. Oh, I'm so messy!! Anyway, give this casserole a go as something new and different from the norm. You can replace butternut squash with pumpkin as well. For about 6 servings you will need...

• 800g diced beef
• ½ large butternut squash, diced
• 1 sweet potato, diced
• ½ swede, diced
• 1 large onion, roughly chopped
• 3 celery stalks, chopped
• 2 tbsp chopped parsley
• 1 piece cinnamon stick
• 2 inch piece liquorice root
• 1 black cardamom pod, crushed
• 1 ½ teaspoons hot paprika
• 1 red chilli, chopped
• 500ml beef stock
• 500ml water

How to...

1. Preheat oven to 180°C.
2. Heat oil in a cast iron casserole and add the beef. Cook the beef until brown, about 5 minutes.
3. Add vegetables, parsley, liquorice, cardamom, cinnamon & hot paprika and stir well. Cook for about 5-10 minutes.
4. Add stock & water, stir again.
5. Cover and put in oven for 3 hours.
6. Serve with mashed potatoes and extra chopped parsley.

Enjoy!!

R&A