Fresh lima beans

◼ Lima beans arrive with the spring and are in season.

 Lima beans with rice:

Sauté a finely chopped onion in extra virgin olive oil; then, add rice, stir and let sauté some minutes over a low heat. Cover with water and a pinch of salt. And let simmer.

As I use brown rice and it takes at least an hour to cook, meanwhile I clean the beans. When the rice is nearly done, add the beans. If necessary, add (hot) water to cook and rectify the flavor.

I learnt of lima beans through a friend of mine from Braga four years ago; well, she is from Vieira do Minho (a town near Braga, to the north of Portugal) and her family has organic crops in that town. She explained to me how to clean them: you have to remove the skin because it is very tough. It takes a little time but it is worth it for its delicate flavor.

The ones I knew were cream colored, the ones my mother bought at that time. When I talked to her about it, she told me that she didn´t remember the green ones. But, in a few months, she remarked that now they were also beginning to be seen in the markets and besides, they were publishing many recipes with them. They must have come into fashion, I thought.

                                                                                                     
>> see more recipes with pulses

                    

Warm avocado salad

Warm avocado salad

◾  Around the middle of the spring, avocados, rich in potassium, magnesium and Omega 3 acid begin to be seen in stores.

◾  An easy and quick idea: warm avocado salad, with cooked onion and potato, dressed with extra virgin olive oil and sea salt (to taste).

Or well,

Couscous tabbouleh

                    

Mediterranean Savor: Cream of green bean soup garnished with red cabbage.

The styles I use to prepare a cream soup with vegetables:

1- Place all the ingredients in the saucepan, previously washed and chopped, fill with water (or vegetable stock) and cook.

2- Cover the bottom of the saucepan with extra virgin olive oil to sauté, one by one, the ingredients (previously washed and chopped), beginning by the onion if it is part of them.

Both styles give delicious cream soups, but with different savors.

3- To give a touch of spicy savor, add a dried chili pepper (or more, depending on taste) at the moment of boiling the ingredients. In addition to the nutritional benefits, it is a way to reduce the amount of salt that is added to the food. The use of spices to season food is very widespread in Ayurvedic cuisine.

In one or another style:

• When the ingredients are tender, remove a little of cooking liquid and reserve to be able to calculate the degree of creaminess you want to give to the cream soup or use as vegetable stock for other dishes. With the electric mixer we create the cream.                  

• At serving time, I like garnishing the cream soups with vegetables, shredded or diced, sautéed on the grill with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil: Cream soups with colorful “garnishes”.

For this recipe I use the red cabbage as a garnish of the cream soup and as it gets dark a lot when sautéing it, a way to brighten is to add a few drops of balsamic vinegar of Modena (or other vinegar, to taste): 

- “Furthermore, it goes very well”, as my grandmother said.

Ingredients: (serves 4 / in a 3-liter saucepan):

200 g  green beans  (chopped),
200 g  red cabbage  (cut in small strips),
500 g potatoes,
1 turnip,
1 onion,
1 dried  chili pepper ,
 extra virgin olive oil ,
 Balsamic vinegar of Modena IGP  (or another kind of vinegar),
and sea salt (as needed).

>> see more cream soup recipes

                   

Mediterranean Savor: White beans stew with spinach and brown rice.

recipe

                    

Mediterranean Savor: Green beans with smoked onion.

A dish for any season, easy and fast to prepare.

• Steam whole green beans.

• Meanwhile, in a skillet sauté a shredded red onion (or another kind) in extra virgin olive oil.

• When the onion becomes transparent, remove the skillet from heat and add a teaspoon of sweet smoked paprika (to taste), stir completely until the onion obtains a smoky tone.

• Serve the green beans and sprinkle them with freshly ground pepper and pour the smoky onion over. 

• This dish goes well with steamed potatoes, which can be made together with the green beans.

                                        

Mediterranean Savor: lentils stew with aromas from the Orient

A friend of mine sent me the recipe and I liked the idea very much: the combination of two styles of cooking, legume stew with vegetables inside Mediterranean cuisine and the seasoning, Garam masala, of Indian cuisine.  

Garam masala is a ready-made spice blend which gives to food a sweet and very aromatic smell and a flavor with a light touch of spicy and comforting.

As I didn´t have the ready-made blend but the ingredients, I made my own mixture of spices with cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, black pepper and cardamom. And not knowing the quantities, I put the same for all the ingredients, one teaspoon of each.

The result was incredible; besides, all the ingredients of the blend have benefits to help a good digestion, among many other properties. 

  

Description of the steps by means of photographs: 

1- sauté the onion in olive oil; when softened, add garlic and sauté. 2 - add the lentils (previously soaked overnight), stir and sauté for a few minutes. 3 - add the carrot and sauté. 4 - add Garam masala seasoning, stir and sauté for some minutes.

5 - add the potatoes, stir and sauté for a few minutes. 6 - fill with water to cook the stew, add a pinch of salt to taste and cover. 7 - pick over and wash the spinach. 8 - when the stew is cooked, add spinach and let simmer for some minutes.

INGREDIENTS:

100 g  lentils  from La Armuña P.D.O. 
170 g  fresh spinach , picked over and washed;               
2 medium  potatoes , diced; 
1 large sliced  carrot       
1 large  onion , chopped          
2 cloves  garlic , chopped              

Garam masala ( cinnamon ,  nutmeg ,  clove ,  black pepper ,  cardamom); 
 Extra virgin olive oil ; and Sea salt (to taste). In a 3-liter saucepan. 
   

>> see more stew recipes

                   

Cream of zucchini soup with ginger root and black quinua.

Beginning:

• Ingredients (serves 4): 2 medium  zucchini , 1 red onion, a piece of  ginger  (root) (3cm), 40 ml  black quinoa , Himalayan pink salt,  extra virgin olive oil  and water to cover. Optional: 1  carrot  and colored peppers (5 peppers grinder) for garnish the dish and at serving time (Photo 1).

Preparation: 

Cover the bottom of the stockpot (capacity of 3 liters) with extra virgin olive oil. While the olive oil is heating, cut the onion into julienne (cut in strips) to sauté. 

Dice ginger and when the onion is transparent (softened), add it and stir ingredients till they are thoroughly combined. Let it sauté for a few minutes. You will feel a pleasant aroma.

Meanwhile, dice the unpeeled zucchinis; previously, we have put them in a bowl with salted water and a drizzle of vinegar to clean them.

Now, we continue with the photos: 

• Add zucchini to the stockpot. Stir and let it sauté for 15 minutes on a low heat, stirring occasionally (Photo 2).

• Cover all with water. Add salt to taste and let it simmer for 15 minutes more (Photo 3).

• When the zucchini is very tender but without crumbling, add 40ml black quinoa that we have previously put it in a colander to rinse well (Photo 4).

• Let it simmer for 15 minutes more (Photo 5). 

Then, remove from heat and with an electric mixer, blend them to get a cream soup. And serve.

Optional at serving time (Photo 6):

Dice a carrot, very finely; in a griddle, with a bit of extra virgin olive oil, grill it for a few minutes. 

When they are ready, sprinkle them with freshly ground pepper, to taste.

Time: 1 hour.

Note:

With this recipe, I participated in a Recipe Contest in April 2014, organized by El Corte Inglés (the most important Department Store in Spain) and was published in June 2014 (edition Nº 97, page 38) as the winning recipe for that edition.

 >> see more vegetable cream soup recipes

                   

Family recipes, "caldo verde" (green vegetable soup).

"Caldo Verde", vegetable soup, is a very typical dish of Northern Portugal cuisine. The green vegetable, with which it is prepared, is the "couve galega " or Kale (leaf cabbage) and that, in recent times, it has become famous in the world for its exceptional nutritional properties; among them, it emphasizes its high content of iron, calcium, and potassium, pro-vitamin A, vitamin C and vitamin K. 

So, it is a very ancient and healthy recipe. Many recipes of traditional cuisine from our families are healthy and with enormous benefits for our health; besides, they are easy to prepare.

Preparation:

Cover the bottom of the stcokpot with extra virgin olive oil and heat. Chop an onion and add it to sauté (fry lightly). When it is transparent (softened), add the very finely chopped cloves garlic and stir, let it on a low heat some minutes. Add the crumbled potatoes to be undone easily, stir and let it sauté for a few minutes. 

Add water to fill the stockpot (capacity of 3 liters, for the quantities I have used) and  cover. Bring the water to the boil, add a dash of sea salt and one dried chili pepper (optinal or more). Stir, cover and let it simmer.

When the potatoes are tender, with the help of a skimmer and a fork, mash them to thicken the stock; also, it is the option of using an electric mixer. Then, add kale, previously washed and finely shredded (I buy shredded kale in the section of organic food in the supermarket). Stir and let it simmer some minutes until the kale is tender.

To the stock, once served on the plate or bowl, it goes well a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil in raw, and do not forget the  bread  (whole-wheat  bread) or broa (it is a type of corn bread traditionally made in Portugal and Galicia (Spain)) to accompany.

Ingredients:

• 1 kg potatoes,
• 200 g  kale , "couve galega ", finely shredded,
• 1 large onion, 
• 4 large cloves of garlic, 
•  extra virgin olive oil 
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt (to taste)
• 1  dried chili pepper  (optional or more dried chili, to taste)