Spicy sausage and cheese tortilla

From Spanish by Pepita Aris
Serves 6

Ingredients 

5 tablespoons olive oil
6 ounces chorizo sausage, thinly sliced
1 1⁄2 lbs waxy potatoes, thinly sliced
2 Spanish onions, halved and thinly sliced
4 extra large eggs
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, plus extra to garnish
1 cup grated manchego cheese or 1 cup other hard cheese
salt & fresh ground pepper

Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a 8-inch non-stick frying pan and fry the sausage until golden brown and cooked through. Lift out with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper.

Add a further 2 tbsp oil to the pan and fry the potatoes and onions for 2-3 minutes, turning frequently (the pan will be very full).

Cover tightly and cook over a gentle heat for about 30 minutes turning occasionally, until softened and slightly golden.

 

In a large mixing bowl, beat together the eggs, parsley, cheese, sausage and plenty seasoning. Gently stir in the potatoes and onions until coated, taking care not to break up the potato too much.

Wipe out the pan with kitchen paper and heat the remaining 2 tbsp oil.

Add the potato mixture and cook, over a very low heat, until the egg begins to set. Use a metal spatula to prevent the tortilla from sticking and allow the uncooked egg to run underneath.

Preheat the grill (broiler) to high. When the base of the tortilla has set, which should take about 5 minutes, protect the pan handle with foil and place the tortilla under the grill until it is set and golden.

Cut into wedges and serve garnished with parsley.

Fisherman’s eggs en cocotte

From The Silver Spoon
Serves 4

Ingredients

25g butter, plus extra for greasing
80g canned sardines in oil, drained
4 eggs
1 fresh flat-leaf parsley sprig, chopped
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees if you wish to bake the eggs. Grease four ramekins with butter. Remove the bones from the sardines and chop the flesh. Divide the flesh among the ramekins, break an egg into each dish, season with salt and pepper to taste and dot with the butter

Place the ramekins in a roasting tin, add boiling water to come about halfway up the sides and bake for 8-10 minutes or until the egg whites are lightly set.

Having a pretty horrendous week and needed to go back to the office. Had a couple of tins of sardine and decided to google for a recipe for them so that I can at least do some cooking. Found this very simple recipe and decided to go with it. Love how the egg smoothens the taste of the sardine. Very good combination!

Allcante crusted rice

From Spanish – over 150 mouthwatering step-by-step recipes
Serves 4

Ingredients

350 grams of Paella Rice
3 tablespoons of olive oil
Salt and ground black pepper
200 grams of chorizo or butifarra sausage
2 tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
175 grams of lean cubed pork
175 grams of skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into chunks
1 litre or 4 cups of of hot chicken stock
Pinch of saffron threads
150 grams of cooked chickpeas
6 large eggs
Preparation

Preheat the oven to 190 celsius or gas mark 5. Heat the oil in a flameproof casserole and fry the sausage until browned. Add the tomatoes and fry until reduced. Stir in the pork and chicken pieces and cook for 2-3 minutes and until the meat is lightly browned. Keep stirring.
Add the rice to the pan and stir over the heat for a further minute. Then pour in the hot stock. Add the saffron, season to taste, and stir well. Bring to the boil and then lower the heat. Add the chickpeas. Cover the casserole tightly with the lid and cook over a low heat for around 20 minutes or until the rice is tender.

Beat the eggs with a little water and a pinch of salt and pour over the rice. Place the casserole, uncovered, in the oven and cook for about 10 minutes, until the eggs have set and browned slightly on top.

Serve the crusty paella straight from the casserole.

Maybe it’s the Chinese in me but I love rice and noodle recipes. Always heart warming to tuck into a huge bowl of rice.

Smoked salmon kedgeree

Ingredients
butter
1 small onion , halved and sliced
1 tsp curry powder
150g basmati rice
300ml chicken stock or vegetable stock
3 eggs
70g smoked salmon , torn into pieces
½ small bunch parsley , chopped
1 lemon , ½ juiced, other ½ cut into wedges

Heat a large knob of butter in a pan. Cook the onion with a pinch of salt on a fairly high heat until golden and caramelised. Stir in the curry powder and cook for 1 minute. Add the rice and stir to coat. Add the stock, bring to a gentle simmer then put on a lid and cook for about 10-12 minutes until all the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is tender.

Meanwhile, drop the eggs into boiling water for 8 minutes, rinse under cold running water, then shell. Stir the salmon, parsley and lemon juice through the rice and divide between 2 dishes. Quarter the eggs and serve on top of the rice with lemon wedges.

Creamy salmon kedgeree

From Irish Cooking – Clare Connery
Ingredients
Serves 4

50 g Butter
1 large onion (finely chopped)
175 g long grain rice (cooked until just tender)
500 g cooked salmon (boned and flaked)
3 hard-boiled eggs (roughly chopped)
2 tblsp parsley (finely chopped)
150 ml Cream
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp chives (finely chopped to garnish)

Melt half the butter in a large pan, add the onion and fry until it is soft.

Stir in the cooked rice, and season well with salt and pepper.

Add the salmon, eggs, parsley and cream, folding them carefully into the rice to prevent the fish and eggs from breaking up too much.

Pile the kedgeree into an ovenproof dish.

Grease a sheet of foil with the remaining butter and use to cover the dish.

Heat thoroughly in a preheated oven, 180°C (350°F/Gas 4) for 15 minutes.

When hot, serve sprinkled with the chives.

Was in Dublin for a wedding, and I continued my habit from buying cookbooks from the countries I have been to. Bought this irish cookbook to test out its recipes, and started with this kedgeree dish. Very very creamy and filling, and quite tasty too.

Steamed egg with minced pork

Modified from noobcook.com
Serves 2-4

Ingredients
2 eggs
1/3 cup water
1/2 tsp Chinese cooking wine
1/4 to 1/2 tsp light soy sauce

150g minced pork
Marinade for the minced pork
1/2 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp Chinese cooking wine
a bit of Chinese white pepper
1/2 stalk spring onions, finely chopped (use the green upper part)

Break the eggs into the bowl. To minimize bubbles, do not beat the eggs but gently stir the eggs with a pair of chopsticks using a cutting action.

Add the water, 1/2 tsp Chinese cooking wine and 1/4 to 1/2 tsp light soy sauce to the eggs mixture.

Combine the marinade with minced pork and mix well. Leave for at least 10 minutes.

Heat wok with a bit of oil, then stir fry the minced pork till they are no longer pink, breaking them to smaller bits using your spatula. Do not overcook.

Arrange the stir-fried minced pork in a thin layer on a shallow dish. Then pour the stained egg mixture over gently. If you see any bubbles, “flatten” the surface gently with the back of a spoon.

Cover the dish with aluminium foil.

Steam the egg custard over high heat for about 15 to 20 mins. To test if the egg mixture is cooked, insert a bamboo stick into the mixture: if a little clear liquid comes out, it is cooked. Serve with warm rice.

My mom has been cooking this dish for my family for a very very long time. I am glad I know how to make it as well now to continue the tradition.

Tomato baked eggs

From BBC One-pot recipes
Serves 4
Ingredients

900g ripe vine tomatoes
3 garlic cloves
3 tbsp olive oil
4 large free range eggs
2 tbsp chopped parsley and/or chives

Preheat the oven to fan 180C/ conventional 200C/gas 6. Cut the tomatoes into quarters or thick wedges, depending on their size, then spread them over a fairly shallow 1.5 litre ovenproof dish. Peel the garlic, slice thinly and sprinkle over the tomatoes. Drizzle with the olive oil, season well with salt and pepper and stir everything together until the tomatoes are glistening.

Slide the dish into the oven and bake for 40 minutes until the tomatoes have softened and are tinged with brown.

Make four gaps among the tomatoes, break an egg into each gap and cover the dish with a sheet of foil. Return it to the oven for 5-10 minutes until the eggs are set to your liking. Scatter over the herbs and serve piping hot with thick slices of toast or warm ciabatta and a green salad on the side.

Cauliflower rarebit

From Home Food
Serves 4

8 thick slices ciabatta
1 garlic clove
800g cauliflower, cut into small florets
120g grated gruyere cheese
120g grated cheddar cheese
1 tbsp dijon mustard
2 eggs beaten
2 tbsp beer
4 tbsp cream

Turn on the grill and toast the ciabatta. Cut the garlic clove in half and rub the cut slices over one side of each slice of ciabatta

Bring a saucepan of water to the boil and cook the cauliflower for about 5 minutes, or until it is tender when you prod it with a knife. Drain it very well.

Mix the cheeses, mustard, egg, beer and cream together. Put the toast on a baking tray and arrange some cauliflower on top of each piece. Divide the cheese mixture among the pieces of toast, making sure you coat all the cauliflower.

Put the rarebits under the grill and grill them until they are brown and bubbling.

Smoked mackerel and pasta frittata

Ingredients

25g pasta
225g smoked mackerel
6 medium eggs
3 tbsp milk
2 tsp wholegrain mustard
2 tbsp freshly chopped parsley
25g butter
6 spring onions, trimmed and diagonally sliced
50g frozen peas, thawed
75g cheddar cheese, grated

Preheat the grill to high just before cooking. Bring a pan of lightly salted water to a rolling boil. Add the pasta and cook according to the packet instructions or until al dente. Drain thoroughly and reserve.

Remove the skin from the mackerel and break the fish into large flakes, discarding any bones and reserve.

Place the eggs, milk, mustard and parsley in a bowl and whisk together. Season with just a little salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper and reserve.

Melt the butter in a large heavy-based frying pan. Cook the spring onions gently for 3-4 minutes, until soft. Pour in the egg mixture, then add the drained pasta, peas and half of the mackerel.

Gently stir the mixture in the pan for 1-2 minutes or until beginning to set. Stop stirring and cook for about 1 minutes until the underneath is golden-brown.

Scatter the remaining mackerel over the frittata followed by the grated cheese. Place under the pre-heated grill for about 1 1/2 minutes or until golden brown and set.

Cut into wedges and serve immediately.

This is actually a pretty good post gym meal, fish, carbos, protein and quite tasty as well. There’s no need to put much salt since the fish itself and cheese is already quite salty. If you can’t get smoked fish, bacon should be a decent substitute.

Rice tortitas

Ingredients

1 cup of cooked long grain white rice
1 potato, grated
4 spring onions , thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
3 large eggs, beaten
1/2 tsp paprika

Stir fry rice, with potato, spring onions and garlic , over a high heat for 3 minutes until golden.

Tip the rice and vegetable mixture into a bowl and stir in the parsley and eggs, with the paprika and plenty of salt and pepper. Mix well

Heat oil in frying pan and drop in large spoonfuls of the rice mixture, leaving room for spreading. Cook the tortitas for 1-2 minutes on each side.

Serve hot.

This dish reminds me of the food I was having in Thailand during National Service; how fried rice is wrapped in an omelette. The taste of my rice tortitas isn’t as strong or as oily as the one in Thailand but I prefer mine for its more natural taste. Note that it’s called tortitas rather than tortillas.