Spanish Chickpea & Spinach Stew (Garbanzos con Espinacas)

I totally love my sweets and processed foods, but you only realise how they lack when you eat something that is delicious, nutritious and made of good, unprocessed natural ingredients. I find myself taking a spoonful and sitting up a little straighter, and thinking "Why the heck don't we eat like this everyday?"
It's the type of food that fills you with a sense of nurturing your system. You find yourself thinking on this food often, wanting more of it in the future, yet being completely satisfied and not needing more after a serve. All that processed food leaves you feeling momentarily satisfied, then almost instantly wanting more. It's like a drug. It doesn't fill you.
That's why I usually don't buy cereals for my kids, but give them porridge made on milk instead. After a bowl of cereal, my kids are asking me for snacks. After a bowl of porridge, I don't hear the word snack for a few hours.
This is one of those high fibre, super nutritious and utterly delicious meals that eaves your tummy feeling happy for a long time. If you're vegan or vegetarian, this is also the perfect meal for you and will leave you with a happy face as well.
It's great for meat free Fridays if you're Catholic like I am. (In case you where unaware, we traditionally don't eat meat on Fridays. Fish is permissible.) If you totally need your meat in every meal, shredded roast chicken is perfect in this dish too.
Whip this up and your house will be smelling amazing, with infusions of garlic, onion, paprika and cumin. You can serve with rice or cous cous- pasta would probably go well too! Buen provecho!

SPANISH CHICKPEA AND SPINACH STEW (Adapted from Lazy Cat Kitchen)

2 tbsp oil
2 heaped tsp crushed garlic
1 medium red onion, finely chopped
3 tsp ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
salt and pepper to taste
2 tsp brown sugar (optional)
2x 400g tins diced tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas
100g baby spinach, stalks removed
1/4 cup almond flakes

Heat up the oil in a large fry pan. Add the onion and cook on medium with the lid on, until almost translucent. Add the garlic and cook, stirring a little, for two minutes.
Add the spices and stir through the onion and garlic mix, careful not to burn these ingredients.
Add tomato paste, combine thoroughly.
Pour in the tomatoes, and season with salt and pepper to your taste. (At this point you can add the optional sugar if your tomatoes are very tangy, or just leave out.)
Turn the heat to low and let the sauce thicken, with no lid on. Stir it from time to time so that it doesn't burn.
Stir in the chickpeas. Lastly, add the spinach and heat until wilted. Garnish with the almonds. Scoop generous serving on rice and enjoy!

SERVES 4

A New Year's Feast

So, I've never celebrated New Years in a low key style, but there's a first for everything, and quite frankly, I think New Years celebrations to be a little over rated. We opted for a dinner party this year, with some of the young couples and it was fabulous!
Being a Friday, we went for seafood. Not everyone is a seafood fan, but you cant go wrong with a beautiful, buttery Salmon steak smeared in mushroom sauce on a bed of warm potato mash, baby spinach and roast capsicum. The meal is a favourite of mine to make and gets compliments every time, so if you're wanting to impress...you have the recipe! The best thing, besides the taste, is that this meal is super easy to make and looks gourmet. Cant go past it!

Hors D'oeuvres:

Photo courtesy of Marcela Saborido

Cucumber Wheels with Curried Tuna, Capsicum and Prawns


2 large cucumbers
2x 95g cans Thai Red Curry tuna
1/4 red capsicum
prawns (optional)

Scrape the fork vertically down the skin of the cucumbers until completely scored. Cut off the ends and cut the cucumber into 1cm discs. Scrape out a little of the centre of each with a teaspoon, making sure that there is still a base. Discard the removed seeds. Spoon curried tuna into the small wells and top with slithered capsicum and prawns if desired.



Main Course:

ATLANTIC SALMON STEAK WITH MUSHROOM SAUCE, MASH, BABY SPINACH AND ROASTED CAPSICUM

Atlantic salmon steak
Red capsicum, halved, deseeded
Mashed potato
Handful of mushrooms, chopped
Evaporated milk
Corn flour
Salt and pepper


Heat oil in pan on stove on high. Sear the salmon on each side for a few minutes until golden. Turn stove to low to cook the steak through, turning and checking occasionally.
Meanwhile, halve the capsicum, deseed and set under the grill on high. Remove when browned, and repeat for the other side.
Cut desired amount of mushrooms into small pieces and begin to brown in a small saucepan. While browning, place 1/5 cup evaporated milk in a small bowl and mix a little corn flour into it. When well combined, add to the mushrooms, with more evaporated milk until the sauce reaches desired consistency. Bring to the boil and remove from heat. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Arrange baby spinach in the middle of plate. Lay the roast capsicum on top of the spinach and scoop prepared potato mash inside. Lay salmon steak on top of the mash and pour hot mushroom sauce over the steak.


NOTE: this recipe serves one. Increase ingredients to suit.

Dessert:

MERINGUE RAVE SWAN

2 Egg whites
1/2 cup caster sugar
3oz flaked almonds, lightly toasted
100ml cream
1/4 cup strawberries

Preheat oven to 150C.
Beat the egg whites on the highest setting until they form stiff peaks. Gradually add the sugar, beating well in between, until sugar dissolves,  and the mixture is thick, smooth and glossy.
Draw 12 tear shapes onto two sheets of baking paper to use as guides for the swan's bodies. Pipe meringue mixture onto these sheets to fill in the shapes, making the meringue thicker at the widest part of the tear. Insert the tips of almonds at a slight angle over the tops of these tear shapes to resemble feathers. Bake for one hour, alternating the trays at the end of the first half hour. Cool with the oven door slightly ajar.

With the remaining meringue, pipe S shapes onto another lined baking tray. Pipe a few extra in case of breakage. Bake in the oven until golden, and cool with the door ajar.

Beat the cream until thick. Crush the strawberries and add, stirring through the cream.
Just before serving, wedge two teardrops together with cream to assemble the body and insert the S shape to form the swan's head.

NOTES: do not assemble swan and then store in the refrigerator, as the meringue will soften and the swan will not stand.

 After dinner Nibbles:

CUSTARD SHORTBREAD TARTS

Shortbread:

125g butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup pure icing sugar
1 tsp. vanilla essence
1 cup plain flour
1/4 cup cornflour

Using an electric beater, beat butter, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add flours, and stir until well combined. Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead until smooth. Roll with a rolling pin and press our 20 circles. Place each in the bases of a  muffin tin, taking care to centre the dough so that each forms a pastry case. Bake for 25-30 minutes  until golden. Cool.

Custard:

2 cups milk
4 large egg yolks
6 tbsp. sugar
3 tbsp. cornflour
40g butter, at room temperature

Place milk in a small saucepan and bring to the boil.
Meanwhile, in a separate saucepan, combine yolks, sugar and cornflour and whisk over a low heat. When the milk has boiled, add a few tablespoons into the yolk mixture and whisk. Gradually add the remaining milk and whisk vigorously on a medium heat. Custard will thicken. Continue to whisk until boils, and remove from heat. Scrape into a small bowl and sit in a tray of ice, to cease the cooking process. When cooler, add the butter in 3-4 installments, stirring until combined. Add essence, mix and refrigerate. Stores for 2-3 days.

Pipe custard into shortbread cases and drizzle with melted chocolate. De-lish!