Monday Munchies: Curry Pasta!

Monday is here again! And if for quite a number of people it can be a bit of tough Monday, going back to work after the Xmas break (here in Spain), we should always look forward to a new week that starts!

For this week's Monday Munchies I'm gonna take a break from all the cupcake recipes I've been sharing as of late, and share something a bit more healthy and more everyday like meal, which combines two of my fave things: pasta and curry! I love the smell of cooking with curry and spices, it makes me think of India and the bf!

Curry Pasta

Serves 4

Ingredients:

- 300 gr farfalle (or any other pasta you have around).

- 2 onions

- 2 apples

- 1/2 lemon

- 1 teaspoon curry (or more, as you like it)

- 1 teaspoon corn flour

- 150 ml cream or double cream, the one for cooking only

- olive oil

- salt and pepper

Method:

- Peel, core and cut the apples in bite size bits. Squeeze the half lemon and pour it over the apple so it doesn't darken. Peel the onions and slice them, so you get long but thing onion bits.

- In a deep pan, heat 4 tablespoons olive oil and saute the onion for about 8 mins until it is soft and transparent. Add the apple bits, and also add with curry and pepper. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring carefully with a wooden spoon. Disolve de corn flour in the cream and add it to the pan. Cook in low heat for about 12 minutes stirring with the wooden spoon.

- Boil the pasta in salted water, according to the packet instructions. Drain them and mix them with the onions and apples. 

- Serve hot & Enjoy!

Don't worry if you don't like onions much, I don't and I love this dish! The onions aren't the main flavour here, and if you cook them right, they won't have the crunchy taste you might dislike!

Monday Munchies: Lemon Muffins!

Hello everyone! Somewhat regular blogging from India! From my tablet, using my sister-in-law's wifi... while we're planning G's nephew b-day party! So in that festive mood, I leave you with a yummy recipe for Monday Munchies!

Lemon Muffins

Makes 16-18

Ingredients:

- 2 or 3 lemons

- 60 ml lemon yogurt

- 300 gr plain flour

- 2 eggs

- 180 gr sugar

- 15 gr baking powder

- 125 ml sunflower oil

Method:

- Wash and dry one lemon, you'll need the grated zest. Squeeze all lemons, to get 125 ml of lemon juice (use more lemons if need be, mine were small, so I used 5). Make sure you filter it so there won't be any seeds. Beat eggs and sugar in a bowl till they whiten and double their size. If you do it with electric mixer it'll be easier and done in a shorter time.

- Add oil, juice, grated zest and yogurt and mix well so there are no lumps. Sieve in the flour with the baking powder, and mix again till al ingredients are well mixed. Let the batter sit for about 30 minutes at room temperature. Preheat oven at 180ºC.

- Prepare the muffin pan with liners (since it yields about 16 to 18, you might need two pans or make two turns in the oven) and fill them up till 3/4. Bake for 20 minutes. Once they're done (test with a toothpick and if it comes out clean, they're done) get them in a rack to cool.

Monday Munchies: Hummus, yummy hummus!

A new week is here, and while I recover from last night's shift at work, I wanna share with you a very easy & yummy recipe to feed the tummy on this Monday Munchies edition!

Hummus

Serves 4

Ingredients:

- 400 gr boiled chickpeas (a can of ready made chickpeas will work)

- 1 garlic clove

- 1 lemon

- 3 tablespoons sesame seeds

- Ground cumin

- Paprika

- Salt

- Black pepper

- Olive oil

Method:

- Drain the chickpeas & wash them to get rid of the preserving liquid in the can, drain them well again; put them in the blender. Crush the sesame seeds in a mortar till you get a paste, dilute it with a bit of water and add it to the blender too.

- Peel the garlic clove and squeeze the lemon, filter the juice. Add both to the blender with a drizzle of olive oil, a pinch of ground cumin, salt & pepper to taste. Blend everything till you get a thick paste but no lumps, you can add a bit of water if it's too thick.

- Sprinkle a bit of paprika & olive oil on top, and serve with stick of raw carrot & cucumber and some pita bread for a delicious lunch or dinner!

Monday Munchies: Honey Chicken with Veggies!

Well, well, well. Finally we're back to normal, back to work, and back to a normal blogging schedule.

And to kick start the week right, nothing better than a yummy recipe to get us to start the week right with today's Monday Munchies!

As usual, it's a recipe from the Easy Cooking magazine!

Even Gaurav liked it, and he's not big on veggies!

Honey Chicken With Veggies

Serves 4

Ingredients:

- 800 gr chicken breast

- 1 fairly big chive

- 1 leek

- 1 zucchini

- 2 carrots

- 200 gr green beans

- 1 garlic clove

- Juice of 1 lemon and its zest

- 1 tablespoon honey

- olive oil

- salt

- a few black peppercorns

Method:

- Clean and cut the chicken into thin stripes, marinate them for at least 30 min in the fridge with a marinade made with the lemon juice & zest, a bit of olive oil and the peppercorns. A word of advice, if you don't appreciate crunching on peppercorns while eating, I'd recommend you count them at this stage and also when getting the chicken out of the marinade.

- Scrape the carrots, cut the ends of the zucchini and clean the beans; wash and cut everything into thin stripes/sticks. Then boil the beans in salted water for 5 min and drain them. Clean the chive & leek and slice them.

- Saute the chive & leek in a pan with a little oil for about 5 min. Add the carrots and beans, and saute them on high heat and stirring them often for another 2 to 3 minutes, then add the zucchini. Add salt to taste, and after 2 more minutes, remove the veggies from the pan and reserve.

- Add a little more oil to the pan and brown the garlic clove, previously cleaned & minced. Add the chicken drained from the marinade (and if you're like me, without the peppercorns!) and saute it. Add what's left of the marinade and the honey. Finally add back the veggies, saute everything together for a minute and serve.

- Enjoy!

Monday Munchies: Sauteed Veggies With Turkey!

Monday has arrived, and this week it's the tummy's turn to be fed.


For this Monday Munchies I'm sharing yet another recipe from the Easy Cooking (Cocina Fácil) magazine.




Sauteed Veggies With Turkey
Serves 4

Ingredients:

- 800 gr thin breast turkey steaks
- 150 gr carrots
- 200 gr zucchini
- 1 red pepper
- 2 green peppers
- 50 gr soy sprouts
- shredded ginger
- 2 tbps soy sauce
- olive oil
- Half a lemon
- salt & pepper

Method:

- Wash & dry the lemon, grate the lemon peel and squeeze the juice. Wash & dry the turkey. Cut it into bite sized pieces and marinate them for at least half an hour with the shredded ginger, the grated peel & juice of the lemon, a pinch of pepper, the soy sauce and a drizzle of olive oil.

- Scrape the carrots and wash them. Cut the ends of the zucchini and wash them. Wash and clean the peppers, cutting out the seeds. Cut everything into thin stripes.

- Put a wok with a bit of oil at high heat, once the oil is very hot add the carrots and saute for 2 min, add the peppers and continue to saute, after 2 more min add the zucchini. Saute everything for 2 more min and reserve the veggies.

- Add some more oil to the wok if necessary and saute the turkey (with its marinade) for 3 to 4 min. Add the reserved veggies and the soy sprouts, previously washed and drained. Saute everything for another pair of minutes and serve.

- Enjoy!

Monday Munchies: Cauliflower with Ham!

Monday again, and this week is once again time to feed the tummy!


I'm always willing to try new recipes, and even more when they're new ways to eat some veggies that I'm not too keen on, since I'm always trying to eat as many different veggies as often as possible.




Cauliflower With Ham
Serves 4

Ingredients:

- 1 cauliflower
- 100 gr ham in one piece/slice
- 1 onion
- 2 yogurts
- 1 teaspoon flour
- 1 cup veggie broth
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 parsley sprig
- Paprika
- Salt & pepper

Method:

- Cut the ham in cubes. Clean the cauliflower and separate into florets, then wash them. Peel the onion and chop it finely.

- Boil the cauliflower in salted water for about 10 to 15 minutes. In the mean time, heat the oil in a nonstick skillet and fry the onion for about 7 to 8 minutes until translucent.

- Add the ham and sprinkle with the flour. Let it brown a bit so it loses the raw taste and slowly pour the broth while whisking it to dissolve the flour. Salt & pepper to taste and boil during 3 to 4 minutes stirring often. Add the yogurts and simmer it for another 2 minutes.

- Drain the cauliflower and divide into the 4 plates. Cover with the yogurt & ham sauce and sprinkle it with some paprika to taste. Wash & dry the parsley, separating the leaves and decorating the dishes with it.

- Serve hot & enjoy!

Monday Munchies: Macaroni with Sausages!

Hello everyone!


On a very stormy Monday, there's nothing like a yummy recipe to raise the spirits and if it's a pasta dish, it'll give you an energy kick!




Macaroni with Sausages
Serves 4

Ingredients:

- 300 gr macaroni
- 200 gr mushrooms
- 200 gr sausages (I use precooked ones but you can use fresh).
- 40 gr shredded cheese
- a whole garlic clove
- 2 sprigs of garlic

Method:

- Clean & wash the mushrooms, and cut them in fours. Wash the parsley, drain and separate the leaves.

- Cut the sausages in bit sized pieces. In a nonstick skillet, saute them for about two minutes with enough oil to cover the bottom of the skillet. Add the mushrooms, and the garlic, peeled and cut, and continue to saute, stirring often, for about three more minutes.

- Boil the macaroni with about 1 litre salted water till it's al dente (tender) and drain it. Add them to the skillet with the sausages & mushrooms, add salt & pepper to taste and saute all together to combine.

- Serve with the parsley leaves and the shredded cheese. Enjoy!