My collection of favourite recipes..tried and tested!
It was fish day today on the second day of our carb-free regime after the long holiday in Malaysia. And I wanted to make something different from the usual favourite fish dish, Baked Moroccan Fish. Hubby’s fish fritters recipe was just right. It was easy …
This salad is a great tapa eaten with bread and should be made at least the night before you want to eat it. And it keeps well in the fridge for many days! INGREDIENTS 3 roasted pimientos 2 teaspoons minced garlic 3 hardboiled eggs 2 …
From time to time, you “discover” a favourite dish and this is one of them. Hubby had told me about this dish which he cooked one day after chatting with a fellow Spanish friend at work, Carolina. It was her grandmother’s recipe.
I instantly took a liking to it. You could say its a kind of cross between a “vegetarian” paella and risotto. That’s how I would describe it. Except for the garbanzos. No garbanzos in either paella or risotto!
Its a lovely, light dish and since we took a liking to low-calorie, meat-free dishes, this has become one of our favourites!
100 gms = 82 calories
INGREDIENTS
Serves 3
200 gms Garbanzos (dried chick peas)
100 gms rice
150 gms red pepper (after cleaning)
90 gms onions
120 gms fresh tomatoes
3 cloves garlic
3 tbsp olive oil
2 vegetable or chicken cubes
1 tsp paprika powder
DIRECTIONS
The night before, soak chick peas in enough water to allow it to expand.
To prepare the dish, drain chick peas and rinse. Cook for 30 minutes in a pressure cooker with the vegetable cubes and 1.5 litres of water. When cooked, drain the liquid into a measuring cup. You should have approximately 900ml of the liquid. Put the cooked chick peas aside.
Chop all the vegetables finely. Heat the olive oil in a non-stick pan and fry the chopped ingredients. Cook slowly over a slow fire for 15 minutes or until the onions are transparent. Add the paprika powder and continue frying over very low heat. After 5 minutes or so, add the rice and mix well.
Add the saved liquid, little by little, mix well and let it simmer on low heat. Stir from time to time and when the liquid is absorbed, add more, and repeat until the rice is cooked. You should have used up all the 900 ml of liquid. At the end, add the cooked chick peas, mix well, heat through and remove.
Serve hot.
This is our own “home-style” chilli beans recipe. We experimented until we got it right..with this recipe, we don’t need to hunt for that perfect “chilli in a packet”! If you’re lazy or just don’t have the ingredients, you can prepare this using the “chilli-in-a-packet” …
This is our “quick” version of a traditional Spanish dish “Judias Pintas”. Its spicy and its filling…but beware the gas 🙂 Our home-made version is another way to make this – provided you have all the ingredients. INGREDIENTS 250 gms Pinto beans or red beans …
This is a filling and healthy Spanish dish. Great with bread or by itself. Can be eaten as a starter or main dish.
INGREDIENTS
250 gms (green) lentils
6 cloves garlic
70 gm onion
2 bay leaves
1 Maggi vegetable or chicken cube
1 tsp tomato puree
1/4 tsps smoked hot pimiento powder (optional)
1 1/2 litres water
DIRECTIONS
Rinse and sort the lentils. Slice the onion lengthwise and peel the garlic. Put the lentils, onions, garlic, bay leaves, vegetable cube and the water in a saucepan and cook over medium heat for 30 minutes.
Serve hot with country or french bread.
Roasted pimientos or red peppers are a common ingredient in Spanish cooking. They are great in salads and many Tapas are made using roasted pimientos. On a good day, you might find them bottled or canned in a supermarket. However, its easy to roast your …
Ensaladilla Rusa (literally – Russian Salad) is a traditional tapa served throughout every region of Spain, with little variation. Nearly every Tapas Bar will serve this colourful salad. A poorly made version will taste like a mouthful of mayonnaise. On the other hand, a well-made …
Arroz con Leche, literally “rice with milk” is a typical dessert from Spain. It is said that it has Arabic origins because this dessert is also common in Arabian restaurants and homes. There are many ways of making it but this is how we make it….quick and easy.
Preparation time 30 minutes
INGREDIENTS
Serves 3
1/4 cup pudding rice (any rice will do as long as its not basmati rice)
500 ml fresh milk or UHT milk (you can also use low-fat milk)
2 tbsp sugar
Rind of 1 orange
Cinnamon stick
Cinnamon powder to serve
DIRECTIONS
Lightly wash the rice and place in a non-stick saucepan together with the orange rind, sugar, cinnamon stick and half the milk and cook on medium heat.
Stir often and keep adding the rest of the milk making sure that its always “SOUP not CONGEE”. Simple explanation – don’t let it get thick. If it becomes congee, it will stick to the pan.
When all the milk is used up, allow to gently boil for about 15-20 minutes until the rice is soft. It should be soupy – once it has cooled down it will be come thicker. If its not soupy, add more milk and heat again for awhile.
Remove cinnamon stick and lemon peel and allow it to cool. Once it has cooled down, place in a serving bowl or individual dessert bowls and chill in the fridge for at least an hour.
To serve, sprinkle cinnamon powder and decorate with a piece or orange rind or cinnamon stick.
INGREDIENTS Serves 2 1/4 red cabbage 2 cloves garlic 1/2 tsp smoked hot pimiento powder 1 tbsp olive oil DIRECTIONS Slice the red cabbage finely and boil in salted water till well-cooked. Drain. Peel and mince the garlic. Heat the olive oil and fry the …
