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You know I love chorizo, right? I also love using up ingredients, a bit of thriftiness and not throwing much away. A crustless quiche such as this one is quick to make, can use up a lot of what you may have in the fridge and is very versatile as you can add the ingredients you fancy. If, like this Cheesy Chorizo Crustless Quiche, you make it in a cake tin, it will look beautiful when you have guests or you need to take something to someone’s house but don’t have much time in your hands. It even allows you to get ready while it’s in the oven and it will cool down on the way to theirs.
– 1 small onion
– 1 courgette (ok as I write this courgettes are in a bit of a crisis so feel free to skip!)
– 2 small-medium carrots
– Pinch of salt
– A couple of twists of the black pepper mill
– 4 large eggs
– 20 g extra virgin olive oil
– 100 g plain flour
– 1 teaspoon baking powder
20 cm cake tin + baking paper + Thermomix
1. Preheat the oven to 200º C / 190ºC in a fan oven / gas mark 6. Line the cake tin with the baking paper
2. Chop the cheddar: 8 seconds, speed 7. Reserve.
3. Add to the bowl: onion, courgette + carrots with a pinch of salt and a couple of twists of pepper: 5 seconds, speed 5. Reserve in a different bowl to the cheese.
4. Do not wash the bowl, crack the eggs into a bowl (not directly into the Thermie bowl just in case bits of shell fall in) then add to the Thermomix bowl: 10 seconds, speed 5.
5. Add the flour, baking powder and more or less half of the reserved cheese: 10 seconds, speed 3.
6. Slice the chorizo lengthways to get four strips and then slice into small pieces and add to the Thermomix bowl along with the reserved vegetables and the olive oil: 10 seconds, speed 3.
7. Pour the mixture into the lined 20 cm cake tin, tap it a few times for it to spread evenly, sprinkle the rest of the cheese over the top and place in the centre of the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes. Like with a cake, if a skewer comes out clean after piercing the centre, it’s done. Let it cool down a bit. You can eat it hold or cold and will keep for 2-3 days. It will slice better if you leave it to stand for a while.
1. Grate the cheddar. Reserve.
2. Finely chop the onion, courgette + carrots and season a pinch of salt and a couple of twists of the black pepper mill. Don’t chop the veg too small if you want a bit of crunch. Reserve in a bowl.
3. Slice the chorizo lengthways to get four strips, then slice into small pieces, reserve in the bowl with the vegetables.
4. Beat the eggs and mix in the flour, baking powder and more or less half of the reserved cheese.
5. Add the chopped vegetables and the chorizo to the egg mix and mix in well, stir in the olive oil.
6. Pour the mixture into the lined 20 cm cake tin, tap it a few times for it to spread evenly, sprinkle the rest of the cheese and place in the centre of the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes. Like with a cake, if a skewer comes out clean after piercing the centre, it’s done. Let it cool down a bit. You can eat it hold or cold and will keep for 2-3 days. It will slice better if you leave it to stand for a while.
As usual, if anything doesn’t make sense, you know where to find me!
Maria
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Last year the Feisty Tapas crew went crazy for lime pickle for the Christmas makes. Preparing lime pickle the traditional way is a lengthy process so this year I have put my research hat on (doesn’t it look cute?) to see if we could speed up the process. A lot of reading and notes later, yes we can! It may not be the authentic way of doing it but it has all the flavour and you can do it in no time ready for curry night or to surprise a friend or loved one if they are the ones cooking you the curry, just remember it’s best if you let it mature for a week before eating, let those flavours combine.
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Hello! Here I am again. Being perfectly imperfect. Did you read last week’s Thermomix recipe post? No? Make sure you do! But make sure you read this one too and then add it to this week’s menu plan. Julie’s Thermomix Mexican Bean Soup is really good and really worth making now that the weather has turned bitterly cold.
I’ve been giving some thought to what Feisty Tapas is all about nowadays lately. We’ve been through a lot together over the past few years eh! Then things went crazy when I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia last year.
It wasn’t until earlier this year that I was called a perfectionist. “Perfectionist?! Me????”, it tooks months but I did come to realise that perhaps I am, perhaps I am a perfectionist and then it took a few more months to kick perfectionism in the derrière. No one is perfect, right? Care to be imperfect with me? It’s going to be great fun and lead to lots more posts and recipes!
This time of year in 2015 our Christmas Fairy Vanessa was getting us all busy with Christmas Makes. Do not forget, start making your lime pickle and your Christmas pudding! The Christmas Makes list is right here. It will be constantly added to so keep checking it for more things to make.
You will find all Feisty Tapas Thermomix recipes here. I can recommend the Chorizo and Red Pepper Risotto (awful photo I know!) and the Paprika Chard and Potatoes.
Ready for Julie’s Thermomix Mexican Bean Soup recipe?
Julie’s Thermomix Mexican Bean Soup
Serves: 8 approx
Ingredients
– 1 red onion
– 2 garlic cloves
– 1 red pepper
– 1 yellow pepper
– Extra virgin olive oil
– 2 tins of chopped tomatoes
– 1 tin mixed beans OR equivalent drained weight (approx. 240 g) in homecooked dry beans. I pressure cooked the contents of a Waitrose Love Life 500 g 10 Bean Mix packet in the Instant Pot covered with water. Manual, 30 minutes, natural release. Rinse and soak them first.
– 1 tin green lentils
– 1 tbsp Skinnymixer’s Mexican Spice Mix (you can make my Instant Pot Beef Stew with Mexican Spices with the leftovers) OR Schwartz Cajun Spice works well
– 1 tsp of my homemade vegetable stock paste
– 2 tbsp Demerara sugar (optional, I didn’t add it)
– 8 squares Green & Black’s 70% chocolate (optional, more calories but worth it for the flavour)
To serve
– Tortilla chips
– Limes, cut into wedges
– Wensleydale cheese
– Cumin seeds, toasted
Method
1. Chop red onion and garlic: 5 seconds, speed 5.
2. Manually chop 1 red and 1 yellow pepper into bite sized bits. Add to bowl.
3. Add oil and sauté 10 mins, Varoma (120ºC in TM5), Reverse, Speed 1.
4. Chuck in the tinned tomatoes, mixed beans and green lentils. Add 1 tbsp of the Mexican Spice Mix. Add 2 tbsp Demerara sugar (optional but add if you don’t like sharp tomatoes).
5. Fill bowl to just below the MAX line with water and add 1 tsp vegetable stock paste. Cook 20 mins, 100ºC, REVERSE, speed 1.
Optional step. Add about 6/8 squares dark chocolate 2 mins before end of cooking time. This increases the calories quite a bit but adds real depth of flavour.
At home we like Mexican Bean Soup served with lime wedges to drizzle the soup with lime juice. A handful of scrunched up tortilla chips (basically, grab a handful and scrunch them up to add them to your soup). Little chunks of Wensleydale. Toasted cumin seeds.
Note: Have some of the Mexican spice mix left? It goes great in this Instant Pot Beef with Mexican Spices recipe.
If anything doesn’t make sense, remember we’re going for perfectly imperfect and you know where to find me, yes in the Thermo Cooking UK with Feisty Tapas Facebook group of course!
**This post contains affiliate links, thanks for supporting Feisty Tapas**
I had to clear my ailing MacBook the other day as it needed fixing by husband. One of the issues was that there wasn’t any space left, that meant going through (and deleting) thousands of photos, finding some gems in the process. Once my operating system was updated, with the updated Notes app my draft recipes seem way more organised and suddenly things I hadn’t seen in ages, like these Thermomix Savoury Ham Hock Egg Muffins, started to appear.
Add to that the fact that it’s time to start thinking again about taking imperfect action rather than forever sitting on things waiting to have time to try them again, to take better photos, to have better lighting, to have daylight, copyrighting everything, SEOing, using a good URL and the longest etcetera you can imagine.
I’m 43, I have a six year old, a school run, fibromyalgia and a feeling that it is time to stop giving a crap that the world is now dotted with blogs with fabulous photos and people with seemingly perfect lives which make both my blog and my life seem chaotic (most probably because they actually are!).
So, here you have me blogging more often in my very perfect imperfection. My house is a mess. My study… well let’s not go there. My life is permanently unpredictable. But at the end of the day that makes me who I am (however crazy it might drive my husband!).
You know what, I’m keeping my head above water, I am staying afloat and that is way better than where I was a year ago when I had my fibro diagnosis. I am even driving, if you remember my fear of driving posts and have followed my journey for a while, you know how much this means to me (and how difficult it has been to get here). That’s all good enough, isn’t it?
Care to stop giving a crap with me? Then join me on a trip down memory lane, remembering photos you may have seen ages ago in my social media but never saw on the blog as recipes.
Back in the day I made these muffins with ham hock but you can of course use your Instant Pot ham for them! I have the method for cooking gammon joints / ham (same for ham hock) in the Instant Pot right here and gammon joints on the hob here. It’s so easy!
Don’t forget to join my Thermo Cooking UK with Feisty Tapas if you’re in the UK. While you’re here, why not browse my Thermomix recipes?
Ready for the recipe?
Thermomix Savoury Ham Hock Egg Muffins
Ingredients
Makes approx. six
1 small onion, peeled and quartered
Half carrot
1/3 to 1/2 courgette, peeled
1/4 yellow pepper
Coriander
Black pepper
6 egg yolks
Splash of whole milk
A handful of ham hock or ham
Method
1. Preheat oven to 200ºC (190ºC fan oven) and grease muffin tin holes with butter.
2. Add onion and carrot to Thermie bowl: 5 seconds, speed 5.
3. Add courgette, coriander, the yellow pepper and the black pepper: 2 seconds, speed 5.
4. Add egg yolks and the dash of milk: 30 seconds, speed 3.
5. Pour the mixture into the muffin tin holes, it won’t rise very much so you can fill them quite a bit but avoid going to the top, three quarters. Then bake for 10-15 minutes until cooked through. Enjoy with a coffee.
Note: You could steam these in your Instant Pot or in the Varoma of course. In the Instant Pot pour 250 ml into the inner pot, trivet in place, silicone muffin cases or mini pudding tins filled with the mixture go on to of the trivet. Press Manual, programme 5 minutes and quick release for the silicone moulds, I’d allow a bit longer for mini pudding tins. Let me know how it goes!
If using the Varoma, try using just boiled water from the kettle as otherwise it will take longer. They might need longer in the Varoma.
Tip: If you’re in a hurry, you can always turn it into tasty scrambled eggs or a delicious omelette once mixed. You know, because life is so unpredictable…
This pie has become all the rage in my Kitchen Gadgetry with Feisty Tapas Facebook group. There’s even a thread about what to name it Lucy’s Lazy Chicken Pie? But
Lucy isn’t lazy. Lucy’s Easy Chicken Pie? But Lucy isn’t Easy!
Lucy is of course our own Lucy Sparkle Mars. Lucy is absolutely lovely. I have had the pleasure of meeting her in person and I can’t wait to see her again! This is her pie invention and what a pie it is. It uses filo pastry, making for a lighter pie which is still as comforting as any pie. It’s beautiful with the filo pastry, a dish to quickly make when you have unexpected guests or when it’s just you for dinner and need leftovers for tomorrow. Anything goes with this one.
This pie uses a hob to oven frying pan. The Feisty Tapas crew, their fearless leader included, is a bit obsessed with the Tefal Ingenio pans as they have a handy detachable handle and can go straight from the hob to the oven, then you unclip the handle et voilà. Same to get it out, it has a tight grip so it’s great for clumsy people like me.
The Tefal Ingenio 26 cm frying pan is ideal for this pie (and the one I used).
If you don’t have a frying pan that can go in the oven, just make the mix in a normal frying pan and transfer to an oven dish.
**Update (22-10-2017): Lucy has now started her own website, Fresher Bites, where you will find easy recipes, super helpful videos. It’s designed for people starting to cook but I reckon pretty much everyone will find a few helpful hints there**
Ready for the recipe?
Ingredients
– 2 chicken breasts, cubed
– 1 rasher of bacon (I must confess I used four), sliced
– Extra virgin olive oil or oil of your choice
– 1 medium onion
– 200 g mushrooms, quartered
– A glug of vermouth/marsala/dry white wine (I used dry white wine as it’s what I had)
– White sauce (which you can make in your Thermomix if you have one: 20 g plain flour, 20 g butter, 200 ml milk, 4 minutes, 90º, speed 4)
– 1 tablespoon of grain mustard
– 1 tablespoon of English mustard
– 3 sheets of filo pastry, scrunched-up (I actually used four, it was my first time…)
– Butter, melted
Method
1. Preheat oven on at 180º fan (200º if non-fan).
2. Brown the chicken with the bacon in a frying pan. Reserve.
3. In the same pan (no need to wash) fry the onion for a few minutes, then add the quartered mushrooms. Add the reserved chicken and bacon and the wine, let it bubble to evaporate.
4. Add the white sauce and the mustards, stir.
5. Remove handle if using Tefal Ingenio pans or move mix to oven dish if not usign pan in oven. Top with 3 scrunched-up sheets of filo pastry, dabbed with melted butter and pop into the oven for 15 minutes. Check all pastry is browned, or turn and cook for another 5 minutes.
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| One of Jayson’s ready to go in the oven |
As easy as that, and it looks very pretty. Unless you’re me and you forget to dab the filo pastry with butter in which case it may look more like this. Can you see the brush and butter in the background, I had to quickly dab it with it AFTER taking the pie out of the oven. If you’re as forgetful as me, do not worry it was still delicious.
This is the Tefal Ingenio pan set I have
**This post contains affiliate links. If you buy after clicking through them, it doesn’t cost you a penny but I may get a penny or two back towards running the blog. Thanks for supporting Feisty Tapas**
I have a very exciting freebie for those of you who are Thermomix owners, a free printable. I love printables! Above all now that I have a fully working printer again. These are Feisty Tapas’
Thermorules. These are things so built-in now that I do them without thinking.
Print it, frame it, place it in your kitchen, make guests use it.
Don’t forget you can find all my Thermomix recipes here.
Always check the bowl is assembled
I do not want to hear of any more of you leaking liquid into your Thermie’s base because you have forgotten to assemble the bowl correctly or because you had well-meaning guests or family members last night. No more. Make them read the rules and, explain to them, if it’s not assembled it doesn’t get placed in Thermie.
Also, when you’re tired or sleepy, either make sure you check and double check or just remove yourself from the kitchen. In my house at this stage I will have broken or knocked over a couple of things, so husband basically comes in, gets hold of me and removes me from the kitchen before I cause some damage! It tends to be a very good mood on his part. Even if I leave rather reluctantly.
That said, should your Thermie have an unexpected accident. First, do not panic! Second:
• For the TM31: make sure you lay it on its back carefully, place something underneath to catch the dampness. Place it somewhere where the drying process will speed up, some people recommend the airing cupboard if you have one.
• For the TM5: leave it upright, it drains upright. But do try to place it somewhere where the drying process will speed up, some people recommend the airing cupboard if you have one.
Once a week clean my feet
Now, for the feet. It’s important to clean them regularly. Give your thermie an MOT (a good check) every once in a while, once a week is perfect.
I do the same for both the 31 and the 5: lay them on their back very carefully and make sure their bottoms and feet are clean.
Once a month check the scales
It’s good for the scales, while at it, during this thorough check, make sure you check your scales are well calibrated, you can use something prepackaged for this or, even better, if you have a set of digital scales like I do (small, inexpensive basic ones), weigh something on them and then on Thermie, see how that compares.
By the way, for the scales: with the 31 I have always been told to not have the cable too loose nor too taut. Don’t forget the cable rolls into the machine, you can roll any unnecessary cable into it and vice versa.
Never use the edge of the bowl to crack eggs or bang a spatula
Do not bang things on the edge of your bowl, like a spatula or other utensil (of whatever type) as you would do with a saucepan. It’s not good for the scales.
The do not crack an egg on the edge rule has a double meaning: a) it’s not good for the scales, as above b) it’s difficult to find egg shell in the deep thermie bowl so try to crack eggs into a bowl first and then add them to Thermie.
Never ever drag me
Finally, dragging your Thermie on a surface is bad for the scales (let’s remember to look after the scales), so just don’t do it. Some people sit their Thermie on boards but it’s really as easy as: pick it up, move it, carefully put it back down.
Disclaimer: I am not a Thermomix advisor or consultant and have never been, what I know has been through being repeatedly told, my research, paying attention in other groups as well as my own. Always check with your advisor or consultant (if you have one) and, of course, the company you bought your Thermie from: Thermomix.
Before you go, make sure you sign up to the Feisty Tapas newsletter for all the kitchen gadget gossip and news from my communities.
It was the fantastic Dave who put me onto a moist recipe for chocolate cake last week, it used beetroot and I just had to try it! I reduced the sugar a fair bit and adapted it to my use my Thermomix. This Dairy Free Chocolate Beetroot Cake is delicious and easy peasy.
I posted a photo of a slice of this cake on my Thermo Cooking UK with Feisty Tapas group and there were many requests for the recipe so here is what I did because you should all try this Dairy Free Chocolate Beetroot Cake as soon as you can and, in fact, if one of you could make it with your favourite GF stuff, I’d be most grateful for the feedback.
You can find all my Thermomix recipes here.
PS- If you are in the UK with your Thermomix, Kenwood KCook, KitchenAid Cook Processor, Tefal Cuisine Companion, Lakeland Multichef, Lidl Monsieur Cuisine, Aldi’s Multi Chef, etc, make sure you come join my Thermo Cooking UK Facebook group. It’s full of lovely people who support each other and it will get you using it regularly, we will also hold your hand during those first few weeks of ownership and through the difficult dishes because my Facebook communities have two mottos: there are no silly questions and we all learn together!
We also bake cake together so here we go, ready for the recipe?
Dairy Free Chocolate Beetroot Cake – Thermomix
Ingredients
250 g cooked beetroot, peeled (there is a G’s Fresh pack that is perfect for this as it’s the exact weight, or use your pressure cooker to cook beetroot quickly). If you cook your own from raw, cook extra and have it sliced with good extra virgin olive oil and a bit of salt, so good!
3 large eggs
Half teaspoon vanilla extract
180 g caster sugar
250 g vegetable oil or do like me and realise half way through that you don’t have enough sunflower oil so used 130 g sunflower oil + 120 g extra virgin olive oil, Filipo Berio which is very mild in flavour and works well. You could try it with your favourite vegetable oil or all sunflower or all olive oil. If someone fancies it with coconut oil, please give it a go and report back.
225 g plain flour
One and a half teaspoons of bicarbonate of soda
One quarter teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons cocoa (I used Green and Black’s)
Equipment
You’ll need a baking tin slightly bigger than 20 cm. If using a 20 cm baking tin you will have enough mix for the tin and for 6 regular-sized cupcakes.
Method
1. Preheat oven to 180ºC, mine is fan (so 200º for a conventional oven or gas mark 6, remember that every oven is different). Grease your tin, or line with parchment paper.
2. Place the cooked beetroot in your Thermie bowl to purée: first turbo it for a couple of seconds (in the TM31 you need to close the bowl and hold the Turbo button down for 2-3 seconds). Scrape down: 1 minute, speed 10 (get to speed 10 gradually). Scrape down.
3. Add the eggs, vanilla extract, sugar and oil in your Thermie’s mixing bowl: 1 minute at speed 4.
4. Add the flour, bicarbonate of soda, salt and cocoa: 30 seconds, speed 4.
5. Pour mix into your greased / lined mould and bake in the centre of the oven for 30 minutes. Check that it has cooked through with a skewer, when it comes out clean (or get one of these Nordic Ware Cake Thermometers that the Feisty Tapas crew rates highly), it’s good to go. Let it cool down completely (although I must admit I pinched a bit while still slightly warm and it worked well).
Enjoy with your favourite cuppa, take a photo, post it and tag me on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook.
Turrón de chocolate de Suchard is a Spanish classic. No nuts. No fancy pants ingredients. This one is fantastic to make with the children as a Christmas treat. Particularly easy in your Thermomix or thermo cooking gadget.
Now, the little Tapita quite likes darker chocolate so you may want to adapt this to have for example 225 g chocolate and 150 g Nutella instead of course (and then run back and tell me how it worked out).
For more Christmas Makes, make sure you check out this post with a list of things that the members of my Thermo Cooking UK with Feisty Tapas Facebook group have been making.
Of course you could make this in a bowl on the stove over a pan of hot water, it will be very easy to work out what to do.
If you have a Thermomix and you are in the UK, don’t forget to join my Facebook group here.
Ready?
– 250 g Lindt Cooking Chocolate 70%
– 125 g Nutella or equivalent hazelnut chocolate spread
– 50 g Rice Krispies or equivalent (I used Waitrose’s Rice Pops)
Equipment
If you have a rectangular silicon mould, you’re quids in. If you don’t line a rectangular tin like mine with non-stick parchment paper. Rectangular is best because that is the traditional shape of turrón.
Method
1. Add the chocolate in chunks to the Thermomix bowl and chop: 15 seconds, going slowly from speed 5 to 9 (be ready for the noise!).
2. Lower any chocolate that may have climbed up the walls: 5 minutes, 50º, speed 2.
3. Add the 125 g chocolate spread: 20 seconds, speed 4.
4. Add the Rice Krispies: REVERSE, and on soft speed or 1, let them mix in with the chocolate for about 25 seconds. Lift the measuring cup and keep eye through the hole (use your phone’s flashlight if you don’t have enough lighting).
5. Spread evenly on your chosen mould, tapping against the surface a few times, fold the paper over to cover it and let it rest for a few hours until hard to the touch. No need to place it in the fridge, it will harden on the kitchen counter (unless you live in very hot climates and then you might have to use the fridge of course). When ready to serve cut into smallish rectangles with a very sharp knife.
Let’s face it, it doesn’t have to be perfect, we’re going for the homemade rustic touch here, above all if the children have helped you make it!
This is a favourite of every Spanish kid! Turrón de Suchard!
Enjoy!!!
The eponymous Pip helps me with admin in the Thermo Cooking UK with Feisty Tapas group. She is also often referred to as my rock but I have to tell you, she makes the creamiest porridge.
It doesn’t stick to the bottom of the Thermie bowl, it takes no time and it’s very easy to make when you are sleepy in the morning.
The lovely Daisy from Devon Sun Yarns (check out her beautiful hand-dyed yarn) has successfully doubled this recipe: double the ingredients, same time, temperature and speed. It turns out that it also makes Perfect Porridge for Two!
Pip’s Perfect Thermomix Porridge for One
Ingredients
– 50 g rolled jumbo organic oats (I use normal Scottish rolled oats)
– 250 g half full fat milk,
half water (I use 250 g whole milk for the little Tapita and it’s so
creamy, she likes it with honey)
Method
I had just been making the softest Japanese Cotton Cheesecake with the Thermomix when a similar-looking recipe popped up on my Instagram feed, this time using an ingredient I had never used: quark cheese but not the Thermomix. I had to try it. I had to try to convert it to Thermie. In fact, I once made both the Cotton Cheesecake and the Quark Cacke in one day and gave them out to try to friends, the winner was the Quark Cake and the reason I was given: the extra lemony taste. Made in the Thermomix, it’s easy peasy.
Based on my last few recipes anyone would think that I am a good baker but, trust me, I am more of a household baker, I am more about the taste than perfection but the Thermomix makes it easy.
Don’t forget I run the Thermo Cooking UK with Feisty Tapas group over on Facebook and, if you’re in the UK with your Thermie, you are most welcome to join us.
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| Quark Cake at the top, Japanese Cotton Cheesecake at the bottom |
Quark Cake
Based on: El rincón de Bea‘s recipe
Ingredients
3 large eggs
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 pinch of salt
500 g Quark cheese (Waitrose or Ocado stock it, although my little Waitrose didn’t have it in store)
125 g butter
150 g caster sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice
Zest of 1 lemon
75 gr corn flour (or Maizena from Ocado)
1 teaspoon baking powder
Method
1. Line a 20cm cake mould with parchment paper.
2. Preheat oven to 180ºC.
3. Separate the egg whites from the yolks (make sure the bowl is clean and dry), fit the butterfly and beat the egg whites: 3.5 minutes, speed 4, MC off. Add the 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar and the pinch of salt gradually, until it’s stiff. Reserve in a big bowl.
4. Fit the butterfly whisk again and add to the TM bowl 500 g quark cheese, the 125 g butter, the 150 g sugar, the half teaspoon vanilla extract, the 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and the lemon zest: 5 minutes, speed 3 (2 if it moves too much), MC off. Add the egg yolks one by one once it’s started going, when there are about 3.5 minutes remaining on the timer, or plonk them in with the other ingredients.
5. Remove butterfly whisk and add 75 gr corn flour (Maizena) and 1 teaspoon of baking powder: 2 minutes, speed 3.
6. Add the quark mix to the bowl where the whisked egg whites have been reserved and fold the egg whites in.
7. Pour the mix into your chosen oven tray, mine in a Pyrex dish, square (approx 20 x 20 cm). Place in the oven: 45-55 minutes, 180ºC. Take out when a skewer pricked in the middle comes out clean. Let it stand in the Pyrex, it will shrink a bit and then it will pop out easily, leave it to cool on a cooling rack.
This is the taste of my childhood. Growing up in Spain, medias noches (half moons) were always present at birthday parties, filled with ham and cheese, chorizo, whatever savouries you can think of. It’s a slightly sweet bread (a bit along the lines of brioche). On the other hand, the bollos suizos (bollos de leche as they are known where I grew up) have a sugary topping and are a classic of Spanish confiterías and they were my favourites as a child (even over croissants). My parents still bring me a couple to the airport when they pick me up when I go visit in Spain (of course I am now 41 and it’s the little Tapita who ends up eating them).
The Thermomix makes them both easy! I couldn’t believe it when I found this recipe here that I would be able to make them myself (but it did take me over 2 years of having Thermie before daring with them, they are lengthy but make lots so very much worth it) and a few goes to adapt the recipe to me (i.e. a clumsy baker).
You could call it Spanish Brioche. Thermomix Spanish Brioche. Or, like everyone else, you could call them Maria’s Thingies.
Ready for the recipe?
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| Medias Noches, delicious with savoury fillings like chorizo or ham |
Suizos and medias noches (Spanish sweet bread rolls)
Total time: 3 to 3.5 hours (the dough needs to rise twice)
I tend to make about 12 suizos and 10 or so medias noches but you could make all of one type or the other (I’ve never actually stopped to count them!).
Ingredients
170 g whole milk
75 g golden granulated sugar / raw sugar / caster sugar
120 g unsalted butter
40 g fresh yeast, crumbled (or 14g Fast Action Dried Yeast, I used Allinson Easy Bake Yeast)
3 large eggs
550 g strong white flour (original recipe divided into two sets of 225 g)
1 teaspoon sea salt (I tend to use Maldon for everything)
Glaze
1 large egg
Sugar
Water
1. Add the 170 g whole milk, 75 caster sugar and 120 g unsalted butter to the bowl: 3 minutes, 37ºC,
speed 4.
2. Crumble the 40 g fresh yeast into the bowl and add the 3 eggs: 3 minutes, 37ºC, speed 2.
3. Add the 550 g strong flour and the teaspoon of salt (in this order) : get to speed 6 over 6 seconds and then hold at speed 6 until screen marks 16 seconds.
4. Knead with the measuring cup off: 5 minutes, interval speed (i.e. kneading, the little wheat icon).
5. Place the measuring cup in place and leave the dough to rest in the bowl for approximately an hour and a half. In the TM5 you will need to set it to transport mode. If you need the bowl to keep thermomixing (don’t blame you), place the dough in an oiled bowl to rise, covered with cling film. The dough will start coming out, knocking the measuring cup out of place (you should find it at the back of your machine).
6. Knead the dough for 1 minute in the Thermie. You may find it difficult to get the dough that has come out at the top of your bowl, the easiest thing is to knead for 30 seconds what’s inside, that will make it separate and then open the lid, push it down, and knead again for another 30 seconds. I just programme 1 minute and stop thermie when it’s at the 30 second mark (don’t worry if you forget and walk away, come back, get the dough through and knead another 30 seconds or minute).
7. Grease your hands with some butter as the dough is quite sticky:
For the medias noches (half moons, the ones you will fill with savoury stuff to make them extra delicious): pinch a bit of the dough, approx 30 g. I actually weigh the first few to get an idea. Roll into a ball, place on a silicon mat or on baking parchment. Cover with a clean tea towel. Let rise for another hour and a half approximately, or until doubled in size.
For the suizos: pinch a bit of the dough, approx 65-70 g. Roll into a ball, place on a tray lined with a silicon mat or baking paper, flatten a bit with the palm of your hand. Cover with a clean tea towel and let them rise for about an hour and a half, or until doubled in size, in my case this sometimes happens faster.
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| These are the medias noches eat with a savoury filling |
8. Make sure you preheat your oven well to 250ºC with plenty of time. Prepare a bowl with a beaten egg and another bowl with a bit of dampened sugar:
Medias noches: using a brush, glaze with the egg.
Suizos: first cut a line with a sharp knife and then using a brush, glaze with the egg and then with the dampened sugar.
9. Place in the middle of the hot oven:
Medias noches: for 5 minutes.
Suizos: for 7 or 8 minutes.
Tap the bottom to check they sound hollow, if they do, they’re ready. Nice and fluffy inside. Transfer to a cooling rack and get making a nice cuppa for the suizos and start thinking of the nicest savoury fillings for your medias noches.
Le me know if you try them!
Back in December 2014 I had the chance to organise and attend a cooking Christmas party at the fantastic Cambridge Cookery School, the chosen theme was Middle Eastern and Sook food. Ever since then I’ve been wanting to adapt these Za’atar Flat Breads to the Thermomix as it is quite a wet dough and, let’s just face it, the Thermomix makes light work of kneading.
Za’atar is a condiment made of dried oregano mixed with sesame seeds, dried sumac and salt along with other herbs and spices. I used Waitrose’s own label which also contains dried marjoram. I had never tried it and I have to say it’s beautiful. Try it sprinkled on salads too. If you can’t find any Za’atar (most major supermarkets seem to sell it now in the UK), let’s see if we can find a good way of making a homemade one and, for now, you can make these and use your favourite salt as topping.
A little birdie from my group (thank you Suellen) tells me that in Lebanese cuisine these flatbreads are called Manousheh.
It’s especially good with Kirrin’s Kitchen’s Thermomix Sweet Potato Hummus.
Don’t worry if you have any flat breads left over, they toast well on a low setting in the toaster and are delicious.
If you live in the UK with your Thermie or thinking of buying one, do not forget to come join my Facebook group, Thermo Cooking UK with Feisty Tapas, for daily inspiration and chat.
Za’atar Flatbreads
Makes approx. 8-10
10 minutes to prepare
Min. 1 hour to rise
A few minutes in the oven/grill
For the flatbreads:
– 7 g fresh yeast, crumbled / 2 g quick action dried
– 160 ml water
– 225 white strong flour (what in Australia is known as bakers flour)
– 35 g / 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
– 1 teaspoon salt
For the topping
– Extra virgin olive oil
– Za’atar
1. Place the 160 ml water and the 7 g fresh yeast (or 2 g quick action yeast) in the TM bowl, if using dried yeast, try to make sure that it goes on the water, not the blades: 37ºC, 2 minutes, speed 2… or until it reaches 37ºC.
2. Add the 35 g extra virgin olive oil, the flour and the salt (salt on top of the flour so not to counteract the yeast) and knead for 5 minutes with the measuring cup OFF. In TM31 this means turning the knob to the closed lid symbol and then pressing the kneading button. In the TM5 it means pressing the kneading button and then turning the silver dial.
3. Tip the dough into an oiled bowl and cover with oiled cling film. Place in a warm, non draughty place (like the airing cupboard) for a minimum of one hour. Longer works well and you can also let it slow rise in the fridge for a few hours. This is quite a wet dough.
4. Here comes the non-scientific bit, in my oven this works best in the fan oven setting so preheat your oven to 200-220ºC. You can do it under a hot grill too. If you happen to have a pizza oven in your garden (you know who you are!) will you test it for me, I bet it only takes seconds… yes, you, you know who you are 😉
5. Tip the dough onto a well-floured surface and knock it down a couple of times to remove the air. Divide the dough into about 8-10 balls (the size of golf balls) by pinching some dough out, coat them in a bit of the flour so that you can roll them out easily with a rolling pin. You can also flatten them and roll them flat with the palm of your hand. You want them to be quite thin but it’s ok if they’re not too thin.
6. Place in lined/unlined oven trays, brush or (even better) pour carefully extra virgin olive oil over them and then sprinkle generous amounts of Za’atar. Place the tray/s in the preheated oven (or hot grill) for a few minutes (approx 6 minutes) keeping an eye so that they don’t burn.
7. When they look goldeny on top remove the tray(s) and check how the underside is doing, I turn mine over (probably not the most authentic technique but perfect for my tastebuds) and put them back in the oven for a couple of minutes so that they are nicely and evenly cooked all over, otherwise the bottoms feel a bit soft and soggy compared to the tops.
Et voilà, you’ve made your own flatbreads. That was pretty easy, wasn’t it? Fancy trying something else now?
There has been a lot of talk about Thermomix Japanese Cotton Cheesecake in my Thermomix Owners UK Facebook group ever since Patricia posted a photo of hers (which she got from the Webos Fritos blog).
I absolutely adore this cake, it is not a cheesecake per se, the cotton part refers to it’s amazing soft touch and texture. It is very hit and miss with people though, the little Tapita (now 4 and a half, yikes!) and my husband didn’t like it but a couple of the school run mums loved it.
Now, before starting to cook I generally like to lay out all the ingredients in bowls. It keeps me sane and it means that (when distracted by a child, email or door bell) I always can remember what has already gone in and what hasn’t by looking at what is missing. This is one of those recipes where having all ingredients laid out comes in handy and makes it much faster.
If you’re in the UK with your Thermie make sure you come join me at the coolest Facebook group, Thermo Cooking UK with Feisty Tapas. We are a bit random, a bit thermogeeky, a tad gadget obsessed but, most of all, we are a fun, supportive, independent Thermomix group.
Before scrolling down to the recipe, let me give you a hint of what’s coming up on the blog soon.
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| What? More cake? Oh yes! And this time with quark, you will find the recipe for Thermomix Quark Cake here. |
Japanese Cotton Cheesecake
Ingredients
– 6 large eggs
– 140 g of caster sugar (or, of course, sugar of your choice, I have also tried it with golden sugar/raw sugar)
– 1 teaspoon of cream of tartar
– 250 g full-fat cream cheese (Philadelphia style, I used Waitrose own)
– 50 g butter at room temperature
– 100 g whole milk
– 60 g plain flour
– 60 g corn flour (or Maizena from Ocado and probably French or Spanish shops)
– 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
– A pinch of salt
– Icing sugar to decorate
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| Step 7 |
Equipment
A square Pyrex dish or a suitable square mould, approx 20 x 20 cm (but you can use a round one if you don’t have square of course). Remember, it’s best if it’s an all-in one dish or mould as it is going to go on a Bain Marie.
A deep oven tray filled with water, big enough to house the above Pyrex or mould for a bain Marie. If you feel bain Marie may not be suitable for you for any reason, bake it as normal just by placing it on the oven rack, it’s not the same texture though (I’ve tried it both ways). Bain Marie is best.
MC stands for Measuring Cup
Method
1. Fill (about half full, you can top up later), a deep oven tray big enough to house the Pyrex dish / cake mould and place in the oven, start preheating to 160ºC.
2. Grease the Pyrex/mould with butter or line it with parchment paper. The cake shrinks when it cools down so it’s easy to pop out carefully.
3. Separate the egg whites from the yolks. Reserve the yolks in a bowl.
4. Make sure the bowl is clean and dry, fit the butterfly and beat the egg whites (just the egg whites): 3.5 minutes, speed 4, MC off. Once it’s running, add the teaspoon of cream of tartar and the 140 g sugar gradually through the hole in the lid (remember the measuring cup is off for this bit), about a teaspoon at a time, slowly. Reserve in a big mixing bowl.
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| Oh well a bit sunk to the bottom but it’s amazing! |
5. Leave the butterfly whisk in and add to the TM bowl 250 g cream cheese, the 50 g butter, the 100 g whole milk: 5 minutes, speed 3.
6. Remove the butterfly, add the 60 g plain flour, the 60 g corn flour, the egg yolks, the tablespoon lemon juice and the pinch of salt: 2 minutes, speed 3.
7. Pour the cream cheese mix into the beaten egg whites a bit at a time and fold the egg whites in or just pour everything into the middle of the egg whites, the cream cheese mix will sink to the bottom and then you can fold the beaten egg whites.
8. Pour into your chosen mould and place in the oven, bain marie, during approx. 55 minutes. Check whether it is cooked by inserting a skewer in the middle, if it comes out mostly clean, it’s ready to come out.
9. Let it cool down first in the mould, it will shrink a bit and make it easy to remove. Then let it cool down. Once it has cooled down, place icing sugar on a small sieve and shake it to sprinkle the cake with it. Enjoy at room temperature or slightly chilled.
At this time of year I am always asked the same question: do you know a good recipe for Roscón de Reyes? And unfortunately I don’t, I am not very good at baking (at eating cake I am brilliant though). So, this year I have enrolled the help of the lovely Beatriz from Sabor de Amor who makes a fantastic roscón. Roscón is traditionally eaten for Epiphany (the Twelfth Night, the night of January 5th), when the Three Kings (Three Wise Men) visit all the Spanish children atop their camels all the way from the Orient after parading on their floats at many different cabalgatas. Without the cream, it’s also typical of Easter where I am from, so you have two excuses a year to make it and the rest of the year to perfect it!
A bit like brioche, sweet bread or even panettone, where I come from (Galicia), you can basically eat roscón all year round. So, feel free to take the Galician approach and don’t wait to January 6th. Otherwise, your other perfect excuse is Easter time. Traditionally at Easter godparents give their godchildren a Roscón de Pascua, I used to get one every year. Delicious tradition if you ask me!
Based in Wrexham, Wales, Bea is a brilliant member of my Facebook group (Thermomix Owners UK) and has a business selling Spanish food (some of it made by Bea herself!) at very affordable prices (I do keep an eye out for these things). She is very proactive when it comes to getting any obscure ingredients and tools that arent’ so easy to find over here (check out her Churros kit!). As a thank you for allowing me to share the recipe, I am leaving links to her Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts so that you can follow her.
Ready?
Thermomix Roscón de Reyes / Roscón de Pascua
Ingredients
Starter dough
– 70g of milk
– 10g fresh bakers yeast (in the UK Ocado sells fresh yeast, the Bakery section of some supermarkets like Sainsbury’s where you may have to ask for it at the Bakery counter or in Morrison’s near the butter; apparently Polish shops are another good place to find it)
– 1 tsp granulated sugar
– 130g of strong bread flour
Main dough
– 120g sugar
– Zest of a lemon and zest of an orange (not the white part)
– 60g milk (semi or full-fat)
– 70g butter (room temperature)
– 2 eggs (room temperature)
– 20g fresh bakers yeast
– 30g orange blossom water (I use Nielsen-Massey brand from Sainsbury’s)
– 450g strong bread flour (as above)
– A pinch of salt
– 1 beaten egg to paint the Roscón
– Flaked almonds, candied fruit, candied cherries (to decorate)
– Sugar cubes/lumps, broken in smaller pieces if quite big (dampened in small amount of water to decorate)
Method
– Add the ingredients from the starter dough and mix 15 seconds at speed 4. Remove the dough from the bowl and shape it into a ball on the kitchen top and put it in a plastic bowl and cover it with warm water until it doubles in size and rises to the surface.
– Add to the TM bowl from the list of ingredients of the main dough: sugar, lemon and orange zest and grind 20 seconds speed 10.
– With the spatula, scrap down the sugar and add all the ingredients from the main dough plus the starter dough. Mix 30 seconds, speed 6 and then 3 mins interval speed (i.e. closed lid setting and press kneading button in TM31). Without opening the TM bowl, cover the TM bowl with two layers of thick kitchen clothes and leave it until the dough rises to the very top and pushes the lid MC. It takes a long time…. Unless you live in the tropics, it normally takes me 3-5 hours but check from time to time.
– Push down the dough with the spatula and mix 1 minute, interval speed. The dough is sticky but don’t panic and start adding flour… I usually put some oil in my hands, take it out of the bowl by pushing the blades down with the TM bowl upside down (just like any other dough). Shape it into a ball on a floured surface and make a hole in the middle and shape it into a thin ring…. Like if you have a big ring in your hands and keep on stretching it until it has a uniform shape…. Roughly a 40 cm diameter hole in the centre.
– Put the dough onto a big tray with baking paper, paint with egg, decorate with the fruits, almond flakes, sugar…. And leave it to double in size…. Around 1-2 hours. Choose a warm place free from any draft (like your airing cupboard).
– Preheat the oven to 200°C and bake in the centre of the oven for 5 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 180°C and bake for 15-20 mins. Take it out of the oven and leave it to cool down on a rack and you can cut it through the middle and fill it with whipped cream (optional and not typical of Easter time roscón) and hide some money coins, little figurine and a bean… All of them wrap up in foil…. Just like we do in Spain! At Christmas, the loser (whoever gets the bean) needs to pay for the Roscón! If you don’t want cream, you can use crème pâtissière.
Tips
– Use orange blossom water, it’s very important.
– I use semi-skimmed milk but you can also use full fat milk
– I always leave it to prove properly. The time one it takes to prove the dough can vary and it’s the result that matters not the time allowed.
I come from a lovely part of Spain called Galicia, full of sandy beaches and good food. Bica (pronounced bee-ka) is typical of this area and delicious dipped in coffee, which is why many coffee shops will bring you a bite (free!) if you order a coffee in the afternoon. Yes, you read right, free! Call it sweet tapas.
When my family gets together my cousin tends to make it (in her Thermomix), a couple of years ago she gave me the recipe then I promptly forgot until a few months ago. This makes a lot so you can make two cakes. I took some to my little Tapita’s school teachers and shared with the school mums and still had some left at home. Everyone loved it, it got really good reviews as it’s so light and airy but a little bit goes a long way.
My tip: try it dip in red wine or Port for a treat. Yes, it’s the done thing!
If you are in the UK with your Thermomix, don’t forget I run the Facebook group Thermo Cooking UK with Feisty Tapas. A fabulous community full of fabulous people, keep an eye out on the blog to know why!
This recipe is designed for the TM31, which means it should work well in the TM5. Ready?
Bica galega (typical cake from Galicia, Spain)
Source: My cousin 😉
You’ll need
This is a big cake so make sure you use either a big mould or two. I
used a large rectangular pyrex dish (25 cm x 19 cm x 5 cm), which turned out to be too small, it still turned out great) and it pulled right out when ready
but you can prepare it straight into a disposable foil tin for example
if you are taking somewhere.
Ingredients
– 4 eggs
– 300 g sugar (I used caster, feel free to experiment with different types and report back)
– 200 g unsalted butter
– 200 ml single cream
– 400 g plain flour
– 3 tsp baking powder (16 g if you want to be exact)
– Brown sugar (enough to sprinkle on top, think a couple of tablespoons)
Method
1. Preheat oven to 180ºC
2. Add to the bowl: 4 eggs, 300 g sugar, 200g unsalted butter: 5 minutes, 50ºC, speed 3.5.
3. Add the 200 ml single cream: 10 seconds, speed 3.5.
4. Add 400 g plain flour and 16 g baking powder: hit turbo 5 times.
5. Place mixture in a big mould as described above, typically a rectangular mould is used and sprinkle with a brown sugar and place in preheated oven for 45-50 minutes. Check that it’s fully baked by inserting a with a skewer or similar in the centre, when it comes out clean, it’s ready.
6. Let it cool down and serve cut into squares or rectangles like in the photos, it’s the traditional way.
Croquetas are a very typical Spanish dish. Delicious creamy béchamel bites breadcrumbed and fried. One of those seemingly simple but rather fiddly dishes that the Thermomix and a piping bag make a breeze. The mixture needs to rest in the fridge so it’s best to prepare it the day before.
These are perfect tapas, perfect picnic fare, perfect with a salad for dinner, perfect for an office lunch… the possibilities are endless.
Thank you to Eva for putting me on to the idea of using porcini and referring me to this Spanish recipe for inspiration.
Thermomix Porcini Croquetas
Makes approx. 30, depending on the size
Ingredients:
For the mixture:
– 15 g dried porcini mushrooms
– 150 g unsalted butter, roughly cubed
– 30 g onion
– 200 g plain or spelt flour (I used spelt)
– 800 g whole milk, take out of the fridge about an hour earlier if chilled
– 1/4 tsp nutmeg
– Black pepper, freshly milled
– Salt (I use Maldon sea salt), to taste but start with about a teaspoon or less
– A couple of disposable piping bags (or freezer bags)
For bread crumbing and frying:
– 2-3 eggs
– Breadcrumbs (if you ever have left over bread, always make breadcrumbs in your Thermomix and freeze them, you can use them from frozen)
– Olive oil (being Spanish this would be the traditional oil to use but you choose)
How to make the croqueta mixture:
1. Mill the porcini to a fine powder: 15 seconds, speed 10. Reserve.
2. Do not wash the bowl, add the 150 g butter and the onion: Varoma, 3 minutes, speed 4.
3. Add the flour: 100ºC, 3 minutes, speed 2.
4. Add the milk, the nutmeg, a few twists of the pepper milll and the salt: 10 seconds, speed 6.
5. Add the porcini powder: Varoma, 7 minutes, speed 4.
6. Pour the mixture in the piping bags and close tightly, leave in the fridge overnight (or for a minimum of 8-10 hours), overnight is best really (and usually more convenient).
How to fry:
1. Whisk the egg on a deep plate and place the breadcrumbs in another plate.
2. Snip the end of the piping bag and squeeze to get a few sausages onto the egg plate then cut them to your desired size, think that you ideally want to get 2-3 bites out of them, not more.
3. Heat up a good amount of olive oil in a frying pan and fry the croquetas over a moderate heat, turning them until they are golden all over. It won’t take long.
There are dishes that just take you back to your childhood, this is one of them, probably for any Spaniard. Lentejas are a classic of any Spanish household, it’s a Spanish Lentil Stew with, of course, chorizo (you wouldn’t expect any less from this blog, would you?).
Pronounced LEHN-TEH-HASS, you can totally make it vegetarian/vegan, just leave out the chorizo and you’re done. Do add the paprika though as it will add to the flavour.
This is a humble dish, “un plato de cuchara” (a dish to be eaten with a spoon). Now that the Autumn has hit the UK this is perfect fare and, as you can see, it’s not all that unhealthy!
Pardina lentils can be found in the UK, I noticed them in the Spanish shop La Plaza (Notting Hill) and if you do a quick search online you will find them too. But you can substitute with green lentils.
Find this recipe on The Thermomix Recipe Vault too, a fantastic collection of Thermomix recipes by bloggers from all over the world.
Make it vegetarian / vegan by leaving the chorizo out.
Lentejas / Spanish lentil stew with chorizo
Serves 4 (can be made bigger)
Ingredients
– 275 g pardina lentils or green lentils (you could increase the amount of lentils, just make sure you increase the amount of water too in that case)
– 200 g potatoes, peeled and cut in big chunks, I used King Edward
– 100 g carrot, peeled and cut in big chunks (1 medium carrot)
– 125 g onion, peeled and cut in big chunks
– 100 g red pepper, cut in chunks (you could also use green pepper, I just don’t like it as much a red)
– 3 garlic cloves, peeled
– 20 g extra virgin olive oil
– 75 g chopped tomatoes-
– 1 tbsp sweet Spanish paprika (Pimentón de la Vera)
– 80 g cooking chorizo, diced (you could add more if you want)
– 1 bay leaf
– 700 g hot water
– 1 tsp vegetable stock powder
– A good handful of parsley, chopped
– 1 tsp sea salt (I use Maldon)
– Black pepper
Method
1. Soak the lentils for a few hours or overnight.
2. Chop the carrot and potatoes: 4 seconds, speed 5. Reserve in a bowl.
3. Add the onion, red pepper and garlic to the bowl: 4 seconds, speed 5. Lower down anything that has climbed up the walls.
4. Add 20 extra virgin olive oil, 75 g chopped tomatoes and tablespoon of paprika: Varoma, 10 minutes, speed 1.
5. Rinse the lentils and add to the bowl along with the the reserved potatoes and carrots, diced chorizo, the bay leave, the 700 g hot water, 1 tsp vegetable stock powder, the parsley, 1 tsp salt and a good amount of freshly ground black pepper: 30 min, 100ºC, REVERSE, soft speed.
6. Have a taste, add more salt and black pepper if necessary, give it a stir. Serve.
A little while ago Waitrose challenged me (the Spaniard, just in case you had forgotten) to come up with a Great British dish. So, of course, I asked husband (the Britishman): ham, egg and chips with proper ham!, he decided. Now, husband has been in charge of making ham for the last three Christmas and I am, well, Spanish so I had never cooked ham and, most definitely, I had never cooked ham the British way. If you give me a piece of gammon I will probably stick it in a huge pan
with “grelos” (similar to kale), chorizo and potatoes. I am a Galician
Spaniard after all! I am good at research though and I do have the huge advantage of running a Thermomix Facebook group with over 500 members so, of course, I asked them all to fill me in with all their tips. A few minutes later two ways of cooking ham had caught my (and husband’s) eye: Cranbery Ham and Cider Ham.
So, off I went to Waitrose yesterday (full of cold, on a Sunday). I did consider shopping online as per the brief but I actually do all my shopping online, always with a meal plan and I actually love going to Waitrose (we have four large supermarkets in town and Waitrose is the only one I like going to), so I asked if it would be ok to shop in-store and it was. Well, there is the free coffee, the free newspaper and the free Kitchen magazine… and on top of it the staff are always nice AND helpful. These days that is a huge treat for me, the freelancer who works too many hours and now does the school run (oh the school run, more on that soon!). It was actually really quiet and bearable in there too, you know what supermarket shopping can be like on a Sunday.
This time I didn’t have the coffee or the magazine or the newspaper though as husband caught me at the checkout when he came to pick me up. The lovely checkout lady was used to loading gift cards but not so much redeeming them. She apologised profusely and then a lady called Jane came along and had it sorted in no time at all. By that time though husband just wanted to go, T was in the car with auntie L, T wanted ice cream. And, well you know what it’s like…I didn’t have time to ask her if they had any of the Kitchen magazines as I hadn’t seen any and she didn’t have time to ask me about newspapers. A coffee was, of course, out of the question.
Next time I might as well shop at Waitrose online! You know, if they really really like this post and want to work with me again 😉
Thank you so much to everyone at the Thermomix Owners UK group for the ideas and especially to Aveen and Clare for their cider and cranberry tips! I was amazed at the results and, courtesy of the lovely start to Autumn, I have to say that, after a lovely ham, egg and chips dinner last night, today this gave me the perfect opportunity to sit outside in the sun (which is actually rather warm for this time of September). I suggest a ham sandwich and coffee party when you cook these and, if you do, come back to tell me all about it!
Keep reading for the recipes and visit Waitrose’s Great British Garden Party page for brilliant ideas to make the most of the early Autumn sun in your garden is still intact after the summer, if like mine it has unexpectedly been taken apart and it has turned into a mud pit… throw the party at someone else’s garden. From Waitrose to décor Waitrose is not ready to let go of this wonderful summer we have had (hooray!). I also may or may not have spotted some gorgeous mugs while in there.
Cider Ham:
Ingredients for the ham:
– 1 unsmoked Waitrose gammon joint (mine was 1.802 kg)
– 6 cloves
– 2-3 bay leaves
– 2 litres Somersby cider
Ingredients for the glaze:
– 2 Bramley apples, cored and quartered, no need to peel
– 75 g water
– 1-2 tbsp honey (depending how sweet you like it, I went with 2 after adding just one)
– 1 tsp cinnamon
Ham:
1. Place the gammon joint (leave the string in) in a large saucepan, cover with the cider, add the bay leaves and cloves.
2. Bring to the boil over a high heat and then reduce the heat and let it simmer (mine simmered for over 2 hours.
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| Fat scored before glazing |
3. Take the ham out making sure you place it on a dish that will catch the stock it will release or it will flood your worktop. I placed it in the Varoma with the lid underneath to catch any extra stock. Do NOT throw the stock away, it’s gorgeous!
4. Preheat the oven to 200ºC (mine is a fan oven) while the ham stands for 15 minutes and you prepare the glaze as per instructions below or, of course, go for your favourite glaze. Take the string and the rind off (if it has any), leaving the fat, score the fat and coat the ham (all sides) with the glaze, into the oven it goes for approx. 10 minutes.
Glaze (Thermomix):
1. Place the apples and 75 g water in the Thermomix bowl: 30 seconds, speed 4.
2. Scrape down: 8 minutes, 90ºC, speed 4.
3. Add cinnamon and honey.
4. Purée: 30 seconds, speed 8. Taste and rectify if necessary.
Cranberry ham:
Ingredients for the ham:
– 1 smoked free range Waitrose gammon joint (mine was 1.192 kg)
– 2 litres of cranberry juice OR 1 litre of cranberry juice + 1 litre of orange juice
– 2 star anise
– 1 cinnamon stick
– 1 bay leaf
– *optional 1 orange, sliced, peel and all
Ingredients for the glaze:
– Orange marmalade, about half a jar
– Honey, about 2 tbsp but to taste really. You don’t want it too sweet as you want to taste the orange.
Ham:
1. First thing to do is check how salty the ham is by cutting a little bit off and frying it in a dry pan until cooked, taste it, if it’s really salty it will need soaking in fresh cold water for about 12 hours, changing the water once (oh the things one learns from watching lacón con grelos being cooked). If it’s not too salty you can proceed.
2.
3. Then it’s time to cover the ham with the cranberry juice (top up with water if necessary), add the 2 star anise, the cinnamon stick, the bay leaf and the orange slices (if using) and bring to the boil, then simmer for about 20 minutes per 500 g. So mine didn’t need very long really, probably about 50 minutes.
4. Let the ham stand in a receptacle that catches the stock (do NOT throw away any of the stock), turn the oven on to 200ºC, prepare the glaze below and smother the ham in it (all over, remove the string first), once oven is preheated, stick the ham in for 10 minutes or so. Done!
Glaze:
1. Mix both ingredients (orange marmalade and honey) well and coat the ham all over. If just using cranberry sauce, just smother the ham in it.
Ham, egg and chips
Simply send the husband out to the chippy, slice the ham, fry one or two eggs. Done!
We now have a ton of ham and about 5 litres of stock. I am so excited about the stock possibilities, I am thinking risotto and soup to start with! I will freeze some of it and I have bought a lot of strong flour and yeast to make rolls for ham sandwiches and I am planning on freezing ham portions too for future meals. All in all, the initial cost was expensive but the ham will go a long way and so will the stock and, to be honest, it wasn’t hard work at all! I will definitely keep cooking ham and playing with various flavours from now on.
Disclosure: I was sent a £60 Waitrose/John Lewis gift card which I put to good use to buy the ingredients so I could experiment. Then I paid about £28 on top of that as I needed sophisticated things such as toilet paper, chopped tomatoes, milk etc. for the house.
I wrote this recipe ages ago (in fact winter 2013, no comment) but it was so delicious that my greedy blog ate it. Here goes my second attempt. Ready? Right, here we go: Thermomix Coriander and chilli steamed salmon.
It all started with this recipe by the lovely A guy, a girl, fur kids and food. I kept making it and every time I changed it. One of the first times I made it with noodles and it made dinner for the husband and me, lunch for LittleT and me the next day and a further lunch for me a couple of days later.
I sometimes make it with rice and it makes enough for dinner for 2 adults, with plenty left for lunch the following day.
I have also served it on one occasion with a salad of cherry tomatoes, feta cheese and mixed leaves (all drizzled with good Spanish extra virgin olive oil and sherry vinegar, of course).
My favourite part? In about half an hour you have a fantastic meal on the table without much fuss and much washing-up. I do love Thermie all-in-one meals using the Varoma.
Excuse the appalling photos, they are from way before I started paying more attention to food photograhy.
Thermomix Coriander and Chilli Salmon
Approx. 30 minutes / Serves 1-2-3-4, you can increase/decrease quantities
Ingredients
4 salmon fillets, fresh
Parchment paper
1 red chilli (seeds in or out depending on how hot you like it, feel free to add extra chilli if you like it hot)
5 cm piece of ginger peeled and divided in one 3 cm piece and one 2 cm piece
1 clove garlic peeled
2-3 spring onions, the white part trimmed and the green part finely sliced
80-100 g red pepper (or green if you prefer green)
A big handful of coriander
1 or 2 lemon or lime (either goes well and it will depend on how much you like the citrus flavour)
10 g honey (optional)
30 g soy sauce
TO MAKE IN BOWL WHILE STEAMING SALMON IN VAROMA
Noodle soup:
800 g water
Pak choi (optional)
Rice noodles
OR
Rice:
1000 g water
Pak choi (optional)
50-70 g of rice per person
Method
Serve with Spanish flair!
Note: If you use wholegrain rice, try soaking it first for a few hours so that it doesn’t take forever to cook.
There is a new Thermomix in town and it looks sleek!! The rumour mill had been turning endlessly for a few months and finally on the night of September 5th 2014 the announcement was made: the TM5 was a reality. Here I tell you how to buy the new Thermomix in the UK and what happens to the TM31. By the way, if you come from Portugal or Italy, you will know it as Bimby, here in the UK it’s a Thermomix (like in Spain).
*If you already have a Thermomix or want to find out more, make sure you join my Thermo Cooking with Feisty Tapas group on Facebook.
Just like its predecessor, the TM31 blends, mixes, steams, weighs, emulsifies, grinds, stirs, whisks, chops, allows controlled heating, cooks and kneads.
What this means is that, just like with the TM31, you can make fantastic bread and let it rise while you cook cake for dessert and then stick the bread in the oven while Thermie makes a mean risotto for you.
There are a few new features in the TM5 and of course there is the matter of the price which, this time, Thermomix UK hasn’t been cagey about. Here is how it is looking, don’t forget that in the UK you can buy through Thermomix’s network of demonstrators, see website here or call 01344 622 344:
– Price: £925. Initially a “package” was announced, it comprised of an extra bowl set (bowl, base, blade, lid, seal, MC, internal simmering basket and whisk but NOT an extra spatula). However, it quickly became apparent that second bowls were not being manufactured as fast as demand for the TM5 was coming in so, until July 2015, spare bowls were not available for the TM5. When the spare bowls finally arrived, they were supplied the customers that had ordered and paid their TM5s with a spare bowl in September 2014. Then to those who had initially ordered their TM5 with a spare bowl but had cancelled the bowl part when it became clear that they were unavailable. Read further down if you would like a spare bowl for your TM31.
–
Divided payments and financing are available. For example you, could
pay an initial deposit of £466 followed by 6 payments of £79, this means
you pay an admin fee of £15. Or you could pay a deposit of £467
followed by two instalments of £229 (totalling £925, no admin fee).
– There is also a finance option.
– Delivery times from ordering seem to be 2 days at the moment.
– Trade-in/upgrade programme for new clients? From Monday Thermomix Demonstrators will be contacting all their
customers who recently ordered and are still waiting for delivery.
– Bowl size: 2.2 l (200 ml bigger than the TM31’s).
– The seal is now built into the lid and is thicker and more robust. It also has enough gap that it can be cleaned
easily.
– Quieter motor.
– Turbo speed is 10700 rpm (10 200 rpm in the TM31).
– 99 minutes cooking time instead of 60 minutes in the TM31.
– More gentle beeping at the end (music to my ears!!!).
– Temperature increments of 5ºC.
– It reaches 120ºC which could be good for sautéeing those onions.
– Touch screen.
– It weighs while cooking.
– It works with old recipes we already use for TM31 with very little modification. The speeds are not different, same revolutions per minute.
– It has recipe chips for guided cooking, sample video here.
– It has a fully automated mode for a few recipes.
– It can also work in manual mode.
– The TM5 can be set up for the following languages: English, Australian English, Spanish, Mexican Spanish, French, Greek, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Dutch, German and Czech. So you don’t need to buy the machine in a different country if you want it in a different language.
– The book chips however only come in one language, they can’t be set up to show the recipes in a different language.
– It comes with 3 built-in recipes: boiled rice, plain yoghurt and custard. The custard provides options for 3-4 portions or 6-8 portions and different consistencies: runny, normal or thick and creamy (crème pâtissière).
TM31 information:
For those of you who have just bought a TM31 because of the fabulous August offer with the free spare bowl and a ton of books, don’t forget the TM31 is a fantastic
piece of kit (and you got a great deal!), with a huge amount of support and an amazing community
behind it (come join my Thermomix Owners UK group!). Thermomix will keep servicing them and will have spare parts
for decades to come (it has been mentioned that 20 years from now to be exact), because this is how long these machines last. I
wouldn’t let go of mine even if I was to buy the TM5, I’ve had it for
two years and bought it for life.
Guarantee on second hand TM31s: TM31s
bought from UK Thermomix are registered with an owner and a sale date.
Within the guarantee period the original owner can transfer ownership
with the remaining guarantee
The good news is that the prices of the TM31 accessories are coming down in price as a result: you can now buy a spare bowl set (with blades, lid, etc.) for £159 plus delivery (7.95 in this case) instead of £235 plus delivery (a saving of £76!). A new TM31 spatula will drop from £16.90 plus delivery to £8.00 plus delivery!
It is the nature of technology that these things are kept secret, think patent infringement and technology theft.
By the way, it has also been announced that the Quirky Cooking book will soon be in the UK!
I have asked Thermomix UK to address all concerns and questions ASAP and the answers are slowly trickling into the Thermo Cooking UK with Feisty Tapas Facebook group.
I hope that covers a bunch of questions you may have for now. I shall update more as I find out.
What say you? Will you buy a TM5?
When I say Thermomix Seafood Lasagna with Beetroot Béchamel the truth is that you can totally do this without it, you just need a powerful blender to make the beetroot milk and then
do everything else the conventional way. I just like making it in the Thermomix as it is so much more convenient, fast, clean and well, easy!
Yes, you are right in thinking that this recipe builds on my current Beetroot Béchamel obsession but seriously, it’s just so good that you have to try it!
You will need a nut milk bag, a cheesecloth or a very fine sieve to make the beetroot béchamel, I use the Living Synergy Nut Milk Bag that Lesley sells in the UK (£11.50 including delivery). If you are in the Thermomix Owners UK group you can find Lesley there or email her through her website.
If you’re still wondering what a Thermomix is and why I’m such a thermogeek? You can read all about it here.
Right, ready? Here we go…
Thermomix Seafood Lasagna with Beetroot Béchamel
Serves 6-8 – Approx. 50-60 minutes
Shopping list
For the tomato sauce:
2-3 garlic cloves, peeled
2 medium onions, peeled and quartered
10 g olive oil
800 g tinned or fresh plum tomatoes
A good glug of Worcestershire sauce
A pinch of salt
Black pepper
2 salmon steaks, or more if you want to make a bigger lasagna, diced in quite small chunks
2 good handfuls of prawns
Juice of half lemon
1 spring onion, finely sliced
Beetroot béchamel:
Approx. 150-200 g raw beetroot, peeled and quartered, the more you add the more the beetroot flavour will come across
500 g milk, both whole and skimmed work
15 g olive oil
50 g unsalted butter
50 g plain flour
1 tsp salt
Black pepper (mill)
Pinch of grated nutmeg
Fresh lasagna sheets (or homemade ones if you’re brave enough)
Parmesan cheese
Method:
Firstly we make the tomato sauce:
1. Mince the 2-3 garlic cloves and 2 medium onions: 7 seconds, speed 5.
2. Scrape down, add 10 g olive oil: 5 minutes, 100ºC, speed 1.
3. Add the 800 g tomatoes, a good glug of Worcestershire sauce, a pinch of salt and black pepper: 10 minutes, 100ºC, speed 3, with the inner basket on top of the lid instead of the measuring cup.
Then we mix it with the seafood:
4. Heat a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil in a large frying pan, over a medium heat, add the salmon, prawns and spring onions and stir, fry for 2-3 minutes.
5. Add the tomato sauce and stir regularly while you make…
Quick beetroot béchamel (this type of béchamel is perfect for lasagna because needs further cooking in the oven, for the “full” version see here)
6. Chop the raw beetroot: 10 seconds, speed 7.
7. Add the 500 g milk: 2 minutes, speed 10. Strain well with a nut milk bag.
8. Add the rest of the ingredients (15 g extra virgin olive oil + 50 g unsalted butter + 50 g plain flour + 1 tsp salt + freshly ground black pepper + pinch of grated nutmeg): 8 minutes, 100ºC, speed 4.
9. It’s time to put the lasagna together, as the sauce was a bit runnier than bolognese I started with a layer of lasagna sheets in the bottom of the pyrex dish, then a layer of seafood tomato sauce, another layer of lasagna sheets and finished with a final layer of lasagna sheets topped with beetroot béchamel and a good sprinkling of grated parmesan cheese. I didn’t need all the béchamel so popped it in the fridge to eat on its own the next day (I told you it’s delicious).
In the photos the beetroot béchamel is not as pink because I used Why is There Air’s recipe (we were comparing notes on my idea and she used cooked beetroot to test it), if you use raw beetroot the colour of the béchamel will be much brighter, creating a spectacular dish. Jane will post her own recipe soon, once she is settled in her new house.
If you prefer a normal meaty lasagna next time, here is my recipe!
Fancy a pink béchamel? Well, of course you do! This Beetroot Béchamel is amazing, in fact I may be a tad hooked. I know it may sound like a strange combination but it really works, think of the possibilities!
I had a recipe tester for this one who adapted it and will post her version: meet Jane from Why is there Air. Hers comes in a lighter shade of pink as she uses cooked beetroot. I’m sticking to my guns and using raw as I love the bright colour of mine: coral pink, what’s not to like (and this is a big fan of the colour red talking).
I used a Living Synergy Nut Milk Bag for this. In the UK you can buy them from Lesley from Me and my Thermie (£11.50 including P&P). It rinses and washes really well, to be perfectly honest I wouldn’t use it otherwise. I hate fiddly things. If you don’t have a nut milk bag don’t panic, either use a fine sieve or don’t strain it at all!
Now, you don’t need a Thermomix for this, you can use a powerful blender to make the beetroot milk and just make the béchamel the way you would make your béchamel usually. But then again the Thermomix makes it smooth as velvet with no lumps, something I never managed pre-Thermie, so basically I am giving you the perfect excuse to buy one (for more excuses just see here).
The next recipe I will post will be a Seafood Lasagna using this Beetroot Béchamel so make sure you come back to check it out. It is amazing!
Beetroot Béchamel
Shopping list
– Approx. 150-200 g raw beetroot, peeled and quartered, the more you add the more the beetroot flavour will come across
– 500 g milk, both whole and skimmed work
– 15 extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
– 50 g unsalted butter
– 50 g plain flour
– 1 tsp salt
– Black pepper (mill)
– Pinch of grated nutmeg
Method
1. Chop the raw beetroot: 10 seconds, speed 7
2. Add 500 g milk: 2 min speed 10, strain well with a nut milk bag over a big bowl. Et voilà you have beetroot milk (have a taste it’s actually surprisingly delicious). Now, let’s make the béchamel.
3. Quickly rinse the bowl and add 15 g EVOO + 50 g unsalted butter: 1 min, 100º, speed 2.
4. Add 50 g plain flour: 2 minutes, 100º, speed 1.
5. Add 1 tsp sea salt + a few twists of black pepper + a pinch of nutmeg to the reserved beetroot milk then add to the bowl: 5 seconds, speed 7 followed by 8 minutes, 100º, speed 4.
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With seared fresh tuna and a mixed salad: salad leaves, tomatoes, white asparagus and olives.
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Here is a recipe that will have most of you clicking away but I am feeling brave and posting it anyway because, when my brother and I were little, we used to beg my mother to make Chicken Liver Rice for us and now my daughter loves it and eats it so well. I used to prepare it on the stove but nowadays it is just so easy with the Thermomix (well, now that I have mastered it, the first few attempts were rather mushily interesting!).
If you still are puzzled by the word Thermomix (despite me going endlessly about it), here is more information and, if you are considering buying one or already own one and are based in the UK, don’t forget to join my Thermo Cooking UK with Feisty Tapas group on Facebook.
Thermomix Chicken Liver Rice
Serves as many as you’d like really, just increase amounts proportionally
Shopping list:
– 1 onion
– 1 medium carrot
– 1 garlic clove
– 1 small courgette
– 1 red pepper (or yellow, green or orange, according to your taste)
– 20 g extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) or your preferred oil
– 400 g chicken livers, washed and trimmed of any white/yellowy bits as best as possible, don’t chop them, leave them as big as whole as possible
– Half an MC of white wine (you could use red too or even no wine at all)
– 130 g risotto rice for 2 people / 200 g for 3 people
– 500 g hot chicken stock if using 130 g rice / 600 g if using 200 g, keep increasing proportionally according to your needs
Method
1. Add 1 onion, 1 medium carrot, 1 garlic clove to the Thermomix bowl: 5 seconds, speed 5.
2. Add 1 small courgette + 1 red pepper: 2 seconds, speed 5.
3. Add the 20 g EVOO (or your preferred oil): Varoma, 5 minutes, speed 1.
4. Add the 400 g chicken livers + half an MC of white wine: Varoma, 3 minutes, REVERSE, soft speed.
5. Add your desired amount of rice: Varoma, 2 minutes + REVERSE + soft speed.
6. Add a proportional amount of chicken stock + a few twists of black pepper and salt if using: 18 minutes, Varoma, REVERSE, soft speed.
Optional: you can add a bit of tomato purée or a tablespoon of chopped tomatoes, I tend to add it when I remember but it can be added either in step 3 or step 4 really.
Tip: add a few drops of Worcestershire sauce if you would like to enhance the flavour.
