Oxtail Soup This oxtail soup is very simple to make, it is very hearty and comforting, especially in this cold weather. You find a complete meal in a bowl of this soup. I call it soup, but somewhat comes in between soup and stew due to its thickness. Because oxtail has high fat and high gelatin content, I usually like to cook this soup only during cold weather months. To speed up the cooking time I used the pressure cooker because oxtail is very muscular. I like to cook this soup in two steps because oxtail needs a longer time to cook and I like to visualize the pieces of potatoes, carrots and celery in my soup and not have them “pulverized”. Ingredients: 1 ½ -2 lbs oxtail 1 medium onion cut 3-4 garlic cloves 1 can stew tomatoes ½ tablespoon olive oil 1 tablespoon cooking wine Salt and pepper to taste 4 medium potatoes cut in pieces 3 medium carrots cut in pieces 4 stalks of celery Method: In the pressure cooker, sauté the onion and garlic with the olive oil until slightly brown, add the oxtail and braise. Add the can of stewed tomatoes, the cooking wine and cover the oxtail with water. Close the lid of the pressure cooker and cook in high heat until the pressure has been built up. Once the pressure is on, turn the heat to low and let it cook for approximately 40 minutes or until the oxtail are tender. Add the potato, carrot and celery to the soup and let it cook until the potato and carrot are soft, add salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot. I hope you enjoy this simple and hearty recipe for oxtail soup. Thank you for stopping by Simple Recipes and have a great week! Coconut Macaroons I am so excited to share with you the first dessert that I made from “Flour”, a cookbook published by Joanne Chang…she is amazing, after getting a degree in applied mathematics and economic from Harvard she decided to pursue culinary. You can find all the details about her on her book which I read with amazement. The cookbook is easy to read and most importantly, it is easy to follow. Since I was not sure what was the proper way to post a recipe from a book, I contacted Joanne and she personally assured me that I could post her recipe. These coconut macaroons are delicious and as described in the book “chewy, sweet, soft, crispy…”, and they taste exactly as she described. The center of these macaroons are soft, creamy…yum! I do not have words to tell you how delightful these treats are and believe me they are so simple to make…really, the recipe is so simple that they can make you feel guilty. Anyway, enough talk and let’s move to the important part…the recipe! Ingredients: Pastry Cream ½ cup milk 3 tablespoons 2 tablespoons cake flour 1 pinch kosher salt 2 egg yolks ½ teaspoon vanilla extract 2-14 ounces bags of sweetened shredded coconut 6 egg whites ¾ cup sugar 1 pinch kosher salt Preparation: Mix the cake flour with the sugar and the salt. Add this mixture to the egg yolks. Scald the milk until almost boiling (do not boil). Add the scalded milk to the egg yolk mix a little at the time, whisking constantly. Return the milk and yolk mix to the stove over medium heat, whisking continuously and vigorously until the mixture thickens and boils. Remove from the heat and add the vanilla extract. Cover the cream with a plastic wrap, placing it on top of the cream and let it cool completely. Preheat the oven at 350F and prepare the baking sheet, by placing a parchment paper (I used silicone mat). In a large bowl, combine the coconut, egg white, sugar salt and the pastry cream. Stir all together until well combined. You can then refrigerate the dough at this stage if needed for up to 5 days. Scoop approximately 1 tablespoon of the dough into the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the cookies are golden brown. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for approximately 20 minutes and then transfer to the wire rack to cool completely. The macaroons can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, most likely will not last for 3 days. Thank you for stopping by Simple Recipes and have a great week! Ham Frittata First of all, I hope all you mothers had a great Mother’s Day with your loved ones. This is the kind of dish that can be served as breakfast, lunch or dinner. I love the versatility of it…you can add whatever you want and in no time you have a nutritious and healthy meal. In this simple recipe for frittata I used ham, onion, tomatoes, cilantro, red bell pepper and mozzarella cheese and of course eggs. You can add spinach, mushrooms, olives, parsley and the list of ingredients can go on and on, and you can even make a vegetarian version of it. I need to confess that the ham that I used in this frittata is from Easter, which was left in the freezer since then…and I still have one more piece of ham Ingredients: 1 small onion, finely chopped 1 tomato seed removed and chopped 1 small red bell pepper chopped Cilantro to taste 1/3 cup ham chopped 1/3 cup mozzarella cheese (I used the sticks) 1 tablespoon olive oil 5 eggs, slightly beaten ¼ cup milk Salt and pepper to taste Method: In the egg mixture add salt, pepper and the milk and set aside. In a fry pan with cover sauteé the onion in olive oil until slightly soft. Add to the pan the ham, tomatoes, red bell pepper and cilantro. Mix gently, until all the ingredients are blended together. Pour the egg mixture over the vegetables and layer the cheese. Cover the pan and lower the temperature to low and let it cook until the egg is settled. Remove the pan from the heat and flip to a dish. Serve hot.. If you like this simple recipe for ham frittata, you might want to check on Spinach and Canadian Bacon Frittata. Thank you for stopping by Simple Recipes and have a great week! Brussels Sprouts with Chicken Yes, more Brussels sprouts, and this time with chicken. This dish is a kind of an adaptation of Asian dish…instead of let’s say “Chinese vegetables”, I substituted for Brussels sprouts. It is simple and really fast to fix, perfect for a weekday dinner and great for next day lunch. The great thing about this dish is that you can make this dish and at the end of it you will have only one pan to wash. I like to serve this dish with rice. Ingredients: 1 chicken breast, cut into small chunks 3-4 cloves of garlic 1 tablespoon soy sauce ½ tablespoon corn starch Salt and pepper to taste 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 small onion, chopped ½ lb Brussel sprouts cut in half Method: Marinate the chicken with garlic, soy sauce, salt and pepper. Set aside. In the meantime blanch the sprouts. Make sure that you just blanch, otherwise it will be mushy. Just before sautéing the chicken add the corn starch by coating slightly the chicken pieces with the corn starch. In a wok, sauté the chicken in olive oil. Set aside once the chicken is fully cooked. In the same wok brown the onion, add the blanched Brussel sprouts. Mix gently and add the chicken back to the wok. Stir gently and serve hot with rice. I hope you enjoyed this Asian inspired simple recipe for Brussels sprouts with chicken. You might want to check a simpler version of Brussels sprouts, Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon. Did you know that Brussels sprouts contain high dietary fiber? Moreover, Brussels sprouts have more vitamin C than oranges, so four to six sprouts contain the adult daily requirement for vitamin C. Thank you for stopping by Simple Recipes and have a great week! Mango Frozen Yogurt with Agave Syrup Now that the warm weather is here, I keep the ice cream bucket in the freezer all the time, so I am ready for a quick and fast frozen dessert. This is a very simple and refreshing yogurt dessert. I love the color and the flavor of this frozen yogurt, nothing like the combination of fragrant mango stirred together with the tartness of yogurt… Ingredients: 2 large mangoes 2 tablespoon vanilla vodka 2 tablespoon lemon juice ¼ cup agave syrup 1 cup Greek yogurt Fresh strawberry and mint leaves for garnish Method: Cut the mango in small pieces and blend together with vodka, lemon juice and agave syrup. Add the yogurt to the mango mix and refrigerate for a couple of hours. Place the mango/yogurt mix into the ice cream maker and follow the instructions of your ice cream maker. Garnish with strawberry and mint leaves. If you enjoy this simple recipe for mango frozen yogurt you might want to check on strawberry frozen yogurt as well. Did you know that there are more than 1000 different varieties of mangos? Mangoes are rich in vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants. Mangoes contain enzymes that are good tenderizing agent, therefore often used for marinade. Thank you for stopping by Simple Recipes and have a great week! Lentil Sprouts Soup I hope you all had a great Easter weekend…we had a wonderful family time at my mom’s home, where we did a lot of egg coloring and shared precious time together.