Month: July 2022

I tried some time ago sourdough focaccia but I wasnt really happy with the result and somehow found this video and decided to try again.

Ingredients:

• 320g water
• 100g sourdough starter
• 400g strong white flour
• 15g olive oil
• 8g salt
• 15g oil + 15g water
• toppings: sliced onion, cherry tomatoes and slice green/black olives
• salt, pepper, herbs

Process

• Add the active starter to the water, mix well
• Add flour and oil, mix a bit.
• Add salt and mix well.
• Cover it and let it rest for 30 minutes.
• Make 1 fold
• Cover and let it rest again for 30 minutes
• Make 1 fold
• Cover and let it rest for 2-3h.
• Make a “coil” fold
• Cover and let it rest in the fridge overnight (12-14h)
• Take the dough out of the fridge. On a lightly dusted table top, shape the dough, trying to keep as much air inside (most difficult part for me)
• Oil a pan and put the dough on it. Let is rise for 3h
• Pre-heat oven at 230C
• Mix oil + water. Pour on the dough and with clean hands, make pockets with your fingers.
• Fill the pockets with your toppings (onion, tomatoes and olives)
• Add some salt, pepper and herbs of your choice (oregano, basil, rosemary, etc)
• Bake for 25 minutes or till the top is crispy at 230C.
• Remove from oven and let it cool down

This is the result!

It was very tasty, spongy and moist. Not as much open crumb like the video but really happy with the result!

This is a dish that I thought I would never taste neither cook as always saw it with more than squid. Until I went to Galicia with friends and one day we ate arroz negro in a restaurant. I didnt see anything that could give me an allergic attack, although I wondered later on the day if they had used fish stock… but I survived 🙂

So based on that experience, I decided to try it myself at some point. And that was today. I found a video that matched my expectations of using only squid. I bought a couple of things I missed (nothing special) and already had the squid ink I bought online.

Ingredients:

• 400g frozen squid rings
• 1-2 tsp of squid ink (or more)
• 1 bunch of spring onions chopped
• 1 pepper chopped: I used an orange one.
• 2 cloves of garlic chopped (I forgot to add it!)
• 2 tsp of tomate paste
• 500m of boiling water with a vegetable stock cube
• 200g aprox (or a bit more) paella rice
• 1-2 tsp of turmeric
• salt

Process:

• In a hot paella dish, drizzle a bit of olive oil. Add the frozen squid rings. Add a pinch of salt.
• Keep stirring until you have crust in the bottom of the dish. Not burn!!! Drop the heat to medium-low.
• Add the spring onions and pepper. Mix continuosly, dont allow to burn!
• Add the tomate paste and mix.
• Add the rice and mix well for 1 minute or so. Dont allow to burn!
• Add the vegetable stock with the boiling water. Add a pinch of salt.
• Add the squid ink with a bit of boiling water to be sure it is not solid.
• Be sure the paella dish is completely black (In my case I should have added 1 more tsp of ink)
• Add the turmeric and mix. Taste it! Dont move the rice any more after this.
• Increase heat to high for 5 minutes aprox. Be sure you move the paella dish to be sure the heat is spread out evenly so the rice is cooked everywhere.
• Drop the heat to medium.
• Wait until most of the water is evaporated. With a tsp, try a bit of the rice to be sure it is cooked. You should be able to scratch the bottom and get the extra flavour!
• Remove from heat, and let it cool for a minute. Ready to eat!

Garlic Mayo

• 200ml sunflower oil
• 1 egg
• 2 chopped garlic cloves
• salt
• 1 tbsp of vinegar
• 1/4 lemon juice

Process:

• Put all ingredients in a tall glass and use a hand blender.
• Blend and taste! Need salt? Lemon?
• Put in a bowl and to the fridge

For my first time, really happy, better than I expected! Just add more ink next time 🙂

This is nothing new. I have made gazpacho for several years, it always taste nice but somehow I felt it wasnt as good as the ones I tried back home. And to be honest, I never bothered looking for a video…. I followed kind of the recipe from Simone Ortega.

But yesterday, I did my best by far!!! The difference, just three super ripe and juicy tomatoes!!! They filled nearly half of my jar of the blending machine with juice once I crashed them a bit… So this is just a note for the next time. Buy good tomates, they are a bit more expensive, but they are worth every f* penny Mazinger.

Ingredients:

• 3 super ripe/juicy tomatoes. Peel them
• 1 red pepper, try to peel it
• 1 green pepper, try to peel it
• 1 onion
• 1 cucumber, peel it.
• 2-3 cloves of garlic.
• salt + pepper
• 1-2 tbs of vinegar
• 100ml olive oil (aprox)
• a bit of paprika
• splash of water (optional- not necessary with good tomatoes)

Process:

• Put everything in the blender. Mix until everything is smooth.
• Taste it !!! Needs a bit more salt? olive oil?
• Put the jar in the fridge.

Enjoy it chilled! (or add an ice cube)

Some months ago had dinner with a friend in a Thai restaurant. I had Jay Pad Thai (tofu). And it was super tasty! so I had to try at some point.

As far as I can find, the ingredients are:

Wok noodles, tamarind sauce (tamarid pulp + palm sugar + dark soy sauce, etc), beansprouts, fried shallot, garlic chives, peanuts & lime, Wok broccoli, courgette, green beans & tofu.

But at the end I tried this video with several changes…

Ingredients:

• Tamarind paste: tamarid pulp + grated palm sugar + dark soy sauce (I didnt use fish sauce)
• Block of firm tofu (smoked optional) 250g
• soy sauce
• rice noddles + boiling water
• 1 big onion (better if you have shallots)
• 3 sliced garlic cloves.
• optional: fine chopper ginger (I didnt have that thai pepper)
• 3 eggs
• Cauliflower and broccoli (didnt have Chinese chives neither beansprouts…)
• Crashed peanuts
• Lime

Process:

• Cover the noddles with boiling water and set aside
• With some boiling water, mix the tamarind paste until it is a cream
• Add the grated palm sugar and dark say sauce to the tamarind cream and mix well.
• As the mix has tamarind pulp, pass it through a strainer using a spoon so you a sauce without solids. Taste it! Set aside.
• In a hot wok with some olive oil. Add the tofu, cook until golden. Add a bit of soy sauce.
• Add the onion, fry until soften
• Add sliced garlic and ginger. Cook for a minute, dont burn it!
• Add noddles and tamarind sauce, mix all well.
• In the wok, set aside a bit the noodles and the beaten eggs. Cook for a bit the eggs and then mix with the noddles.
• Add the cauliflower and broccoli. Mix well.
• Remove the wok from the heat, add the peanuts and and squeeze a lime.

The picture is from two days after and although doesnt look great, it is tasty (with room for improvement)

This is a sauce that I want to try to do more often. It is very tasty and easy recipe. Extra: you eat more cucumber. I forgot (again) dill 😛

Ingredients

• 500g creamy yogurt
• 1 cucumber
• 2 tbs white wine vinegar
• 1 clove garlic + 3 tbs olive oil
• salt + pepper
• dill

Process

• Peel and grate the cucumber.
• Add a 1 tsp of salt and 1 tbs of vinegar. Rest aside
• In a mortar, put the clove of garlic and oil. Crash it until you garlic is blended with the oil.
• Add the garlic oil to the yogurt and mix. Add salt and pepper
• Strain the cucumber with a cheese cloth or similar. Remove most water but dont dry it out!
• Add the cucumber to the yogurt. Mix well.
• Add the fresh dill. Taste!!!

And tasted good! As the video says, the key is the vinegar.

PD: tziki