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: Young turnip greens broth.

 

The way to prepare the broth is very simple:

• Put the dried white beans to soak overnight. The next day place the beans in a saucepan, cover with enough water and cover; when it comes to a boil, reduce the heat to low and let cook. I always use a 3-liter saucepan, so that the recipes are always for 4 persons.

• At half-cooking add the diced potatoes and when it comes to a boil again, add a pinch of salt (to taste) and let simmer.

• When the beans are tender, with a skimmer and a fork mash some beans together with some potato to thicken the broth, stir. The degree of texture is as desired.

• When the beans and potatoes are cooked, add the cut vegetables, well washed beforehand (place them in water with coarse salt and a drizzle of vinegar).

Sometimes I choose the young  turnip greens  (tender turnip leaves), in other occasions the turnip greens (which are bitterer and its season is between January a d February); broths are typical of Galician cuisine, a region of the north-west of Spain and northern Portugal one.

And without forgetting to accompany the broth by a large slice of rye  bread , broa (corn bread), kamut bread, etc (the bread that is whole grain, whole wheat feeds and satiates at the same time).  

                                     

Mediterranean Savor: Broccoli

Broccoli cooked with potatoes and served with garlic stir-fry in blank (sliced garlic sautéed in extra virgin olive oil) is a simple dish and easy to prepare. It is a style of food preparation that I use quite often, since they are dishes of very pleasant flavor and good digestion.

It is the same style for vegetables which belong to the same family but with different flavors: the broccoli is sweet, Brussels sprouts denote a slight bitter taste but very nice and cauliflower is slightly sweet and smooth.

Brussels sprouts

Cauliflower, in a market stall 
in the month of December.

                    

Mediterranean savor: Cabbage broth.

 

The way to prepare the broth is very simple:

• Put the dried white beans  to soak overnight. The next day place the beans in a saucepan, cover with enough water and cover; when it comes to a boil, reduce the heat to low and let cook. I always use a 3-liter saucepan, so that the recipes are always for 4 persons.

• At half-cooking add the diced potatoes; when it comes to a boil again, add a pinch of salt (to taste) and let simmer.

• When the beans are tender, with a skimmer and a fork mash some beans together with some potato to thicken the broth, stir. The degree of texture is as desired.

• When the beans and potatoes are cooked, add the chopped vegetable, well washed beforehand (place it in water with coarse salt and a drizzle of vinegar).

To  cabbage  broth, once served on the plate, you can add a drizzle of  extra virgin olive oil  in raw because it combines marvelously.     

And without forgetting to accompany the broth by a large slice of rye bread , broa (corn bread), kamut bread, etc (the bread that is whole grain, whole-wheat feeds and satiates at the same time).  

                    

Mediterranean Savor: Brussels Sprouts.

Brussels sprouts combine very well with some cooked potatoes and served with garlic stir-fry; it is a simple dish, quick to make and delicious.

                      

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: 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: Swiss chard

Swiss chard is typically Mediterranean and begins to appear in the market with the arrival of autumn.

Prepare the chard in a simple way, leaves and stems boiled with potatoes and served with garlic stir-fry in blank (sliced garlic sautéed in extra virgin olive oil).

 

                    

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

                   

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)