"Empty-your fridge"-Casserole

I was craving potatoes with something the other day and decided to make a casserole, something I hadn't make in ages. Casseroles are a lot of fun to make! It's the dish were everything goes! :) A baked cheese topping is a great disguise if anything goes wrong.

I checked the fridge and saw that I had enough things to make a "sofrito", always a good start. From there, my imagination just went nuts. I remembered a very old recipe I got from an old family friend to make ketchup and thought that those spices might be interesting with my casserole. It worked! Here's what you need:

Ingredients (4 big servings)
5 medium potatoes, diced
1 large red pepper, diced
1 large yellow onion, diced
1 medium tomato, diced
1 large zucchini, diced
1 can diced tomatoes (14.5 oz)
1/2 lb ground pork
1 linguica sausage (hot), diced
2 tbs olive oil
1 tsp Hungarian paprika
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 tbs sugar
1/2 cup freshly grated mozzarella
1/2 cup freshly grated pecorino
Salt

Preparation

1. Pre-heat the oven to 375F.
2. Fry the potatoes like French fries but make sure you don't cook them through or they'll become mushy. They need to finish cooking in the oven. At high temperature, fry them until golden brown. Set aside on a plate with paper towels. Add salt.
3. In a large pan sauté the onion, pepper, and zucchini for approx. 10-15 minutes over medium heat, until tender. Sprinkle lightly with salt.
4. Add the ground pork, cloves, ginger, paprika and cayenne pepper. Cook for approx. 5 minutes.
5. Add the linguica and cook for another 5 minutes.
6. Add the tomatoes and the sugar. Cook at low heat for approx. 20 minutes.
7. In a large bowl, mix the potatoes and the veggie-meat-combination.
8. Pour mixture into a casserole dish and cover with the grated pecorino. Then, add a second layer of cheese, this time the mozzarella.
9. Bake for approx. 20 minutes or until the cheese is golden brown.

Enjoy! :)

Zorza (Marinated pork tenderloin)

The other day I remembered a recipe passed down to me by my grandmother. I decided to prepare it right away. This is a very traditional recipe which is normally passed down from generation to generation. It is a traditional way of preparing pork tenderloin in Galicia. In my case, since my mother is from the south of Spain and they don't prepare the meat like this, it was my grandmother who told me how to do it. I love it! :)

There are two traditional ways of serving it:

1) "a la plancha": normally with homemade French fries. You can either serve small slices of pork tenderloin or cut the tenderloin steaks in bites before serving. Either way is great. And don't forget to pour the bit of oil left in the pan over the French fries! :)

2) In "empanada". I have to say from all the "empanadas" my grandmother made, this one was almost my favorite, topped only by the codfish "empanada" she made with a dough of corn flour instead of wheat flour. In Galicia, fish or seafood empanadas are traditionally made with a corn flour dough. The wheat flour dough in normally used for meat "empanadas".

In a more modern fashion, you can skewer the meat after being marinated and BBQ it.

Here's the recipe for the marinade. You will find some recipes on the Internet for this but my grandmother's secret ingredient was the wine. :)

I'm cooking it tonight again and will post a picture of it tomorrow. :) Here's a preview:

Ingredients (4 servings)
2 pounds of pork tenderloin
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 1/4 cups white wine
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tbs sweet paprika
1 tsp spicy paprika
Salt

Preparation

1. Mix all the dry ingredients in a large zip lock bag.
2. Add the white wine and the garlic and shake.
3. Add the olive oil and shake again.
4. Place the meat in the bag and close it.
5. Let marinate at least 12 hours.

The best results are achieved if the meat is marinated over a period of 24 hours.

Que aproveite! :)

Spaghetti in a Madras Curry Sauce

Now, I know that any Italian will cringe at the thought of such a combination, but I assure you that it is not bad at all. Be adventurous! :) Fusion cuisine can be a lot of fun (unfortunately, not always successful! :) )

Since pasta is a staple in our household, I came up with this really easy and quick pasta sauce inspired by Indian flavors. This is yet another one of those recipies I came up with having an empty fridge. :) It's ideal for spaghetti. I recommend a visit to a nearby Indian market to get excellent curry powders.

Ingredients (4 servings)
Spaghetti, 1 lb approx.
1 - 2 tbs mild Madras curry powder (to taste)
1 pint whipping cream

Preparation

1. Pour the whipping cream in a saucepan.
2. Stir in the curry powder and bring to a boil over medium heat.
3. Reduce heat to low and simmer until the sauce reaches a thick and creamy consistency, approx. 15 minutes.
4. Mix the sauce with the spaghetti and let sit in a covered pot for approx. 5 minutes. It will give the pasta some time to absorb the sauce flavors. Make sure the pasta is not overcooked or it will become soggy. :)

Note: Start with 1 tbs of curry and taste the sauce after it has cooked for about 5 minutes. Curry takes some time to realease all its flavors and its spicyness. If you try the sauce as soon as you add the curry, it will taste like you didn't add enough curry. However, after allowing the powder some time to melt into the cream, the flavor and spicyness will intensify. If you think the flavor is not strong enough or if you want more heat in it, add more curry powder in 1/2 tbs increments and taste again after you allow it to mix with the cream for a while. If you add too much curry powder from the beginning, the end result might be too hot for you.

Keep in mind that curry powder is a mixture of spices, and these mixture varies slightly from producer to producer. It can to contain more than 10 different spices. You can keep trying different brands until you find your favourite. Or you can try and make your own! :) One of my future projects is to try and make this one:

http://www.recipezaar.com/Madras-Curry-Powder-174350

Enjoy! :)

How to Cook a Perfect Filet Mignon Steak (and what to avoid at all cost!)

A Filet Mignon steak is a steak cut from the beef tenderloin. In my opinion, it constitutes the most exquisite part of the beef.

Over the years I have experimented with it and learned how to prepare it as a whole (the entire tenderloin) or in steaks. It took me quite some time to get to this point but I hope that the following tips will help you prepare the "perfect filet mignon steak" without having to go through all the mishaps I went through. :)

I normally prepare it medium rare, which is perfect for filet mignon because the meat is very tender and juicy, and has no fat at all. If you do not like rare, medium rare or medium cooked meat, stay away from filet mignon. :) A well-done filet mignon is a waste of a good piece of meat and money! :) Other meat types are more forgiving when cooking them well-done, filet mignon is definitely not.

So, here's the list of tips, including cooking times to help you the next time you decide to cook filet mignon steaks:

• Take the meat out of the fridge a few hours before cooking it and make sure the meat has reached room temperature before cooking it. Two negative things will happen if the meat is not room temperature: 1) When you cook it medium rare it will be cold inside; 2) It will cool down the pan and the meat won't seal properly.
• Although olive oil is healthier, filet mignon really is more flavorful if cooked in butter. :) 1 tbs of butter will do for 4 steaks cooked at the same time. If you need to cook several batches, keep adding 1 tbs of butter before each batch.
• Make sure the pan is VERY VERY hot before you put the steaks in it. This is critical. The idea is that the meat is sealed as soon as it touches the pan so that it turns a medium to dark brown color. If the pan is not hot enough two bad things will happen: 1) The meat will become dry and lose its juiciness; 2) You will never achieve the nice medium to dark brown color on the outside but rather that grayish shade of light brown that you see when the meat was not pan-seared but rather cooked in its own juice (that was lost because it wasn't sealed).
• NEVER turn the steaks using a fork!!! It will break the seal and the juices will flow out leaving you with a dry piece of meat. Do not poke the meat with anything, instead use a spatula.
• ALWAYS let the meat rest for 5-10 minutes before cutting it. This will allow the juices to redistribute in the meat. This actually applies to all meat. If you cut meat as soon as you finish cooking it or too early, the juices will flow out and the meat will become dry, no matter how well you cooked it.
• To check the doneness of the meat, there is one more trick that you can use. And this time, you are allowed to use a fork! :) But not to poke the meat!! The fork will be used to lightly press on the meat and determine, depending on the resistance you get, the doneness of the steak.

Cooking times and heat levels, will depend on several factors: your stove, the thickness of the steak, etc. and it's a trial and error process to establish the right cooking times. These are the exact times I use on my stove for an average size filet mignon steak. And when I say exact, I mean it. 30 seconds more than necessary and the steak could be overcooked. And always remember to start with a very very hot pan. :)

Rare
Heat: High
Cooking time: 1 minute per side
When you press the top with a fork, it gives way easily

Medium Rare
Heat: High
Cooking time: 2 minutes per side
When you press the top with a fork, it gives way

Medium
Heat: First High, then Medium
Cooking time: Start with 1 minute on high per side to seal the meat, then cook 3 additional minutes per side.
When you press the top with a fork, it doesn't give way easily

If you press the meat with a fork and it feels firm or very firm, the meat is well-done. :) Which for filet mignon means, overcooked.

I hope these tips are helpful! Enjoy!

Nutella Turnover - Empanadilla de Nutella

Today I'm going to share the recipe for the little Nutella turnovers we had last Sunday during our "merienda". Those of you who had the "pleasure" to try my "mantecado-attempt" last Christmas know that I'm not good with sweets or desserts! :) Goran could attest to it too if he remembers my "marble cake-attempt" (hard and salty, just the way cake should be! :) ). So, for this to turn our good even when I'm preparing it, it must me really really easy. Here we go:

Ingredients (9 turnovers)
1 puff pastry sheet (they sell them frozen in the frozen cake aisle)
9 teaspoons Nutella
1 egg
Water
Sugar

Preparation

1. Allow the puff pastry sheet to thaw at room temperature for as long as indicated in the package, approx. 45 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 400F.
3. Unfold the puff pastry sheet and lightly roll a rolling pin over it to make the sheet slightly thinner.
4. Cut sheet in 9 even squares. You can use the folding lines as a reference.
5. Place a teaspoon of Nutella in the middle of each square.
6. Brush the border of the pastry with a water and sugar mixture. It will make the border sticky and prevent "exploding" in the oven.
7. Fold squares to form rectangles. Press the borders with your fingers.
8. Seal the edges with a fork (empanadilla-style ;) ).
9. Place turnovers on a baking sheet.
10. Beat the egg and brush the turnovers with it.
11. Sprinkle pure cane sugar on top of each turnover.
12. Bake for approx. 15 minutes.

Note: Apricot jam works great for the filling too. I have also tried a raspberry jam, but Goran and I didn't like it.

Remember to let turnovers sit for a few minutes and cool down before biting into them! :) The Nutella is really hot and you don't want to burn your tongue and not enjoy the rest of it, right? :)

Spaghetti in a Caramelized Red Pepper and Cognac Pink Sauce

The first recipe I want to share is very simple. I came up with it on a Thursday night, with an almost empty fridge and an almost empty pantry. Great start to be creative! :)

I had some cream in the fridge leftover from another recipe and had to use it. Since I always have tomato sauce at home, garlic and pasta, I decided to make a quick pink sauce (tomato sauce, cream and garlic). As I was sauteing the garlic, I discovered a red bell pepper in the fridge and a red chili. I thought to myself:

"Mmmm... this could be interesting... the sweetness of the red pepper... the sweetness of the cream... a kick from the red chili.... let's give it a try! :)"

I decided to saute the bell pepper at high heat to caramelize it. Then I added the red chili. As the fumes started to reach my nose I thought:

"Mmmm... this smokiness.... what could complement it? .... .... .... Cognac!!!"

I added some cognac to deglaze the pan and the smell of it confirmed I was on the right track! :) Then I added the cream and the tomato sauce and let it simmer for a while. I tasted it and realized that the skin from the roasted pepper had added some bitterness to the mixture. I added some sugar to fix it and voilá! The spaghetti sauce was ready!

Although Goran was a bit skeptical about the concoction before trying it ("spaghetti with a caramelized pepper pink sauce!?!?", he actually like it! Here are the details:

Ingredients (4 servings)
Spaghetti, 1 lb approx.
Olive oil
1 Red bell pepper, diced
2 Cloves of garlic, thinly chopped
1 Red chili, cut in rings
2 shot glasses of cognac
1 pint of cream
1 small can of tomato sauce
Salt
Pepper
Sugar (if needed)

Preparation

1. Saute the garlic in olive oil at medium heat
2. Add the red bell pepper and turn heat to high. Stir constantly until the peppers turn a light shade of brown and you can smell the smokiness coming out of them.
3. Add the red chili and turn heat down to medium. Saute for a couple of minutes.
4. Add the cognac and reduce at medium heat.
5. Add the cream and the tomato sauce and reduce heat to low.
6. Salt and pepper to taste. Cook for approx. 15 minutes, then taste.
7. If it is too bitter, add a teaspoon of sugar. Cook another 5 minutes, then taste again. If it is still too bitter, add some more sugar (to taste).
8. Cook until you reach the desired consistency. I personally like this pink sauce to be more on the thick side.
9. Mix the sauce with the spaghetti and let sit in a covered pot for approx. 5 minutes. It will give the pasta some time to absorb the sauce flavors. Make sure the pasta is not overcooked or it will become soggy. :)

Buen provecho!! :)

Experimenting in the kitchen...

First steps
First of all, I would like to start with my own personal list of basics that I always have in the fridge, freezer or pantry. This is a very very limited list and includes only my must-haves:

Pantry
Diced tomatoes
Tomato sauce
Sun-dried tomatoes
Pine nuts
Canned corn
Canned tuna
Olive oil
Vegetable oil
Peanut oil
Balsamic vinegar
Apple cider vinegar
Red wine vinegar
Honey
Brown sugar
Garlic
Yellow onions
Shallots
Spanish sea salt
Any other salt
White wine
Red wine
Cognac
Marsala
Pasta (several different types)
Parboiled long grain rice
Arborio rice
Basmati rice
Dried plums
Dried apricots
Raisins
Flour
Sugar
Corn starch
Bread crumbs (unseasoned)

Herbs and Spices (I love spices!!!)
I try to have as many as possible. The Indian markets are great places to get them: big variety, small price. As you follow this blog, you will soon discover that I use a ton of different spices in my cooking... My spice cabinet contains more than 50 different spices and herbs that I have accumulated over a period of time. Some of them are bought, some of them home-made. I try to use as many fresh herbs as possible but sometimes, the dried ones just fit better. The flavor of the same herb dried and fresh is very different. The herbs and spices I use the most are:

Black pepper (always freshly ground)
Nutmeg (always freshly ground)
Cumin (always freshly ground)
Cinnamon
Saffron
Paprika (hot and sweet)
Ras el Hanout
Cajun seasoning
Curry (yellow)
Cloves
Cayenne pepper
Crushed red chili
Thyme (dried)
Oregano (dried)
Bay leaves (dried)

Fridge
Eggs
Butter
Cream (not necessarily heavy :) )
Toast bread
Mustard
Ketchup
Swiss
Peppers (red, green and/or yellow)
Parmesan

Freezer
Green peas
Sliced carrots
Pearl onions
Chili peppers

As you can see, it is not much (no fresh meat or fish), but it is ideal to force you to be creative! :)