Category: cooking

Pastry Cream (creme patissiere) Ingredients

• 250ml milk
• 1 egg
• 2 yolks
• 62g caster sugar
• 37g plain flour
• 8g butter
• 1/2 tsp vanilla paste

Process:

• In a sauce pan, put the milk until boil. Pour a bit of sugar and dont stir!!!
• In a bowl, mix egg, yolks, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Then add flour.
• Add the boiling milk gradually to the egg mix. Whisk properly.
• Return the mix to the heat. Stir until thickens. Dont stop stirring! You should see bubbles.
• Remove from heat and add the butter. Mix properly.
• In a clean tray, pour the mix, wrap with cling film and let it rest in the fridge.

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Chox pastry Ingredients

• 250ml water
• 100g butter in cubes
• 150g plain flour
• 4 eggs
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt

Process:

• In a saucepan, heat the water until boil. Add sugar and salt.
• Melt the butter in the boiling water.
• Remove the pan from the heat and add the flour. Whish properly and return to the heat.
• Keep stirring the mix until if stops sticking to the pan. Be sure is properly cooked the flour.
• Spread the mix in a cold surface to cool down a bit.
• Using the back of a tray, wash it with a bit of melted butter and then dust some flour. Smack the tray in a side so the excess flour falls. You should have a neat unti-stick proof tray.
• With a block of butter, pinch it with your thumb and index finger. Your index finger should touch the edge of the tray. Use this method to make a straight line in each side of the tray.
• Beat the 4 eggs.
• Pre-heat oven at 190C
• Take the dough back into a bowl. This is a critical point! Add a bit of egg at each time. You should stop adding egg once you can create a solid “V” when dropping a big dollop of the mix with the spoon 2-3 times in a row. Maybe you need to bit an extra egg or dont need to add the 4 eggs. So keep it in mind.
• Prepare a piping bag. Twist the bag with a finger, fold the bag around half and add the mix. Tight the bag carefully, twisting it. Hands on the bottom.
• Over the tray where you made the two vertical lines, pipe in each side a small line between the edge of the tray and the vertical line. Leave space between each eclair as they will raise.

• With a fork, dip it in egg wash, an score the top of each eclair length way
• Bake for 35 minutes, they should raise and be golden brown. Then drop to 120C for a couple of minutes before removing from the oven.
• Let the eclairs to cool down in a racket.
• Take the cream from the fridge, put it back in a bowl and whisk until became a cream again.
• Prepare a new piping bag. As usual, use the index finger to twist the bag, fold until half and then pour the cream. Tight the bag twisting carefully.
• Once the eclairs are cold. Using a small knife, on the bottom of the eclair, make two holes in each edge. You will pipe the cream through those holes:

• Be sure the tip of the piping bag is big enough to fit in the hole. If the tip is too small, is very likely the piping bag will break.
• Once piping, you need to feel the eclair filling and become heavy. Try to pipe through both holes.

Chocolate Foundant Ingredients:

• 100g of dark cooking chocolate (at least 65% cocoa)
• Sugar glass for decoration

Process:

• Melt the chocolate using bain-marie.
• Dip the top of the eclairs in the melted chocolate. Use your thumb and index fingers. Try to dip just a third of the eclair. Till the eclair so the chocolate drops by one side and then with a finger smooth the chocolate run so it stops and looks smooth.
• Let the eclairs rest until the chocolate settles.
• Powder a bit of sugar glass on top of the dry chocolate.

Ready to eat!

They were tasty and not bad for the first time. The pastry didnt raise much to be honest. It seems the oven needs a bit of steam for that.

Pastry Ingredients:

• 175g plain flour
• 100g cold butter in small cubes
• 25g icing sugar
• 1 egg yolk + pinch salt
• 1 tbsp cold water

Filling Ingredients:

• 200g dark chocolate finely chopped (min 60% cocoa solids)
• 75ml full fat milk
• 125ml whipping cream
• 1 egg lightly beaten

Process

• Start with the pastry. Rub the flour, butter and icing sugar until you get like breadcrumbs. You shouldn’t have lumps of butter. Tip the bowl and check the surface.
• Add the egg yolk and cold water. Form a dough, flat it a bit and wrap in cling film. Rest in fridge for 1h.
• Pre-heat oven at 220C. Prepare a try with baking paper and the tin on it. The tin can be from 20-28cm. The dough will cover all.
• Take the pastry out of the fridge. With your fingers, bend the edges of the pastry as they will be hard due to the butter.
• In a lightly dusted surface, roll the pastry with a pin. Add flour to the pin not the dough. Roll until you have 0.5cm thick (or so). Clean excess of flour.
• Roll the dough with the pin and then lay it over the tin. Gently push the pastry into the tin with your fingers. Be sure there are not air pockets between the tin and the pastry.
• Trim the top excess with the rolling pin. Then with your thumbs be sure the side of the tin are the same thickness with dough everywhere. Dont make it too thin!
• With a knife, trim the top, be sure that cut is even. Again with the edge of the knife, go through the top an separate a bit the pastry from the tin.
• With cling film or baking paper, cover the pastry. Then fill the pastry with rice, beans or similar. Be sure it is properly full.
• Bake for 15 minutes at 175C. Be sure the edges are golden brown.
• Remove beans/rice and bake for 5-10 minutes until bottom is baked.
• Remove from oven and leave to cool down.
• Prepare chocolate filling. Melt the chocolate using bain-marie.
• In another bowl, heat the milk and cream until boil.
• Pour the milk mix on to the chocolate. Whisk well until you have a smooth, glossy mix. Then add the egg and mix.
• Pour the chocolate mix into the tart and bake at 175C for 20-25m.
• It is ready when you tip the tart and the center hardly move. As well, the chocolate filling will raise a bit. Dont over bake it, the chocolate will break.
• Let it rest for 10 minutes until the chocolate is even with the tart. Remove the tin.
• Dust the top with icing sugar.

“Vuala”!

It was tasty. Although my “edges” were not great.

Another recipe where you can use puff pastry. For visualization, this video.

Pastry Cream Ingredients:

• 500ml milk
• 2 eggs
• 4 yolks
• 125g sugar
• 75g plain flour
• 50g butter
• 1 ts vanilla paste
• pinch of salt
• glass sugar to cover the cream

Process:

• In a pan, put the milk to boil. Add a bit of sugar and dont stir it!
• In a bowl, mix eggs, yolks, sugar and vanilla. Then Add flour. Mix all well. Add a pinch of salt.
• Just when the milk starts boiling, remove from the heat, and pour it bit a bit in the egg mix.
• Return the mix to the pan, and dont stop stirring, this is the key for cooking the flour!
• Keep stirring until the mix thickes up. You should see bubbles forming up.
• Remove from the heat and add the butter. Mix until all combined.
• Spread the cream in a clean tray, spread sugar on top so a crust doesnt form.
• Cover with cling film and put into the fridge.

Baking pastry layers:

• Pre-heat oven at 200C
• Cut a baking paper with the shape of your baking tray.
• In a lightly floured surface, roll out the puff pastry in a long rectangle like your tray using the paper mould.
• Using the paper as a mould, trim the sides. Put the paper back in the tray and then put on top the pastry.
• “Docker” the pastry with a fork.
• Bake for 20 minutes or until golden.
• Using another tray, place on top of the pastry and push it so the pastry keeps flat. Bake for another 15 minutes or so.
• Remove from oven, remove top tray and check the pastry in golden brown and flat. Cool down in a rack before next step.
• Using a paper mould (rectangle) cut three pieces from your pastry. Use a serrated knife and be careful.
• Chop very finally left over pastry
• Assembling time. Take the cream from the fridge, put it in a bowl and mix so takes a bit of room temperature. Using a piping bag, fill with one cup of cream. Using your hand on the bottom of the bag and dont put too much cream. Use the index finger to roll the bag in the nozzle before adding the cream.
• Using one piece of pastry as the bottom layer, in the middle, make a line with the cream. Then two layer on top, and two bottom. Total 5 layers. Add another piece of pastry on top. Trim the sides of cream with a spatula or small knife, fill the pockets with cream.
• Using the left over pastry crumbs, cover the cream sides with it.
• Add the cream again in the middle pastry layer like in the bottom. One line in the middle, two top, two bottom. Add the final (be sure it is the best piece) pastry piece on top.
• Again, trim the side of cream with a spatula or small knife, fill the pockets with cream.
• With a shiver, spread glass sugar on top.

Ready to eat!

Doesnt look like in the video but it was tasty!

Using the puff pastry recipe. We can do the following:

Sausage Roll ingredients:

• 400g puff pastry
• 450g sausage meat
• salt, pepper, extra spices of your choice
• 60g pickle, (Stilton cheese optional)
• 1 egg beaten
• sesame seeds

Process

• pre-heat oven at 200C
• mix meat, salt, pepper. Roll it a long shapped sausage.
• Roll out pastry to the length of your sausage. And 3-4 times wider. Trim edges to make it neat.
• Spread the sausage nearly in the middle of the pastry. Add the pickle lenghtway the sausage (and cheese). Roll the pastry on top the meat until enclosed, you will have some left over pastry. Leave only aprox 3cm, trim the rest (but dont throw it away!)
• With a fork (and a bit of flour), flatten the edge so it is enclosed properly.
• Eggwash the pastry, then score in diagonals (both directions).
• Spread some sesame seeds on top. Cut in 4 pieces with a sharp knife.
• Put the rolls in a tray with baking paper.
• Bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until golden-brown. If you have a thermometer, the meat should reach 165C to be cooked (I think).

This will make 4 big sausage rolls

Eccles cakes ingredients:

• 15g butter
• 75g dried currants
• 1 tbs of mixed peel fruit
• 25g demenara sugar
• 1/2 ts mixed spice
• 250g puff pastry
• 1 egg
• 2 tbs sugar

Process:

• pre-heat oven at 220C
• in a small sauce pan, over medium heat, melt butter. Add currant, mixed peel, demenara sugar and spice. Stir until sugar is disolved and fruit properly coated. Remove from heat.
• Put a bit of flour in a work surface and roll out the pastry to 1/2cm thick. Using a circle mould (10-13cm diameter), cut as many pieces as you can.
• Put the fruit mix in the middle of each circle. Wash with a bit of water the edges. Pull all edges together in the middle like a parcel. Pinch it so it doesnt open. Invent the parcel and flatten it with slap of your hand.
• Brush each cake with eggwash and sprinkle with sugar.
• Score each cake with 3 cuts. Put them in a tray with baking paper.
• Bake for 15 minutes or until golden.

Quite tasty everything!

This is a good example for a visualization of the process:

Ingredients:

• 250g plain flour
• 5g salt
• 135ml cold water + squeeze a bit of lemon
• 200g cold butter

Process:

• Mix flour and salt in a bowl
• Gradually add water, mixing with one hand. Mix all together.
• Put the dough in a work surface. And knead (bull method) with both hands, until smooth. Aprox 10-15 minutes depending on conditions.
• Put the dough back in the bowl, cover and leave it rest.
• We are going to make a parcel with the butter. Take a baking sheet paper and fold it in 3 parts horizontally, then do the same thing vertically. Once you unfold the paper, you will have 9 “squares”. Put the butter in the middle square, and fold again the paper until you have a parcel. With a rolling pin, flatten the butter until forms an uniform square thanks to the baking paper.
• Take your dough, with a rolling pin and using the butter parcel as a reference, spread the though to make a rectangle 1cm wider in each side compared with the butter and in double in length (plus 1cm extra on top and bottom). The goal is to enclose the butter with the dough.
• Once you have your dough spread out, put the butter (be sure is cold), in the top part, use the bottom part to cover the dough. Be sure the butter is covered by the four sides.
• With a bit of flour in your rolling pin, start to press down the pastry to squash the butter gently.
• Roll the pastry into rectangle lenthways.
• Folding process. Take the top 1/3 of the dough and fold it down the center. Now take the remaining bottom half and fold it up. Turn the pastry 90 grades like you have a book (the seam on the left). Repeat the process, spread lengthways and fold as book. This is a double fold.
• Rest 30 minutes in the fridge (wrap in cling film) (important the butter is firm and never melts!) and do another double fold.
• Again 30 minutes rest and another double fold.

Now the dough is ready for action. You can keep in the fridge for at least one week before you use it. Always keep it wrapped properly in cling film.

I had squid ink leftover and while on holidays I saw in a restaurant a dish of squid ink past that looked very good so I decided to try. And this video looked like a good recipe.

Ingredients for pasta:

• 100g 0.0 flour
• 1 free range egg
• 1 tbs squid ink for pasta

Process for pasta:

• In a crystal bowl, make a heap with the flour and then a hole in the middle where you crack the egg and add the ink
• With a fork start mixing the egg with the flour from inside the circle to the outside.
• In a work surface, cover it if you can with baking paper, and knead the dough. Keep in mind this can stain your surface kitchen and/or your hands.
• Knead until smooth. Dont add flour.
• Cover the dough with film and let it rest for 30 minutes
• Rolling the pasta manually is quite hard. Use a rolling spin and flour. Try to flat as much as you can the dough.
• Once it is spread enough, with a shark knife try to make spaguetties.
• With plenty of flour to avoid to dry out, leave the pasta in a tray.

Ingredients for sauce

• 1 can of tomate sauce
• 1 onion chopped
• 1-2 gloves of garlic
• drizzle of white wine
• 2 tbs squid ink
• 400g frozen squid

Process for sauce

• In a hot pan with a gulp of olive oil, cook the onions
• Add the minced garlic and cook with onions. Avoid burning them!
• Add squid. Cook it through!
• Add a splash of wine
• Add the tomate sauce and stir
• In a pan with boiling water, put the pasta for 90sec.
• Add squid ink to the tomate sauce and mix
• Add the pasta and a bit of pasta water in the tomate sauce
• Mix all well.
• Ready to serve!

To be honest, my pasta was too thick 🙁 but it was tasty enough. I dont cook homemade pasta too often so maybe it is one of the reasons. I dont want to buy another machine just for pasta though.

Anyway, it was nice to try!

I was looking for a homemade snack bar and this video with a good one.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of nuts, chopped (any type)
• 2 cups of oats
• 1 cup of tahini
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1 tbs of vanilla paste
• 1/2 cup of coconut shreds
• 1/4 cup of cranberries or peel fruit (optional)

Process:

• Prepare a small tray with baking paper
• Mix tahini, maple and vanilla in a bowl
• Add oats, nuts, coconut and cranberries. Mix all well
• Pour mix in tray, spread it evenly.
• Chill in fridge for 1-2h (better freezer)

To be honest my first attempt was quite bad as I didnt have enough tahini.

The second one was a bit better but doesnt look very “solid” like in the video. I think I need to try the freezer.

Tastes good and is not very sweet. Doesn’t feel like chewing sugar.

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)