Eggs with bechamel and bacon :: Huevos con bechamel y bacon

Recently, I have been trying to remember all the recipes my mom used to make when I was living at my parents. She cooked meals based on basic ingredients but always added a bit of "something" that made them kind of memorable.

And here are her eggs! Haha! she made them boiled but with a resistless bechamel :-)

Ingredients (3-4 servings)

• 6 eggs 
• 40 gr. of butter
• 40 gr. of flour
• 500 ml. of milk
• 6 loins of bacon (add as much as you like!)
• Grated cheese

Elaboration
First of all boil the eggs.  Meanwhile, we will make the bechamel. In a pan, put the butter and make it melt at medium temperature. It will take you 3 minutes so, right away, add the flour and stir.

Cook the flour for 5 minutes and, stirring constantly, add 250 of 500 ml of milk. It should be cold. Then, the milk will become less watery and this will be the time (after 2 minutes, approx.) to add the 250 ml. left. Very important thing: DO NOT STOP STIRRING.
Now we the more you stir the better and smoother bechamel you will get.

After 10-15' reserve the bechamel in a container and wrap it with plastic plastic wrap to avoid creating a hard layer. 
Not forgetting the eggs, remove from the stove and let them cool down.

Once the eggs are cold enough to be able to peel them off, do it and cut them in half and display in a tray. Cover them with the bechamel and make it look nice :-)

Now, place the grated cheese all over them. My husband loves cheese so I added A LOT.

You can either leave them this way and gratin them or add the special touch. I chose bacon but you can go for prosciutto, spanish ham, chorizo... anything you think it should taste good on the eggs.
Fry the bacon loins, cut them into small pieces and place on top of the eggs.
Gratin for 10-15' at 220oC.

I don't know why it took me so long to make this recipe because my husband loved it!

Chinese style chicken :: Pollo al estilo chino

Oh dear, chicken won't be a boring ingredient anymore with this recipe. I made it for the first time and it turned out delicious so I am here to share it with you all:

Ingredients (4 servings)

• 400 gr. of chicken breast
• Sunflower oil
• Breadcrumbs

For the marinade

• 1 egg
• 30 ml. of soy sauce

For the sauce

• 100 ml of chicken broth
• 30 ml. of apple vinegar
• 40 gr. of sugar
• 10 gr. of corn flour
• 5 ml. of soy sauce
• 1/2 of lemon juice
• Lemon slices

Elaboration
First of all, clean the chicken and slice it. Now, let's go for the marinade. Break the egg and whisk together with the soy sauce. 

Soak the chicken breasts in it, cover and reserve in the fridge for 1 hour. However, you can leave it overnight and continue with the recipe the day after.

Meanwhile, we will go for the sauce. Pour the chicken broth n a bowl and add the corn flour. Stir until dissolved.

Grab a pot and the rest of the ingredients for the sauce: the apple vinegar, the sugar, the soy sauce and the lemon juice. 

Bring everything to boil. Once it is boiling pour the broth and corn flour mixture. We will stir for a few minutes until the sauce thickens and will reserve it.

After, minimum, 1 hour, take the chicken out of the fridge and it will be time to cook it. Add a lot of breadcrumbs in a plate and batter each chicken breast. Following, cover a pan with sunflower oil and fry them to medium heat. We want them to be cooked but also to look brown. Display them in a paper towel to absorb the excess oil.

Serving time ! Place the chicken breast in a nice platter and spread some Chinese sauce on them. I can tell you: you will love this dish!


Font: Original recipe (with few changes) from La cocina de Isasaweis

Zucchini spagheti with chicken :: Espagueti de calabacín con pollo

I have a love it or hate it relationship with zucchini. I love that vegetable, which is very healthy, but I find it very dull. Tasteless. In fact, I know I should play with condiments to flavour them up. After many tries, I basically gave up and considered this veggie a simple dull side dish.

But last day I found in Pinterest a very interesting recipe and I said to myself I should make it and post it step by step. I changed a few things but it is basically the same recipe by Mouth Watering. I should say THANKS to the author because we just loved. My husband was like: "next time make double portion for each one, please".

Hope you like it too!

Ingredients (2 portions)
(pictures are for just 1 portion since I was trying out)

• 4 Zucchini
  
• 2 Chicken breast
• Cilantro
• Black pepper
• Cumin
• Lemon

Elaboration
Considering that many of you might not have that spagheti machine, use a mandoline to slice the zucchini and, later one, cut into thin stripes.

Now, steam the zuchinni for 5 minutes. You will notice that all that huge amount of green goes radically down after cooking it!

Meanwhile, chop the chicken and saute until it gets a golden color. Add black pepper while cooking. Once both main ingredients are done, put them together in a pan and flavour it.

Add the chopped cilantro, the cumin and squeeze a little bit of fresh lemon. 

Serve and enjoy a super healthy and yummy dish. Perfect for dinner because it is also something light to put in your belly before going to bed.

Pork loin and green pepper open sandwich :: Montadito de lomo y pimiento verde

Swedish translation here

 

"Pepito" is the popular name of this spanish open sandwich. There are different versions of this original sandwich but the truth is that his earliest reference dates from the postwar years in Spain. Around the mid-50s, there could have been a regular costumer of a bar that could have been named Pepe or "Don Pepito" (it is the more familiar name) and asked for a sandwich with a beef steak.  
This sandwich request was regularly repeated by the same Pepito until the bar costumers were asking, "I want a sandwich like Pepito", and eventually were asking only: "A beef pepito !".

One of these versions is the pork loin and green pepper, one of my favourite ones ever!

Enjoy and, un pepito, por favor! (a pepito, please!)

Ingredients (2 units)

• 2 slices of bread
• 2 sliced pork loin
• 50 gr. of green pepper
• Grated manchego cheese
• Salt
• Black pepper

Elaboration
We will start by washing the green pepper, cutting it into strips and cooking them slowly. Then,put it aside.
Now, season the pork and fry in the same pan as the olive oil has got the green pepper taste so it will be delicious!

In my opinion, a pepito tastes better with some good Manchego cheese on the top so cut a piece of it, grate and reserve.

Now we have got all the ingredients and we're ready to assemble our pepito.

Grab a slice of bread (toasted is much better!), soak it in the pan where you have previously fried the pepper and the loin and start piling everything up. 

First, put a slice of pork loin and, then, cover it with the pepper. 

And the cheese, do not forget it! ;-)

Now, you have your pepito, your open sandwich or your tapa! Make as many as you want and enjoy your spanish bite!

Egg on a potato drum :: Huevo frito sobre timbal de patata

Swedish version here

Nice leather jackets, high heeled shoes, luxury jewelry, we all like wearing nice things from time to time but, let's be honest: our daily life is based on basics. And the same happens with food. However, basics can sometimes mean repetitive boring meals and we don't like that, am I right?

Today this is our goal and we are going to cook basic ingredients in a palatable nice way.

Ingredients (2 people)

• 500 gr of potatos 
• 60 gr of chorizo
• 50 gr of of bacon
• 1 spoon of paprika
• 2 eggs

Elaboration
First of all, peel the potatos, cut them into pieces and boil for 15 minutes until they soften. 

Carefully strain them and display in a deep plate. Grab a fork and smash the potatos until you get a puré. 

Put it aside and let's go for the next step.

Since chorizo is too oily I usually recommend using a plastic board instead of a wooden one to cut the product on it. Otherwise, the duty of cleaning can be a little bit boring.
Cut a nice piece of chorizo and right away chop it. Now, do the same with the bacon.
This time ( as I did with the goat cheese, apple and bacon appetizer) I bought it already cut in small strips so I saved one step ;)

Put a little bit of olive oil in a pan and fry the chorizo and the bacon for 2 minutes. As I mentioned before, chorizo is oily enough to safe adding extra oil in this dish. When frying you will notice that the meat will leave its own oil so it will be enough for the cooking.
Once you see the chorizo has got a golden look, add the paprika and mix for 1-2 minutes. 

Do not leave the mixture in the pan for too long or the paprika will stick in the pan and will get burnt. Right away after 1 minute, add the smashed potato and mix until the paprika gives the red color to the potato. 

In another pan fry the 2 eggs separately. 

Cooks always say that besides making a tasty dish you have to focus on the presentation and, ladies and gentlemen we all know that WE EAT FROM OUR EYES. From this recipe you can see I have used basic ingredients that you can easily find in your pantry. They key is giving them a nice look. In this occasion we bought a mold to make it look nice (yes, I was behind this little metal thing for too long now!).
Display the mold in the plate you are going to serve the food. Fill it in half way. Put the metal ring away and crown the potato cake with an egg on top.

Now you have a tasty good looking chorizo and potato cake to enjoy your meals!

Spanish chorizo makis :: Makis de chorizo español

Swedish translation

I was looking for finger food for my little cousin's birthday party when I saw a makis picture. I was about to post how I make sushi at home (as some of you might know we have our friday sushi night at home ;) but then I thought you might already know how to do it. Then I wondered myself what we, spaniards, might fill the sushi makis with spanish products and voilà! this idea of the chorizo rolls came to my mind. I tried it out and worked, so here you have the recipe:
Ingredients

• 60 gr of onion
• 60 gr of chorizo
• 20 ml of olive oil
• 2 eggs
• 1 tomato
• A pinch of salt

Elaboration
First of all we'll make our spanish soy sauce ;) Wash the tomato and peel it. Grate the tomato and add 10 ml of olive oil and a pinch of salt. Mix it all together and reserve.
Now, time for the spanish makis.

Step 1: the filling
Let's begin with the onion because it takes a little bit longer to be done. Chop it and add 10 ml of olive oil in the saucepan. Heat it and cook the onion low temperature. Cut the chorizo into pieces. 

They might have the same size the onion pieces have. The smaller you make them the better to cut the makis later on.
Now, add the chorizo in the pan with the onion. You will quickly notice the scrumptious smell of chorizo all over your kitchen !

Step 2: the seaweed
This step is as easy as making creppes but with only eggs! Beat the eggs. If you are not familiar with the recipe beat one egg in one container and the other one in the other container so you will be able to take 2 seaweed from the whole beaten egg. Grab another pan (or clean the one you used before) and add a little of olive oil (5ml) and heat it. Pour 1 previously beaten egg there and cook it. Flip it to cook the other side. Do the same with the second egg.

Step 3: rolling and making makis
Extend the omelette-creppe-seaweed in a plate. Put the filling in the middle of it and roll it! You should get a roll like in the picture. Cut into pieces.

Now open a good wine (red or white, you choose ;), soak the chorizo makis into the tomato sauce and you have got the perfect dinner!

Chicken wings with wasabi :: Alitas de pollo con wasabi

svenska versionen här

  
Ingredients (2 px)

- 4 chicken wings
- 2 spoons of sweet mustard
- 2 teaspoons of wasabi ( if you buy wasabi powder)
- 50 gr of breadcrumbs - olive oil

Elaboration

I just had 4 wings because we wanted them to be the second course of our home-menu. First, make sure you clean them very well. By cleaning I mean getting rid off the "nasty" hairs. Then, batter the chicken in breadcrumbs and place them on the oven tray. Cook them for 15-20 minutos 200ºC.

Meanwhile, you can start preparing the sauce. Mix 2 spoons of mustard with 2 teaspoons of wasabi. I always buy the Blue Dragon wasabi paste, which is 3,5 - 4 € depending on the supermarket you buy it (you can find it in ElCorteIngles, Carrefour, or in Carritus.com . Mind you that wasabi is very spicy so just add the right amount of it.

Daub with the wasabi sauce only 1 side of each chicken wing. Display them again on the oven tray (I used a container because the paper I used before was too oily) and cook them again for 5-10 minutes.

And voilà! My dear boyfriend tried them before I did and his first reaction was: WOW, MY MOUTH IS BURNING! but after the first bite he really liked them, and they were nicely spicy. So here is another kind of exotic recipe to make ordinary meats different ;)

Hope you enjoy them, Spanish Kitcheneters!


Font: Directo al paladar