Spice-rubbed salmon

This is a really easy and quick recipe that can be prepared in 15 minutes after a busy work day! It's tasty and very healthy!

 



Ingredients and steps:

- 2 salmon filets
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp garam masala or curry powder
- 1/3 tsp ground ginger
- 1 small onion, sliced in rings
- oil

Combine all the ingredients for the rub and spread the rub on the flesh side of the salmon filets.

Place the fish in a pre heated oven at 230 degrees (450 F) and cook for 8 minutes.

In the meanwhile saute the onion and add on top of salmon when ready.

I served it with brown rice and broccoli.

Chicken biryani

Chicken biryani is a very popular dish in India. The rice is cooked separately from the thick sauce, the curry and the rice are then brought together and layered and the final dish is dry or minimal moist.

It is not really a difficult dish but it does take some time to prepare, but it's worth it because it is delicious!

Ingredients ans steps:

Chicken marinade:

- 300 gr chicken
- 3 cups of yogurt
- 4 (medium) garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tbsp ginger, finely chopped
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp hot red chili powder (more if you like it hot)
- 2 tsp sweet red chili powder
- 2 tbsp garam masala
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 3 tbsp fresh mint leaves, chopped
- 1/2 onion, sliced and fried
- salt
- 1 tbsp oil

 

Place the chicken in a bowl. Add the salt, garlic and ginger, mix well and let it rest for a few minutes. Add the yogurt, turmeric powder, hot red chili powder, sweet red chili powder, garam masala powder, coriander powder,  mint leaves, onion and oil. Mix well and set aside to marinate for at least a couple of hours. I usually prepare this marinated the night before to allow all the flavors to blend.



 

Fried onions:

 

- 4 onions, sliced

 

Saute the onions at medium-high heat until golden. Set aside.

 

 

The rice:

 

- 4 cups of rice

- about 3 tbsp caraway seeds

- about 3 tbsp cumin seeds

- 1 bay leave

- 5 cloves

- 10 green cardamons

- 1 cinnamon stick

- 1 tbsp oil

- salt

- 7 cups of water

 

 

Fill a pan with about 7 cups of water and add all the ingredients except the rice. Bring to a boil and add the rice, cook for 3/4 of the usual time and strain. Set aside.

 

Chicken:

 

Fry the marinated chicken at high heat for a few minutes till nice brown. Set aside.

 

 

 

Rest of ingredients:

 

- about 10 tbsp mint leaves, chopped

- about 10 tbsp coriander leaves, chopped

- Some Ginger, in julienne or crushed

- Some saffron

- Some milk

 

 

Prepare all the ingredients we will need for the layering. Chop the coriander leaves, the mint leaves, dissolve the saffron in some milk, mince the ginger. 

 

The layering:

 

Start with a a layer of chicken. Spread a layer of rice over it. Sprinkle with some ginger, saffron dissolved in milk, coriander leaves, mint leaves, some cardamon powder, some fried onions.

 

 

Start again by adding the remaining chicken, the remaining rice, ginger, saffron dissolved in mild, coriander leaves, mint leaves, cardamon powder and fried onions.

 

 

 

Cover and place in a pre-heated oven at 200 degrees for about 20 minutes.

 

 



 



Shiitake mushroom cakes

Steps and ingredients:

- 100gr shiitake mushrooms, sliced
- 3 spring onions, sliced
- 4 eggs
- 150gr cream cheese
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp dry sherry
- cayenne pepper
- puff pastry, in squares

Slice the shiitake mushrooms and the spring onions.

In a bowl, place the eggs and cream cheese. Mix well. Add the soy sauce, dry sherry and cayenne pepper, mix well.

Place the puff pastry on the baking tray.

Place the shiitake mushrooms and the spring onions into the puff pastry. Add the eggs, cream cheese mixture to it.

Place in the pre-heated oven and bake for about 25 minutes at 200 degrees.

Pad Thai

Ingredients and steps:

- 250 gr rice noodles

Cook the noodles according to package instructions.

For the sauce:

- 4 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp oyster sauce
- 3 tbsp fish sauce
- Juice of 1/2 lemon

In a wok (or large pan), place the sugar, soy sauce, oyster sauce, fish sauce and lemon juice.Melt all these together over a low heat.

The vegetables:

- 1 pak choi, cut in pieces
- 3 spring onions, sliced


When ready, drain the noodles and add them to the wok. Mix well and add the pak choi and the spring onions. Cook for about 5 minutes.


The toppings:

- 3 eggs
- 3 or 4 garlic cloves, crushed
- 2 shallot, minced
- coriander, chopped


In a pan, saute the shallot and the garlic till soft (about 5 minutes). Add the eggs, once the eggs begin to set up, stir to scramble.


Put the noodles, pak choi and spring onions in a bowl, add the eggs and coriander and enjoy!

Enchiladas Hondureñas

This has to be my favourite Honduran dish. I don't really know why but what they call enchiladas in Honduras is quite different from what they call enchiladas in Mexico. I recently found a place where they sell real corn tortillas here and since then I'm just enjoying the original flavors of Honduras and of my youth. It does take some time to prepare but it is all worth it!

Ingredients and steps:

For the meat

- 300gr minced meat (ground beef)
- 1/2 an onion, diced
- 1/2 green pepper, chopped
- 1 tomato, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, crushed
- about 4 tbsp cumin
- salt and pepper

Mix all well, cover and leave it for a few hours.

For the sauce

There are different ways of doing the sauce, I like this version the most

- 3 tomatoes, chopped
- 1 red pepper, sliced
- 1 onion, sliced
- 1 tsp sugar
- 2 tbsp cumin
- 1 tbsp sweet chili powder
- 1 cup chicken broth
- pepper, salt if needed

Fry the red pepper for 5 minutes. Add the onion and saute for another 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and fry at medium-high heat for again 5 minutes. Add the sugar, cumin, chili powder, and half of the chicken broth.

Put the mixture in a blender. When ready, strain the mixture into to the pan. Let it cook at medium-low heat for a few minutes.

Prepare the rest of the ingredients:

- 2 potatoes
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cabbage
- dry cheese (queso seco). If you cannot find any, Parmesan will do.
- corn tortillas
- oil

Cook the potatoes and the eggs. When ready, cut the potatoes and slice the eggs.

Finely shred the cabbage.

Shred the cheese.

Fry the corn tortillas until crispy and set them aside.

In a large pan, fry now the meat at high heat until cooked through.

Putting all together:

Take a tortilla. Add the meat, some potatoes. Add the shredded cabbage, the egg and then the sauce. Cover with queso seo (or Parmesan cheese).

Gazpacho (cold spanish soup)

It's summer again so time for Gazpacho! It is so good, so healthy and so easy to do! Gazpacho is a typical cold spanish soup, it is served in the hot summer months. I don't know anyone that does not like it!

Ingredients and steps:

- 2 slice white bread, shredded
- 3 or 4 tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 1 red pepper, roughly chopped
- 1 garlic clove (or more if you like garlic!)
- 1/2 cucumber, roughly chopped
- 1/2 a green pepper (optional), roughly chopped
- about 4 to 5 tbsp good olive oil
- about 1 tbsp vinegar
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 cups of water

Put the bread, all the vegetables and the olive oil in a blender and blend. Strain the mixture into a pitcher to get rid of the skin of the tomatoes and paprika and get a smooth mixture. Add the water, the vinegar, salt and pepper. And that's it!

If you want to eat it immediately, add some ice cubes in the blender so that the gazpacho is nice fresh. But ideally leave it for a few hours in the refrigerator and serve nice cold!

Toppings:

- some finely chopped green pepper
- some finely chopped red pepper
- some finely chopped red onion

Chicken with satay sauce and noodle salad

When I try I new recipe, I often love it the first couple of times I do it but after a while I get bored with it and never do it again. That is certainly not the case with this one and that's why I want to share it with everyone! I found this chicken satay and noodle salad recipe in a Jamie Oliver cooking book and I can't get enough of it!

Ingredients and steps:

Satay sauce:

- coriander
- 1 red pepper
- 1/2 a garlic clove
- 3 full tbsp peanut butter
- soy sauce
- about 2 cm ginger piece
- 1 lemon - the zest and the juice

Put the coriander, red pepper, garlic, peanut butter and the soy sauce in a food processor. Add the peeled ginger, the zest of the lemon and the lemon juice. Add a bit of water and purée the ingredients till you get a nice paste.

Put half of the satay sauce in a nice bowl. We will be using the rest to marinate the chicken.

Chicken:

- about 2 to 4 chicken fillets

Put the rest of the satay sauce in a baking dish, put the chicken on top and mix well. Drizzle some olive oil and salt over the chicken. Place the baking dish in the oven under a hot grill for about 12 minutes. Turn the chicken half way.

Noodle salad:

- 250 gr noodles
- 1/2 a red onion, chopped
- 1/2 a hot red pepper (or more if you like it hot!)
- about 4 tbsp coriander
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 lemon
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp fish sauce

Cook the noodles according to package instructions. Add all the ingredients. Note: sesame oil has a very distinctive taste; it really adds a special touch to dishes but be careful not to put to much!