Brussels sprout salad

I have to admit that I definitely exaggerated with the amount of Brussels sprouts purchased few days ago at the market. As a result, last week I had them in almost every possible way: baked, boiled, steamed and fried. It's a shame I haven't hit before on an idea to prepare them in its simplest form - just raw:). After all, Brussels sprout is nothing else but a little cabbage, which I eat very often without cooking or frying:). This salad is based on ''what's in my refrigerator and kitchen cabinets'' and also on this recipe. I liked it so much that I've made it few more times since the first one. In addition to the Brussels sprouts I added to it some chopped walnuts and Spanish Manchego sheep cheese, which can be replaced by other firm ripened cheese. I served the salad with orange slices, which added juiciness and contrasted fabulously with distinctive and well developed flavour of the cheese (I love the combination of cheeses with fruits:)). I also sprinkled the salad with some dried cranberries and pour it over with the sauce made out of olive oil, lemon juice, honey and mustard. It's really delicious!!!.

Grilled vegetables with romesco sauce

You will probably agree with me that there are people who have really good ideas for enjoying their free time?. For example, there is this guy - Edu - who tries patatas braves in Barcelona and then rates them on his website: http://www.bravasbcn.com. He gives its price and the name and address of the bar or restaurant in which he has eaten them,  he evaluates the potatoes (their size, how they were prepared, whether they had a crispy crust, and were soft inside, if they were bathed in oil etc.) and also the sauces: alioli and tomato sauce (if were spicy, their texture, proportion between alioli and tomato sauce etc.). What intrigues me the most, however, is the list of 15 best patatas bravas in Barcelona, which is periodically updated. I must admit that I tried only few places from his list, but all of them were really delicious:). There are obviously many similar sites which evaluate restaurants, places with good coffee, with good carrot cake (recently very popular here in Barcelona), and also with spots for weekend brunch. Maybe I should think about this kind of site as well:). I could start with romesco sauce, very popular now when calçots are in season, which in many restaurants is also served with grilled or raw vegetables. I will definitely think about it:). Meanwhile, today I have for you this easy recipe for grilled vegetables with romesco sauce.

Broccoli and feta cheese salad

Broccoli is not a vegetable which appears frequently in traditional Spanish dishes, but due to its high nutritional value is increasingly appreciated also in this part of Europe. Broccoli is often served here as a side dish for meat, seafood or fish, or is added to stews or salads. Today's salad inspired by a recipe I've found on a Peruvian kitchen website: www.yanuq.com, contains broccoli florets (cooked or steamed al dente), feta cheese, pine nuts and raisins. The sauce, which I used for the salad is basically mayonnaise mixed with natural yogurt; however, if you prefer less caloric version, I suggest  replacing it with just the yogurt or simply drizzle the salad with extra virgin olive oil mixed with a bit of vinegar.

Tomato salad on salmorejo bedding

Recently I have been having an irresistible craving for tomatoes, and although I still have to wait for the ''truly'' red ones with a mouth-watering flavor, I could not resist the temptation of making this delicious salad:). Salmorejo is a Spanish creamy, cold tomato soup, which is a bit like gazpacho, but without peppers, onions or cucumber, and with more olive oil and bread - this is why it has more calories then gazpacho and is more creamy. In this salad, salmorejo is a kind of bedding for the remaining ingredients: tomatoes, goat cheese, basil and avocado, which mixed together form a real tomato festival:).

Blue cheese salad with pear in puff pastry

The combination of pears and blue cheese isn't certainly the culinary novelty, but what if the pear is wrapped with strips of puff pastry and baked in the oven?. Will you agree with me that this is a very original addition to a fairly popular salad?. Unfortunately, It wasn't my idea, but I've seen it on one of the popular Spanish blog La Receta de la Felicidad, whose author Sandra Mangas has recently released a book Las recetas de la felicidad - I haven't seen it yet, but taking into account the delicious recipes and beautiful photos from her blog, I'll probably also like the book:). Apart from the pear in puff pastry, I've added to the salad some blue cheese, walnuts and lettuce mix. Finally I've sprinkled it with dressing made of olive oil, balsamic vinegar and honey.

Green asparagus and cucumber salad

I have a feeling that far too soon all spring vegetables are appearing on grocery store shelves this year:). So far, my appetite has not filled with artichokes and suddenly broad beans and peas has appeared, which are now slowly fall into oblivion giving way to green and white asparagus. First recipe I've made this year using this delicious vegetable is a very simple salad with green asparagus, cucumber and romaine lettuce, with plenty of fresh coriander, chives and dried tarragon, with sweet and sour sauce made by mixing wholegrain French mustard, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and honey.

Spanish Russian potato salad (ensaladilla rusa)

Ensaladilla/ensalada rusa (Russian salad) or ensaladilla/ensalada Olivier is the most popular Spanish vegetable salad, which was probably created in 1860 by Belgian Lucien Oliver, chef of Hermitage restaurant in Moscow. Except for the name, Spanish Russian salad has little in common with the original recipe invented by Olivier, who depending on the season was adding to it grouse, veal tongue, caviar, capers, crayfish or smoked duck. Spanish ensalada rusa is similar to Polish vegetable salad, but apart from potatoes, carrots, peas and eggs contains also tuna, green olives, and grilled red pepper. Some add to it crab sticks and/or pickled cucumbers called in Spanish pepinillos. 

Beet salad with red beans, arugula and kiwi

Guapo and guapa, two Spanish words - actually one word meaning nice, handsome (first masculine, second feminine) - which, while being in Spain, is hard not to hear. All children, girls and boys are called this way in different everyday situations, but not only them...A few days ago, while shopping at a nearby supermarket, I heard a young shop assistant working at a fish stand asking a client: ''¿que te pongo, guapo?'', which loosely translated  means: ''what can I do for you, handsome?''. Hearing this, I turned to look at this guapo and when I saw hunched, almost bald old man I smiled to myself and thought: this is so Spanish. It's very funny and enjoyable at the same time that such a completely unconscious, spontaneous, often mechanically used word can cause satisfaction,  encourage positive state of mind, and put a smile on our faces - I'm sure that not only it caused smile in my face but also put this older gentlemen into a good mood:).

Today's salad was created very spontaneously - as the Spanish word guapo is used - while checking the content of my fridge and cupboards, but fortunately it turned out to be a complete success, stimulating and fully satisfying my taste buds.

Duck confit, orange and pomegranate salad

After Christmas and New Year culinary excess, 12 grapes eaten in 12 seconds (this year I managed to do it thanks to a very easy trick: peeling the grapes:)), long rest among family and friends, which lasted till 6 of January, plus one week more:), with still full belly, few additional kilos and head full of new ideas, today I officially come back to my culinary blogging wishing all visitors Happy New Year!:).

I'm starting this year with an old, because it's from the past year, recipe for a salad with duck confit, orange and pomegranate, which I made just before my Christmas holidays. To prepare the meat I used an old French way of preserving food called confit. It's basically a slow poaching of a duck in its own fat which, after it gets cold, preserves the meat during a long time. First, a duck is marinated in salt and spices and later it's cooked in its own juices and fat. This kind of cooking makes meat of duck juicy and tender.