Canary Island-Style Chicken Stew

This is an awesome easy to make dish.  It comes from the Canary Islands in Spain.  This dish is like soup, best made a day ahead.  Being that it is winter I used canned tomatoes to make this dish.  I dislike buying tomatoes fresh in the winter because they usually come from a greenhouse and don't have very much flavor.  You can also leave the tomatoes out completely, perhaps adding an additional onion.  Serve this dish with fried or boiled potatoes, rice or pasta.

Ingredients:
1/2 kg (1 lb.) chicken
2 onions, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
2 tomatoes. chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
few sprigs of parsley
a pinch of ground cumin
a pinch of turmeric
1 glass of white wine
olive oil
1 bay leaf
a few sprigs of fresh thyme
a little flour
salt and pepper

Cut the chicken into pieces (I used 8 chicken legs), coat in flour and fry lightly in olive oil until golden in a saucepan.  Take the chicken out and add a little more olive oil and fry the onions, pepper and garlic.  Add the bay leaf and herbs.  After a few minutes, add the wine, tomatoes and the chicken pieces.  Cover and simmer until the chicken is cooked through.  Stir occasionally to prevent sticking.

Pork with Garbanzos (Greek)

This is a traditional dish from Crete served usually at weddings.  It is best made the day before so that the flavors can develop.

Ingredients:
500 g (1 lb) Pork, cut into small pieces
250 g (1/2 lb) tomatoes, chopped
250 g (1/2 lb) garbanzos, soaked overnight
1 onion, chopped
salt and pepper
mixed herbs (oregano, basil, parsley)
olive oil

Put the garbanzos to soak overnight in water. The following day, place the garbanzos and their soaking water into a pot and boil until the garbanzos are done (30-45 minutes). In a pan with a lid, heat the olive oil.  Add the meat and onions, saute until onions are clear.  Then add the tomatoes and continue to cook.  Sprinkle in some herbs of your choice.  Then add the garbanzos and some of their cooking liquid.  Simmer until the meat is tender.

Ciorbă de Perișoare (Romanian Meatball Soup)

This is a soup that I enjoyed several times during my recent trip to Bucharest, Romania.  As with most soups, it is best made a day before.

Meatballs:
1 lb. (500 gr) ground meat (I use half beef half pork)
2 slices of bread
1 finely chopped onion
2 tablespoons uncooked rice
2 tablespoons water
salt and pepper to taste

Soup:
1 small onion, minced
1 bunch lovage (or celery leaves, or parsley)
small celery root, chopped
2 medium carrot, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
3 tablespoons vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
6 cups stock (beef or chicken)
olive oil

Heat some olive oil in a big pot.  Saute the lovage (or celery leaves), celery root, onion, and pepper until onion is translucent.  Add the stock, cover, and heat on medium-low until vegetables are tender.  In the meanwhile, soak the bread in milk, drain and put in a bowl.  Add the ground meat, onion, rice and salt and pepper.  Using wet hands, form small meatballs.  Once the vegetables are tender, drop the meatballs into the soup.  Continue cooking on low heat for about 20-30 minutes.  Now add the vinegar.  Enjoy!

Tarator (Bulgarian Cold Cucumber Soup)

This is a really simple soup to make for a warm day.  It is best made the day before so that the flavors have a chance to mix.  Serve either chilled or with ice cubes.  You can also add crushed walnuts for some crunch.

Ingredients for 4
2 cucumbers, peeled and cut into small cubes
2 cups of yogurt
1/4 cup chopped dill
3 cloves of garlic, well minced
olive oil
some water
salt and pepper

Start by peeling and cubing the cucumber.  Place in a bowl, add the yogurt, dill, garlic, olive oil and mix well.  Add water until you get a nice smooth consistency, this depends on how thick you want it to be.  Salt and pepper to taste and place in refrigerator for a few hours until the flavors are blended together.

Risotto al gorgonzola e olio verde

This is a fantastic juxtaposition of flavors.  It requires a little work but it totally worth it.  First you make a pretty standard risotto, then you stir in some gorgonzola cheese and serve it drizzled with a green oil you make from rocket (arugula), garlic and olive oil.

Ingredients:
320 g (1/2 lb.) risotto rice
1 shallot
1/2 cup of dry white wine
1 handful of rocket
vegetable broth
1 clove of garlic
150g (1/4 lb.) gorgonzola cheese dolce
olive oil
salt and pepper

To make the olio verde, use a immersion blender.  Put the rocket in a tall plastic cup and add the clove of garlic and olive oil.  Blend until you have a green paste.  Set aside.

To make the risotto, heat olive oil in a pan and add the shallot and cook until transparent.  Add the rice and saute and few minutes.  Then add the wine white.  In a seperate pot, add about 1 liter of broiling broth (Can be made from buillon cube).  Add a ladle of broth to the rice, stirring all the while, until the broth is soaked up, keep adding ladle for ladle until the rice is cooked (risotto should have a little bite to it).  Once the rice is done, stir in the cheese and mix until fully incorporated.

Serve in deep plates with the olio verde drizzled on top. Buon Apetito!

Tomato Soup Alentejo Style

This delicious tomato soup stems from the Alentejo region of Portugal.  Its super healthy because it omits the cream or butter that are found in most tomato soups.  As with most soups, it taste better if you make it a day before you serve it.

Ingredients:
500 g (1 lb. tomatoes)
50 mL olive oil
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 bay leaf
1 green pepper
salt to taste
oregano
1 chicken stock cube
1 liter of water
3 eggs

Wash and peel the tomatoes (you can also blanche them shortly peel then easier), take out the eyes and save.  Inside the cooking pan place the olive oil with chopped onion and garlic, add bay leaf, green peppers cut into small pieces and earlier prepared tomatoes.  Season with salt and oregano, join in chicken stock cube water, leaving to boil, then reduce to a simmer.

When all the ingredients are cooked, blend it well and check the seasonings.  You can also add a couple of dashes or Piri Piri or another hot sauce for a bite.

Beat the eggs and pour in gently into the soup, do not stop mixing.  Take out from the heat and serve immediately with traditional bread,

Pescado en Adobo Andaluz (Andalusian Marinated Fish)

This dish is such a treat.  You marinate pieces of fish overnight in a spanish adobo, then flour and fry them the next day.  The smell of the kitchen when you are cooking this dish is sure to stir up appetites.

Ingredients:
500 g (1/2 lb) white fish (cod, whiting, etc)
teaspoon sweet paprika
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon thyme
salt
water
oil

Clean the fish and cut into bite-sized pieces.  Place fish into a bowl and add the remaining ingredients.  Use water if the fish is not completely covered by the fish.  Marinate overnight.

The following day, remove the fish from the marinate, discard excess marinate.  Pat the fish pieces dry and roll in flour.  Deep-fry or pan-fry in oil until lightly browned.  Serve with lemon slices.