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Ok, so that was my sad attempt at an English accent. LOL Did you hear it? Was it close? The other day my friends were giggling at my accent from the video I posted…they said I have a combination of Minnesotan and Spanish accents (Spanisoooodan, hey? hehe)…I dunno. I don’t think I have one. LMAO

Anyway, about those taaaahts…one of the best fillings for pretty much *anything* is the spinach and feta combo. Spanakopita, quiche, tarts, omelettes, bread…I love the way the tangy feta contrasts with the delicate flavor of the spinach. And? It’s practically health food, what with all the calcium, folic acid and other nutrients these little babies provide. The filling is so quick and easy to throw together, too. Now, put this healthy and delicious stuff into some puff pastry…What’s not to love?

I’d also like to submit these little delights to this month’s Monthly Mingle Event (this month’s theme is appetizers) at Mansi Desai’s site, Fun and Food.  This fun event was started by Meeta at What’s for lunch, Honey?.  Go and check out the event and these great blogs!

 

Just look at that flaky goodness!  Let’s get started making them.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, minced
1 pound (400 grams) frozen spinach, squeezed dry
1 bunch spring onions, chopped
2 tablespoons dill
juice from 1 lemon
1/2 pound (200 grams) feta cheese, crumbled
1 egg
salt and pepper to taste
1 sheet puff pastry, cut into 9 equally sized squares

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350ºF/175ºC.
Lightly oil muffin tins or ramekins with olive oil.
Heat butter over medium heat and saute garlic until golden.
Add onion and saute until soft.
Add spring onion and spinach and stir well.

Remove from heat and add dill, lemon juice and cheese, and then season with salt and pepper to taste.
Stir in egg, beaten.  Look at this filling!

Line muffin tins with a square of pastry, and put a bit of filling on each.
Pinch the corners together, leaving a little breathing space (you can see this here).
Bake about 20-30 minutes or until golden.

Tartaletas de Espinacas

Ingredientes:

2 cucharadas mantequilla
2 dientes de ajo, majados
1 cebolla, picada
400 gramos espinacas congeladas, completamente escurridas del agua
1 manojo cebolletas, picadas
2 cucharadas eneldo
zumo de 1 limón
200 gramos queso feta, desmenuzado
1 huevo
sal y pimienta al gusto
1 lámina de hojaldre, cortada en 9 cuadrados

Elaboración:

Precalentar el horno a 175ºC.
Engrasar unas flaneras individuales con un poco de aceite de oliva
Calentar la sartén y dorar el ajo en la mantequilla.
Añadir la cebolla y sofreir hasta que esté tierna.
Añadir la cebolleta y las espinacas y remover bien.
Retirar del fuego y añadir el eneldo, el zumo, el queso y salpimentar.
Añadir el huevo batido y mezclar bien.
Forar cada flanera con una pieza de hojaldre.
Poner un poco del relleno en cada una y cerrar las puntas.
Hornear durante 20-30 minutos o hasta que estén doradas.

hehehe I just couldn’t resist that title.  The other day I was over at Tony’s site, Olive Juice.  He had posted this incredible mushroom tart recipe.  My Gawd I could hardly stand it.  Sauteed mushrooms with wine, goat cheese and mascarpone all nestled in a puff pastry shell.  Can YOU stand it?  That’s like heaven right there. 

Who knew that Heaven came in bite sized tarts?  Well, I guess Tony did, since he came up with the concept.  Immediately, I was jotting down the ingredients for the next week’s shopping trip.  Luckily, my food store had the mascarpone this week (score!), so I didn’t even need to make a special trip anywhere else.  Lucky Lucky!    So, I took Tony’s idea and ran with it.  Ran and ran…the concept is similar, but I kind of reinvented it a little, and took some short cuts (Tony, if you’re reading, please avert your eyes lmao), such as purchasing the pastry.  I changed the technique a bit and the presentation is more rustic than his.  I must say, though, that they turned out pretty daaaaayumed good. So, thank you, Tony for the inspiration.  This is going to be one of those recipes that makes it on the party food list.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 spring onion, finely chopped
10 large button mushrooms, sliced
1/4 cup white wine
1/2 pound (200 grams) purchased puff pastry
1/4 cup goat cheese (chevre)
1/4 cup mascarpone
salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

First, saute the garlic in the butter until golden.
Add the white parts of the spring onion and continue to saute until soft.
Add mushroom slices and season with salt and pepper.
Cover and cook over medium heat until cooked through and beginning to brown.
Add wine and reduce just a bit.
Remove from heat and toss in the green part of the spring onion, and give it a good stir.

Preheat oven to 400ºF/190ºC.
Lightly oil 9 ramekins.
Cut the puff pastry into 9 equally sized squares.
Place a square of pastry into each ramekin, and poke the bottom with a fork.
Add a bit of mushroom saute to each cup.

Mix the chevre and mascarpone in a bowl with some salt and pepper.
Top each mushroom cup with a little cheese mixture.

Pinch the four corners together and sort of twist the tart closed, like this:

Place the ramekins on a baking sheet and bake for about 20-30 minutes, or until golden.
Serve hot or at room temp.

Tartaletas de Champiñones:

Ingredientes:

2 cucharadas mantequilla
2 dientes de ajo, majados
1 cebolleta, picada
10 champiñones grandes, en láminas
1/4 vaso de vino blanco
200 gramos hojaldre
1/4 vaso queso de cabra
1/4 vaso queso mascarpone
salt and pepper to taste

Elaboración:

Primero, dorar el ajo en la mantequilla.
Añadir la parte blanca de la cebolleta y sofreir un poco.
Añadir los champiñones y salpimentar.
Tapar y cocinar a fuego medio hasta que estén tiernos los champiñones y están empezando a dorar.
Añadir un chorrito de vino y remover, dejándolo reducir un poquito.
Retirar del fuego, y añadir la parte verde de la cebolleta, y remover bien.
Calentar el horno a 190ºC.
Engrasar 9 flaneras con aceite de oliva.
Cortar el hojaldre en 9 cuadrados.
Poner una pieza de hojaldre en cada flanera y añadir un poco de champiñones.
En un bol pequeño, mezclar el queso de cabra y el mascarpone y salpimentar.
Poner un poquito de queso a cada tartaleta.
Cerrar cada tartaleta uniendo las esquinas y presionando un poco.
Hornear durante 20-30 minutos o hasta que estén doradas.
Servir caliente o a temperatura ambiente.

Did I scare you? I mean, the idea of frozen salad probably isn’t that appealing. LOL But. And this is a pretty big BUT. (no, it’s not mine! ) Gazpacho. Sorbet. Combine the two and you have a bit of frozen heaven. This traditional Spanish soup is always served chilled, and often with ice…why not go just another step and turn it into a savory sorbet, I asked? Top that with the traditional finely chopped vegetables for added crunch, and you have entered into yum world. This one is going to be making regular appearances at our summer table, folks. It’s the perfect way to begin a meal in the sweltering heat of summer, or even as an afternoon snack. It’s packed with vegetables, very low in fat, and delicious. Oh!  And super easy.  So whatcha waitin for?

Ingredients:

2 pounds (1kilo) very ripe tomatoes
1 cucumber, peeled
1 small red onion
2 cloves garlic
1 italian pepper
olive oil to taste (about 3 tablespoons)
red wine vinegar to taste (about 3 tablespoons)
salt to taste
4 cups ice cubes (or more)

Preparation:

Roughly chop all vegetables, reserving a bit of tomato, cucumber, pepper and onion to garnish.
Place all ingredients in blender or food processor and process until smooth.
Add ice and process until smooth.
Serve sorbet garnished with a bit of extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and topped with finely chopped tomato, cucumber, pepper and onion.

Y en español:

Ingredientes:

1 kilo tomates maduros
1 pepino, pelado
1 cebolla roja pequeña
2 dientes de ajo
1 pimiento italiano (para freir)
aceite de oliva virgen (3 cucharadas, mas o menos)
vinagre de vino rojo (3 cucharadas, mas o menos)
sal al gusto
4 vasos de hielo (o mas)

Elaboración:

Cortar las verduras en trozos (no tiene que ser muy pequeñas), reservando un poquito de tomate, pepino, cebolla y pimiento para adornar.
Poner todo en la batidora o robot y triturar hasta que esté bien molido y homogéneo.
Añadir el hielo y triturar hasta que esté suave.
Servir adornado con aceite de oliva virgen, vinagre de modena y las verduritas reservadas (picadas muy finas).

Let me just start off right away and say that the pan frito?  Is not optional. lmao  Pan frito, or “fried bread” makes this subtly flavored soup really something special.  As I’m sure you already know, we are soup junkies in this house.  I could eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and, in fact, do so often.  You see, one of my kids is anti-vegetable.  (the nerve!)  But if I make this?  I sneak lots of veggies into her at once.  mwa-ha-haaa  You can add more veggies to this, spinach is a great addition.  And it’s easy.  I mean *really* easy.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 onion
2 pounds (1 kilo) zucchini
1 smaller sweet potato
2-3 potatoes
2 carrots
1 double cube of bouillon
water to cover vegetables
1 cup milk or evaporated milk
2 tablespoons olive oil
2-3 slices of bread, cubed

Preparation:

Heat oil over medium high heat and lightly brown the garlic.
Add remaining vegetables, roughly chopped (peel the sweet potatoes,potatoes and carrots).
Add enough water to cover the vegetables, and your bouillon cube.
Salt and pepper to taste.
Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to low.
Allow to cook about 20-30 minutes, until veggies are tender.
Remove from heat, and add the milk.
Using an immersion blender, buzz up your soup until smooth.
Serve with pan frito and freshly grated Parmesan.
To make the pan frito, heat the olive oil in a skillet, and toss the bread around until golden.

Mmmmm…the smell of bread baking on a Saturday morning is almost enough to send me into a frenzy.  But.  BUT.  I don’t exactly want to get up at the crack of dawn to make said bread.  Who does?  I mean, it’s Saturday for cryin’ out loud.  And all that kneading, and waiting for the rise, and then the second rise…fuggedabadit.  Too much time and effort for a lazy Saturday morning.  Until now.  Last weekend, I hopped over to Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy because Susan had posted an English Muffin Loaf recipe that I wanted to try.  I loooooove English muffins, but unfortunately they’re not available for purchase in my neck of the woods, so they must be made from scratch.  Which is fine, but they take a lonnggg time.  Hours.  So I have been putting that little project off for several months. lol  Susan had adapted a recipe from Bellini Valli over at More than Burnt Toast.  Valli’s recipe is fantastic! Very quick, no kneading (did you see that?!  NO KNEADING! Woot!), and ready for consumption in less than 2 hours.  Now that’s what I call fabulous.  And another thing—this English Muffin Loaf is delicious on it’s own, but imagine the possibilities!  Eggs Benedict!  Sausage, Egg and Cheese Nik-Muffins (see what I did there? lol), English muffin pizzas!  I see lots of homemade bread in our future.  Thank you Valli, for a truly wonderful recipe, and thank you Susan for re-posting and kick starting me into bread baking gear!

Oooh, and a steep price it is….Free.  LOL  Before moving here to the Canaries it never–and I mean NEVER–would have occurred to me to make my own mayonnaise.  I mean, why?  It’s so easy to buy it at the store, and inexpensive to boot.  Why would anyone even bother?  But then I tried my mother in law’s alioli.  It was like a serious revelation, a turning point in my life.  Homemade mayo?  WAY better than store bought.  Add garlic?  Even *better* than WAY better than store bought.  It only takes about 2 minutes start to finish, too.  You’ll need a food processor or blender with an opening at the top to pour in the oil, but it really is one of the easiest things in the world to make.  So that’s recipe number one of this post.  Keep reading for a super easy spring/summer sandwich recipe…

 

Ingredients:

2 generous pinches of sea salt (the amount that you can pick up between your thumb and fingers)
3 cloves garlic (more or less, to taste)
1 egg
sunflower oil (I prefer sunflower to olive in this recipe…the olive oil makes the alioli bitter imo)…now this will vary, but about a cup?
2-3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Preparation:

Add salt, garlic and egg to your food processor or blender and process until garlic is finely chopped.
In a thin, steady stream (this is really important), add the sunflower oil until the sauce thickens. I have had it happen where the mayo never thickens. Don’t worry, just pour the mixture into another receptacle, add another egg and slowly pour it back in in a steady stream.
When the mayo has thickened, add the vinegar (processing all the while) to mix.
Adjust salt.
Done!
How easy was THAT?
Alioli goes very well with just about everything (except dessert), so be sure to have it handy at all times! lol It keeps in the refrigerator for about 3-4 days, tightly covered.

Now, let’s move on to that sandwich recipe I promised. Would you LOOK at this organic baby watercress my veggie vendor had?!

Doesn’t that just look fresh and delicious?! Watercress is a very common ingredient in Canarian cooking. We make stews with it, salads, and the ever popular, “Sandwich de Berros.” (berros=watercress) The watercress sandwich is common for breakfast, for an afternoon snack, and is often served at family gatherings and parties. The sandwiches are great when you first make them, but in my opinion are even better the next day, so they are a perfect make ahead addition to whatever fun gathering you have planned.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup alioli
4 cups baby watercress (or regular watercress, stems removed)
1 loaf sandwich bread

Preparation:

Place alioli and watercress in your food processor and blend until smooth.
Spread mixture on sandwich bread and cut into triangles.
Cover and reserve in refrigerator until ready to serve.