Spicy Tomato Salad – A Perfect Lunch

So, risking sounding overly simplistic, I wanted to share the recipe for what has been my favorite lunch over the past few months here in Buenos Aires. Most days, around lunch time, I go to the corner vegetable stand and buy a few ripe tomatoes, a small onion (red or white, currently I like red better), and one small spicy hot pepper. Today I bought a bunch of baby arugula too because it looked very tasty but that is not in my normal recipe.

Then I come home and wash and cut the tomatoes into irregular bite size chunks and put them in a bowl. Then I cut half the small onion (or 1/4 if it is larger) into little strips and put that in the bowl as well. Then I dice the hot pepper and add that too. Then I put a big pinch of salt (I prefer the large grain salt for this, it seems to give more flavor), some pepper, and then drizzle with olive oil and viola, you have a delicious salad. Make sure to get ripe and good quality tomatoes or your salad will be quite dull and boring and too acidic.

I usually eat it with a chunk of wheat bread or some kind of baghette if I have one, or even with crackers. If I have bread I add a little extra olive oil, and when it was really hot in summer I would add an ice cube to cool things down and make more sauce for dipping.

As usual I finish my food before thinking about writing a blog post about it soI will post up a photo of someone else’s tomato salad that looks more or less like mine (though I don’t put basil on mine). The recipe I use I learned when living in Sicily and we would often have this salad to accompany grilled meat. 

Enjoy!

 

Baked Ratatouille with Eggs

Hi Everyone, I know I forgot about my recipe blog for a while but hopefully I will re-motivate now. I made this rataouille the other day and it was very tasty and then the next day I re-baked it with eggs on top and that was even more delicious.

The recipe for ratatouille is quite simple, and although there are lots of complicated ways to make a ratatouille I took the simplest approach. I bought eggplants, zucchini’s, red peppers, red onion, very ripe tomatoes, and garlic. I actually added some potatoes sliced very thin at the last minute even though they are not traditionally in ratatouille. Then I cut all those things into small chunks and put them in a baking pot with olive oil, salt, pepper, oregano, thyme and fresh parsley. The tomatoes I didn’t cut but crushed with my hands over the veggies in the pot to make a kind of crushed tomato sauce. Then I baked it covered for a few hours on low heat until everything was cooked.

Then the next day I took the leftovers, still in the pot, and cracked 5 eggs over the top and put the whole thing back in the oven, this time covered in more parsley, salt, pepper, and basil, and some parmesan cheese on top (or whatever hard cheese you have). Cook it until the eggs set, not too long or they get hard, and then enjoy with a salad (some hot sauce on the eggs also adds a nice touch).

For a salad I used ripe pears and some baby arugula with a sweet balsamic which was perfect as a side dish. So many veggies, so delicious! After a week of traveling to Mendoza, Argentina and eating steak every night this was the perfect meal!

[These pictures are actually not mine but look just like what I cooked. I only realized after eating this tasty meal that it was blogworthy]

         

Jan and Meris’s Baked Stuffed Squid

My mom and aunt just sent me this new recipe they invented for stuffed squid, sound delicious!!!

Ingredients
10 cleaned 3-4” squid and 15 tentacles (chop 5 tentacles and add to stuffing)

For the Stuffing:
9 TBS of Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
5 squid tentacles, chopped
1 ½ cloves of garlic, chopped fine (about 1 tsp)
handful of Italian parsley, chopped
1 anchovy filet (chopped) and oil from can
2 tsp of capers, chopped
fresh thyme or oregano, chopped
1 vinegarized hot cherry pepper, chopped
juice of ½ a lemon
cover with olive oil
cover with salt & pepper

For the Sauce:
olive oil (cover pan)
1-2 TBS (3 cloves) of garlic, chopped
large handful of Italian parsley, chopped
1/3 of a fresh hot pepper, chopped
2 lbs of fresh Campari tomatoes (golf-ball sized), quartered, or cherry tomatoes, halved
½ tsp of fresh oregano, chopped
salt
fresh basil, 2 TBS or large handful, torn in pieces

Instructions:

Prepare sauce. Heat olive oil till hot. Add garlic, parsley, chopped hot pepper, and then quartered tomatoes, and cook on high, moving them slightly (to prevent sticking) until the water cooks out and the tomatoes begin to fry. Add salt and oregano and stir constantly until all water is cooked out and tomatoes start to stick. Add basil and stir slightly longer until basil wilts. Remove immediately from burner.

In bowl, combine all stuffing ingredients and mix lightly. Add enough olive oil to moisten breadcrumbs. Take 10 cleaned squid and stuff each squid to fill lightly (leave a little room at the top). Fasten top of each stuffed squid with a toothpick.

Preheat oven to 400°F.

In a large glass Pyrex or other baking dish, put a layer of sauce down. Arrange the stuffed squid and remaining tentacles, and cover with the rest of the sauce. Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake in a 400°F oven for 30 minutes. Check to make sure squid are cooked (white). Can prepare ahead, cool, and then reheat for 5 minutes in a 350°F oven. Serve on a bed of cooked quinoa with green salad and vinaigrette.

 

 

Hyun’s Cold Soba Noodles with Lemon Miso Sauce

This is another wonderful lunch that also helped me survive my qualifying exams! Since it is a cold dish, it’s great for hot days. If it’s really hot you can even add an ice cube in at the end into the bowl with the noodles.  Enjoy!

  

Serves four

3 ounces soba noodles
2 cucumbers – peeled, seeded, and julienned
1 bunch Kaiware sprouts (sprouted daikon radish seeds) –>
1/2 pound dried seaweed (miyeok) – optional, can be found in Korean stores.

Sauce:
6 tablespoons tsuyu sauce (also called noodle dipping sauce or soup base)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
5 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons light miso paste
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon sesame oil – optional

Soak the seaweed in water for 10 minutes. Drain well and cut into squares. Place the cucumbers, seaweed, and sprouts around the edge of a round plate.
Boil noodles according to package directions. Drain and cool.
Whisk together all the sauce ingredients. In a large bowl, combine the noodles and the sauce, and place this in the center of the plate.

Hyun’s Delicious Mango Salad

This magnificent salad is part of the reason that I successfully completed my qualifying exams in grad school last Spring. My roomate Hyun would make this for me almost every day for lunch and it is the perfect combination of some of the worlds most delicious ingredients! Now fortunately she has decided to share her secrets with all of you, so enjoy!

Serves four

3 mangos – peeled, seeded, and cubed
4 avocados – peeled, seeded, and cubed
6 tomatoes – cut into cubes

Dressing:
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
6 tablespoons lemon juice
4 tablespoons lime juice
Salt to taste

Place the mango, avocado, and tomato cubes into a serving bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, and lime juice. Pour over the salad. Stir to coat. Add salt to taste.

My Mamma’s Chili

Ingredients:

1 lb lean ground beef

3-4 anahiem chile peppers seeded and cut into cubes or strips

1 red pepper cut into cubes or strips

1 jalapeño pepper seeded and cut very fine

1 large yellow onion chopped

2 large ripe tomatoes chopped

2 cloves garlic chopped

handful of parsley chopped

chopped fresh oregano

bay leaf

coriander

cumin

chili powder

paprika

sumac powder

vinegar

worcestershire sauce

unsweetened chocolate powder

1 large can of Contadina tomato sauce

1 can of pinquito beans and juice

1 can of louisianna red beans and juice

olive oil

salt

(You can also add a can of whole black olives if you wish. Mom says this is a Will Blackburn addition.)

 Directions:

Fry onions, garlic, parsley, peppers in olive oil.

Add peppers and fry until start to brown.

Add tomatoes.

Add meat and break up into vegetables.

Add spices.

Add tomato sauce.

Add beans.

Serve over sticky rice (japanese) or shredded cabbage.

My Mamma’s Pastina and Egg

This is a really good recipe when you have a tummy ache or just feel like you need something comforting to eat.

Ingredients (for one person):

-1 small egg

-2 tablespoons pastina

-lump of butter

-salt

 Directions:

Heat salted water in a small saucepan.

Break egg into a bowl and beat with a little salt.

Add pastina to water and boil until soft.

Remove about 1 tablespoon of water from pastina and save.

Drain pastina and return to pan.

Add lump of butter and egg and stir constantly over low heat until eggs are cooked.

If dry add a little of the saved water.

Check for salt and serve.

My Mamma’s Butternut Squash Loaf or Muffins

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups sugar (white and brown mixed)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
grated ginger
grated nutmeg
little mace
little clove
1/2 cup butter or vegetable oil
1/2 cup water
1 3/4 cups flour
1 cup squash
2 eggs

Directions:

bake at 325  1 hour 15 minutes for bread  or 35 minutes (0r until toothpick comes out clean) for muffins

My Mamma’s Chicken or Beef with Broccoli and Peanut Sauce

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts cubed or 1/2 lb beef sliced very thin

1 small head of broccoli cut into pieces

1 large or 2 small cloves garlic crushed

piece of ginger root cut into small pieces

soy sauce

1 big tablespoon peanut butter

Directions:
Put chicken or beef in bowl and add garlic, ginger, soy sauce and a little olive oil and leave to marinate.

Put a little olive oil in a non stick pan and cook until slightly tender.

Remove broccoli from pan and put aside.

Reheat pan and add a little more olive oil and throw in marinated meat.

Cook over high heat until meat is cooked through (be careful not to overcook beef, it should be just pink).  

Turn heat down and add peanut butter and salt as needed.

Mix well until peanut butter is totally mixed in and then add broccoli and a little water to make a little sauce.

Stir until completey mixed  add more soy sauce or peanut butter if needed.

You can also add a tbs of hoisin sauce as well as the peanut butter if you like it a little sweeter.

(Can also add some sesame seeds just before putting the meat in).

Serve over rice.

Grandma Cenza’s Eggs, Mozzarella and Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:

1 large or 2 small fresh tomatoes or 1 8oz. can of Italian tomatoes

mozzarella

chopped parsley

basil

salt/pepper

Directions:

Heat Oil to cover bottom of small frying pan. Crush tomatoes in pan with a  fork. Add parsley, basil, salt and pepper to taste. Let it cook slowly. Before tomatoes get too dry, add slices of mozzarella on top of tomatoes (leave some room for eggs). Cook short time – don’t let mozzarella get too soft. Add eggs on top of tomato (not on mozzarella and cook until the egg white is solid.