Munchy Monday #41: Meat or fish croquettes

This is a very efficient and tasty way to finish up any leftover meat. You can use ham, turkey, codfish, tuna, salmon... I remember once making rabbit and lentil croquettes. They were delicious. I normally serve them as an accompaniment to a salad for a first course, as a second course after vegetables or lentils or at suppertime with say, a mushroom omelette, salad and tomato bread. This is a basic recipe which you can adapt according to your menu.

You will need:
All purpose flour
Sunflower oil 
Crumbled fish or finely minced meat
Water
Salt
Breadcrumbs
Oil to deep fry

Method:
In a frying pan, gently heat enough oil to cover the base of the pan. Add enough flour to make a stiff paste and toast for half a minute or so. Add your meat or fish, stir and season with a good shake of salt. Fry gently for a minute, stirring all the time. Add just enough water, little by little, to make a thick dough. Turn out onto a plate to cool. When manageable, take tablespoon sized quantities and mould into a mini frankfurter shape. Roll each croquette in breadcrumbs and deep fry small quantities in hot oil.

They should look something like this!

Note: If you are making codfish croquettes, add a little garlic and some finely chopped parsley to the mixture. If the croquettes are made with plain chicken or turkey breast, coat them with a mixture of plain bread crumbs and garlic and parsley breadcrumbs.

Munchy Monday #39: Haricot beans with herbs

This is an easy dish to prepare, ideal alone as a first course or, as we ate it today, an accompaniment to red meat, chicken or fish. I opened a pot of ready cooked beans but you can also prepare your own from scratch - just leave the dry beans to soak for about 8 hours and then cook them the way you always do. (I use a pressure cooker and they're done in 10 minutes or so.) The quantities in this recipe are initially for four adult servings.

You will need:
A pot of cooked white haricot beans (drained weight 400g)
The juice and flesh of one ripe tomato*
2 tblsp. olive oil
A pinch of salt
A shake of each of the following herbs: thyme, rosemary, basil and oregano

Method:
Gently heat the tomato in a saucepan and add salt, olive oil, and herbs. Add the beans and stir. Heat through for a few minutes.

* To prepare the flesh and juice of a tomato, just take the tomato and cut it in half, horizontally. Grater each half, flesh side down, into a bowl. This way you leave only the skin behind. It's heaps easier than the boiling/cooling/skinning method : )

Munchy Monday #23: Turkey and lentil curry

I understand this is by no means a real Indian curry, how it might be served in India or in a specialized restaurant. It is a recipe which I have invented for our family. We just love it and it can be made tasty or hot or anything in between, just by adding more or less curry powder. I  serve it with Basmati or long grain rice, "tortes" or pita bread, heaped on a jacket potato or even (horror of all horrors) served with chips, like I used to eat it in the college canteen! Serves 6 - 8 adults.

You will need:

1/2 kilo turkey or chicken pieces
Grated flesh of one big tomato
2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
2 medium courgettes, peeled, seeded and roughly chopped
1/2 kilo green beans
150 g peeled orange lentils
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 medium onion, grated
1 heaped tsp. Sharwood's hot curry powder
Flour for frying
Salt
1/2 glass sunflower oil or similar
Water

Method:

Heat the oil in a pressure cooker, coat the meat in flour and gently fry for a few minutes. Add garlic, onion, curry powder and salt and stir fry another couple of minutes. Add tomato, carrot, courgette, green beans and lentils and stir fry again for another couple of minutes. Add enough water to almost cover the ingredients, cover and bring up to pressure. Simmer in pressure cooker for 12 minutes.

Note: Curry is much tastier if prepared some hours in advance or even one day for the next.

Another note: this can be adapted and made wheat free just by frying the meat directly without flouring.

My week

Last week was  a very busy one but I have had so much fun. Here are some photos to show just what I've been doing.

On Monday I managed to get most of the week's general housework up together. Then I started sewing...

Lavender cushions

Tuesday was quite an ordinary day. I worked in the afternoon, and my two extra little boys, as usual, came to stay over night. One thing I did do today was pick olives and sort through the ones my daughter picked in over the weekend. I began the preserving process with maybe a couple of kilos only. This summer has been a very damp one and the olives were rotting already.

On Wednesday I accomplished more specific housework + shopping and, as always, laundry... then in the afternoon, teaching. After all that, I made some forty pork and turkey burgers. Some we ate for supper and the rest I threw in the freezer.

On Thursday, my afternoon nanny job was lengthened to a full day one :) because the teachers were on a one-day strike. We made 3 batches of rainy day biscuits.  (It rained for 10 mins. or so, late Tuesday evening, so I felt authorized to make them!  Recipe to be posted soon.)

Friday, hubby and I went to "chill" in Tarragona for the morning. We walked around the port, the area of the indoor market and the back streets of the lower part of the city. I left my camera at home so there aren't any photos of this :(

On Friday afternoon I gave my English lessons, we packed a picnic supper and then we went to see a rally - the R.A.C.C. through Montmell - the mountains just behind where we live. The first car went through a little after 8:45 pm, the last at just gone 10:00 pm. Awesome.

(Photos from internet)

On Saturday morning I spent five hours working very hard in the garden weeding, watering, sweeping and tidying. Just look at those cabbages! (The favourite food of caterpillars, slugs and snails!)

In the afternoon Hubby and I went for a walk around the centre of Reus. Here are some photos:

I am also trying to concentrate more on my piano practice. I found a new piece to play which is taking up some time. (Will post details soon.)

Munchy Monday #3: Meatballs and vegetables

Serves 8-10

You will need:

For the meatballs:

400g minced beef
400g minced pork
2 level tblsp. fine breadcrumbs (plus more to coat with)
2 level tblsp. dried parsley
1 portion frozen garlic, defrosted (or similar)
1 level tblsp. salt
A generous squirt of your usual tomato sauce

Mix all the above ingredients well, and make into balls. It should make about 40  meatballs. Coat with breadcrumbs.

For the sauce:

1 kg. packet mixed frozen veggies
1 - 1 1/2 ltrs. of meat or chicken stock, boiling
1 level tsp. paprika
Salt to taste
Oil to fry

Method:

Put enough oil in a big frying pan to half cover the bottom of the pan. Add meatballs and gently fry on all sides until golden. Add the veggies, still frozen, and stir for two minutes. Add most of stock to pan and stir. Add paprika and stir again.

Bring to boil then gently cook on a low heat for about 20 mins, stirring occasionally. After 10 mins. or so the sauce will begin to thicken a little, so you might have to add more stock or water so that it will not all stick on the pan. Add salt to taste.

Mandonguilles a la jardinera

8 - 10 racions

Es necesita:

Per les mandonguilles:

400g de carn picada de vedella.
400g de carn picada de porc.
2 cullerades soperes de pa ratllat.
2 cullerades soperes de julivert sec.
1 ració d'all congelat, ja descongelat (o similar).
1 cullerada sopera de sal fina.
Un bon raig de tomaquet fregit.

Es barregen tots aquests ingredients molt bé i de la massa se'n fa boles no massa grosses (dóna per a unes 40 mandonguilles); després es rebossen amb més pa ratllat.

Per la salsa:
1 kg d'ensaladilla congelada
1 - 1 1/2 litres de caldo de carn o pollastre,  ja bullint
1 cullerada de postres de pebre vermell
Sal
Oli per fregir

Instruccions:

Es posa oli en una paella gran i es fregeixen les mandonguilles fins a daurar-les. S'afeigeixen les verdures, 1 litre de caldo i el pebre vermell, i es remena bé. Se li fa arrencar el bull i es deixa a foc lent uns 20 minuts, tot i remenant-lo de tant en tant. Es rectifica de sal.