A light and fruity cake, studded with juicy nectarines that comes easily together. Terrific on its own, irresistible with icing sugar on top and a dollop of cream on the side. Anything else? A nice cup of coffee or tea. Blissfulness on a Sunday afternoon!
Delicious and easy! The quantity of frosting is enough for frosting and filling of two 9 inch cake pans. The cake is better on the second day.
A “sheltering” recipe that answers the call for a tasty, quick, and simple meal. Nothing fancy, easy to prepare, in other words, “soul food” to dig in. Fresh fennel and good pork sausage links should not be difficult to find.
A pretty simple and tasty dish served in small “cazuelas” in almost every tapas bar in Spain. I like to add a touch of salsa verde on top of it. Not traditional but downright delicious.
A quick Spanish recipe that presents beautifully. If I am pressed for time I use good quality roasted red peppers in a jar rather than roasting them myself. The result is quite similar. Monkfish flesh is covered with a gray membrane that needs to be removed as it shrinks when cooked and looks unpleasant in contrast to the whiteness of the fish.
This soup is not only a feast for the eyes but flavorful as well. A happy contrast between hot and creaminess. If you find it too spicy add a bit more sugar. If you think it is too bland and needs a bit more zing, add a dash of soy sauce or a squirt of lime juice.
A super easy salad that is anything but spartan. It can be made ahead for up to 3 days. Bring it to room temperature before digging in.
In Spain, Patatas Bravas is a key tapas dish. The pan-fried potato cubes are traditionally served with Salsa Brava, a fiery sauce flavored with smoked red peppers from La Vera in the Extremadura region. Instead of frying, I roast the potatoes. It’s less of a hassle in the kitchen.
Tender roast pork and a brightly colored vegetable salad with a sweet and tangy homemade dressing. A bit of work, beforehand but the result is worthwhile. After all, this is not your average salad.
Avgolemono sauce is a classic Greek sauce. It is lemony, silky and can be served with just about anything. It takes a few minutes to make and it turns a simple dish into an elegant one.
A healthy salad which is great as a side dish or as a main. The base is quinoa with its nutty flavor. Add crispy roasted broccoli, sweet sun-dried tomatoes, tangy feta, and toasty almonds. A touch of fresh green herbs and voilà, a tasty and protein-laden meal.
Polpo alla Luciana is one of the simplest and most delicious ways to prepare this exotic seafood. A traditional recipe from Borgo di Santa Lucia, a picturesque district next to Naples’ port. Buying pre-cooked or frozen octopus really helps as it cuts down the preparation time considerably to about 45 minutes. Even in the US pre-cooked octopus is now more readily available in some supermarkets, like Costco.
Pappardelle con Finferli e Asparagi is a dish to enjoy when chanterelles are in season. They are often available in supermarkets from June to early fall. In the US, chanterelles are commonly found along the Pacific Northwest Coast, places with abundant summer rain.
A spinach salad that will give you accolades instead of ho-hums. Sweet and tart cranberries, toasted almonds, piquant goat cheese, and a balsamic vinaigrette with a touch of honey to crown it. Quick pickling raw red onions reduces the pungent taste and makes them tangy and crisp.
A can of sardines is often a cupboard staple that can be easily forgotten. You can turn it into a spicy creamy spread in 10 minutes. A fork and a bowl are all you need as kitchen utensils. A food processor is not required unless you prefer it really smooth. I personally prefer it with a bit of texture. Oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes are excellent to “mascarade” the fishy taste of the sardines and to give the pâté an appealing orange/red color.
Stir-fried eggplant and tofu is a delicious meatless dinner loaded with lots of flavors and quickly put together. Tofu’s crispiness is an important step when assembling this dish. It should not be overlooked, even if you are in a hurry. Start by pressing tofu down first, according to instructions. Every bit helps and splattering of oil will be greatly reduced when stir-frying. Serve with Jasmin rice.
Serving a lentil dish on January 1 is a tradition followed in many countries. The theory behind this custom is that you start New Year with a humble dish. Those of us, who have summer temperatures in January, surely don’t crave lentil soup to “warm us up “. A lentil salad is a definite answer in this situation. Elegant enough to be served at a New Years’ party and surprisingly delicious. Sockeye salmon with its vibrant color is a perfect match. The creamy honey mustard sauce livens up the contrast.
Very popular throughout Southeast Asia, the perfect quick bite dunked into a piquant sauce. Serving fish balls on a bed of crispy bok choy elevates this humble street food into something special. Bok choy’s hint of spicy bitterness and its fast cooking properties is my stir-fry choice to go with.
An impromptu elegant dish is done in 30 minutes and in one skillet. Orzo pilaf, a simple stovetop dish is a perfect sidekick to it. Dinner is served in no time.
Crispy baked tofu and spicy peanut sauce is a rather fortuitous combination. Tofu straight out of the package doesn’t have much taste, but it’s ideal to absorb flavors like the rich and spicy sauce in this recipe. I use Sambal Oelek, the famous Indonesian spicy sauce so popular in Southeast Asia and the Netherlands. This dish rewards you with amazing flavors and instant gratification.
A pork tenderloin recipe with a delicious and festive twist. Pork tenderloin is very tender meat found under the topside of the pig’s backbone, not to be confused with pork loin. Oven roasted potatoes pair perfectly with this dish.
An appealing entrée, with lots of different flavors and textures, fish, pasta, and veggies. Spinach and mushroom orzo is a meal on its own and can be prepared in advance if needed.
Roasted eggplants are an excellent pairing with pasta. Sun-dried tomatoes enhance this vegetarian dish. An easy recipe, yet extremely gratifying. You can substitute Rigatoni with Penne.
A great make-ahead salad bursting with fresh flavors. The cherry tomatoes give this recipe a colorful contrast and the easily prepared cilantro lime dressing provides the character. Simple to put together and delicious to eat.
An almost one-pot meal with style and easy to prepare. Springy green asparagus, delicate scallops, and spicy Spanish chorizo for a kick. Served with pasta. A real weekday meal treat. No big cleaning afterward.
A traditional salt cod recipe from Northern Portugal, Bacalhau a Moda do Minho. Each family has its own recipe passed down for generations, but I bet they all have a common denominator, namely potatoes. This recipe is from my 1930’s Portuguese cookbook.
The “Noire de Caromb”, the dark Caromb fig is a very sweet, juicy fig that is firm when it is ripe. It”s much sought after in France during the summer. The first crop, in July, is a larger fig that is long and dark red outside and red inside. The second crop, in September, is more round and dark purple outside and red inside.
Eating out in France you will sooner or later find Faisselle on the menu, often served as a light refreshing an alternative to the cheese plate as dessert. Especially authentic is the Faisselle de Chèvre, with soft curd and fresh light sour flavor.
This classic of the Spanish and Portuguese cuisine is still a culinary curiosity in the US. Long hours of low and slow cooking or hitting it on a stone until tender are things of the past. A good brand of precooked octopus offers the same quality as a fresh one with the added bonus of less time in the kitchen.
In Peru, Bolivia and Chile “chupe” means stew, a word from the Quechua language. Chupe de Camarones is a specialty from Arequipa. The key ingredient is Aji Amarillo paste (aji=pepper, amarillo=yellow) available nowadays in most US supermarkets, your Latino food store or online. It balances its medium heat, which you’ll feel in the middle section of your palate, with a bit of fruity flavor, a very agreeable sensation.