Sweetcorn Cajun Fritters

These are little mouthfuls of sheer joy and good cold or hot straight from the pan...
For the batter...
85g flour
15g soya flour
20g garbanzo flour
5g baking powder
pinch of salt and pepper
flat dessertspoon of organic bouillion powder
dessertspoon of cajun powder
1 small garlic clove crushed
1 teaspoon tumeric

Mix well and add 200ml cold water and beat well making sure theres no flour bubbles.

Add...
150g sweetcorn nibs
40g diced red pepper
75g chopped spring onion greens,n all

In a small saucepan...fill with sunflower oil to about a fifth of the way up.
Heat up oil and test to see if its ready by placing a small drop of batter inside...when it floats your ready to roll...
With dessertspoons of the batter mixture cook three at a time...about 1 minute or so on each side or until they are nice and golden brown.
Dry on kitchen paper.

P.S.please be careful with oil never go near it with water ....vague memories of burning a fryingpan when in college come flooding back to me...

If you don,t have bouillion powder don,t fret.... use more garlic,or perhaps chopped red chillies(if you dare),or fresh coriander leaves,or more cajun powder.
Cajun food is a mixture of French and African cuisine.Think deep south...think gumbo stews(I use fried tofu)....The powder can be bought or you can make your own...
Its a mixture of salt,chilli powder,black pepper,ground ginger,ground cumin,cardamon,brown sugar,dried oregano,dried thyme and lemon peel.
I served these with a salad of garden tomatoes,avocado and lettuce with drizzles of tarragon vinegar,coriander oil,habanero chilli sauce with salt and pepper.(maybe the chilli sauce drowned out the vinegar but I was playing ...so maybe a wine vinegar would do)

This recipe is very adaptable.
Try changing the cajun powder for some curry powder with extra cardamon.
Or change the vegetables...
enjoy!

Smoked Aubergine Soup

We had a Bar-b-q- at the weekend...and I had some left over potato and aubergine charred black from the fire.Instead of turning it into some smokey dips I opted for this soup due to the rainy weather outside...Ain,t nothing like a soup on a grey day.

Saute 2 onions finely diced in olive oil with a pinch of salt.
When the onions are soft add 3 small mushrooms..diced finely.
Add 1 small aubergine,2 radishes,half a cougette chopped finely.
Cook until the aubergine softens and add the charred aubergine (with the burnt skin removed and composted)and cover with a light stock.
Simmer for about ten minutes then blend up for a thick rich soup.
I added the cooked charred potato deskined and cubed up with some cooked green peas before serving for a different texture and that lovely green colour

Roast Parsnip and Quinoa Tortilla

Spanish omlettes or Torillas are one of the best inventions.This one was made from some cooked quinoa I had hanging around in the frigde with some roasted parsnips.
For perfect tortillas you need...
A small non stick frying pan(I say small because its easier or faster to cook the filling)
A well seasoned tasty filling.
A filling thats dry or not too moist.

I calculate the filling to almost fill(about three quaters of the way up) the frying pan.
I used a small 6 inch pan.

First beat four eggs and set aside.
Heat the frying pan until very hot.
Add olive oil and coat the sides well.
Beat eggs one more time and add to the pan.
Imediately add the filling.
Lower the flame to minimum.
Top with a lid.
Check after a minute or so ,if your flame can,t go very low..take it off the heat still covered.
Loosen the sides of the omlette and if very liquidy and let some of the egg mixture trickle down the sides.
You can move the filling to the sides gently every now and then.
Repeat processes of putting a lid on,taking it off for about 15 minutes...yes its a slow process...the idea is for the centre to cook well until it,s firm enough to turn over but that it doesn,t dry out.
When it seems quite firm(make sure theres no runny egg mixture left) put a plate on top and using a tea towel flip the frying pan over.
Add a wee bit more oil to the pan and return the Torilla to the pan (un cooked side facing downwards)still on a low flame for about 3 minutes or until cooked thru.

Try the following fillings...
Classic cooked potatoes with fried onions.
Cooked artichokes(not canned)with black olives and onions.

Borlotti Bean Stew

We had a handfull of dried beans from the garden just enough for dinner for two.
I had never tried Borlotti beans before and now I see the attraction...they were lovely and plump with a nice mealy texture.
I made a classic stew of sauted onions,garlic,aubergines,green and red peppers from the neighbours with a wee bit of celery and tomatoes...a slash of wine...reduced to perfection and added the cooked beans.
Fresh parsley and basil,some boullion base were added to mingle with the veggies and a happy stew was born.I,m sure this would taste better if I cooked the beans slowly in the stew but I wanted to try them on there own first.Instead ,we ate this the following day to allow the beans soak up the flavour of the stew...and enjoyed them with some golden roasted potatoes.

Summer Tomato Broth

This year we planted 3 types of tomatoes.."de colgar"(for hanging up)...for making Pan con Tomate and they keep until february hanging up in the kitchen(more true treasure).

To make Pan con Tomate you need to toast some bread.Rub them with garlic.Cut a tomate de colgar(or a well flavoured ripe soft tomato) in half and rub it into the bread... all you,ll have left is the skin.Drizzle some good quality olive oil on top and a sprinkle of salt ...and there you have it... a classic Catalan recipe.The concept is simple..good ingredients and you can,t go wrong.Serve this bread with Grilled Asparagus,Tortilla Español,Sauted wild mushrooms or whatever takes your fancy.

The second type of tomato was gordos de Argentina..fat argentian tomates which are the fat,firm full variety..great for salads with olive oil and fresh basil and black pepper.

The last type was monserrat which are large with big folds like a pin cushion... emptyish inside but sweet... great for this summer soup... or for stuffing.

Also there were a few unidentified tomates which grew alone thanks to the compost...one or two cherry tomates and plum tomates and a few nameless bless them.

Forgive my nerdish account of varieties but looking back its nice to see what you planted every year and why.Now on to this soup it had the simplist ingredients because the veggies were so good I wanted to celebrate them.
First saute some finely chopped onion (1medium sized)
Next chop a fresh fat garlic clove and cook until just soft and not browned
Add a half or quarter of diced red pepper...also cooked until soft
And lastly 2 bowlfuls of tomatoes diced up ,skins and all...a mixture of the lovely selection above...deliciously sweet..no added sugar needed.
Add a slash or two of water or light stock...enough to give a nice broth like consistency.
The tomatoes should be cooked but still hold their shape.
Add a hand full of tiny cooked pasta of choice.
Season well with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Top with fresh basil and some grated parmesan.
Perfect homage to naturally sweet summer vegetables.

note...This soup only works with good flavoured tomatoes...if they dont have much flavour theres no point in trying this recipe...however if you get your hands on some homegrowns celebrate them with this soup.

Banana Icecream.

This is so creamy...so rich and yummy...that you,ll be surprised of the ingredients...
Bananas.
Just bananas and nothing more.
Chop up a banana in small pieces, place on a tray and pop into the freezer and freeze.
Take out and using a blender or food processor until you get a creamy icecream texture(the smaller the frozen pieces the easier it is to make)
Honest Simple Healthy Icecream...from Camila at http://mybitesoflife.blogspot.com/...
And my baby loves it...when she doesnt eat bananas she,ll wolf this down...thank you Cami!

Pumpkin,Walnut, (among other cosas ricas) Gratin

They say here in the mountains that you can fell a change in the weather after the fiesta major (the big yearly village fiesta)and I can feel it coming and even though theres a pang of clinging to the love of hot summer days ...I like Autumn.I like golden leaves,pumpkins,the promise of vast amounts of wild mushrooms or at least the anticipation,fires,chestnuts and supreme comfort foods like this recipe...theres a earthly gorgousness of walnuts ,chard combined with the sweet spicey pumpkin and crispy potatoes on top...Its my welcome recipe for autumn.

The quantities of ingredients depend on the size of oven dish...try even amounts of chard and pumpkin mixture...

About 6 shallots (or 3 sweet onions).
Chard leaves (a decent amount).
One garlic clove.
Roasted pumpkin.
Boiled potatoes.
Coconut milk.
Powdered ginger.
Powdered nutmeg.
Curry powder.
Olive oil.
Salt and pepper.

Start off with a few shallots cut into quarters and saute until soft.
Next some chard...always treat it like two vegetables the crunchy stalk and soft spinach like leaves....cut the stalks length ways then into small dices and boil in just enough water to cover them until they soften slightly(honor the crunch folks),drain and use the same saucepan for the leaves...roll up them up together as tightly as possible and slice finely .Put a drop of oil with some garlic and fry until almost golden(do not burn,I,m against burnt garlic)then add the chopped leaves,salt and just a slash of water(use the chard cooking water...save the rest for stock) and wilt until wilted.
The pumpkin I removed from the freezer-god or goddess bless you freezer!
It(the pumpkin)was roasted in the oven until soft ....it really intensifies the flavour.
I prefer not puting any salt and let the natural flavour shine until I know if I,m going to use it for a sweet or savouring plate.
In a saucepan heat a teaspoon of curry powder,a pinch of nutmeg and a half teaspoon of dried ginger(I,m sure fresh would be better or different at least but heh there was nowt to be found in my pueblo),then add the soft roasted pumpkin with a dessertspoon of marigold bouillon powder(absolutely not nessesary if you have a beautifully sweet flavourful pumpkin ,mine was not and to be honest the poor crater(Irish for divil or scamp or soul) was a bit dull tasting,so a bit of organic dried stock powder was called for)
Mash well together with a splash of coconut milk,salt and pepper and a nob of butter if it takes your fancy.
Toast a handfull of walnuts and place in an oiled ovenproof glass dish .
Place shallots and chard on top.
Next the spiced pumpkin purree.
Lastly decorate the top with sliced cooked potatoes brushed with olive oil.
Bake in the oven about 180 or 200 degrees until goldenbrown on top and bubbling slightly in the layers below.
A word or two on the photo ..It was taken the next day.Day light is always the best .It doesnt show exact layers of vegetables because it was deplated various times and does not do justice to my gratin.But please try it as I,m very happy with this one people.