impressive party recipes, the easy way. { garlic herb butter pull-apart brioche }

'Pão de alho' - or garlic herb butter bread - has long taken its place as staple party appetizer back in Portugal, greatly owing to two facts: first, everybody loves it; second, even the laziest and messiest cook can pull it off, as you can easily buy it frozen and pop it into the oven right before your guests arrive. However, if you're looking to step up your 'pão de alho' game a little bit and impress your guests - without getting way too adventurous for starters - I've got just the thing for you.

ouro negro. { black rice risotto with codfish, dried tomato and red pesto }

there is this line from a song that came to explain how i sense this world.

'she moves with shameless wonder.'

well, i wonder about the actual meaning of this verse.

maybe Hozier wrote it purely to romanticize a woman's assured and graceful gestures...

yet, i take it differently.

to me, it describes someone who senses this world with constant and unhibited curiosity and - consequently - fascination, a characteristic that keeps them wandering decisively, looking for answers.

maybe i've read too much into it, but i guess that's what poems are made for.

i wish i could discuss that with him one day.

this characteristic allows me to find inspiration in the most odd circunstances, particularly during the time i'm on my own. it also keeps me excited about discovering new things, either in my thoughts - i do think a lot - or palpable stuff.

a bit due to it, i love finding products that i would not even imagine could exist.

that was the case of this black rice.

food is sexy. { beef wellington }

yesterday, while scrolling down my facebook feed, i read something that made me feel home at heart.

it was the title of an article about an upcoming book by Nelson Carvalheiro - a portuguese blogger, - about Portugal, food and travelling. as one could there read, the author believes that, especially in the north of the country, the portuguese say 'i love you' by setting food on the table and inviting you to eat it.'

this couldn't have been said better.

-

um risotto herege... { an heretic mushroom risotto }

(finally back from the thesis ermitage!)

There is something that I really like to cook but rarely take pictures of.

Usually I have no time to take nice pictures of it, because I really want it to be served right away.
And, truth to be told, you just need the perfect plating and light to shoot this - and this is something quite not attainable when you are just in a hurry to put it on the table.

I'm talking about risotto.

Today the sunlight was just right, so I had to shoot it and bring the recipe here. This is a recipe that changes all the time... I usually use white wine, preferably sparkling one, and I usually use other kinds of cheese, I change the seasonings and herbs all the time, so I just brought the exact (odd) recipe I came up with today - it is really odd, you'll see...

Because today was a lazy holiday day, sleeping in, doing nothing, and eating a bowl of this in a sunny balcony suited it just perfectly.

just throw it all in ;) { one-pot primavera pasta }

Don't know what to cook for dinner?

I had taken a peek at something quite similar on this website just yesterday, so I was like... well, why not? In the end I found it such a easy-peasy funny little thing that I had to share it with you ;) One-pot and no stirring is quite a ease of mind to me sometimes, especially when it's just me for dinner, and this dish is effortless delight.

One-Pot Primavera Pasta

- 70g de penne integral

- meia courgette, cortada em rodelas finas

- 7 cogumelos, laminados

- 1 cenoura pequena, picada

- 1 dente de alho, laminado

- 1 + 1/2 chávena de água

- 1 colher de sopa de azeite

- sal

- 2 colheres de sopa de quark, natas ou leite

- mistura de pimentas, moída na hora

- parmesão ralado q.b.

1) Colocar todos os ingredientes da primeira lista numa panela,

2) Levar a ferver e deixar cozinhar com a panela tapada cerca de 8-10 minutos,

3) Escorrer bem se houver água restante,

4) Misturar o quark e a pimenta,

5) Servir polvilhado com bastante parmesão.

One-Pot Primavera Pasta

- 70g wholewheat penne

- 1/2 zucchini, thinly sliced

- 7 mushrooms, thinly sliced

- 1 small carrot, chopped

- 1 garlic clove, thinly sliced

- 1 + 1/2 cup water

- 1 tbsp olive oil

- salt

- 2 tbsp quark, cream or milk

- freshly ground pepper

- ground parmesan

1) Place all ingredients of the first list in a pot,

2) Take to a boil, cover and let simmer for 8-10 minutes,

3) Drain remaining water if necessary,

4) Mix in quark and pepper,

5) Serve with plenty parmesan cheese on top.

tomato stands for summer. { tomato and black olive sauce chicken }

Bringing you a very simple yet delicious meal.

Frango com Tomate e Azeitonas

- 400g de peitos de frango

- 3 dentes de alho, picados

- sal

- pimenta moída na hora

- ervas a gosto

- azeite

- 1 cebola, cortada em gomos

- 4 tomates frescos, cortados em gomos

- 6 tomates secos de frasco, em pedaços

- uma mão cheia de azeitonas

- garam masala

- tempero de pasta arrabiatta

- sal e pimenta

- polpa de tomate

1) Refogar o frango com o alho, sal, ervas e pimenta em azeite; reservar,

2) Refogar a cebola com o tomate seco e os temperos até ficar transparente; juntar o tomate fresco e deixar cozinhar,

3) Juntar um pouco de polpa de tomate e rectificar os temperos.

Tomato and Olive Chicken

- 400g chicken breasts

- 3 garlic cloves, chopped

- salt

- freshly ground pepper

- chopped herbs

- olive oil

- 1 onion, sliced

- 4 fresh tomatoes, sliced

- 6 jar dried tomatoes, chopped

- a handful of olives

- garam masala

- pasta arrabiatta seasoning

- salt e pepper

- tomato paste

1) Sautée chicken in olive oil with garlic, salt, herbs and pepper; set aside,

2) Sautée onion with dried tomato and seasonings until tender, add fresh tomato and let cook,

3) Add a bit of tomato paste and check the seasoning.

raw and ravishing. { salmon tartare with balsamic strawberries and yogurt sauce }

Thesis on hold... for now I have an headache on fire.

Hi! I would like to welcome all the people who just recently started visiting my page ;) And thank all those who keep me going!

Talking about that... Sometimes people really inspire me without even knowing it. And this post is a bit about it.

I put a hold on the party recipes series to present this dinner I made at home back before Easter for me and my lovely brothers.

You know... I thought they would really hate it.

I had just arrived in Aveiro from Munich and both my parents were travelling to different corners of the world. There was some salmon in the fridge that was somehow meant to be grilled.

Of course it didn't turn that way. Thing is: I prefer raw salmon 1000x over the cooked one. And it's always impossible to try daring - read unconventional upon sight - recipes when I'm cooking for my parents, so I shortly convinced my brothers we would try something different ;)

Back to where I started... on the people who really inspire me without noticing... This was the recipe that made me come back after months of desertion. I mean, there was this guy who really talked me into coming back because he thought this dish looked nice. Today, I want to thank him :)

Tártaro de Salmão

- 2 lombos de salmão, sem pele ou espinhas e cortados em pequenos cubinhos

- 2 dentes de alho, picados

- 1/2 cebola pequena, picada

- coentros, picados

- 3 colheres de sopa de sumo de limão

- mistura de pimentas, moída na hora

- 1 colher de café de massa de alho

- sal

- 6 morangos

- 1 colher de sobremesa de vinagre balsâmico

- 1 colher de sobremesa rasa de açúcar

- 1 iogurte grego

- 1 iogurte natural

- mistura de pimentas, moída na hora

- sal

- sementes de sésamo q.b.

Numa taça alta, misturar gentilmente o salmão, o alho, a cebola, os coentros, o sumo de limão, a pimenta, a massa de alho e o sal. Reservar.

À parte, misturar os morangos, o vinagre balsâmico e o açúcar. Reservar.

Noutra taça, misturar os iogurtes, a pimenta e o sal,

Escorrer bem os morangos,

Montar o tártaro em aros metalizados (usei um copo de iogurte com o fundo cortado. Começar com uma camada de morangos, seguida de uma camada de salmão,

Finalizar com o molho de iogurte e as sementes de sésamo.

Salmon Tartare

- 2 salmon fillets, no bones or skin, chopped into small pieces

- 2 garlic cloves, chopped

- 1/2 onion, chopped

- cilantro, chopped

- 3 tbsp lemon juice

- pepper mix, freshly ground

- 1/3 tsp garlic paste

- salt

- 6 strawberries

- 2 tsp balsamic vinegar

- 2 tsp sugar

- 1 greek yogurt

- 1 regular yogurt

- pepper mix, freshly ground

- salt

- sesame seeds

Mix the salmon, garlic, onion, cilantro, lemon juice, pepper, garlic paste and salt. Set aside.

In another bowl, mix strawberries, balsamic and salt,

Drain the strawberries completely,

Mix the yogurt, pepper and salt

Set the layers inside a steel ring for plating: first strawberries, then salmon,

Finish with the yogurt sauce and sesame seeds.

ultimate comfort food that is also a party hit! { spinach-cheese, aubergine-olive and tomato sauce pasta gratin }

Agora que vem aí o mundial... uma receita com as cores de Portugal ;)

I know I posted a pasta gratin just two days ago...

I'm telling you...

Better yet: I'm warning you...

This is no ordinary pasta gratin. This is The comfort food you've been craving your whole life, The most simple yet complex pasta dish, The perfect quick-whip recipe for unexpected guests, That tray of pasta you can freeze for those days you don't feel like cooking and also The tray of pasta you thought could feed two mouths but you end up eating alone on a Tuesday night (oOops... guilty!) ;)

I originally made this recipe for a big dinner with a lot of other dishes, for a regular meal I estimate it feeds around 6-8.

Gratinado de Massa com Três Faces

- 500g de massa à escolha (usei bandnudeln)

Espinafre e queijo

- 300g de espinafres, lavados

- 1 queijo mozzarella ou requeijão

- sal e pimenta

Puré de Beringela

- 3 beringelas, lavadas e cortadas em cubos

- 5 dentes de alho, com casca e esmagados

- sal, pimenta e garam masala

- azeite

- 6 azeitonas sem caroço, cortadas em rodelas

Molho de tomate rápido

- 2/3 de chávena de polpa de tomate

- alho seco

- sal

- pimenta

- orégãos

- manjericão

- azeite

- mozzarella ralado

- orégãos

1) Coloque a beringela e os alhos com casca num tabuleiro de ir ao forno, temperar com sal, pimenta e garam masala e regar com azeite; assar a 170ºC durante cerca de 30-40 min,

2) Escaldar os espinafres em água fervente temperada com sal até estarem tenros; escorrer e partir em pedaços; reservar,

3) Cozer a massa em água com sal; escorrer e passar por água fria; reservar,

4) Retirar a beringela e os alhos do forno, eliminar as cascas dos alhos e reduzir tudo a puré; incorporar as azeitonas,

5) Desfazer o mozzarela e misturar com o espinafre, temperar com sal e pimenta,

6) Levar ao lume todos os ingredientes do molho de tomate e cozinhar um pouco,

7) Espalhar um pouco de molho no fundo de um pirex grande, cobrir com uma camada de massa, espalhar o espinafre, nova camada de massa, espalhar a beringela, mais uma camada de massa, deitar o restante molho e cobrir com o mozzarella ralado,

8) Antes de servir, polvilhar com orégãos e levar ao forno a gratinar a 170ºC cerca de 20 minutos.

Three-Sided Pasta Gratin

- 500g pasta (I used bandnudeln)

Spinach and cheese

- 300g spinach, rinsed

- 1 mozzarella or ricotta cheese

- salt and pepper

Eggplant Purée

- 3 eggplants, rinsed and diced

- 5 garlic cloves, with peel, smashed

- salt, pepper, garam masala

- olive oil

- 6 pitted olives, cut down to rings

Fast tomato sauce

- 2/3 cup tomato paste

- dried garlic

- salt

- pepper

- oregano

- basil

- oilve oil

- grated mozzarella

- oregano

1) Bake the eggplant and garlic, seasoned with salt, pepper, garam masala and plenty olive oil at 170ºC for about 30-40 min,

2) Soak the spinach in boiling salted water until tender; drain and chop; set aside,

3) Boil the pasta in salted water; drain and rinse with cold water; set aside,

4) Take the eggplant and garlic out of the oven, eliminate the garlic peels, purée; mix in the olives,

5) Tear the mozzarella apart and mix with spinach, season with salt and pepper,

6) Cook all the tomato sauce ingredients over medium heat,

7) Pour a little tomato sauce on the bottom of a big pyrex, cover with a layer of pasta, spread spinach mixture, another layer of pasta, spread eggplant purée, yet another layer of pasta, pour remaining sauce and finish with the grated mozzarella,

8) When it's time to serve, sprinkle with oregano and bake at 170ºC for about 20 minutes.

isto é que vai aqui uma açorda... { açorda de peixe }

On great dinners.

You know, I love to cook. But I am definitely not cut out to be in the kitchen the whole day. I think it would drive me crazy. It's hot, dirty and nose and mouth confusing. In the end, I would have smelled and tasted too many different things - yes, I am also not cut out to make only ONE big sized dish. I like to make MANY smaller dishes.

So since I am having a 'little' party here at night, I have already whipped up 7 or 8 different things (among appetizers, main dishes and desserts) since 10 pm yesterday. Not that I have been cooking the whole time. But mostly.

This post is actually not about this party. It is about a small nice dinner I had here on Wednesday. More importantly, this post is about tasting like home. Taste of Portugal ;)

When two friends said they would like to do something Wednesday evening, and since no one had yet seen my new apartment, I suggested we could do dinner + film here. Somehow, it didn't take me long to choose a recipe to cook, I had been dreaming of one of these for a while.

Until not long ago, I really didn't like açorda. It is something that has been growing on me, and that I had never cooked. So I read some recipes online and came up with my own version.

Modesty aside, I dare to say it was a success.

Açorda de Peixe

Nota: na minha terra diz-se que bacalhau não é peixe ;) mas esta receita, para além de poder levar peixes brancos - garoupa é boa opção - pode levar bacalhau. Entre parênteses estão os ingredientes específicos que usei ou outras notas.

- 600g de lombos ou filetes de peixe branco (bacalhau fresco congelado)

- 1 pão grande (pão de centeio)

- 1 chávena de polpa de tomate

- 1/2 chávena de caldo de marisco (sopa de salmão)

- 6 dentes de alho, picados

- azeite

- sal

- mistura de pimentas, moída na hora

- ervas de provence

- piri-piri seco

- salsa fresca, picada (usaria coentros, mas nesta terra não é fácil encontrar)
- 1 ovo

1) Cortar o topo do pão com uma faca de serrilha, de forma a criar uma tampa,

2) Dourar o peixe com metade do alho em azeite e sal durante um minuto ou dois, juntar três chávenas de água e deixar cozer,

3) Entretanto, retirar o miolo do pão, temperar com pimenta e colocar numa taça, reservando o exterior à parte,

4) Juntar e misturar água ao miolo do pão de forma a que bem embebido; deixar de molho durante cerca de 10 minutos,

5) Escorrer o peixe e partir em pequenos pedaços; reservar o peixe e o caldo da cozedura separadamente,

6) Num tacho, refogar o restante alho em azeite,

7) Juntar a polpa de tomate e o caldo de marisco; misturar e deixar cozinhar um pouco,

8) Escorrer ligeiramente o pão e juntar ao tacho com o caldo de cozedura do peixe; deixar cozinhar cerca de 10 minutos, mexendo frequentemente,

9) Juntar o peixe, pimenta, piri-piri, ervas de provence e a salsa fresca picada, deixar cozinhar mais 2 minutos,

10) Adicionar o ovo e misturar energeticamente na açorda, deixando cozinhar mais 1 minuto,

11) Verter dentro da crosta do pão e servir polvilhado com salsa fresca picada.

Fish Açorda

Note: You can use any white fish for this, grouper and salted cod are good options. Between parentheses are other notes, like the specific ingredient I picked.

- 600g white fish (defrost frozen codfish)

- 1 big bread (rye)

- 1 cup tomato paste

- 1/2 cup seafood stock (salmon stock)

- 6 garlic cloves, chopped

- olive oil

- salt

- freshly ground pepper

- provence herbs

- dried chili powder

- fresh parsley, chopped (I would use cilantro but it's not easy to find around here)

- 1 egg

1) Cut the top of the bread, so as to create a lid,

2) Cook the fish with half the garlic and salt in olive oil over medium heat for a minute or two, add three cups water and let boil,

3) Meanwhile, scrape the interior of the bread, season with pepper and place in a bowl, setting the crust aside,

4) Add water to the bread in the bowl until it is all soaken; let rest for around 10 minutes,

5) Drain and chop the fish; keep the resulting broth aside,

6) In a pan, sautée the remaining garlic in olive oil,

7) Add the tomato paste and seafood stock and let cook for a while, stirring,

8) Lightly drain the bread and add to the pan with the fish stock; let cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently,

9) Mix in the fish, pepper, chili, herbs and let cook for 2 more minutes,

10) Add the egg and stir energetically; let cook 1 more minute,

11) Pour inside the bread crust and sprinkle with freshly chopped parsley.

the italian job { mushroom, dried tomato and mozzarella risotto }

I guess I was blessed with some great friends over here.
Thank you guys for making me feel so lucky :)

I don't know if the owners are aware of this yet - well... they should, considering the amount of times I've been sticking around, over pots and pans - but I really like this kitchen! It is really cozy and it's quite nice to cook there. Who knows, maybe it's the Italian aura - yes, the owners are quite nice too!
So yesterday I decided to make a surprise dinner there and I ended up choosing all Italian food. This meant whipping up risotto and pannacotta for three Italian - plus one canadian ;) - and very demanding judges. Quite demanding. Call me wary, but didn't you know how italian guys are harsh on "pseudo-italian food" made by non-italians? Worth hearing. Anyway... somehow, maybe because I was being nice and well-intentioned, I was told it was good...

Risotto de Cogumelos, Tomate Seco e Mozzarella
- 500g de arroz arbóreo

- 3 dentes de alho, picados

- 300g de cogumelos frescos, finamente laminados

- 8 tomates secos de frasco, cortados em tiras

- 1 embalagem de bolinhas de mozzarella fresco

- 70g de queijo maasdammer, em pequenos pedaços

- 1 cubo de caldo de galinha

- 200ml de vinho branco

- 2 colheres de sopa de polpa de tomate

- água fervente

- azeite

- orégãos e manjericão

- mistura de pimentas, moída na hora

- sal

Refogar os cogumelos e o alho em azeite com os temperos e o caldo de galinha até estarem tenros; escorrer e reservar o caldo resultante e os cogumelos separadamente,

Levar um tacho anti-aderente a lume brando com o arroz e o caldo dos cogumelos, mexendo até este ter sido completamente absorvido,

Juntar aos poucos o vinho, mexendo e deixando absorver,

Juntar aos poucos a água quente e a polpa de tomate e ir mexendo, até o arroz estar praticamente cozinhado e ainda ter um pouco de água,

Incorporar os cogumelos e o tomate seco,

Juntar o maasdammer e misturar bem,

Por fim, juntar o mozzarella fresco e misturar novamente,

Servir imediatamente.

Mushroom, Sun-dried Tomato and Mozzarella Risotto

- 500g arborio rice

- 3 garlic cloves, chopped

- 300g mushrooms, thinly sliced

- 8 sun-dried tomatoes, jar kind, sliced

- 1 pckg small mozzarella balls

- 70g maasdammer cheese, chopped

- 1 cube dried chicken stock

- 200ml white wine

- 2 tbsp tomato paste

- boiling water

- olive oil

- oregano and basil

- mix of peppers, freshly ground

- salt

Sautée the mushrooms with the garlic in olive oil with the seasonings and the chicken stock until tender, drain and set aside the resulting stock and the mushrooms, separately,

Heat a non-sticking pan over medium heat and mix the rice with the stock until absorved,

Pour the wine bit by bit, mixing and letting the rice absorb it,

Follow with the hot water and the tomato paste, until the rice is practically cooked and there is still some water left,

Mix in the mushrooms and the tomato,

Add the maasdammer and mix well,

At last, mix in the fresh mozzarella,

Serve imediately.

on no-dinner dinners { hummus }

A quarter past seven in the afternoon and we've just ran away from work for one hour or so to drink a beer and laugh all together. No one feels like having dinner yet - for we are all used to late night dinners - but it's been quite a while since coffee... So here my version of the perfect thing to have along with a cold beer or, as I would rather have, a radler. Spread some on your favourite bread - most likely also good for a lazy home alone dinner ;)

Hummus

- uma lata (850g) de grão de bico

- 5 dentes de alho

- 1 colher de chá de cominhos

- 2 colheres de sopa de azeite

- água

- sal e pimenta

- pão, cortado em fatias, para servir

Num blender, misturar todos os ingredientes com a excepção da água,

Juntar água aos poucos até obter a consistência desejada, misturando entre adições,

Servir numa taça com um fio de azeite e uma pitada de pimenta moída na hora e pão.

 Hummus

- 1 can (850g) chickpeas

- 5 garlic cloves

- 1 tsp cummin

- 2 tbsp olive oil

- water

- salt and pepper

- bread, sliced, to serve

In a blender, process all ingredients but water,

Add water bit by bit, mixing between additions, until reaching the desired thickness,

Serve topped with a little olive oil and freshly ground pepper, with the bread on the side.