Oyster Rockafeller Stew

On 10/02/2011 (Thursday) at 7:40 pm by Benny.
Tiny Url for this recipe → http://tinyurl.com/4j27kyv

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Details

• Prep Time:
  20 min
• Cook Time:
  25 min
• Ready Time:
  45 min

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup sliced pancetta, cut into small dice and fried until the fat is nicely rendered out.
• 1 small yellow onion chopped
• 2 teaspoons chopped garlic
• 1 pint oysters and their liquor you can use in the shell or buy them shucked for cooking.
• 3 cups half and half
• 1 pound fresh spinach, well washed and stems removed
• 4 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons pepper
• Teaspoon of Tabasco sauce less or more depending on your taste
• Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoon unsalted butter
• Smoked paprika
• Home made large croutons fly small rounds of bread in olive oil until golden brown
• Masa flour to dust oysters fro frying

Directions

Cut your pancetta into lardons as fry in a little olive oil until crisp around the edges and set aside.

In a pan sauté onions and garlic in olive oil and the butter until sweated, then add the oysters and their liquor and cook for about one min.

Add a dash of Tabasco sauce and the Worcestershire sauce, followed by the fresh spinach cook until wilted.

Add the half and half and bring to a boil and check for seasoning you can make it more spicy, more salt etc. Now with immersion blender blitz the soup until creamy.

Turn down the soup to low and now let’s make the fried oysters. Fresh oysters roll them in masa flour and shallow fry until golden brown on both sides.

To plate put one crouton on the bottom of the bowl, ladle the soup over it, now finish with the crispy oysters and some of the pancetta pieces. I added a little smoked paprika to the side of the plate but you can dust some on the soup as it adds a perfect smoky flavor.

To eat get a little of everything and you have the flavor of oyster Rockefeller in the shell.

Benny

Step by step in photos here >>

About Benny

Passion for healthy amazing food. I am on crusade to get kids eat better and people in general learning how to cook for themselves. If I here that McDonald’s is cheaper than eating homemade I will prove anyone wrong.

Asturian Bean Stew with Clams

On 10/02/2011 (Thursday) at 7:21 pm by Benny.
Tiny Url for this recipe → http://tinyurl.com/68uxawu

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Details

• Prep Time:
  14 min
• Cook Time:
  45 min
• Ready Time:
  59 min

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound of Asturian beans
• 1 1/2 quarts water
• 1 Spanish yellow onion
• 1 ripe plum tomato
• 1/4 medium carrot, peeled and whole
• 3 sprig fresh parsley
• 1/4 cup Spanish extra-virgin olive oil
• 20 littleneck clams

Directions

The day before you cook, set the beans to soak in cold water. The next day, drain and rinse the beans.

In a large stockpot, bring the beans to a boil in the water. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes, occasionally removing the foamy scum that appears on the surface. Add the onion, tomato, carrot, and parsley and simmer for 2 hours. Every 10 or 15 minutes, add 1/4 cup of cold water to slow down the simmering. The important thing is to ensure that the beans are always covered with water so they’ll cook properly. By the end of the 2 hours, you should be left with just 1 quart of water – enough to barely cover the beans.

Remove the vegetables, and place in a bowl. With a spoon, pick out 1/2 cup of beans that are split or broken. Add them to the vegetables in the bowl, along with 1 tablespoon of the cooking water. Blend together using a hand-blender or food processor, pass the mixture through a fine strainer, and return it to the beans in the stockpot with half the olive oil. Season with salt to taste. You should have very soft beans in a creamy, starchy broth. Bring to a simmer again.

In a medium saucepan, bring 1 quart of water to the boil. Put 4 clams at a time in the vigorously boiling water for just 5 seconds. Remove from the water. Repeat with the remaining clams. With the help of a paring knife, remove the clams from their shells in a bowl and set aside. As you remove them from the shells, the clams will release a lot of water, which you should keep in the bowl. Strain this clam juice and add to the beans.

Serve by placing one ladle of beans at the center of a soup dish and place the clams on top. Drizzle the remaining olive oil over the clams and serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Benny

NOTE:
Pay particular attention when you place the clams in the boiling water. You’re really just shocking them in the hot water for a few seconds, rather than cooking them. They’ll continue cooking on top of the beans, yet they’ll still be soft and fresh when you place them in your mouth. And if you can’t find Asturian beans, or fabes, you can substitute with another large white bean like cannellini.

Step by step in photos here >>

About Benny

Passion for healthy amazing food. I am on crusade to get kids eat better and people in general learning how to cook for themselves. If I here that McDonald’s is cheaper than eating homemade I will prove anyone wrong.

Gazpacho

On 19/02/2011 (Saturday) at 5:19 am by Benny.
Tiny Url for this recipe → http://tinyurl.com/48m8q5b

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Details

• Prep Time:
  15 min
• Ready Time:
  15 min

Ingredients

• 1 large can of peeled tomatoes
• 1 roasted red pepper
• 1 cup chopped peeled English hothouse cucumber
• one chopped large shallot or half a red onion
• 1/4 cup Sherry wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• ¼ cup Sour Cream

GARNISH

• 4-5 grilled or boiled shrimp chilled and sliced in half
• half an Avacado sliced thin
• bunch of watercress
• toasted piece of bread or large crouton as i’ve shown in my photo

Directions

I combine all the ingredients, tomato, garlic, roasted red pepper, sour cream, cucumber etc into a blender minus the oil
Start blending and start to drizzle in the olive oil. This will change the color from red to orange/red.
Continue blending for about a minute. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight where the flavors will intensify.

To serve I took some grilled shrimp and cut them in half, get an avocado and start with putting a crouton in the bottom of a ring mold as seen in my photos now layer shrimp, avocado until it’s at the top. Now pour the soup around and pull the ring mold off and I finished with some fresh watercress and a drizzle of olive oil.

Ahhhhhhhh summer lunch!

Benny

Step by step in photos here >>

About Benny

Passion for healthy amazing food. I am on crusade to get kids eat better and people in general learning how to cook for themselves. If I here that McDonald’s is cheaper than eating homemade I will prove anyone wrong.

Simple Tomato Soup

On 30/12/2011 (Friday) at 10:22 pm by Benny.
Tiny Url for this recipe → http://tinyurl.com/8y94gjv

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Details

• Prep Time:
  5 min
• Cook Time:
  20 min
• Ready Time:
  25 min

Ingredients

• 3 large tomatos
• three cloves of garlic
• one small onion
• handful fresh basil leaves
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt and pepper
• teaspoon sugar
• teaspoon smoked paprika optional
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1/4 cup olive oil

Directions

VIDEO DEMO OF MAKING THE SOUP

Cut up the tomato and onion into chunks, add to a roasting pan along with the rest of the ingredients (minus the chicken stock) and into a 425degre oven and roast until the tomatoes and onion are getting a little char on them.

Transfer to a pot with the chicken stock and using a hand blender blitz until smooth about one min (less if you want more chunky and rustic)

Put back on the stove and reduce until you have a perfect flavor and thickness to the soup. Serve with a little fresh basil and some cheese bread.

Easy stuff now no more excuses go make some soup!

Benny