Documentalízate – International recipes
This cuisine document was developed during the project Documentalizate, funded by the European Union through the Erasmus+ program. The idea of this little work was completely improvised; actually, the topic the project approached were documentaries and environment. Nevertheless, as a part of the intercultural exchange, each country group cooking one dinner seemed a great idea. And that idea led us to draw up this document, which was possible thanks to the cooperation and willingness of all the participants, who were very motivated to give their best in their country dinner and cook their traditional dishes with affection.
Pablo Nuevo Duque – Coordinator of the project Pasta all’Amatriciana INGREDIENTS
250 g of spaghetti (durum wheat if possible) 1 onion Tomato sauce Half/One glass of white wine Pancetta (bacon) Parmigiano or Pecorino cheese (shredded) Salt Ground black pepper Olive oil
PREPARATION
1. Chop the onion and brown them with olive oil over a low/medium heat until the onion is golden. 2. Add the bacon and cook until it becomes crisp. 3. Add the wine and let it reduce. 4. Add the tomato sauce; season with salt and black pepper. Cook it slowly during 30 min – 60 min, stirring occasionally. 5. Remove the sauce from the fire, add the shredded cheese and stir to mix it. 6. Cook the pasta in the meantime. Remember, add the pasta and salt once the water is already boiling. 7. Mix the pasta with the sauce and serve. You can decorate with some basil leaves.
NOTES
Be careful with the salt. The salt already contained in the bacon, tomato sauce, cheese and pasta might be enough. Taste the Amatriciana sauce before adding more salt (you can fix a bland preparation but you cannot fix when it is too salty). You might want to add a second onion for the lovers of this tuber and empower the sweet touch. You can save some cheese to decorate when serving. You can also add the cheese during the cooking process, instead of afterwards (if you prefer it melted in the sauce rather that finding the little pieces). Chicken with cream and mushrooms INGREDIENTS
Chicken Mushrooms (champignons) Cooking cream Olive oil Garlic Nutmeg Pepper Parsley Salt
PREPARATION
1. Chop the mushrooms in slices (you can also buy them sliced if possible) and cook them in a pot with olive oil until they are golden and their liquid has been released (6-8 min). 2. Make a little of space for the garlic and add it. Cook it separately until golden; then, mix it with the mushrooms. 3. Season it with salt. 4. Add the parsley and set aside. 5. Cook the chicken until it is crunchy (add some salt, medium heat, around 5 min per side; make sure it does not run out of olive oil). 6. Add the chicken, the cooking cream, the pepper and a bit of grated nutmeg to the pot where we have the sauce. Cook everything for 10-15 min.
NOTES
Instead of this green edition with parsley, you can go for a red edition with sweet paprika instead of parsley.
You need to gauge the amou nts. The amount of cooking cream is critical, do not put too much or it will be too heavy. Tiramisu INGREDIENTS
Savoyard biscuits (or similar) Coffee (the drink, not in powder) Eggs Mascarpone cheese Sugar Cocoa in powder
PREPARATION
1. Break the eggs, separating the whites from the yolks. 2. Add the sugar to the yolks and mix until it is uniform. 3. Mount the whites, until it looks like snow. 4. Add the mascarpone to the yolks&sugar preparation. Stir until uniform. 5. Add right away the whites to this mixture. Stir until uniform. It should be creamy. Set aside. 6. Soak the biscuits in the coffee and set aside. 7. Grab a baking tin or a mold where we will prepare the Tiramisu. Cover the bottom with a layer of biscuits. On the top of it, pour some of the cream you set aside before. Put a second layer (again biscuits / cream). 8. Add the cocoa in powder on the top. 9. Refrigerate during 2 hours.
NOTES
Try to distribute the biscuits and cream in proper proportions. Be careful it is balanced. You can reduce the amount of sugar if you prefer it bitterer and healthier. Mounting the whites is all an art. You need this item on the right. If you can attach it to an electrical mixer, the better. You can also do it by hand, but it will be like 20 min on the gym training your arms.
Banitsa INGREDIENTS
3 eggs 6 soup spoons of oil One package of pastry sheets Bulgarian cheese (you can do with the cheese you can find; feta could be ok) 1 glass of sparkling water
PREPARATION
1. Stir and mix in this order: eggs, oil, sparkling water and cheese. 2. Take a shallow baking tray and spread a little oil on it so that the sheets do not stick to the tray in the oven. 3. Put one pastry sheet on the tray and spread a bit of the previous mixture on it (about 2 / 3 soup spoons); just enough to cover the sheet completely. 4. Add more layers as explained in the step 3 until you reach the desired size of Banitsa (or run out of sheets or mixture :). 5. Bake in the oven at 200ºC until the color of the sheets is golden 6. After taking it out from the oven, sprinkle a very little amount of water on the top of the Banitsa and cover it with a thin piece of clothing for 5 minutes
NOTES
Before step 5, you can distribute one whipped egg on the top of the Banitsa for decoration and make the top layers crunchier Olive oil if possible The pastry sheets and cheese should have enough salt for the preparation. However, in case it tastes bland, add some salt.
Mekici INGREDIENTS
250 ml of milk 250 ml of lukewarm water Fresh yeast (around 40 g) 3 eggs 3 tablespoons of oil (olive if possible) 1 teaspoon of baking powder 1 teaspoon of salt half a liter of oil for frying Sugar 1 kg of flour
PREPARATION
1. Put the yeast into the lukewarm water. 2. Add one teaspoon of sugar and two teaspoons of flour to activate the yeast. 3. Mix the eggs, flour, milk, oil, salt, yeast and baking powder. Knead patiently until the dough becomes nice and smooth. Add the flour slowly so it is easier. Pull the dough by hand and if it doesn’t tear apart or separate, then the dough is good and ready. Let the prepared dough rest for around 40 min (depends on the ambiance temperature; the higher, the shorter time you need). 4. Pour the frying oil in a deep pan. Warm it up to fry. 5. Form irregular shapes made of dough and fry them until they are beautifully golden. Place the fried Mekici on a dish with a napkin or kitchen paper in order to drain the oil from the Mekici. 6. Serve with cheese, jam, honey, icing sugar or anything else your heart may desire.
Lutenica INGREDIENTS
1 kg of red peppers 1 eggplant 1 tablespoon of tomato concentrate 3 tablespoons of oil (sunflower is ok; olive should be better) 1 garlic clove 1 tablespoon of sugar 1 tablespoon of vinegar 2/3 pinches of salt 1 pinch of ground red pepper
PREPARATION
1. Pre-wash all the vegetables. 2. Prepare the red peppers on a baking tray with the corresponding baking sheet. Roast them at 200º. Turn them when dark blisters start to appear, so they are not burned. Once they are roasted from all sides, take them out, cover them (so the heat is kept and they can be peeled easier) and set aside. 3. Wrap the eggplant with aluminum foil and bake it at 200ºC for 30 min. Let the eggplant cool in a salad bowl, chopped in three pieces so the juice can drain. 4. Peel the eggplant and the peppers (these are optional). 5. Chop the garlic clove. 6. Put all the ingredients in an electric robot or use a blender/mixer, and mix them until you have a homogeneous paste.
NOTES
In order to reduce the intensity of the garlic, remove the heart
Molletes con pico de gallo INGREDIENTS
Molletes
1 can (around 500 g) of refried beans (typical American beans). 4 molletes (bread like the one in the image below). If you cannot find them, just some type of bread good to be toasted. 225 g of Manchego cheese. (This is the cheese of the image, made of sheep milk. However, try to find something similar or even a different type of cheese if you feel like). Butter
Pico de Gallo
2 tomatoes 1 onion ½ green pepper 1 lemon 2 sprigs of fresh cilantro 1 pinch of salt ½ teaspoon of garlic powder (or ¼ of garlic clove finely chopped)
PREPARATION
Molletes
1. Warm up the beans. 2. Preheat the oven at 200ºC. Line a baking tray with baking paper. 3. While steps 1 and 2 are happening, cut the molletes by the half. Like the one in the picture. Remove a bit of the breadcrumb (the white part of the middle). There will be space for more topping like this. 4. Spread 1 teaspoon of butter on every mollete (on every half). You need to warm up a little bit the butter previously. 5. Spread 2 or 3 tablespoons of the warmed beans on every mollete. 6. Shred the cheese. Sprinkle a good amount of cheese on every mollete. 7. Place the molletes on the prepared baking tray and bake it until the cheese is melted and bubbly and the bread is crispy (15 – 20 min).
Pico de gallo
1. Mince the tomatoes, the onion and the half of green pepper 2. Chop finely the sprigs of cilantro. 3. Mix all these ingredients and stir until evenly distributed. Season with the salt, the garlic powder and a squirt of lemon. 4. Refrigerate for 30 min.
Molletes with pico de gallo
1. Add the pico de gallo on the top of the molletes.
NOTES
Instead of pico de gallo, you can add other sauces. Mexican sauces are recommended Season it stronger with more dressing or adding more things you might like (vinegar instead of lemon, black pepper, etc.). You can replace the butter with olive oil. Amounts are approximate. Adjust them until finding your perfect balance.
Armenian Dolma INGREDIENTS
1 kg of minced meat (pork and beef; you can also mix them with mutton fat) 3 onions 1 cup of rice (round if possible) 1 tablespoon of tomato sauce 1 tablespoon of salt 150 g of butter Ground black and red pepper 1 kg of grape leaves Optional: parsley and coriander
PREPARATION
1. Mince the onions. 2. Knead the minced meat by adding half a cup of warm water plus the minced onions, the rice, the tomato sauce, the salt, the butter, the pepper as well as other ingredients you might want to add (if any). 3. Once everything is properly mixed, let the mass rest for a while (3 – 5 min). 4. Put one tablespoon of this mass on the top of each opened grape leave and roll it up. 5. Cover the bottom of a saucepan / cooking pot with grape leaves. 6. Place the Dolma on the top of the leaves, inside the pot. 7. Fill it with enough water and warm it up so it boils and cook the dolmas for 30-60 min. Important: keep the pot covered with the lid. The rice should help you to know when the Dolma are ready.
NOTES
Dolma should be served hot with “matsun” (Armenian traditional and natural yogurt, which is similar to sour yogurt with garlic). Summer version of Dolma: instead of rolling up the mass with grape leaves, you fill vegetables like tomatoes, peppers and others with the mass. During the project, both traditional and summer Dolma were prepared. Armenian Gata INGREDIENTS
1 pack of puff pastry (you can also make it on your own) ¾ cup of sugar ¾ cup of flour 2 tablespoons of butter ½ tablespoon of vanilla extract 1 egg
PREPARATION
1. In a bowl, combine and mix well together the butter, flour and sugar. Do not melt the butter before the process. Once the mixture sticks together when you palm it, the consistency is good. 2. Open the puff pastry considering the baking tray/sheet to be about the same size. 3. Spoon the previous mixture onto the pastry sheet and spread it evenly. 4. Fold the pastry twice and cut it into medium sized pieces (you can do them bigger or smaller; as you wish). 5. Place the pieces on a baking tray/sheet, aligned with parchment paper. 6. You can dot the already folded and sliced dough with a fork to give it a nice design. 7. Beet an egg and brush the pieces of gata with it. 8. Bake the gata for about 25-30 min at 180ºC (they should be golden like in the picture). Don’t forget to preheat the oven.
NOTES
This type of Armenian gata is very good for large parties because it comes out in single portions for everyone.
Tortilla de patatas (Spanish Tortilla) INGREDIENTS
1 kg of potatoes (not old ones; they take longer to fry) 8 eggs 1 big onion (optional) Olive oil Salt
PREPARATION
1. Peel the potatoes 2. Fill a pan with enough olive oil to fry the potatoes (it must cover most of the potatoes). Warm it up, at medium/high intensity. 3. While the oil warms up, cut the potatoes in slices. The thinner you cut them, the less time you will need to fry them. 4. Once oil and potatoes are ready, fry them. Turn the heat at medium power when you add the potatoes, and lower it a little bit to medium/low after 15 min. You should fry them for around 30 – 40 min in total, until you can mash them easily. You must move every couple min the potatoes so they don’t stick to the bottom and they are fried homogeneously. Last 5 min, reduce more the heat to low. 5. Optional: after 15 min frying the potatoes, cut the onion in slices and add them. 6. Break the eggs and whip them in a big bowl (you will add here afterwards the potatoes and onion). Add a big amount of salt to them and mix. Set aside. 7. Strain the potatoes (and onion). 8. Add them to the bowl where we have the eggs. Mix and let it rest for 1 – 2 min. 9. Remove the oil from the pan, but let a little bit so it is wet and the Tortilla doesn’t stick to the bottom. Put back the pan to the fire at medium heat. If the pan you used is deep, we have to take a new one because we need a shallow pan like in the image. In this case, pour a squirt of olive oil and warm it up at medium heat. 10. Pour the content of the bowl along the surface of the pan. Distribute so the tortilla is flat and let it cook for around 3-4 min. Use the kitchen wooden spatula to lift the edges so they don’t stick and to check when it’s ready. 11. Help yourself with a big flat dish (or something similar) to turn around the tortilla. You cover the pan with the dish, you flip (carefully; you need to stay strong), and put back the tortilla to the pan from the other side we didn’t cook yet. Let it cook 1 min and remove the heat but let the tortilla so the cook ends with the remaining heat.
NOTES
Tortilla de patatas is probably the most important dish of the Spanish cuisine. There are a bunch of little tricks and there is never an agreement of some of them. Some Spaniards can read this recipe and claim “oh, come off! This ain’t real tortilla! This guy knows nothin’ dude!”; so I bring here some other ways to do things.
Adding the salt. A lot of people will tell you salt must be added to the potatoes while you fry them. Others, that you must add them after mixing everything (eggs, potatoes and onion). But there is something clear, the amount is critical. It’s a bit ruinous to add salt after tortilla on the top of it, so you need to be accurate. Potatoes need a good amount of it. Onion yes, onion no. We could easily start another civil war on behalf of this. The very very traditional tortilla is without onion. But some people really love and find it essential the soft texture and sweet flavor onion provides. Olive oil is quite important to reach the desired flavor. If you cannot find it or you find it expensive, you can use sunflower; it won’t be the same but still you can have a really tasty Tortilla. Some people love that the potatoes form a paste (more frying time and lower heat) and other that they stay consistent. Some people prefer the inside of the Tortilla to be very creamy, with the egg slightly cooked (less time of cooking the Tortilla and let it rest for these 1-2 min before cooking it), while other prefer it more compact (don’t let it rest; cook a bit more). You must be careful not to burn the surface, you can ruin a bit all your previous job. It’s hard because you cannot see it and you need intuition and experience. If you flip it and see it’s not cooked enough, you can flip it back to cook it a bit more before turning the tortilla around. Onion lovers would probably tell you to use, at least, 2 or even 3 onions for those amounts of potato/egg.
Salmorejo INGREDIENTS
1 kg of tomatoes 200 g of bread (mostly breadcrumb, the white part) 100 g of olive oil 1 garlic clove 10 g of salt Eggs and cured ham (Iberian should be the best)
PREPARATION
1. Wash and crush the tomatoes (traditionally by hand, but using a blender is easier) 2. Strain them to remove the skin and seeds. 3. Crush again with the bread, oil, garlic and salt. 4. Refrigerate for 30 min at least. Serve it cold. 5. Decorate with one smashed boiled egg and a bit of minced cured ham.
NOTES
Soaking the bread in water before adding it can be a good idea to crush it easier and not to break the blender. You can add slowly the oil while you are crushing with the blender. Garlic lovers might want to add half a clove or even one more clove. It is also delicious with a sweet touch provided by fruit: half an apple or around 8 cherries are the most common ones. Combine salmorejo with tortilla is a great idea.