Chicken "escabeche" (portuguese recepie of marined with vinager)

I always liked things sour, spicy, salty, intense. Lemon is one of my favorite ingredients and is used almost everywhere.
Vinegar as well in chutneys, jams, spices, baked and this time marinating. The "escabeche" is a vinegared boiled seasoning is poured over normally fried fish and thereby the retained for several days. A great snack.
I have in mind the escabeche made with river fish from my grandparents' house. Always above the dishwasher cabinet, covered with a cloth, and the more time there were better and more intense was his taste. This weekend went to my grandparents town, that is mine too, i have this memory when i try it again, I traveled in time.

Chiken "escabeche"

- 2 chicken breasts
- 4 cloves of garlic finely chopped
- Juice of 2 lemons
- Thyme
- 1 drizzle of olive oil
- salt and pepper

- 2 Carrots cut into strips
- 2 onions cut into wedges
- 2 crushed garlic cloves with knife
-1 Bay leaf
- Peppercorns
- 1 generous wire oil
- 60g of white wine vinegar
- 60 g of red wine vinegar

Place the chicken breasts to bake in the oven with garlic cloves, the thread of olive oil, lemon juice, thyme, salt and pepper for 25 minutes. Allow to cool and shred.

Place a generous wire oil in a frying pan and sauté the onion and carrot until they are tender with garlic.
Add the vinegar pepper and bay leaf and cook for 5 minutes. Pour this mixture on top of the chicken.

I accompanied with roasted potatoes and spinach but is optimal cold only with bread and a nice glass of wine.

Bom apetite!

Dim Sum

Catarina and Claudia offered me a bamboo steamer basket on my birthday. (thank you, I love it)
I had never cooked it and i didnt know how to do it. The bamboo basket was in the closet a while until i have the mood and curious to use it. It was this week !!!
I'm fascinated. It is super easy, quick and healthy. And above all,conserve the true flavors of food.
The first stop was the Chinese supermarket in Almirante Reis, to buy the dumpling of dim sum, which is frozen in the shape of circles. When we want to use take out of the freezer a few hours before and is ready for use.
The bamboo steamer basket, we have to put parchment paper and grease it with a little oil so does not  stick .
Put some water in a frying pan (i recommend that the water does not touch the floor where the dim sum are) and boil for 10-15 minutes. You must be attention because water will evaporate as boils and is necessary to add more.
We can use a wide variety of ingredients and i will surely put on the blog other recipes, this week i did like this:

Dim Sum with ginger pork, savoy cabbage and lime

- 200g minced pork (i used loin)
- Savoy cabbage sliced ​​thin
-  ginger minced
- Chopped coriander
- 1 onion, chopped
- juice of one lime
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce

Mix all the ingredients .
Fill the dim sum (see video below) and put bamboo steamer basket into one frying pan with boiling water for 15 min .

Bom apetite

Tomato Soup

There are people of sweets and there are people of salty. Some people rave about the desserts, ice cream, pastry,  and there are those who go to croquettes, to pastries, to snacks, to slices of pizza and tomato soups.
I'm  a salty person, i like good croquettes, good snacks and tomato soup. It is one of those things that if i go to a restaurant and they have it on the menu I have to order it.
And likewise, it is a recurring dish here at home and on Primeiro Andar menu. I've tried to do in many shapes and forms, cream with pieces, with egg, with croutons.
Today I leave you one that made this week, and for me, one of the best.
Also I leave you this photograph of a tomate soup from the  restaurant Bastardo in Lisbom, which I consider one of the best in Lisbon (i have not yet tasted all, but i have tasted a few ).

 Tomato soup from the "bastardo" restaurant

Tomato soup

- 2 red onions chopped

- 4 cloves garlic, minced

- 8-10 peeled tomatoes

- 1 drizzle of olive oil

- Mozzarella cheese

- Basil leaves

- 1 egg poached

- salt

Chop onions and garlic. I used a chopper .

Sauté onion and garlic in a little olive oil and add the tomatoes, also chopped without skin . Add one cup of water and cook for about 20 minutes. Add some salt and taste.

To poach the egg. Put a pot on the fire with water and add 2 tablespoons of vinegar.

When it is almost boiling, stirring with a wire rod. Open the egg into a cup and pour it in the water still moving. Simmer about 4 to 5 minutes to fluctuate. Remove carefully.

Serve the soup with the egg in the center, mozzarella cubes and basil leaves.

Good appetite!

Granola

We are all different and I believe  that we are what we eat.
As a result, there are some things that I feel that my body  "stop"me to eat given the effects it causes in me. One is the pineapple that I so love but causes me thrush, another is green pepper that gives me bad digestion, and bread is not so good for me as well, etc.
I think we have to learn to listen to what our body tells us and adjust our diets accordingly.
Of course we all know that there are foods that make us sick and other superfoods that we should eat every day.
I belive in balance, listening to our body and not committing excesses, that way we can eat a little of everything orderly way. Above all, we should eat what makes us happy, because the guilt of not eating makes us worse than the food itself. Of course always in a balanced manner and without exaggeration.
This way and tried to regulate my body with a healthy breakfast, and after some experimentation I came to the granola. I began to buy but the price of it led me to do some experiments. So I came to this recipe:

Granola

- 3 cups oat flakes
- 1 cup of walnuts
- 1 cup cashews
- 1 cup sliced almonds
- 3 or 4 tablespoons of coconut oil
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 2 tbsp sunflower seeds
- 2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds
- 2 tablespoons black sesame seeds
- Gojis
- 1 tablespoon of chia seeds
- 1 pinch salt

Mix everything in a bowl and stir well until the oil and the honey is mix with the fruits, the seeds, and oats.
Lead to a moderate oven (150) for 20 minutes and go stirring 5 in 5 minutes.
Allow to cool and store in jars.
I eat it with blueberries, raspberries, some linseed powder and rice milk. A delight.

Bom apetite

I returned.Veal meatballs with cherry tomato sauce

I returned.
After three and a half years without writing here, without sharing my recipes and discoveries, I decided to come back, a lot has happened by the way, some good and some bad things.
But something brought me back here and gave me this sudden desire to return, write and share my recipes.
I'll start by sharing a recipe that arose from research in which I find myself, research to change the menu  of the place I call home (Primeiro Andar- lisbon), I changed the menu every 4 months and right now I find myself leaning in that process.
The seasons change and with them the ingredients and thus makes sense to cook with the best that each season gives us, that is synonymous of freshness and quality accordingly.
I am apologist that if the ingredients have quality is certain that the end result pleases everyone.
We also have to adjust what our body asks us, for example in the summer more salads and fruits in winter stews and casseroles more what I call comfort food.
Get to the point, the recipe:

Veal meatballs with cherry tomato sauce

- 400g minced veal meat (a good quality meat and poked at home)

- 1/2 chopped red onion

- 1 clove garlic, minced

- 1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard

- 1 tablespoon mustard 

- 1 egg

- 2 tablespoons tomato paste 

- Chopped nuts (I used pine nuts and pistachio) some 3 tablespoons

- Chopped parsley

- Salt and pepper to taste

Mix all the ingredients and make small balls. Fry a little in a skillet with a little olive oil so they get golden and keep their shape. Bake for half an hour in the oven with the tomato sauce.

Cherry tomato sauce

- 1 drizzle of olive oil

- 1/2 chopped red onion

- 1 clove garlic, minced

- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika  (I used one I bought last week in Tavira market)

- 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper 

- 1 can of tomatoes peeled diced

- 200g cherry tomatoes

- 150g tomato paste

- 2 thyme sprigs of the garden

- Salt and pepper to taste

Put cherry tomatoes to bake in the oven for 20 minutes with only 1 thread of olive oil.

Sauté the onion and garlic in  olive oil . Add the paprika and cayenne pepper, sauté a little more.

Add the can of tomatoes, the tomato paste, thyme and cook for another 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Salt and pepper and add the roasted tomato.

Place on a platter the meatballs, the sauce on top and sprinkle with mozzarella , parmesan and basil from the garden.

Bom apetite!

Flavours at dare

It was a warm day, asking for light but intense flavours. The chef Chakall, relax and in a great mood, hosted me with an original and daring culinary. The menu created for the Restaurant Week 2011, by the restaurant “Quinta dos Frades by Chakall” is inspired by this chef’s most recent book, “Natural”, which nurtures the joy of healthy and flavoured eating. Everything is based on fresh, natural products.

For starters, a few promising Cheddar muggles with basil and pear tomatoes. Crunchy Filo pasta, in contrast with the soft melting of the cheese, the scent of the fresh pieces of basil, the unexpected sweetness of the pear tomatoes, the raw rocket. There were unusual and thrilling contrasts.

I went on to the lightness of a surprising dish – chicken on the stick with cardamom and ginger, served with sweet potatoes chips, celery salt and e créme fraiche President. The well cooked chicken complemented with cream sauce, sweet potatoes cracking in celery perfume and a salad startled by the coriander. A disarming dish in complete balance that totally won me over.

Yogurt cheesecake with lavender in one of the two possible choices for desert in the menu. Its tasty and irresistible looks didn’t allow me to photograph it before trying some spoons of it. A creative sweet where the acidity of the passion fruit melts in the subtle fragrance of the lavender in harmony with the crispy cookie hidden at the bottom of the bowl, as a memory of the chocolate waiting for us at the end of the eternal cornetos.

In a word, Chakall always comes up with something new that transpires in the exotics of his dishes. As well as in the art of hosting and welcoming. Do not miss the opportunity of the Restaurant Week and accept the challenge of the menu he created for this edition.

Beef steak with ham and mustard sauce

Photography : Rui Major

Friends: Rui and myself

Flavors:

-4 small beef steaks
-2 slices of parma ham
-1 hint olive oil
-1 spoon of butter
-salt, black pepper
-garlic
-grain mustard
-dijon mustard
-1 bay leaf

-1 bunch of spinach+ + mine were home grown from my father’s garden

-salt, black pepper

-1 hint olive oil

-Chopped garlic

Spice the steaks with salt (just a bit, because parma ham is salty), bay leaf and garlic.

Put olive oil and butter on a pan and fry the steaks 2 minutes on each side.

Season them with freshly chopped black pepper.

Remove the steaks, keep them warm and fry the parma ham slices on the juice of the steaks. Let it rest.

Then add the grain mustard and let it breathe (always in the same frying pan).

Add a spoon of mustard and mix all the ingredients, join in 3 spoons of water and let it breathe for 2 minutes.

Sauté the spinach in oil and garlic. Temper to taste.

Serve the steaks with the slices of parma ham and mustard sauce accompanied by the spinach.

Bon appetite!