1. Banoffee pie before chilling
2. Patatas bravas with fried egg
3. A pile of 'milanesas'
Saturday, July 3, 2010
More pictures
1. Banoffee pie before chilling
2. Patatas bravas with fried egg
3. A pile of 'milanesas'
Pictures of different meals
1. My special birthday meal: matambre and roast potatoes
2. Seafood thai coconut noodle soup
3. hummous and tzatiki
4. Fede's special birthday meal: Lamb cutlets with chocolate and malbec sauce, asparagus, and mushy mint peas!
5. Sweet potato falafel frying away
Monday, June 28, 2010
Cream madness: Banofee Pie
This actually went quite wrong, mainly due to impatience and weakness on my part when it comes to hand whipping cream! I also dropped half the cream, then went to get some more, and ended up with so much that it spilt everywhere and our cat went crazy. Cream Madness! Pictures will follow.
Ingredients:
4 bananas, sliced
1 pot dulce de leche or equivalent thick toffee sauce (200ml)
200 ml double cream
100 grams icing sugar
100 grams butter
200 grams (large packet) of chocolate chip biscuits
Method:
1. Place the cookies in a freezer bag and close. Beat with a heavy object until crumbs have formed. You have to be patient and don't let the bag break (like I did). You really need CRUMBS for this to work!
2. Heat the butter and add the crumbs. Stir for 2-3 minutes
3. Pour mixture into a 20cm tart / cake tin and bake on a low heat (180C) for 10 minutes
4. Allow to cool thoroughly
5. While this is cooling, whip the cream with the icing sugar until peaks have formed
6. Finally, spread the dulce de leche on the base, then layer the banana slices all over and top with the cream mixture. Allow to cool for at least 2 hours and serve!
Ingredients:
4 bananas, sliced
1 pot dulce de leche or equivalent thick toffee sauce (200ml)
200 ml double cream
100 grams icing sugar
100 grams butter
200 grams (large packet) of chocolate chip biscuits
Method:
1. Place the cookies in a freezer bag and close. Beat with a heavy object until crumbs have formed. You have to be patient and don't let the bag break (like I did). You really need CRUMBS for this to work!
2. Heat the butter and add the crumbs. Stir for 2-3 minutes
3. Pour mixture into a 20cm tart / cake tin and bake on a low heat (180C) for 10 minutes
4. Allow to cool thoroughly
5. While this is cooling, whip the cream with the icing sugar until peaks have formed
6. Finally, spread the dulce de leche on the base, then layer the banana slices all over and top with the cream mixture. Allow to cool for at least 2 hours and serve!
Lemon spagetti
This is very like a carbonara, but fresh and summery. My friend Lucy wanted an idea for something summery and i remembered this! Serves 2
Ingredients:
Juice and zest of 1 large lemon
3 egg yolks and 1 egg white
150 mls cream
handful freshly grated parmesan
Spagetti for 2 (large handful)
Salt
Method:
1. Boil the spagetti until cooked (i like al dente)
2. Beat the eggs and add salt and lemon juice and zest. Add a little cheese.
3. Drain the pasta and remove from the heat. Stir in the egg mixture and keep stirring to make sure that you don't end up with scrambled eggs! Finally add the cream and the rest of the cheese.
4. Nigella says not to add pepper. I personally think it goes really well with fresh pepper and parsely but of course this a personal taste!
Ingredients:
Juice and zest of 1 large lemon
3 egg yolks and 1 egg white
150 mls cream
handful freshly grated parmesan
Spagetti for 2 (large handful)
Salt
Method:
1. Boil the spagetti until cooked (i like al dente)
2. Beat the eggs and add salt and lemon juice and zest. Add a little cheese.
3. Drain the pasta and remove from the heat. Stir in the egg mixture and keep stirring to make sure that you don't end up with scrambled eggs! Finally add the cream and the rest of the cheese.
4. Nigella says not to add pepper. I personally think it goes really well with fresh pepper and parsely but of course this a personal taste!
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Middle Eastern Lunch
These are little tapas like dishes that I made for a light lunch with a friend. Squid is really cheap in Buenos Aires, so we have fried calamari, and Fede's love of hummous means I have to put down my recipe for home-made hummous!
Home-made hummous
I don't have a blender so do this by hand with a fork. It's only a tiny bit more effort!
Ingredients:
1 can chickpeas, drained
1 cloves of garlic, grated or chopped finely
Juice of half a lemon
150ml extra virgin olive oil
2-3 tablespoons Tahini (sesame paste)
Salt and Pepper
Method:
1. In a bowl mash the chickpeas with a fork (or blend in a blender) adding a little olive oil.
2. Stir in the Tahini and lemon juice and keep mashing until smooth.
3. Make it more liquid by adding the rest of the olive oil bit by bit whilst stirring.
4. Add the garlic and seasoning to taste.
You can sprinkle with paprika or caramalised onion and more whole chickpeas!
Simple Tzatziki
Ingredients:
200ml thick yogurt (greek of possible)
1 clove of garlic, grated, minced or finely chopped
Handful of mint, chopped finely
Half cucumber, grated or chopped finely
Salt and pepper
Method:
This is so easy! Just mix all the ingredients together and add more or less garlic, salt and pepper to taste! Serve with pitta bread (called pan arabe in Argentina) or fresh vegetables to dip!
Calamari
I spent a while cleaning and removing the guts of the squid, but I am sure you can find it ready-prepared or ask your fishmonger! (I quite enjoyed it really, there was ink and everything)
Ingredients
250 grams squid, washed and in small pieces
50 grams polenta / corn flour
50 grams white flour
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon baking soda
Cooking oil
Method
1. Fill a heavy based pan with abuot 5 cm of oil and heat until very hot
2. Mix the flours and spices and coat each piece of squid in the nixture.
3. When the oil is hot (carefully) place the pieces of squid in the oil and allow to fry for 2-3 minutes
4. Remove (also very carefully) with a spatula and allow to dry on paper towels.
Serve with lemon (and garlic mayonnaise)
Home-made hummous
I don't have a blender so do this by hand with a fork. It's only a tiny bit more effort!
Ingredients:
1 can chickpeas, drained
1 cloves of garlic, grated or chopped finely
Juice of half a lemon
150ml extra virgin olive oil
2-3 tablespoons Tahini (sesame paste)
Salt and Pepper
Method:
1. In a bowl mash the chickpeas with a fork (or blend in a blender) adding a little olive oil.
2. Stir in the Tahini and lemon juice and keep mashing until smooth.
3. Make it more liquid by adding the rest of the olive oil bit by bit whilst stirring.
4. Add the garlic and seasoning to taste.
You can sprinkle with paprika or caramalised onion and more whole chickpeas!
Simple Tzatziki
Ingredients:
200ml thick yogurt (greek of possible)
1 clove of garlic, grated, minced or finely chopped
Handful of mint, chopped finely
Half cucumber, grated or chopped finely
Salt and pepper
Method:
This is so easy! Just mix all the ingredients together and add more or less garlic, salt and pepper to taste! Serve with pitta bread (called pan arabe in Argentina) or fresh vegetables to dip!
Calamari
I spent a while cleaning and removing the guts of the squid, but I am sure you can find it ready-prepared or ask your fishmonger! (I quite enjoyed it really, there was ink and everything)
Ingredients
250 grams squid, washed and in small pieces
50 grams polenta / corn flour
50 grams white flour
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon baking soda
Cooking oil
Method
1. Fill a heavy based pan with abuot 5 cm of oil and heat until very hot
2. Mix the flours and spices and coat each piece of squid in the nixture.
3. When the oil is hot (carefully) place the pieces of squid in the oil and allow to fry for 2-3 minutes
4. Remove (also very carefully) with a spatula and allow to dry on paper towels.
Serve with lemon (and garlic mayonnaise)
Monday, June 14, 2010
Carrot Cake
I made this cake this weekend since I really wanted to eat a proper cake and after chocolate this is my favourite. I never knew it was so easy! Also, I am not very good with measurements so use cups but it turned out great.
Ingredients:
1 cup self-raising flour
1 cup caster sugar
4 eggs
200 ml vegetable oil
Pinch of salt
250 grams grated carrot
100 grams walnuts chopped
100 grams dried fruit (i used plums but raisons would be fine)
Zest of 2 oranges
1 teaspoon ground cardommon
1 teaspoon ground cinammon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
Icing:
1 tub (about 250 grams) cream cheese
100 grams soft butter
Zest and juice of 1 large orange
1/2 cup of icing sugar
Method:
1. Grease a 20 cm diameter cake tin and preheat the oven to 200C
2. Mix together the flour, sugar, spices and baking soda.
3. Add the eggs and oil, stiring until it is thick
4. Add the carrot, nuts, fruit and orange zest and pour into cake tin.
5. Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes or until soft and cooked through
6. Make the icing by beating the butter (at room temperature) with the icing sugar.
7. Add the cream cheese and orange juice and zest. Mix until thick. This might need some chilling in order for it to be spreadable.
8. When the cake is cooked and cooled remove it from its tin and spread over the icing. Sprinkle with more nuts and orange zest to taste!
Ingredients:
1 cup self-raising flour
1 cup caster sugar
4 eggs
200 ml vegetable oil
Pinch of salt
250 grams grated carrot
100 grams walnuts chopped
100 grams dried fruit (i used plums but raisons would be fine)
Zest of 2 oranges
1 teaspoon ground cardommon
1 teaspoon ground cinammon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
Icing:
1 tub (about 250 grams) cream cheese
100 grams soft butter
Zest and juice of 1 large orange
1/2 cup of icing sugar
Method:
1. Grease a 20 cm diameter cake tin and preheat the oven to 200C
2. Mix together the flour, sugar, spices and baking soda.
3. Add the eggs and oil, stiring until it is thick
4. Add the carrot, nuts, fruit and orange zest and pour into cake tin.
5. Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes or until soft and cooked through
6. Make the icing by beating the butter (at room temperature) with the icing sugar.
7. Add the cream cheese and orange juice and zest. Mix until thick. This might need some chilling in order for it to be spreadable.
8. When the cake is cooked and cooled remove it from its tin and spread over the icing. Sprinkle with more nuts and orange zest to taste!
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Celebration dinner!
It was Fede's (my boyfriends) birthday last week, and so I made a special supper. I have included the recipes here, although there were some problems. Lamb in argentina is more like mutton and the butcher got out a whole animal from the deep freeze to cut up for me but it still wasn't as juicy as in the UK! It tasted quite gamey which was actually really lovely. Also my starter should really be with scallops but there were none at the fishmongers on the day so I used pink salmon, which is more of a delicacy here than in the UK (where it is cheap and so easy mmm). For the pudding I couldn't find any glaced cherries, so I left them out but it was still delicious and lasted for half the week!
STARTER: Scallops with minty mushy peas
Ingredients:
6 fresh scallops
3 teaspoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and pepper
1/2 bag of frozen peas
1 large clove garlic
100ml cream
Bunch of mint leaves (fresh) finely chopped
Method:
1. First the prepare the peas by boiling them in already boiling water with some salt and the garlic clove for 5 minutes (or less). They should be firm but cooked.
2. Drain the peas and remove the skin from the garlic. Mash the peas and garlic with some more seasoning until semi-solid and add cream while doing so bit by bit. Taste
3. Coat the scallops in the cumin, salt and pepper and a little bit of olive oil
4. Heat the griddle or frying pan until it is very hot and add the scallops. They only need 2 minutes on each side when very hot.
5. Serve with the mushy peas for a simple yet delicious starter!
Roast lamb cutlets with chocolate and malbec sauce
Ingredients:
1/2 kilo of lamb chops. These can be quite fatty as it gives more flavour.
1 tablespoon of ground cumin
2 large garlic cloves
2 tablespoons cooking oil
Salt and Pepper
For the sauce:
50 grams dark chocolate (60%), broken into bitesize pieces
1 cup (about 200 ml) red wine. I used malbec since this is supposedly the best Argentine grape, and is cheap and delicious
50 grams butter
Salt
Method:
1. Marinate the lamb (overnight or for a few hours) by mixing the cumin, oil, plenty of salt and pepper and slightly crushed garlic cloves and leaving in a plastic bag or tupperware container in the fridge.
2. Preheat the oven to 200C and roast the lamb for 1 hour 30 minutes. This depends on the quality of lamb. Mine was very fatty so I roasted it at about 180C for about 2 hours and basted it in the juices every 30 minutes or so. It should turn out slightly crispy but not too chewy.
3. Make the sauce when the lamb is almost cooked. Melt the butter over a low heat, adding the pieces of chocolate until they are melted. Then add the wine little by little mixing continously until a smooth consistency. Add salt and pepper (not too much). If it tastes a little tangy ensure that you keep cooking it until most of the alcohol has evaporated off.
4. Serve over the lamb chops. I also roasted some sweet potatoes and normal potatoes in the tin with the lamb.
Cherry chocolate cake
This recipe was intended to be made as cupcakes. However, since I could not find the cases I made it in a tin and increased the quantity and it turned out great! I also couldn't find glazed cherries but it was fine.
Ingredients:
125 grams butter
100 grams dark chocolate in bite size pieces
300 grams cherry jam
150 grams caster sugar
2 large eggs, beaten
150 grams self-raising flour
Icing:
100 grams dark chocolate in shards
100ml double cream
glazed cherries (optional)
Method:
1. Grease a 20 cm diameter cake tin and preheat the oven to 180C.
2. Melt the butter and the chocolate together by melting the butter and adding the chocolate when almost melted, bit by bit. When all is melted and mixed take of the heat.
3. Add the jam, sugar and eggs and when mixed well add the flour.
4. Pour into the tin and bake for about 25 minutes. Leave to cool
5. For the icing, heat the cream in a pan and add the chocolate pieces until all have melted. Bring to the boil and remove from heat.
6. As the icing is cooling whisk until thick. I personally do not have an electric mixer so put it in the freezer for 5 minutes after whisking and then in the fridge which speeds up the thickening process.
7. Remove the cake from the tin and cover in icing. Dot over the cherries and keep cool until you serve!
STARTER: Scallops with minty mushy peas
Ingredients:
6 fresh scallops
3 teaspoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and pepper
1/2 bag of frozen peas
1 large clove garlic
100ml cream
Bunch of mint leaves (fresh) finely chopped
Method:
1. First the prepare the peas by boiling them in already boiling water with some salt and the garlic clove for 5 minutes (or less). They should be firm but cooked.
2. Drain the peas and remove the skin from the garlic. Mash the peas and garlic with some more seasoning until semi-solid and add cream while doing so bit by bit. Taste
3. Coat the scallops in the cumin, salt and pepper and a little bit of olive oil
4. Heat the griddle or frying pan until it is very hot and add the scallops. They only need 2 minutes on each side when very hot.
5. Serve with the mushy peas for a simple yet delicious starter!
Roast lamb cutlets with chocolate and malbec sauce
Ingredients:
1/2 kilo of lamb chops. These can be quite fatty as it gives more flavour.
1 tablespoon of ground cumin
2 large garlic cloves
2 tablespoons cooking oil
Salt and Pepper
For the sauce:
50 grams dark chocolate (60%), broken into bitesize pieces
1 cup (about 200 ml) red wine. I used malbec since this is supposedly the best Argentine grape, and is cheap and delicious
50 grams butter
Salt
Method:
1. Marinate the lamb (overnight or for a few hours) by mixing the cumin, oil, plenty of salt and pepper and slightly crushed garlic cloves and leaving in a plastic bag or tupperware container in the fridge.
2. Preheat the oven to 200C and roast the lamb for 1 hour 30 minutes. This depends on the quality of lamb. Mine was very fatty so I roasted it at about 180C for about 2 hours and basted it in the juices every 30 minutes or so. It should turn out slightly crispy but not too chewy.
3. Make the sauce when the lamb is almost cooked. Melt the butter over a low heat, adding the pieces of chocolate until they are melted. Then add the wine little by little mixing continously until a smooth consistency. Add salt and pepper (not too much). If it tastes a little tangy ensure that you keep cooking it until most of the alcohol has evaporated off.
4. Serve over the lamb chops. I also roasted some sweet potatoes and normal potatoes in the tin with the lamb.
Cherry chocolate cake
This recipe was intended to be made as cupcakes. However, since I could not find the cases I made it in a tin and increased the quantity and it turned out great! I also couldn't find glazed cherries but it was fine.
Ingredients:
125 grams butter
100 grams dark chocolate in bite size pieces
300 grams cherry jam
150 grams caster sugar
2 large eggs, beaten
150 grams self-raising flour
Icing:
100 grams dark chocolate in shards
100ml double cream
glazed cherries (optional)
Method:
1. Grease a 20 cm diameter cake tin and preheat the oven to 180C.
2. Melt the butter and the chocolate together by melting the butter and adding the chocolate when almost melted, bit by bit. When all is melted and mixed take of the heat.
3. Add the jam, sugar and eggs and when mixed well add the flour.
4. Pour into the tin and bake for about 25 minutes. Leave to cool
5. For the icing, heat the cream in a pan and add the chocolate pieces until all have melted. Bring to the boil and remove from heat.
6. As the icing is cooling whisk until thick. I personally do not have an electric mixer so put it in the freezer for 5 minutes after whisking and then in the fridge which speeds up the thickening process.
7. Remove the cake from the tin and cover in icing. Dot over the cherries and keep cool until you serve!
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