Chicken Noodle Soup

Lately, the Swedish and the Chef have been posting more salads and food for the summer. To please our readers on the other side of the globe, this time we bring you a warming winter dish. We were looking for something different and appetizing, and at the same time adventurous. We decided to go for chicken noodle soup, an asian inspiration. Many people around the world have this dish as their comfort food, but for us it was a big adventure as we are very inexperienced in asian cuisine and it was the first time with fresh pasta as well. We hope you like it!

Ingredients:

Chicken stock
Chicken bones
1 carrot
2 whole celery sticks
5 Bay leaves

1 garlic head

3L of water

Olive oil
Salt
Pepper

Heat some olive oil in a frying pan and caramelise the chicken bones for a few minutes (2-4). Add the carrot and the celery, roughly chopped. Add the bay leaves and the garlic, cut in half. Caramelise for another couple of minutes. Add the water, bring to a boil, and reduce heat to simmer for about 20 minutes. Season well with salt and pepper. Pass through a sieve and set aside.

Fresh Noodles

300g of 00 flower + some more to dust

3 eggs

A pinch of salt

On a wood board, make a well of flower and the salt, and break the eggs in the center. Mix everything using your hands until the dough comes together. Knead for about 10 minutes, wrap in cling film and rest for about 20 minutes. Divide the dough into 3 equal parts. Roll each of them until it is really thin, but it doesn't break. Transfer onto a clean cloth and dry for about 15 minutes (it depends on the temperature of your kitchen). Roll into a spiral and cut transversally, into stripes to form tagliatelle (or slightly larger). Set aside.

Soup
400g of chicken breast
40ml of cachaça
1 medium onion
1 celery stick
1 carrot
2L of chicken stock
Fresh noodles
1 small bunch of fresh parsley
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper

Chop the chicken breasts in cubes. Season with salt and pepper. Seal the pieces on a frying pan with some hot olive oil. When the meat is golden deglaze the pan with the cachaça. Turn off the heat and set aside.

Heat olive oil in a large pan, at medium heat. Add the onion, finely chopped, and cook for about 3 minutes. Add carrot and celery and cook for another 5 minutes. Add stock, cover and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes. Add the pasta and cook until the pasta is tender (~8 minutes). When the pasta has been cooking for about 5 minutes, add the chicken pieces. 

Turn off the heat and stir in the parsley, chopped. Adjust seasoning if needed. Ladle into serving bowls and serve hot.

Notes: The dough for any fresh pasta likes warm atmospheres, so the use of a wooden surface during all the process is rather important. 

Instead of cachaça you can use any other kind of strong alcohol. 

Tomato, Rocket and Parmesan Salad with Mint Dressing

Last evening we were looking for something light and tasty. Something different, fresh, with good flavours and textures. This was the result. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

Dressing
3 tablespoons of olive oil
1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
6 mint leaves
Salt
Pepper

Chop the mint leaves finely. Whisk all the ingredients together until the mixture is emulsified. Set aside.


Salad
A bunch of rocket
10 cherry tomatoes
75g of parmesan
50g of peanuts


Chop the tomatoes in halves.
Cut the parmesan into shaving slices using a vegetable peeler.
Roast the peanuts for a few minutes.
Mix all the ingredients for the salad. Serve with the mint dressing on the side.

Summer Salad with Orange and Aji Dressing

A summer salad that is good in every season. As a starter or as a side dish, enjoy some fresh vegetables dressed up in your favourite spicy sauce. We chose aji, the peruvian favourite spice. What about you?

Ingredients:

1 cucumber

2 tomatoes

5 radishes

100g of white cheese

4 tablespoons of orange juice

1 garlic clove

Fresh coriander

1/4 cup of olive oil

2 tablespoons of vinegar

1 teaspoon of yellow aji powder

Salt

Pepper

For the salad dressing, combine the garlic, minced, with a pinch of salt until it becomes a paste. Add the orange juice, the aji and the vinegar and whisk. Add the olive oil in a stream, whisking until it forms an emulsion. Whisk in the fresh coriander, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Cut the tomatoes (seeds off), the cucumber (seeds off), and the white cheese in brunoise. 

Cut the radishes into thin slices.

Toss all together in a bowl and add the salad dressing.

Serve with coriander springs and toasted bread.

Notes:

The aji powder can be replaced by chilli powder, fresh chillies, or other flavours of your taste.

Creamy Avocado Linguine with Strawberries

I really enjoy dishes that surprise me. The kind that you look at and start imagining the flavours in your head, but then it tastes completely different taking your palette by surprise. This dish was created using the few ingredients available at home, and if in the beginning it felt strange, once we tasted it we started loving it. 

Don't be fooled by the sweet look, try it before you judge it. I wish you a surprising experience too!

Ingredients (serves 2):

300g of Linguine
10 strawberries
1 large avocado
1 bitter orange, juiced
1 handfull of fresh basil
2 garlic cloves
1/4 cup of olive oil
Fresh grated parmesan
Salt

Cook the pasta in salted water until it is al dente. 

Chop the strawberries in quarters. 

In a food processor, combine fresh basil, garlic, orange juice, olive oil and salt. Blend for a few seconds. Add the avocado flesh and blend again until smooth and creamy. Correct seasoning if needed. 

In a large bowl toss the pasta, with the avocado mixture and the strawberries. 

Serve with grated parmesan and extra strawberries.

Notes:

If you don't have bitter orange substitute it by lemon or lime.

Grilled Salmon: the simple way

Simple food can look great and taste even better.

This is a simple recipe, but what a great way to get a delicious dinner after a long day at work, without spending what's left of your energy in the kitchen.

Have fun and have a nice rest!

Ingredients (serves 1):

180g of salmon
1 large potato
70ml of milk
20g of butter
50g of peas
1/2 lime juice
5 tablespoons of olive oil
A pinch of salt
A pinch of pepper
A small bunch of parsley

For the sauce, mix the lime juice, the olive oil and the parsley, chopped. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and adjust the olive oil if needed, until the flavours are well balanced. Set aside.

Cook the potato in salted water until is cooked through. Afterwards, add the butter and mash everything, adding the milk slowly (at room temperature or lukewarm). Season with salt and pepper to taste. Pass the mash through a thin sieve to obtain a creamy texture without lumps.

Grill the salmon, seasoning it with salt just before.

Boil the peas until cooked. 

Plate all the elements, spreading the sauce on top, and serve. 

Baked bolognese

Liking a dish is also about memories. If you taste a dish and it brings you back to your childhood it is most likely a great dish. However, it is not easy to cook something and make others go on that trip with you. The chef decided to give it a try, and this dish intends to bring you to my hometown, back to the playful times of school and lunches at my aunt's house. It worked with the Swede...

Ingredients:

500g of beef mince
300g of penne
2 medium onions
3 large tomatoes
3 garlic cloves
1 tablespoon of tomato paste
1/2 cup of water
100g of parmesan + some more to sprinkle on top
1 teaspoon of paprika
1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
Olive oil
Salt
Black pepper

Start by preparing the tomato sauce. Heat the olive oil in a sauce pan, add the garlic and one finely diced onion. Cook until tender (~2 min.) and add the chopped tomatoes, the tomato paste and the water. Bring to a boil and afterwards turn down the heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes, until it's reduced.  Add the paprika and the cayenne pepper. Season with salt and black pepper. Set aside.

Cook the penne in salted water for about 6 minutes. It should still be firm by the end. Drain it, sprinkle some olive oil on top and set aside. 

Heat some olive oil in a frying pan and add the other onion. Throw in the meat and cook until done, stirring occasionally. Add the tomato sauce and cook for another 2 minutes. Adjust seasoning and turn off the heat. 

Combine the meat with the penne and add the parmesan cheese. Transfer to a baking tray or terrine and sprinkle some more parmesan on top. Put in the oven at about 180 ºC, for about 20 minutes or until the parmesan becomes golden and crispy. Cool down a few minutes before serving.

Notes:
In the tomato sauce, chop the tomatoes as fine or as roughly as you like. Roughly chopped means you will get a texture with small bits in the end.
You can add dried tomato pieces on each individual plate when serving.

*Inspired by and dedicated to Dila

Strawberry delight

We all know the problem of desserts... they are too delicious and make our clothes shrink! But who said a dessert can't be delicious and light? Here is one idea for a hot summer night, when we feel like having a cold refreshing dessert: strawberry delight with brazilian nuts praline and biscuit. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

200 ml of greek yogurt
10 strawberries
40g of sugar
1 cup of water
1 tablespoon of lemon juice

Biscuit:
1 large egg white
40g of vanilla sugar
1/8 teaspoon of salt
45g of flower
15g of unsalted butter

Praline:
1 cup of caster sugar
1/4 cup of water
100g of brazilian nuts

Start by freezing the yogurt for a couple of hours.

Chop the strawberries and transfer to a sauce pan containing the sugar, the water and the lemon juice. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to simmer for about 20 minutes or until it is reduced. Cool down for 5 minutes and transfer 2 tablespoons of this sauce into a serving glass. Refrigerate.

For the biscuit, preheat the oven at 180 ºC. Stir together the egg white and the vanilla sugar. Add the salt and the butter, melted. Incorporate the flower adding it slowly. Stir until smooth. 

Line a baking tray with non-stick paper sheet. Using a baking spatula spread spoonfuls of the mixture on top (use moldes for well defined shapes). Bake for about 10 minutes or until the biscuits are golden. Cool down and set aside.

For the praline, line a baking tray with non-stick baking paper, and spread the brazilian nuts, roughly chopped, on top. In a small sauce pan, add the sugar and water. Stir over low heat until the sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil and let it boil for a few minutes without stirring. When the mixture is changing colour turn off the heat and set aside for 2 minutes, or until bubbles stop forming. 

Spread over the nuts, cool down and break in smaller pieces just using the hands.

Add the cold yogurt to the serving glass where the strawberry sauce has been set. Stir in some of the strawberry sauce as well. On top, sprinkle some pieces of the praline. Decorate with the biscuit and a fresh strawberry. Serve immediately.

Notes:
Replace the vanilla sugar by caster sugar and a vanilla bean.
Use other nuts of your taste in the praline.
If you prefer, reduce the praline to small bits using a food processor. The same for the strawberry sauce. Personally, we like to find big chunks...

Iced Tea with a Twist

The Swedish and the Chef love tea! On a cold day, a good herbal tea, flavoured or not, does wonders to our mind and body. However, living in a tropical country with four weeks of colder weather per year doesn't make it easy to enjoy a cup of tea. The solution for this problem is actually quite easy... prepare some tea and cool it down!

Ingredients:

Black tea herbs

500ml of water

1/2 lemon juice

1 tablespoon of honey

Sugar to taste

Make the black tea using the 500 ml of water. Let it cool down to lukewarm, and then add the lemon juice, the honey and the sugar to taste. 

Serve with lemon and ice cubes.

Notes: Keep in mind, it will taste a lot sweeter when it's warm than when its cold.

Drunken Mango Ice Cream

Fresh juicy mango is not only great on a plate but it also makes a wonderful creamy ice cream. Give yourself a little treat and serve it with a sweet liqueur of your choice. 

We chose cinnamon! What's your flavour?

Ingredients:

500 ml of thick cream
3 egg whites
50g of sugar
2 mangos
3 tablespoons of cinnamon liqueur

Peel off the mangos, roughly chop them and process the pieces until is creamy. Pass the cream through a sieve using a spatula, to remove mango fibers. Set aside.

Beat the cream with 25g of sugar in an electric mixer until it thickens.

Beat the egg whites with the remaining sugar until the mixture is firm.

Gently add the egg whites to the cream. Add the mango cream to the mixture, while stirring.

Pour everything into a bowl and transfer to the freezer. Wait for at least 12h, stirring every hour to give a creamy texture to the ice cream.

Serve in small bowls, with the cinnamon liqueur on top. Decorate with mint leaves or cinnamon sticks.

Notes: If the ice cream becomes to hard, take it out of the freezer 10 minutes before serving.

Chicken Cordon Bleu

There are probably over a thousand ways to cook chicken. One of the most popular ways is definitely this beautiful cheese filled chicken schnitzel, known as Cordon Bleu. There are many versions of this dish, and the recipe with swiss cheese is one of the oldest.

In the interior of Brazil there is a state called Minas Gerais, also well known by its cheeses. The typical "Minas cheese" can be found in different ways, from white to cured, or even fresh. Local story tellers believe the recipe has been lost in the past, as no one ever registered this treasure. In that way, each cheese maker has developed his own recipe, creating many unique kinds. One of our favourites is the half-cured one, and that was the one selected to prepare our Chicken Cordon Bleu.

Ingredients:

Chicken

2 skinless chicken breasts

2 garlic cloves

2 thick slices of Minas cheese

2 slices of prosciutto 

1 cup of flower

2 eggs

3 tablespoons of milk

1 baguette with sesam seeds

A small bunch of coriander

Coriander powder

Black pepper

Salt

Vegetable oil

Make a cut on each chicken breast, not separating the two halves. Marinate each piece with the garlic cloves, a pinch of black pepper and a pinch of salt, for at least 30 minutes, in the refrigerator. 

Take two plates, and mix the flower with a pinch of pepper in one of them, and combine the eggs and the milk in the other one. Process the baguette until you obtain fresh bread crumbs, and transfer to a third deep plate, and add the coriander powder and leaves.

Place each piece between 2 sheets of wax paper and pound gently to flatten (use a rolling pin or the wax paper roll). Place a slice of prosciutto and a slice of cheese in one side of the open chicken breast, and cover with the other side. Secure the ends using toothpicks, as if you were sewing (2 will do). Pass this chicken sandwich in the flower, shaking to remove the excess. Afterwards, dip it in the eggs mixture and finally in the crumbs mixture. Press the crumbs against the chicken, with the fingers, to get a homogeneous coverage. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Pre-heat the oil in a frying pan, and the oven at 150 ºC. Start by frying the chicken breasts, until they get a golden colour and are cooked through, and then transfer to the oven to keep them warm while cooking the remaining pieces. Remove the toothpicks before serving and serve warm, so the cheese is melted when you first cut through the chicken sandwich.

Sauce

1 natural yogurt

5 coriander leaves

1 garlic clove

20g of fresh cheese

Salt

Combine the yogurt, the garlic clove, the fresh cheese and the salt and blend everything together. Add the coriander leaves finely chopped. Transfer into a skillet and heat up gently, without bringing it to a boil, just so the cheese melts down.

Potatoes and Vegetables
2 potatoes
1 carrot
100g of cabbage
Salt
Olive oil

Bring the potatoes to a boil, in salted water, and turn off the heat. Remove the water and rest for 5 minutes. Cut the potatoes in quarters, transfer to an oven tray and sprinkle olive oil on top. Bake for about 20 minutes or until they are golden.

Chop the carrot and the cabbage in a thin julienne. Sauté in a pre-heated skillet with olive oil for about 1 minute (the vegetables should still be crunchy afterwards).

Plate the chicken with the vegetables salad and the baked potatoes with the sauce on top.

Add a lemon slice if you like and enjoy!

Notes:

Replace the Minas cheese by parmesan, provolone or any other cheese of your taste.

The sesam seeds of the bread add an extra crunchiness to the dish, but don't use them if you don't like.

Apple tart with Apple Ginger Ice Cream

Spending winter in a tropical country brings you mixed feelings. People keep telling us that it is cold and winter, there are soup festivals everywhere and hot chocolate is a big sell. However, we still wear shorts all day and we can't wear more than a thin long sleeved shirt in the evening. This is what this recipe is all about, a mixture of hot and cold, bringing a tropical winter into your mouth.

 

Ice cream

Ingredients:

500 ml of thick cream

3 egg whites

4 apples

150 g of sugar

1 lime juice

A pinch of ginger powder

Beat the cream in an electric mixer, with 25g of sugar, until it's thick and creamy.

Beat the egg whites with another 25g of sugar until they are firm.

Gently, add the egg whites to the cream mixing slowly. 

Pour everything into a bowl and transfer to the freezer for about 6h, stirring well at least every 1h. 

In the meantime, peel off and cut the apples in small pieces. Place them in a pan with the remaining sugar, the ginger and a splash of water, cover with the lid and cook at low heat for about 20 minutes or until the mixture is soft and creamy. Refrigerate.

When the cream mixture has been in the freezer for at least 6h, stir in the apples sauce, and continue freezing for at least 4h more, stirring from now and them, to obtain a creamy ice cream. Alternatively, use an ice cream machine and follow the manufacturer's directions.

Apple tart

Ingredients:

8 apples

300g of marie biscuits

180g of butter

40 ml of Port wine

2 eggs

3 egg yolks

400 g of condensed milk

2 teaspoons of cinnamon

Put the butter in a small sauce pan and heat it. When the butter is melted, stir in the Port wine and turn off the heat. Process the biscuits until you obtain a powder, and add them stirring until it's reached an homogeneous mixture. Cover a tart form with slightly greased parchment paper and place the biscuits mixture on it. Spread evenly pressing with a spoon. Refrigerate or freeze until it's hard.

Peel off 5 apples and process them until creamy. Transfer to a bowl and stir in 300g of condensed milk.   Add the eggs and the egg yolks one by one, stirring in between each addition. Add cinnamon and mix everything. Transfer the cream to the tart form with the biscuits dough. Decorate with apple pieces and spread the remaining condensed milk on top.

Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes, at 180 ºC.

Serve warm with a scoop of ice cram, and caramel pieces.

Tomato Soup

The tomato is a fruit in many different ways. Raw in a salad, or mashed in sauces, and even in drinks and jams, tomato is a versatile ingredient. The recipe of today features a soup, in which the tomato is the big star.

Ingredients (serves 4):

1,5 Kg of mature tomatoes
2 medium onions
3 garlic cloves
200ml of chicken broth
1 bunch of basil
1 spring of thyme
A pinch of salt
A pinch of black pepper
Olive oil

Prepare the chicken broth by simmering chicken pieces, at low heat, for about 2h.
Chop all the ingredients in small pieces. Heat the olive oil and add the onions. Cook for about 3 minutes or until the onions are fragrant. Add the garlic, the tomato, the basil, the thyme and the chicken broth still warm. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat. Cook the mixture for about 15 minutes at low heat, stirring once or twice. Transfer half of the mixture into a food processor and process until you get a homogenous cream. Add the cream back on the pan and stir. Serve hot with toasted bread.

Notes:
In the end you can also add 100ml of cream.
If you prefer a more creamy soup, process the whole mixture.

Classic Lasagne

The UEFA Euro cup has started and the Swedish and the Chef is a fan, because international competitions are always an inspiration for its mixture of cultures. This time, the inspiration was Italy, where the food is known world-wide. Italy is so rich in gastronomy that it was hard to choose where to start. The decision was made, and it was a good one (there were no bad options anyway...), the classic Bolognese Lasagne.

Enjoy your food(tball)!!!

Ingredients (serves 4):

Tomato sauce:
6 tomatoes
2 garlic cloves
2 teaspoons of paprika
A small bunch of basil
A pinch of sugar
A pinch of salt
A pinch black pepper
Olive oil

Heat the olive oil in a sauce pan and add the garlic. Stir for 1 minute and add the tomatoes chopped in pieces. Add the chopped basil, the paprika, the sugar, the salt and the black pepper. Bring to a boil, and then reduce the heat and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring now and then. Afterwards, process everything until you reach a creamy texture.

White sauce:
2 tablespoons of butter
3 tablespoons of flour
3 cups of milk
1 teaspoon of salt

In a sauce pan, heat the butter at medium-low heat, until it's melted. Add the flour and stir until smooth. Let it cook for about 5 minutes. Heat the milk separately, and slowly add it to the sauce pan, whisking continuously until you reach a smooth creamy texture. Bring to a boil and cook for about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and season with salt.

Lasagne:
800g of minced beef
150g of pasta for lasagne
2 carrots
1/2 yellow pepper
1/2 red pepper
200g of mozzarella
A pinch of salt
Olive oil  

In a large non-sticky frying pan, heat the olive oil and add the minced meat. Let it cook for about 10 minutes, stirring now and then. Add the red sauce and the grated carrots. Cook for 2 minutes. Add the peppers, cook for another 2 minutes, and remove from the heat. Correct the seasoning if needed.

In a large oven recipient, lay a thin layer of the meat mixture. Add a layer of white sauce. Add a layer of the pasta. Repeat until you reach the top of the recipient, making sure the last layer is the meat mixture. On top, add the grated mozzarella, and afterwards, add all the white sauce that is left.

Transfer to a pre-heated oven, and bake for about 40 minutes or until the top layer gets a golden color. Remove from the oven and wait 5 minutes before serving.

Notes:

Add other ingredients to the meat mixture (corn, peas, etc.).

Fruit Skewers with Chocolate

What? Your friends made you a surprise visit and you have nothing to serve them but a bunch of fruits and a cooking bar of chocolate? It's alright... Simple food can look great and taste even better. Surprise them with these fruit skewers.

Ingredients:
100g of dark chocolate
100g of cream
Mango
Papaya
Banana
Strawberries

Chop the fruits in big pieces and make the skewers. Transfer to a serving plate.

In a pan, heat the chocolate with the cream, until the chocolate is completely melted and the mixture  is homogeneous. Pour the chocolate over the skewers and serve immediately. 

Notes:

This works for all the fruits.

Use milk or white chocolate if you prefer.

Pumpkin cream

When the temperatures drop, the salads can be replaced by a comforting plate of hot soup. Simple or composed, soups are well known to provide many of the nutrients required on a main meal. The recipe presented here is of a creamy soup made of different vegetables. Light on the stomach is perfect for a winter evening, after a long day.
Enjoy your rest!

Ingredients:
500g of pumpkin
4 carrots
1 onion
1 leek (only the white part)
1 bunch of coriander
A pinch of salt

Chop the pumpkin, carrots, onion, and leek. Transfer the pumpkin and the carrots to a pan with about 2L of water. Bring to a boil and add the onion and the leek. Simmer until the carrots and pumpkin are cooked through. Add the coriander, season with salt and turn off the heat. Process everything until you get a creamy texture (use a hand blender or a food processor). Serve hot.

Peanut Hot Chocolate

Winter is slowly arriving in the southern hemisphere, and hot drinks are back to our lives. 

Hot chocolate is popular all over the world, and there are plenty of recipes to choose from. 

Here, the Swedish and the Chef presents his own version of this sweet winter friend.

Ingredients:
80g of natural cocoa
300ml of milk
100 ml of cream
50ml of condensed milk
100g of grounded peanuts
1 tablespoon of vanilla essence

Melt the chocolate together with the milk, add the condensed milk, the vanilla, half of the cream and the peanuts. Let it boil gently for 2 minutes. Add the remaining cream to bring it to drinking temperature and spread some more peanuts on top.

Notes:
Decorate with whipped cream.
If you prefer your hot chocolate more creamy and thick, reduce the amount of milk.

Aji's Grilled Chicken

It is quite obvious that the Chef loves cooking as much as the Swede loves photography. Despite that feeling, inspiration is also a key ingredient to make it work, for even the most talented artists have their bad uninspired days. Today, the chef of this blog experienced the exact opposite. From the moment the Swedish Chef woke up until right now the ideas didn't stop flowing and several notes have been made. Then, it was not a surprise that at dinner time a simple grilled chicken dish became a fusion of ideas and flavours. The inspiration for this dish came from a recent trip to Peru, and from how much we miss the old continent.  

Ingredients (serve 2):

2 chicken breasts

5 baroa potatoes

5 garlic cloves

1 dried yellow aji pepper

1 small onion

2 mature tomatoes

1 teaspoon of black pepper

A pinch of sugar

A pinch of salt

Oregano

Olive oil

Grilled chicken:

Open the chicken breasts to get thiner pieces (cut them in half if they are too big). Chop the garlic cloves and the aji pepper and spread homogeneously on the chicken breasts. Let it rest for at least 2h. Afterwards, remove the garlic and the aji pepper and set aside. Grill the chicken.

Aji sauce:

Pre-heat a pan with a spoon of olive oil. Add the garlic and the aji pepper used to season the chicken. Add the onion chopped in brunoise. Let it cook for about 3 minutes and add the tomatoes chopped in small pieces. Season with salt, pepper and sugar. Cook at low heat, stirring frequently, until the mixture has become thick (about 10 minutes). Add oreganos to taste, stir and serve hot.

Baroa potato mash:

Done here.

Notes:

The different kinds of aji peppers are mainly found in South America. This ingredient can be replaced by chili peppers. The flavour will be different but equally tasty. 

The yellow aji pepper is considered to be medium-hot. You can increase or decrease the spice level by using different kinds of aji's.

Green cream & homemade crutons

Here in the south hemisphere, the winter is beginning and the 35ºC were left behind. When we get home in the end of the day it feels good to eat something warm. Here, the soup season is officially open! 

Ingredients:
5 slices of bread
Oregano
Olive oil

1 squash
1 zucchini
1 big potato
1 leek
1 bunch of watercress
1 bunch of coriander
Olive oil
Salt

Crutons:
Chop the bread in small cubes. Sprinkle with olive oil and oregano. Bake in a pre-heated oven until it toastes (about 10 minutes).

Cream:
Start heating water in a big pan. Add all the vegetables (except the coriander and the watercress) chopped in small pieces and add salt to taste. When the vegetables are tender, add half of the leaves and a few drops of olive oil. Process the mixture. Add the remaining leaves roughly chopped and simmer for a few minutes. Serve with the homemade crutons.

Creamy Spinach

Green vegetables are often the children (and some adults too!) nightmare. When that's the case I have two suggestions: a) cook these veggies in a more fun way, and b) when you announce dinner make it sound like they will eat the best they ever had (wow... today I made spinach! Isn't that great?). While the second totally depends on your acting abilities, here goes a recipe to help you on the first.

Ingredients:

1 bunch of spinach
1 tablespoon of flower
1 cup of milk
3 garlic cloves
1/2 cup of cream cheese
1/2 onion
The juice of 1/2 orange 
A pinch of salt
A pinch of pepper
Olive oil

In a pre-heated skillet, add the spinach and cook until wilted, tossing now and then. Afterwards, remove the spinach, drain, squeeze out as much liquid as possible and chop. Set aside.

Heat up the olive oil in the skillet and add the garlic and the onions, finely chopped, and cook for a few minutes. Introduce the spinach, and cook for a couple of minutes at low heat. Add the flower and stir until the mixture is thick. Add the milk and the cream cheese and let it cook stirring frequently. When the mixture is thick and creamy, turn off the heat, season with salt and pepper, and add the orange juice. Serve hot.

Notes:
Add some parmesan cheese on top, or incorporate it in the mixture with the milk.
You can replace the cream cheese by fresh cream.

Pumpkin festival

Pumpkin does not have to be eaten only in Halloween. Pumpkin has a unique texture, a very particular flavour and sometimes it is all you need to give that extra kick to a more traditional dish. Today I was inspired by the beautiful sunlight, with colours that mixed with the colourful pumpkin, and our afternoon became a pumpkin festival.

Ingredients (serves 2):
300g of parboiled rice
200g of pumpkin
100g of parmesan
1/4 of onion
2 tablespoons of butter
Honey
White wine
A small bunch of spinach
A pinch of salt
Olive oil
Vegetable broth (recipe here)

Pumpkin:
Leaves: Cut very thin slices of pumpkin. Bake in the oven for about 10 minutes (until the slices start changing colour). Set aside.
Fingers: Cut 4 big slices of pumpkin (the size of a small finger), and add honey on top. Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes (until the slices become soft). Set aside.
Seeds: Wash and dry the pumpkin seeds, and sprinkle some rosemary on top. Roast them in the oven for about 20 minutes. Set aside.
Puree: Chop the remaining pumpkin and boil in water until soft. Add salt, 1 tablespoon of butter and make a puree (use a food processor). Set aside.

Risotto:
In a thick bottomed pan heat the olive oil, and add the onions, stir for a few minutes until softened. Add the rice and stir. Add the white wine until it almost covers the rice and leave it to evaporate. Afterwards, add the broth until it totally covers the rice. Leave it boiling at low power until it evaporates, stirring from time to time to make sure the rice doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan. Repeat this last step until the rice is cooked (18 to 20 minutes starting when you added the wine). When almost all the broth is absorbed, add the pumpkin puree, the pre-cooked spinach (toss wet in a frying pan until wilted, drain and chop) and stir. Turn off the fire, add salt, butter and parmesan cheese.
Decorate with the pumpkin leaves, fingers and seeds. Serve immediately.

Notes:
In case this feels like too much pumpkin in the same meal, I suggest to serve the pumpkin risotto with grilled meat, and serve the pumpkin seeds, fingers and/or leaves as a starter in another day.

Grilled Vegetables

It's the end of a long day.
It's the end of a long week.
The fridge is almost empty, and there's not much energy left for cooking.
No one is really hungry, but it feels that you should eat. What to make for dinner, then?
Easy. Take everything you have left in the fridge... and grill!

Ingredients (serves 2):
1 eggplant
2 carrots
4 slices of white cheese
100g of parmesan
1 cup of green olives
A pinch of salt
Oregano

Slice the eggplant and the carrots into approximately 5mm slices, and season to taste with salt. Grill the eggplant slices for about 5 minutes and flip. On the grilled side, spread some parmesan and oregano, and let it grill for another few minutes. Grill the carrots and the cheese. Serve with olives.

Notes:

There are many other ingredients to grill and to serve with. 

Grilled ham is delicious. Grilled tomatoes served with cucumber are also good. 

Serve with a green salad. Serve with poached eggs. Serve on a tapas board and eat in the sofa.

Paella

Paella is a Spanish dish known internationally. It is originally from Valencia, but cooked all over Spain in hundreds of different recipes. The traditional one from Valencia includes rabbit, chicken and snails, while the seafood Paella, also very common, includes many different kinds of shrimps, shells, etc. Since rabbit meat is not always easy to find, and not everybody enjoys snails, I decided to cook Paella with chicken and chorizo, the traditional smoked sausage of Spain (also found in Portugal).

Ingredients (serves 3):

200g of rice

150g of chorizo

300g of boneless chicken

1 small red pepper

1 small green pepper

3 garlic cloves

3 large tomatoes

75g of peas

1/2 tablespoon of paprika

1/2 tablespoon of saffron

1 L of chicken stock

100ml of white wine

A pinch of salt

A pinch of black pepper

Olive oil

Parsley

Lemon wedges

Rinse the rice, drain and set aside. Cut the chicken into bite-size pieces and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cut the chorizo in slices. Chop the peppers and the tomatoes in medium pieces and the garlic cloves in small ones. Add the saffron and the paprika to the chicken stock.

Heat the olive oil in a big pan (paella pan if you have one), brown the chicken pieces and set aside. In the same pan introduce the chorizo slices and sauté for 2 minutes. Then, add the garlic and the peppers and let it cook until the peppers start to soften. Afterwards, add the rice and cook stirring for a few minutes until it's toasted. Pour in the wine and let it bubble until reduced by half. Add the chicken stock and let it boil. Add the chicken pieces, and let everything cook for about 10 minutes on low heat, stirring from time to time. Afterwards, add the peas and the tomatoes, and let it cook for another 10 minutes. When the rice is just cooked remove the pan from the heat and leave it to stand for a few minutes.

Serve with parsley leaves and lemon wedges.

Notes:

I strongly advice you to make your mise en place (chop and prepare everything) before you start cooking.

If possible use paelha rice, since it absorbs more of the flavours in the chicken stock. 

It is also good served with coriander.

If you do have a paella pan put it on the table and serve your paella in it! Paella is all about big family and friends gatherings around the pan.

adapted from Gordon Ramsey's World Kitchen

Vegetarian Quiche

Quiche is a dish that became very popular worldwide. Firstly, it speaks french. Secondly, it is simple to make and the filling is versatile, since it can be made of so many different combination of ingredients. I hardly make the same quiche twice, and this is the recipe for the one I just made.

Ingredients:

400ml of cream
2 eggs
2 carrots
2 baroa potatoes
1 small bunch of broccoli
1 small bunch of spinach
200g of ricotta cheese
A pinch of salt
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Pastry

Chop the carrots and the baroa potatoes in brunoise. Cook them in salty water until they are al dente. Wash the spinach and transfer them into a pre-heated frying pan. Toss from now and then until they are wilted. Drain the leaves very well and chop them finely. Chop the broccoli in small branches. 

In a bowl mix the cream with the eggs and a pinch of salt. Add the cooked vegetables, the broccoli and the ricotta. 

Lay the pastry on an oven form, pre-covered with slightly greased parchment paper and poke it with a fork to get better adhesion. Pour the filling mixture on the pastry and bake at approximately 200 ºC until the top is golden (25-30 minutes). Serve with a green salad seasoned with balsamic vinegar.

Notes:

This time I used frozen pastry, but next time I want to make my own dough. I will post here if it goes well.

Minced meat pie

The combination of mashed potato and minced meat is not new. I, the chef, got this recipe from my ancestors. I don't really know if its origin is the famous Cottage Pie, from Britain, but there are some similarities. He, the photographer, has also experienced something similar, but still different. Whatever the origin is, the important thing is that it is good!

Ingredients (serves 2):

Meat
500g of minced beef
2 mature tomatoes
1 onion
1 tablespoon of paprika
50ml of tomato extract (optional)
A pinch of salt
Olive oil


Chop the onion and the tomatoes in brunoise and together with the olive oil put them on a pre-heated large frying pan. Let them cook at low heat for about 5 minutes, until the tomatoes are done. Afterwards, process everything and transfer it back to the same pan. Add the meat, the salt, and the paprika and let it cook stirring now and then. When the meat is cooked half way through, incorporate the tomato extract and simmer until the meat is done.


Mash
8 medium potatoes
1 tablespoon of butter
100ml of milk
A pinch of salt

Boil the potatoes in salted water (for a good timing, start the potatoes before the meat). When they are cooked, drain and mash together with the butter. Add the milk (pre-heated) and mix everything very well.

Finish

1 egg

Parsley

In an oven recipient make a layer using half of the mashed potatoes. Add the minced meat and on top another layer using the rest of the mash. Beat the egg and add on top (the mash should be very flat). Bake for about 5 minutes in a pre-heated oven. It's done when the egg is cooked. Add some parsley on top and serve with fresh tomato seasoned with olive oil and salt.

Notes:

The meat can also be pork or mixed.

For the mash, instead of warm, cold milk can be added if you stir everything on the stove at low heat.

Pumpkin Chips with Homemade Ketchup

An easy homemade snack to enjoy on the sofa with a blanket and a good movie and especially and a very good company...

Pumpkin chips

Ingredients:

Pumpkin

Chop the pumpkin in very thin slices and deep fry them in oil. Take them off when they are turning darker and dry with paper. Serve immediately.

Ketchup

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons of ketchup

4 tablespoons of tomato sauce

1 tablespoon of water

1 tablespoon of apple vinegar

1 teaspoon of olive oil

1 teaspoon of ground cloves

1/2 onion, finely chopped

A pinch of cinnamon

A pinch of brow sugar

Mix all the ingredients and stir until the mixture is homogeneous.

Notes:

Don't expect the pumpkin chips to be as crispy as potato chips, but the taste is a very good surprise.

To create your favourite ketchup recipe change the ingredients proportions to your taste.

Enjoy and have a good movie!

Portuguese fish stew - Caldeirada

Portugal is a country with many kilometers of seacoast. Therefore, its cuisine is very rich in sea ingredients, including many different kinds of fish. Caldeirada is a typical portuguese dish that incorporates different kinds of fish and vegetables. It's best served on a table by the sea, but it works for tables far away as well. Especially if they are close enough to the kitchen, because the smell exhaled during preparation is beyond description. 

Ingredients (serves 2):

2 small slices of salmon

2 small slices of sea bass

2 small slices of whitefish

2 bell peppers

4 mature tomatoes

1 leek

1 onion

4 medium potatoes

A pinch of salt

A pinch of grounded chili pepper

Olive oil

Chop the leek and the onion, and put them in a large pan. Add some olive oil and let it cook on low heat.  Afterwards, add the tomatoes chopped in large cubes, the fish and the sliced potatoes. Add water until the fish is almost covered and let it cook on low heat. After about 20 minutes add the peppers chopped in julienne and stir gently. Season with salt and chili pepper to taste. Turn the heat off when the potatoes are cooked. Serve in deep plates and open a bottle of chilled white wine to go with it. 

Notes:

The base of the recipe is the use of different fish. It can be any kind of fish, not only the ones we used.

Cook the fish with skin and bones. That gives an extra flavour to the sauce.  

The fish will be slightly overcooked, since the potatoes take longer time to cook. That's how it is done typically, so when you gently stir the mixture, the fish breaks in small pieces.

Chocolate Mousse

The Swedish and the Chef had a short break, but are now back with a delicious recipe: chocolate mousse. Despite its origin, that is rather unknown, but many assign it to French cuisine, chocolate mousse became a classic dessert all over the world. It is then, the perfect recipe to open the desserts section in the Swedish and the Chef.

Ingredients:  

200g of cacao

400ml of cream 

400ml of low fat cream

200g of chocolate nut spread (a.k.a. nutella)

50g of almonds

Place the cacao and the low fat cream in a bain-marie, on low heat, until the cacao is melted. Let it cool down a little bit, add the nutella and the almonds finely chopped. Mix everything until it is homogeneous. Afterwards, whip the cream and add it to the mixture. Gently, mix the ingredients with a beater. Pour the mixture into individual bowls and decorate with almonds. Refrigerate for at least 2h.

Notes:

During our break we had the chance to buy pure and natural cacao, but you can replace it by a normal dark chocolate bar.

Feel free to replace the almonds by any other dried fruits, such as nuts, walnuts, etc.

Mexican frittata

Frittata is an egg-based italian dish. It is very much versatile since the filling can be almost anything. This recipe presents the fusion of two very rich cuisines, as it mixes the simplicity of the Italian aroma with the rich spicy flavours of Mexico, turning into an explosion of taste in your mouth!

Ingredients:

4 eggs
2 tablespoons of milk
100g of minced meat
1/2 onion
1 cup of water
Spices mixture for tacos
4 cherry tomatoes
4 cucumber pickles
50g of ricotta cheese
20g of parmesan cheese
A pinch of salt
A pinch of pepper
Olive oil

The filling:

Chop the onion and fry it in a few drops of olive oil. Add the minced meat and let it cook for a few minutes. When it's almost done add the water and the mixture of spices that you would use for tacos (a combination of grounded peppers, chili powder, and garlic powder). Let it cook for about 10 minutes.

The frittata:

In a bowl add the eggs, milk, salt and pepper and stir. On the stove, heat up a non-sticky skillet and then transfer the meat onto it (feel free to use the same pan where you cooked the meat). Add the eggs mixture and stir just until it becomes homogeneous. Let it cook under medium heat for 3 minutes. Add the cherry tomatoes in halves, the pickles and the ricotta cheese. Sprinkle some grated parmesan cheese on top. Transfer the skillet into the pre-heated oven (200 ºC), and let it cook for about 5 minutes. Serve at room temperature.

Notes:
Adjust the spices mix to your taste (more or less hot).
Use fresh mozzarella instead of ricotta. It is equally delicious.
You can serve it warm, but if you let it cool down for at least a few minutes the flavours are enhanced.

Caesar's tagliatelle

In the evening, it is preferable to eat something lighter, unless a running competition waits for you the next morning. If so, something light but still containing carbohydrates is recommended, to start preparing your body for all the physical effort. This recipe combines pasta with light ingredients, and it is simple to cook, so you save your energy for the next day. It was tested by us and it worked well!

Ingredients:

Tagliatelle

Cherry tomatoes

Watercress

Tomato sauce

A pinch of salt

Start by cooking the tagliatelle al dente. Prepare the tomato sauce as described in this post, and add it to the pasta. Add the watercress and the cherry tomatoes in halves. The salt in the tomato sauce should be enough, but add more salt if needed. Serve immediately.

Notes:

No quantities were included in the ingredients since it depends on how much you want to eat, how early in the evening you will eat, and so.

Add some ricotta or parmesan cheese if you like.

Hasselbackpotatis

Even though the Swedish Chef is our inspiration, we are missing a trip to Sweden. Potatoes are a very common ingredient in Sweden and this recipe brings something different to the table, not only in taste but also in presentation. To give it a personal touch we have also created the "hasselbacklok", using onions.

Ingredients (serves 2 people):
10 small potatoes
6 baby onions
Laurel leaves
Rosemary
Fennel
A pinch of salt
A pinch of pepper
Butter
Olive oil

Wash and dry the potatoes, and peel off the onions. Make several vertical cuts, about 3/4 deep, in each potato (see picture). Use 2 chopsticks to help not to cut all the way through the potato. 

In the gaps insert the laurel, rosemary and fennel. Repeat the procedure for the onions, and transfer everything onto a baking plate. Brush with a mixture of butter and olive oil, and add salt and pepper to taste. Spread some more herbs on top. Cover with aluminium foil and bake for about 30 minutes. Remove the foil, brush again with the butter /olive oil mixture and let it bake for another 10 minutes without covering them. They should get a golden color. Serve as garnishment with meat or fish.  

Notes:

In gas heating ovens (like ours) the potatoes will not become golden since the heat only comes from the bottom.

Use any other herbs mixture of your creation.