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Posts Tagged ‘Mum’s cooking’

“Huevos Rotos” (Broken Eggs)

Posted in Cook, El Comedor, tagged , , , , on January 10, 2010| 45 Comments »

"Huevos Rotos" literally "Broken Eggs"

Tapas, Chorizo, Fried Egg, Jamon Serrano

I have to admit things were not going smoothly Saturday morning as my Mum and I prepared breakfast.  There was some debate with the Blog Monster as to how this dish was really made.

“Jamon.” I said.

“Chorizo!” She answered

“Jamon!!” I replied

“Chorizo! This is what we used to do in the restaurant” she countered.

You see we were trying to cook up a tapas dish called “Huevos Rotos” – which literally means “Broken Eggs.” Imagine a fried egg presented over a bed of pan fried potatoes, garlic, chorizo (or Jamon Serrano depending on who was making the dish).  The egg is then broken and scattered all over the rest of the dish.  It’s wonderful with a piece of warm bread.  And, while we were having it for breakfast,  you can have it any time of the day.

I first tried a variation of this dish in a Madrid Restaurant called Casa Lucio.  They call it “Huevos Estrellados” and they are acclaimed worldwide for it.  When I first saw it served to me, I said to myself  “they’re just french fries with a fried egg on top”… but I have to admit – it was out of this world.  If you want to be extra indulgent, pay a little more and you get a some Jamon on the side.

You can imagine, two stubborn cooks in one little kitchen disagreeing about how to make a simple tapas dish.  Each of us was insisting that our own version was correct.

Huevos Rotos

In the end, we decided to put both… and it was amazing!

Recipe – Serves 2

  • 2 eggs
  • 1 chorizo, diced
  • 1 large potato, cut into 1 1/2 cm dice
  • 3 slices, Jamon Serrano, torn up
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  1. Heat the olive oil in a pan and and the potatoes, cook on medium high until browned, around 10 minutes or until you can pierce the potato with a fork without resistance.
  2. Remove the potatoes from the pan and now add the chorizo pieces and fry until nicely browned.
  3. Remove the chorizo and add the garlic and lightly fry until there is some colour on the garlic chips.
  4. Remove the garlic and use the same pan to fry and egg.
  5. To assemble, lay the potatoes, chorizo and garlic on a plate, top with the fried egg and lay some torn pieces of Jamon Serrano on the side.   Serve with toasted bread.

Fried Potatoes, Chorizo, Garlic Chips, Jamon Serrano and a Fried Egg

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The Blog Monster’s Sombrero Pie

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , on January 7, 2010| 47 Comments »

"Sombrero" Pie

I think I may have created a blog monster.  Ever since I posted my Mum’s Canelones recipe and taught her to comment, she’s been very enthusiastic to say the least, about this little hobby of mine.  Take for instance the comment she left on this blog:

Triss,

It was great doing the step by step canalones with you…. More to come folks. I m here for another 18 days just hold on…. Mom

Then this afternoon, at work,  I get a cryptic voicemail from her saying “come home soon”.  Straight after work I found her hovering over the stove with three pots of ground meat.  Apparently, the meat was on special (you know how crazy Mum’s can get when something goes on sale!) and she said she would teach me three different dishes using the ground meat.  Chili con Carne, Ragu Sauce and Sombrero Pie.

Of all these dishes, my favourite would have to be the Sombrero Pie.    In her version, she layers mashed potatoes, ground meat, creamed corn and tops it with grated cheese.  In fact, it was a recipe featured in the cookbook she wrote with my sister.  In the cookbook they go on to say that it was named “sombrero”, because it looks like one of those Mexican hats.

She told me she would love to share it with you all… Enjoy!

Layer with mashed potatoes, ground meat, creamed corn and cheese

Recipe

  • 4 large starchy potatoes
  • 125 grams butter
  • 125 ml milk
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 3 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 250 grams ground pork
  • 250 gram ground beef (otherwise, use 500 grams beef and omit the pork)
  • 1/4 cup tomato paste
  • 400 grams creamed corn
  • 1 1/2 cups of tasty cheese
  1. To make the mashed potatoes, peel and quarter the potatoes and then boil until you are able to pierce through the potato with a knife.  Drain the water from the pan and put the pan back on the heat to “dry” the potatoes out – this should take around 30 seconds.
  2. Mash the potatoes with the butter and the milk.  Season with salt and pepper.  Set aside
  3. Saute the onions until transparent and then follow with the garlic until fragrant.  Turn the heat to high and add the ground meat.  There will be liquid that is released from the meat and cook until this liquid is evaporated.
  4. Add the tomato paste and cook for around 3 to 5 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
  5. To assemble, use a round container, measuring around 25 cm in diameter and around 5 cm in height.  First layer the mashed potatoes, then the beef, spread the creamed corn on top of the beef and finally the cheese.
  6. Bake in a fan forced oven for 35 minutes at 180 c fan forced.

Mum's Sombrero Pie

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Learning From Mum… and Teaching Mum

Posted in Bake, Cook, tagged , , , on January 5, 2010| 61 Comments »

Mum's Cannelloni

Is it just me or do none of your family members comment on your blog as well?  I know they read it but no matter how much I bribe (“I’ll give you some cookies that I baked in exchange for a comment”) or  beg (“please, please leave a comment”) – still no comment.

It would probably be particularly difficult for my Mum who, to put in mildly, is technologically challenged.

When my Dad taught her to send e-mail he had written VERY detailed instructions which went something like this:

Step 1 : Turn on computer

Step 2: Go to “icon” that has a picture of envelope and says E-mail and “double click”

Step 3: To send a message click on New on the upper left hand corner of the computer screen

…all the way to…

Step 12: To close your E-mail, click on the white X surrounded by a red square on the upper right hand corner of the computer screen

Step 13: Go to lower left hand corner of the computer screen and click the windows icon

Step 14: Find the arrow to click “shut down”

We were so proud of her when we started receiving e-mails.  She had finally joined the 21st century!

It was only months later that we discovered that for each and every email she sent out – she would actually follow step one to fourteen.  So for instance if she wanted to send three different emails out in one sitting  – she would have to turn on the computer three times and turn it off three times as well!

So believe me, teaching her to leave a comment on this blog was another milestone!  I told her that at least she only has to do it ONLY once for every post!  🙂

It’s a good thing that Mum’s  much better at cooking than computers. As she is here from the Philippines for a short vacation, I am making the most of her time here by asking her to teach me some dishes.  Tonight she taught me to make her take on the Cannelloni, or what she calls Canelones in Spanish.  No one in my family can resist this dish.   It’s made of chicken, mushrooms, chorizo, and smothered in a rich bechamel sauce and topped with  mozzarella cheese…

Yes… I know.

I’m very lucky!

Cannelloni smothered in a rich bechamel sauce

Recipe

  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 2 pieces of chorizo, chopped
  • 500 grams boneless chicken thighs, boiled and chopped (leftover roast chicken can be used in a pinch)
  • 1 handful of mushrooms, chopped
  • 1 jar (400 grams) of your favourite tomato based pasta sauce (we used Barilla)
  • 1 box cannelloni pasta
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Bechamel Sauce

  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 2 cups milk
  • 2 cups grated mozzarella cheese
  1. Cook the cannelloni as per instructions on the box.  Set aside.
  2. Heat the olive oil in a large pan and saute the onions, then add the chorizo and brown them
  3. Next, add the chicken, then the mushrooms and cook until the liquid from the mushrooms has evaporated
  4. Add the tomato sauce and allow to simmer for 25 to 30 minutes
  5. Season with salt and pepper
  6. Allow to cool to room temperature

To make the Bechamel

  1. In a saucepan, melt the butter, once this has melted, add the flour
  2. Slowly add the milk, incorporating this into the butter and flour mixture a little at a time
  3. Cook out the mixture for around 5 minutes over low heat, making sure to stir constantly to ensure that the bottom does not “catch”
  4. Add the 1 cup of mozzarella cheese to the mixture and set aside.

To assemble

  1. Fill each cannelloni with the chicken mixture and lay these on a baking dish
  2. Top with bechamel sauce
  3. Top with the remaining mozzarella cheese
  4. Bake in a 180 c fan forced oven for 30 minutes
  5. Garnish with parsley (optional)

Thanks for dinner Mum! It was lovely. 🙂

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