QUICK AND EASY MEALS

 Thank you to all who have been reading and sending me mails ....and sorry for no new posts ,however I will be posting again soon as I have another new Project  as a restaurant troubleshooter (Gordon Ramsay style).....I have to turn around the restaurant from losing to gaining in three months  .....I will keep you posted as to how it goes ...in the meantime....keep reading the Eye on Spain blogs and I¡ll Be Back Soon......

 NOW I LIKE TO MAKE THE SPAGHETTI MYSELF HOWEVER I'M NOT GOING TO EVEN ATTEMPT TO EXPLAIN HOW AS I WAS TAUGHT IN THE SOUTH OF ITALY ,BY AN ITALIAN 'MAMA' AND IT WOULDN'T FIT WITH QUICK AND EASY MEALS AS THE SAUCE ITSELF TAKES ABOUT 20-25 MINUTES AND YOU CAN BUY FRESH SPAGHETTI IN MANY SUPERMARKETS NOW...SO LETS GET ON WITH THE SAUCE.....

INGREDIENTS for 4 people

Spaghetti 500g (boiled 'al dente '......just cooked through with a tiny bit in the middle of the pasta when you bite down that is still firm)

400g minced beef 

100 g powdered parmesan cheese 

2 eggs 

50 g breadcrumbs

salt ,pepper

olive oil 

red wine

750 g grated tomatoes 

oregano,

method

start by having two pans ready one for boiling the pasta and the other for the sauce (the sauce pan should ideally be like a large frying pan with a transparent lid.

place water ready to start to boil for the pasta first (I usually turn this on after starting to saute the meatballs remember to add the spaghetti when it comes to the boil and keep an eye on it ,but it should be just finishing at the same time as your sauce.)

making the meatballs ........place the meat in a bowl with the eggs, half of the parmesan cheese ,breadcrumbs,a good pinch of salt and pepper and some oregano....and a couple of tablespoons of red wine...................give it all a good mix then make the meatballs about the diameter of a two euro coin ,then saute them lightly with a little olive oil  in the sauce pan ,until they are browned off. 

Add the grated  tomatoe and the rest of the parmesan cheese to the meatballs and cook on medium heat (treat them gently or they will break up) with the lid on for 15 mins until the sauce hace reduced and thickened (add some salt and pepper to taste and serve with your spaghetti.

buen provecho.

 I'm not talking about your typical bag of maggi noodles you can buy,,,,there are always available in many supermarkets plain chineses style egg noodles 

or even in the uk stores you will find a good selection ....Have a bit of fun and buy some chopsticks aswell .

Ingredients 

egg noodles boiled 

fresh vegetables

carrots,onion, mushrooms ,red pepper ,broccoli  .....all sliced thin or in julienne  strips

soy sauce 

bart chinese five spice 

salt 

pepper.

nut oil or sunflower oil

(if you cant live without meat you can add chicken breast cut into strips which you flash fry first)

Method

I've just made this tonight and it really is one of the quickest meals you can make so long as you have all the ingredients,

first heat a little oil in a large wok or frying pan ,( if you have meat ,flash fry first to make sure it gets cooked through and add the veg all together ,the pan should be really hot and the veg should sizzle when you put it in but be careful of spitting oil).....do a 1 minute flash fry of all the veg then add your boiled noodles,give it another 30 seconds for the noodles to get well mixed in , and stir in a teaspoon of five spice and  a splash of  soy sauce ...mix well and straight of the heat and into bowls to serve  and see how you get on with the chopsticks...

buen provecho

Another quick and easy meal ,thats really tasty and can be server as a light meal or add a good sized jacket potatoe if you need the carbs....

ingredients

1 kilo mushrooms...whole ,  washed and with the mushrooms trunk taken off completely (dont throw the trunks or storks away you can always use them in salads and soups)

150 g Stilton broken up

Olive oil or Butter for frying the mushrooms ,just a small amount.25g butter or a drizzle of oil.

salt and pepper for seasoning

Rocket lettuce(Rucola )

Chicken breast fileted so it cooks quicker 

Balsamic vinegar

whole peppercorns smashed up.

Method

Using a non stick frying pan on medium  heat, for frying the Whole mushrooms ,(I always find it best to turn the heat right up and when its hot,you add the ingredients and turn down the heat)they should sizzle slowly I think is the best explanation ,add salt and pepper and cook both sides and turn your grill on to medium heat while they are cooking(for later).They should be golden brown in colour when they are ready.

Once cooked place in an ovenproof dish bottoms up ,so that you have a little bowl to put a knob of Stilton in each one of the mushrooms.Then under the medium grill.

Then you place the chicken fillets in in the still hot non stick pan and once again heat up the pan and they should sizzle when placed in the pan ,then turn the heat down slightly,Season the chicken and prepare your plates with the rocket lettuce and balsamic vinegar with  the cracked pepper.

If all goes well you should have the melted stilton mushrooms ready at the same time as your Chicken fillets ,and you serve this on the base of rocket lettuce that has been seasoned with balsamic ,cracked pepper and salt(I also like capers sprinkled but they are not to everyones taste,and toasted pine nuts give it a nice texture)

Buen provecho 

Remember if you like or dislike , the meals let me know with a comment and if you are on the Costa Blanca between Alicante and Valencia I am doing......... 'Traditional Tapas Training' you can mail me at ...tapastraining@gmail.com   for info.

 i HOPE YOU ALL LIKE THE RECIPIES AND DONT FORGET TO GIVE ME A COMMENT .....I AM ESPECIALLY INTERESTED IF YOU HAVE TRIED A RECIPE HOW YOU GOT ON ....ESPECIALLY AFTER MY TERRIBLE SPELLING AND PUNCTUATION...SO LET ME KNOW IF YOU LIKE THE RECIPIES ....BUEN PROVECHO.

 AND IF YOU ARE ON THE COSTA BLANCA BETWEEN ALICANTE AND VALENCIA I AM STARTING AGAIN AFTER POPULAR DEMAND MY  TAPAS TRAINING COURSES FOR MORE INFO .....tapastraining@gmail.com   

 Sorry about that ....I'm going to presume I have pushed a button and published before finishing as I dont want to be a bad sport and blame the machinery......

anyway where was I ???

pessel and morter (I think thats how you spell it).....if you've got them ,if not just chop finely the herbs with a clove of garlic, and add to a little olive oil.........you then mix the cooked rice with the cooked tuna ,sweetcorn (olives and pine nuts aswell...if you fancy)and then the grated tomatoe season well and add the herbs, 

you then add the rice mix to the pancakes either in layers or as most do like cannelones in rolls and place in an ovenproof dish...........

This is where you can get creative ...I normally top with a little bechamel and grated gruyere cheese and gratinate ,..butyou can also top with mozzarella de buffala (buffalo mozzarella  )after heating in the oven ,,,,,,the mozzarella must be added cold and with basil chopped and olive oil drizzled and balsamic vinager

however someone told me recently that they had tried with greek yogurt and topped with feta cheese and gratinated .....so take your pick

ONCE AGAIN SORRY FOR THE BREAK (TECHNICAL GLITCH)

AND IF YOU ARE ON THE COSTA B 

 these are really easy and pretty much everyone likes them ......

Ingredients

pancakes :

flour two cups 

1 egg 

three cups of milk

pinch of salt

butter

(and a good non stick  frying pan )...mix with a blender or beat with a whisk all the ingredients except the butter.....once beaten melt a knob of butter in the pan and wait until pan has heated and butter is completely melted (have a plate on standby for the ready pancakes and a spatula if you are not practiced at flipping them ).Pour some liquid into the middle of the pan when the pan is hot and let it run around base of the pan .they cook quickly so when you lift up a corner and see it golden  colour flip it over and cook the other side.....(practice makes perfect)stack the ready pancakes on the plate you will need about 10 for 5 people.

now the filling 

three cups boiled white basmati  rice,

sweetcorn(fresh is better but tinned is easier to find)

tuna (same as above)

two large tomatoes grated 

olive oil 

salt,pepper.

(I like to chop up fresh mixed herbs aswell to give it that extra flavour,rosemary thyme,basil oregano,smashed up in a pessel an

SPICEY MARINERS MUSSELS

(Moules marinier)

I cannot resist when I see a big bag of fresh mussels ,it really is one of my favourite French dishes and really easy to prepare ,here in Spain by the coast they are in abundance , you serve this dish with some fresh crusty bread and a glass of white wine and a green salad.

but you have to get stuck in and clean the mussels first which puts most people off .(it just boils down to cleaning off the barnicles and pulling out the grassy bit that attatches itself to the mussel ,don't be too fussy but always discard open or cracked shelled mussels.)

ingredients

butter

olive oil 

garlic 2-3 cloves per kilo mussels (a kilo will serve two adults,)

one large onion diced

1 kilo mussels cleaned

1 fresh red chile deseeded and diced

two glasses white wine 

fresh tyme chopped

ground black pepper

small bunch of fresh parsley chopped

two lemons squeezed and zest scraped.

sea salt 

Method

prepare your table first with a big bowl to throw the shells away  and cut the bread.....you need a fairly large pan preferably with a glass lid to see  the mussels opening.....heat the butter in the pan and add the garlic and diced onion ,.....cook slowly untill transparent,(not browned off)5 mins...then add all together the chile ,mussels, wine,thyme ,salt,&pepper.turn up the heat and cook for 10 mins until the mussels are all open(toss occasionally while they are cooking to get the flavour even.)

once they are cooked take the mussels out without throwing away the liquid and place them in a serving bowl,

add the lemon juice to the liquid in the pan and heat quickly for three mins until it boils add the chooped parsley and then pour the liquid over the mussels and serve with the bread and salad.

buen provecho.    

 I WAS A HEAD CHEF FOR OVER 12 YEARS ,AND NOT WANTING TO BLOW MY OWN TRUMPET TOO MUCH ,I HAD ALOT OF GOOD REMARKS ABOUT MY FOOD ....SO I´M GOING TO START TO SHARE SOME OF MY RECIPIES WITH YOU ALL AND HOPE YOU ENJOY...................
TO START A QUICK AND EASY MEAL THATS ALSO QUITE HEALTHY.....

FRIZZEE GOATS CHEESE SALAD
AND PAN FRIED COD WITH BUTTERNUT SQUASH AND NUTMEG PUREE.....

INGREDIENTS...
FOR THE SALAD
FRIZEE LETTUCE
GOATS CHEESE(THE LITTLE ROLLS YOU BUY IN THE SUPERMARKET ARE FINE)
CHERRY TOMATOES 
SMOKED BACON CUT IN SMALL PIECES
PINE NUTS
RAISINS
BALSAMIC VINAGER 
OLIVE OIL
SALT /PEPPER

FOR THE FISH AND MASH
I FILET OF COD PER PERSON 200G IS ENOUGHYOUR SALAD
ROCK SALT AND A LITTLE OLIVE OIL 
POTATOES AND BUTTERNUT SQUASH OF EQUAL QUANTITY.

METHOD
FISRT CUT AND DICE THE POTATOES AND SQUASH AND PLACE INTO BOILING WATER TO COOK FOR YOUR MASH...

THEN PREPARE YOUR SALAD.....WASH THE FRIZZEE AND PLACE IN BOWL..FRY OFF THE BACON FIRST AND TAKE OUT TO COOL...THEN ADD THE RAISINS TO THE BACON FAT IN THE PAN AND LIGHTLY FRY ...THEN ADD THE PINE NUTS...(BE CAREFUL THEY BURN EASILY ,ALWAYS GENTLE HEAT)TAKE THEM OUT ONCE GOLDEN BROWN AND LEAVE TO COOL ALSO.....CUT UP THE CHERRY TOMATOES IN HALFS AND DICE THE GOATS CHEESE.....ONCE THE CHEESE IS CUT PLACE IT WITH THE TOMATOES AND THE FRIZZEE IN THE BOWL LEAVING JUST THE PINE NUTS ,BACON AND RAISINS SEPARATE WHICH I ALWAYS FLASH HEAT AT THE LAST MINUTE BEFORE SERVING...AND ADD TO THE SALAD...OIL VINAGER SALT AND PEPPER TO TASTE.

CHECK YOUR POTATOES AND IF THEY ARE READY JUST TURN OFF THE WATER AND LEAVE THEM WHILE YOU COOK THE FISH......MEDIUM HEAT ..FIRST ROCK SALT IN THE PAN AND A LITTLE OLIVE OIL (I PREFER BUTTER )AND SLOWLY PAN FRY UNTIL THE FISH IS FIRM AND COOKED THROUGH...JUST BEFORE IT IS FINISHED DRAIN YOUR BUTTERNUT SQUASH AND POTATOES AND ADD PLENTY OF NUTMEG SALT AND PEPPER (ALWAYS TASTE AS YOU GO AND REMEMBER ITS EASY TO ADD BUT NOT TO TAKE AWAY)

ALL READY SERVE THE FISH WITH THE MASH AND THE SALAD ON THE SIDE 

QUE APROVECHE..