Lord of the Pies

For a UK expat living in Malta one of the side effects of Brexit was the ban on being able to visit home and return to Malta with a supply of good old English sausages and pork pies. With Covid 19 further impacting on the problem by preventing even a flying visit the UK to satisfy the craving for pastry encrusted meat products drastic measures have become neccessary. Hence the recent attempt at making a pork pie. The only problem with this is that I think I may have overdone things size wise.

Still it worked out very well in my opinion.

Recipe and step by step method for a slightly more standard sized pie to follow soon.

...and a good time was had by all.

There are few joys in life that compare with spending time with good friends and eating good food. We enjoyed such an occasion this afternoon and it was the perfect time to try a fusion of a few cuisines from across the Mediterranean; Spain, Italy and Malta.

We started with a traditional Spanish asparagus stew as featured on this blog back in April 2010 only with chorizo sausage rather than bacon. This was accompanied by Maltese bread and dipping oil made from olive oil, chopped chilli and mixed herbs.

Following this we continued with tagliatelle and a bacon and mushroom creamy sauce along with a mixed leaf salad with a balsamic vinegar and olive oil dressing. The recipe for the pasta follows, quantities are sufficient to cater for eight dinner guests.

500g tagliatelle;
200g butter (salted);
400g mixed mushrooms (button, closed cap, porcine);
400g chopped bacon or thickly sliced ham;
300ml cream;
Half a teaspoon of nutmeg;
One clove of garlic;
Salt and pepper; and
100g parmesan cheese.

Actually the execution is really easy. Melt the butter in a large frying pan then slice the mushrooms and add them to the butter along with the bacon. Crush and chop the garlic and add this to the pan. Fry together for about ten minutes then add the cream and pepper to taste then cook for a further two or three minutes.

In the meantime cook the tagliatelle in a large saucepan of salted boiling water until al dente, drain and add the creamy mushroom and bacon sauce. Finally, add the parmesan cheese and serve immediately.

For the salad toss together mixed lettuce, tomato, cucumber and drizzle with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and a little lemon juice. Sprinkle with some fine sea salt and serve as an accompaniment to the pasta.

We chose a fine French Merlot as a companion to the meal and finished with a choice of sherry trifle and lemon meringue. A fantastic time was enjoyed by all.

For a bit of a change...

After a break of a few months this blogger is back with a new web address and a new location.

We're now in Malta, right in the heart of the Med' and ready to share some new recipes. Blogs will be more regular and will include some of the local flavour as well as old favourites from Spain and the UK.

So now for the addresses;

www.adventureswithcookinginmalta.blogspot.com

www.burningdownthekitchen.co.uk

www.burningdownthekitchen.com

All links lead here. If you experience difficulties please let me know. If they work then go tell your friends.

'til next time...

Home Alone

I put  my wife and daughter on a plane bound for blighty last night for some UK shopping, catching up with family and other things so am home alone. At times like this I always seem to get the same questions from friends asking how I'll cope alone and what will I eat. I haven't thought up a snappy come-back yet to this yet but really... come on! I'm a grown man and can cook. Even if I couldn't its not rocket science to simply open a tin of baked beans and eat them with toast. In fact there's a lot to be said for the humble baked bean. A nice tasty meal with entertainment thrown in when they reach the end of the digestion process. Name that tune with farts instead of piano. Dinner and a show; what more could you want.

Anyway, rather than rocking back and forth in my chair and drooling into my beans I arrived home from work, took the dog for a quick walk, poured myself a glass of single malt, put some Divine Comedy on the stereo and started to cook.

Tonight I mostly had pork with creamy mashed potatoes and fresh green beans. While I prepared this feast I also cooked something for Wednesday and Thursday to save me from cooking after getting home from work. (I get home late you see). I went back to the old favorite of stew made with fresh vegatables and a small quantity of meat and beer. Very simple to make too. Just fry a couple of chopped onions in some olive oil until soft, roll the diced meat in flour, salt pepper and rosemary then fry with the onions. After a few minutes pour in two bottles of beer and your choice of vegetables (and it really is your choice). I used chunky cut carrots, new potatoes, light green cabbage and garlic.

Add a stock cube, top up with water, bring to the boil then turn down the heat, cover the pot and simmer for an hour or so. Fantastic and so easy to make. It will be great tomorrow after resting overnight.

No photos with this one. My wife took the camera with her.

So for all those who doubt a man can cope on his own, watch this space as I blog a variety of easy and practical meals over the next two weeks.

The inevitable attempt at paella

We had some friends over recently, guests from Gibraltar and others from nearby La Linea. I wanted to make paella however felt a little trepidation seeing as our guests would know how a real paella should taste. Still, not being one to run away from a challenge I gathered the ingredients together and started to work.

There are many variations of this dish however I chose to make a mixta being a combination of meat and sea food. The ingredients I used are listed as follows;

Fresh chicken pieces, enough for each guest to have one piece;
Fresh mussles;
Fresh calamares (or prawns if you prefer);
1 large onion, chopped;
2 cloves of garlc;
One large green pepper;
One cup of garden peas;
Paella rice;
Paella seasoning*;
Salt and pepper to taste; and
One and a half pints of chicken stock.

* This admittedly is a cheat however the local Spanish supermarket, Mercadona sells a ready made seasoning mix which is just perfect for the job. If you can't get this where you are email me on recipes@burningdownthekitchen.co.uk and I'll send some to you (for a small fee of course :-)

As with most dishes, start by slowly frying the onion in olive oil until transulcent adding a little water from time to time to prevent the onion from drying out and burning. After about five minutes add the chicken pieces, salt and a large teaspoon of paella mix. Fry the chicken until the outside begins to brown.

Looking good and should smell delicious but we're not there yet. Slice and dice the green pepper and add this to the pan along with the crushed and finely chopped garlic. Fry for a minute and then add the chicken stock. Bring this to the boil and then add the peas.

For the rice quantities I usual allow two handfuls per person and then two for the pot. Some may not agree with this in fact I've heard so many different ideas on how to cook rice that I've lost count of them all. Frankly though, I don't give a chuff. This works for me but if you prefer to work out the quanities your own way then this is also fine. Add the rice and let the dish cook for 15 to 20 minutes adding a little water from time to time if neccessary.

Now its time to add the calamare and mussles.

Firstly the mussels should be cleaned with the beards removed. If you have not used mussels before you will find that they have something which resembles hair that they use to attach themselves to rocks etc... Be firm and give it the American treatment (give it a yank) and the hair will come off.

The mussles should all be closed. Any that are open before cooking should be discarded. Place the mussels in the pan and let the boiling liquid and steam do their work. You should find that after a few minutes the mussels will open up. Any that don't open with cooking should be discarded (they're bad).

Leave the dish to cook for a few minutes until everything is thoroughly hot throughout. At this point I like to remove the mussels and de-shell them prior to putting them back in the dish. This is up to you if you want to do this or if you prefer to leave them in their shells for your guests to extract.

Serve the paella in generous portions with fresh bread, olive oil and olives. Fantastic.

As mention at the begining, I attempted this with some Spanish and Gibraltarian dinner guests and to my surprise they loved it.

The Italian Feast

Five courses created in a tight deadline of two and a half hours? Here's how its done. Firstly, grab a large G and T then read on.

Nothing like fresh ingredients

Antipasti.
This bit is simple. Lay the table with parma ham (or in my case fine Iberico ham), fresh bread, goose liver pate, olives and breadsticks. It just starts things off nicely and keeps the guests occupied while the next course is being prepared.

The next courses rely on advanced preparation. This is where the 2 hours prior to the guests arrival come in. The cooking is done while they are eating the first and preceeding courses.

Ready to go.

Primi.
Cook pasta and stir in pesto sauce. The pasta I selected was the little twists (fusilli). To make the pesto sauce you need the following ingedients.

About 40 fresh basil leaves;
4 cloves garlic;
50g pine kernals;
1 teaspoon of sea salt;
Olive oil; and
50g parmesan cheese.

Mix the ingredients together with a pestle and mortar until a smooth paste is achieved. You could use a food processor if you prefer however since I don't have one a pestle and mortar will have to do.

Frittelle di zucchini.
I did this as a little rest gap before the main course. These are courgette fritters and are easy to make and fantastic to eat.


Fritter mix



750g grated courgette;

1 crushed clove of garlic;

3 eggs;

2 tablespoons of parmesan cheese;

sea salt;

black pepper (ground);

Half a teaspoon of nutmeg;

5 tablespoons of flour;

A handlefull of fresh chopped mint leaves; and

Olive oil.

Beat the eggs then pour in a bowl with the courgette, flour, salt, parmesan, nutmeg, pepper and mint. Crush the garlic and throw this in too. Mix it all together thoroughly. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan then fry heaped spoonfulls of the mixture in the pan. Fry until one side is done before turning over (or attempting to turn over) to fry the other side. The result is a courgette fritter.  

Fritters afritting

Secondi.
For this you need a beef steak/beef medallians for each person. The beef is simply fried in olive oil until done depending on how you like your steak. The beauty though is in the sauce.

How do you like your meat?

500g of mixted mushrooms (closed cap, oyster, shitake, porcini - whatever you like);
1 large onion finely chopped;
1 clove garlic (chopped);
1 red chilli pepper (chopped);
1 tablespoon each of basil, sage and chives (all finely chopped);
Sea salt;
100ml beef stock;
70g butter;
100ml cream; and
A dash of Fino de Jerez (Optional as not in the original recipe but who cares).

Meat, mushrooms and er... monions?

Fry the onions, garlic and chilli in the butter until soft. Throw in the chopped herbs and stir in cooking for about a minute. Add the mushrooms and salt and stir into the mixture. Pour in the beef stock and sherry then cook for about 3 minutes.

Place the beef on the plate then top with the sauce.

To accompany this I roasted vegetables together in an oven dish. Aubergines, courgettes, garlic, onions, tomatoes and green peppers with sea salt, fresh ground pepper and olive oil. Parmesan cheese can be sprinkled over the top about 2 minutes befre serving. I also served peas in tomato pulp.

Result. And it was a beauty.

Dolci.
I cheated here as one of our guests brought a fruit crumble which was served with ice cream. Marvelous!

One the next blog we must get round to the subject of wine but for now that's all folks.

Steve

...and we're back.

Yes indeed after a prolonged absence due to work, exams, foreign travel and other assorted excuses the blogging resumes.

Way back in the summer I promised an Italian feast. This was somewhat hampered by the fact that Louise threw my home cured olives away by mistake however I am about to make good on my promise starting right now. Yes you read correctly. I am in the kitchen as I write surrounded by fresh ingredients and with a tight deadline. Guests arrive at 6:30 for 7 so here goes.

I'll be posting live updates on Twitter so keep following.

Steve

Casino Chicken

A few of us were chatting at work about quick and easy things to cook when you either don't have much time or the inclination. The following was mentioned. Apparently this is an old Gibraltar recipe.

All you need is;
Chicked breast or pieces;
Two cans of condensed chicken soup;
Curry powder; and
Boiled rice.

So you begin by frying the chicken in oil.

When the chicken is sufficiently cooked add the tins of condensed soup as they are. Don't add water. Then add a generous table spoon of curry powder and stir thoroughly.

Yes I know it looks like something that's first passed through the cat's digestive system but stay with me. It will be worth it.

Continue to cook the mixture stiring regulary until the sauce is hot throughout and then serve on a bed of boiled rice.

And there you have it. It's very similar to Coronation Chicken only it's not. Its Casino Chicken.

By the way, if you're wondering why the rice is yellow I always add a little saffron and turmeric to make it more colourful.

I hope you try it and like it. Let me know (that's what the comments are for).

Steve

Thai style curry

Ok I know. It's not exactly a Spanish dish but still one of my favorites and very quick to make.

All you need is;
Meat of your choice (chicken, beef, pork, lamb or even fish. Actually, this works well with baby squid);
Stir fry vegetables, (I used onions, green pepper, mushrooms, beansprouts, Courgette - spring onion also works well as it adds to the colour and tastes great);
Vegetable oil;
Fish sauce;
One teaspoon of ground corriander;
One teaspoon of Ground cumin;
Soy sauce;
Coconut Milk (400g);
2 cloves of garlic (crushed and chopped);
2 (or 3 if you dare) Red or Green chillies; and
Salt and Pepper to taste.

Prepare your meat and vegetables in advance and chop into chunky pieces. the onion should be chopped as small as you can. Once ready heat up the oil in a large pan or wok and add the onion. Cook for a couple of minutes then add your chosen meat.

Keep turning the meat with the onions until cooked then add a splash of water followed by your seasonings. First add the ground spices, the chillies, the garlic, salt and pepper and stir into the meat.

Next, add a tablespoon of fish saurce and a table spoon of soy sauce and stir into the mixture. The remaining vegetables can then be added and stir fried for 2 minutes. Finally add your coconut milk.

Cook for a further 5 minutes then serve on a bed of boiled rice or with some noodles.

Enjoy. We did!

Steve

Sunday Lunch

After the breadsticks and sardines (which were yummie by the way) prepared by Louise we come swiftly on to an alternative for the good old chicken Sunday lunch. Here's how it works;

Part One - The Chicken.

Chicken pieces (drumsticks, wings, breast... whatever you fancy);
2 cloves of garlic;
6 large mushrooms;
1 large onion;
Salt and pepper to taste;
Olive oil;
250ml cream; and
One cocktail consisting of pineapple, gaseosa (cream soda) and vodka.

So, first chop the onion into tiny little pieces, slice the mushrooms and chop up the garlic.

Get a largish oven dish with a lid and pour in about 2 table spoons of olive oil. Cover the bottom of the dish with the onions then place the chicken on top. Next sprinkle the chicken with chopped garlic and cover with the sliced mushrooms. Salt and pepper to taste then pour the cream over the top and you should have something that looks like this;

Now cover the dish with its lid and bang in the oven on about 200 degrees for about an hour to an hour and a half.

Part Two - The Vegetables.

1 large onion;
1 courgette;
1 aubergene;
1 green pepper;
2 cloves of garlic;
2 tomatos;
Tomato juice;
Olive oil;
Salt and pepper (to taste); and
grated cheese.

With the exception of the aubergene roughly chop all the vegetables into chunky pieces. Take up a large oven dish and pour in about 2 table spoons of olive oil. Place the vegatables in the oven dish then cut the aubergene into slices and layer on top. Add salt and pepper to taste then pour in the tomato juice. Scatter the grated cheese over the top and you should have something like this;

As with the chicken, 200 degrees will do only the vegetable will take about half an hour or so. When done the vegetables will be soft and juicy but the cheese should be crispy on the top.

Serve the chicken and the vegetables together for an alternative approach to Sunday lunch in a Spanish style.

Try it, enjoy it and post a comment.

Steve

Louise's quick sardine tapa (for when you can't wait for the main).

The Spanish love their sardines and when you return from a hot morning at the market and can't wait for the amazing chicken your husband is cooking up this little tapa idea will just tide you over.

1 tin of sardines in tomato sauce;
Mayonaise;
Garlic; and
Salt & pepper.

Simply mix all the ingredients together in a small bowl until you have a paste then serve with rosquillas (little shaped Spanish breadsticks).

Louise

Mojito time

I've neglected the blog a bit recently due to time constraints and such. Besides which I haven't really cooked much lately. I sat here earlier on staring at the keyboard, soaked in sweat (it's a bit hot at the moment) and searching for inspiration. Finding none I felt the urge for alcoholic refreshment. It was at this point that inspiration struck. Why not make a mojito and blog about it?

So here it is!

You will need white rum, lime juice, ice, soda water and fresh mint.

Oh, and a big glass to put it all in.

Put the ice in the glass and cover with a generous out pouring of the spirit (rum), break up the mint and add to the glass. Mix it all around a bit. Next throw in a splash or so of lime juice and then top up with soda water or if you prefer club soda for a sweeter taste.

The result...

There you go. Bob's your uncle and whats'er names you aunt.

Enjoy!!!

Dead fish never tasted so good.

Despite the less than appetising title this is actually a quick and simple way of cooking fish ensuring it retains its flavour while not becoming dry.

The fish in question was brought from the fresh fish counter at the local Mercadona by my wife. Unfortunately she does not recall the name of the fish however being as its dead I don't think it will mind.

Actually we normally use a fish called Dorada (not Wanda) but any oily fish will suffice. It is the principle of the method that counts rather than the fish.

Before I list the ingredients, let's have a look at the fish.

If you think they look bad you should see the other fellow.

The rest of the recipe is as follows;

1 large onion;
A table spoon of olive oil;
A knob of butter;
Three cloves of garlic;
One large tomato;
A teaspoon full of brown sugar (helps the medicine go down);
Salt and pepper to taste; and
Beer.

First chop the onion into pieces as small as you can make them. Then heat up a sauce pan and melt the butter. Add the olive oil to the pan with a little salt then add the onion. Cook the onion pieces for about 6 to 7 minutes adding a little water from time to time to make sure they don't dry out. The onion will become soft, sweet and translucent. At this point add the sugar and cook for another 2 minutes but don't let them burn - use a moderate heat.

The fish should be cleaned up and gutted. Remove the spine and as many of the bones as possible. The fish should be opened up like a butterly. You'll see what I mean from the next photo. Place each fish on a piece of silver foil.

Crush then chop the garlic and place down the centre of each fish. I used 3 fish hence 3 garlic gloves. Next chop the tomato into tiny pieces and place on top of the garlic. Finally, when the onions are ready, distribute them equally between the fish by piling then on top of the garlic and tomato.

You should have something like this;

Impressive don't you think. Add salt and pepper and drissle some olive oil over the top just for the hell of it then fold the fish up in its foil to make a little parcel ready for the oven.

Place in the oven on 150 degrees and cook for about 20 to 30 minutes. Check to make sure the fish is done and that it is not drying up or burning. The fish should go from being pink in colour to white. The foil helps to retain the moisture and intensify the flavour.

When done, remove from the foil carefully and serve with a side of your choice. Boiled new potatoes with a coating of melted butter and a sprinkling of fresh garden mint would be fine. I chose a light salad with an olive oil and balsamic vinegar dressing.

Superb!!!

Try it, eat it, enjoy it.

'til next time.

Steve

Tapas in Madrid

We went to Madrid last weekend. It's about 6 hours drive from where we live (nearer 7 if you count pee pee stops) and well worth the journey. Actually travelling up is part of the adventure however the place itself is fantastic. We stayed on the outskirts in a town named Alcala de Henares and travelled in to Madrid centre on Sunday evening to wander around Plaza Mayor and get something to eat. More on Madrid at another time but for now here is an observation and a piece of advice for the traveller thinking of visiting Spain's capital city.

Tapas in Madrid is free!!!

On the Costa del Sol and Costa de la Luz we get fleeced. You go into a bar, order a drink and then buy tapas at around €2 to €3 each which, considering the size of the dishes takes 3 or 4 tapas to fill you up. Not so in Madrid where you go into the bar, order your drink and then order the tapa of your choice. This is then brought to you along with your drink free of charge. This meant that we were eating out at a fraction of the cost we originally budgeted for. Superb! How do they do it? Who cares? Free food!!!

While there we watched Spain beat Chilli in the World Cup qualifier. I was quite surprised at one point when the team wearing blue kit scored and every one cheered. I had assumed the blue team was Chilli you see while the other team wore red (Spain's usual kit). Someone later explained to me that each team has two kits of different colours and on this occasion Spain wore blue. Anyway they won which was good as I now live in Spain and its not as England has got a team right now is it? But, what do I know, I hate football.

Back to tapas and here, in true spirit of this blog is one quick recipe for a tapa. More will follow soon. Just you try and stop me.

3 eggs
3 rashers of bacon (or 4 depending on how big they are or how much you like bacon)
About 4 good handfuls of green beans (well how else do you measure them)
2 measures of vodka
Half a glass of orange juice
Half a glass of cream soda
1 shot of Grenadine

First, chop up the green beans and put in a pan with salt and water. Bring the water to the boil and simmer for about 15 minutes.

Next, beat the eggs in a jug or bowl then throw them in a frying pan with some olive oil and fry them up until, well... fried I suppose. When fried break up into little pieces and leave in the frying pan.

Then, chop the bacon into little pieces and again throw into the frying pan with the eggs. Fry for about 4 minutes.

Finally, drain the green beans and add them to the frying pan. Cook together for about 5 minutes and then serve with fresh crusty bread as shown below courtesey of our new camera.

The observant of you will have noticed the extra ingredients listed but not used in the above recipe. For those new to 'Burning Down The Kitchen' there is a law first and foremost that must be obeyed as drilled into me by my friend and Executive Chef (who will remain nameless to protect his professional reputation) namely...never cook without alcohol within arms reach.

Get a tall glass and place it in you freezer for 15 minutes. Take it out and immediately fill it with the vodka, orange juice, lemonade and a dash of Grenadine. Throw in a couple of ice cubes and sit back and watch.

The Grenadine is for artistic effect as it sinks to the bottom of the glass and set against the orange juice gives the appearance of a sunrise. Very effective. Just as efective is the result that comes from placing the empty glass in the freezer before filling it, but I'll leave this to you to try.

Anyway, more tapas recipes are to follow and we still need to get around to that Italian feast.

Hasta luego

Steve 

High tech cooking

So were in our new place now and starting to settle in. There have been a few disasters along the way, like the car choosing the weekend we move house to finally die (beyond economical repair I believe is the correct term) and my camera to go missing hence the lack of photos on my blog. Never mind though, we're here and here to stay this time.

I finally began to calm down after the stress of the move and a recent Trust law exam (which I passed by the way - yeh me) and decided it was about time I set foot in the kitchen again. Actually, the kitchen in this place is great. Everything is new and high tech. We've got a touch sensitive hob with digital display and bleeping noises to remind you that you've left something switched on. The microwave doubles as a grill and the oven has so many settings we don't know what to do with them (especially as the instruction books are in Spanish). The oven even has network capability so I can hook it up and operate it from the PC and even my mobile phone while we're out. Not that I see the need really but you never know, it may come in handy one day.

Anyway, I decided to cook this weekend and with all the mayhem going on around here all I could think to cook with my new futuristic kitchen was comfort food.

The ultimate comfort food.

A huge fry up. Bacon, sausage, eggs, beans, fried bread... the works.

Now were on a month of de-tox and dieting.

Until next time, if I don't have a heart attack first.

Steve

Quick update

It's now been 4 weeks and the olives are still turning the water dark red.

Will they be edible? Keep checking back to find out.

Steve

Giovani's chicken - 'eat it Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Wednesday...

We recently spent the evening with our friends Giovani and Carmena. Giovani is from Sicily hence the vague Godfather reference in the title. While we were there Giovani served home made ravioli and an amazing chicken dish. It was so good that I had to have the recipe. Needless to say, I now owe Giovani 'a favour'.

Anyway, here it is and it is simplicity itself.

4 chicken breasts
6 to 8 large closed cap mushrooms
200gm butter
250gm cream
Salt and pepper to taste

Cut the chicken breast into pieces and peel and slice the musrooms. Place a large frying pan on a moderate heat and melt the butter. Once melted add the chicken and mushrooms. You should have something like this.

Fry the chicken turning occasionally (turning the chicken that is, not you because that would be silly) until done but not overdone. It should be just enough for any pink to disapear and for the chicken to turn white. Next add the cream and cook for a few more minutes, again turning the chicken in the cream to ensure all of it is covered. You should have something like this.

When the cream is bubbling away, add the salt and pepper and continue cooking to make sure eveything is thoroughly cooked but don't allow the cream to dry out.

Then serve with a side of your choice. Giovani served this with fresh bread and peas with a tomato sauce. I was pealess (is that a word?) and so made a brie and butter sauce (by melting brie and butter then adding a bit of cream) and mixed it with pasta. The results are below;

This dish takes about 15 to 20 minutes from start to finish and tastes fantastic. The only negative is that you wont be earning any gold stars at Weight Watchers. As for me, I have a party coming up in a few weeks for which I need to squeeze into a DJ I haven't worn for... a few years. With this in mind, the next few recipes are likely to be butterless.

Try out the chicken and if you like it give me some feedback.

Steve

Only three more weeks to go!

 As promised here is a quick update on the olive curing experiment.

If you recall (and if you can't - scroll down a post or two) I had described how important it is to cure olives rather than just eating them straight from the tree. The process involves soaking them in brine for about six weeks. Well were now on week three of our little test group and things seem to be going ok. I change the water and clean the bowl every week and have noticed how quickly the water becomes a dark red colour. The below photo (and yes I know its badly out of focus) shows the extent of the colouration. At this stage I can only speculate on whether this will continue or have ceased by the end of the experiment.

Check back next week for another update. Ooooh, I can hardly wait; it's just so exciting.

Asparagus Stew

We went for a meal a few months back at a restaurant on the way to Casares and for a starter I had this amazing stew. I mentally tried to work out the ingredients while I ate and then messed around at home until I figured out how it was made. I now pass this wisdom on to you. The ingredients, most of which are pictured below are as follows;

Asparagus either fresh in a bundle as pictured or frozen;

1 large onion chopped as small as you can;

4 large mushrooms, sliced;

2 rashers of bacon, chopped into little bits;

4 eggs (or one for each person dining with you);

2 cloves of garlic, crushed and chopped;

1 glass of white wine;

1 pint of chicken stock;

Water;

Fresh (or dried) basil;

Salt and pepper to taste;

Butter, just a knob;

A big handful of grated cheese - I use cheddar;

Olive oil; and

At least 1 gin and tonic with ice and a slice of lemon (not an ingredient but absolutely essential).

Here we go, quick and easy. Heat up the oil in the pan along with the knob of butter then add the onions and fry for about 6 or so minutes until sweet and translucent. Add a litle water to prevent them from drying out and burning. When done, chop up the asparagus and add to the onions along with the mushrooms, garlic, basil, salt and pepper then fry for about 2 minutes. Add the glass of white wine and a splash of water and you should have somnething that resembles this;

Now its time to add the chicken stock and the bacon. Bring to the boil and simmer for about 10 minutes or until the asparagus is soft (but not too soft - you want a bit of resistence to the tooth but not enough to crunch when you eat it). During this time, make sure there is sufficient liquid to keep the aparagus just (and I mean only just) covered. Now this is where things get a little weird. Crack open your eggs one by one and pore into the broth taking care to ensure that the yolks stay intact. As far as possible, try to keep the eggs separate from each other. See the below photo;

You are basically poaching the eggs within the stew. When the egg whites are cooked with the yolk still runny (please excuse the technical term), the stew is ready to serve. Spoon out the eggs, one per person onto a plate. Share out the stew between the diners (the above should make enough for 4 people) into soup bowls then place one egg on top of each bowl and sprinkle with grated cheese. Serve, eat, enjoy and remember where you saw it first.  

A comment or two to say thanks wouldn't hurt either.

Until the next one...

Steve

Mexican Jumping Beans

Ok, so there aren't really any jumping beans but the rest of the title is accurate. There are beans and this is Mexican. Actually, what follows is a simple process for creating a base for Mexican dishes.

The story behind this has nothing to do with our lives in Spain, rather it stems back to a previous life in England and in particular yours truly's job working for a local newspaper in Stafford. The area I coverered for the paper consisted of North Stafford and a beautiful little town named Stone. My job was to convince business owners to place advertising in the paper and to assist me in this endevour I produced a monthly feature extolling the virtues of one shop, restaurant or service each month. My favourite feature by far was the opening of a new Mexican Restaurant and co-incidentally my introduction to Mexican food. So taken was I that I grabbed myself a cook book and went through it faster than a dose of... well, damn hot chilli I suppose.

Without further ado then, here is my quick (short-cut) recipe for chilli which can be enjoyed with rice, taco shells or as in this case, wrapped in corn tortillas and baked in the oven.

The base for my version is;

One large Onion;

2 cloves garlic;

1 Heaped teaspoon of hot chilli powder (or extra hot if you dare... and you do, don't you);

2 teaspoons of oregano;

1 teaspoon of ground corriander;

4 fresh tomatoes;

500ml of tomato pulp;

4 fresh mushrooms;

one large green pepper

250g of kidney beans; and

500g of minced beef, pork or if vegetarian use substiute mince or extra beans and mushrooms.

Optional - fresh jalapeno chillis for an extra kick.

For the sharp of eye, while the beer is not an ingredient, it is not optional. A friend of mine who also happens to be an Executive Chef and therefore an authority on the subject once informed me that the biggest crime committed in the kitchen is to cook without alcohol within arms reach.

So here we go. Chop the onion into small pieces (diced if you prefer) and place in a large frying pan (I use an old wok for pretty much everything) with a dash of corn oil and a splash of water. The oil should be hot but not too hot and the water is meant to help keep the onion moist. Fry them for about 5 or 6 minutes with the aim of making the onion soft, sweet and kind of translucent.

Add to the onion the corriander, chilli powder and oregano. Also salt and pepper to taste. It's not mentioned in the above but I sometimes add about half a teaspoon of turmeric. It gives the onions a yellow colour and enhances the flavour. Stir for a minute or so and if the onions are drying up and starting to burn, add a splash of water. Now you can add the meat and fry until the red/pink colour has gone.

You should have something like this!

Into this should go sliced mushrooms, crushed and chopped garlic, roughly chopped tomatoes and the green pepper sliced lengthways (well why not). Stir in with the rest of the mixture and a final dash of water then add the tomato pulp and kidney beans. Just a note at this point on your choice of beans. It is possible to buy beans in a can or jar ready to just throw into the dish however if you choose dried beans ensure you follow the directions for their preparation on the packaging material. Dried kidney beans will require soaking and cooking before being added to the recipe. We wouldn't want to have you poisoned now would we?

Cook this for about 20 to 30 minutes so that the mixture is nice and thick and looks something like this;

And that's basically it. We had a friend over for dinner and so I made up a batch of chilli con carne as above, used it to fill rolled up corn tortillas (not flour tortillas as these go soggy) and placed them in an oven dish. Copious amount of grated cheese was sprinkled on the top and then the whole thing was placed in the oven on a medium heat so that the cheese melted and the tortillas warmed but did not burn or go too crusty. The result is below.

I served this along with salad and refried beans which are easy to make and taste fantastic but, that's another post.

Incidentaly, the restaurant in Stone was called The Casa Loco and was opened by a former flight attendant who had developed a taste for Tex-Mex on her stop-overs in the States. I hope the restaurant is still there as the food was sublime and the atmosphere lively. Maybe if someone from Stone reads this they could let me know. (Who am I kidding? If anyone reads this it will be a miracle).

Ta tar for now, Steve