carrillada (aka pig’s cheeks)

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I wasn’t planning on making carrilladas today, and had never made them before. Though I’ve had them several times at tapas bars and especially love the ones they serve at Bodeguita Romero. Anyhow, there I was in the supermarket and I saw these rather plump pig’s cheeks and thought – what the heck. After I got home I scoured the internet looking for a recipe and I started to despair when I saw most of them called for a pressure cooker. So what I ended up doing was taking ideas from about four different recipes and incorporating them into one. And I must say they turned out amazing! Served here with mixed veg and a bit of potato purée.

Recipe and instructions below the links…

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croquetas

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croquetas

It all started the other day when my very dear friend Lizzie, who owns & runs the Folk House Cafe & Bar in Bristol, asked me if I had a good recipe for Spanish croquetas. And I did, so I passed it along. But then Lizzie asked me how many croquetas the recipe made and I could not remember … so I decided to find out.

Of course, the thing about croquetas is that they are kind of fiddly – okay, they are a total pain in the ass –  to make, so if you’re going to make one batch then may as well make two. Except then I couldn’t decide which kind to make, and started thinking that four different kinds would make a nice photo … and this is how I ended up with croquetas taking over my kitchen. But I must say it was nice to have a variety of them.

From left to right: spinach with pinenuts & chili peppers, mackerel & roasted red pepper, garlicky chicken, and ham & cheese. Served with “the sauce“.

Recipe is below the links…

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hummus

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hummus

I love hummus and I especially love this very simple recipe sent to me by a friend in Toronto many years ago.  I also love how versatile hummus is, as well as it being low-fat and very nutritious. I usually use hummus in a variety of tortilla rollups that are mostly vegetarian, and lately I’ve added oven-baked pita bread and flour torilla “chips” to my repertoire, with hummus as a dip. Any other suggestions will be gratefully accepted.

Ingredients and instructions below…

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presa with rocket salad

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presa

My favourite meals are quite simple ones, and this combination made for a very delicious and satisfying low-carb meal as well (though for my flatmate Peter I also steamed some new potatoes). This is a cut of pork that is called “presa” in Spanish. And as there is no exact English translation for this, I have added a page that features Spanish cuts of pork, so at least you can have a general idea of where it comes from. Presa, pluma and secreto are all cuts that I find difficult to translate.

Cooking instructions below the links…

presa 4

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pulled pork

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pulled pork

Until a couple of weeks ago I didn’t even know what pulled pork was, but now I am hooked. Very easy to make, low-fat, low-carb and delicious. This is my first ever pulled pork. I started off using this recipe from FotoCuisine but then realised that I didn’t have any ginger or limes or roasted jalapeños … so I decided to improvise.

Instructions below the links.

[pics and recipe updated – got the hang of it now!]

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low carb eating

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low-carb

It seemed a good idea to start off this blog with what started it off in the first place – these pics I’d spontaneously taken of a wonderful fish dinner I was about to make. I posted them on Twitter and Fotki and was then asked if there was going to be a blog … and well, what the heck.

For the past month or so I’ve been working on a new low-carb diet, which I think will suit me very well at this time and place in my life. And this meal proved without a doubt that low-carb is not hard to take at all.

Fresh tuna and swordfish steaks, salted & peppered, then cooked in virgin olive oil with plenty of garlic, and served with steamed broccoli. It doesn’t get any simpler or more fabulous than this.

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