Koftas with Yoghurt Sauce

This is a good and different recipe. My mind kinda goes blank when I look at mince in the supermarket....does that happen to you? Like: what to do with it apart from the usual meatballs and spaghetti? 

The jews, greeks and arabs have pretty fun ways to flavor dull meat for sure. This is one!  By the way when I make this one I double the amounts and do one kilogram of meat. 

INGREDIENTS:

-500 grams of mince (mine was a mix of lamb, beef and pork!) definitely not kosher.
-1/2 purple onion.
-1 garlic clove.
-1 teaspoon of fresh grated ginger.
-1 teaspoon of paprika.
-1 teaspoon of cumin.
-grated peels of one lemon.
-a bunch of cilantro.
-salt and pepper.

For the yoghurt sauce:

-1 yoghurt.

-a bunch of cilantro chopped.

-1 clove of garlic minced.

-the juice of 1/4 of a lemon.

-salt and pepper. 

STEPS:

1. Simple stuff. Mix the mince meat with all the ingredients well, probably best way is with your hands. You can also let it all marinate in the fridge for a while. 

2. Then shape the koftas the way koftas are supposed to be, you do not need the stick, by the way....simply fry it in the saucepan with a tiny bit of oil. And turn it 4 ways so that all sides are a little grilled.

3. Then have some kind of youghurty sauce to go with it. Toss together the ingredients of the yoghurt sauce and serve. 

It is is a great meal, especially if you add a little lamb meat. When I made mine I added 1/2kg of lamb minced meat, and the other half a kilo of pork and beef and worked well.  

 

Tzatziki

So I found this wonderful jewish cooking book in the park one evening when Kenton and I went for a walk and it has been so fun to understand its ingredients and how it works. Also to understand more about Asquenazi jews, or Ashkenazi which are basically european jews from France all the way to Poland and Hungary and Russia! Did you know that Ashkenaz is one of the names of the descendants of Noah in Genesis 10:3?

So I found this recipe of Tzatziki which looked delicious and had no idea what it is, but have realized that it is a classic in jewish and greek cooking. This recipe is kinda elaborate, because you need creme fraiche, so either you buy it or you make it the day before, it is a very impressive cream you all, like any french food. But I have found othe recipes that simply call for greek yoghurt and that seems pretty good to me, but anyway here is the one from this book.

INGREDIENTS:

-1 big cucumber.
-a pinch of salt.

-a tablespoon of minced dill.

-a tablespoon of minced mint.

-150 grams of solid fresh cheese (Burgos type).

-150 of creme fraiche.

-a pinch of black pepper. 

STEPS: 

1. Peel and grate the cucumber with a thick grater. 

2. Then add a little salt and squeeze it with your hands until the water comes out. Put it on a drain and let it soak the water. Amazing how much water a cucumber has.

3. Now chope the spices in a bowl, with the pepper and add the cheeses and mix well.

4. Now add the cucumber and the party has started!

Real good. Again, you can simplify this recipe but using greek yoghurt instead of the creme fraiche and queso fresco. 

The photo below is someone coming towards the wailing wall....the temple was right behind that wall..in Temple Mount, where Jesus will come back to! my dad said he cried when he saw it for the first time, and this picture captures that amazement too of someone handicapped helped to get there to see it and praise God. The other photo is my jewish look in Jerusalem.

 

Mulled Wine or Glögg

It has been winter wonderland in Madrid. A snowfall of 50 cm. A perfect moment to learn how to make mulled wine. 

INGREDIENTS:

-1 litre of red wine. 
-1 orange in slices.

.6 cloves.

-2 or 3 small lemon peels.

-6 black pepper seeds.

-40 ml of brandy.

-6 frozen cherries.

-2 cardamon.

-1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg.

-3 teaspoons of brown sugar.

-1 stick of cinnamon or 1/2 teaspoon of powder cinnamon.

STEPS:

1. Pour wine and everything inside in very low heat for 30 minutes and stir every once in a while.

          

2. DO NOT LET IT BOIL! When you see it smoking it is ready. All the flavors will have come together by then.

Enjoy, this drink took me back to Vienna and Krakow. 

Bratwurst & Mustard Appetizer

 Freezing cold all over Europe. 

Hate winter, but some pleasures are at hand, like German market food. I saw this idea in Instagram and then lost track of the post but headed to the market today for some Bratwurst. 

Not cheap but totally worth it and so fast! Yummy with two mustards. There is no recipe here other than cutting the sausage in slices and then serving it with mustard and toothpicks.

Yummy! and G-R-E-A-T  potluck dish.

                                                                                                 

Artichoke&Spinach Cheese Dip

Of all the dishes of Christmas, my nephews loved this one. I'd say we did too.  Simply delicious.

INGREDIENTS:

-200 grams of cream cheese.

-200 grams of grated cheddar cheese.

-200 grams of mozzarella grated.

-100 grams of artichokes.

-a bunch of spinach.

-2 spoonful of mayonnaise.

-1 teaspoon of onion powder.

-some Italian herbs.

STEPS: 

1. Put the cream in bowl and mayonnaise until it is fluffy with a hand mixer. 

2. Then fold in the chopped spinach and artichokes as well as cheeses. 

3. Add the onion powder and italian herbs. Mix it all well in bowl.

4. Transfer to a baking dish in melt in 200 degrees for 30 minutes. 

5. When it is bubbling and looking slightly toasted transfer to a serving dish.

 

What a dish. D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S. Serve with crackers. 

               

Jalapeño Bacon Cheese Ball

 This was a fun and tasty dish for our Christmas dinner. Easy too.

INGREDIENTS:

-300 grams of cream cheese.

-2 stalks of green onion.

-10 jalapeños pepper diced (not fresh the canned ones)

-30 grams of grated cheddar cheese.

-100 grams of bacon.

-1 teaspoon of cumin.

-2 tablespoons of Worcester sauce.

-1 teaspoon of garlic powder.

-salt and pepper.

For the coating of the cheese:

-50  grams of pecan nuts.

-1 stalk of green onion.

-30 grams of bacon.

STEPS:

1. Put the cream cheese in a bowl and add the diced green onions with the diced jalapeños, the cheese, bacon, cumin, Worcester sauce, garlic powder and salt and pepper. Stir it all and make a ball with your hand.
2. Now crush some peacan nuts and make a mix of the nuts with the green onions and bacon in another ball and basically roll the ball in this coating. 

3. Place the ball in plastic film to give it form and then put in fridge for 30 minutes to give it form. 

4. That's it. Serve in a pretty plate with crackers. 

NY Buffalo Chicken WIngs

NY Buffalo chicken wings are amazing. I mean basically you wanna eat even the bones, that is how good they are.

I did this recipe this summer and forgot to jot it down here. My recipe is a mix of this recipe and this recipe because I baked them. So here it is.

INGREDIENTS:

-15 chicken wings cut in half.

-Salt and pepper.

-1 heaped spoonful of flour.

-1 heaped spoonful of baking powder.

-1 teaspoon of teaspoon of cayenne powder.

-1/2 teaspoon of sweet paprika.

-1/2 teaspoon of spicy paprika.

For the sauce:

-2oo ml of ketchup.

-75 grams of butter.

-1 teaspoon of sugar.

-1 teaspoon of garlic powder.

-1 teaspoon of cayenne powder.

-1 teaspoon of spicy paprika.

-1 spoonful of tabasco sauce.

-1 spoonful of cornstarch.

-some pepper.

STEPS:

1. Mix the chicken wings with salt and pepper and then with the rest of the ingredients above, flour, baking powder, cayenne powder and paprikas. Coat all of them well. The trick for them to be crispy is to use baking powder.
2. Stick them in oven for 30 minutes to 200 degrees (with fire from below) and then turn on the grill and grill for 30 minutes at 200 degrees. Once they are golden get them out.

3. In the meantime prepare the sauce. Melt the butter first and then add all the ingredients and stir for 10 minutes until it is all come together.

4. Now get the wings out of the oven and add them in the hot sauce and coat them well, stir well. 

5. Now place them in the oven tray in foil paper and put them in the grill of the oven for 200 degrees until they caramelize for about 20 minutes. 

And that's it. They are soooooooooo good. 

           

Baked Brie-- Super Easy Thanksgiving Starter

This is a fantastic dead-easy recipe for a Thanksgiving starter.  

INGREDIENTS:

-1 Brie cheese.

-1 Camembert cheese.

-2 or 3 spoonfuls of jam of fig or raspberry 

or whatever you have.

STEPS:

1. Place the cheeses with the jam on top on a plate that you can place in the oven for about 30-40 minutes. 

2. Bake at 180 degrees for 30-40 minutes until the cheese is very soft and jam has caramelized.

3. When you serve, let it cool off 10 minutes so that it is not volcanic hot.

 

So so so good, and so easy. Even you can take it somewhere because the cheese will harden a little but it is still so good with the jam caramelized. 

Corn Confetti with Bacon

Super fun American summer recipe! 

I loved it. I thought it would be quicker but with all the chopping in little dices it took a bit of time, but not that much. The recipe I followed was this one. You can obviously do variations and it works but I would say do not add too much green pepper cause it changes the game entirely, you want to keep it all sweet.


INGREDIENTS

-4 fresh corn on the cob.
-1 red pepper.
-1/2 half green pepper.
-1 medium white onion.
-200 grms of bacon cut up in dices.

STEPS

1. Fry up the bacon first of all. Make it crispy and brown. Separate and degrease with paper towell. Clean your pan a little with paper towell.
2. Dice up the onion in little squares. And fry them with a little oil till they are soft and traslucent. 
3. Add diced up peppers to the onions. Sautee them a little but not too long because you want them to be still a bit crunchy and not too soft.
4. Now cut up the corn from the cob with a knife. Self-explanatory with the picture and now add the corn to the pan and cook it for about 5-10 minutes till it is a bit cooked but STILL crunchy! very important.
5. Finally add the beautiful bacon and give it all a good stir.

That is it! You can eat it cold or warm. It is delicious. Just season with pepper if you want. And as my friend Tep says....everything is better with bacon.  :)