Tag Archives: quick

Ten days in Portugal

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We’ve just spent our first holiday in Portugal, sandwiched between a week in the UK and ten days in France.

On arrival in Porto, Portugal’s second largest city, we picked up a car and headed north to mozey around the Douro River Valley. Picturesque terraced vineyards flank both sides of the river and the area became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2001. These man-made terraces carved into the steep banks of the river have been producing world-famous wines, particularly fortified port wine, since the 17th century.

Many of the most influential and well-known port wine houses, such as Taylor’s and Sandeman, were founded by British families. Today a significant number of the major port brands are still British in origin, but ownership and production are mostly Portuguese or international.

Porto Tónico quickly became my favourite tipple to sip while watching the sun go down. It’s made like a gin and tonic, using white port instead of gin. I had never heard of white port but on return to Australia found that it’s available in most large bottle shops. Add tonic or soda water, or a combination, depending how sweet you like things. Garnish with a slice of orange – or some orange peel removed with a vegetable peeler – a sprig of fresh mint if available and lots of ice.

The vineyard estates are called quintas. Most do wine tastings and some have restaurants. The highlight of a delicious lunch at the Quinta de Bomfin was Crème Brulée (my favourite dessert) served with carrot and ginger ice cream which was flavoured with grated tonka beans. Yes I had to look them up too!

A river trip from Pinhão is the best way to experience the Douro Valley, with views of the historic quintas and tranquil river landscapes. Some of these river boat cruises last several hours and include lunch, but we went on a one hour trip.

We returned the car when we got back to Porto, where we then spent two nights. There’s plenty to do in this vibrant city, from climbing 225 steps of the Torre dos Clérigos to get a panoramic view of the city, to walking along the top level of the Dom Luis Bridge, designed by a disciple of Gustave Eiffel, to watch the sun go down.

A good find in Porto was Mistu, a restaurant serving modernised international and Mediterranean dishes and great cocktails. We had a selection of cold starters and the stand out was the Seared Butterfish with Foie Gras, Wakame and Ponzu Sauce.

From Porto we caught the train to Lisbon, a scenic journey which takes about three hours. We were there for three nights – enough time to catch up with Portuguese friends for dinner in their house and to discover a couple of delightful eateries. Cervejaria Ramiro is famous for fresh seafood, cooked simply and served at long tables where everyone sits together. We were told we had to book online and found that the only time slot available for lunch or dinner was 3pm. We turned up at 2.15pm and asked the girl at the door (with our saddest famished faces) if we might come in earlier than our reservation. “Sem problemas” she said and took us to join some Americans at a long table which had several spare seats.

I don’t know why it was so hard to get a booking online as there were several empty tables in this bustling establishment. This is not somewhere you go for a burger or steak and there’s a minimum charge of 25 Euros a head which you pay when you book. Huge tiger prawns cooked on a bed of salt were to die for.  Conversation with our new American friends, who were from Washington DC, was lively.

The extensive tram system is a good way to see the city. There’s also an underground system as well as buses and little motorised tourist buggies, plus of course lots of walking. On our last evening we enjoyed a delicious selection of starters and side dishes at a little bistro in Praca das Flores called O’ Bistro – toasted brioche with foie gras and poached pear, French fries with truffle mayonnaise, devilled eggs and, to finish, we shared a decadent dark chocolate mousse garnished with a few flakes of sea salt and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Portuguese tarts are there to tempt you on every street corner. My recipe may not be as authentic as some Portuguese tart recipes, but they’re delicious and very quick to make using bought puff pastry. Click on the link for the recipe, photo above.

Feta and Spring Onion Bouikos

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The Middle East’s answer to cheese straws, these feta and spring onion bouikos are delicious. The recipe, slightly tweaked, came from a UK restaurant called Honey & Co.

Bouikos can be prepared ahead and left in the fridge until just before guests are due to arrive. They are at their best served warm, not quite so good at room temperature and should definitely be eaten on the day they are made. I doubt very much that you will have any leftover, but if you do please send them round here.

I’ve made them twice and used feta and cheddar both times, but I plan to try using other cheeses, such as a blue cheese and ricotta. You could even try adding some finely diced bacon.

2 spring onions
50g cold butter cut into four
40g grated sharp cheddar (about ¼ cup)
40g feta (about ¼ cup)
¾ cup plain flour
Good pinch salt
¼ cup sour cream
Nigella or Poppy seeds (optional)

Preheat oven to 180°C unless you are making these ahead and planning to refrigerate them till serving time. Line a baking tray with baking paper.

Place spring onions in a food processor and process to chop. Add remaining ingredients and process until mixture forms a ball, then stop the motor. Tip out onto a lightly floured surface then pat out or roll out to a rectangle with a thickness of about 1 cm. If using, sprinkle with Nigella or poppy seeds. Cut into 12 squares, then cut each square into two triangles. Arrange slightly apart on baking sheet then bake for about 15 minutes, turning the tray halfway through to ensure even colouring.

Makes about 24

Baked Beef and Onions

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I have quite a collection of individual dishes and found these oval ones in a secondhand shop.  They are ideal for freezing individual servings of lasagne, chicken parmigiano or baked beef and onions, a dish I often make the day after we have roast beef, to use up the leftover meat and gravy.

The photo looks a bit oily and I suppose it is a bit of a high cholesterol dish – but it’s low in carbs and really delicious!  Any leftovers make a great filling for a toasted sandwich.

Baked Beef and Onions

About 400g leftover roast beef, thinly sliced
2 onions, thinly sliced
1 Tbs butter
1 Tbs olive oil
½ to one cup leftover gravy (see below)
½ cup grated cheddar cheese (or a mixture of leftover bits!)

Arrange sliced beef in a shallow ovenproof dish or 4 individual dishes, lightly greased.  In a frying pan heat butter and oil and saute onions over gentle heat until rich golden and quite tender. Add gravy then spread over the beef. Cover with grated cheese. Can be made ahead to this stage and kept covered, in the fridge, for a day or so.  Or you can freeze them.  Bake 20-25 mins at 200°C or until golden.  Serve with a green vegetable or salad.

Serves 4

Note: if you don’t have quite enough gravy add a dash of cream and a dash of tomato ketchup, but avoid adding water as the result will be watery.

Nana’s gravy: remove the roast (chicken, beef, lamb, pork or whatever) from the roasting pan and keep warm, covered loosely with foil.  Discard all but 2-3 Tbs of fat from the roasting pan, keeping all the brown bits.  Place pan over gas flame, add 2-3 Tbs plain flour and cook, stirring with a wooden spatula, for 2-3 mins or until flour is cooked.  Gradually add 2 cups water, 2 Tbs dry sherry, 2 Tbs cream (Nana used the top of the milk), and a good pinch sugar.  Taste the gravy adding salt and pepper to taste.  If the gravy lacks a bit of flavour or looks a bit pale you can add a stock cube.  The good old Oxo was used a lot in England back then to add colour and flavour to beef gravies and casseroles. Normally the gravy will taste fine without, but sometimes with a particularly lean piece of roast beef and insufficient pan juices I have been known to cheat a bit.  Sometimes half a beef Oxo cube is just what’s required to give a bit of colour.  Let gravy simmer while you carve the meat, adding a bit more water as necessary to keep it the right consistency.  Push it through a sieve if you want it to be perfect gravy without any bits.  For family I usually don’t bother.

Pan Fried Chorizo, Octopus & Sweet Potatoes with Chimichurri & Aioli

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This recipe was inspired by a dish being served by my favourite lunch time bistro in Canberra,

Deakin & Me is in my suburb which is called Deakin, and it ticks all the boxes. The food is interesting, healthy and delicious. The staff are friendly and efficient and they don’t mind splitting the bill for groups. They only do breakfast, brunch and lunch and the place is always full.

I didn’t order this dish, but one of my friends sitting next to me did. I looked delicious and she confirmed that it was. I made a note of the ingredients in order to make it at home.

Cooked, vacuum packed octopus can be found in Costco and I used sweet potatoes instead of ordinary potatoes. Chimichurri is a South American salsa. Any leftover can be served to add a bit of zing to steak, chicken, fish or fried eggs.

1 sweet potato (see variations)
2 tsp paprika
200g cooked octopus, sliced
1 chorizo sausage, sliced
4 slices sourdough bread, lightly toasted
4 eggs
Olive oil
Aioli:
½ cup mayonnaise (preferably home made)
2-3 tsp lemon juice
1 clove garlic, crushed
Chimichurri:
2 Tbs finely chopped parsley
1 small red chilli, very finely diced (with or without the seeds)
½ cup olive oil
2 Tbs red wine vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tsp dried oregano or 1 Tbs fresh oregano or marjoram, chopped
¼ of a red onion, finely diced
Pinch of sugar

Make the Aioli by mixing the ingredients together. Make the Chimichurri by mixing the ingredients together. Don’t use a food processor you will end up with mush.

Peel the sweet potato and cut it into 2cm cubes. Mix with a tablespoon of olive oil, the paprika and salt to taste. Cook in an air fryer or a hot oven (spread out on a paper lined tray) until lightly browned and cooked.

Heat a little olive oil in a large frying pan. Add the octopus and chorizo and stir fry for 5-8 minutes or until the chorizo is lightly browned. Add some of the sweet potato cubes so there’s about the same amount of them as of the chorizo and octopus. You will have some sweet potato left over. Stir for a minute or two to combine.

Meanwhile, in another frying pan, fry the eggs in a little olive oil (serve them sunny side up) and toast the sourdough.

Divide the octopus, chorizo and sweet potato amongst the slices of toast, with the fried egg on top or on the side. Add a good dollop of aioli and a few spoonfuls of chimichurri to the plates.

Serve immediately.

Serves 4

Variations: use cooked ordinary potatoes cut into chunks instead of sweet potatoes.

No-Knead Bread

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My son in law makes this “no-knead bread” and says it’s so easy, so I thought it was time I had a go. The time involved in making it is less than five minutes, plus baking time. Minimum mess, quick and easy and tastes fantastic – just like a shop-bought ciabatta. If you look on Google you will find that there are heaps of variations of this recipe, though I believe it was first published in the New York Times. Here’s my version.

3 cups plain flour
¼ tsp dry yeast
1 heaped tsp salt
1 Tbs olive oil (optional)
1½ cups very hot water from the tap

Place all ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix thoroughly. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature until you’re ready to bake the bread. In summer anywhere will do, but in the middle of winter it’s probably a good idea to put it somewhere cosy like the microwave or the oven, making sure you tell people not to switch it on! Recipes on Google vary on how long the dough needs to rise, so I reckon it’s fairly flexible. Anywhere between 4 and 24 hours you can go to the next stage.

At this stage, i.e. after the 24 hour rising period, the dough can be refrigerated for up to 3-4 days and this time in the fridge actually improves the flavour of the bread.

Place an iron pot with a lid in the oven – a le Creuset-type pot holding 6-8 litres – and turn the oven on to 250C or as high as it will go if it doesn’t go that high. Meanwhile tip the bread dough out onto a floured surface. Fold and flip it over on itself a few times, then form into a ball with the seams underneath and place on a piece of baking paper. Turn on the oven and let the bread rise a bit while it comes up to temperature. This could take around half an hour. If the dough has been in the fridge for a couple of days then give it 2 hours to come to room temperature and rise before baking.

When the oven is up to temperature use the paper to put the bread into the pot on the paper and make two slashes in the top with a pair of scissors. Cover with the lid and bake for 30-40 minutes. Remove lid and bake for a further 5-10 minutes or until nicely browned. It depends on your oven how fast it browns, so keep an eye on it. In such a hot oven it browns fast. Remove and cool on a rack.

Korean Beef in an Air Fryer

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Korean Beef, or Bulgogi, is a tasty, quick and easy alternative to your usual Chinese stir fry. Serve it with steamed rice for a delicious mid-week dinner.

Making this recipe in an air fryer results in crispy meat without the need for deep frying.

300g lean beef (flank, rump, topside, sirloin)
2 tsp oil
2 Tbs cornflour
2 Tbs soy sauce
1-2 Tbs brown sugar, to taste
2 Tbs hoisin sauce
1 clove garlic, crushed
½ cup water
To serve:
Steamed rice
2 spring onions, finely sliced on the diagonal
Sesame seeds

Cut meat into thin strips as you would for a stir fry. Add the oil and mix well, then mix in the cornflour. Spray the tray of an air fryer with oil, then arrange the meat strips over it, in one layer. If doubling the recipe, you will probably need to cook the beef in two lots. If you don’t have an air fryer, deep fry the beef in oil.

Cook beef on high for 5-8 minutes, turning once halfway through cooking time. Meanwhile place soy sauce, brown sugar, hoisin sauce, garlic and water in a frying pan. Bring to the boil, then simmer for a minute or two or until thickened a bit. Add the cooked beef and stir to coat well with the sauce.

Serve with steamed rice and garnish with spring onions and sesame seeds.

Serves 2

Chia Puddings

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You may have seen chia seeds in the supermarket and wondered what to do with them. When mixed with liquid and left for a few hours or overnight, they set into a sort of pudding or chunky jelly.

Our son James says that for him chia puddings are in the same category as tapioca pudding and bubble tea, a popular drink filled with chewy tapioca balls. He is not a fan, whereas I love them.

Chia puddings are very easy to make and involve no cooking. To make one serving you just need half a cup of any kind of milk and 2 tablespoons of chia seeds. Mix thoroughly and leave in the fridge overnight, then top with fresh or frozen berries, sliced banana, muesli, yoghurt, or a combination and you’ve got a healthy breakfast or dessert, loaded with fibre and protein. A hundred grams of chia seeds contains 17g of protein.

2 Tbs chia seeds
½ cup any kind of milk (cow’s, oat, soya, almond, coconut)
To serve:
Berries or sliced banana, mango, peaches etc
Toasted muesli
Plain yoghurt
Maple syrup or honey

Thoroughly mix the chia seeds with milk and place in an individual bowl or glass, leaving space for toppings. After an hour or so, stir the mixture again to avoid any big lumps forming. Refrigerate overnight.

Serve topped with fruit, muesli and yoghurt.  Drizzle with a little maple syrup or honey. If you’re feeling decadent, drizzle with a little cream.

You can always mix up a larger quantity, allowing 4 Tbs chia seeds for every cup of milk. Tip the mixture into a plastic storage container with a lid. It will keep for a several days in the fridge.

Makes one serving

Tortilla Crêpes

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This recipe is just French toast made with wheat tortillas instead of bread.

But it’s a brilliant idea. So if you’re looking for a quick and tasty idea for Sunday breakfast or brunch, or a quick snack to feed the grandkids when they call in, look no further.

The time-saving idea of turning a packaged tortilla into a light and fluffy pancake was invented by the late Kenny Shopsin, a self-taught cook who ran a grocery store and restaurant in New York, with his wife Eve. Kenny was a colourful character who had certain rules, for example anyone using a mobile device rather than engaging in conversation risked being kicked out. Since his death in 2018, the business has been run by his daughter Tamara and her two siblings.

I’m going to try making a savoury version, so watch this space.

1 punnet strawberries
2 tsp runny honey
2 Tbs cream
2 eggs
2 tsp maple syrup
1 packet thin wheat tortillas or soft tacos
Butter for frying
Extra maple syrup or honey to serve (optional)

Wash the strawberries, then halve or slice into a bowl. Drizzle with a little honey.

In a bowl wider than the tortillas, beat cream with eggs and maple syrup using a fork. Add one tortilla and turn to coat. Leave it submerged while you heat a little butter in a small non-stick frying pan. When the tortilla is well soaked, drain off excess egg mixture and place the tortilla in the pan. Cook until golden and puffed one one side, then turn and cook on the other side. Cook remaining tortillas. The egg mixture will be enough for 4 tortillas – maybe more – depending on their size.

Serve two tortillas per person, garnished with the strawberries. Drizzle with extra maple syrup or honey, if liked.

Serves 2

Crisp-Skin Barramundi with Curry Sauce & Green Beans

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In January we spent a week on the island of Nusa Lembongan just off Bali.

Curry Traders Restaurant and Bar has excellent, reasonably-priced food and was definitely the best restaurant we found during our stay on the island.

This is my adaptation of a dish we enjoyed when we dined there to celebrate our daughter Catherine’s birthday. I used barramundi and my recipe for a creamy red curry sauce, which goes with everything.

The first photo shows the dish in the restaurant, surrounded by some of the other dishes we ordered, including rice and Indian bread. The second photo is my version. Sorry I forgot to put a sprig of coriander on top of the fish!

4 fillets barramundi or another firm-fleshed white fish with the skin on
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 Tbs vegetable oil
Red Curry Sauce
400g green beans, steamed until al dente
1 clove garlic, crushed
20g butter
2 lemons, halved
Coriander sprigs

Go to the link and make the Red Curry Sauce.

Season fish on both sides with salt and pepper, then place skin down in a cold, lightly-oiled frying pan, preferably non-stick. Turn on the heat and cook over moderate temperature for 5-6 minutes or until the skin is crisp, then turn and cook for 2-3 minutes on the other side, or until cooked through. Remove fish from pan, then add the lemon halves, cut side down, and cook until they are starting to blacken.

Meanwhile, heat butter and garlic in another pan. Add the steamed beans and seasoning and toss them to coat well.

Divide beans between 4 warmed serving plates. Serve fish on the beans. Heat the curry sauce and place some in four ramekins.  Arrange the lemon and the curry sauce on the plates, garnish the fish with the coriander and serve immediately with steamed rice and/or Indian bread.

Freeze any leftover curry sauce for another time.

Serves 4

Lithuanian Pink Soup

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The proper name for this delicious cold beetroot soup is Šaltibarščiai which means cold beets in Lithuanian. My Lithuanian friend Jurate who gave me the recipe says most people call it Pink Soup. It’s a creamier version of the well-known beetroot soup called Borscht.

If you have time, cook your own beetroots, but ready-cooked beetroots from the supermarket work well and save time.

This soup is perfect for a hot summer’s day. Serve it as a starter or, with the addition of boiled new potatoes, as a main course. Jurate serves hardboiled eggs separately in a bowl, for guests to peel and chop onto their soup, if they like. My husband is not a big fan of hardboiled eggs and prefers the soup without the egg, so you choose.

Delicious and very refreshing on a warm summer’s evening.
500g cooked, peeled beetroots
600 ml buttermilk or kefir (see note below)
2 stock cubes dissolved in a little hot water (chicken, vegetable)
Cider vinegar and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 small Lebanese cucumbers, thickly sliced and halved or quartered
Optional extras for serving:
Fresh crusty bread such as sourdough and butter
Hardboiled eggs, one per person
Boiled new potatoes, served hot

 

Grate beetroots coarsely and mix them with the buttermilk or kefir and the stock cubes. Add a splash of cider vinegar and some black pepper, to taste. If you’re in a hurry, with no time to grate the beetroots, just whiz them in a blender or food processor. If necessary adjust the thickness of the soup by adding more buttermilk, kefir, yoghurt or water. I didn’t find it needed any additional salt, but taste and see what you think. Add a tablespoon or two of cider vinegar, to taste.

Chill for several hours. Serve in bowls garnished with the cucumber chunks, the dill and the hardboiled eggs, halved or chopped. Or serve the eggs in a separate bowl for people to help themselves and peel themselves. Serve with crusty bread and, if you want to make a more substantial meal, buttered steamed new potatoes.

Serves 6

Note: instead of buttermilk or kefir, you can use 400ml of thick plain yoghurt thinned down with about 200ml water.