Brocoli aux pistaches et fromage

 https://www.hogarmania.com/cocina/recetas/ensaladas-verduras/brocoli-pistachos-queso-44442.html

I was looking for a healthy recipe with broccoli and came across this one from Karlos Arguiñano, which turned to be quite juicy and yummy. Sometimes healthy recipes are hard to find in a way that satisfies your curiosity for food while avoiding the plain side. In this case it is truly something that will surely become a new staple in our weekly diet since it is so good that you forget you're eating just vegetables.

I boiled a bunch of broccoli florets in a fifth of salty water at the bottom of a deep pan closed with a lid, to mimic the effect of vapor cooking. Then I make a pistachio sauce blending a bunch of pistachios in extra virgin olive oil, and poured it on the broccoli once cooked. I had been frying before a medium to small peeled potato in olive oil, which I added on top of it all, and sprinkled with Spanish aged cheese so thin it was almost like powder, but I put quite a bit. Then I put it the glass casserole in the oven to grill the top for about 15 to 20 minutes until the cheese melted, and voila, the result was excellent on the plate and to our taste buds. I love how healthy this dish is, easy to cook and quite yummy and juicy since the pistachio sauce improved the taste of the broccoli, and the cheese enhanced the crispy potatoes. These 2 layers contributed to a balanced, successful result that made everyone in the family happy:)

Mexican cilantro lime rice

I have made some yummy Pruvian cilantro rice in the past, but this time I wanted to explore this Mexican recipe I found here in Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPgWkXfdfDE&t=349s 1) a cup of white rice (I used Sevilla's Brillante rice from Spain) 2) 2 cups of water With hot water, not boiling, I first rinsed the rice, and let it soak for 5 minutes. Then I rinsed it with cold water and made it dry removing the water with a colander. 3) 1/4 of a medium onion 4) 2 cloves of garlic 5) 1/3 cup of water 6) salt 7) Chicken broth 8) a little butter 9) a lemon (I used a yellow one, but ideally if you can find it it'd be better to use a lime) 10) a bunch of cilantro 11) Oil (sunflower or olive oil) I blended the chopped onion and garlic with the 1/3 cup of water. In a pan with hot oil (it could be sunflower oil, but I used what I had, extra virgin olive oil). I fried the rice a little bit and added the blend of garlic, onion and water, and then the very hot chicken broth. Then I poured some squeezed lemon juice, I stirred it, covered the pan for 20 minutes on low heat, and then turned the heat off and covered it again for another 20 minutes, I added the butter, more lemon juice and the bunch of sliced cilantro, including the stems, and I stirred with a fork. Ready to serve with a last sprinkle of lemon, and to enjoy! The best point of this recipe is how spongy and white the rice gets and the subtle lemony cilantro taste. It is truly a perfectly balanced flavor.

Garlic soup

This is a staple of Spanish food, it is sometimes called castilian soup, and it is very soothing for cold winter days. Very easy to make, I followed this recipe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RIfxQfryHE I used the following ingredients: 1) 250 mililiters of chicken broth 2) A slice of hard old bread from the day before, chopped in cubes 3) 2 spoonfuls of olive oil 4) a clove of garlic (finely sliced) 5) a quarter of a teaspoon of smoked paprika 6) an egg 7) a few serrano ham chopped cubes I prepared it this way: 1) I heated the olive oil on a pan on high. 2) Once the oil was hot, I reduced the heat to medium and added the garlic and stirred it until golden. 3) Then I added the ham and the bread, and stirred it until it got a little fried. 5) Then I added the paprika and kept stirring, making sure it didn't burn, so I reduced the heat a little bit. 6) After that I added the hot broth and a tiny bit of salt, stirred it and waited until it boiled with the heat a little higher. 7) Then I added the egg, which bolied for 5 minutes And the soup was ready for the plate. It is very yummy, the perfect easy soup for this cold season, it makes your tummy warm and your heart smile:)

Orange and cardamom cake

I added cardamom to this recipe: https://www.rtve.es/television/20200401/receta-bizcocho-naranja-citricos-sergio-fernandez/2011215.shtml

Simple chocolate brownies

I used this recipe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cW651hNBWa4 https://www.hogarmania.com/cocina/recetas/postres/brownie-chocolate-14594.html

Swedish cardamom buns

This week we made Swedish cardamom buns. In reality they are Nordic cardamom buns, because a similar version is made in Sweden, Denmark and Norway at least. I got the inspiration from my nice instagram friend Silja Torres (https://www.instagram.com/silja_torres/). The actual video whose easy steps I followed was this from an excelent Italian cook (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFuIfn6Y2iE&list=PLtVxPP7p-B2RTejdORtJJmiKcrjqVIWoV&index=16&t=121s). They turned out so delicious, moist and spicy, light in spite of their volume, and perfect for winter for merienda with a nice cup of hot coffee.

Spaguetti with tomato sauce revisited

 When it comes to cooking traditional recipes I find it fascinating to revisit the most simple recipes and review step by step little tricks that can make them yummier. Yesterday I tried my version of this recipe by renowned Italian chef Carlo Cracco:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZ1kuh0pZ_g

Ingredients:

- A package of quality spaghetti noodles (Rao's  or some other homemade brand)

- Extra virgin olive oil

- Water

- 12 cherry tomatoes

- A jar of quality tomato sauce (Organic Italian Herbs from Whole Foods, or a good Italian brand)

- Fresh basil

- 2 cloves of garlic

Preparation:

In a pan I poured a splash of Spanish extra virgin olive oil, and fried the 12 cherry tomatoes sliced until they were a little burnt on the flat side. 

In a pot I boiled the spaghetti noodles with salted water until they were al dente.  

In a pan I fried the tomato sauce in a splash of olive oil with some basil leaves and 2 cloves of garlic that I mashed with my hand. I let it get reduced until half (15 minutes) and sprinkled a little salt.

I poured the cherry tomatoes and the spaghetti in the pan with the tomato sauce and splash some water.

I served it in the plates with some thin cut basil leaves on top.

The result was impressive, two or three little tricks sufficed to make the dish so much yummier than usual! 

Buon appettito ;)