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Just because summer is over doesn't mean we have to say goodbye to salads. Today, a super simple and quick recipe for a tasty, healthy chickpea salad. Since we're using pre-cooked chickpeas, it takes no more than 5 minutes to put together, so there's no excuse. Enjoy!

What do we need?

• 1 can of cooked chickpeas
• 2 tomatoes
• 1/2 onion
• 1 small can of corn
• Mustard
• Herbes de Provence
• Salt and pepper
• Oil and vinegar

How do we make it?

1. First, drain the canned chickpeas and rinse them with cold water to get rid of that characteristic canned taste. Place them in a large bowl.
2. Dice the tomatoes and onion and add them to the bowl with the chickpeas.
3. Add the corn.
4. In a glass jar, make a vinaigrette. The usual ratio is three parts oil to one part vinegar. For this salad, you can pour about two finger-widths of oil into the jar, a third of that in vinegar, 1 teaspoon of mustard, 1 teaspoon of herbes de Provence, and a pinch of salt. Close the jar tightly and shake vigorously until the mixture has emulsified. Taste and adjust with whatever ingredient suits your liking.

Tips:

– As with all salads, more than a recipe, this is a suggestion. Feel free to add other ingredients or seasonings you have in the fridge.

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.

Believe it or not: we’re back! After months (literally) with our blog in some kind of hibernation, we’re back at it and hoping that this time our willpower won’t fade so fast. We’re returning with that recipe that’s been sitting at the top of the blog for so many days now, the one we know plenty of you have been dying to make: the Crispy Chicken. For lovers (or at least, frequenters) of fast food joints, the Crispy Chicken is a Burger King staple, a chicken burger with a spicy kick. But here we’re sharing the upgraded version. Meaning, the one we make with an actual chicken fillet and not some suspicious mystery patty pretending to be one.

What do we need?

• 4 tablespoons of flour

• 1 tablespoon of onion powder

• 1 tablespoon of garlic powder

• 1/2 tablespoon of paprika

• Salt

• Black pepper

• 2 eggs

• Cornflakes

• A splash of white wine

• 2 chicken breast fillets (not too thin)

• 2 burger buns

• 2 tomato slices

• 2 lettuce leaves

• Mayonnaise

How do we make it?

• First, we’ll prep the breading for the chicken. Mix the flour with the onion and garlic powder, paprika, salt and pepper.

• In another bowl, beat the eggs with a splash of white wine.

• In a third bowl, add the cornflakes and crush them with your hand. Grab fistfuls and squeeze them little by little. We don’t want the pieces too small, so it won’t take much time.

• Take your chicken fillets and bread them in the same order as the bowls you prepared: flour, egg, and cornflakes. Let them rest while the oil heats up in a frying pan (or deep fryer).

• Fry the breaded fillets until golden and transfer them to a plate lined with paper towels to soak up the excess oil.

• Now all that’s left is to assemble our ‘burger’. Spread a bit of mayo on each half of the bun, add a fillet, a tomato slice, and a lettuce leaf. Ready to eat.

Tips:

• Instead of onion powder, we used a packet of onion soup mix. A pretty curious ingredient that we’ll use in other recipes like COCA-COLA CHICKEN.

• The fillets should be a bit thick so they stay juicy, but you have to be careful when frying them to nail the perfect point: golden on the outside and fully cooked on the inside. We recommend cranking up the heat at first and then turning it down a bit to make sure they cook through properly.

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).

BLT stands for Bacon Lettuce Tomato, which translates to a spectacular combo. Especially if you make the bacon the way we did. Want to know the secret? Keep reading.

What do we need?

• 4 slices of bacon

• 4 slices of bread

• 2 tomatoes

• A couple of lettuce leaves

• 2 tablespoons of sugar

• Cayenne pepper

• Mayonnaise

How do we make it?

• Preheat the oven to 200°C (390°F).

• Meanwhile, wash the lettuce and tomato.

• On a baking tray, lay out the bacon in a single layer on parchment paper. Grind the cayenne and sprinkle it over the bacon. Sprinkle the sugar on top too, and put it in the oven once it reaches temperature.

• Let it cook for about 15 minutes, until crispy and quite dark.

• While the bacon is cooking, slice the tomatoes into rounds and leave the lettuce in big leaves.

• Toast the bread. Once it’s done to your liking, spread a bit of mayonnaise on it and assemble the sandwich.

Tips:

• You can add lots of things, even switch up the sauce. The base is the BLT trio. We added onion, but avocado works really well too.

• You can make it with regular sandwich bread, but we recommend “long-life” bread (long live the king!!!!!). I think you can usually find it in supermarkets labeled as rustic bread (already sliced).

[English version] BLT* *Ingredients:

• 4 bacon slices

• 4 bread slices

• 2 tomatoes

• 2 lettuce leaves

• 2 tbsp sugar

• *Chili powder *

• Mayonnaise

• Preheat oven at 200º C.

• *Wash lettuce and tomato. *

• *In a baking tray, place some baking paper and the bacon (in one layer). Sprinkle with sugar and chili powder. *

• *Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden and crispy. *

• *In the meanwhile, cut tomato into slices. *

• *Toast bread, spread some mayonnaise in each slice and make your sandwich with all the ingredients (tomato, lettuce and bacon). *

• Tips:- You can add any other ingredient or sauce that you like. The essentials are Bacon Lettuce and Tomato. We added some fresh onion but avocado is also a perfect choice. **- You can prepare the sandwich with any kind of white sandwich bread but we like to prepare it with sliced bread. *

As strange as it sounds, this recipe could pass as an express one, even though we have to make a custard cream. And the secret of today’s recipe lies precisely in making that cream fast, easy, delicious, and in just 10 minutes. The trick: the microwave, that great forgotten appliance we only ever bother with to heat up the morning milk.

What do we need?

For the cream:

• 100 g (1/2 cup) sugar

• 40 g (1/3 cup) cornstarch

• 3 egg yolks

• 1/2 liter (2 cups) milk

• 1 tablespoon butter

For the tartlet:

• 1 sheet of puff pastry

• Sugar

• Cinnamon

How do we make it?

• First we prepare the custard cream. Whisk the sugar and cornstarch together in one bowl, and the egg yolks with the milk in another.

• Then mix everything together and pop it in the microwave for 8 minutes at max power, stopping every 2 minutes to stir.

• Once the 8 minutes are up, add the butter, stir, and you’re done.

• Next, roll the puff pastry sheet out a bit with a rolling pin and sprinkle it with sugar and cinnamon.

• Roll the dough into a log, pressing it with your fingers so it doesn’t end up too uniform.

• Cut it into several pieces and flatten each one to form a sort of mini-pizza.

• Use a muffin tin (the kind with several holes, like little flan molds). Place each circle into one of the cavities and press it in to form a tartlet.

• Pop it in the oven, preheated to 180°C (350°F), for about 12 minutes.

• Keep an eye on it and press the dough down every now and then to keep the hollow where the cream will go.

• Once baked, fill them with the cream, sprinkle with sugar, and brown them in the oven or with a blowtorch.

Tips:

• Microwaves come in different wattages so the cooking time may vary. As you heat the cream, you’ll see it thicken until it reaches the consistency you want.

• If you want to use the custard cream for another recipe that calls for a thinner cream, just cut down on the amount of cornstarch.

Good and freezing morning. Today we’re bringing you a really simple recipe, the kind that even Jesús will be able to pull off without having to call twenty times :p The thing is, I’m a huge fan of making burgers at home. They’re usually way better than the ones you eat out, plus you make them to your own taste and load them with the ingredients you like best. This time we made the burger with blue cheese mixed right into the patty.

What do we need?

(For each big-eater burger)

• 200 g (7 oz) ground beef

• 25-30 g (1 oz) blue cheese

• 1 egg

• Pepper

• Salt

• Breadcrumbs

• Tomato

• Lettuce

• Onion

• Burger bun

How do we make it?

• Take the ground beef and dump it into a large bowl, since you’re going to be getting your hands in there.

• Add the egg, a bit of freshly ground pepper, salt to taste, and a little breadcrumbs to give the meat some consistency.

• Mix everything together with your hands.

• Once all the ingredients are well combined, add the blue cheese cut into cubes. Try to work it into the meat but without pressing too hard so the cheese doesn’t break apart.

• Wrap in cling film and shape into a burger.

• Let the burger rest in the fridge for a couple of hours.

• When you’re ready to eat, put a frying pan with a splash of oil over the heat and, while it’s warming up, start chopping the rest of the ingredients.

• Cut the onion into rings, the lettuce into fairly large leaves (that way it’s easier to eat), and the tomato into slices.

• Once the oil is hot, lower the heat a bit so the burger doesn’t burn on the outside while staying raw inside. Cook it to your liking (I like mine rare).

• When it’s done, set it aside, wipe the pan clean with kitchen paper, and toast the bun for about half a minute.

• Build your burger and enjoy.

Tips:

• If you’re not going to use all the ground beef you bought, you can keep the formed patties in the freezer.

• For me, as I said, I really enjoy a good burger, so 150 to 200 grams (5-7 oz) of ground beef is the “standard” size. Yes, that’s on the generous side, but hey, it’s a burger. Obviously you can make it with less.

• If you want, you can dust the patty in flour before cooking it.

• As my dad says when we play tute, “side dish requested.” A good beer or a cold Coke with fries (homemade or store-bought) is a must.

[English version] **Ingredients:

(For each big hamburger)

• 200 g de minced meat

• 25-30 g de blue cheese

• 1 egg

• Pepper

• Salt

• Bread crumbs

• Tomato

• Salad

• Onion

• Hamburger bun

• Place minced meat into a large bowl and mix well with your hands.

• Add the egg, a bit of salt and pepper and some bread crumbs.

• Mix well all ingredients.

• Then chop blue cheese into small squares and add to the meat mix. Try to ‘knead’ the mix integrating the cheese but keeping it into pieces.

• Make a ball, wrap in cling film and and flatten it with your hand to have hamburger shape.

• Leave for a couple of hours in fridge.

• Then, pour a bit of olive oil in the frying pan. Let it get warm and start preparing your fresh ingredients (onion, tomato and salad).

• Cut onion into rings, tomato into slices and salad (lettuce) into big parts (it will be easier to eat).

• Cook the hamburger according to your preferences (well done, medium or rare).

• When it’s ready take it out from the pan, clean the frying pan with kitchen paper and toat the bread bun.

• Prepare you hamburger sandwich with all the ingredients and enjoy it.

Tips:

• You can freeze the prepared raw hamburgers and you will only need to defrost and cook in the pan whenever you need it.

• This amount of minced meat is for a big hamburger but it’s up to you the size of your hamburger.

• You can coat in flour the raw hamburger before cooking it.

• It’s a must to serve the hamburger with a cold beer and chips or fries.

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

Between one thing and another, this delicious recipe seemed to have been forgotten. Luckily, now that we’re getting back into our routine, our weekly posts will too. This recipe, although it sounds fancy and complicated, is really just a salad with slightly unusual ingredients that will delight anyone who tries it.

What do we need?

(serves 4)

• 2 ripe mangoes

• 150 g (5.3 oz) duck ham

• Arugula

• Pine nuts

• Oil, salt, and vinegar

How do we make it?

• Lightly toast the pine nuts in a hot pan, without oil.

• Peel and slice the mangoes into thin layers.

• Build the mille-feuilles by alternating mango slices with duck ham and arugula.

• Prepare a vinaigrette to taste and drizzle it on top right before serving.

• Sprinkle a few toasted pine nuts over each mille-feuille.

Tips:

• For a more budget-friendly version, you can swap the duck ham for serrano ham and the pine nuts for toasted hazelnuts.

• Fruit in salads adds a sweet, fresh touch, so feel free to throw mango, pineapple, apple… into your everyday salads.

[English version] SALAD WITH MANGO AND DUCK HAM Ingredients (serving 4):

• 2 large mangos

• 150 g duck ham

• rocket salad

• pine nuts

• olive oil, vinegar and salt

• Grill the pine nuts in a saucepan.

• Peel and cut into thin slices the mangos.

• Create the individual salads by alternating layers of mango, rocket salad and duck ham.

• Make a vinaigrette and pour it over the salad before serving.

• Add some pine nuts.

  Tips:- For the economic version of this recipe, use cured (pork) ham instead of duck ham and hazelnuts instead of pine nuts.- You can use mango or any other fruit for your ordinary salads, the taste will be fresh and sweet!

When Palstelera first told me she was going to make hummus, I had no idea what she was even talking about. She had tried it in Edinburgh and told me it was some kind of chickpea purée. Chickpea purée? Well, yes — and a really tasty one. Since then we’ve made it loads of times for parties, because it’s a super easy appetizer to put together and it’s absolutely delicious.

What do we need?

•   1 large can of cooked chickpeas
  

•   2-3 cloves of garlic
  

•   1 tablespoon of tahini (sesame seed paste)
  

•   1 teaspoon of ground cumin
  

•   1 teaspoon of salt
  

•   100 ml (scant 1/2 cup) of olive oil
  

•   100 ml (scant 1/2 cup) of lemon juice
  

•   Sweet paprika
  

How do we make it?

• Rinse and drain the chickpeas.

• Add all the ingredients except the paprika to a blender jug and blend until smooth.

• Once it’s ready, taste and adjust the salt if needed.

• Serve in a bowl, sprinkle a little sweet paprika on top and add a drizzle of olive oil.

• Serve with breadsticks, grissini, toasted bread, pita, etc.

Tips:

• If you’d rather, you can swap the canned chickpeas for some you cook fresh for the occasion, or leftovers from a delicious Cocido Madrileño/Maragato.

• If it turns out too thick, you can add a bit more lemon juice or a splash of water.

  [English version] HUMMUS **Ingredients:- 1 can of chickpeas

• 2-3 cloves of garlic

• 1 tsp tahini (sesamo seed paste)

• 1 tsp cumin- 1 tsp salt- 100 ml olive oil

• 100 ml lemon juice

• Paprika

• Wash and drain chickpeas.

• Put all the ingredients into a bowl except sweet paprika and combine them in blender or food processor.

• Taste and add some extra salt if need it.

• Place in a serving bowl, and add a small amount of paprika and a bit of olive oil.

• Serve with small toasts, grilled bread, pita bread, etc.

  Tips:- Instead of canned chickpeas you can boil chickpeas for this recipe or use some you have from previous stews.

• If the hummus is too dry, you can add some more lemon juice or even a bit of water.

Comments

zordor (2012-09-13 18:14:16):

Mmmh so good! Seriously, you didn’t know it? Come on, you really didn’t?! Hehe, that said… it gives you some terrible farts :P