Week 1: Recipes worth repeating

Four entirely sugar free recipes we have been making this week for you to try!

After the first week, I have gotten a few request for the recipes of the foods that we have been cooking. So I have decided to collect a few recipes that I think might be nice for others to try. I hope you do, and I hope you like them as much as we did!

1.  Paella 

Ingredients (4 servings):

-        1 or 2 chicken breasts

-        Vegetables of your choice (in our case bell peppers and green peas)

-        1 cup of round grain rice

-        2 cups of chicken broth

-        Yellow food colouring

-        A couple of Bay leaves

-        Mussels (as many as you like)

-        Prawns  (as many as you like)

-        Olive oil

Step 1: Chop up the chicken breasts in medium pieces and stir-fry them in a frying pan with a thin layer of olive oil. Leave the inner part raw, since it’s eventually going to be cooked with the rice.

Step 2: Remove everything from the frying-pan but the oil. Add your fresh vegetables (frozen vegetables will be added later) and stir-fry them the same way you did the chicken.

Step 3: When the vegetables are done, lower the heat and put the chopped-up chicken in the frying-pan while stirring. Then, pour round grain rice in the shape of a cross and pour, on each quarter of it, chicken broth.

Step 4: If you have frozen vegetables like peas or beans, this would be the moment to add them.

Step 5: Pour the food colouring on each quarter of the cross-shaped mixture and stir the rice from the centre to the edge of the frying-pan. Add bay leaves to the water and let it cook over a low heat for five minutes, covering the pan with tin foil if possible.

Step 6: After five minutes, add the seafood (mussels and prawns) and sink it in the mixture with a spoon. Cover the frying-pan again and let it cook until the rice is ready.

Step 7: Turn off the fire and, without removing the cover, wait 5-10 minutes until it’s completely done.

2. Ratatouille 

Ingredients (4 to 6 servings):

-        1 kg tomatoes

-        1 eggplant

-        2 courgettes

-        1 onions

-        2 bell peppers

-        3 cloves of garlic

-        Olive oil

Step 1: Chop the courgettes and the eggplant into cubes or slices, as you please. Use a big pan and with some oil on the bottom slightly fry the eggplant and courgettes until golden brown.

Step 2: Chop and add the bell peppers

Step 3: Peel tomatoes if you want to. In our case, I did not. I simply chopped them into quarters and added them to the mixture.

Step 4: Chop and add the onion and the garlic

Step 5: Leave to boil for about 30 min, season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with pasta or rice.

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3.  Entirely homemade pizza

Sure, we’ve all made homemade pizza, but in our recipe, even the tomato sauce is homemade

Ingredients (2 pizzas):

For the dough:

-        2 cups flour

-        1 cup water

-        15 grams yeast

-        Half a teaspoon salt

-        2 to 3 spoons olive oil 

Step 1: the water should be slightly warmer than your hand. Mix the yeast with the water.

Step 2: on a flat surface with plenty of space to knead your dough, put the flour and add the salt around the edges (salt and yeast are enemies). In the middle, make a small hole and slowly poor in water. Don’t necessarily pour in all the water at once, as it might run off the edges. Instead add a little, knead, and then add more. While kneading, add some olive oil.

Step 3: Knead the dough for about 10 min. The dough should be slightly sticky but not leave any marks. If it is too dry add flour, if it is too dry add some water.

Step 4: Leave the dough to rest and rise

Step 5: Split the dough and roll out for the pizzas.

For the tomato sauce:

-        7 tomatoes

-        Some corn starch or flour (a couple of teaspoons)

-        Some fresh basil

Step 1: Simply chop and boil some tomatoes (we used 6 or 7 for 2 pizzas, but had leftover sauce)

Step 2: for a smooth tomato sauce sieve the tomato sauce

Step 3: add some flour or corn starch and let boil to make the sauce thicker

Step 4: chop and add some fresh basil leaves if you want

This sauce is also wonderful as a base tomato sauce for spaghetti!

Then, just put whatever you would like to have on your pizza! 

4.     Homemade bread buns 

Ingredients (about 8 buns):

-        500 grams of flour

-        250ml water

-        10gr yeast

-        A teaspoon of salt

-        A teaspoon of olive oil

Step 1: mix the yeast with the water, which should be slightly warmer than your hand

Step 2: lay out the flour on a large flat surface or in a bowl. Put the salt on the edges and make a hole in the middle to pour the water and yeast mixture into. Mix and knead the dough for about 10 min. While kneading add some olive oil.

Step 3: divide the dough into equal parts for buns. This recipe will make about 8 small buns. Leave them on a tray to rest covered with a towel for about 35mins so they can rise.

Step 4: bake in the oven on 250 Celsius for about 15min.