Mellow garlic cheese on toast

Mellow garlic? Yes indeed! Par-boiling the garlic mellows it out and combines with grilled cheese on a baguette to make a tasty snack. Turns into a quick meal if you add some spinach leaves (necessary to counter-act the butter....)























Ingredients

(Serves 2)
Baguette sliced in half lengthwise

• 1 clove garlic
• Couple of slices of cheese (eg Vermont cheddar)
• Couple of slices of good ham (eg honey-mesquite)
• knob of butter
• olive oil
• Spinach leaves (optional)

1. Peel garlic and place in a sauce-pan with a cold water to cover











2. Bring water to boiling; then pour out water and replace with cold water; bring to boiling again then remove the garlic

3. Soften the butter in the microwave (use a bowl please, else it gets rather messy)

4. Add a dash of olive oil and the par-boiled garlic (use a press). Add a bit of freshly ground black pepper











5. Spread garlic butter mixture over the baguette











6. Place under the grill (broiler) until the bread is lightly toasted, then remove











7. Add slices of ham and cheese to baguette











8. Place under grill again until cheese is melted












9. Serve with spinach leaves. Voila!

Gazpacho (Chilled tomato soup)

Summer-time got you all hot and sticky? Cool down with a delicious refreshing Spanish Gazpacho - chilled tomato soup. Easy to make and healthy too.

Serve with a tomato and olive salad and smoked pork chops. Smashing.


























Ingredients
(serves 4-6)

For the Gazpacho

• Couple of pieces of stale baguette
• Large tin of tomatoes
• Olive oil
• Sherry vinegar (Jerez vinegar if possible)
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 Green pepper
• 1/2 Cucumber
• 2 Tomotoes
• Ice cubes
  

To make a meal

• Smoked pork chops
• Tomatoes
• Lettuce
• Olives

The Gazpacho

1. Soak the bread in some water (5 minutes is sufficient)











2. Peel and slice garlic and 1/2 the green pepper and place in a blender

3. Add a dash of olive oil, a dash of sherry vinegar and a dash of salt
















4. Blend until smooth














5. Remove bread and add to the blender

6. Open tin of tomatoes and add to the blender

(note: Hunt's organic whole peeled tomotoes give a great taste)















7. Blend until smooth















8. Add a bunch of ice cubes















9. Blend again and empty into a serving bowl











10. Add some more ice cubes and place in the fridge to chill, for about 10 mins.











11. Chop some tomotoes, cucumber and green pepper to use as a topping for the soup.













Rest of the meal
1. Fry some smoked pork chops in a little olive oil












2. Make a tomato, cucumber, lettuce and olive salad. Drizzle with a little olive oil and sherry vinegar

Trucha a la Navarra (Roasted Trout with Mint and Jamon Serrano)

Whoever would have thought that mint, jamon serrano and trout could combine to give such a delectable dish! The clever folks from Navarra, Spain, that's who came up with this winner.

Serve alongside mussels, rice and tomato salad for a tasty, yet healthy Navarran feast! Deliciosa!





















Ingredients (Serves 4-6)

• Two plump fillets of fresh trout
• Mussels (washed)
  
• 1 Lemon
• Some butter (for sauce & rice)
• Couple of slices of jamon serrano (Spanish dried ham, can substitute with proscuitto if desparate, but it really isn't the same)
• salt & pepper to season
• olive oil for frying
• chopped fresh parsely
• more fresh mint leaves
• chopped garlic
• white rice
• Amontillado (Spanish sherry)
  

For the trout marinade

• Fresh mint leaves
• 1/2 cup of Amontillado

For the salad

• lettuce
• tomatos
• black pitted olives
• olive oil for dressing

Step 1. The Marinade

1. In a bowl combine the trout fillets with some mint leaves and 1/2 cup of Amontillado










2. Cover with cling-film and place in the fridge for a couple of hours


Step 2. Cook the trout

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350F

2. Remove the trout fillets from the marinade (reserve the marinade, you'll need it for the sauce later on..) and season with salt and pepper










2. Heat large frying pan and add olive oil. Add chopped garlic and fry for a minute or two











3. Add one of the fillets to the frying pan; add a wee dash of Amontillado











4. Cover and cook for a few (3-4) minutes











5. Remove cover, turn fillet over and cook for a further couple of minutes











6. Remove trout from heat to an oven-proof dish; and cook the other fillet in the same way











7. Whilst the second fillet is cooking, place slices of jamon serrano and mint leaves on the first fillet











8. When the second fillet is done, carefully slide over the first fillet, as such:











9. Place in the oven (pre-heated to 350F) and cook for about 10 minutes














10. Now, pour the reserved marinade into a small sauce-pan and add juice from a lemon











11. Bring the sauce to a simmer and whisk in a couple of knobs of butter to thicken













12. Turn down heat, and keep sauce warm whilst trout cooks in the oven

13. When trout is ready, remove from oven and pour over the sauce











Trout is now ready to eat! Serve immediately with rest of the meal...


Step 3. Cook the mussels

1. Heat olive in a sauce-pan (big enough to contain the mussels...) and fry chopped garlic and parsley for a few minutes











2. Add the mussels to the sauce pan and pour in a healthy splash (1/2 cup..) of Amontillado











3. Cover and cook for several (5?) minutes. When the mussels are opened, they are ready to serve.


Step 4. Cook the rice

Do you really need instructions on cooking rice? Here we just used Uncle Ben's with a knob of butter. Works just fine for this meal.











Step 5. Make the salad

Mix lettuce, chopped tomatos and a half-can of black pitted olives in a salad bowl.











Drizzle with olive oil and mix well. Ready to serve.

Perfect Rice Every Time.

Avoid rice-horrors at the dinner table with this easy, no-brainer guide to cooking Perfect Rice Every Time.


























Ingredients

• Rice ( 1 cup)
  
• Water (1.25 cups)
  

(for 2 adults who aren't very hungry, otherwise use 2 cups rice and 2.5 cups water)

Directions

1. Go forth and buy some decent rice. Sushi-grade medium white rice is what you need.

























2. Measure 1 quantity of rice into the sauce-pan

Here I'm using a coffee cup...





















2. Add 1.25 (that's 1 1/4) quantity of water (filtered if your tap water is like mine...)

Note: I use the same coffee cup that I used for measuring the rice. It's important to measure quantities with the same cup!

3. Now, put the sauce pan (uncovered) on the stove, put burner on maximum and bring to the boil




















4 . Quickly, without hesitation, put a lid on the sauce-pan and reduce the burner to *minimum* heat

5. Cook for 12 minutes at least; you can leave on low heat for up to 20 mins before it starts to over-cook...

Note: Please don't remove the lid during the cooking time... 'cause steam will escape and it's bad luck. Apparently.

6. After 12 minutes, place the covered sauce pan in front of ravenous diners and with a flourish remove the lid! Watch the puff of steam, followed by the delicious aroma of Perfect Rice. Yum.

Emperor's Chicken

Black beans, hoisin and oyster sauce combine with cilantro to make a chop-stick lickin' stir-fry dish fit for an Emperor!





















Ingredients:

Serves 4 peckish adults and 2 kids under 10

• 2 large organic chicken breasts
• tinned bamboo shoots, water chestnuts and baby corn
• 5 dried chinese (shiitake) mushrooms, rehydrated in boiling water
• 2 spring onions
• knob of fresh ginger
• 3 cloves garlic
• fresh cilantro (coriander)
• finely chopped baby carrots
• peanut oil for stir-frying
  

For the chicken marinade

• dash of sesame oil
• dash of rice wine
• 1 tsp corn starch

For the sauce

• 1 tsp sugar
• dash of salt
  
• 2 tbs black bean sauce
• 2 tbs soya sauce
• 2 tbs hoisin sauce
• 2 tbs oyster sauce
• 1/2 cup reserved liquid from mushrooms

Directions:

Phase 1: Chop, slice, soak and marinade

1. Finely chop the spring onions, ginger and garlic











2. Finely slice the carrots, bamboo shoots, water chestnuts and baby corn











3. Finely chop the cilantro











4. And finely chop the baby carrots











5. Slice the chicken across the grain - thinly (and carefully)!











6. Mix chicken with marinade and leave to marinade in peace











7. Last, but not least, place the dried mushrooms in a bowl of boiling water

Actually - you should have done this first, as it takes at least 15 mins (during all the chopping and slicing) to rehydrate the mushrooms... when rehydrated, squeeze out liquid (reserve 1/2 cup) and slice finely











Phase 2: Wok-action!

1. Get your work heated up on a high flame and add some peanut oil when hot











2. Wait 'til it smokes (but before it flames, obviously..), then add the chicken














3. Stir-fry until chicken is no longer pink, then remove to a bowl











4. Reheat wok, adding a little more peanut oil, then as it smokes add the spring-onion/ginger/garlic mixture and fry for 14.5 seconds














5. Add remaining veggies: carrots, bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, baby corn and mushrooms














6. Stir-fry for a couple of minutes











7. Now add the sauce... and stir well, cook for a further 47 seconds











8. Now add the chicken and cook for a further few minutes to heat through














9. Almost done now.. add a little (1 tsp) corn-starch mixed with *cold* water to thicken the sauce













10. The Last Step: stir-in the chopped cilantro














11. Serve to hungry, grumbling ("is it ready yet?") loved ones with white sushi rice and steamed broccoli. They'll be asking for seconds!