What's in the fridge Friday dinners

We tend to do most of our food shopping at the Gorey Farmers Market on Saturday mornings which means by Friday night the fridge is looking pretty bare. Friday dinner tends to be a frugal one, we call it 'what's in the fridge dinner', using up whatever is left from the weekly supplies. It can be a bit dull or boring and sometimes experimental - with very inconsistent results! but sometimes it can really work! 

Last Friday, for example, I decided to cook cannelloni, as I had some pasta left in the cupboard, stuffed with some leftover vegetables. To avoid a bland veggie mix I decided to give it a bit of a kick, the result was spicy cannelloni with a lentil and spicy veg filling and yoghurt on top (no good pics I'm afraid), here's what I used:

It is a very easy option, because it requires no bechamel sauce.

For the filling: 4 tomatoes, 2 carrots, 1 courgette, 1 onion, garlic, ginger, coriander in seeds and fresh, turmeric powder, garam masala powder, cumin seeds, chilli seeds, salt, pepper, brown lentils. 

Peel and chop the vegetables, finely, and add to a pan with a bit of olive oil. Add a cup of brown lentils and the spices. Cook until the lentils are soft. Add a bit of stock or water if the mix gets too dry, the lentils need water to soak when they cook.

Let the mix cool down.

Fill the cannelloni pasta (those ones already in a rolled shape), lay on a deep tray and cover with enough yoghurt so the pasta is not exposed. Cook at 180-200C for about 30 min. Easy peasy!!

Galician basics: Empanada of anything

Mussel empanada!

Empanada is, along with octopus, one of the classic and most traditional Galician foods. Made to share, to take out, to eat in... empanada (similar to patties - or let's call it pies) can be bought in any bakery and filled with almost anything. More often than not the filling will be seafood or fish (salted cod, tuna, cockles, mussles, octopus, conger eel, razor clams, clams...you name it) but also meat, traditionally pork (for example zorza, a kind of minced chorizo meat) but ham and cheese is a popular modern addition to the repertoire.

Normally, empanada is eaten cold but my hometown has a special version, called Market Day Pie, that is made with chunky fish, eaten warm with a paprika oily mix. It is delicious.

When I first moved to Ireland, this was one of the foods I missed the most, and friends visiting will travel with a fresh (or day old) portion of empanada in their cases, just to kill the craving.

I've tried making empanada before but never tasted quite right but recently I got a new pastry recipe from a friend's mum in Viveiro and this time it was a real success, tasted like the real deal.

The pastry can be frozen, hence the huge quantity of flour (unless you are making a huge pie)

Pastry:
-1kg flour
-cup of white wine
-cup of milk
-cup of sunflower oil
-egg
-pinch of salt
-25gr yeast
Mix and let sit and rise for 30min-1hr.

For the filling, I had mussels from the market. I steamed them and then I made a veggie sauce with: 1 onion, 1 red pepper, 5 fresh tomatoes, salt, saffron, spoonful of olive oil.

I rolled the pastry in to parts (one for the bottom and one for the top), put the veggie paste and mussels and then covered. I even made a little M for the top, like the Galician bakers do to indicate the main ingredient of the filling: Mussels!

I baked it for about 30 minutes, until golden brown. Didn't it look pretty?

Ensaladilla Time!

16th of May and looks like the Summer is being a bit shy this year. After a half decent day today - literally half: sunny morning and overcast afternoon! - we can only hope good weather is on its way! and one of my favourite and easiest summery meals is ensaladilla.

You might have seen it in your travels to Spain, covered in a thick layer of mayonnaise as tapas or pintxos in bars. Ensaladilla means 'little salad' but it doesn't really  have to be that small.

My mum and dad used to make huge ones (with homemade mayonnaise, yum!) when we had big celebrations at home and had the family over. Usually as a starter, along with Galician empanada. In Spain, they tend to call it ensaladilla rusa (little Russian salad) so I presume its origin is not Spanish at all. The beauty of it is that you can mix and match the ingredients depending on the season.

The basic ingredients are (in my book!):
-potato, egg and carrot (boiled)
-tomato (fresh)
-tuna, if you can get hold of good fresh tuna steak from your fishmonger and boil it, much better than your average tasting tinned tuna. Although there is pretty good quality bluefin tuna in olive oil available in certain specialist stores around Ireland (I recently bought some in The Store Cupboard at Rathwood but Dunnes Stores seems to stock pretty decent tuna jars too).

Other additional ingredients (depending on the season):
-asparagus (perfect for this time of the year, early Summer) - boiled (cut in half, as tips take less time to cook)
-peas (our crop is usually out around July) - no need to boil, if they are fresh they will be delicious!
-runner beans (our crop generally starts in late summer, around August) - topped and tailed; boiled until soft
-a few nice olives to decorate, if you like them

It can't get any easier than ensaladilla: just cook the ingredients that need to be cooked, let cool and then chop in smallish cubes the potato and carrot (not too small otherwise it will go a bit mushy). Cut the tomatoes in wedges and the runner beans in chunks of about 3cm. Slice the egg and jut cut the asparagus in half (they are very delicate). Then assemble in a deep dish.The result will be a combination of layers of different vegetables with sliced boiled egg and most delicate vegetables (like the asparagus tips and a few olives) on top to decorate.

It is a great picnic and packed lunch meal! and don't forget the mayonnaise to taste!

Third-time lucky Falafels

People get hooked on falafel after travelling to the most exotic places: Egypt, Lebanon, Turkey... I can't really point out the exact moment I got addicted to falafels. I have never been to the Middle East so it is quite possible it was in the middle of a bog in County Roscommon circa 2006.

third-time lucky falafels

What is this random Galician from Co. Wexford doing in the middle of a bog eating falafels? you might ask. Well, that is a question I have asked myself many times too. It was one of the first years of the Mantua music (and arts?) festival in Ballagahderreen. Yes, it was in a bog: soggy, wet and miserable (even though it was the middle of the summer). There was no toilets for half the duration of the festival and one of the few food options at the festival was, of course, falafel wraps.

I came home swearing I would never ever go to another festival again (if it's located in prime bog-location and it's raining) and never touch another chickpea. But I was wrong, at least in the second instance anyway. My temporary falafel overdose in boggy Roscommon seemed to have triggered a need for mushy chickpeas every now and then.

Then I was lucky enough to live close to the Gorey Farmers Market with Mohammed's best ever Lebanese style falafel wraps. Mohammed is now gone (to bigger markets) but the Gorey market has recently got a new 'falafel man', this time from Syria. And while I do miss Mohammed's falafels, the new ones are amazingly good as well.

In between Mohammed's departure and the new arrival, we had a few sad falafel-free months, so I tried to feed my addiction by DIYing it: The first time I used tinned chickpeas: too mushy. The second time I used dry chickpeas but without cooking them (I was following a recipe!): way too crunchy. And this week I have tried with dry chickpeas but boiling them for while.

They are the best I have done so far, hence the 'third-time lucky' name. I had tried to make them with a packet mix once but that doesn't count (and they were too mushy too, for your information). So here's the recipe:

Ideally, you would need a food processor to get a paste of the right consistency but I have combined some patient fork-squashing moves and a blender. Time consuming but hey, it is worth it.

With 500 gr of dry chickpeas you will make approximately 40 falafels (too much even for falafel freaks but I was only experimenting, remember). You will need to soak the chickpeas overnight. Note to myself: try doing about half of that amount next time.

I boiled the chickpeas for about 15/20 minutes, although some recipes suggest you can just use the food processor to get a coarse paste without boiling them.

I chopped a big onion, three garlic cloves, a bunch of fresh parsley, a bunch of fresh coriander and mixed with the chickpeas. Then I tried to blend it but I didn't want a very mushy consistency (it is up to you!) so I combined it with the 'highly advanced' fork-smashing technique ;-). Really, I need to buy a food processor for this type of thing.

I added about 3/4 teaspoons of ground cumin, one of chilli flakes (ground would work too), salt and two tablespoons of flour.

I mixed the paste well and rolled it into little falafel balls and put them in the oven with a drizzle of olive oil for about 30 minutes (shaking every so often so they go crispy all around).

We ate them with toasted pitta bread, lettuce, tomato, hummus and some yogurt (I grated some garlic into it). And it was a great success!

Next time I must try using a processor, just to get an even consistency.

I'll still keep going to get the 'pro' market falafels but this will do the job when I need to kill that falafel craving...

Easy Recipe: Home made sausage rolls

Two reasons I wouldn't be able to become a vegetarian: chorizo and sausage rolls.

They are two of my soft spots, food wise. I admit your average sausage roll from deli counters around the country might not be the best for you but many cafes make their own. Why not make your own to know what exactly goes into them?

I made some last night with sausages from Wexford's Pat O'Neill who sells his quality pork products at the Gorey Farmers Market and has a few awards under his belt.

It is easy peasy, you can either make the pastry or buy the puff rolls from the shop, to make a shortcrust pastry you only need a bit of butter, flour, salt and a bit of water.

Here's the quantity I had for 16 small rolls:
100gr butter
200gr flour
salt
water
olive oil (for the oven tray)
8 good quality sausages

To make the pastry, mix the flour and butter until it is crumbly. Add salt. Add water gradually to the flour and butter mix and knead until is soft and smooth, and not to sloppy. Roll into a ball and leave the pastry in the fridge for about an hour or so.

In the meantime, power boil the sausages, for 5-10 minutes (to make sure they are properly cooked).

Roll the pastry, cut the sausages in half (unless you want to do big sausage rolls, then just keep the whole sausage) and then roll the sausages in pastry squares, big enough to be able to wrap them nicely and close both ends. Preheat the oven to 190C roughly and once it is hot enough, place the rolls on a baking tray sprinkled with a bit of oil so they don't stick to the bottom. Cook for about 30-40 minutes, until you see the pastry is cooked and they have a nice healthy colour!
Voila! serve with a bit of salad to keep up with your 5 a day.
They are great for packed lunch, even when cold!

and those Christmas pictures...

Christmas and the Swiss/French cheese fest sounds like a life time ago (how many times a week can you actually eat and enjoy raclette??), but I thought it would be a good idea to share some of the best shots of our trip to visit Mr M's family to the Swiss/French border. 

The winter light can be so beautiful, I just love that picture of the Swiss flag taken in Geneva's old town.

I was very amused by the Playmobil characters used by the Swiss Rail company at Gare Cornavin in Geneva while the station is under renovation... Playmobil fans out there will love it.

A couple of shots from Les Gets, in the French Alps

No cold turkey this Christmas

Christmas is almost here, again! And it looks like turkey is still the favourite dish when it comes to celebrating the big family thing in Ireland. Is it out of habit? Is it that Ireland just loves turkey once a year? Just for tradition’s sake?

But turkey haters should not despair. There are many exciting and alternative Christmas dishes you could be testing this year. Looking at other European Christmas traditions could give you some inspiration!

spider crabs

In Galicia, an old-time Christmas Eve favourite is salted cod with cauliflower or cabbage. It might not be everyone’s cup of tea but it came up top in my Facebook straw poll. Other friend suggested octopus as a dish eaten by many families traditionally on Christmas Eve. Seafood and fish in general is a very popular option for Christmas in Galicia.

Salted cod is the most common way of eating cod in general in Galicia, Portugal and the rest of Spain. The cod is cut in darns and they will need de-salting in water for day or two. Cod, potatoes and cauliflower are boiled. In a separate pan, olive oil and 4 garlic cloves are cooked with smoked paprika (not the hot one). The sauce is then poured over the fish and vegetables and ready to serve.

Personally, my all-time favourite is my mum’s recipe for Galician clams and you can find an accurate approximation here (Clams in Green Sauce).

gingerbread made by Dani

The Poles, my friend Dani tells me, also celebrate their big family dinner on Christmas Eve. They have 12 different dishes, all without meat. Each region in Poland might have their own traditional dishes but these are her examples of Polish dishes that make it to the Christmas table:

Carp (a must!)
Vegetable salad
Pierogi (dumplings) with potatoes and cheese or cabbage and mushrooms
Bigos (sliced cabbage with sour cabbage plus plums or raisings or cranberries and mushrooms)
Kutia - special square noodles with poppy seeds, raisings, orange skins and honey
Beetroot soup (barszcz)
Mushroom soup (zupa grzybowa)
Gingerbread (piernik) and poppy cake (makowiec)

The Poles always set an extra plate for any unexpected guest, she says, “and we always look for the first star on the sky and then start to eat.”


My brother, who lives in Berlin, tells me mulled wine (of course) is a must at Christmas in Germany.

The Germans also celebrate Christmas Eve and goose is their most traditional dish.
Here’s a recipe for Goose Breast with Potato Dumplings, Red Cabbage, and Chestnuts


In Sweden, boiled ham is a popular Christmassy dish (see here ).

My friend Axel who has a fear of herring once told me his favourite Christmas dish is rice porridge (similar to rice pudding). Easy and tasty and you can get a good recipe here . The Swedes put a nut in the rice pudding when it is almost ready. The lucky one who gets the nut will be lucky in the New Year, according to the Swedish Christmas tradition.