Casa Amelia - La Cocina (The Kitchen) Spring Recipes

Stuffed Eggs

A great alternative to chocolate Easter eggs.

8 eggs – preferably white shelled
1 large tomato – peeled and sliced
4 tbsp good mayonnaise
A few drops of lemon juice
1 tsp capers
A few sprigs of fresh dill
Sea salt crystals
8 grapes - seedless

Place the eggs in a pan of cold water and bring to the boil
Continue to boil gently for 10 minutes
Remove from the hot water and plunge into cold water and leave to cool
Mix the mayonnaise, capers and lemon juice
Cut the tomato flesh into thin strips about 2-3cm long
Cover a plate with sea salt crystals with a thick covering
Tap and peel the shell from the top half of each egg
Top each egg with the mayonnaise mixture
Decorate with a few tomato strips and a sprig of thyme
Balance a grape on top!

Deluxe Migas

In the rural villages of Spain Migas is often also made with olive oil and flour mixed into a crumb-like mixture and fried, then fried garlic and any left over bits of meat or chorizo, fried, are added. This version is full of flavour and a more interesting mix of textures. Sufficient for 4-6 as tapas or for 2-4 with salad as a light lunch.

500gm stale white bread – processed to rough crumb consistency (not too fine)
100gm Pancetta – cut into lardons
pinch of saffron threads - soaked in a little boiling water
Olive oil
1 medium onion - chopped
3-4 garlic cloves – sliced
1Green peppers – deseeded and chopped into chunk
1 Red pepper – deseeded amd chopped into chunks
1 tsp Spanish Pimientón
120gm morcilla – cut into 1cm slices
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat the olive oil in a large pan
Fry the pancetta until golden
Add onions, garlic, peppers and fry gently until the onions are translucent
Reduce heat and add pimientón and saffron and continue cooking until the onion starts to caramelise
Add the morcilla and fry gently
Add the bread and fry until the crumbs become crisp
Season to taste
Serve as a tapas

Broccoli and Blue Cheese Soup

A distinctive blend of flavours.

3 Salad onions, sliced
Clove garlic, chopped
1kg Broccoli (fresh is best but frozen is good)
1ltr Hot vegetable stock (fresh is best but a stock cube will suffice)
200g Any salty blue cheese, crumbled
Freshly ground salt and black pepper
Olive oil

Fry the onions and garlic until translucent
Add the broccoli and heat for 1-2 minutes, stirring
Add the stock and the cheese and bring to the boil,
Lower heat, cover and cook for 5 minutes
Process until smooth, return to the pan and reheat
Season to taste
Serve with cheese crackers

Easter Lamb

Succulent leg of lamb for the Easter table.

2-2.5kg lamb (ask your butcher to remove the bone and open out the meat so that it is flat) – you may need more than one leg
300g Young spinach with stalks removed
2 tbsp pine nuts
6 dried apricots - chopped
Small bunch rosemary
Small bunch thyme

1 head garlic cut in half horizontally
Olive oil
Butter

Wilt the spinach in a hot pan with a knob of butter
Remove the spinach from the heat and add the pine nuts, apricots, half the rosemary and cool
Lay the meat flat on a board and then lay the filling down the centre of the meat
Firmly roll the meat over the filling
Roll the lamb tightly in foil and leave to rest for 2 hours
Heat the oven to 200ºC
Heat some olive oil in a roasting tin and add the remaining rosemary, thyme, garlic and a knob of butter
Place the lamb roll on top of the herbs and roast in the preheated oven for 45-60 minutes

Rosemary Roasted Potatoes

A classic accompaniment to roasted newpotatoes.

Allow 3-4 new potatoes person
Bunch of fresh rosemary – chopped finely
Olive oil

Wash and dry the potatoes
Heat some oil in a roasting tin until smoking
Add the potatoes and rosemary and stir around until all the potatoes are covered in oil and rosemary
Roast in the same oven as the lamb for 45-60 minutes

Stuffed Braised Squid

Serves 12 as tapas or 6 as a main course with chunks of fresh bread.

2 Onions – peeled and diced finely
3 cloves of garlic – peeled and diced finely
Olive oil for cooking
10 large olives – stones removed and sliced
1 tbsp capers – chopped
0.5 cup parsley – chopped
0.5 cup breadcumbs
1 egg - beaten
Salt and pepper

10-12 small squid tubes (calamari entero/sin corta) or 6 medium squid tubes
500ml white wine

Preheat the oven to 180ºC
Heat the olive oil
Add onion and garlic and sauté until translucent
Add the olives, capers, breadcrumbs and parsley and sauté for another 2-3 minutes
Take off the heat and add the egg and season
Stuff the squid tubes with the mixture and close with toothpicks
Place in an oven proof dish and cover with wine
Braise in the oven for 15–25 minutes until tender
Remove the tubes from the braising liquid and cool
Toss the rocket, parsley, onion and olives together in a bowl and place in the centre of a serving plate
Slice the stuffed squid and arrange on the salad, drizzle with a little olive oil and lemon juice to finish

For the salad:

1 bowl of rocket – washed
1 cup of parsley leaves - torn
1 small red onion – finely sliced
12 black olives
Olive oil
Lemon juice

Mix together and leave covered for the flavours to blend.

Savoury Rice Noodles

Serves 4 people.

1 ripe mango peeled and flesh chopped
1 packet of Japanese rice noodles
4 spring onions or 2 very small onions sliced
1 handful of frozen peas
Finely chopped chilli (optional)
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp brown sugar
2tbsp lime juice

Cook the noodles as instructed on the packet
Stir in the mango, peas and onions (its best to use well washed hands for this)
Put soy and fish sauces, sugar and lime juice in a screw-topped jar. Put on lid tightly and shake well
Dress the noodles with some of the dressing (don’t drown them, just coat them)

Flowery Easter Cake

Easter is not Easter without an Easter cake!

150gm butter
200g soft brown sugar
225g finely grated carrots
2 eggs
200g self-raising flour
3 level tsp baking powder
1 level tsp ground cinnamon
0.5 tsp ground nutmeg
0.5 tsp salt
115g seedless raisins

50g chopped walnuts
1 large orange – grated rind and juice

Heat the oven to 180ºC
Grease a 20cm cake tin and line the base with grease proof paper
Beat the butter and sugar together until creamy
Add the carrot and mix well
Add the eggs a little at a time and beating all the time
Sieve the flour, baking powder, spices and salt together
Fold the flour mix into the egg mixture with the nuts and raisins
Pour the mixture into the baking tin and bake in the centre of the oven for approximately one hour or until the cake is springy to the touch and a metal skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

For the decoration

A circle of grease proof paper 18cm in diameter
A selection of Spanish Spring flowers e.g. Pansies, Almond blossom, Nasturtiums, Geranium – flowers only
250g icing sugar
0.5 of the white of 1 egg
15ml liquid glucose (available from good pharmacies)
1-2 drops of food colouring – red, yellow or blue
6-7cm wide ribbon – a pale colour to match your choice of food colouring

Put the glucose and egg white in a bowl and sieve the icing sugar over
Add 1-2 drops of your chosen food colouring to achieve a pale result
Mix really well until the mixture forms a smooth, shiny ball, knead with your fingers to finish it
Lay a sheet of cling film on your work surface
Put the ball of icing on top of the film and lay another sheet (equal in size to the first one)
Roll the icing between the cling film sheets, occasionally turning over the icing in the cling film to roll it on both sides until you have a circle of icing about 23cm in diameter
Remove one sheet of film and carefully turn the icing circle onto your cake being careful to centre it
Remove the film and press down the icing around the sides of the cake
Place the cake on a pretty plate or cake stand
Wrap the ribbon around the cake and tie with a bow
Place the greaseproof circle on top of the cake then arrange the flowers over it

Pickled Orange

Tart and sweet with a hint of aromatic clove.

16 oranges – preferably seedless
3 pints cider vinegar
2kg sugar
2 level tbsp whole cloves
6 cinnamon sticks

Wash the oranges thoroughly and slice into 50mm rings
Put into a preserving pan and just cover with water
Simmer for 30 minutes or until the peel begins to soften. Do not boil as the oranges will break down and this will spoil the finished effective
Remove the orange rings with a slotted spoon and place on a dish
Add all the other ingredients to the cooking liquid and boil hard for 15 minutes then reduce the heat
Gently replace the orange rings into the liquid and bring back to the boil
Remove the rings with a slotted spoon and pack them into hot, clean jars
Boil the remaining liquid until it begins to thicken, then remove the cinnamon sticks
Fill the jars to the very top with the liquid including the cloves
Press down the fruit with the back of a spoon to release any trapped air, top up the jars with the syrup and seal with screw top lids
Keep for at least three weeks before using

Oranges in Brandy

A partnership made in paradise.

24 small oranges
680gms sugar
570ml water
400ml brandy
3 cinnamon sticks

Peel the rind of 6 of the oranges very thinly avoiding any white pith.
Cut these rinds into very thin strips and drop into a pan of boiling water for 1 minute.
Remove from the hot water and drain and cool
Peel the white pith from the 6 oranges
Peel rind and pith from remaining oranges
Put all the water, half the sugar and cinnamon sticks into a large pan and stir over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved
Add the oranges and poach for 5 minutes
Pour the poaching syrup into a smaller pan and place a colander over it
Place the poached fruit in the colander and allow to drain for 10 minutes into the pan beneath
Transfer the colander to a plate and cover with a cloth – leave fruit to cool
Add the remaining sugar to the poaching syrup and stir over a low heat until all the sugar is dissolved
Increase the heat and boil rapidly to reduce the liquid to approximately 400 ml
Remove the cinnamon sticks and allow the syrup to cool completely
Add the brandy to the syrup
Pack the cooled fruit, sprinkled between layers with the strips of rind, into clean dry jars and fill to one centimeter below the top
Pour in the syrup/brandy mixture to cover the fruit and up to the top of the jar
Cover each jar with acid proof screw tops and store in a dark cool cupboard for two month before using

Alioli

The Classic Spanish garlic sauce or mayonnaise. This relatively small quantity is best made by hand as overworking in a food processor (which is OK for larger quantities) can cause the mixture to split. Serves 6

3 egg yolks
3-6 garlic cloves – to taste
Pinch of sea salt
1-2 tbsp lemon juice
150ml olive oil
150ml sunflower oil

Crush the garlic and salt together in a pestle and mortar to make a paste
Add the lemon juice and continue to mix well
Transfer to a large bowl
Add egg yolks and mix together
With a hand whisk stir the mixture continuously while very slowly adding the oil to create a thick creamy emulsion and use up oil the oil
Season to taste with salt and lemon juice

Classic Vinaigrette

Makes 0.25 ltr approx

12 tbsp olive oil
4 tbsp white wine vinegar
2 dsp finely chopped herbs (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste

Put all ingredients in a screw top jar and seal tightly
Shake vigorously and serve

Pepper Salsa

Great with roast chicken, harissa lamb and cous cous or mixed with bugar wheat as a salad. Serves 4 alone and 6-8 mixed with cous cous or bulgar wheat

1 red pepper
1 green pepper
Half a small red onion
Vinaigrette – without herbs (see recipe)
Seasoning

Chop peppers and onions very, very finely by hand and do not be tempted to put into a food processor
Add a few spoonfuls of vinaigrette and seasoning to taste and mix well

Salmoretta

A piquante tomato salsa to serve with grilled meat, poultry or fish. Serves 6

3 ripe tomatoes
1 medium onion – finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic – finely chopped
1 long red chilli deseeded and chopped
2 tbsp parsley – coarsely chopped
2 tbsp coriander – coarsely chopped
120ml olive oil
2tbsp red wine vinegar
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Cut the tomatoes in half and put cut side up in an over proof dish and grill until brown round the edges
Put tomatoes, onion, garlic, chilli and herbs into food processor and blend until everything is finely chopped and well mixed
With the motor still running, steadily add the oil in a fine stream and blend again.
Add the vinegar and season to taste

Tomato Chilli Jam

Serve with crab cakes, meats, tortillas

12 tomatoes
10 red chillis
4 garlic cloves
300gm caster sugar
6 tbsp white wine vinegar
Seasoning

Blanch the tomatoes in boiling water for 30 seconds, drain and cool in iced water
Peel and deseed the tomatoes
Simmer the tomatoes with garlic, chilli, sugar, vinegar in a large pan until reduced by one third.
Put in a food processor and blend until smooth and season to taste
Heat clean jam jars in a low oven
Fill the warm jam jars with hot chillli jam and seal tightly

Cheese Pastry

This can be used for the bases of quiches and other savoury tarts Sufficient for a 20 mini tartlets, 10 individual tartlets or one large tartlet

115gm plain flour
Pinch each of salt and cayenne pepper
60gm butter - diced
50gm mature Cheddar or Manchengo cheese
1 egg yolk
2-3 teaspoons cold water

Preheat the oven to 200ºC
Grease tart or tartlet moulds
Put all dry ingredients and butter into a large bowl and mix, rubbing the fat into the flour with your fingertips
Blend in the cheese
Stir in the egg yolk
Add sufficient water to make a pliable dough
Flour a board and roll out to a thickness of about 3mm
Using a cutter cut circles of the pastry to fit the tart or tartlet moulds
Brush the pastry case/s with milk or beaten egg
Bake at 200ºC until golden and crisp (approx 15minutes)
Cool on a wire rack

Parmesan Wafers

Makes 12+

200gm parmesan – freshly and finely grated

Preheat oven to 200ºC
Line a baking sheet with baking parchment or a silcone sheet
Using a very small round pastry cutter make 12 small, well spaced piles of parmesan on the prepared baking sheet
Place in the oven and cook for 5-+ minutes until golden – taking care not to burn them.
WARNING once light golden the crackers will burn very quickly