Oatmeal porridge - comfort food for troubled times

I have a small notebook in which I write down food ideas I want to test and also the recipes I make at home, so I can then post them here on the blog. The poor notebook has been so forgotten lately it is almost getting dusty, for I haven’t made anything new, but I keep it on the coffee table, with my iPad and my cell phone charger, hoping that maybe, sometime, I’ll look at it and feel like testing new recipes again.

This is how things are going here, some days seem slower and/or longer than others, sometimes I feel a little bit more energy, while other times I have less disposition, but everyday seems like the previous one, very “Groundhog Day” indeed. At least workwise things are truly great, working with a new boss since September 2020, a wonderful woman who is beautiful both on the inside and out, and that makes me eager to face this never-ending quarantine.

I want vaccines, but there aren’t hardly any, I want a better government for my country, which is not possible right now. I want to get up in the morning without feeling I am in an episode of “The Handmaid’s Tale” – not possible now either.

As far as food goes, things are a bit boring around here: very basic recipes, preferably quick dishes that do not result in a sink full of dishes to do. Lots of pasta and salads. 

Sometimes at night I don’t feel like eating, even when I exercise, which generally makes me hungry. To avoid going to bed on an empty stomach, I make myself some porridge: quick, easy and so comforting – it is like being hugged on the inside. I top it with chia seeds, coconut chips or cashew nuts and serve it with some fruit on the side. It is not a traditional dinner, but it comforts me and makes me feel fed and happy.

 

Oatmeal porridge

own recipe

 

¼ cup (25g) rolled oats

½ cup (120ml) milk or plant-based milk – I like to use cashew nut milk, it is so creamy!

¼ cup (60ml) cold water

pinch of salt

sugar, to taste – you can replace it with honey or agave

pinch of ground cinnamon, or 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder

Place all the ingredients in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring a few times to dissolve the sugar. When it starts to boil, reduce the heat and stir constantly until mixture thickens. Cook for 2-3 minutes, depending on how thick you want the porridge.

Transfer to a bowl and serve.

Serves 1

 

Easy fish stew and memories brought by food

Food brings a lot of memories to most people I am sure and I am no exception: certain dishes remind me of certain people.

I think of my mom whenever I eat or cook fish, for when I was a little girl she would cook it once a week, rain or shine, and would tell me every single time how good it was for the brain. :)

Mom never cooked fish the way I bring you here today, but I am sure she would approve it: the fish gets tender from cooking in this flavorsome sauce, enriched by both sweetness from the fresh tomatoes and a bit of tang from the canned ones. I make this quite regularly for my husband loves it and even though I always, always serve it with rice because of him it would be amazing with couscous, too. Easy, delicious and on the table in less than half an hour.

Easy fish stew
own creation

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small yellow bell pepper (about 200g), deseeded and finely diced
½ onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 ripe Italian tomato, deseeded and chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 x 400g can chopped tomatoes
1/2 can of water
350g white fish, cut into large chunks
handful of fresh cilantro leaves

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat – using a large saucepan is important for it will give you room to stir the fish pieces without breaking them.
Add the pepper and the onion and cook stirring occasionally until soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute or until fragrant. Add the tomato, season with salt and pepper, and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft and mixture is pulpy. Add the canned tomatoes and the water and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the fish, season with salt and pepper again and cook for 8-10 minutes or just until fish is cooked through. Stir in the cilantro, check the seasoning and serve immediately.

Serves 2

Chickpea and chorizo warm salad and a brain filled with food photos

Usually, when I am very tired – which has been a constant lately, since the last weeks have been really intense at work – I flip through cookbooks, food magazines and take a look at Instagram maybe trying to boost my brain with beautiful food photos (it is either that or watching some episodes of Sex and the City for the fortieth time – that helps a lot, too). :)

That amount of food photos on someone’s brain might come in handy: I was taking a look at my fridge to prepare the weekly shopping list when I bumped into half a can of chickpeas – leftovers from a salad I had made on the weekend. Minutes before that I had seen a package of chorizo on my cupboard, and the connection was formed in my head: chickpeas and chorizo with sherry. I just was not sure exactly where I’d seen it – on a cookbook? On a magazine? A food blog? Instagram? All of the above? :) –, so I decided to freestyle and it tasted fabulous. I ate it as a warm salad, but I am sure it would work well as a side dish, too.

Chickpea and chorizo warm salad
own creation, inspired by several recipes

1 teaspoon olive oil
70g diced chorizo
½ large onion, thinly sliced in half-moons
2 garlic cloves, minced
200g cooked chickpeas, rinsed and drained
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons sherry
handful of fresh parsley leaves

Heat the oil in a large nonstick frying pan over high heat. Add the chorizo and cook it, stirring occasionally, until crispy. Add the onion and cook until onion is tender, stirring occasionally to avoid catching in the bottom of the pan. Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute or until fragrant. Add the chickpeas, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring once or twice, for 3 minutes. Stir in the sherry and cook for 2 minutes or until sherry is reduced. Turn off the heat and mix in the parsley. Serve warm.

Serves 2

Linguine with creamy tomato, thyme, caper and bacon sauce

I believe that many of you reading me right now reach for a pasta package whenever there is the need of having food on the table in little to no time – I am guilty of that and I am not ashamed of it. :)

I make pasta often not only because of how fast it is: Joao and I love it and it is so versatile I can combine it with several different flavors and types of sauce. I saw this version of a tomato sauce on Olive magazine and it was so simple I had to try it: the sauce is delicious, the acidity of the tomatoes is softened by the addition of cream and the capers add a briny, salty touch to the sauce. Thyme is my favorite herb and one I love pairing with tomato.

Linguine with creamy tomato, thyme, caper and bacon sauce
slightly adapted from the always great Olive magazine

4 slices of bacon, cut into ½ cm pieces
2 large garlic cloves, crushed
6 sprigs of fresh thyme
1 x 400g can of chopped tomatoes
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons capers – soak them in cold water for 15 minutes before using, then drain
3 tablespoons heavy cream
200g linguine

In a medium saucepan, over high heat, cook the bacon, stirring occasionally, until crisp. Remove from the pan and set over paper towels. Remove the excess fat from the saucepan, leaving 1 tablespoon. On that fat, cook the garlic until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the thyme and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, crush them with a potato masher, then fill the can by half with water and add to the tomatoes. Add the sugar, season with salt and pepper and cook partially covered, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes or until thickened.

In the meantime, cook the linguine in salted boiling water until al dente.

Stir in capers and cream and then cook for 3 minutes. Drain the linguine and toss with the sauce. Serve at once sprinkled with the bacon bits.

Serves 2

Baked fish with salsa verde and potatoes - the oven as an ally

Despite my love for fish I don’t eat it as often as I should or would like to, which is such a shame – if my mom was around she would certainly be mad at me for that. When we were little she made sure we ate fish at least once a week – mom was a health nut, over thirty years before that became fashionable. :D

My favorite way of eating fish as a kid was rolled in corn flour (very fine cornmeal, not corn starch) then deep fried – the thought of it makes me drool already. Crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, it was probably my favorite meal when it was served with a simple tomato salad (with loads of lime juice) and fluffy rice – very simple, yet delicious, especially when cooked by mom. <3

These days, however, I rarely deep fry anything: besides the health issues, I live in a small apartment and I don’t want every piece of fabric in my house (or my hair, for that matter) smelling like fried food. :P Therefore, the oven is always a good ally – I don’t use it for sweet things only, you know. :D


This recipe is really, really simple: fish fillets baked in a bed of potatoes. Nothing much, you might think. I thought so, too, until I tasted the salsa verde: I’d never tried that sauce before and my goodness, it is delicious –it transformed the simple dish into something special and very flavorsome.


I hope you give this recipe a go – if tasty and healthy don’t convince you, this is also quick and easy to put together. :D


Baked fish with salsa verde and potatoes
slightly adapted from the always fabulous Delicious Australia

300g small waxy potatoes, thinly sliced (a mandoline is ideal)
1 lemon, thinly sliced
handful fresh oregano leaves
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 x 120g firm white fish fillets – I used flounder

Salsa verde:
1 small garlic clove
½ cup flat-leaf parsley leaves
½ cup basil leaves
2 tablespoons capers, rinsed, drained
finely grated zest of 1 lemon¼ cup (60ml) extra-virgin olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°C. Toss potato, lemon slices and oregano with the oil, season with salt and pepper and spread in a lightly oiled 20x30cm (8x12in) baking pan, in a single layer. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until potatoes start to golden.
Meanwhile, to make salsa verde, whiz garlic, parsley, basil, capers and lemon zest in a food processor until finely chopped. With the motor running, slowly add the olive oil and process until mixture is a drizzling consistency. Transfer to a small bowl, season with salt and pepper and set aside.
Remove roasting pan from oven and place the fish on top and season the fillets with salt and pepper. placing a lemon slice from the pan on top of each fillet. Return to the oven for a further 8 minutes or until the fish is cooked through.
Serve drizzled with salsa verde.

Serves 2

Beef and broccolini stir fry for a trauma-free husband

After my husband got back from China I stopped making Asian food for quite a while – it already was something I cooked very seldom and from that it went to non-existing in our house.

Weeks ago I made an adapted version of Nigel Slater’s caramelized pork ribs for Joao and since he enjoyed them I thought that the Chinese food trauma was a thing of the past – that was when I reached for John Gregory-Smith’s beautiful cookbook for inspiration on something tasty and spicy and found a recipe for a beef stir fry – this is my version of his dish, and not only it tasted delicious but it was super quick to make, too.

Beef and broccolini stir fry
slightly adapted from the delicious Mighty Spice Cookbook: Fast, Fresh and Vibrant Dishes Using No More Than 5 Spices for Each Recipe

2 tablespoons canola oil
450g (1 pound) beef fillet, finely sliced
½ large onion, thinly sliced into half-moons
3 fat garlic cloves, finely chopped
2.5cm (1in) piece root ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1 carrot, thinly sliced
300g broccolini florets
salt and freshly ground black pepper
pinch of sugar
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 large handful basil leaves, roughly thorn*

Heat a wok over a high heat and add the oil. Once hot add the sliced beef and stir-fry or 1-2 minutes. Add the onions, garlic, ginger, carrot and broccolini, season with the salt, sugar and soy sauce and mix to combine. Clamp on a lid and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 3-5 minutes or until the carrots and broccolini are cooked but still crisp – when I started cooking the beef it released juices and the liquid sort of steamed the vegetables once the wok was covered and also created a delicious broth in the end of the cooking time. If that doesn’t happen to your beef you might want to add some water or stock to the wok after adding the vegetables.
Check the seasoning, remove from the heat, add the basil and serve immediately.

* I personally think that the basil added nothing to the recipe – the flavor just didn’t match the other ingredients. Next time I make this I’ll add cilantro instead

Serves 4

Roast tomato and goats cheese frittata

Another great idea for a quick and easy dinner or lunch, this frittata recipe can work as a blank canvas: I went for roast tomatoes, which I love, and goats cheese, which I also love and had to use up before it went bad, but you can use other types of cheese, vegetables and herbs (zucchini, feta and mint come to my mind right now, yum!). And as Jamie's tart, the frittata tastes great either hot or cold, which makes it perfect for picnics and/or a brown bag lunch at the office.

Roast tomato and goats cheese frittata
adapted from the wonderful Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone

180g cherry tomatoes, halved lengthwise
a few thyme sprigs
extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
salt and freshly ground black pepper
5 eggs
2 spring onions, finely sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
handful of chopped parsley
handful of basil leaves
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
56g (2oz) creamy goat’s cheese

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F. Grab an ovenproof dish or baking sheet that can hold the tomatoes without overlapping them and lightly brush it with olive oil. Place the tomatoes onto the dish, cut side up, and drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and scatter with the thyme sprigs. Roast for about 25 minutes or until tomatoes are tender. Set aside. Preheat the broiler.
Beat the eggs with a few pinches of salt, then add the scallions, garlic, and herbs.
Heat the butter in a 20cm (8in) frying pan. Pour in the eggs, lower the heat, and distribute the tomatoes and cheese evenly over the top. Cook until the eggs are set, then slide the pan under the broiler and cook until the top of the frittata puffs up and is golden.

Serves 2

Provolone and lemon pasta

I don’t know if the same happens to you, but sometimes I keep certain recipes in my head for a long time – it’s completely unintentional and there are times it takes me forever to actually make the recipe. I first saw this provolone and lemon pasta recipe several months ago (I believe it was last year) and thought it would be very tasty: a pasta sauce made of cheese and lemon? Perfect. Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago: I was buying some cheese for a salad and right in front of me, on the counter, was a package of provolone dolce, which is a kind of cheese I’d never tried before. My mind raced like crazy and I immediately remembered the recipe, which turned out to be a delicious and super quick pasta dish – the only problem was not eating all the cheese before actually cooking lunch. :D

Provolone and lemon pasta
from the always wonderful Australian Gourmet Traveller

Lemon and thyme crumbs:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
50g coarse fresh breadcrumbs
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons thyme leaves
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Pasta and sauce:
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ large onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 cup (240ml) dry white wine
finely grated zest and juice of 2 lemons
1 ¼ cups (300ml) pouring cream
160g provolone dolce, finely grated
2 tablespoons thyme leaves
salt and freshly ground black pepper
400g dried casarecce, capunti, strozzapreti or other short pasta

Start by making the thyme crumbs: heat oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat, add garlic and sauté until fragrant (1 minute). Add breadcrumbs, sauté until golden (2-3 minutes), add lemon and thyme, season with salt and pepper, remove from heat and set aside.

Pasta and sauce: cook pasta in a large saucepan of boiling salted water until al dente (6-8 minutes) – while the pasta cooks, make the sauce: heat oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat, add onion and garlic and sauté until tender (2-3 minutes). Add wine, lemon zest and juice, simmer until reduced by half (2-3 minutes). Add cream, simmer until reduced by half (2-3 minutes), then add provolone and thyme, stir until smooth and combined (1-2 minutes), season with salt and pepper and keep warm.
Drain the pasta, reserving ¼ cup (60ml) of the cooking water. Return pasta to the saucepan and add the cream sauce, stirring to coat. Add a little of the cooking water to loosen up the sauce (you might not need all the water). Serve hot, topped with lemon and thyme crumbs.

Serves 4

Pasta alla Norma and back from vacation

After 11 wonderful days spent in the unforgettable New York I’m back home – very tired and immensely happy. The best trip of my life to a place I intend to go back to many, many times. My heart is full of joy but my feet still hurt from all the walking, so a quick meal is mandatory: this pasta dish is easy to make and tastes great, despite its simplicity – a weeknight favorite.

Pasta alla Norma
slightly adapted from the always amazing and delicious Australian Gourmet Traveller

1 large eggplant, cut into 4cm cubes
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
300ml tomato passata
1 tablespoon tomato paste*
400g short pasta
6 tablespoons ricotta
1 small bunch fresh basil
extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling

Place eggplant in a colander, sprinkle with 1 tablespoon table salt, weigh down with a plate and allow to drain for 2 hours. Gently dry on kitchen paper. Heat olive oil in a large frying pan and sauté eggplant pieces, in batches if necessary, until golden brown and tender. Drain on kitchen paper and transfer to a bowl.
Add garlic to the frying pan over low heat and sauté until softened. Add tomato passata and tomato paste and cook for 5-7 minutes. Add the eggplant to the sauce and season with freshly ground black pepper.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta in boiling salted water until al dente. Drain, reserving a cup of the cooking liquid. Add this cooking liquid to the tomato and eggplant sauce and cook for 1 minute.
Place pasta in a large serving bowl, add tomato and eggplant sauce and combine well. Add ricotta and basil leaves and a generous drizzle of olive oil. Combine the mixture one more time before serving.

* I did not have any tomato paste at home, so I added 2 tablespoons of homemade tomato sauce packed with lots of basil

Serves 4

Red peppers stuffed with quinoa, Fontina and goats cheese + "Moon"

I have been on a good movie wave lately – in about one week I watched five good movies (including “The Dark Knight Rises”), four of them really great ones. One of those movies was “Moon” – after watching “Source Code” last year I got interested in Duncan Jones’ work as a director, and it seems that the man has inherited his old man’s creative genes. :)

* spoilers *

Sam Rockwell was another reason why I wanted to watch “Moon” – I understand that preference for certain actors is a really personal thing, that is why I wouldn’t be able to watch a movie centered around only one character had that character been played by someone I find mediocre, like Johnny Depp, for example. Rockwell owns the movie, frame by frame, and moves with ease from one version of Sam Bell to another, giving us a stunning performance. And what to say about Gerty? The robot is voiced by Kevin Spacey and that alone would be genius already, but the changing faces and the “feelings” it has for Sam brings out great empathy for the robot throughout the movie, especially in the end. But to me the most unforgettable thing about “Moon” is the music: not only is it powerful and suits the movie perfectly, it is also so beautiful and fantastic that I bet you won’t be able to get Clint Mansell’s score off of your mind even if you try to.
I like the science fiction genre a lot – "Alien", "2001: A Space Odyssey" and "Blade Runner" were part of my teenage years – but like those classics “Moon” is so much more than that: it’s about human nature, and that fascinates me the most.

* end of spoilers *

These roasted peppers, so tender and delicious, are easy and quick to prepare: I put them together in a couple of minutes, threw the roasting pan in the oven and sat in the couch with the hubby to watch the Olympic Games – a lazy meal for a lazy day.
The recipe was slightly adapted from Mark Bittman’s wonderful vegetarian bible, which I bought by suggestion of my good friend Ana Elisa.

Red peppers stuffed with quinoa, Fontina and goats cheese
slightly adapted from the fantastic How to Cook Everything Vegetarian: Simple Meatless Recipes for Great Food

2 red bell peppers
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups cooked quinoa
¾ cup finely grated Fontina
1/3 cup crumbled goat’s cheese
handful of chopped parsley
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil + a little extra for drizzling

Preheat the oven to 230°C/450°F. Line a small roasting pan with foil.
Slice the peppers in half lengthwise and remove the seeds and white pith. Season the insides of the peppers with salt and pepper. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine the quinoa, the Fontina, the goat’s cheese, the parsley and the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Stuff the pepper halves with the quinoa mixture, drizzle with a little olive oil and place in the prepared pan. Roast until peppers are tender, 20-30 minutes.

Serves 2

Apple and cinnamon tarte fines

I’m not a very huge fan of animated movies but I do have a few favorites: “Finding Nemo”, “Mulan”, “Spirited Away” and “Kung Fu Panda” – the hubby loves the latter, too, and last night we watched "Kung Fu Panda 2" together. I have to say that choosing Jack Black and Dustin Hoffman as the voices of Po and Shifu was a really bright idea – they’re perfect for the roles. And my favorite actor is so complete and talented that he kicks ass even as a cartoon. :D
Even thought the hubby and I thought the first movie was better, we both enjoyed “Kung Fu Panda 2” a lot, and at the end of the movie Joao looked at me and smiled: I was crying like a baby. :D

***
This tart, though simple and with 5 ingredients only, was a huge success with my sisters-in-law: they loved it. This is more an assembling job than a recipe, but due to the nice comments I got for it I decided to share it with you.

Apple and cinnamon tarte fines
from the always delicious and gorgeous Australian Gourmet Traveller

350g puff pastry sheet
2 small Granny Smith apples, unpeeled
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 ½ tablespoons unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 220°C/428°F and place a baking sheet in the oven while it’s heating.
Trim pastry to a 23x25cm (9x10in) rectangle, place on a piece of baking paper (I used foil) and prick all over with a fork.
Thinly slice apples on a mandolin to 2mm thick and arrange over pastry, overlapping slices and leaving a 5mm border. Combine sugar and cinnamon in a bowl, scatter half over apples. Dot apples with half the butter, then transfer pastry and baking paper to heated oven tray and bake on top shelf of oven until pastry begins to brown, 8-10 minutes. Scatter with remaining cinnamon sugar, dot with remaining butter and bake until apples are tender and browned on edges and pastry is dark golden and crisp, 10-15 minutes.
Cool slightly on the sheet over a wire rack for 5 minutes, then transfer the paper with the tart to the rack. Serve warm with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Serves 6

Roasted tomatoes stuffed with goat cheese

Weekends are when I have more time to cook and bake: that is wonderful and one of the many reasons why I love Saturdays and Sundays so much, but even I want quick meals sometimes, and these stuffed tomatoes are the perfect answer for that: the assembling is super quick and they don’t need much time in the oven. If you can’t find goat cheese easily I believe that these would be equally delicious with ricotta – homemade, please. :D

I know nothing about wines but I found these tomatoes really good with sparkling white wine – my weekends are not complete without a bit of booze, you know. ;)

Roasted tomatoes stuffed with goat cheese
slightly adapted from the gorgeous The Country Cooking of France

4 tomatoes
salt and freshly ground black pepper
100g goat cheese
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
2 tablespoons chopped chives
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons breadcrumbs
extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F and line a small baking dish with foil.
Slice off the top of each tomato and scoop out the cores and seeds. Cut a very thin sliver off of the bottom of each tomato to help them stand up straight and sprinkle the insides with salt and pepper.
In a small bowl, crumble the goat cheese. Set aside.
In another small bowl, combine the garlic, parsley, chives, thyme, lemon zest and breadcrumbs. Season with salt. Fill the tomatoes with half this mixture, then crumble over the goat cheese, without packing it. Cover the cheese with the remaining herb mixture, arrange the tomatoes onto the prepared dish and drizzle with a little olive oil. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until cheese is very hot and the tomato skins start to split.

Serves 2

Nigella's crustless pizza

I went to the movies the other day to watch "Immortals" just because of Tarsem Singh; his work is so visually unique and fantastic that even if I hadn’t known he was the director I would have guessed it just by watching the very first scene of the movie. I did not like “Immortals” that much – bad casting (except for the fabulous John Hurt) and bad script; but again, visually striking.

Now, tell me: crustless pizza – doesn’t it have “Nigella” written all over it? The recipe comes from the beautiful and delicious "Nigella Kitchen" and it’s very easy, tastes great and you can go wild with the toppings. Perfect quick meal.

Nigella's crustless pizza
from the marvelous "Nigella Kitchen"

1 egg
2/3 cup (94g) all-purpose flour
salt
freshly ground black pepper (optional)
1 cup (240ml) whole milk
1 cup grated Cheddar – I used a different kind of cheese and it worked fine
5-6 chorizo or pepperoni slices, optional
dried oregano, to taste

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F. Butter a round ovenproof pie dish, 20 or 22cm (8 or 9 in) in diameter.
In a small bowl, beat the egg with the flour, salt, pepper (if using) and milk to make a smooth batter. Stir in half the grated cheese into the batter, then pour it into the prepared dish.
Bake for 30 minutes or until golden around the edges. Take the dish out of the oven, sprinkle with the remaining cheese, and add the chorizo or pepperoni, if using. Sprinkle with the oregano. Return the dish to the oven and cook for another 2 or 3 minutes to make sure the topping is heated through and the cheese is melted.
Serve, cut into slices (with a salad, if you wish).

Serves 2

Pea soup, my sister's high school graduation and too many caipirinhas

I wish I could say that I made this soup for a noble reason, but the truth is that I made it for lunch because of a massive hangover. :S

It all started the night before: we’d all gone to my sister’s high school graduation prom and had a lot of fun there (I shed a few tears during the ceremony, too, I’ll admit it). Then my brother told me that I “had to try” the caipirinhas that were being served. I tried a traditional one, made with lime. That was good. Then he told me that the strawberry caipirinha was delicious, too. And the kiwi one. And the passion fruit one. And, of course, the pineapple caipirinha as well. On the following morning I was a mess: my head was about to explode, Joao had gone to work (I was on vacation) and there was nothing in the fridge. My salvation was a bag of frozen peas and a couple of slices of bread.

Nevertheless, the soup was delicious and very easy to make – that’s why I’ll share it with you today.

Pea soup
from the always beautiful and delicious Donna Hay magazine

½ tablespoon olive oil
½ onion, finely diced
2 ½ cups frozen peas
2 ½ cups (600ml) chicken or vegetable stock
salt and freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup sour cream*

Heat a medium saucepan over high heat. Add the oil and onion and cook for 2-3 minutes or until the onion is tender. Add the peas, stock, salt and pepper. Bring to the boil and cook for 5 minutes or until the peas are tender. Remove from heat and blitz with a handheld mixer until smooth (or use a food processor) - be careful because you are dealing with hot liquid. Make sure you hold the cap down on the top of the blender while puréeing. Ladle into bowls and top with the sour cream. Sprinkle with some extra pepper and serve.

* homemade sour cream: mix ¼ cup (60ml) heavy cream with 1 teaspoon lemon juice in a bowl. Whisk until it starts to thicken. Cover with plastic wrap and leave in room temperature for 1 hour or until it thickens

Serves 2

Broccolini rigatoni - delicious food in almost no time at all

I love being in the kitchen, but that doesn’t stop me from enjoying quick meals too – they have been a great idea in these cold days, when all I want is to be wrapped in a blanked, reading or watching TV.

After watching several episodes of the wonderful “Jamie’s 30-minute meals” I ended up buying the book - which is absolutely beautiful - and the first recipe I tried was this pasta dish: broccolini is in season and the hubby loves it. It instantly became one of his favorites – and heaven knows how rarely that happens. :)

Broccolini rigatoni
slightly adapted from the wonderful Jamie Oliver's Meals in Minutes; I bought it on amazon.co.uk

250g broccolini or broccoli
½ small onion
1 garlic clove
1 tablespoon capers, rinsed and drained
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
finely grated zest of ½ lemon
a few sprigs of fresh thyme, stalks removed
200g rigatoni
generous handful finely grated parmesan, plus more to serve
handful of basil leaves

Slice all the broccolini florets from the stalks and set the florets aside. Place the stalks, the onion, the garlic and the capers in a food processor and process until a rough paste forms.
Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan and add the broccolini paste. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Add ¼ cup (60ml) hot water, season with salt, pepper, the lemon zest and the thyme leaves and stir.
Meanwhile, cook the rigatoni in a large saucepan of rapidly boiling salted water until al dente, adding the broccolini florets to the water in the last minutes of the cooking time.
Drain the pasta and broccolini florets reserving about ½ cup (120ml) of the cooking water. Transfer the pasta and broccolini to the pan with the paste, add the parmesan and basil leaves and mix to combine everything together. If necessary, add a little of the reserved cooking water to loosen the pasta sauce.
Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with more parmesan and serve at once.

Serves 2

Crunchy-top pear muffins

I have received several comments and emails regarding the better than brownie cookies I posted a while ago - the recipe worked out fine for some of you but not so much for others... I’m sorry to hear that and have updated the post with info on the chocolate I used and on cooling the chocolate + butter mixture for 5 minutes prior to adding the other ingredients - I hope it helps!

If you’ve had a hard time baking the better than brownie cookies, may I suggest these muffins? A stress-free recipe that will cheer you up. And even if you haven’t baked those cookies, make the muffins anyway – they are really good. :D

Crunchy-top pear muffins
adapted from Holiday

1 ¼ cup + 1 tablespoon (185g) all purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
100g rolled oats
½ cup + ½ tablespoon (94g) brown sugar, both packed
2 eggs
1 cup (240ml) plain yogurt
½ cup (120ml) vegetable (light-flavored) oil
1 pear, peeled and diced

Topping:
¼ cup (44g) brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup (50g) unblanched almonds, finely chopped

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF; line six 240ml (1 cup) muffin pans with paper cases (or just grease well).

Sift the flour, baking powder and cinnamon into a large bowl, add the oats, brown sugar and stir together. Make a well in the centre.
Whisk together the eggs, yogurt and oil. Pour into the well in the dry ingredients and stir with a fork until just combined. Fold through the pear, being careful not to overmix. Spoon into the muffin cases.
To make the crumble topping, mix the brown sugar and almonds. Sprinkle over the muffin mixture and then bake for 20–25 minutes until golden brown.

Makes 6 – I halved the recipe, used 1/3 cup (80ml) capacity muffin pans and got 7 muffins

Mozzarella in carrozza

Saturday is my favorite day of the week and one thing I love doing is watching some of Nigella’s shows. They are basically reruns and I have already seen many episodes, but that’s fine – it’s a joy to see her cook, even though I’m not always crazy about the dishes she prepares. :)

One can certainly turn to Nigella when looking for delicious food that can be made in almost no time. And that’s what I did, right after watching one episode of her Christmas series – I was hungry but the couch kept calling out my name. :D

If that doesn’t inspire lazy people to cook, I don’t know what will.

Mozzarella in carrozza
from Nigella Bites

6 slices white bread, crusts removed
1 fist-sized ball mozzarella, cut into approximately ¼-inch (0.6cm) slices, then strips – I used buffalo mozzarella with a pinch of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
½ cup (120ml) whole milk
3 heaping tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 egg
salt and freshly ground black pepper
½ cup (120ml) olive oil (not extra-virgin), for frying – I used much less

Make sandwiches out of the bread and mozzarella, leaving a little margin around the edges unfilled with cheese, and press the edges together with your fingers to help seal. (One of the advantages of soft white bread is that it easily smushed together.)
Pour the milk in to 1 soup bowl*, the flour into another, and beat the egg with salt and pepper in another.
Warm the oil in the frying pan over medium heat. Dunk the sandwiches briefly, 1 by 1, in the milk, then dredge in the flour, then dip in the beaten egg. Fry in hot oil on each side until crisp and golden and remove to a paper towel. Cut in half and serve.

* I found it easier to work with shallow plates

Serves 2

Pasta with eggplant and pine nuts

Thank you all for your comments and emails – the nerd girl that never fit in is feeling pretty popular right now. :)
I’m looking forward to my next blogging year!

After all that icing – so much it could block one’s arteries just by looking at it – I thought you deserved something fresh and a lot lighter. Pasta + veggies seemed perfect.

Despite the tiny list of ingredients, this is one of the most delicious pasta dishes I have ever tried. Make it, even if you don’t have pine nuts around – it tastes great anyway.

Pasta with eggplant and pine nuts
slightly adapted from here

400g pasta
2 large eggplants
olive oil, for brushing
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
a large handful of basil leaves
4 tablespoons pine nuts
fleur de sel and freshly ground black pepper
juice of 4 small limes

Preheat oven to 200ºC/400ºF.
Cut each eggplant in half lengthways, then make criss cross cuts on the flesh nearly all the way down to the skin. Brush with olive oil, place in a lightly oiled baking pan and bake for 25 minutes or until soft. In the meantime, cook the pasta until al dente and toast the pine nuts on a non stick frying pan.Remove the eggplant from the oven and, using a spoon, scrape the flesh out of the skins and place in a bowl. Pour the extra virgin olive oil gradually mixing it with eggplant until you get to a smooth paste. Season it with fleur de sel and pepper
Drain the pasta and mix it with the eggplant to coat it really well. Add the basil , pine nuts and lime juice.

Serves 4

Nigella’s unpestoed pesto

Part 2 - that is not something I like seeing on the title of a movie. Some do make me curious, I’ll admit it, while others... Can even become a dark spot on someone’s career - I bet that the Oscar nominee Amy Adams would agree with me here. :)

You’ll think: “she’s already posted pasta al pesto”. And you are right. Since sequels can be masterpieces, too, I present you my pesto part 2.

I saw Nigella cooking this dish on TV but couldn’t write down the recipe - I eyeballed all the ingredients. As I ended up finding it online, I’ll post it here for you.

Even though this pasta recipe is insanely simple, I’ll be honest: I prefer the original pesto sauce. But that doesn’t mean you can’t give the part 2 a try.

Nigella’s unpestoed pesto

1 pound (450g) spaghetti
1 cup (240ml) olive oil – I used less
5 garlic cloves, peeled
1 bunch fresh basil leaves
½ cup pine nuts
8 ounces (224g) whole Parmesan
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil and then add the spaghetti. While the pasta is cooking, pour the olive oil into a large frying pan and throw in some peeled cloves of garlic. Cook over gentle heat until the garlic starts to turn light brown and its scent wafts upward. Remove the cloves from the pan and take the pan off the heat.
Roughly chop or shred a mound of basil leaves, set aside. In a second dry frying pan, toast a handful or so of pine nuts. When the pasta is ready, drain it, toss it in the garlic-infused olive oil, and then transfer to a warm bowl.
Using a vegetable peeler, shave in the parmesan and sprinkle with the toasted pine nuts. Toss well, throw over all but a small handful of the basil leaves, and turn again.
Sprinkle with sea salt, black pepper and the remaining shredded basil leaves and serve at once.

Serves 4

Garlic lime shrimp

It’s winter here now and you guys from the Northern Hemisphere keep tempting me with your ice creams and sorbets... Not to mention the cherry recipes, right, Susan? :)
To make things worse, the Mail Service is working again and yesterday I finally received the July issue of Bon Appétit – loads of ideas for barbecues and grilling outdoors. I’m not a fan of barbecues, but Joao loves them. And I even think he would be interested in grilling on the weekends, but we live in an apartment – no yard.:(

So, no barbie. But that doesn’t mean he can’t have something he absolutely loves: shrimp. For the hubby, the simpler, the better. And the recipe I adapted from the DH mag #37 was a huge hit.

I cooked the shrimp using a frying pan, but also posted how to make them on the grill, if anyone wants to give it a try.

Garlic lime shrimp
from Donna Hay magazine

1kg large raw shrimp, peeled, tails intact
1/3 cup (80ml) lime juice
4 tablespoons garlic infused olive oil, divided
2 garlic cloves, finely sliced
salt and freshly ground black pepper
chopped flat leaf parsley, to taste
lime wedges, to serve
aioli or mayonnaise, to serve

Place the shrimp, lime juice, 2 tablespoons olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper in a bowl and toss to combine. Cover with plastic/cling film and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Remove the shrimp from the refrigerator and strain any juices – remove the garlic slices, also. Drizzle the remaining olive oil over the shrimp and toss to combine. Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the shrimp, turning to avoid burning. Cook until the shrimp turn pink, about 2 minutes each side – don’t overcook, or they will become rubbery.
Remove from heat, sprinkle with the parsley and serve immediately.

If you want to make them on the barbie: thread three shrimp onto a skewer (if they are wooden skewers, soak them in cold water for 30 minutes before using, to avoid burning). Repeat with the remaining shrimp. Heat a barbecue over high heat. Barbecue the shrimp for 2 minutes each side or until cooked through.

Serves 4