Curried Butternut Squash Soup

Posting this at Awen's request. (Hi, all!)

Curried Butternut Squash Soup

1 butternut squash, quartered and seeded
2 medium (large? I don't know, about tennis ball sized) onions, peeled and quartered
1 large or 2 small apple(s), cored, peeled and diced
1 medium head garlic, minced
6 C vegetable broth
1 t. brown sugar
1 bay leaf
1.5 T curry powder or more. I'm a big fan of curry, so I think I put in 2.5 T or something like that
1/2 t. dried oregano
1/2 t. ground cinnamon
1/2 t. ground ginger (N.B. this is necessary in my house: my sister is allergic to ginger, so there isn't any in our curry. Yours probably has some already.)
1/4 t. ground nutmeg
A touch of chili or cayenne pepper powder. Juuust enough to give it a little extra kick. I'd say a scant 1/4 t.
1 C plain yogurt

Preheat oven to 350F. Put squash and onions on to baking sheet. Brush squash with olive oil so it doesn't dry out.

Roast in oven. Keep an eye on it while it's in here. The onions will be tender and ready to come out long before the squash, and they'll start to scorch. When they go soft and start turning brown, pull them out with tongs and put them aside.

When the squash is tender (I think it took me 50 minutes or so), pull it out of the oven and let it cool. Once it has, peel it and cut into 1.5-2 inch chunks. Don't worry about chopping it up finely or precisely; it's going to get cooked until it falls apart and then run through the blender. Chop the onion up into smaller pieces.

At this point, I threw a bit of olive oil into the bottom of my stock pot and cooked the onions a little more. I like my onions sweeter and more caramelized than a lot of people, so that's totally optional.

Put squash, onions, apple, garlic, broth, brown sugar and all the spices into the stock pot. Bring it all to a boil and then let it simmer until everything falls apart when you poke it with a fork. Make sure the salt, pepper and other seasonings are to your taste and adjust as needed. Then let it simmer for another 5 minutes. Remove the bay leaf. Once you're there, you can do this one of two ways: you can turn the heat all the way down and blend it to smithereens with an immersion blender or you can take it all off the heat, let it cool and run it through a blender/food processor, in batches if necessary, until it's all smoothed out. If you've used an immersion blender, take the pot off the heat. Either way, stir in the yogurt until everything is blended together.

If you're eating right away, heat it back up and serve hot. Most of mine was divided into single serving portions and frozen. It reheats wonderfully.

Quick Mediterranean Sandwich -- Open Face

This sandwich is so quick and easy to make that it regularly saves me from hunger in a time crunch between work and class or swim practice and a bike ride!

Ingredients:
A very generous slice of a hearty, crusty bread, like Sun Dried Tomato Basil or Rosemary-Olive Oil.
1 Tbsp Balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp olive oil
Olives of your choice, sliced
2 slices of thick-sliced Mozzarella and/or Provolone cheese
Fresh spinach leaves
Fresh basil leaves
A very ripe, sweet tomato (home grown strongly recommended), sliced

1. Rub oil on the bread and spray, sprinkle or brush with the vinegar.
2. Arrange the rest of the ingredients in whatever order suits you. I find things stay on the open slice in the order listed above.
3. Eat!

Grilled option: Add all ingredients except vinegar and greens and toast or grill. Top grilled sandwich with the basil and spinach and a sprinkle of balsamic vinegar.

Not-so-Med-option: substitute Muenster for one of the cheeses for a delicious variation.

(photo to come!)

Bernardo's Fashion Apple Pie

This is Bernardo's take on a very traditional recipe. Since he's a model, he's called it Fashion Apple Pie, and he describes it as "cheap and chic". He's Uruguayan, so he told me to credit this recipe as originally from Uruguay.

Ingredients:

Topping:
5 or 6 green apples
3/4 cup white sugar
1,5 spoon cinnamon
Allspice/Jamaica pepper (optional, not used when Bernardo made it for us)

Dough:
~400g white flour
1/2 cup white sugar
A little bit of salt
~100g butter
1 or 2 eggs (we used 2)
2 teaspoons baking powder
Vanilla extract to taste (we used 2 teaspoons)

Olive oil or margarine to spread on cookie sheet/baking tray.



1. Peel the apples, cut each of them vertically in eight, cut off the cores, and then slice the eighth parts horizontally, very thin. The thinner the better, since thinner slices cook better in the oven. If you want to make it more visually appealing, and have patience to maybe double your workload, you can slice the eighths vertically and then arrange them on top of the dough.


2. Mix the sugar and the cinnamon in a cup, pour the mix over the apple and mix well.

3. Mix all other ingredients, and then mash it with hands, until homogenic and consistent.

4. If sticks in your hand, add more flour. If it's too dry and is "breaking", add a little bit of milk. Milk will also help it rise more and give it a softer texture.

5. The dough shouldn't be sticky, nor make your hands too dirty.


6. Lay the dough on a table top. Roll something cylindric over it to help spread it, until it's more or less the size of the cookie sheet/baking tray you're going to use.


7. Spread oil or margarine on the sheet/tray, and with your fingertips help the dough to cover the whole of the sheet's bottom (fixing and adjusting with the help of a knife where/if needed). There must be no holes or gaps.


8. Pour the apple+sugar+cinnamon mix over the dough. Spread well with the back of a spoon.


9. Sprinkle it with cinammon.


10. Bake for 15 minutes on medium-low heat, whatever medium-low heat is in your oven or thermometer scale. Apples should be tender, and dough should be well-cooked and be easy to dish out.

David's Gnocchi with Salsa Alla Norma

Homemade gnocchi takes a long time to prepare, but just a little bit can feed anybody very hungry. We were four people at David's place for dinner last night, and it's amazing at how full we felt after a few spoonfuls of gnocchi with this delicious sauce.

Ingredients:
~4 well-boiled potatoes
1/2 kg of wheat flour (but try to have more around, just in case)
Salt
1 egg (optional)


1. Peel potatoes with your fingers (it'll be easy if they're well cooked and cooled under running water).

2. Cut them in thick slices, and then mash well with a fork. Lay the mash on a bowl with some flour.

3. Add more flour on top, and then mix with hands until homogenic. Cover your hands on flour, so that the mix doesn't stick to your fingers so much.

4. If you wish, you may add a stirred egg. David says it makes the gnocchi taste better, but it also makes it more difficult to make homogenic and to succeed on the boiling part.

If you add the egg, mix again (always with hands), until homogenic.



5. Spread flour over a clean table, cover your hands in flour again, and roll the potato dough into "fingers".


6. With a fork, chop the fingers in pieces of more of less 1,5cm.


7. we've reached the artistic part.: to give the shape of a real gnocco, press each piece with the back of a fork...


8. ... and roll it up with your thumb to separate from fork, making a cilinder-like figure.


9. Boil the gnocchi on some water with oil.


10. When a gnocco floats up, remove it from boiling water and let it sit on a dish. Continue, one by one.


11. Serve warm with sauce, spices, freshly-grated Parmiggiano cheese and candlelight. ;)





Salsa Alla Norma: Traditional Sicilian vegan sauce. David explained to me the two meanings of the sauce's name. First, normal Sicilian food is comprised mostly of cultivated vegetables and fish; second, it's "to the norm" because when you prepare this sauce, you can never fail.




Ingredients:
1 eggplant, chopped
1 zucchini, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic (but I'd have added two, myself), chopped
4 carrots
1 small can of peas
0,5 kg of thick tomato juice
Olive Oil
Salt, black pepper, assorted spices to taste.

Stir-fry vegetables (except for the peas, which came already cooked in the can) on olive oil, until all is tender. If you want a strong onion flavour, you can let the onion turn golden-brown, if not, stir-fry it only until tender and translucid. Add spices and tomato juice when veggies are soft and well-cooked. Cover, and let cook on low fire for some twenty or thirty minutes.




Side dish: Bruschette



Ingredients:
1 chopped tomato
Chopped Mozzarella
Oregano
Basil
Flavoured toasts (we had garlic with parsley flavour)
Olive Oil

Mix tomato, mozzarella and the spices. Spread the mix over the toasts, then pour some olive oil just before serving. You may add salt, too (to taste).

David's Tiramisù

David told us that this popular Italian dessert was invented in Veneto by a whorehouse owner. The name derives from the Italian words for "throw yourself on top", and was marketed as an aphrodisiac, and considered an energetic meal due to the addition of coffee, cocoa, sugar and dairy among the main ingredients.



Ingredients:
4 eggs
500g (2x 250g) cream cheese without salt. David used a traditional Italian brand.
Some sobaos (traditional Spanish cake)
Some bizcocho soletilla (traditional Spanish cookies)
~4 tablespoons Sugar
~3 cups of coffee
~1 cup of milk
Rum
Cocoa or chocolate powder


1. Stir eggs and mix cream cheese in until homogenic.


2. Lay the sobaos on the bottom of the pan to cover it.


3. Pour rum over the sobaos.


4. Pour warm coffee, too.


5. Mash and spread the wet sobaos to cover bottom of pan entirely.


6. Pour half of the cheese/egg mix over the sobaos to form the 1st layer.


7. Spread to cover.


8. Soak the bizcocho soletilla one by one in cofee and milk.


9. Lay them on the pan as another layer.


10. Pour the remaining coffee/milk mix on top of the bizcocho.


11. Pour and spread the second half of the egg/cheese mix.


12. Fridge for 24 hours, then sprinkle cocoa powder or chocolate powder on top of it just before serving.

Tajine of lamb with preserved lemons and olives

5-6 persons

Ingredients :

4 cloves garlic
1 onion
3 branches of parsley
3 branches of cilantro
4 tablespoons olive oil
40g butter
2 pinches of ginger
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 / 2 teaspoon cinnamon powder
2 preserved lemons
200g olive purple
salt and pepper

Cut the lamb in pieces (not too small, just to make them fit in the Tajine or in the Pot).

Clean the parsley and the cilantro. Make them finely cut.

Warm up the oil, add the butter and when it starts to foam, add the oignon (not necessary finely cut), the ginger, the turmeric and the cinnamon.

Add salt (around 1 to 2 teaspoon, depending on the cook) and pepper.

Place the lamb in the tajine (or the pot) and return them to coat, then brown on all sides.

After all sides are brown (around 5 minutes), add the garlic, the parsley, the coriander and 30cl of water.

Bring to a boil, cover and cook over low heat 50 minutes.

Cut the lemons in around 8-10 pieces. Add them with the olives. Cook over low heat 10 to 15 more minutes.

And enjoy the meal served with bread or semolina.

Bon appetit.

Madeline's Algerian Couscous

Algerian-style Vegetarian Couscous
(Serves 6-8)

Essential: Couscousier (big pot with well-fitting steam tray). Without this, your couscous grains will not be scrumptious as they should be.

Couscous:
500g good quality Couscous (Arabic on package)
5 Tbs. good quality olive oil (fragrant)
Salt to taste

Sauce:
2 Tbs. olive oil
1 large onion
1+ Tbs Raz-al-Hanout (Moroccan curry powder, buy at Arab/Pakistani store)
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 large zucchini
2 large carrot
100g pumpkin or squash
300g+ fresh or frozen green beans
1-2 large tomatoes, peeled and grated
500g+ cooked garbanzo beans, well-rinced
-Salt, and other above spices to taste

Couscous:
-Put couscous in a bowl, cover with water and stir for a few seconds
-Pull out a handful of couscous and squeeze the water out, put aside in steam tray of Couscousiers
-Do this with all the couscous and set aside to dry for 20 minutes
-Start preparing your sauce - come back to this part when you add the water to the sauce
-Oil your hands lightly, take a handful of washed couscous and separate the grains by rolling your thumb against the inside of your first finger. Separate the grains into the steam tray of the couscousier with a plate under it so grains don't get all over the place. Do this until all couscous is well separated
-Place steam tray on top of pot with the simmering couscous sauce and cover. Make sure the steam is not escaping from the sides, if so tie a piece of cloth around the gap. Steam 20 minutes, more or less, until the steam flows heavily through the couscous grains. You can taste-test if they are done.
-Remove steam tray and transfer couscous grains into a large bowl. While still hot and steamy, sprinkle about 50cl of water over grains and roll with your hands or use a wire wisk. Sprinkle 4 Tbs. olive oil over couscous and 2 tsp. salt, and roll with your hands or use a wire wisk. The goal is that the couscous will absorb a bit more water, becoming more tender without getting soggy, and that all grains be separated, oiled and lightly salted. Taste test and set aside if delicious. If still a bit underdone, put back on sauce pot to steam more, cover.

Sauce:
-Wash and chop veggies onto spoon-sized pieces, except the onion (fine chop), the pumpkin (small cubes), and the tomato (peeled and grated)
-Fry onion on low heat until tender
-Add dry spices and stir until things get sticky, then add other vegetables (except the tomato and the garbanzos) a bit more oil and stir well for a few minutes
-Add 1 liter of good water (Barcelona city water is not good), the grated tomato and the garbanzos and bring to a boil. If your veggies are not well-covered by the level of water, add more
-Reduce heat to medium-low and put your couscous grains to steam!
-When you remove the couscous grains to oil and salt, taste your sauce, add salt as needed but not too much since the couscous grains are also salted, and adjust the spices as needed (Raz-al-Hanout, pepper, cinnamon) but a little at a time so as not to ruin your sauce!

Serve couscous in shallow bowls, spreading it nicely on the bottom of the bowl, put veggies on the couscous first, then ladle the sauce over, asking guests how much they like :) If you put too much sauce it becomes a sad soup instead of a fabulous bowl of tasty Algerian-style veggie couscous.

Bon appetit! Bismillah! Psatig

El Gratinado de calabacines y berenjenas de Angeline (Vegetariano)

Preparación : 10 minutos
Cocción : 40 minutos

Ingredientes (para 3 personas)
- una berenjena gorda, sin pelar, con las extremidades cortadas
- 2 calabacines sin pelar, con extremidades cortadas
- 2 tomates
- 8 higo frescos y trozados
- 1 cebolla cortada en rodajas finas
- Queso Emmenthal rallado
- 2 ajos cortados en rodajas finas (yo uso ajo en polvo)
- oregano
- Sal, aceite de oliva
- Mantequilla


Preparación :

Untar con mantequilla un molde para el horno.

Depositar el ajo y la cebolla. Luego las tomates en rodajas. Una capa de calabacines cortadas en lascas en el sentido de la longitud, sembrar con oregano y queso Emmenthal rallado, sal y aceite de oliva. Repetir la misma operación con una capa de berenjenas. Acabar con sal, oregano, Emmenthal rallado y aceite de oliva.

Decorar con los higos. Cocer a 200°C, 40 minutos.

BON APPETIT ! :)

El pastel suave de chocolate y vainilla de Angeline

(for English version, just ask me :))


Preparación : 20 min
Cocción : 30 min


Ingredientes (para 6 personas)

- 200 g de harina de trigo
- 150 g de azúcar blanco
- 200 g de nata para cocinar
- 3 huevos
- 1 bolsa de levadura quimica
- Un poquitin de sal

- 100 g de chocolate negro para fundir
- 1 paquete de azúcar perfumado a la vainilla


Preparación

En un gran cuenco, mezclar la harina, el azúcar, la nata, los huevos, la levadura y la sal. En un cuenco mas pequeno, echar la mitad de esta preparación.

Fundir el chocolate al bain-marie (la cazuela de chocolate debe bañarse en una cazuela de agua caliente). Si se pone seco el chocolate, anadir un poco de mantequilla.

Anadir el chocolate fundido a una mitad de la preparación, el azúcar perfumado a la otra mitad… Ya casi esta….

Untar con mantequilla un molde para pasteles, y echar las 2 preparaciones, alternando las dos.

Cocer a 180°C (th. 5-6) durante 30-35 min.

La tarta de limon de Angeline

(for English version just ask me :))

Preparacion : 20 min

Coccion : 45 min

Ingredientes (para 6 personas)

- 1 masa de hojaldre o quebrada
- 3 limones biologicos
- 1 naranja biologica
- 75 g de mantequilla
- 2 huevos
- 75 g de almendras en polvo
- 75 g de azucar


Preparacion

Desplegar la masa en un molde para tartas.

Limpiar y secar los agrios. Quitar los cascaras, pero cuidado de no quitar la parte blanca, que es amarga. Cortarles muy finitos (hacerlos picadillos).

Exprimir los limones y la naranja, guardar el zumo.

En un cuenco, batir los huevos, las almendras en polvo, la mantequilla en trozitos reblandecidos, el zumo de los agrios y los cascaras. Mezclarlo bien. Si parece demasiado liquido, se puede anadir harina.

Echar la mezcla en la masa. Cocer durante 45 min a 200 grados (mas o menos).

Mounya's Fruit Guacamole on a Ricotta Bed

Mounya came up with this idea last night, when she invited me for dinner. We had a delicious green curry soup with a strong limey flavour, and for dessert this. It's remarkably simple, healthy, cheap, nutritious and convenient. Everybody likes fruit, and if you're vegan, you can always prepare an alternative ricotta with nuts, which is also easy to make.

Ingredients:
~2 cups of strawberries
1 banana
1 avocado
2 spoonfuls of ricotta, or an exaggerated spoonful (as shown in the picture)
Honey/Agave syrup

Some fresh basil leaves

Scoop up enough ricotta to cover the bottom of the plate you'll serve the dish on.

Sweeten it with some honey. To taste, and depending on how much ricotta you used.

Stir well, and then spread it on the serving dish.


Scoop out one whole avocado into stirring bowl.

Mash and stir well, till you've got punto de Guacamole.

Slice some of the fruit, chop up the rest. The slices will be used to decorate the dish, so reserve them.

The crushed bits go into the squashed avocado.

Again, sweeten with honey.

Stir and squash, of course.

If it looks gooey, you know you're on the right track. It's a type of Guacamole, after all.

Don't be afraid to pour it over the pure, virginal-white Ricotta bed.

Decorate it with the sliced fruit and honey.

Mince some fresh basil leaves and sprinkle over dish.

Let it sit on the fridge for some ten minutes, and serve cool.