...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.

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

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

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