guacamole

It’s been ages – possibly years! – since I made guacamole. But seeing all those fresh avocados and tomatoes at the market lately inspired me to try it again. The first time I didn’t have any cilantro or limes (used lemon juice instead), which turned out pretty good. But the cilantro and lime juice really do transform it into something special. I haven’t put measurements for the seasoning – just taste as you go until you get the balance you like. You can also add greek yoghurt (or sour cream) to make a creamier guacamole. Serve it as a dip for tortilla corn chips, inside a warm flour tortilla or pita bread, with basmati rice… or just on its own.

Ingredients and instructions below…

espinacas con garbanzos

I can’t believe I’ve never made this most traditional dish before now, and it all came about because Kerstin @MsMarmitelover asked if I had a recipe for espinacas con garbanzos. And well, I could have found all kinds of recipes that sounded good, but knowing Kerstin, she would want a tried and tested one. So when my friend Fede @Lerele sent me a photo of a recipe on Twitter and said it was the best spinach he’s ever had… well I had to try it.

The first time I made this I didn’t quite have all the right ingredients. Rather than a large bunch of fresh spinach I had baby spinach leaves, and instead of garbanzos cooked in a puchero I just had some in a jar. Also, I only had fresh bread from the bakery, not the day-old stuff the recipe called for. But it still turned out great. I’ve since made it a few times with mostly the “proper” ingreadients. The recipe below is Fede’s recipe, with a few of my own adjustments. Another modification was using my little blender since I don’t have a mortar and pestle. And it was even better a couple of hours later once it had cooled off – amazing flavour. I have to say that Fede was right – great recipe.

Ingredients and instructions below…

cauliflower rice

I tried my hand at making cauliflower “rice” today. No, I’m not 5:2ing (don’t get me started on that nonsense) but I’ve seen this mentioned so much on the ‘net lately – and I love cauliflower and am always looking for new low-carb options – so I thought I’d try it out. It seems the main problem people encounter when making this is that the cauliflower ends up mushy. So I took the precaution of letting the cauliflower thoroughly dry on a tea towel before chopping it up. You can see the instructions below…

garbanzo burgers

Got inspired this morning when I saw this Instagram pic by Ellie, co-owner of the Pear Café in Bristol. Hers were a much “healthier” version. I went for more of a traditional burger thing, first making two cheeseburgers with tomato, lettuce and onion, mayo and dijon. The other two I topped with fried onions and served with a soya-mayo (just mayonnaise with some soy sauce added). Both types were fabulous, served on freshly grill-toasted artisanal molletes (a soft Spanish bread roll), though in retrospect I realised I should have made eight smaller burgers from this recipe, which I did on my next try. Also the second time I added fresh cilantro – made all the difference. Very filling, super delicious.

Ingredients and instructions below…

spinach & garbanzos with fried eggs

The other day I had a bag of fresh baby spinach that needed using up so I had a quick look online for some “spinach and egg” inspiration and found this, which as it turns out is a typical Spanish dish. I hadn’t planned on making a stew, let alone something with garbanzos, but this looked interesting and so after a few adjustments to the recipe I’d found I decided this would make a nice meal. And it was! I used chicken broth but you can swap that for veggie broth if you want a vegetarian dish. Serves two but just double the recipe for more people or to have some tasty leftovers the next day.

Ingredients and instructions below…

rice salad

This is a very simple dish that’s perfect for summer snacking as it will keep well in the fridge for at least 2-3 days. It’s also quite versatile, kind of like a risotto, in that the ingredients can be changed to suit personal tastes, including leaving out the tuna for a nice vegetarian option. This was originally made for me by a friend using only mayonnaise, but I find “salsa az” much lighter, though for this salad I leave out the garlic.

Instructions below the links.

spinach & onion tortilla

On the heels of my tortilla de patatas recipe … this is another tortilla that I really like and it’s also low-carb. Vegetarian too. It’s very tasty on its own, or as a tortilla butty, and goes well with a big dollop of “salsa az”…

Ingredients 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

curried cauliflower purée

A couple of weeks ago I had a huge cauliflower about to turn and decided to steam the whole thing at once and make some sort of soup. And I ended up with this very spicy and smooth cauliflower purée. So when I woke up feeling all achy & fluey this morning I decided that this would be the best thing for me … and it was!

Recipe & instructions below the links.

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…