My Mexi-burger

Long time, no recipe, right? So, here's one of my creations to start the year, and this is all you need:

Tasty tartine

It's been long since I posted a recipe, so here's a super easy and tasty one. It's a mix of the flavors I enjoy the most from my native country (Mexico) and my new home country (Italy):

Jalapeño & Cheddar muffins

Being Mexican and not eating jalapeños is like being Italian and not eating pizza so, when I found this recipe in Lauren's blog (my favorite) I had to try it!

Pasta with Chanterelles

It's been a long time since the last recipe, so here's a tasty and simple first course with Chanterelles:

Pasta does make the difference

I love pasta, but I had never believed that the brand of the pasta could influence the taste of a certain dish. Until now. 

Easy starter

Hello again and sorry for my lack of posts again, been busy buying Xmas presents :)
Anyhow, before I go on holidays (1 day to go!) I wanted to share this super-easy recipe that reminds me of summer. It can serve as a starter for your Christmas Eve dinner and it's really the easiest of all.

Baked Prawns
(serves 2)
6 big fresh prawns
minced parsley
2 garlic cloves
salt
white pepper
olive oil

1. Put the prawns in an oven tray (lined with baking paper). Heat the oven to 200°C (392°F)
2. Chop the garlic cloves and mix with the minced parsley adding salt and pepper to taste
3. Sprikle the prawns with plenty of olive oil and then the mix of garlic and parsley
4. Bake in the oven for 10/15 minutes
5. Serve. If you wish, you can pour the remains of the sauce (oil, garlic and parsley left in the baking paper) and use it as a sauce once you've peeled the prawns.
Enjoy with a glass of chilled white wine, still or sparkling.

Salmon pasta

I still remember one of my first meals in Italy, Farfalle al Salmone. I had them in the pizzeria next door to the students residence I was staying at, and although it was no Michelin-star restaurant, I instantly fell in love with this dish. It was also one of the first things I learned to cook so it's a favorite.

Cheesecake!

A couple of weeks ago, I went with a friend to the Hobby fair, I'll explain in another post what exactly is that, but I just couldn't wait to write what we saw there!

Do you remember California Bakery (one of my favorite places in Milan)? Well, it was a pleasant surprise to find out that they had a stand in this Hobby fair we attended, but it was an even better surprise to discover they were having a cheesecake class there! So, for you all, here's the photo recipe:

Pumpkin risotto

You know how much I love risotto, so when this season comes, I can't avoid getting some pumpkin chunks and making a nice risotto.

Summer drink

So, I already wrote about Club Med's rooms, beach, food and every other detail, but I was forgetting another important aspect: the drinks!
I love Mexican all-inclusive resorts because the national drinks are included and, what is Mexico's national drink? Tequila!
As I told you about Club Med's food, the quality fo the drinks was also nice, no fake liquors or watered drinks, everything was just perfect. I'm sharing one of my favorite from Club Med Ixtapa's beach bar, the Electric Lemonade:

Swordfish pasta

Unfortunately, the holidays are over... But before I start posting and posting about my holidays in Mexico, here's an easy and delicious recipe, the kind I like the most!
Here's what you need:

Swordfish Pasta

(serves 2)

1 swordfish steak (about 150 gr.)
16 cherry tomatoes
1 teaspoon of green peppercorns
1 teaspoon of red peppercorns
1 teaspoon of black peppercorns
1 teaspoon of himalayan salt
1 garlic clove
1 red chili pepper
200 gr. spaghetti
salt
olive oil
parsley


Rinse and dice the swordfish.

In a mortar, grind the peppercorns and himalayan salt (I also added some coriander).

Mix the swordfish with the peppercorns mixture and 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a bowl, let it marinade for about 20 minutes in the fridge.

In a pan, heat two tablespoons of olive oil, the galic clove (peeled) and the pepper, minced and w/o the seeds. After a couple of minutes, add the sworfish marinade and cook for 3 minutes at medium heat.
Rinse and dice the cherry tomatoes.

Sprinkle the tomatoes with salt and add them to the pan, cook for 5 minutes and remove the garlic clove.

In the meantime, cook the spaghetti in salted boiling water. Drain and add to the pan with the swordfish. Mix and cook at low heat for a couple of minutes. Sprinkle with minced parsley and serve.

Wine pairing: Sauvignon Blanc 

Salmon & Burrata Rolls

Another super simple summer recipe(well, it's so good that we also have it in the winter). Another delicious thing from Italy that I'm in love with since the first bite is Burrata. Burrata is a fresh cheese, typical from the southern Italian region of Apulia (like orecchiette, remember?). It is like a mozzarella (actually, it is made of mozzarella) but the inside is creamier, due to its filling made of cream and scraps of mozzarella. The making procedure is different to the one of mozzarella and the taste is also different (fresher, creamier), but so delicious. When finished, it is wrapped in leaves -and a plastic bag- so when you eat it you can check if the leaves are still green to be sure of its freshness. It can be eaten like that or if you want you can add it to salads, cold cuts, cheese plates, pasta, etc. I know it may seem strange to mix fish and cheese but I particularily love this recipe:

Salmon and burrata rolls 

 Ingredients:
8 slices of smoked salmon
1 burrata
lemon juice
salt & pepper
chives
olive oil

Sprinkle the salmon slices with the lemon juice and some drops of olive oil. Chop some chives and mix them with the burrata (previously diced), adding some salt and pepper. Put a spoon of burrata mix over a salmon slice and roll it (like we did with the bresaola rolls, remember?)and tie it with a chive or a toothpick. Easy as that!

Orecchiette

Orecchiette is a kind of pasta (hand-made) from Southern Italy, Puglia region. It's called orecchietta because its shape reminds of a small ear (orecchietto in Italian). I don't know (of course), nor do I have the skills to make orecchiette by myself - I'm a bit of a chicken when it comes to making pasta with my hands - but you can buy fresh ones in gourmeries, and let me tell you, after I tasted them, I'm seriously thinking of making them by myself soon. You can also buy them dry as the other kinds of pasta, but trust me, the fresher the better.
I love the simplicity of some ingredients, a couple of them put together and you have an easy but delicious dish.

Orecchiette al pomodoro
(serves 2)
200 gr. of orecchiette (fresh or dry, whatever you can get)
tomato sauce
1 garlic clove
2 tablespoons of olive oil
a bunch of fresh basil leaves
1 spicy red pepper
half a cup of grated ricotta salata (or parmigiano cheese)
salt


Peel the garlic, then fry it in a pan with the olive oil and the red pepper (diced), after a couple of minutes add the tomato sauce, salt and basil. Cook over low heat for about 15 minutes, then take away the garlic.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta in salted water, drain and add it to the sauce pan, cook together -low heat-for a few minutes.
Serve the orecchiette in the plates and add the grated ricotta, decorate with basil leaves.

Bresaola rolls

11 years ago, when I moved to Italy, I had never heard of Bresaola before, so it was one of the best discoveries of my Italian life (together with pasta allo scoglio, supplì, panna cotta, etc. etc.). For those of you who don't know what it is, bresaola is a spiced, air-dried beef (not pork) originated in Valtellina, a valley in Northern Italy. It is tender, delicate and delicious. And it's great for your salads, sandwiches and appetizers, as the one I'm sharing with you today. In the summer, when it's so warm and you don't feel like cooking, this super-easy rolls are the best option.

Salmorejo

It's been so hot on Milan these days! And to be honest, I don't hate it, I mean, yes it's bad to jump on the subway and get all those funny (bad) smells and the sensation that the asphalt is melting under your heels is not a pretty one but, I'm a summer person, and I love summer clothes and sun and bright light so I can get past all those things to have a sunny warm summer.
And I happen to know a great dish to make a hot summer day a bit more bearable, it's called Salmorejo, it's a cold soup and it comes from Spain, Andalucia, to be more specific. It's like the more famous Gazpacho but it's lighter since it has less vegetables in it (gazpacho contains also cucumber, peppers and onion). And since salmorejo is thicker (due to the bread in it) it can also be used as a sauce.
It has a very antique tradition, and actually a nice story for us Hispanic-Mexicans because, even if it is a 100% Spanish dish, it has a bit of Mexico in its history. I'll tell you why: salmorejo was prepared in Spain since ancient times by mincing bread and mixing it with vinegar, but it was a white 'dish', since tomatoes didn't exist in Europe. It was after the discovery and Conquest of America that they were brought to Spain. Among the conquerors, there was an eyewitness called Bernal Diaz del Castillo who later wrote all about their trip and their findings in the New World, and he described that the natives used tomatoes to prepare a sauce that was similar to their 'white salmorejo'. So, after they brought the this vegetable with them, tomatoes were accepted widely in Spanish kitchen and also introduced to the salmorejo. Here's the way I prepare it:

Salmorejo

Ingredients (serves 4):

Saturday lunch

I love Saturdays! Every Saturday I wake up with a big smile on my face (when I'm not hungover - those mornings I wake up with a pout) because I know the weekend is starting. Sometimes, as you know, we go to the fish and fruit market in Piazzale Lagosta (Isola) to get our goodies, from that moment on, our tiny kitchen becomes an atelier, while G cooks the fish and tastes drinks the wine, I start setting the table, preparing salads, dressings, sauces, etc. to make our dish special.
You have already seen my tuna recipe, but this time we made some slight variations (like the black sesame seeds we got in Dubai) and we took better photos, so here it is for you:

Asparagus

The weather in Milan has had us thinking that it's already summer but let's not forget we are still in spring. And what better way to remember than eating season's veggies!
Take asparagus, they are poor in calories and loaded with vitamins and minerals. They are a good source of folic acid, vitamin A, B vitamins and vitamin C.They are also a fair source of calcium and fiber. They are also used in natural medicine to control some stomach affections, clean the liver, lungs and intestines of toxins. Apart from their depurative effects, they also have a protecting action of the arteries. Consumed regularly, they prevent the development of arteriosclerosis and clean the blood. 


So here are 3 easy recipes with asparagus as the main ingredient:

Strawberry fields forever

"Let me take you down 'cause I'm going to... Strawberry fields... nothing is real... and nothing to get hung about..."

When you grow up between The City (Mexico City) and Central Mexico's strawberry fields, like me, you probably learn how to use strawberries in your everyday life: milkshakes, smoothies, desserts, starters, salads, etc. But I had to come to Italy to learn how to use them in a first course! So here's one of my favorite dishes, perhaps 'cause it brings back my childhood memories, perhaps 'cause it's soooo good and easy to make!:

Easy pasta

I came back from Dubai loaded with spices and seeds: coriander, curry mixes, pine seeds, burghul, etc. In fact, my kitchen cabinet smells like a spice souk now!
As you know, I love simple and quick recipes (who doesn't?) so, since I have a big box of pine seeds I decided to try a Castelraimondo classic (that would be a recipe I learned to make while I was living in Castelraimondo), pasta with rucola, tomato and pine seeds, so simple but so tasty and healthy.

Cupcakes!

Just a quick recipe to keep you entertained while I'm in Dubai...
You may have noticed that I'm not a super-cook, in fact, up to 4 years ago I hadn't even fried an egg in my life but things change and I find every day more and more happiness in my kitchen trying to cook new things. This time it was cupcakes' turn! 
Cupcakes are one of those girly foods, after Sex & the City they have become the symbol of the good times with friends after shopping and gossip and after having tasted the delicious ones from Magnolia Bakery, Agnes Cupcakes and Hummingbird Bakery, I had very low expectations on my cupcakes but I still gave it a try. The first recipe I tried was not very good so I used this other one with slight variations on the quantities and the frosting. It was actually not difficult to make (the mess in the kitchen was difficult to clean, though) and the results were worth it!