Conchiglione with Spinach and Ricotta filling

Today I was feeling like pasta, but at the same time I wanted to cook something different. Conchiglione was the perfect solution. The big shell-shaped pasta provides a different look to the dish, and the hollow inside calls for your creativity to combine different ingredients.

Ingredients (serves 4):
24 conchiglione 
2 garlic cloves
200g ricotta cheese
200g mozzarella cheese
1 egg
10 leaves of fresh basil
1 large bunch of spinach
4 mature tomatoes
1 onion
Olive oil
A pinch of salt
A pinch of pepper


The filling:

Wash the spinach and transfer to a skillet with just the water clinging to the leaves. Cook over medium heat, tossing from now and then, until the leaves are evenly wilted. Afterwards, put the leaves in a sieve and place under cold running water until they cool down. Squeeze them dry and chop them finely. Tranfer to a bowl and add the garlic and the basil chopped in small pieces, the two kinds of cheese coarsely grated, the egg, and the salt and pepper to taste. Mix everything very well.

 

The sauce:

Chop the onion in brunoise and transfer to a sauce pan. Add some olive oil and cook over low heat. Add the tomatoes also chopped in small pieces and let the mixture cook slowly (for about 20 minutes). Afterwards, process the mixture until it becomes homogeneous.

The pasta:

Boil the conchiglione in salted water until they are not quite al dente (about 8 minutes). Afterwards, cool them down under running water and toss some olive oil on top so they don't stick together. When cooled and dry, fill each shell with a spoon of the filling.

On an oven plate, put some spoons of the tomato sauce previously prepared until it covers the bottom. Place the shells on top. Spoon the rest of the sauce, cover with aluminum foil, and put it in a pre-heated oven. Let it cook for about 30 minutes, at 220 ºC. Serve with some extra mozzarella on top.

Notes:

Add grated parmesan on top if you prefer.

Green eggs

Green eggs are a delicacy that I have only seen in my family reunions. Maybe it was a recipe invented by one of my ancestors (or maybe not...). The recipe uses very simple and common ingredients and still the result is something so different in flavour.

Ingredients:

14 eggs
A pinch of salt
A pinch of pepper
Coriander
White wine vinegar
Flower
Oil

Boil 12 eggs until they are well cooked. Cut them in halves, and carefully remove the yolks. Put the yolks in a bowl and mash them with a fork. Add seasoning (salt, pepper, coriander and vinegar) to your taste. Personally, I like them with a lot of vinegar. Mix all the ingredients until the mixture is homogeneous. Carefully, put the mixture back into the egg whites (see picture).

Afterwards, beat 2 eggs on a deep plate. On another plate put some flower. Pass the eggs with the enriched yolks on the beaten egg, and then on the flower. Afterwards, heat up some oil and deep fry the eggs. Let them cool down and serve as a starter or a snack.

Notes:

Coriander can be replaced by parsley.

Caldo Verde - Portuguese traditional soup

Today we will travel to a small country, on the west coast of Europe: Portugal. It's a country with delicious Mediterranean gastronomy, known for its fish, wine, and olive oil. One of the typical dishes is a kale based soup called "caldo verde", translated as "green broth".

Ingredients:

4 medium potatoes

150g of kale

1 onion

Salt to the taste

Olive oil

Chouriço (smoked spicy sausage)

Role up the kale leaves and chop them in thin slices (chiffonade cut).

Heat up water in a big pan. When it's boiling add the potatoes, the onion and the salt. Let them cook. Afterwards, process everything, add the kale and let it cook for about 10 more minutes. Kill the fire, add some olive oil on top and serve with chouriço.

Ham and Cheese melting rolls

Simple, quick and delicious.
Sometimes that's all we want (or need).

Ingredients:
5 slices of ham
5 slices of cheese
Cherry tomatoes
1/2 red bell pepper
Baby onions
Olives
200ml tomato sauce
200ml sour cream

Lay a slice of cheese over a slice of ham. On top, put cherry tomatoes, or peppers, or baby onions, or combinations of these ingredients. Roll it up and use a toothpick to hold the rolls, as shown in the picture. Decorate the rolls with olives and cherry tomatoes. Display the rolls on a roasting pan. In a bowl, mix the sour cream and the tomato sauce, and pour it over the rolls. Put it in the oven at about 180 ºC, for 15-20 minutes.

Serve it as a starter or garnish it with pasta.

Notes:
There are many more ingredients that can be used to fill in the rolls. Use your imagination.

Pasta Salad

In the warmest days of the year there is nothing better than a salad.
It's cold, it's light, and it's tasty.
Add carbohydrates to it and make it a complete meal.

Ingredients:

Salad:
Lettuce
Rucula
Cherry tomatoes
Olives
Fresh ricotta cheese
Coriander
Cheese ravioli

Sauce:
1 tablespoon of olive oil
3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon of blueberry jam
A pinch of salt

Cook the ravioli al dente. When it's done, put it on a sieve and rinse it with cold water for a few seconds, so it doesn't get "sticky". Mix all the other ingredients in a salad bowl, including the ravioli already cold.
For the sauce, mix all ingredientes stirring well to incorporate all the components.
Garnish with dark bread and serve with the sauce.

Notes:

The ravioli can be replaced by other types of pasta.

The bread is optional, since it is the second carbohydrate of the dish. Use toasted bread if you prefer.

Spaghetti Carbonara*

Today we will travel to Italy and one of the most famous Italian dishes: spaghetti carbonara. Due to it's popularity it is possible to find many different recipes for this dish, some closer to the original than others. I have tried different ones, and here is the one I liked the most so far.

Ingredients (serves 2 people):

200g of spaghetti

250ml of sour cream

3 egg yolks

50g of ham

100g of parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons of chopped onion

A pinch of nutmeg

A pinch of salt
Olive oil
Parsley for decoration

Cook the spaghetti al dente.

On a frying pan, heat up a drizzle of olive oil and add half of the onions and the ham chopped in cubes. Let it fry until the ham is golden.

For the sauce, mix all the other ingredients in a bowl. 

Put the spaghetti in a big frying pan with a small amount of water until it is warm, then add the sauce. Stir the mixture until it starts boiling. 

Serve with the ham and some more parmesan cheese, decorate with parsley.

Notes:

You can use bacon instead of ham.

The amount of sour cream and egg yolks depends a lot on each person's taste, so try different proportions if the one presented does not suit you.

Inspired by and dedicated to Chef André Paganini.

Nacho's dips

One of the best things about cooking is that you can travel around the world within only a few days. If last time we were in Japan, today we are in Mexico. Two very different cultures and gastronomies, but both absolutely irresistible.

The spicy and colorful traditional dishes of Mexico attract people from all over the world, and we are not an exception. Here is a simple recipe to prepare your own dip sauces to eat with delicious fried corn tortillas. 

Ingredients:

Guacamole:

1 avocado

1 tablespoon of lemon juice

1 tablespoon of coriander

1 jalapeño sliced without seeds

Mash the avocado  and mix it with all the other ingredients until it forms a homogeneous pasta.

Salsa:

3 big red tomatoes

2 small chilli peppers

2 garlic cloves

1/2 onion

A pinch of salt

Olive oil

Put the chilli and the tomatoes in a pan, cover them with water, and fire it up until the water is boiling. Decrease the fire and let it cook for about 5 minutes. Afterwards, remove the skin and the seeds of the chilli and tomatoes, put them in the blender, together with a ladle of the broth and mash everything together. After, heat up a frying pan with some olive oil and add the onion and the garlic, chopped finely. When the mix is golden, add the tomato/chilli mash, and reduce it under low fire. Adjust the salt to taste.

Cheese cream:

3 tablespoons of white cream cheese

1/2 onion 

1 tablespoon of parsley

1 tablespoon of chives

Chop finely the onion, parsley and chives. Mix all the ingredients very well, and put the mixture in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before you serve.

Chicken with Teriyaki Inspired Sauce

Japanese cuisine is rich in ingredients and flavors. 

This is a recipe inspired by the Japanese culture, particularly by the Teriyaky sauce, commonly used in that country.

Ingredients (serves 2 people):

2 chicken breasts

1 cup of rice

100 ml of soya sauce

50 ml of dark beer

2 tablespoons of sugar

1 tablespoon of grated fresh ginger

Olive oil

Butter

To make the Teriyaki inspired sauce mix the soya sauce, the dark beer, the sugar and the fresh ginger.

Take the chicken and, using a fork, make some holes in the meat. Marinate the chicken in the sauce for 20 minutes. Turn around the chicken pieces and leave them in the sauce for another 20 minutes (the sauce should not cover the pieces).

Heat up a frying pan with some olive oil and butter. Start by frying the chicken pieces, with the skin down, until it becomes golden. Then, turn the pieces around, reduce the fire to a minimum, cover the frying pan, and let the chicken cook for about 5 minutes. When it's ready take the meat out, remove the extra fat in the pan and pour the sauce inside. When the sauce is boiling put the chicken back in and let it cook until it gets a golden colour. 

Serve with some sauce on top. Garnish with white rice and decorate with grated carrot.

Notes:

The recipe also works with beef, pork or even vegetables instead of chicken.
Dark beer can be replaced for other kinds of alcohol, e. g. sake.

Add your favourite spices to the sauce in order to create a personalised taste.