Queso

Cicadas singing, getting into a car that's 46°C (115°F), sweating like a pig, and not being able to open more windows at night because your house simply doesn't have any — clear signs that summer has arrived and with a vengeance. So, faced with this heat, we're going to fight back with cool, refreshing meals to survive the summer season. Kicking off salad season, today we're bringing you a spinach salad. It's such a simple recipe that you couldn't even call it a recipe — just a suggested combination of ingredients to inspire your next salads.

What do we need?

• 1 bowl of fresh, washed spinach
• 1/2 red onion
• 1 tomato
• 1/2 cucumber
• 4 sun-dried tomatoes
• Poppy seeds
• Feta-style cheese
• Oil
• Vinegar
• Salt

How do we make it?

1. Slice the cucumber into rounds, julienne the onion, dice the tomatoes, and pile everything on top of the fresh spinach leaves (if they're very large, tear them with your hands). Add as much feta cheese as you like, crumbled by hand.
2. Finally, sprinkle on the poppy seeds and dress to taste.

Tips:

– You can whip up a vinaigrette by mixing 1 part vinegar with 3 parts oil and a pinch of salt. Pop it into a jar that seals tightly, shake it vigorously to emulsify, and it's ready to dress your salad. You can add any spice, herb, mustard, or whatever else you can think of to a vinaigrette.

– Watch out with the sun-dried tomatoes because they pack so much flavor that sometimes you can skip the salt altogether.

For many of you, this is probably a childhood memory, and I bet that every once in a while you get tempted to buy them again and eat two in a row without your mom scolding you. Well, if I tell you that you can make them at home and that the size is up to you, I think you should already be on your way out to buy some good ripe strawberries.

What do we need?

• 500 g (1.1 lb) strawberries
• 250 g (9 oz / about 1 cup) cream cheese (Philadelphia type)
• 100 g (about 1/2 cup) heavy whipping cream
• 150 g (3/4 cup) sugar
• 2 teaspoons powdered cuajada (rennet-based setting mix)

How do we make it?

1. First, wash the strawberries and remove the stems. Blend them well with a hand blender until you get a strawberry purée.
2. In a small glass, put a bit of the strawberry purée and dissolve the cuajada in it. Set aside.
3. Put the rest of the strawberry purée in a saucepan and heat it until it boils.
4. Remove from the heat, add the portion of purée with the dissolved cuajada, and stir well.
5. Put it back on the heat for about two minutes, stirring constantly. (BE CAREFUL at this step because if the heat is too high the strawberry purée can splatter and burn you. Trust me, the stuff is worse than water — being denser, it really sticks to you.)
6. Let the purée cool down a little and then add the rest of the ingredients (sugar, cheese, and cream).
7. Blend everything well with the hand blender and you'll see it has already taken on a lovely petit suisse color.
8. All that's left is to pour it into whatever little glasses you want to serve it in and leave it in the fridge overnight.

Tips:

– We used shot glasses — they look really cute and it's the perfect portion size, since we have to admit this is a pretty rich dessert (now I understand why our moms wouldn't let us eat too many… :-P). You can also use the little glass yogurt jars or any small cup you have around.

– I can't tell you for sure how long they'll keep in the fridge, but with these ingredients I'd estimate they'll last a week without any problem.

They say good things come to those who wait, and it seems that’s exactly what we’ve been trying to do with this new recipe. But anyway, we’re finally back to posting, and we’re bringing you an easy, quick, and delicious appetizer suggestion, once again borrowed from La Receta de la Felicidad, who recommends it as a Christmas gift. But hey, when it comes to enjoying a good cheese, who cares if it’s Christmas, Easter, or the middle of August, right?

What do we need?

• 1 Camembert cheese

• A handful of shelled walnuts

• 100 g (1/2 cup) sugar

• 2 tablespoons butter

How do we make it?

• Place the whole Camembert cheese on a plate and arrange the walnuts on top.

• In a small saucepan or skillet, heat the sugar over medium heat and let it melt slowly without stirring (even if you feel tempted to).

• Once the sugar has melted into a kind of thick, pale syrup, you can stir it and let it cook a little longer until it reaches a golden caramel color.

• Turn off the heat, add the two tablespoons of butter, and stir well.

• Immediately pour the caramel over the Camembert with walnuts, trying to make a thin layer or even caramel threads.

Tips:

• Be careful not to leave the caramel on the heat for too long, as it could burn and result in a very dark, bitter caramel.

• You can cut the cheese into portions right after pouring on the caramel. Otherwise, once it solidifies it can get tricky (that’s another reason why the caramel layer should be thin).

________________ [English version] CAMEMBERT CHEESE WITH NUTS AND CARAMEL* *Ingredients:

• 1 Camembert cheese

• Several nuts

• 100 g sugar

• 2 tbsp butter

• Place the cheese into a dish and put the nuts over it.

• Place the sugar into a sauce pan and cook over medium low heat. Let it melt slowly.

• When the sugar is totally melt you can use a spoon to stir.

• Keep cooking until golden brown. Add the butter and stir well.

• Pour immediately over the cheese with the nuts. Try to create a thin layer.

• Tips:- Do not overcook the sugar or you’ll get a dark and bitter caramel.* - Cut the cheese into portions right after pouring the caramel. Otherwise, when caramel is hard it could be very difficult (that’s why you have to try to make a thin layer).

As part of the campaign “No newly-independent young adult shall go hungry, even if they don’t like cooking,” here’s another easy recipe — one of those that almost everyone knows, but just in case, I don’t want to hear that you’re not eating well just because you couldn’t be bothered to do a couple of little things in the kitchen.

What do we need?

For the shortcrust pastry:

• 200 g (1 ⅔ cups) flour

• 100 g (7 tbsp) cold butter

• 1 egg

• A pinch of salt

• A pinch of sugar

For the filling:

• 200 g (7 oz) bacon

• 100 g (3.5 oz) emmental cheese

• 50 g (1.75 oz) mushrooms

• 200 ml (¾ cup) heavy cream

• 4 medium eggs

• Half an onion

• Salt and pepper.

How do we make it?

• As you know, for the shortcrust pastry you can check here.

• While we’re making the dough, preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).

• Once the dough is ready, place it in a baking pan and pop it in the oven for about fifteen minutes. Before putting it in the oven, prick it with a fork so it doesn’t puff up.

• With the pastry in the oven, heat a frying pan with a splash of oil. When it’s hot, add the onion and mushrooms, all sliced beforehand. Once they’ve softened a bit, add the bacon cut into strips and cook to your liking. Set aside.

• Beat the eggs in a large bowl and mix them with the cream. Season with salt and pepper.

• Add the sautéed ingredients to the bowl.

• When the pastry is partially cooked, take it out of the oven and pour in the mixture. Spread it evenly across the surface and sprinkle the cheese on top.

• Put it back in the oven and bake for around half an hour.

Tips:

• Just like we mentioned here, you can pick any kind of cheese you like or whatever you have at home.

• Shortcrust pastry isn’t hard to make, but if you’d rather, you can buy it pre-made at any supermarket. That way we make sure “No newly-independent young adult goes hungry, even if they don’t like cooking.”

[English version] QUICHE LORRAINE* Ingredients: *Shortbread pastry:

• 200 g flour

• 1oo g cold butter

• 1 egg

• A pinch of salt

• A pinch of sugar

Filling:

• 200 g bacon

• 100 g emmental cheese

• 50 g mushrooms

• 200 ml cream

• 4 eggs

• 1/2 onion

• Salt and pepper

• *Prepare the shortbread pastry. You can see here our recipe. *

• Preheat oven at 180º C.

• Roll out the pastry and place into a baking pan. Bake for 15 minutes. If we bake directly with the filling on it, the pastry will be underdone. To avoid the pastry to ‘grow’ in the oven, you can place a baking paper and fill up with baking beans. You can also pierce the pastry with a fork.

• While the pastry is baking in the oven, heat a bit of olive oil in a frying pan. Chop onion and mushrooms and place them into the hot frying pan. After a few minutes, add the bacon cut into strips and keep stir frying for a few extra minutes. Take it out from heat and set aside.

• In a large bowl, beat eggs and cream together. Add salt and pepper.

• Add the stir fried ingredients and mix well.

• The pastry will be already slightly cooked, so take it out from oven and pour evenly the cream mix inside. Sprinkle with some cheese on the top.

• Bake into the oven for around 30 minutes.

Tips:

*- As we said before here you can choose any kind of cheese you like. *

- Shortbread pastry is not a difficult task but you can also buy it in any supermarket.

Comments

yolanda del pozo (2013-04-19 09:44:08):

All the recipes on this site are easy, cheap, quick and tasty — what more could you ask for? And the photos are amazing too, just looking at them makes you want to make the dish and, above all, eat it. Congrats, great work!

silvia (2015-01-14 20:34:14):

The other day I bought shortcrust pastry by mistake… so checking out this great website, I’m bookmarking this recipe.

Just one question: what’s that about pricking the pastry before baking… do you have to pierce it? And what kind of pan works best? Like a non-stick one?

Kisses

I made these croquettes for the first time as an appetizer for a New Year’s Eve dinner, and honestly, everyone loved them. Even the ones who wrinkled their noses a bit when they saw the muesli coating ended up enjoying the strong contrast between the crispy outside and the creamy filling. Whether for the holidays or any random day, we encourage you to give these a try because the recipe is absolutely worth it.

What do we need?

• 4 tablespoons of flour

• Half a liter of milk (about 2 cups)

• 100g (3.5 oz) of gorgonzola cheese

• 2 tablespoons of olive oil

• 2 tablespoons of butter

• Salt

• Black pepper

• 2 eggs

• Breadcrumbs

• Muesli without fruit

• Olive oil for frying

How do we make it?

• First, we make the béchamel. To do this, put the oil and butter in a frying pan.

• Once the butter has melted and the pan is good and hot, add the flour. Stir well and let it cook for a moment (so it doesn’t taste raw later).

• Next, gradually pour in the milk little by little, stirring constantly and energetically to prevent lumps from forming. We want a fairly thick béchamel since it’s going to be used for croquettes and will also have a very creamy cheese mixed in.

• Toss in the cheese cut into chunks and keep stirring until it’s fully melted, then season with salt and pepper.

• Pour the béchamel into a wide dish so it spreads out nicely. It needs to cool for at least two hours, finishing in the fridge so it firms up properly.

• Once the mixture is cold, shape it into balls. Since the flavor is intense, try not to make them too big.

• Roll the balls in breadcrumbs.

• Set up three bowls: one with the beaten eggs, another with the muesli, and another with breadcrumbs. Pass each ball through the three bowls in this order (egg-muesli-breadcrumbs).

• Heat a frying pan with oil, and once it’s nice and hot, drop the croquettes in and fry them until golden brown.

• Once they’re out, place them on a plate lined with paper towel to soak up the excess oil.

Tips:

• It’s best to fry them right before serving so the coating stays crispy and the filling stays creamy. If you want, you can prep them ahead of time and leave them in the fridge, or even freeze them and fry them whenever you fancy a bite.

• If the béchamel gets the better of you and lumps end up forming, you can blitz them out with a hand blender before adding the cheese. It’s not the proper method, but hey, sometimes these things happen, and a well-timed blender can save you a lot of trouble :-)

This is one of those recipes that comes together almost without thinking, with just a few totally everyday ingredients. An easy way to put out an appetizer where you know exactly what’s in it and that’s bound to surprise more than one guest. We made it as part of a big buffet-style spread for a birthday. You can serve it already spread, piped into little tartlets, or, if you prefer, in a pretty bowl so everyone can help themselves.

What do we need?

• 1 small tin of sardines in olive oil

• 70 g (2.5 oz) cream cheese

• ¼ spring onion

• 60 ml (¼ cup) lemon juice

• Chopped parsley

• Salt and black pepper

How do we make it?

• Drain the sardines and, with the help of a thin knife, remove the central bone (if they’re baby sardines, you probably won’t need to).

• Finely chop the spring onion.

• Put all the ingredients in a bowl and mix, mashing them with a fork (if you want to feel the chunks) or with a blender (if you’d rather have a smoother, finer pâté).

• Refrigerate for at least an hour so the flavors meld and it thickens up.

Tips:

• You can make it the day before — it’ll firm up nicely and you’ll get a head start on the kitchen work.

• For those who like it, you can swap the parsley for cilantro.

*[English version] SARDINE PÂTÉ

• **Ingredients:

• 1 small tin of sardines in olive oil

• 70 g cream cheese

• ¼ spring onion

• 60 ml fresh lemon juice

• Chopped parsley

• Salt and black pepper

• Drain sardines and remove the central bone with a sharp knive.

• Finely chop the spring onion.

• Put all the ingredients together into a bowl and mix smashing them with a fork (if you want to feel the ingredients) or with a mixer (if you prefer a thinner and smoother pâté).

• Leave cool in the fridge for at least 1 hour. It will unify flavours and become thicker.

Tips:

• You can prepare it the day before. It will be tastier and you’ll save time in the kitchen.

• If you like, you can use coriander instead of parsley.

Comments

cris (2013-01-02 18:27:57):

This pâté is sooooo good! and super easy to make! we made it for New Year’s Eve and it was a hit. Don’t go thinking you’re about to eat a tin of sardines — between the onion, the bit of lemon and the cheese, it’s a super tasty mousse!!

Thanks so much to you both

xx

Palstelera (2013-01-05 00:16:37):

So glad you made it for New Year’s Eve and that you all enjoyed it… :-D

I’m sure you’ve all tried — and many of you have made — the classic quiche lorraine (we’ve got ours ready and we’ll be posting it soon). Today we’re sharing a variation we absolutely loved, easy to make and seriously tasty.

What do we need?

For the shortcrust pastry:

• 200 g (1 ⅔ cups) flour

• 100 g (7 tbsp) cold butter

• 1 egg

• A pinch of salt

• A pinch of sugar

For the filling:

• A dozen cherry tomatoes

• 100 g (3.5 oz) emmental cheese

• 50 g (1.75 oz) goat cheese log

• 200 ml (¾ cup + 1 tbsp) heavy cream

• 4 medium eggs

• Oregano, salt and pepper.

How do we make it?

• First, make the shortcrust pastry. Here you can see how we did it.

• While the pastry is resting, preheat the oven to 180-200°C (355-390°F).

• Once the dough is ready, roll it out, place it in a tart pan and bake for about 15 minutes. We do this before adding the filling so the base doesn’t end up raw. To stop it from puffing up, prick it with a fork or weigh it down with dried chickpeas.

• Cut the tomatoes in half, chop the emmental and slice the goat cheese log into rounds.

• Beat the eggs and mix with the cream. Add salt and pepper.

• Stir in the emmental and the oregano.

• When the pastry is partly baked, take it out of the oven and pour in the mixture. Spread it evenly across the pan.

• Add the halved cherry tomatoes and the goat cheese on top.

• Put it back in the oven and bake for another 30 minutes or so.

Tips:

• You can use any kind of cheese for the filling.

• If you’re feeling lazy and don’t fancy making the shortcrust pastry, you can buy it at any supermarket, either refrigerated or frozen. If you go for frozen, take it out about 15 minutes before you want to use it so you can work with it — otherwise it’ll crack.

Comments

silvia (2012-11-29 22:13:25):

man… I wish I had an oven so I could follow these recipes… well, the no-bake ones except for the sweet ones, you already know I’m a fan, like that pineapple salad… yum yum

And then we say the poor Brits have nothing in their cuisine beyond fish & chips and porridge… I tried this recipe at my aunt’s house in Edinburgh and it was honestly a surprise. A savoury tart whose main ingredient is garlic but which, contrary to what you might think, isn’t sharp or strong-tasting at all. It’s creamy, smooth and light on the palate. Hope you enjoy it…

What do we need?

• 1 sheet of puff pastry

• 3 heads of garlic (cloves separated and peeled)

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar of Modena

• 220 ml (¾ cup + 2 tbsp) water

• 1 teaspoon icing sugar

• 1 tablespoon chopped rosemary

• 1 tablespoon chopped thyme, plus a few whole leaves for garnish

• 120 g (4 oz) soft goat’s cheese

• 120 g (4 oz) hard, mature goat’s cheese

• 2 eggs

• 100 ml (scant ½ cup) heavy cream

• 100 ml (scant ½ cup) crème fraîche (can be replaced with heavy cream)

• Salt and pepper

How do we make it?

• Roll out the sheet of puff pastry over a round, shallow tart tin so it covers the bottom and the sides. Prick the dough with a fork, place a sheet of baking paper on top and add two handfuls of raw chickpeas (this stops the dough from puffing up while baking). Let it rest in the fridge.

• Preheat the oven to 180°C (355°F). Bake the pastry case for about 20 minutes. Remove the paper and chickpeas and bake for another 5-10 minutes. Take it out of the oven and set aside. Leave the oven on.

• While the pastry is baking, make the caramelised garlic. Put the garlic cloves in a pan and cover with water. Bring to a boil and blanch for 3 minutes. Drain well.

• Dry the pan and put the garlic cloves back in with the olive oil. Fry over high heat for 2 minutes. Add the balsamic vinegar and water and bring to a boil. Let it simmer gently for 10 minutes.

• Add the sugar, rosemary, thyme and salt. Keep cooking over medium heat for another 10 minutes, or until almost all the liquid has evaporated and the garlic cloves are coated in a kind of dark syrup.

• To assemble the tart, break up both types of cheese and scatter them over the baked pastry case. Then spoon the caramelised garlic and syrup over the whole surface.

• In a bowl, whisk the eggs, creams, salt and pepper. Pour this mixture into the tart, trying to fill the gaps left between the cheese and the garlic but without completely covering the ingredients (you should still be able to see them).

• Lower the temperature to 160°C (320°F). Bake for 35-45 minutes or until you see the filling has set and the top has turned golden.

• Remove from the tin and serve with a little thyme sprinkled on top.

Tips:

• To unmould the tart easily once it’s done, you can use a loose-bottomed tin, or otherwise place baking paper before lining it with the puff pastry to prevent sticking.

• It’s delicious served with a salad. Why not with a rocket and mango salad?

The recipe is from this website: http://britishfood.about.com/od/adrecipes/r/caramelisedgarlictart.htm

*[English version] CARAMELISED GARLIC TART

• **Ingredients:

• 1 puff pastry sheet

• 3 medium heads of garlic (cloves separated and peeled)

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 1 tsp balsamic vinegar

• 220ml water

• ¾ tbsp fine sugar

• 1 tsp chopped rosemary

• 1 tsp chopped thyme, plus a few whole sprigs to finish

• 120g soft, creamy goat’s cheese

• 120g hard, mature goat’s cheese

• 2 free-range eggs

• 100ml heavy/double cream

• 100ml crème fraîche

• salt and black pepper

• Have ready a shallow, loose-bottomed, 28cm fluted tart tin. Roll out the puff pastry into a circle that will line the bottom and sides of the tin, plus a little extra. Line the tin with the pastry. Place a large circle of greaseproof paper on the bottom and fill up with baking beans. Leave to rest in the fridge.

• Preheat the oven to 180°C. Place the tart case in the oven and bake blind for 20 minutes. Remove the beans and paper, then bake for a further 5-10 minutes, or until the pastry is golden. Set aside. Leave the oven on.

• While the tart case is baking, make the caramelized garlic. Put the cloves in a small saucepan and cover with plenty of water. Bring to a simmer and blanch for 3 minutes, then drain well.

• Dry the saucepan, return the cloves to it and add the olive oil. Fry the garlic cloves on a high heat for 2 minutes. Add the balsamic vinegar and water and bring to the boil, then simmer gently for 10 minutes.

• Add the sugar, rosemary, chopped thyme and ¼ teaspoon salt. Continue simmering on a medium flame for 10 minutes, or until most of the liquid has evaporated and the garlic cloves are coated in a dark caramel syrup. Set aside.

• To assemble the tart, break both types of goat’s cheese into pieces and scatter in the pastry case. Spoon the garlic cloves and syrup evenly over the cheese.

• In a jug whisk together the eggs, creams, ½ teaspoon salt and some black pepper. Pour this custard over the tart filling to fill the gaps, making sure that you can still see the garlic and cheese over the surface.

• Reduce the oven temperature to 160°C and place the tart inside. Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until the tart filling has set and the top is golden brown. Remove from the oven and leave to cool a little.

• Then take out of tin, trim the pastry edge if needed, lay a few sprigs of thyme on top and serve warm.

  Tips:- To take it out of tin in an easy way you can use a quiche pan with the bottom removable or you can just place some oven paper on the tin before rolling out the pastry. - Serve with salad. Why not with mango and rocket salad? Recipe from this website: http://britishfood.about.com/od/adrecipes/r/caramelisedgarlictart.htm

Comments

Sergio (2012-11-16 00:32:29):

Wow!!

This looks incredible. Who would have thought — what a surprise from the Brits.

Palstelera (2012-11-22 19:05:14):

Poor things, we really do underestimate them on the food front…

Did you know that croissant in French means crescent moon? Literally, it means ‘waxing,’ which is the phase of the moon we commonly call a crescent. Well, with that same shape but a completely different dough and a savory filling, we present this easy dish. We rescued the recipe from a Thermomix Christmas magazine and thought it would be a great idea to offer as an afternoon snack at home or to pack along on a trip and enjoy during a roadside stop. For those of you who are wary of complicated gadgets and kitchen robots, don’t worry — we made these with our own little hands and they turned out wonderfully.

What do we need?

•   400-500 g (3.25-4 cups) pastry flour
  

•   250 g (1 cup) quark cheese
  

•   250 g (1 cup / 2 sticks) cold butter
  

•   1/2 teaspoon salt
  

•   1 packet baking powder
  

•   1 beaten egg (for glazing)
  

For the filling:

•   100 g (3.5 oz) cooked ham
  

•   200 g (7 oz) Emmental cheese
  

•   2 tomatoes
  

•   Dried oregano
  

How do we make it?

• Cut the butter into small pieces and mix with the rest of the ingredients. Start by stirring with a fork and then finish kneading with your hands.

• Form the dough into a ball, wrap it in cling film and let it rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.

• Preheat the oven to 180°C (355°F).

• Divide the dough in two and roll out each piece with a rolling pin into a thin circle (about 3 mm / 1/8 inch).

• Using a knife or pizza cutter, cut 8 triangular portions (just like a pizza).

• Place a bit of cooked ham and cheese on each portion and roll them up starting from the wide end and finishing at the tip to give them that croissant shape.

• Slice the mozzarella and tomato into rounds and then cut those in half. Use them to fill the portions from the second circle of dough, adding a bit of oregano. Roll them up the same way.

• Place all the croissants on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and brush them with beaten egg.

• Bake for about 20 minutes.

Tips:

• You can vary the filling however you like. In fact, the original recipe was just ham and cheese, and we introduced the tomato-mozzarella variety and liked it even more.
• The dough isn’t particularly salty, so why not try a sweet filling?

[English version] FILLED CROISSANTS **Ingredients:-400-500 g flour

• 250 g quark cheese

• 250 g butter

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1 package baking powder

• 1 egg

• Dice the butter and mix with the rest of ingredients. First stir well by using a fork and then use your hands.

• Make a ball with the dough, wrap it in cling film and place in the fridge for 30 min.

• Preheat oven at 180ºC

• Divide the dough into two pieces and roll out to two thin circles (3 mm).

• Cut each circle into 8 portions (like pizza slices).

• Put some york ham and cheese over each slice and roll it from the biggest side to the narrowest to create the croissant shape.

• Slice mozzarella and tomato and then cut into halves. Use them and oregano to fill the second circle of dough. Roll it in the same way.

• Place the croissants on a baking tray covered by baking paper. Glaze croissants with egg.

• Bake for 20 min approximately.

  Tips:- You can vary the filling. The original recipe was done with ham and cheese and we decided to create the mozarella-tomato flavour and we liked it even more! - The dough itself is not really salty. So why not a sweet filling?

It’s been a while since I made my first risotto. I think I learned it from Arguiñano, back when my mom and I used to watch him at lunchtime. I have a feeling I also followed the recipe from some Wii video game once. Anyway, I’ve been tweaking, adapting and improvising on top of the fundamental rule for a good risotto: never stop stirring.

What do we need?

(serves two)

•   1 ½ cups short-grain rice
  

•   Warm water
  

•   2 cloves of garlic
  

•   A quarter of a large onion
  

•   Wild mushrooms / button mushrooms
  

•   100 g (3.5 oz) blue cheese
  

•   Salt
  

How do we make it?

• Add a splash of olive oil to a saucepan.

• Dice the blue cheese into small cubes. Finely chop the garlic and onion.

• Add the garlic and onion to the pan and turn the heat down a bit so they don’t burn. Once they’ve softened a little, add the mushrooms cut into medium-sized pieces.

• Let everything cook together for a few minutes and add a pinch of salt.

• Once the sofrito is ready, add the rice and stir well so the rice soaks up the flavor.

• Now, the usual thing would be to add twice as much water as rice and let it cook. We’re going to add just a bit of water — about half a cup (120 ml / 4 fl oz) if we used a cup and a half of rice.

• While stirring, add salt and a bit of blue cheese. Once everything is well mixed and the water has reduced, lower the heat a little.

• Without stopping stirring, keep adding more water (as much as your risotto asks for) and blue cheese.

• When you see the rice is cooked, turn off the heat, cover, and let it rest for as long as it takes you to slice some thin strips of blue cheese to decorate the plate.

Tips:

• We used blue cheese, but you can use any other kind. If you don’t like strong cheese, an aged cheese will thicken it more and barely taste of cheese.
• For decoration you can also add hazelnuts, walnuts or almonds.
• If you don’t have wild mushrooms, you can swap them for button mushrooms.

[English version] RISOTTO MY WAY **Ingredients:- 1 ½ medium-grain rice

• 3 cups warm water

• 2 cloves of onion

• ¼ large onion

• Mushrooms

• 100 g blue cheese

• Salt

• Add a splash of olive oil in a sauce pan.

• Dice blue cheese and chop garlic and onion.

• Add garlic and onion to the sauce pan and fry slowly to avoid burning. When they have softened, add the mushrooms (if they are too big, you can cut them into medium-size pieces).

• Cook slowly for some minutes and add a pinch of salt.

• When ready, add the rice and keep stirring while everything is cooking and flavors are melting.

• Usually we add 2 parts of water to 1 part of rice. For risotto recipe we will be adding all the water needed progressively.

• While stirring, add some salt and part of blue cheese. Stir well and turn down the heat to a simmer.

• Keep stirring and adding the water and blue cheese, allowing each ladle to be absorbed before adding the next.

• When rice is cooked and soft, place a lid on the pan and allow to sit. Slice some blue cheese for decoration.

  Tips:- You can use any kind of cheese. Blue cheese has quite a strong flavour but you can substitute it by any other softer.

• For decoration, you can add some walnuts, almonds or nuts.

• You can use mushrooms (champignons) or any other wild mushrooms.