potato “raclette” casserole

Just so you know, this has nothing to do with a proper raclette, nor does it use raclette cheese. But as it does involve mostly potatoes and melted cheese this is what came to mind as I was making it. It all started yesterday when I realised that the very special Swedish Vasterbottensost Cheese that my friend Karin had brought for me in October was about to reach its expiry date. I’d been saving it for a special occasion…

Anyhow, it was such a miserable wet and cold day that some comfort food was definitely required and, after trying a bit of the Vasterbottensost (delicious!) decided it needed to be eaten as simply as possible. And so I came up with this. It was a perfect rainy day meal … and also made for great leftovers!

Ingredients and instructions below…

triple grilled mac & cheese

Another fab recipe from guest contributor, fellow foodie & friend WeeRascal
(previous contribution was his angus beef & coriander casserole)

[click to enlarge]

 

What’s your favourite part of Mac and cheese? For me, a slightly burnt, crispy, extra cheesy top when it pops out of the oven is heaven. So I had an idea: why not make a Mac and cheese that has this sort of texture all the way through? The recipe is actually very similar to the way my grandmother used to make it. It’s not at all like the over-rich, creamy, liquid dish you’ll get from a tin, or from a restaurant – I find that a couple of mouthfuls of this “white lava” can be far too sickly. On the other hand, because of the layering and grilling process used here, the cheese adheres to the pasta like iron filings to a magnet and it’s very addictive. From a culinary point of view, this is about as easy as it gets, but it’s not exactly healthy. It’s perfect for the odd comfort food fix and I will say from experience that it is a superb hangover cure – served cold. Incidentally, you may think that there’s far too much mustard power in this, but bear with me – it really does turbo charge the sharpness of the cheese.

Recipe and instructions below…

bacony leek & potato bake

Yesterday I saw some lovely looking leeks at the market and bought them without any idea of what I’d end up doing with them. In the end this is what I came up with – something autumny that included bacon, garlic and cheese. It was very tasty and easy to make, and quite nice comfort food…

Recipe and instructions below the links.

spinach & feta rollups

Flour tortilla rollups are a favourite around casa az, and I make several variations. These spinach ones have toasted pinenuts and feta cheese and are spiced up with chili flakes. I also make them with a grated mild white cheese, like havarti. Or a mix of both white & feta cheeses. Fast and easy to make, satisfying and low carb.

Ingredients and instructions are below the links.
Also some pics of rollup variations

courgette tortilla

This is a super fast and super simple low-carb version of the traditional spanish tortilla omelette, which is typically a potato omelette. It’s important to get as much excess moisture as possible out of the grated courgette before adding it to the egg mixture. And the (optional) grated cheese can either be added to the mixture before cooking or melted on top afterwards.

Recipe and instructions below the links…

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…

penne arugula

Penne with arugula, cherry tomatoes, shallots & goat cheese. This dish is serious comfort food when served hot and the leftovers (if there are any) make a very tasty pasta salad. Instructions are below the links…