Breakfast Burrito - A healthy alternative?

This is probably one of my favorite breakfasts in the world. If you think we have cereal in the morning, think again…there are thousands of different ways of making this but here is my version. It’s simple, healthy and most importantly, very yummy!

Ingredients

2 x eggs

1 x tomato

½ ripe avocado

¼ onion

1 x flour tortilla

3-4 jalapenos

grated cheese (handful)

Preparation

1) Sprinkle some grated cheese onto the flour tortilla. I usually use Conté because I always have some in the fridge, but you can use cheddar, mozzarella or any other cheese of your choice.

2) Chop the tomato, onion and jalapenos in small cubes, then cut the avocado in thin slices.

3) Turn your oven on grill and place your tortilla to melt for 3-4 minutes only. Don’t let the edges burn otherwise they dry out and you’ll have hard time folding your wrap.

4) In the mean time, scramble your eggs in a bowl and pour in hot a pan. This also takes about 3-4mins depending on how you like your eggs. I like mine very soft and barely cooked.

5) Once the eggs and tortilla are ready, add all your ingredients on top, season with salt and pepper and fold your tortilla into a wrap. 

TIP: I like to add a tea spoon of milk in my eggs – this makes them slightly creamier

Pumpkin Fritters

One of the things we love doing in our kitchen is inventing recipes with whatever ingredients we have at hand. I must say Fabiana is particularly gifted for that - give her a peanut and a slice of ham and she turns into Mac Gyver!! We never throw anything out - we always try to use everything from our fridge combined with staple foods from our cupboards.
Last night, we did just that... Gabriel went to Borough market over the weekend and brought back a beautiful (but huge) pumpkin. We decided to make Pumpkin Fritters - you can try it at home, it's very easy and delicious.

Our 5 kg pumpkin!

Ingredients

2 cups of pumpkin puree
1/2 cup of rice
1 onion
1 chili
1/2 grated courgette
50g goat cheese
2 eggs
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup of flour
fresh parsley (handful)
pumpkin seeds (handful)

The ingredients

Preparation

1) Start by boiling 2 cups of pumpkin for about 15 mins until it gets soft. In the mean time, cook 1/2 cup of rice. These should take about the same time to cook.
2) While the pumpkin and rice are cooking, chop the onion, chili and parsley, then grate the courgette and toss everything in a large bowl.
3) Mash the pumpkin, add the rice and mix with the rest of the ingredients along with the goat cheese and the pumpkin seeds.
4) Add 2 eggs and a hanful of flour - this will thicken the dough and help it stay together while it fries. Season with salt and pepper and start cooking.

Tip: We cooked these in olive oil because we didn't deep-fry them - and you can make the fritters into any shape and size you like.

All the ingredients are mixed into a large bowl

Serve with a fresh peppery rocket salad and a glass of red wine.

Our improvised pumpkin fritters - served with rocket leaves

Eastern Mediterranean Feast by Jad Fadl

Hello Food Lovers!

Following Paulinho's birthday lunch, we were invited to Jad's house for a festive Eastern Mediterranean dinner. Although we left Paulinho and Clemence's house on a very full stomach, it was impossible to resist Jad's food which took him about 24hrs to prepare!

Everything looked amazing from the dips, the starters, the salads, the meats and even dessert. This is one particular aspect of Mediterranean food which I love; the mixture of colors and flavors is really unique. All the ingredients he used were very fresh and very simple, yet sometimes the simplest foods combined make the best meals on earth! Some of the highlights included strained yogurt dip with cracked wheat, beetroot mutabbal with pomegranate seeds, barbecued leg of lamb with zaatar, sumac and pistachios and apricot muhallabia with rose water for dessert!

Jad is as passionate about food as we are and this is clearly reflected in his cooking, below a few snapshots – enjoy! (We certainly did)!

Paulinho's Birthday Lunch

When we woke up this morning, we feared the amount of food that we would be consuming on this cold Sunday: two events in one day… A delicious French lunch at Paulo&Clem’s followed by an Eastern Mediterranean feast at Jad’s house (see separate posting) 

Amani started the day by baking a dark chocolate and walnut brownie to take to Jad’s house. The house was filled with warmth and an amazing smell came from the kitchen… Whilst sipping my coffee and painting my nails I realized that this was just the beginning of a day packed with flavors and food indulgences … With the brigadeiros made from the night before,  we were ready to start our Sunday food journey…

By the time we arrived at Paulo’s, everyone was starving … We started with a light and fluffy courgette quiche topped with smoked salmon and served with home made mayonnaise. It was so good I had seconds (even knowing that I was probably on plate 1 out of 12 ).

The main course was then served, a hot pot of beef bourguignon served with green beans and 2 types of mash, one being the traditional potato mash and the other was pumpkin and sweet potatoes.

We had plenty of red wine throughout  the meal, then came dessert: a 3 course meal on its own with a beautiful plate of chocolate mousse, fresh strawberries, vanilla ice cream and Tarte Tatin. Then to add to Clem’s plate, the brigadeiros were also served with it!

Everything was delicious, even Leo went crazy for the chocolate mousse! 

Big thanks to Clem and Paul...

And off to Jad’s…. 

Brigadeiro for Paulinho's Birthday lunch

Brigadeiro is a Brazilian candy/bonbon type of sweet made of chocolate and condensed milk (yes… indeed very sweet) … This is the most popular treat at kids party …. I grew up with them and they are delicious , it’s almost like cross between a chocolate caramel and a dark chocolate truffle … yummy

There is no Brazilian kids party without “ Brigadeiros” … it’s a must !!!

Try it and let me know , its super easy to make , and it’s super popular in Brazil even with the adults … obviously we are referring to sweet lovers here !!!

PS: Paulinho is turning 35 ;-)

Ingredients

1x Tin of condensed milk

4 x tablespoons of chocolate powder

50gr of butter

Preparation

Add the condensed milk, the chocolate powder and the butter into a saucepan and let it simmer for 20 minutes, make sure you stir regularly so it doesn’t stick to the pan. Once the mixture starts to boil it will thicken and stick to the pan so when it becomes thick enough, turn the heat off and place it on a tray to let it cool for 20 about minutes.

Tip: to shape the brigadeiros into small balls, dab a little bit of butter on your hands so the mixture doesn’t stick to your fingers and sprinkle with chocolate flakes of your choice.

Tacos Night - Aiiii que rico!

This is a perfect night for you to be as creative as you like , you can do many different variations when cooking your meat and add different type of toppings of your choice. Here we’ll share the classic recipe with you, but don’t be afraid to try different spices and toppings.

Tip : Serve it all as individual plates and let your guests make their own tacos … Bring on the Coronas and Margaritas and Have Fun !!!

Ingredients:

serves 4- 6

Meat

500 - 700g of  lean minced beef

2 tablespoons virgin olive oil

2 medium onions

4 cloves garlic pressed

2 green/red chili

4 fresh tomatoes plus a tin of chopped tomatoes

1 teaspoon ground cumin ( if you have cumin seeds they also work really nicely )

1 teaspoon of coriander seeds

1 bay leaf

Salt and ground pepper

Preparation :

Step 1 – Golden spices: on a hot pan with olive oil add the chopped onions and garlic ,cook until it gets a golden color, then add all your spices and cook for about 1 min. 

Step 2 – Flavor the meat: add the meat to the pan and stir it with the spices  , cook it for 15 min

Step 3 – Finish off:  when meat is cooked and all spiced , finish off with the tomatoes and let it cook for another 10-15 min , this will add moisture and texture to the meat , but make sure it’s not too runny

Guacamole

2 ripe avocados

1 red chili

1/2 red onion
1 fresh tomato chopped 

1 clove garlic pressed

1 lime
Fresh coriander

3 tablespoons virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Quick preparation: add all the ingredients in the blender except the tomatoes and onions,  once it’s completely smooth place it in a serving dish and add the chopped tomatoes and onions on top and drizzle with olive oil salt and pepper and mix it all

Extra + Toppings

12 x Corn tortilla ( Taco shells , warm it up in the oven for 2 min before serving )

small Iceberg or Roman lettuce

sour cream or yogurt

grated cheddar cheese 

jalapeños
chopped tomatoes
 

From our kitchen ...

Warm Folded Wrap

Hungry ?  delicious 10 min snack …

Get a flour tortilla , spread a table spoon of olive oil or fresh tomato paste on top , add any herbs of your preference , stick it in the oven for 2 min to warm it up , take it out and add toppings of your choice , mozzarella always works really well , put it back in the oven for 7 mins until its cooked , fold it on the plate and ready to serve … there you go

You can serve it with green salad inside or on the side

Spicy Grilled Chicken

This is our favorite marinade for grilled chicken , you can grill it on the pan or BBQ

Get a pen and paper !!! Worth noting it down , Never Fails and very tasty !!!

Ingredients:

Small fillets of chicken or your choice as to which cut

2 tablespoons red/white wine

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 chilies finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, pressed

coriander and parsley chopped

salt , black pepper and Olive oil

Preparation:

Mix together in a small bowl all the ingredients, except the chicken.

Place the chicken in a shallow baking dish and cover with the marinade. Let it chill and rest for at least 5 min , recommended to let it soak up the flavors for 20-30 min

Bring the grill up to high heat. Sear the chicken on both sides, then turn the grill down to medium,  let it cook until its nice and gold for about 10-15 min if you are cooking on the BBQ move the chicken to the upper rack or to an unheated part of the grill and bake out until done. Again About 10-15 minutes depending on the size of the pieces of chicken you use

Tip: don’t overcook it , you want to make sure there is loads of juice running through the meat

Enjoy it !

Coriander and Lemon Sea bass

Another quick and easy idea for you to indulge yourself …

Ingredients:

Small Sea bass (feeds 2 people)  

Coriander (as desired)

2 x Lemons

1 x Onion

1 x Ginger

1 x Chili (green or red)

Olive Oil / Salt / Black pepper and Soy Sauce

Preparation:

Cover your tray with a large piece of foil (big enough that you can wrap your fish later)

Place some sliced onions on at the bottom of the fish as well as inside

Add some sliced chilies, chopped coriander and grated ginger randomly through the fish and top it off with lemon juice (squeeze 1 out of 2) and drizzle of olive oil and 2 table spoons of soy sauce

Add salt and pepper as desired and finish it off by adding slices of lemon on top of the fish

Tip: Wrap the fish with the foil and put it in the oven for 15 min to cook at 180C, then open the foil and change it to grill until the color is nice and gold with crispy skin

Serve with rice and mango salsa … yummy !!!

Caramelised onion tart with goat cheese

Hello food lovers!

Here's the latest from our kitchen, an improvised yet delicious tart you can make in just under 30 mins. 

Ingredients:

3 x white onions

3 x red onions

125g creamy goat cheese

1 x roll puff pastry

1 x egg yolk

40g pine nuts (handful)

Preparation:

In a large hot pan, add approximately 6 x tablespoons of olive oil, then add your peeled and chopped onions. Cook until golden and transparent. 

Remove your pan from the heat and let the onions cool off for a few minutes. 

In the mean time, prepare the puff pastry. (I buy puff pastry when I don't have time to make it and it's just as good). Roll it out and spread one egg yolk all over the surface. Then with a fork, make tiny holes in the dough and place in the oven at 180 degrees for 5 mins.

While the dough is cooking, place your pine nuts in the pan you used for your onions and grill until golden brown.

Once the dough has risen, take it out of the oven. Add the onions, goats cheese (which you can cut in slices or crumble depending on the quality) and pine nuts. 

Tip: if you cut the cheese in slices, heat a sharp knife under hot water. This will make perfectly smooth slices)

Serve with a green salad and a glass of red wine.

Bon apetit!

The Sultan's Delight – at Leather Lane

With the winter  now approaching, the need for warm & comfy  food  increases as the temperature drops … Not sure about you, but I always find it a pain to search for food at lunch time (I certainly cannot do the cold sandwiches from Pret, Eat and so and so)

While walking on the streets of leather lane market, I spotted this amazing smell coming from a stall and decided to check it out ...

WOW, I found beautiful fresh Turkish Wraps, cooked on the spot for you. The wraps varies from Lamb, Halomi or both and they are all served with fresh salad (lettuce, onions, tomatoes and cucumber) natural yogurt and hummus wrapped in a tortilla flour.

All for less than a fiver, definitely a winner!

Welcome to Foodscape!

Hello Bloggers and Food Lovers!


Welcome to Foodscape, a new blog dedicated to everything related to food. This blog was created by Fabiana and Amani (two great friends and obsessed foodies), as a platform to share ideas, recipes, and stories about food. Whether world travels, local restaurants, street markets or home cooked food - we are constantly influenced by the wonderful smells, colours and textures that surround us all the time. This blog is our way of sharing our passion with you. We hope you enjoy reading this as much as we do!