Above is the beach at Alcudia, Mallorca. It’s usually full of people during the hot summer days and I have often swum from one side to the other.  I am very lucky in the fact that I have a lovely brother-in-law who has a house nearby and where we go once a year for a week with he and his girl friend and 2 other old friends.  We have a great time in the pool or the sea and just lazing, playing word games and reading. In the evening, we eat out one night and cook the other, the couples splitting up into new ones to form a cooking team – very competitive!  It’s also a place we have gone with our own families and thus a special place we are missing.

It’s not the only part of Spain we know, though, as The Husband and I have had a couple of road trips on the mainland – one as part of a big circle, through France and over and through the Pyrenees to Bilbao and home; another was from the ferry in Santander, through to the middle and turn right to Porto and back up the Spanish northern coast. Thus we have sampled many Spanish dishes from lamb to meatballs to octopus to churros! And that’s what we are cooking today for Lockdown Travel Cooking (for one / two / or four!)

SPANISH MEATBALLS (ALBONDIGAS) This does make a lot – but freezes very well and/or a good dish to share with the neighbours

• white bread 2 crustless slices, torn into small pieces
• milk 3 tbsp
• beef mince 200g
• pork mince 200g
• garlic 1 clove, crushed
• parsley a small bunch, chopped
• egg 1 small
• smoked paprika 1/4 tsp
• olive oil
• garlic 1 cloves, sliced
• red wine 100ml (you know the rules – one glass for yourself!)
• chopped tomatoes 1 x 400g tin
• smoked paprika a good pinch

Put the bread in a large bowl, tip over the milk and toss until it has all soaked in. Add the mince, garlic, parsley, egg (you might not need all the egg so add at the end, gradually) smoked paprika and lots of seasoning. Mix together really well using clean hands and roll into small meatballs. Heat a little olive oil in a wide, shallow pan and brown the meatballs all over in batches. Scoop out once they’re browned. Add a little more oil to the pan then add the sliced garlic and sizzle for a couple of minutes. Tip in the wine and boil until it is almost reduced to nothing. Add the tomatoes and smoked paprika, season and bring the mixture to a simmer. Cook for 10 minutes, add back the meatballs then simmer for 20 minutes until the sauce is thickened and the meatballs are cooked through.

• 2 bananas, sliced into 1/2″ coins
• 2 tbsp. granulated sugar
• 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 tbsp. coconut oil
• melted chocolate

In a small bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon and whisk together until evenly combined. In a large skillet, heat coconut oil over medium heat. Add the bananas and cook until starting to caramelize, about 1 minute. Sprinkle about half of the cinnamon-sugar over the banana rounds. Flip the rounds, sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon-sugar, and cook about 1 minutes more. Serve with toothpicks to dunk the churro bites in melted chocolate.

PS This is turning into Travels with the Husband – if you are getting bored with the series, do let me know!

If you are still with me (where else would you be in lock down?), I’m trying to take you to all the places we would/could be visiting if not stuck at home (nice as it is).  At least the weather is being kind and if you can get out on a chair in the sunshine you could close your eyes and imagine . . .

The first proper holiday The Husband and I took together was to Crete – and it really did look like above. It was where I learnt to snorkel, first ate octopus (and loved it) and realised that trips on our own with a car are the way we like best.  We hired an open top jeep and took off up into the mountains, had thick strong coffee with the locals and followed a track up and over where it finally morphed into a goat track to nothing.  We climbed down to the beach, completely on our own, swam and sunbathed till the sun started to set before wending our way back. Those were the days, my friends, we thought they would never end . . . . . 

I always think of Greek food as full of sunshine – all the wonderful colours of aubergine, peppers, tomatoes and courgettes. This recipe has it all – with little suns of apricots to follow.

GREEK LAMB CHOPS – serves 1 / 2 / 4 (if you are still feeding friends)

• 1/2 / 1 / 2 tbsp chopped fresh mint
• 1/2 / 1 tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 / 2 / 3 garlic cloves
• 1/2 / 1 / 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 / 2 / 4/lean lamb chops or cutlets
• 1/2 / 1 aubergine, sliced (I love aubergines so have put 1/2 even if just for one!)
• 1 / 2 / 4 courgettes, sliced
• 1/2 / 1 / 2 red peppers, cut into large chunks
• 1/2 / 1 / 2 yellow peppers, cut into large chunks
• 30g/ 60g/ 90g feta cheese, crumbled
• 80g/ 160g/ 320g cherry tomatoes

Preheat the oven to 180C/355F/Gas 4. Using a pestle and mortar or food processor, blend together the mint, rosemary and the garlic, then add one tablespoon of the olive oil. Smear the herb mixture over the lamb chops. Place the aubergine, courgette and peppers on a baking sheet. Drizzle with the remaining olive oil and place the lamb chops on top. Place into the oven to roast for 20-25 minutes. Remove from the oven and top the chops with the feta and add the cherry tomatoes to the tray. Return to the oven for a further 10 minutes until the cheese just starts to brown and the lamb chops are just cooked through. Serve the chops with the roasted vegetables and mixed leaf salad.

GREEK APRICOTS – serves 2 (or one for dinner and one for breakfast!)

• 250ml cold water
• 50g caster sugar
• 1 cinnamon stick
• small pinch saffron strands (optional)
• 1 tbsp honey
• 12 apricots, halved ( you can use a drained can if no fresh)
• 150g/5¼oz tub Greek yoghurt
• 50g/1¾oz pistachios, crushed

Put the water, sugar, cinnamon stick, saffron and honey into a pan and heat until the sugar has dissolved. Simmer gently for five minutes before adding the apricots. Simmer for a further five minutes. Remove from the heat and discard the cinnamon stick. Serve the apricots warm on a bed of yogurt, and drizzle over the syrup.

A long, long time ago, I can still remember (cue for a song?) the Husband and I would go on road trips. Once over the Channel and off the ferry we would literally toss a coin and decide to go right or left. Thus we have discovered the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, France, Spain, Portugal, and ITALY, the country of choice for today’s cooking.

It was nearing the end of a particular trip and also the end of the summer when we landed in a tiny village, on the coast of Northern Italy, just before crossing over into France.  We had almost despaired of finding anywhere to stay as everywhere was closing down, when we found a trattoria with rooms.  Very basic but clean and somewhere to put our heads at night.  We were the only people staying and the only people in the restaurant when we went down to dinner.  The room was lit by overhead florescent lights, not exactly conducive to romance so I asked the waiter if he could turn them down a little – and perhaps a candle?  He disappeared and returned with a half a dozen birthday candles and a couple of nightlights and turned off the overheads.  Such is the love of amore in the Italians! (And the best seafood stew was served – ever!)

To my mind one of the most ideal comfort food, both making it and eating it, is risotto. You must, like the stock that requires constant topping up, be completely absorbed by it: one moment of distraction and it can go from silky perfection to stodgy pudding. There’s a meditative quality to the process — chopping, stirring, keeping the risotto glossy and full, maintaining the balance between stock and rice. It’s like a slow dance. This recipe is a slightly different take – a Venetian recipe – a looser, soupier version –   with one of my favourite desserts to follow (easy recipe!)

The Husband and I are supposed to be in France, eating oysters and cheese and chocolate eclairs and sitting on a pavement somewhere drinking espressos and watching the world go by. I expect a lot of you had also thought you would be somewhere else as you planned your holidays on January 1st. Italy, Majorca, Spain, France – or even further afield like South Africa or Mexico.  Such is fate that we are all still at home (whichever country you are reading this in) and whilst the weather has been wonderful, the excitement of exploring a new country – it’s scenery, culture and food – is temporarily lost. So how about I  bring the country to you with dishes to share with your neighbour – both dishes are transportable to leave on a doorstep. Or just set the patio table for one, pour a glass of wine and close your eyes to imagine . . .

As we are meant to be in France, this will thus be the first – dinner for one/two/or four – Ooh La! La!

CHICKEN WITH PEAS AND LETTUCE

• 2/4/6rashers smoked streaky bacon, chopped
• 2/4/8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs
• 1 – 2  garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1/2 – 1  bunch spring onions, roughly chopped
• 100/200/300ml hot chicken stock
• 60/120/240 frozen peas
• 1/2 – 1 Little Gem lettuce, roughly shredded
• 1/2/4 dessertspoon crème fraîche

In a large frying pan, dry-fry the bacon over a medium heat for 3 mins until the fat is released and the bacon is golden. Transfer the bacon to a small bowl, leaving the fat in the pan. Add the chicken and brown for 4 mins each side. Push the chicken to one side of the pan and tip in the garlic and spring onions, cooking for about 30 secs, just until the spring onion stalks are bright green. Pour in the chicken stock, return the bacon to the pan, cover and simmer for 15 mins. Increase heat under the pan. Tip the peas and lettuce into the sauce and cook for 4 mins, covered, until the peas are tender and the lettuce has just wilted. Check chicken is cooked through. Stir in the crème fraîche just before serving.

CHOCOLATE FONDANTS serve 2 or 4 (if you are on your own, trust me you will still want to make 2!)

50g/100g butter
50g/100g chocolate, chopped
65g/130g sugar
25g/50g  plain flour
1 or 2 large eggs
Pinch salt.

Set the oven to 180C (350F) and butter 2/4 ramekins (not sure what size mine are but they hold 130ml water when filled to the top). Gently melt the butter and chocolate together in a heatproof bowl, either over a saucepan of boiling water or in the microwave. Stir together, then whisk in the sugar, flour, eggs and salt (either with an electric whisk or just vigorously by hand). Fill the ramekins until ¾ full and bake for 12-14 minutes, until the tops are squishy but set (like an undercooked cake). You can pop them in the fridge and cook later (about 14-16 minutes in the oven if they are cold). Serve with vanilla ice cream if you have it!

Next time – grab your sunglasses, put some Andrea Bocelli on your music player – we’re off to Italy!

 

The Humans have gone out for a walk – so I thought I’d take a turn as “guest contributor”.  The Wife has lots to do – but I can tell the Husband is getting a bit bored with lock down and words have been spoken about not going out.  I’m loving it – it’s great having someone here all the time to attend to my every need – food, water, cuddles and combing my fur which has got a little bit messy over winter (I am nearly 20 years old and things aren’t as easy as they were).  The Humans are doing their best and I can’t really complain. I can see, though, we are all in need of a bit of comfort – and by that I mean comfort food – and my absolute favourite (possibly because I am sometimes given a portion to myself if any left over) is Fish Pie. So that’s what I am giving you today. You can use any fish you may have – probably frozen just now – but you could use tinned mackerel, kipper fillets or tuna.  I’m not totally au fait with what the Wife has in her cupboards so I’ll just wing it with some suggestions.

POOKIE’S FISH PIE –  serves 2 Humans + 1 Neighbour (or one cat)

• 1 leek, sliced and rinsed
• butter 50g
• plain flour 1 tbsp
• white wine 125ml (or water)   ) or 225ml milk
• double cream 75ml                    )
• flat-leaf parsley ½ small bunch, chopped
• firm white skinless fish such as cod or haddock 150g, chunked
• skinless smoked haddock 150g, chunked
• cooked peeled prawns 100g
• 2 halved boiled eggs (optional)
• Maris Piper potatoes 300g, peeled and chunked

Heat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Gently cook the leeks in half the butter until really soft. Stir in the flour and cook for a couple of minutes. Gradually stir in the wine until you have a sauce and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the cream and bring gently to a simmer for a couple of minutes. Stir in the parsley, fish and prawns, then take off the heat. Tip into a baking dish. To make the mash, boil the potatoes in salted water until tender. Drain, then tip back into the pan over a low heat to dry out slightly. Add the rest of the butter, a splash of milk and some seasoning. Mash really well. Spoon over the fish, then spread out using a fork so you end up with a rough surface. Dot or brush with more butter for a golden top. Bake the pie in the oven for 30-35 minutes until the top is crisp and golden, and the filling is bubbling.

Alternative toppings to the pie could be: Puff Pastry / crumpled sheets of Filo Pastry/  or Peel the potatoes then roughly grate on the coarsest side of a box grater. Melt the rest of the butter and pour over the grated potatoes. Season, then use 2 forks to toss the butter through the potatoes. Spoon the rösti mix on top of the fish as lightly as you can (don’t pack it down or it won’t crisp). Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until crisp and golden on top.

For something completely different, make Fish Pie Jackets : Bake 2 big potatoes – scoop out the potato, mash with butter and set aside.  Make the pie filling as normal and fill the potato skins. Top with mash and some grated cheese and put under the grill till browned.

Humans are coming back so I better get back to my position on the sofa. It’s tiring, all this blogging . .. .

As I write this, the sun is streaming through the window, trees are budding and birds are singing – making it even more difficult to stay indoors.  For those of you haven’t, don’t ever think that I don’t appreciate how lucky we are to have a garden. I can still go out and potter in my shed, weed and plant, sit with Pookie and the hens sunbathing and smile in the fresh air. However, needs really must and I urge you to listen to advice, think of our amazing NHS and continue to only go out when necessary.

 

To cheer us up (I know, only a little) my kitchen is filled with the lovely warm smell of tarka dhal, cooking slowly away on the stove top.  I’m using lentils from the store cupboard and spices from my rack (Don’t forget, though, that you can also buy them frozen so that there is no wastage if you are only using a little).  You can eat it as is with rice and a flatbread as a vegetarian meal – or add some prawns – or serve as a side dish to roast chicken pieces or lamb chops  (you could even make a meat curry – but that’s another story!)

TARKA DHAL

This will make enough for  2 – 3 but it will keep in the fridge for a couple of days and is lovely cold with hot pitta bread as a snack – or you could add some stock and whizz it up into a spicy lentil soup. Or you could share it with a neighbour, of course!

• 75 grams lentils
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 -2 cloves of garlic, grated
• small knob of fresh ginger, grated

Rinse the lentils well and put into 1/2 litre of water in a saucepan.  Bring to a boil, skimming off any scum. Add the turmeric, garlic and ginger and simmer, covered, for about 40 minutes with an occasional stir till the lentils are soft – you may have to add a little more water as you do.

Meanwhile . . . .

• 2 tablespoons vegetable/rapeseed oil
• 1 dessertspoon butter
• 2 dried chillies
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 small onion finely chopped
• 2 small tomatoes chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon garam masala or to taste

Heat the oil and butter and add the chillies and cumin.  Once sizzling, add the onions  and cook till brown.  Add the tomatoes, masala and some salt and pepper and cook down till soft and mushy.

When the lentils are cooked, mash them a little and add to the onions, mix around to pick up all the spices and then combine them all together in one  dish.

To serve, I fry some more onions in oil and butter till crispy and tip over the dhal.

Week two of lock down and I appreciate most of us are feeling fed up with not meeting up with friends or family.  So I’ve had this cunning plan . . .

For those of you with internet access (and knowledge) make a date and time to meet up with loved ones online.  Send this dinner recipe.  Make it yourself and set it up in front of your computer, pour yourself a glass of wine and switch on – a virtual dinner with friends (you can even point out where they might have gone wrong with the recipe!) For those without, why don’t you make double the recipe and leave half on your neighbour’s doorstep.  If you are next door, with these lighter and milder nights you could both eat outside and shout over the fence.  And, if you can’t do any of this, set the table with your best china and flowers and eat well, thinking of the time when the people you love are sitting around the table with you.

Both these dishes serve two – so either half, do as or double and serve up a few neighbours!  It looks like a lot of ingredients but you can use up a lot of bits and pieces of veg (or substitute for frozen – or experiment with your own choice) – and gives a new life to stale bread and that odd piece of fruit lying in the bottom of the bowl!

SPRING PASTA

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves (finely sliced)
• 1 small onion (finely diced)
• 100ml white wine
• 800ml vegetable stock (from a cube)
• 250gr pasta
• 80 gr peas
• 40gr green beans (topped and tailed, if fresh)
• ½ courgettes, (diced)
• 3 spring onion (finely sliced)
• 75 gr tenderstem broccoli, sliced in 2 – 3 cm
• 80 gr broad beans
• 1 lemon (zest and juiced)
• 5 mint leaves, torn
• 8 basil leaves, torn
• 20gr butter
• 2 heaped tablesp grated parmesan plus extra to serve

Heat a deep, large pan. Add olive oil, garlic and onion and sweat them on a low heat without adding colour. Add the wine and leave to reduce for 2-3 minutes. Add pasta, the vegetable stock, the remaining vegetables and lemon zest to the mix. Leave to simmer for 7-8 minutes on a low heat and stir occasionally. Add the rest of the  ingredients, season to taste, leave to rest for 2 minutes.
Serve with extra parmesan over the top.
APPLE BREAD PUDDING

 

The Husband and I are so lucky to have a big garden to go out in and, for the time being, lots of things to do in the house and outside.  The weather has been amazing and I’ve got lots of seedlings planted out – spinach, carrots, parsnips, beetroots and carvelo negro (a sort of long leaved Kale) and more still growing in the potting shed.  The fruit patch has been all tidied up and I’ve laid some black plastic around the bushes to try to discourage weeds as it’s so hard to get rid of them once they are laden with fruit. Rhubarb is amazing and wonderful lightly stewed with the juice of an orange, with my porridge for breakfast.

  

Self Isolation goes on and we are seeing few cars on the road – and even fewer walkers seem to be pass by our door. It’s as if the whole world is shutting down.  The internet and (positive) social media has really come into its own this week.  I have a few whatsapp groups going on and make a point of calling someone I haven’t spoken to in a while each day. I was thinking, however, that whilst the post office is still open (thank you!) perhaps a letter might be really appreciated. especially to someone on their own or not as knowledeable with technology as yourselves?  Choose some nice stationery, send a photograph or pressed flower or a drawing – sometimes simple things are all it takes for someone to feel cared for.

Anyway, when times are hard (and they are!) the other easy thing to comfort is CHOCOLATE.  Milk or plain, with nuts or raisins or with fillings of caramel or fruit, a little bit of a sweet treat can go a long way. All of these recipes are for more than one – do make them as they are (or even double up) and put them on someone’s doorstep as a surprise!

CHOCOLATE DELICE

• 200g dark chocolate (cooking or posh) 
• 1/pt single cream (if you only have double use that with half milk)
• 1 egg

Break up the chocolate in a bowl.  Bring the cream to a boil and pour over.  Whizz till all melted and add the egg to blend.  Pour into individual dishes and put in fridge till ready. Find a quiet corner with a your book, take a teaspoon and enjoy.

TIFFIN BARS

• 2 oz caster sugar            4 tablespoons water         6 oz plain chocolate
• 3 egg yolks (freeze the egg whites individually for later or make some meringues)
•  1/2 pint double cream

Melt the sugar and water together till a light syrup.  Break up the chocolate into a bowl and pour the hot syrup over.  Mix to smooth and add yolks.  Whip the cream until stiff, fold in the chocolate and freeze.  Simples!

 

After all the floods and rain over the past few months, the weather has finely been kind to us (something has to!) and we have been having the most beautiful Spring weather.  Everything is starting to bloom and hazes of green cover the trees and hedges. We have all been encouraged (with social distancing) to go for a walk for fresh air and our physical and mental health.  The Husband and I did this yesterday, alongside a riverbank where we spotted the first of the year’s green treasures – wild garlic.  It looks like this:

A fairly low growing plant, smelling slightly of garlic/onion and the most beautiful vibrant green. Pick it when you find it and you can make wonderful soup, dips and oil.

This recipe is enough for 4 but freezes beautifully (or you can give it out to neighbours?) Not only is it delicious but also helps lower cholesterol and high blood pressure!

Wild Garlic Soup

• 1 onion sliced
• 2 – 3 potatoes (these are for thickening the soup so depends on size)
•  500 ml water
• stock cube (I use a vegetable one)
• milk/crème fraiche/cream

Saute the onion in a little butter in a large saucepan.  Add chopped potato, stock cube, and water and bring to the boil.  Cook until the potato is soft.  Lay 3 – 4 handfuls of the garlic leaves on the top and allow to wilt and cook for 2 – 3 minutes. Cool slightly and, using a hand blender, puree.  Put back into the saucepan and add milk or cream or creme fraiche to taste along with plenty of pepper.  It never lasts long in our house but will keep in the fridge for 2 – 3 days – or ladle into bags to freeze.  Serve with crusty bread and a dollop of creme fraiche.

You might like to try this, too, to add to any other flavoured oils you may have

Wild Garlic Oil – blanch several handfuls of leaves in boiling water for 5 – 10 seconds then immediately drain and toss into iced water (this keeps the colour). Drain again and wrap in an old tea towel and squeeze all the liquid out. Chop up into small pieces and put in a jam jar or bottle and top up with 150 ml of olive oil.

Garlicky green Goddess dressing

Put about 30 washed and dried garlic leaves into a food processor or blender with 300ml sour cream (if you haven’t got this creme fraiche will do or make your own by adding some lemon juice to fresh cream – leave aside for a minute or two whilst it goes thick) , the juice of half a lemon and salt and pepper.  Blitz till smooth and serve over a green s salad or use a dipping sauce for bread or crisps.

 

As we all know by now, Britain, like many other countries, has been asked to stay at home except for essential food shopping, medical matters or a walk (with distancing) to keep our fitness up.   I’d like to thank here, on behalf of all the blog readers, for our amazing NHS – and also the shopworkers, postman, binmen, lorry drivers, police and charity workers – for all your hard work – and also to you Joe Public for the wonderful acts of kindness I hear about. I know we can and will work through all this together as a Nation.  It’s going to be hard for many, particularly our older people, those without access to a garden or somewhere to walk and people on their own for whatever reason.

Today’s recipe is just for you, the latter, on your own thinking, no one cares. We do; Mrs Bloggs down the road does, Mr Someone across the road does and Mr and Mrs Neighbour round the corner does – sometimes, you only have to ask.

Baked fish with sizzling spinach, ginger and chilli (using the store cupboard items I listed a couple of blogs ago)

• 1 piece of white fish (fresh or frozen, whatever cut you have)
• 1 tablespoon rice wine (or sherry or white wine)
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 garlic clove, crushed ) don’t forget you can buy these fresh or frozen or buy
• 5g grated ginger           ) fresh and freeze yourself (grate them or chop first)
• 1 small red chilli           )
• 150g spinach, fresh or frozen
• salad onions
• 1 tablespoon sunflower oil
• cooked noodles or rice

Preheat the oven to 200oC.  Place a sheet of foil on a baking tray and sit fish on top.  Drizzle over the rice wine, 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce and crushed garlic.  Massage into the fish and lightly seal the parcel.  Bake for about 12 minutes. Cook the spinach if fresh, defrost if frozen and squeeze dry. Cut the salad onions into 4cm lengths and then into slivers.  Dilute the remaining soy with 1 tablespoon boiling water.  Arrange the noodles or rice on a plate, top with the spinach and then fish with any cooking juices. Pile the onion, ginger and chilli on top.  Heat the oil until smoking and pour over the fish so it sizzles! Top with the diluted soy – and eat immediately.

NB this is an an incredibly easy recipe to double/ quadruple up just multiply everything by number of people you are cooking for.  You could also add mushrooms/ bean sprouts, sweetcorn, anything you fancy to bulk it out.

My “girls” – sunbathing in the glorious sunshine – just to show you life carries on! They’ll be wanting sunglasses next!