Spinach and Potato Tortilla, Spanish Day

Spanish Week at LIDL. It tasted like lunch on a Spanish beach. The only thing missing was the actual beach.

The spinach and potato tortilla was premade and needed just a couple of minutes in a medium hot pan. I cut up some green onions and sauteed them on the pan as well. They went in the salad bowl with the leftover iceberg salad from my fridge.

I bought a can of anchovis stuffed green olives. They are tasting great, not too salty or fishy. The salad dressing was easy: an olive oil lemon mix and some home made chives flower vinegar, salt and pepper.

The thin very lean Spanish ham went very well with the dish.

Alfredo Sauce with Fettuccine

A very quick lunch.

I have never made Pasta Alfredo before. I ate it a couple of times during stays is the USA. It was always too rich for me.

Now I was looking for a very simple sauce to serve with pasta and I looked at this recipe. All ingredients at home and enough time to cook it.

Recipe for 2:

250 g fettuccine pasta, salt

160 ml double cream, 40 g butter

80 g grated Parmesan

1 tbsp chopped parsley, pepper

Cook the pasta al dente.

In a wide pan melt butter and pour in the cream. Let the Parmesan melt in the sauce.

Toss the pasta directly from the pot in the pan. The sauce needs a little starchy water. Finish with parsley.

 

Chocolate Banana Muffins

My coworkers deserve a sweet treat. That is one of my motivations to bake. This time dark and sweet muffins.

When going to the good stuff in my cupboards I know that the results are good. My recipe was for common chocolate muffins, but with a little oumpf they get an extra layer.

When I brought all ingredients together to start my Thermomix, I saw the two ripe bananas sitting on the counter. So, why not.

Recipe for 24 muffins:

200 g 60 % dark chocolate

2 ripe small bananas

2 eggs, 180 g sugar, 1 tbsp vanilla sugar, pinch of salt, 30 g black cocoa powder

2 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp baking soda

130 ml vegetable oil, 230 ml whole milk, 

280 g AP flour

Grate the chocolate and set it aside. Mash the bananas to a pulp and leave it for later.

Stir oil, eggs, sugars, salt together until foamy.

Sieve in all the dry ingredients and add the milk. Stir and drop in chocolate and bananas. Combine everything, but do not overmix.

Fill the muffin cases and bake for 23 to 25 min at 180 C.

Savoy Cabbage Fritters

One head of Savoy cabbage is a lot for a single household. You need to get creative to prevent the leftover cabbage from getting bad and thrown in the organic waste.

After my cabbage rolls the smaller leaves can only be shredded. Folding or filling them gets tedious. I went for pancakes, like I have seen them in Korean cooking.

Serve it with en easy dip.

Recipe for 6 to 8 fritters:

1/2 head of shredded Savoy cabbage, salt

4 heaped tbsp flour, 2 heaped tbsp potato starch, 2 eggs, 2 spring onions, 4 stalks parsley, 1 basil stalk

1 tsp Gochugaru hot pepper flakes, 1/2 tsp caraway seeds, some grated nutmeg, salt and pepper

Oil for the pan to coat the bottom.

Dip: Greek yogurt mixed wit Ayvar.2

Cook the shredded cabbage in boiling salted water for 6 min, drain into cold water.

Chop onions and herbs. Mix with eggs and flours and season well. Dump im the drained cabbage.

Heat the oil to medium high and make the fritters. Drain on kitchen paper. Serve with the dip.

Basil Sugar and Lemon Salt

Made with the help of my trusty Air Fryer.

I was looking for something homemade to give as a little birthday gift to my coworker. I made spiced vinegar, jam and seasoning for salads before. Now I had an other idea. Flavoured sugar and salt.

The salt flavouring process was easy. The sugar flavouring took a lot more effort.

Lemon Salt:

1 organic lemon zested on a grater

100 g coarse sea salt

Basil Sugar:

20 g basil leaves without stems

100 g caster sugar

Mix the lemon zest with the salt in a jar, shake it a couple of times a day for 3 days. Put it on a tray that fits in your Air Fryer and st 140 C for 20 min dry it. Let it cool and loosen up and fill it in a small jar.

Put the fresh and dried basil leaves in a small food processor with the sugar. Fill the wet paste in the tray and place it in the Air Fryer 12 min at 80 C. Do that 3 times, scraping the sugar mix off the tray and braking up larger pieces.

Do that 3 times. Fill the hard sugar in the food processor and make a loose crumb. Place it back on the tray for 12 more min at 80 C.  Last round in the food processor and the basil sugar is ready to be filled in a jar.

Savoy Cabbage filled with Boulgur and Feta on Sweet Potato Pumpkin Sauce

This vegetarian dish needs a lot of prepwork to get on the table. When you are fast with a knife and very well organized, this dish will need 90 min work and 60 min in the oven.

The filling is tasty and the sauce is the star of the dish. But take care not to produce baby food, but a smooth creamy sauce.

Recipe for 2:

8 large Savoy cabbage leaves

150 g Boulgur, 500 ml veg stock, 3 medium carrots, 2 shallots, 1 spring onion, 1 garlic clove

100 g grated Gouda, 100 g Feta, 2 eggs

80 g pistacchios, 4 stalks parsley

300 g Hokkaido pumpkin, 200 g sweet potato, 300 ml coconut milk

Salt, pepper, nutmeg, cayenne pepper, olive oil

Use a large pot filled with salted boiling water. Cook the saboy cabbage for 5 min, pick them out and drop them in ice water. Cut out the hard middle line.

Peel and cut the veggies and grate the carrots.

Bring the veg stock to a boil, cook the boulgur on low for 10 min, let it rest for 5 min more. Drain and keep the liquid. Cool the boulgur down.

Use a large oven proof dish and spread the thin sliced pumpkin and sweet potato out. Season well and drizzle some oil over them. Pour the leftover stock on top.

In a pan in oil fry off onions, garlic and carrots and season. Cool down. Mix with boulgur, eggs, grated cheese, parsley and season very well. Brake the feta in small chunks and add it with the roasted pistacchios.

Preheat the ovem to 180 C.

Combine 2 savoy cabbage leaves and spread filling in the lower part. Roll up and place on top of the veggies. Make all 4 rolls. 

Bake for 60 min. Take the rolls out and keep them warm. In a medium pot heat up the coconut milk and toss the veggies in. Bring to a boil and use a stick blender to make a creamy sauce. Add more coconut milk if it resembles Baby food.

Place the sauce on a plate and set the rolls on top.

If there is filling left over, dump it im a small baking dish and let it sit in the oven with the large one for just 30 min. It tastes great with leftover sauce.

Gluten free Coconut Flour Waffles

If I had used vegan egg and almond milk as written in the Spanish recipe I would have been even more healthy.

But on a Sunday afternoon, I used what I had in stock. Some fresh fruit and a little Maple syrup on top helped.

Recipe for 4 waffles:

5 tbsp coconut flour, 3 tbsp coconut flower sugar, 3 tsp coconut oil

3/4 tsp bicarb of soda, pinch of salt

3 eggs, 3 tbsp milk, 1 tsp vanilla extract

Mix sugar and eggs, add vanilla, salt and stir well

Sieve flour and bicarb of soda in the mix and finish with milk and coconut oil. Grease the waffle iron and bake 4 waffles.

When you do not want to use eggs, mix 3 tbsp linseed with 9 tbsp water and let it sit 5 min. Use nut milk instead of milk.

The waffles are great for people who need to stay clear of gluten. But I did not like the consistency and threw 2 waffles in the organic waste.