{Paté de lentejas by Juliana López May}

Porciones: 6 personas
Tiempo de preparación: 60 minutos

 En el mercado

500 g. de lentejas
Jugo de 1 limón
1 diente de ajo
Aceite de oliva
Perejil picado
Cilantro picado
Sal y pimienta
1 pote de yogur natural colado (para esto, dejarlo colgado dentro de un paño durante 4 horas)
Hojas de perejil
Ralladura de limón

En la cocina

1) Cocinar las lentejas y dejarlas pasarse un poco.
2) Procesarlas con el jugo de limón, el ajo, el perejil picado y el cilantro.
3) Colocar por arriba el yogur colado, la ralladura de limón, las hojas de perejil, el aceite de oliva, la sal y la pimienta.
4) Mezclar todo y servir.

Inspiración: www.revistaohlala.com

{Basic tomato sauce}

Yield: 6 cups
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes

Ingredients

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
2 (32-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
4 to 6 basil leaves
2 dried bay leaves
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, optional

Directions

1) In a large casserole pot, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until soft and translucent, about 2 minutes. Add celery and carrot and season with salt and pepper. Saute until all the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes.
2) Add tomatoes, basil, and bay leaves and reduce the heat to low. Cover the pot and simmer for 1 hour or until thick.
3) Remove bay leaves and taste for seasoning. If sauce tastes too acidic, add unsalted butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, to round out the flavor.
4) Pour half the tomato sauce into the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth. Continue with remaining tomato sauce.
5) If not using all the sauce, allow it to cool completely and then pour 1 to 2 cup portions into plastic freezer bags. Freeze for up to 6 months.

Inspiration: www.foodnetwork.com

{Holiday Hot Cake With Eggnog Cream}

A warming, welcoming pud full of seasonal spice that can be thrown together in a matter of minutes. Truly a pudding to give thanks for.

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients

150 g. plain flour
300 g. light brown muscovado sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons mixed spice
125 ml. full fat milk
60 ml. vegetable oil
1 large egg
6 teaspoons butter
500 ml. boiling water
350 ml. double cream
125 ml. advocaat

Method

Preheat oven to 220°C/gas mark 7/425ºF and place a baking sheet on the shelf. Put water on to boil.
Mix together the flour, 100g / ½ cup of the sugar, the baking powder, 1 teaspoon of the ground ginger, 1 teaspoon of the mixed spice, and the milk, oil and egg.
Put into a greased, round baking dish (23cm diameter x 6cm deep / 9 inch round x 2¼ inches deep).
In another bowl, mix together the remaining 200g / 1 cup of sugar with the remaining teaspoons each of mixed spice and ground ginger, and sprinkle over the batter in its baking dish. Dot the butter on top and pour the boiling water over the mixture. Trust me.
Put the dish on the baking sheet in the oven for 30 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving, and make sure you scoop out the sauce beneath the sponge in the dish.
Put the cream and advocaat into a bowl. Using an electric whisk, whip until thick but still soft. Serve with the Holiday Hotcake.

Inspiration: www.nigella.com

{Appetizers by Food Network}

Baby Bloomin’ Onions


Baked Mac-and-Cheese Bites


Quick Potato and Carrot Latkes


Crispy Potato Cake

{Carrot Cookies with Orange Buttercream Icing}

Total Time: 30 min
Prep: 20 min
Cook: 10 min
Yield:30 cookies
Level:Easy

Ingredients

- Orange Buttercream Frosting:

2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 teaspoons orange zest or the zest of 1 large orange
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

- Carrot Cookies:

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup carrot baby food
2 teaspoons orange zest or the zest of 1 large orange
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Orange Buttercream Icing, recipe follows

Cook's Note: Look for baby food primarily made with only 2 ingredients: carrots and water, such as Beech Nut brand.

Directions

- For the buttercream frosting

Cream together the sugar and butter in a small bowl until light and fluffy. Mix in the zest and vanilla extract.

- For the carrot cookies

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Cream together the butter and sugar using an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer until light and fluffy, at least 5 minutes. Add in the eggs one at a time and beat for 2 minutes after each addition. Mix in the carrot baby food, orange zest and vanilla.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a separate mixing bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and beat together on low speed until incorporated, 1 minute.
Using a small 2-ounce ice cream scoop, drop by heaping scoops onto the prepared baking sheets, 15 cookies per sheet. Bake for 8 to10 minutes, rotating halfway through. Transfer to a cooling rack. Frost the cookies with the buttercream frosting while still warm.

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/carrot-cookies-with-orange-buttercream-icing.html?oc=linkback

{Vegetable Tarte Tatin}

Total Time: 1 hr 50 min
Prep: 40 min
Cook: 1 hr 10 min
Yield:8 servings
Level: Intermediate

Ingredients

2 medium Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch-thick rounds
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch-thick rounds
2 medium parsnips, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch-thick rounds
1 small onion, cut into 1/2-inch-thick rounds
4 cloves garlic, halved
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon small fresh sage leaves
1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves
6 ounces mozzarella, grated (about 1 cup)
1 8 .5-ounce sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
All-purpose flour, for dusting

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Toss both kinds of potatoes, the parsnips, onion, garlic, olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4teaspoon pepper in a bowl. Spread in a single layer on a baking sheet; bake until tender, about 45 minutes. Let cool slightly.
Meanwhile, mix 2 tablespoons water and the sugar in a skillet and bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook, swirling the pan, until amber, about 7 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the vinegar and 1/4teaspoon each salt and pepper. Pour the caramel into a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish and spread with a rubber spatula. Sprinkle the sage and oregano on top.
Arrange the roasted potatoes and parsnips in a single snug layer on top of the caramel. Scatter the onion and garlic over the roasted vegetables; sprinkle evenly with the mozzarella.
Roll out the puff pastry on a lightly floured surface into a 9-by-13-inch rectangle. Pierce the pastry all over with a fork, then lay it on top of the mozzarella, folding the edges under to fit, if necessary. Bake 20 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F and continue baking until the dough is cooked through, 15 to 20 more minutes.
Let the tart cool 10 minutes in the baking dish, then carefully invert it onto a cutting board. Replace any vegetables that stick to the dish, if necessary.
Photograph by Anna Williams
Recipe courtesy of Food Network Magazine

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/vegetable-tarte-tatin-recipe.html?oc=linkback

{Carrot cookies}

Tiempo total: 45 m
Tiempo de preparación: 30 m
Tiempo de cocción: 15 m
Porciones: 2 y 1/2 docena
Nivel: fácil

En el mercado

3/4 taza de harina común
1/2 cucharadita de té de polvo de hornear
1/2 cucharadita de té de sal
1 cucharadita de té de ralladura de cáscara de naranja
1/2 cucharadita de té de de canela molida
1/3 taza de aceite vegetal
1 huevo grande
1/3 taza de azúcar
1/3 taza de zanahorias cocidas y pisadas como puré
1/4 taza de pasas de uva

In the kitchen

1) Precalentar el horno en 350 grados.
2) Engrasar ligeramente en una fuente de horno.
3) En un bowl, batir la harina, el polvo de hornear, la sal, la ralladura de cáscara de naranja y la canela.
4) Mezclar el aceite, el huevo y el azúcar y agregar el puré de zanahorias y las pasas de uva.
5) Combinar los ingredientes húmedos con los secos.
6) Colocar cucharaditas de té al ras de la masa, en la fuente de horno.
7) Cocinar de 12 a 15 minutos o hasta que estén doradas.

Fuente: www.foodnetwork.com

{Spiced and Fried Haddock With Broccoli Puree}

This recipe could hardly be easier, and requires no complication, nor any effort to keep it simple. Good fish, lightly dredged in spiced flour then flash-fried, is an old-fashioned pleasure, and one to be savoured. Here I use gluten-free flour in preference to regular plain flour to coat the fish. I had wanted the slight grittiness of rice flour, but had none in the house, and gluten-free flour (which I did have) contains rice flour and worked fabulously. Obviously, you can use plain flour if you wish. And while the verdiglorious accompaniment may look like old-time mushy peas, it is, in fact, broccoli, blitzed with a stick blender. I use frozen broccoli simply because I find that, cooked in this way, the taste is – counterintuitively – fresher and needs no more added to it than a little salt and pepper to taste, along with the mildest, yet emphatically creamy, hit of coconut. If you cringe at the idea of coconuttiness, however delicate, then use butter or a really good extra-virgin olive oil instead.

Serves: 2

In the market

- For the broccoli puree

500 g. frozen broccoli florets
2 tablespoons cold-pressed coconut oil (or butter or extra-virgin olive oil)
salt (to taste)
pepper (to taste)

- For the spiced haddock

3 tablespoons gluten-free or plain flour
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon paprika (pimentón)
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 haddock fillets (skin on, approx. 350g/12oz total) (abadejo)
1 tablespoon sunflower oil
½ lemons (cut into wedges)

In the kitchen

Put a pan of water on for the broccoli, and when it comes to the boil, salt to taste and cook the frozen broccoli florets (unthawed) for 10 minutes from the time the water comes back to the boil, or until it’s tender enough to be puréed. Drain and return to the pan, along with 1 tablespoonful of cold-pressed coconut oil, and set about it with your stick blender, adding salt and pepper and a further tablespoon of oil to taste. Put the lid on and leave while you fry the fish, which is the work of moments.
Get out a plate in which the fish fillets can lie flat, and in it mix the flour, spices and salt, then dredge the fish on both sides, so that the fillets are well coated. Place a cast-iron pan or a heavy-based, non-stick frying pan – into which the fillets will fit neatly – on the stovetop or hob. In the case of the cast-iron pan, heat it before adding the sunflower oil; if using a non-stick frying pan, add the oil first.
When the oil is hot, put both fillets in the pan, skin-side down, and cook for 3 minutes. Turn them over and cook for another 1½ minutes, or until the fish is just cooked through. These timings are based on fillets that are – as you can see – square-ish and quite thick. If yours are thinner, 2 minutes skin-side down, followed by 1 minute on the other side, should do it.
Once the fish is cooked, transfer to a plate lined with kitchen roll while you dollop the broccoli purée onto 2 dinner plates. Add the haddock fillets, crisp-skin-side-up, and eat with calm relish, and possibly a spritz of lemon.

Fuente: www.nigella.com

{Yellow spaghetti}

Although this recipe does not itself issue from Italy, the inspiration is entirely Italian. One of my favourite things to eat is a risotto Milanese, sometimes called "risotto giallo" - or yellow risotto - and it occurred to me that pasta cooked similarly, or at least cooked to taste similar, would be perfect, and very easy.

So here it is: spaghetti in an eggy, saffron-tinted, lightly cheesed and creamy sauce: it is a bowlful of golden heaven.

Serves: 2

At the market

¼ teaspoon saffron strands (hebras de azafrán)
3 tablespoons marsala
200 grams spaghetti
salt (to taste)
2 large eggs
4 tablespoons grated parmesan (plus more to serve)
2 tablespoons double cream
salt to taste
pepper to taste
1 tablespoon soft unsalted butter

In the kitchen

Put plentiful water on for the pasta and at the same time put the saffron and Marsala into the littlest saucepan you have - such as one you'd melt butter in - and when the Marsala starts bubbling, take it off the heat and leave to steep.
When the pasta water comes to the boil, salt generously, then add the spaghetti and cook according to packet instructions, though start testing 2 minutes early. You want to make sure it's al dente, as it will swell a little in the sauce later.
While the spaghetti is cooking, get on with the creamy sauce, by whisking together the eggs, cheese and cream in a small bowl, adding a sprinkling of salt and a grinding of pepper.
Just before draining the spaghetti, remove a cupful of the starchy cooking liquid, then return the loosely drained pasta to its pan along with the butter and toss it over a low heat. Add 2 tablespoons of the pasta-cooking liquid to the saffron and Marsala in the little pan before pouring it over the pasta. Toss straightaway, working the sauce through the spaghetti, and watch the pale yellow of the spaghetti strands take on the deeper tint of the saffron; then remove the pan from the heat.
Now throw the egg, cheese and cream mixture over the pasta, and toss to combine gently but thoroughly, before checking for seasoning and dividing between 2 warmed bowls or plates. Serve with more grated Parmesan on the side.

Fuente: www.nigella.com

{Courgette and chick pea filo pie}

I can't claim this as an Iranian creation, but I certainly had the tastes and fragrances of some Iranian dishes in mind.

Serves: 6-8

In the market

½ teaspoon cumin
1 small onion (finely diced)
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon turmeric (cúrcuma)
1 teaspoon ground coriander
3 plump courgettes (zucchini grandes)
125 g. basmati rice
500 ml. vegetable stock
2 x 400 g. tins chickpeas (drained)
100 g. melted butter
200 g. filo pastry

In the kitchen

Preheat the oven to 200ºC/gas mark 6/400ºF and put in a baking sheet.
Gently fry the cumin seeds and onion in the olive oil until the onion's soft. Add the turmeric and coriander. Dice the courgettes (unpeeled), add them to the onion mixture, and cook on a fairly high heat to prevent the courgettes becoming watery. When they are soft but still holding their shape, add the rice and stir well, letting the rice become well coated in the oil.
Add the stock 100ml / ½ cup at a time, stirring while you do so. When all the liquid has been absorbed the rice should be cooked, so take it off the heat, stir in the chick peas and check the seasoning.
Brush the insides of a 22cm / 9 inch springform tin with some of the melted butter. Line the bottom and sides of the tin with 3/4 of the filo, buttering each piece as you layer. Leave a little filo overlapping the sides, and keep 3-4 layers for the top. Carefully put in your slightly cooled filling, and then fold in the overlaps. Butter the last layers of filo and scrunch on top of the pie as a covering.
Brush with a final coat of butter, and put in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until the filo is golden and the middle hot. Check this by inserting a slim, sharp-bladed knife (or cake-tester). If, when you remove it, it feels hot when you press it against your wrist, the pie's ready.

Fuente: www.nigella.com