Bacon and Broccoli Quiche

In Portugal we don’t usually carve pumpkins for Halloween. So, this was one of the things I really wanted to do here in the UK! This year Ricky and I carved our first one!!!

After Halloween, I was planning to use the pumpkin to bake a cake but it looked so lovely that we couldn’t destroy our master piece! I was left with a lot of eggs and no pumpkin… So, decided to cook a quiche.

Bacon and Broccoli Quiche (serves 5)

Dough:

• 175 g of flour
• 75 g of salted butter
• 3 tbsp of water

Filling:

• 5 slices of smoked bacon
• 1/3 of a broccoli (approximately 100 g)
• 2 tomatoes
• 5 eggs
• 150 ml of double cream
• 50 g of grated cheddar cheese
• salt and pepper

1. Pre-heat the oven at 180ºC.
2. Melt the butter. In a bowl mix the butter with the flour until you get a sandy mixture. Add the water, if needed, to give some cohesion to the dough. Form a ball with it and cool it in the fridge for approximately 30 minutes.
3. Grease a tart or a sandwich pan. With your fingers spread the dough making sure that the sides of the pan are covered with a slightly thicker layer of dough, while the bottom is covered with a thinner layer of dough.
4. Pierce the dough sparingly with a fork. Cover the dough with some baking parchment and fill it with baking beans. Bake in the oven for approximately 15-20 minutes. Remove the baking beans and the parchment and bake for an additional 5 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, cook the bacon in a non-stick frying pan or a griller. After it is cooked, cut it into medium sized pieces (approximately 2.5 x 2.5 cm / 1” x 1”).
6. Wash the tomatoes and slice them into small cubes.
7. Wash the broccoli and use only the flower heads part, cutting it into chunks.
8. In a bowl, mix the bacon, the tomatoes and the broccoli. Fill the cooked tart with this mixture.
9. In a bowl, mix well the eggs, the cream and the grated cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Pour this mixture into the tart.
10. Bake in the oven for 20 to 30 minutes, until the cream is toasted.
11. Take out of the pan and serve hot or cooled down.

Yummi Breakfast

And finally my dissertation is finished! And I’m back to the land of the living! Feeling so relieved…

Yesterday night I was feeling shattered. So, I decided to cook one of my favourite things in the world… Breakfast!!!

Here are some nice tips for a rich weekend breakfast. I complemented it with some bacon & eggs! Yummi!

 

Roasted Tomatoes (serves 4)

• 5 vine tomatoes
• 6 leaves of fresh basil
• 1 garlic clove
• 4 tbsp of olive oil
• salt and pepper

1. Pre-heat the oven at 180ºC.
2. Wash the tomatoes and cut them in halves. Place them with the interior facing up on a oven tray.
3. Wash the basil well and chop the leaves in small pieces.
4. Peel the garlic and dice it thinly.
5. Sprinkle the basil, the garlic and the olive oil on top of the tomato. Season with salt and pepper.
6. Cook in the oven for approximately 15-20 minutes.
7. Serve sprinkled with the sauce resulting from cooking the tomatoes.

   

 

Mozzarella & Tomato Toast (serves 4)

• 6 leaves of basil
• 1 garlic clove
• 4 tbsp of olive oil
• 4 slices of bread
• 1 mozzarella ball
• 2 tomatoes
• olive oil and vinegar
• salt, pepper and oregano

1. Pre-heat the oven at 180ºC.
2. Wash the basil. Chop the basil and the garlic thinly. Mix it with the olive oil and sprinkle it on top of the bread.
3. Put the bread slices on an oven tray.
4. Wash the tomatoes and chop them in small pieces.
5. Cut the mozzarella into slices and shred it into pieces.
6. In a bowl, mix the tomatoes and the mozzarella and season with olive oil, vinegar, salt, pepper and oregano.
7. Cover the slices of bread with the tomatoes and mozzarella and cook in the oven until the mozzarella becomes golden.

 

Lemon Mushrooms (serves 4)

• 1 garlic clove
• 4 tbsp of olive oil
• 150 gr of white mushrooms
• 1/2 lemon juice
• 5 sticks of parsley
• 2 tbsp of white wine
• salt and pepper

1. Slice the garlic and cook it in low fire with the olive oil in a non-stick frying pan.
2. Wash the mushrooms well and slice them.
3. Put the mushrooms into the frying pan. Add the lemon juice, the parsley and the wine. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Let it cook in low fire until the mushrooms shrink and cook.

 

 

Colourful Beef Stew

I’ve been cooking stews since ever… It was a lovely surprise to get to the UK and see that most people here also love a good stew!

I usually make simple stews with natural and healthy ingredients with a water and wine base. I have been trying new amazing vegetables that I usually don’t find in Portugal and having a lot of fun! Today, however, I went with a simple beef stew with some familiar vegetables.

 

Colourful Beef Stew (serves 3)

• 225 g of potatoes
• 225 g of courgette (zucchini)
• 150 g of butternut squash
• 1 onion
• 4 garlic cloves
• 10 cherry tomatoes
• 250 g of diced beef
• 1/2 bunch of parsley
• 150 ml of white wine
• 250 ml of water
• 3 tbsp of olive oil
• salt and pepper

1. Pre-heat the oven at 200ºC.
2. Peel the potatoes and dice them in large cubes.
3. Cut the courgette in large pieces, approximately the same size as the potato cubes.
4. Peel the butternut squash and cut into large pieces, approximately the same size as the potato cubes.
5. Wash these vegetables and the tomatoes well.
6. Peel the onion, cut it in half and then cut each half into six large pieces.
7. Wash the garlic cloves. Smash them slightly without removing the skin. I usually do it by placing the blade of a knife on top of the garlic clove and pressing the knife with my hand (see the photograph under). In order to be safe, I advise you to use a blunt knife or a metal spatula.
8. Use a casserole, a pyrex, or a large oven dish. Fill it with the potatoes, the courgette, the butternut squash, the cherry tomatoes, the onion, the garlic cloves, the diced beef and the washed parsley.
9. Cover with the wine, the water, and the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and stir in order for all the ingredients to mix.
10. Cook in the oven for approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes. Make sure you check the stew approximately every 20 minutes and stir it in order to make sure that the top ingredients don’t burn.
11. Serve in soup dishes or bowls with a generous portion of the sauce and some bread.

Healthy Tapas

Finally my dissertation first draft is in and I have some time to rest and cook.

Being from a Mediterranean country I love tapas, specially the bad greasy ones… but my husband is Mr. Healthy… so yesterday decided to surprise him with some healthy tapas (exception made to chorizo…). It was really good!

 

Chorizo and Cherry Tomatoes Skewers

• spicy chorizo
• cherry tomatoes
• small wooden skewers

1. Wash the tomatoes well.
2. Slide a sharp knife through the chorizo making a slight cut on its skin. Peel the chorizo skin by pushing it from the cut. It should peel easily. Cut the chorizo into thick slices (2.5 cm / 1”).
3. In each small skewer (you can simply cut a normal one in half) stick a piece of chorizo, then a tomato, a piece of chorizo, and another tomato.
4. Grill for 5 minutes turning in order to guarantee that it’s properly cooked. The chorizo will cook and release some of the fat and the tomatoes should be soft and slightly toasted outside.

 

Asparagus with Lemon Mayonnaise

• small/fine asparagus
• 3 tbsp of mayonnaise
• 1 tea spoon of lemon juice
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 tbsp of olive oil
• salt and pepper 

1. In a small bowl or a microwave chocolate melting pot (in case you have one), mix a tea spoon of mayonnaise with 1 chopped garlic clove and the lemon juice. Heat in the microwave on medium temperature for approximately one minute (adapt to your microwave potency). You will get a seasoned mayonnaise. Let it cool.
2. Cook the asparagus in salted boiling water for approximately 2 minutes.
3. Chop the other garlic clove into thin slices. Heat the olive oil with the garlic slices.
4. When the garlic is turning gold add the asparagus and fry them for 2 minutes in order for the asparagus to get the garlic flavour.
5. Add the remaining mayonnaise to the seasoned mayonnaise .
6. Serve the asparagus with the mayonnaise decorated with some grounded pepper on top.

 

Mozzarella and Tomato Salad with Pesto (see Pesto recipe under)

• 1 ball of mozzarella
• 4 tomatoes
• 2 tbsp of pesto
• salt and pepper

1. Cut the mozzarella into slices and than into halves.
2. Wash the tomatoes well and slice them.
3. On a serving plate, place a slice of tomato, top half of it with a slice of mozzarella and repeat until you use all the ingredients.
4. Season with salt and pepper. Top it with a drizzle of pesto.

 

Pesto

• 1 bag of basil (approximately 30 g)
• 5 tbsp of olive oil
• 1 tbsp of pine nuts
• 2 tbsp of grated parmesan cheese
• 1 garlic clove
• salt

1. Wash the basil well.
2. In a food processor mix the basil, the olive oil, the pine nuts, the grated cheese and the garlic and process until you get a nice velvety mixture.  You can add more olive oil in case you want it more liquid.
3. Season with salt.

 

Radish Salad

• 100 g of radish
• 1 tbsp of olive oil
• 1 tbsp of vinegar
• salt and oregano

1. Wash the radishes well. Smash the radishes slightly with your hand by punching them. You can use a spoon  on top of the radish before punching it to help.
2. In a small bowl mix the olive oil, the vinegar, the salt and the oregano.
3. Put the radish on a bowl and season with the mixture.

Black Spaghetti

And the pasta spree continues!

After two weeks out, my dissertation is SO late… And my meeting is just tomorrow… So, I decided to cook something fast. Went with a black spaghetti with prawns and tomatoes. It was really tasty and easy to cook!

 

 

Black Spaghetti with Prawns and Tomatoes (serves 4)

• 350 g of black spaghetti
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 red chilli
• 1/2 bunch of parsley
• 350 g of large king prawns (you can use smaller shrimps)
• 10 cherry tomatoes
• 5 tbsp of olive oil
• fresh oregano (optional)
• salt and pepper

1. Chop the garlic cloves into thin slices and the parsley into thin pieces. Save some parsley to decorate.
2. Open the chilli gently by running a sharp knife on one side and remove the seeds. Cut the chilli in thin slices. You can adjust the amount of chilli used depending on your taste for spicy food. Don’t forget to wash your hands well after touching/cutting the chilli and avoid touching your mouth or eyes before doing so.
3. In a frying pan heat 4 tbsp of olive oil with the garlic, the shopped parsley and the chilli. Season with salt and pepper. Let it cook in low fire until the garlic starts to get golden.
4. Add the prawns and continue to cook in low fire. Stir occasionally and let it cook for 10 minutes. After this time add the tomatoes cut in halves and cook for an additional period of 5 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, in a pan boil some salted water with a spoon of olive oil. I added a bit of fresh oregano to the water but you can do it without it. When the water is boiling add the black spaghetti and cook as mentioned in the packet (usually 8-10 minutes).
6. Keep stirring the prawns mixture and, in case the sauce start drying, add some of the water from the pasta. Overall, I added around 20 tbsp of water.
7. When the pasta is boiled, but still al dente, drain it and mix it with the prawns and tomatoes mixture in the frying pan.
8. Turn the heat off and serve immediately by distributing it evenly through the four plates in which it will be served. Decorate with the saved parsley.

Colourful Fusilli Capri

Rome is truly the paradise of shopping…

My love for food is only matched by my love for shoes and bags! Rome was a constant temptation. However, since I was traveling with hand luggage I had to compromise… Bought two small bags and saved space (and money) for some cool pastas.

Today I’ve tried the giant Fusilli Capri. It was really tasty!

Fusilli Capri (serves 4)

• 300 g of fusilli capri (you might need to adjust the quantity if using normal fusilli)
• 30 cherry tomatoes
• 2 mozzarella cheese balls (250 gr)
• 1 garlic clove
• 10 basil leaves
• a full hand of pine nuts
• 2 tbsp of olive oil
• grated parmesan cheese
• salt and pepper

1. Use a large pan to boil salted water. Cook the pasta as per the packet instructions (usually around 10 minutes).
2. Meanwhile, slice the cherry tomatoes in halves, cut the mozzarella cheese balls into cubes, mince the garlic and rip the basil by hand in pieces. Save some basil leaves to decorate.
3. In a bowl mix the tomato, the mozzarella, the minced garlic and the basil. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with the olive oil. Mix gently.
4. You can use the pine nuts raw but I prefer to toast them. To toast the pine nuts just heat a non stick frying pan, add the pine nuts and cook in a low temperature. Stir frequently in order for the pine nuts to get a uniform golden look.
5. When the pasta is cooked, but still al dente, drain it and serve immediately.  Put the pasta in the plates it will be served in and add on top the prepared mixture. Sprinkle with  the pine nuts and grated parmesan cheese. Season with fresh ground pepper and decorate with basil leaves.