BAKED EGG WITH TOMATO SAUCE AND CHORIZO

This recipe reminds me of my childhood when my mom cooked us this dish for dinner and drove my crazy, I really love it!!!
It has no secret to prepare but you need to have a good quality of ingredients, homemade tomato sauce, organic eggs and a really good chorizo.
If you have the tomato sauce prepared in advance you only need 15 minutes to prepare this delicious dish, do you want to try???

Serves 2

INGREDIENTS

• 4 tablespoons homemade tomato sauce
• 2 eggs
• chopped chorizo
• 1 green onion to garnish
• salt

PREPARATION

1. Preheat oven to 375F
2. Spoon 2 tablespoon of homemade tomato sauce into each individual baking dishes with some chopped chorizo, and in the middle break one egg into each dish.
3. Sprinkle a little salt over the egg and place in the oven.
4. Cook for about 10 or 12 minutes depend how you prefer the egg.
5. Sprinkle some green onions on top.
6. Enjoy!!!

HOMEMADE TOMATO SAUCE

 I usually cook tomato sauce once a week and keep it in the fridge for my weekly recipes either pasta dishes like spaghettis or lasagna or  meat dishes like meatballs or bolognese.
Tomatoes have a rich flavor, high liquid content, and the right composition to thicken into a sauce.

For this sauce we will need:

INGREDIENTS

• 1 can chopped tomatoes(1 pound)
• 1/2 diced onion
• 3 chopped garlic cloves
• salt to taste
• black ground pepper
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 3 tablespoon olive oil

PREPARATION

1. In a saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat and add onion and garlic, cook until light golden brown, for about 8 minutes.
2. Add the tomatoes and bring to a boil, stirring often.
3. Lower the heat and simmer for 40 minutes until thick.
4. Season with salt and ground black pepper.
5. Add sugar to balance the acidity of tomatoes.
6. Blend the result to get a nice light tomato sauce.
7. Enjoy!!!

ZUCCHINI MINI BOATS WITH IBERICO HAM

This is a wonderful recipe to prepare zucchini, very easy recipe that only needs few ingredients.
Zucchini is a versatil vegetable with which you can prepare a soup, or make them in the oven like today's recipe or simply coat them with eggs and bread crumbs to enjoy a delicious crispy zucchini's bites.

For this recipe we will need:

INGREDIENTS

Serves 2

• 2 zucchini
• 3 oz. iberico ham diced
• 1 shallot
• parmesan cheese
• bread crumbs
• 1 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
• salt to taste
• black ground pepper 

PREPARATION

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Wash  the zucchini and  split each in half lengthwise.
2. Scoop out the seeds and pulp, and set aside in a bowl.
3. Steam the zucchini halves until almost tender,  for about 10 minutes.
4. While the zucchini is steaming, heat olive oil in a saucepan and add the chopped shallot and saute until soft.
5. Add zucchini pulp and diced iberico ham and saute for some minutes.
6. Add Worcestershire sauce, stir the mixture and saute for about 10 minutes in a low-medium heat.
7. Taste and add salt and black pepper if it needed.
8. Pile the stuffing in the shells.
9. Mix the bread crumbs and parmesan cheese and sprinkle over the zucchini.
10. Place the zucchini mini boats in a greased baking tray and bake at 350F for about 25 minutes.
11. Enjoy!!!

SALMOREJO

Salmorejo is a delicious creamy soup, that is served cold and made only by a few ingredients: tomatoes, bread, garlic, olive oil,  and salt.

Salmorejo is similar to gazpacho but thicker and creamier in texture because of the bread.

It is served as a starter or first meal and accompanied with chunks of iberico ham and crumbled hard boiled eggs on top.

This recipe  is full of vitamins(vitamin C), antioxidants(selenium) and minerals because of the nutrient dense of tomatoes.

You can enjoy also salmorejo as a sauce preparing a toast with iberico ham on top, love it!!!

For this easy recipe we will need:

INGREDIENTS

Serves 6

• 2 pounds(1 kg) ripe tomatoes
• 7 oz (200g) stale bread
• 9 oz (150ml) spanish olive oil
• 1 clove of garlic
• salt to taste
• 2 boiled eggs
• sliced iberico ham

PREPARATION

1. Wash tomatoes and blend them using a food processor or a blender.
2. Use a colander to remove some peel from tomatoes and seeds.
3. In a bowl put the "guts" of the bread and cover with the tomatoes puree for at least 10 or 15 minutes.
4. Add the clove of the garlic and blend all the ingredients(tomatoes, bread and garlic).
5. Add olive oil, little by little, and emulsify using the blender.
6. Add salt and taste it.
7. The result needs to be creamy and thick, with a beautiful orange color(taste the final result and add more olive oil or salt if it needs it).
8. Serve cold and garnish with diced boiled eggs and iberico ham on top.
9. Enjoy!!!.

MUSHROOMS STUFFED WITH IBERICO HAM

I'm a huge fan of mushrooms, because of the taste and their health benefits. They are a good source of protein as well as antioxidants such as selenium, and vitamins as vitamin B12.

They are also cholesterol free and very low in fat, so it's a good point in you are on a diet or worried about your weight.

If you choose  white mushrooms for your recipe,  they are also a good source of  vitamin D.

It's very important that you cook mushrooms throroughly, in order to breakdown small amounts of natural toxins that they can have and their taste is better after cooking.

You can enjoy this recipe as an appetizer or as a side for a main dish, it's very easy to prepare and also you don't need too much ingredients to make it.

Serves 4

• 8 white mushrooms(brushed and clean)
• 2 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
• 2 garlic clove finely chopped
• 3 iberico ham slices finely chopped
• 4 tablespoon olive oil
• 50 ml tablespoon white wine
• salt to taste 
• black ground pepper

ELABORATION

1. Remove stems from mushrooms, and dice the stems. Set mushrooms caps aside.
2. Heat olive oil in a skillet over low heat and add garlic and parsley and saute for 1 minute.
3. Add iberico ham and mushrooms steam, saute for some minutes and add white wine.
4. Add salt and black pepper and cook until there is no more liquid.
5. Set aside and reserve.
6. Heat 2 tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet and cook mushrooms cups for both sides.
7. Add salt and  ground black pepper to taste.
8. Stuff  mushrooms caps with the iberico garlic ham mixture.
9. Serve hot.
10. Enjoy!!!

GREEN PEAS WITH IBERICO HAM AND POACHED EGG

Peas can be cooked in a variety of methods, making a delicious and versatile vegetable for your table.There are generally three types of peas that are commonly eaten: green peas, snow peas, and snap peas.
Only about 5% of the peas grown are sold fresh(spring season), the rest are sold frozen or canned.
Frozen peas are able to retain color,  texture and  flavor better than the canned peas, so frozen is a better option.
Green peas have a sweet taste and provide us with nutrients, antioxidants and anti-inflammatory benefits, and also are a reliable source of omega-3 fat.
There are several ways to cook green peas, but my favorite one is saute, because provides the greatest flavor and because of of the low heat allows to concentrate the nutrients.
This recipe could be served as a main dish or as a side in smaller portion, anyway is a good choice for our week menu plan.

For this recipe we will need:

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

• 1 leek finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic finely chopped
• iberico ham diced
• fresh or frozen green peas
• 4 eggs
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• salt to taste
• ground black pepper to taste

ELABORATION

1. Chop the leek roughly and finely slice the garlic.
2. If you choose frozen peas, add water to a pot , set the pot on high, and let it boil.When it comes to boil, quickly add the peas and turn the heat down to medium high. Cook for about 3 minutes(be careful not to overcooked the peas because will lose their green color and flavor).
3. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan and add the leek and saute for 1 or 2 minutes and then add the garlic and cook in a medium-low heat for a few minutes to soften.
4. Add the iberico ham and cook for 2 or 3 minutes.
5. Add the peas and cook for 5 minutes stirring constantly in a a low heat. Set aside
6. Heat  2 cups of water in a pot, add a pinch of salt and 2 teaspoons vinegar and bring to a simmer over medium heat.
7. Create a gentle whirlpool in the water to help the egg white wrap around the yolk.
8. Meanwhile, crack one egg into a small bowl and drop slowly the egg into the water and cook for three minutes.
9. Remove the egg with a slotted spoon, and drain into a kitchen paper.
10. Serve the peas with the poached egg on top
11. Enjoy!!!

ROASTED TOMATOES AND IBERICO HAM GARLIC TOAST

This recipe is so simple but full of flavor and I love how my kitchen smells so good  when I am cooking tomatoes and garlic in the oven.
When tomatoes are cooked in a healthy fat like olive oil, it increases the absorption of the lycopene.
The tomato is the primary food source of lycopene, a naturally red pigment linked to prevent numerous diseases.
Tomatoes also contain significant amounts of vitamin E, fiber, potassium and folate.
I hope you enjoy this recipe as the perfect appetizer in a family or friend gathering.

For this recipe we will need:

INGREDIENTS

4 toast:

• 4 tomatoes
• 4 head garlic
• 8 iberico ham slices
• olive oil
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• thyme
• oregano
•  pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar

PREPARATION

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.Meanwhile, hull the steams from your tomatoes and slice a shallow "X" in the bottom.
2. Drop the tomatoes into the boiling water and watch for their skins to start to wrinkle and split, for about 1 minute, and scoop them out with a spoon and transfer them to a bowl with cold water.
3. Once cooled, transfer the tomatoes to a cutting board, and use your fingers or a knife to peel back the tomato skins.
4. Slice the tomatoes in half, remove the seeds and cut them in small pieces
5. Preheat the oven at 300F and put the diced tomatoes, the garlic heads(no peeled), olive oil, vinegar, salt, sugar, thyme and oregano in a baking bowl.
6. Roast for about 1 hour.
7. Toast the bread in a toaster or in the grill.
8. Spread the garlic over the toast(the garlic is soft after roasting).
9. Spread the tomato jam.
10. Top with some slices of iberico ham.
11. Enjoy your delicious toast!!!