Orange and lemon thyme granita

Easy Food Recipes and Cooking - Orange and lemon thyme granita

Serves 4 | Prep/cook 15 mins
100ml water
2 tbsp granulated sugar
3 large oranges
small bunch of lemon thyme (mint is nice too)

Orange and lemon thyme granita

1. Make a sugar syrup by adding the water and sugar to a pan and gently heating until the sugar dissolves. Set aside to cool.

2. Squeeze the juice from the oranges and scoop out the fl esh into a shallow, freezer-proof bowl. Add the thyme leaves then stir in the cooled sugar syrup. Cover and place in the freezer.

3. After a couple of hours, use a fork to break up the ice crystals. Repeat again after another couple of hours, and again if necessary, until you have little orange ice crystals.

Mini ‘cheese’ and sun-dried tomato bites

Easy Food Recipes and Cooking - Mini ‘cheese’ and sun-dried tomato bites

Serves 6 | Prep 10 mins | Cook 10 mins
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp ground flaxseeds
3 tbsp water
2 tbsp tomato purée
125g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
200g Vegusto No Moo Mild Aromatic, cut into tiny cubes
8 sun-dried tomatoes, finely chopped
1 large sprig of fresh parsley, chopped
salt and pepper, to season

Mini ‘cheese’ and sun-dried tomato bites

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Line a small 12-hole muffin tin with 12 miniature paper cases.

2. Mix the oil, flaxseeds, water and tomato purée in a small bowl.

3. Sift the flour and baking powder into a mixing bowl and then mix in the No Moo Mild Aromatic cubes, sun-dried tomatoes and parsley. Now add the wet ingredients, season to taste, then mix with a wooden spoon to bring the mixture together to form a rough dough.

4. Using your hands, break off 12 ball shapes and place them in the cases in the muffin tin, keeping a rough and rustic look!

5. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes or until lightly browned and set. Cool slightly on a wire rack before serving with a Vegusto dip.

Torta de laranja (Rolled Orange Pudding)

Easy Food Recipes and Cooking - Torta de laranja (Rolled Orange Pudding)

Serves 6 | Prep 6 mins | Cook 20 mins
2 tbsp demerara sugar
115ml orange juice, freshly squeezed
1 tbsp orange zest, fi nely grated
1 tbsp cornfl our
275g sugar
6 free-range eggs, beaten
50g butter, melted

Torta de laranja (Rolled Orange Pudding)

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 7. Grease and line a Swiss roll tin (about 30 x 20cm) and grease
the paper too. Sprinkle with half the demerara sugar.

2. Mix the orange juice and zest slowly into the cornfl our and sugar, blending well. Mix in the eggs without frothing them up but ensuring that they are well blended. Stir in the melted butter and pour into the lined tin. Put into the oven until set – about 20 minutes.

3. Turn out on to a fresh piece of baking paper, sprinkled with the remaining demerara sugar. Trim any
hard edges and roll up like a Swiss roll. Cool and serve, cut into slices.

Pastéis de nata

Easy Food Recipes and Cooking - Pastéis de nata

Makes 18 | Prep 15 mins | Cook 12 mins
100g sugar
125ml water
1 cinnamon stick
small piece of lemon peel
300g ready-rolled puff pastry
3 free-range egg yolks
2 tbsp cornfl our
1 tsp vanilla paste
175ml whipping cream (about 32% fat)

Pastéis de nata

1. Preheat your oven to its maximum cooking temperature. Grease a cupcake or muffi n tin.

2. Put the sugar, water, cinnamon and lemon peel in a small pan. Bring to the boil and boil hard for 5 minutes, then cool slightly.

3. Unwrap the pastry and tightly roll up the dough like a carpet. Rewrap and return to the fridge.

4. Mix the egg yolks, cornflour and vanilla paste together in a small heatproof bowl. Heat the cream over a low heat until bubbles begin to form around the edges. Pour on to the egg yolks while whisking. Pour the mixture back into the pan and cook, stirring continuously until the mixture starts to thicken. Take off the heat and whisk in the strained syrup.

5. Cut the pastry roll into 1.5cm lengths. Traditionally you fi t each into a muffi n cup, cutside down, and press the pastry up the sides. I found this fiddly so rolled the pastry pinwheels fl at with a rolling pin and then put them into the tins. Fill with the custard and put into the very hot oven for 9–12 minutes.

6. The tarts should be well-browned, if not a little blackened around the edges. The caramelised syrup gives
them their distinctive flavour and appearance. Cool slightly in the tin then carefully remove to a wire rack.
Eat slightly warm, if possible.

Peixinhos da horta

Easy Food Recipes and Cooking - Peixinhos da horta

Serves 6 | Prep 8 mins | Cook 7 mins
500g green beans
oil, for deep frying
125g flour
big pinch of salt
125ml vegetarian white wine
2 free-range eggs

Peixinhos da horta

1. Top and tail the beans. Blanch them in boiling water, drain well and dry on a clean tea towel.

2. Heat some oil in either a deep-fat fryer or wok – you’ll need a depth of about 5cm.

3. As the oil is heating, make a smooth batter from the fl our, salt, wine and eggs. When the oil will brown a cube of bread quickly (about 175C), dip a handful of beans into the batter and then drop them into the oil. Allow them to puff, rise and brown. Remove and drain. Keep warm.

4. Repeat with more battered beans until all are cooked. Serve immediately.

Fried aubergine with escabeche

Easy Food Recipes and Cooking - Fried aubergine with escabeche

Serves 4
Prep 10 mins + marinating | Cook 7 mins
1 long aubergine
2 tbsp fi ne polenta
olive oil, about 200ml in total
1 onion, halved and thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 large tomato, diced
1 small green pepper, deseeded and diced
50ml wine vinegar
2 tbsp chopped parsley
pinch of salt
pinch of sugar
freshly ground black pepper

Fried aubergine with escabeche

1. Slice the aubergine lengthwise, about 0.5cm thick. Dust the slices all over in the polenta.

2. Heat enough oil in a frying pan or wok to cover the base to a depth of 1cm and fry the aubergine slices, a couple at a time, until nicely browned on both sides. Drain and put in a shallow dish. Add more oil as needed
to fry all the slices.

3. Off the heat, add the onion, garlic, tomato and green pepper – do this carefully so that the oil does not
spatter. Cook for 5 minutes. Add the vinegar, parsley and seasonings and pour over the aubergine.

4. Allow to cool and infuse. Serve barely warm or well-chilled.

Folares Bread pies

Easy Food Recipes and Cooking - Folares Bread pies

Serves 6 | Prep 15 mins + rising | Cook 25 mins
For the dough:
350g flour
1 tbsp sugar
good pinch of salt
2 tsp instant dried yeast
175ml lukewarm milk
75g softened butter
1 free-range egg

For the filling:
2 or 3 sun-dried tomatoes, shredded
small jar of piquillo peppers, drained
100g semi-soft vegetarian sheep’s or goat’s cheese, thinly sliced

Folares Bread pies

1. Combine the dry ingredients in one bowl. Mix the milk, butter and egg in another bowl. Pour this mixture into the dry (but don’t yet wash the bowl). Mix to a soft dough and knead well until smooth and no longer sticky. Cover the bowl with a tea towel and leave in a warm place to double in size.

2. Lightly oil or grease a loosebottomed cake tin (about 20cm). Knock back the dough and knead it lightly again. Divide into 3 parts.

3. Flatten the first ball of dough and fit it into the base of the cake tin. Cover with half of the filling ingredients.

4. Flatten the second ball of dough and cover the fi lling. Top this with the remaining sun-dried tomatoes,
peppers and cheese.

5. Flatten the remaining dough and cover the filling, tucking down the edges neatly. Use a wet pastry brush
to wipe around the inside of the bowl in which you mixed the egg and milk, and then brush the top of the pie.

6. Cover with a tea towel and leave to rise. Preheat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 6.

7. When the pie has nearly doubled in size, put it into the hot oven and bake for around 25 minutes. If the top gets too dark, cover it loosely with baking paper or foil. Take out of the oven and allow to cool on a rack.