Spicy Spinato - Spicy Spinach Stew (or Pasta Sauce)

SPICY SPINATO

6-7 desilitres of washed, chopped fresh spinach
1 tomato
1 clove of garlic
0.75-1 teaspoon of curcuma
pinch of chilli powder
sea salt

1. Wash and chop the fresh spinach.
2. Wash the tomato and cut it into small pieces.
3. Chop the garlic finely.
4. Put a tiny bit of water on the bottom of a pot. Mix the curcuma, a little bit of sea salt, and a pinch of chilli powder with the water. Add the garlic, the tomatoes and the spinach on top - in that order.
5. Heat the ingredients under a lid, until the spinach has wilted.
6. Occasionally stirring, let the dish simmer under the lid for about ten minutes.
7. Serve as a stew/soup with 20-25 almonds (enough for one person), or as a pasta sauce with gluten-free pasta (enough for two people).

Annika

Work Your Mojo - Sweet Potatoes with Garlic Sauce

A year or so ago, I went to a Caribbean restaurant in Seville, Spain. I randomly selected a few tapas-sized dishes that had been marked both vegetarian and gluten-free on the menu. One of the dishes that I ended up being served was a gorgeous Yuca Con Mojo, boiled cassava with garlic sauce. This very quick and extremely simple dish was inspired by that Yuca Con Mojo.

WORK YOUR MOJO (for 1 person)

1 small sweet potato

extra virgin olive oil

2 medium-sized cloves of garlic

chili powder

sea salt

1. Wash the sweet potato well and cut it in thick (about 1 cm) slices.

2. Pour a little bit of water on the bottom of a pot, add a little bit of sea salt, cover the pot with a lid and bring to the boil. The idea is to steam the sweet potato slices rather than boil them, so it really has to be very little water.

3. Add the sweet potato slices into the boiling water an cover the pot with a lid.

4. Chop the garlic cloves finely. 

5. Peel the sweet potato slices when they are ready. Keep them under a lid so that they will stay hot.

6. Pour some olive oil into a small saucepan and mix in the finely chopped garlic and a touch of chili powder. Heat the oil until it starts bubbling. While waiting for the oil to start bubbling, move the sweet potato slices on a plate. When the oil starts bubbling, pour it over the sweet potato slices.

7. Enjoy.

Annika

P.S. The same sauce goes well, for instance, with steamed cauliflower, as well.

Garlic Punch – Broad Bean Salad with Fresh Garlic and Spring Onions

It’s fresh onion season! This quick and easy salad is a celebration of fresh garlic and spring onions, and also features my latest veggie discovery/favourite: broad beans. For garlic lovers only.

GARLIC PUNCH

4-5 large leaves of Romaine  lettuce (or similar)

0.5-0.75 kg of broad beans in their pods

2 small spring onions

fresh garlic

extra virgin olive oil

freshly squeezed lemon juice

freshly ground black pepper

(freshgly ground coriander)

sea salt

1. Chop the garlic finely. I used a small cloveless bulb of fresh garlic, which corresponds to about two cloves of fresh garlic.

2. Wash the spring onions and slice them finely. If the green part of the spring onions is still nice and crisp, you can use that, too.

3. Take the broad beans out of their pods, rinse them and steam them until they are ready (for 8-15 minutes, depending on their size).

4. While the broad beans are still cooking, wash the lettuce and tear it into small pieces.

5. Mix all the ingredients (it doesn’t matter if the broad beans are still hot), and add extra virgin olive oil, freshly squeezed lemon juice, freshly ground black pepper and sea salt. I’ve added some coriander seeds into my pepper mill, and the touch of coriander was quite nice, too.

6. Enjoy.

Annika