Fricandó de ternera

Living in Spain means for sure trying some traditional Spanish dishes. Fricando de ternera is one of traditional autumn Catalan cuisine dishes with two main ingredients mushrooms and beef meat.

More about it:

"The first references to fricandó appear as early as the XVIII century in some cooking books written by priests.
Fricandó does incorporate an ingredient that is almost a symbol of national pride in Catalonia: mushrooms. Actually, the most mentioned fungi in traditional recipes of fricandó are the moixernós or moixerós, a word with an extraordinary phonetic resemblance (when pronounced properly in Catalan) with the English term mushroom.
This recipe also incorporates a very typical preparation of the Catalan gastronomy: the picada, which consistis of combination of toasted nuts (commonly almonds or hazelnuts), garlic, parsley and saffron mashed together in a mortar. The function of picada is to add lots of flavor to stews and to thicken the sauce, giving it a velvety texture. We´ll have a whole -and well deserved- post for picada later this year.
The good thing about fricandó is that, as long as you have these two base ingredients, beef and mushrooms, you can add a few more (onion, tomato, garlic) and always call it a fricandó. The other good thing about this dish is that you can prepare it well in advance, a day or so, and just reheat before serving. In fact, the fricandó shown in this post was cooked a day in advance and it was simply delicious as flavors grew in character overnight."

Ingredients (4 people):

• 1 kg Veal rump (finely cut)
• ½ lt Beef stock
• ½ kg tomatoes
• 1 Onion
• 4 Small potatoes
• ½ kg Mixed mushrooms (champignon, porcini, portobello,etc)
• 1 glass Red wine
• 1 Bay leaf
• 2 Garlic cloves
• Flour
• Salt
• Pepper
• Olive Oil

Souse Picada:

• 100 gr Toasted almonds
• 1 Slice of bread
• 1 tsp Parsley
• 1 Garlic clove
• Saffron
• Salt
• Olive Oil

Preparation:

1. Put a generous amount of olive oil in a saucepan and fry all the ingredients of the picada –except for saffron and parsley- for 2-3 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the pan and add saffron and parsley. Using a mortar and pestle mash the ingredients together until obtaining a soft paste.
2. Flour the veal and remove the excess. Seal the meat in a cast iron saucepan. Putt the meat aside, add olive oil to the saucepan as well as the onion and garlic finely chopped. When onion is soft and poached, add the wine and let reduce for a few minutes. Add the tomatoes nad the bay leaf.
3. When tomatoes had changed color, add the meat and the stock. Let it simmer until meat is tender.
4. In the meantime, peel the potatoes and cut them in slices ¼ inch thick. Fry them in a saucepan with very hot vegetable oil.
5. When the meat is half-cooked, add the mushrooms. When meat is about to be ready, add the picada.
6. Serve two to three pieces of veal per dish, cover them with sauce and use the potatoes for garnish.

Recipe source.

My dinner - Fricando de ternera

Aproveche!

Meet&Eat Barcelona

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Meet & Eat Barcelona is a community of young food enthusiast who want to travel with food experience all over the world. Food is a hudge part of culture of every country. The way people eat, what people eat, how do they prepare the same meat and how much cheese do they put on pizza, or maybe they call pizza like dish in different way. This is culture, this is food, this is new experience.

If You have some traditional recipe to share with all the world, write me or directly to Meet&Eat Barcelona community on Facebook and it will appear as a part of Meet&Eat Barcelona ;)

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Pasta salad

Pasta salad - perfect way for fast, well maybe not so healthy but tasty salad. There are thousands of recipes and ways to make it. In my opinion everyone should have his/her own pasta salad recipe, family one/special one... You can call it like You want (:


History:
Pasta salad (Pasta fredda) is a dish prepared with one or more types of pasta, usually chilled, and most often tossed in a vinegar, oil, or mayonnaise-based dressing. It is typically served as an appetizer or a main course. Pasta fredda is often regarded as a spring or summertime meal, but can be served year-round.

The ingredients used vary widely by region, restaurant, seasonal availability, and/or preference of the preparer. The salad can be as simple as cold macaroni mixed with mayonnaise (a macaroni salad), or as elaborate as several pastas tossed together with a vinaigrette and a variety of fresh, preserved or cooked ingredients. Additional types of pasta may be used, such as ditalini. These can include vegetables, legumes, cheeses, nuts, herbs, spices, meats, poultry, or seafood. Broccoli, carrots, baby corn, cucumbers, olives, onions, beans, chick peas, peppers, and parmesan or feta cheeses are all popular ingredients in versions typically found at North American salad bars.

Ingredients:

• 1 package fusilli (spiral) pasta;
• 3 cups cherry tomatoes, halved;
• 1/2 pound provolone cheese, cubed; 
• 1/2 pound salami, cubed; 
• 1/4 pound sliced pepperoni, cut in half; 
• 1 large green bell pepper, cut into 1 inch pieces; 
• 1 can black olives, drained;
• 1 jar pimentos, drained;
• 1 bottle Italian salad dressing.

Preparation:

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta, and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente. Drain, and rinse with cold water.
2. In a large bowl, combine pasta with tomatoes, cheese, salami, pepperoni, green pepper, olives, and pimentos. Pour in salad dressing, and toss to coat.

Recipe source.

My pasta salad dinner

Bon appetite!

French baguette 

France - homeland of cheese, vine, croissants, crepes, baguette and much more ofcourse... Last weekend I have been to France. It was short, one day trip to Nimes and Montpellier. Bad weather, no sun, wind, cold, almost no sleep.... nothing could ruin my impression of France. I loved it... but it is not about travelling, but FOOD. Just before leaving and almost being late for my bus, I ran into bakery and bought Traditional French Baguette for next morning breakfast, well also some sweets, to be specific tartalete with chocolate and some Blue Cheese.

So what to do with baguette? For me, as fas as it is fresh, it could be eaten just alone without any additional stuff. (What I have done just after comming back home, but I left some for the morning also (: )

Short history:
The word "baguette" was not used to refer to a type of bread until 1920, but what is now known as a baguette may have existed well before that date. The word, derived from the Italian bacchetta, simply means "wand" or "baton", as in baguette magique (magic wand), baguettes chinoises (chopsticks), or baguette de direction (conductor's baton).

Though the baguette today is often considered one of the symbols of French culture viewed from abroad, the association of France with long loaves predates any mention of it. Long, if wide, loaves had been made since the time of King Louis XIV, long thin ones since the mid-eighteenth century and by the nineteenth century some were far longer than the baguette: "... loaves of bread six feet long that look like crowbars!" (1862); "Housemaids were hurrying homewards with their purchases for various Gallic breakfasts, and the long sticks of bread, a yard or two in length, carried under their arms, made an odd impression upon me." (1898)

Now it is is commonly made from basic lean dough (the dough, though not the shape, is defined by French law). It is distinguishable by its length and crisp crust.

A baguette has a diameter of about 5 or 6 centimetres (2 or 2⅓ in) and a usual length of about 65 centimetres (26 in), although a baguette can be up to a metre (39 in) long.

What to put inside?

My advise, use imagination...! No recipe is needend to make crative, basically, I am sorry French people, sandwich. To make Your "baguette eating time" more french, put some specific music, movie and imagine Eiffel Tower view threw Your window. The power of imagination is BIG, believe me....

"Yesterdays baguette" problem

Fresh baguette is delicious, but what to do if You don't manage to eat it just after bringing from bakery? I have found great way, or better to say great and fast recipe. As I said before, I am big cheese lover, so my short recipe main ingredient is cheese.

Ingredients:

• Yesterdays baguette
• Emmentaler cheese
• Blue cheese

Instructions:

1. Take yesterdays baguette, slice it into pieces You like and put on top some emmentaler cheese or other, which You preffer, but not with very strong flavour. 
2. Put it for 1-2 min to microwave. It is fast, but You can olso use oven.
3. After that, while it is still very hot, I put on top a some Blue Cheese. It melts a little and makes the taste of this extra cheese sandwich very specific! Cheese lover, I guess, will understand!

"Yesterdays baguette problem" solved

In such way, yesterdays baguette is soft again. And, well, cheese, here I think I have nothing to add.

Bon appetite (:

Fish Ceviche

People are always in a hurry and have no time to prepare some healthy and tasty food, as there are many more things to do - work, friends, family, travelling etc. Well, I think it is essential to find some time for eating or cooking tasty and healthy food as it is even more important part of our life than for example work... and also if we put some more afford, we can combine this things together - cooking tasty dinner with friends TOGETHER! Why not? Probably, some people would say "unfortunatelly" but we have to eat, for me it is pleasure to find something new, find new tastes, cuisines, restaurants...

The Ceviche I tried

A week ago I have tried Fish Ceviche - Peruvian Cuisine. Although I have heard a lot about this dish and seen many times how it is made, I have never tried it before. Review - tasty, nice, pleasant, great for a start of dinner, visually it is possible to improvise how to serve it and show all creativity You have ;).

Ingredients (2 serves):

• ½ red onion, finely chopped
• 250g skinless and boneless sea bass or sea bream fillets
• ½ tsp salt, plus extra to season
• Juice of 4 limes
• Juice of ½ orange
• 1 red chilli, shredded, or 1tsp aji amarillo paste
• Small bunch of coriander, roughly chopped

Preparation:

1. Put the chopped onion into iced water and soak for 5 minutes, then drain well.
2. Cut the fish into 1½ - 2cm cubes and rub with the ½ tsp salt. Leave for a minute. Add the citrus juices and the chilli and leave to marinate for 10 minutes. Check the seasoning and adjust if necessary.
3. Divide the fish and marinade between 2 bowls, scatter with coriander, and serve immediately.

Recipe source and some more usefull information about this dish.

Bon appetite friends ;) !!!

Castañas 

or in English chestnuts

Castanas, as I thought, it is traditional Spanish dish or to be more exact, snack used to eat during Christmas period in Spain. It is usually sold on the streets, where it is roasted also. You get then hot in cone shape paper bag and enjoy it just walking down the streets or somewhere in the park. At least it was my first experience trying Castanas. Recently tried them in city called Valencia in the Las Fallas Festival. As I started to look for more information, to my big surprise it came out, that it is Ancient Greek cuisine! So in Greek language it look like this - κάστανο.

The way people roast Castanas on the streets

Some history:
"The Greek word for the European species of the chestnut is shared by many different European cultures, with the Spanish calling them castana, Portuguese castanha and Dutch kastanje. These words, as well as many others from around Europe, came from the Latin word castanea, which was based on the Ancient Greek word kastanon (κάστανον). Indeed, the chestnut tree (castanea sativa) itself was introduced to Europe through Greece.

The Greek origin of the chestnut has not always been accepted, particularly in species such as the Horse Chestnut. This was thought to be of Asian origin until the English gentleman John Hawkins found it growing in, firstly, the Pindus Mountains in Greece, and then in the Epirus region at the turn of the 19th century."


Where to use it?
"Chestnuts are often also candied or grilled, and some cultures ferment the juice to create a sugar-like substance. Also, a type of coffee that is known for its relaxing qualities is made from dried chestnuts. But it is not only the nuts that are used by humans - as the leaves of the chestnut tree are reputedly useful for lung diseases and rheumatism."

How to roast chestnuts at home....? I have found three ways in here (there You can find also video how to do it in a correct way):

In the microwave
Cut the chestnuts in half.
Transfer to a bowl and add 2 tablespoons of water so that they don’t dry out.
Cover bowl with plastic wrap and microwave for 5 minutes at 800 watts.
When ready, remove from microwave and remove plastic wrap.

In the oven
Preheat oven to 200* C (390* F) Fan.
Make a shallow incision with a small, sharp knife in a crisscross manner. This will help the chestnuts cook quicker and will keep them from exploding.
Transfer to a baking pan and add 2 tablespoons of water so that they don’t dry out.
Roast for 25-30 minutes.

Boiled
Press the sharp blade of a knife on the top of the chestnuts and make an incision. Repeat the same process to create a crisscross incision.
Transfer to a pot and add enough water to completely cover the chestnuts.
Place pot over high heat.
As soon as it comes to a boil, cook for 25-30 minutes.

Try the way You like best and Bon Appetite ;)

Original Irish Coffee recipe

Happy Saint Patric's Day! Lets celebrate it with some traditional Irish dish. As I love coffee as much as sweets, I will present You original recipe of Irish Coffee with Irish whiskey!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee;
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar;
• 1 jigger Irish whiskey (1 1/2 ounces or 3 tablespoons);
• Heavy cream, slightly whipped.

Preparation:

1. Fill footed mug or a mug with hot water to preheat it, then empty.
2. Pour piping hot coffee into warmed glass until it is about 3/4 full. 
3. Add the brown sugar and stir until completely dissolved. 
4. Blend in Irish whiskey. 
5. Top with a collar of the whipped heavy cream by pouring gently over back of spoon. 
6. Serve hot with some "shamrock" form cookies ;)

Recipe source.

Sláinte ("good health" in Irish)!