OAT AND CHIA PANCAKES

Good Morning!!!

Today I´m posting a recipe of my own that I tested this weekend and turned out quite tasty:
Oatmeal and Chia Pancakes.
They yield about 14 pancakes, but it will depend on the amount of batter you put in the frying pan. 
 
Pancakes can be a great choice for breakfast, especially if made with nutritious and quality ingredients. 

On to Recipe:

Ingredients:

•     2 Cups of oat flakes
•     3 eggs
•     1 Cup of milk
•     1/2 Cup of water
•     1 teaspoon chia seeds
•     1 teaspoon olive oil for the batter
•     1 teaspoon olive oil for frying pan
•     1 pinch of salt
•     Honey to taste.

Preparation:

Place in a jar, the oats, eggs, milk, water and salt and blend well.

Add the chia seeds and the olive oil.

Turn on the stove and heat a frying pan. When hot, on medium heat, place a tsp of olive oil in the frying pan, greasing it and pour a ladle of the batter in shaping it into the pancake.Let it cook for a few minutes on each side.

The pancakes will be ready when they have a golden colour!

Serve with honey or other ingredients to taste.
 

Enjoy your food!

SWEET POTATO AND TURNIP GREENS SOUP

Hi everyone! Today´s recipe is SWEET POTATO AND TURNIP GREENS SOUP.

Sweet Potato is very healthy and a great option to reduce the amount of potatoes in soup besides giving a new and tasty flavour to them.

The are many benefits we can achieve from Sweet Potatoes: anti inflammatory, source of beta-carotene, protection of the stomach and anti-aging, energetic, increase of the immune system, detoxifying the body, regulator of blood glucose and blood pressure and relaxing.


RECIPE:

Ingredients:

• 1 onion
• 5 potatoes
• 2 sweet potatoes
• 1 turnip
• 4 cloves garlic
• 3 carrots
• 400g turnip greens
• 6 slices chourizo ( If you´re vegan just discard this ingredient)
• 1/2 leek, 
• 2 to 3 litres water, 
• salt and pepper to taste 
• 2 tablespoons olive oil.

Method:

Put the water in a large saucepan and turn the stove on high heat. 

Wash, peel and cut the vegetables. 
Put them in the water (only half the turnip greens) and season. Let them boil for 15 min. 

Mince the vegetables and add the remaining turnip greens, diced chourizo and verify the seasoning. 
Boil another 5/10 min. 

Pour the olive oil and it's ready! 


Enjoy your soup!

TURNIP GREENS SOUP

Turnip greens are the leaves of the Turnip, which are rich in potassium, vitamin A, C, folic acid, calcium and have few calories. They also have analgesic, laxative and diuretic properties.

Ingredients:

•      400g Turnip greens
•      4 Carrots
•      4 to 5 Potatoes
•      500g Aubergine
•      1 Small Leek
•      1 Small Onion
•      3 tablespoons olive oil
•      3 Liters water
•      Salt and pepper as desired
•      A little parsley and coriander

Preparation:

In a large pot, place the water with zucchini, potatoes, carrots, leek, peeled and cut into pieces. Then place 1/3rd of the turnip greens, parsley, coriander and season with salt and pepper. Let it boil for about 15 minutes.

With a hand blender, blend everything well and place the remaining turnip greens with the olive oil, seasoning the soup and adding more water if necessary. Let it cook for another 5 to 10 minutes.


Enjoy it!

VEGAN CHICKEN WITH JAPANESE PUMPKIN "HOKKAIDO"

Hokkaido pumpkin is a vegetable from Japan. With an orange colour, after cooking it´s peel, it becomes tender and edible. Inside, it is soft and sweet.
 
It is a source of Beta-Carotene, Potassium, Fibers, Vitamin A and C, Zinc.

This recipe may be a great option for vegetarians and you only have to remove the chicken, replacing it with another vegetable (s) such as sweet potatoes, turnips or potatoes.


Ingredients:

Enough for 6 to 8 people

•     10 thin Chicken steaks (300g)
•     300g Aubergine
•     500g Hokkaido Pumpkin
•     2 Small Onions
•     6 Cloves of Garlic
•     5 tablespoons of olive oil
•     Cayenne pepper, pepper, saffron and salt as desired
•     2 Cups of water
•     Rosemary and chives as desired

Preparation: 

Turn the oven on to 200 ° C (390º F)

Cut the vegetables with the mandolin (see recipe where I explain what this utensil is https://lifeandflavours.blogspot.pt/2017/09/crispy-apple-chips.html)with the exception of the garlic which is cut by hand.

Arrange all the vegetables in a stainless steel oven pan and season with the salt, cayenne pepper, pepper, saffron, rosemary and chives as desired.

Pour in the olive oil and water and mix well, inserting the pan in the oven at 200º C (390º F) and leaving to cook for about 30 minutes.

While the vegetables are cooking, cut the chicken steaks into strips (stroganoff type) and place them in the oven pan after the 30 min. of cooking, stirring equally well. 
Cook in the oven for another 15 minutes.

Enjoy it!

 

GREEN BEANS AND FENNEL SOUP

Soup has a very high nutritional value, containing many vitamins and minerals. Here we find a great amount of fibres that reduce sanguineous glucose and cholesterol, improving even the intestinal function

Green beans are diuretic, tones the heart and are hyperglycaemic. Fennel is anti-inflammatory, stimulant, anti-spasmodic, vermifuge, digestive, diuretic and expectorant.


Ingredients:

•     6 to 7 Large potatoes
•     1 Fennel bulb
•     3 Carrots
•     3 Garlic cloves
•     1 Onion
•     1 Bay leaf
•     2 Big and ripe tomatoes
•     1 coffee spoon of Cumin
•     200g Green beans (1/2 whole and 1/2 in smaller squares)
•     1 Branch of Parsley
•     2 Branches of Mint
•     Salt
•     1 to 2 Litres of water

Preparation:

In a mincer, chop the fennel, onion, garlic, carrots, tomato and parsley. Then, place in a large pan and season with the bay leaf, cumin and enough salt. Bring to a boil for 5 minutes. 

Peel the potatoes. Put water in the pan half way and combine the potatoes and half of the whole beans, letting them cook on medium heat for 15 min.

After cooking, blend everything with the hand blender. Turn the stove on and place the remaining green beans cut into small pieces with the mint , letting it cook for another 10 to 15 minutes. 

Your soup is ready!


Enjoy it!

STUFFED EGGPLANTS (AUBERGINES)

Eggplants are a healthy and tasty option for a vegetarian meal.They contain vitamin B5 and minerals such as calcium, phosphorus, iron and good amounts of niacin and potassium contributing to bone and tooth formation, muscle building and blood clotting.

If you prefer a vegan recipe, just remove bacon / meat, eggs and cheese.

 INGREDIENTS:

•     2 medium aubergines
•     2 medium ripe tomatoes
•     1 small onion
•     4 cloves garlic
•     2 c. of olive oil soup
•     1 egg
•     150g bacon cut into pieces (or minced meat)
•     Salt, pepper and cayenne pepper to taste
•     oregano
•     1 bouquet of chopped parsley
•     80g mozzarella cheese
•     3 Large Mushrooms

         Salad:

•     2 medium tomatoes
•     1 grated carrot
•     1/2 Greek cheese Feta diced
•     1 small onion
•     50g arugula
•     olive oil, vinegar, salt to season

METHOD:
Place the egg to cook in water for 10 minutes. Turn the oven to 200 ° C (390º F).
Wash and cut the mushrooms into small cubes. Mince the onion, garlic and tomatoes. Put the olive oil in a frying pan and heat the minced ingredients. When they turn to a  golden colour, turn off the stove.
Meanwhile, peel and cut the egg into cubes. Cut the eggplants into halves by withdrawing the inside of them, leaving about 1 cm from the outside shell.
Mince the bacon, the inside of the eggplant and the parsley in the food processor. These ingredients are then added to the mixture in the frying pan, seasoning with salt, pepper, cayenne pepper and the oregano. Chop the mushrooms and let sauté for 10/15 minutes.

Pour a teaspoon of olive oil in a tray or pyrex and place the eggplant halves in the oven, seasoning them with a little salt.
Fill the eggplants with the sautéed ingredients and sprinkle with the chopped egg. Finally, sprinkle with the mozzarella cheese.
Roast for 30/40 minutes and check to see if the cheese is gratin, without letting it burn.
Prepare the salad as you wish, and at the end, when the aubergines are ready, temper the salad.

Enjoy your food!

GRILLED ZUCCHINI (Courgettes)

Grilled zucchini (courgettes) can be accompanied by any fish recipe. Joining cooked potatoes, zucchini and grilled fish is quite tasty.

Very easy to prepare, it´s a good alternative to common salads. In fact, as I really love salads, this can also be accompanied by a lettuce or arugula salad.

INGREDIENTS:

- 1 Large zucchini
- 2/3 Cloves of garlic
- 6 tablespoons of olive oil
- Salt (pinch)


METHOD:
 
Heat the charcoal or electric grill. Wash and cut the zucchini into thin strips and season with salt. Once the grill is warm, place the zucchini strips on the grill.

Meanwhile chop the garlic thinly and place it on a dish with olive oil. As soon as the zucchini has marks from the grill, turn it around and grill on the other side.

When it´s grilled, put the zucchini strips on the dish and mix with the garlic and olive oil until all flavours are joined.

Enjoy your food!

MUSHROOM RISOTTO (Brown or Shitake)

This recipe of MUSHROOM RISOTTO (Brown or Shitake) is really delicious..

I can tell you that when I did it for the first time, there were no leftovers !!!

One must use an appropriate rice called Arborio rice which can be bought in any supermarket. When cooked this rice is creamy, bright and very tasty!

 INGREDIENTS:

•     200g mushrooms (Brown or Shitake)
•     200g Arborio Rice
•     2 tablespoons of olive oil
•     2 chopped celery stalks
•     1 medium chopped onion
•     3 minced garlic cloves
•     1/2 teaspoon of saffron
•     500 ml Vegetable broth
•     Pepper and salt for seasoning
•     1 teaspoon of butter
•     Chopped chives for decoration
•     Parmesan cheese (optional)

METHOD:

Wash the mushrooms very well and separate the stalks from the top of the mushrooms.

In a pan, put the olive oil, onion, garlic and celery and let them cook until they are transparent. Meanwhile, chop the stems of the mushrooms. Season the sautéed mixture with salt, pepper and saffron and join the chopped stalks with the rice and blend in alltogether.

Add the mushrooms and the broth until all is covered and stir the rice until the broth evaporates on a medium heat. Once evaporated, cover with more broth and season flavor, continuing to stir until the rice cooks. The cooking time may occur between 15 to 20 minutes.

When the rice is soft and cooked, join in the butter and parmesan cheese stirring vigorously until all is melted. Garnish with chives or thyme as desired.

Serve immediately.

Tell me how the recipe turned out and if you liked it!

Enjoy!