Broccoli, Potato and Onion Soup

I can't stop making soup!

This one was invented the last time I went to my dad's, in Brazil, last Christmas.
I was talking to him on the phone the other day and he told me he really liked it... I had to ask him what I put in it when I made if for him, and I decided to try it again with English ingredients.
It is quite good, but I have to say that the broccoli I had in Brazil works better in this recipe. It is a different broccoli, it looks more like cow's food than the very pretty broccoli I normally find here, the one that looks like a wedding bouquet.

Anyway. It was still quite delicious and we had the whole thing very quickly, so I think you might want to try and make it yourself :)

Ingredients:

1 onion
1 wedding bouquet, oops, one broccoli
3 medium sized potatoes
Salt

How to make it:

Chop everything, sauté de onions in a little bit of olive oil, throw in all the rest, add water, close it and cook for about 20 minutes - the first 10 in high and then in medium.
Blend it and serve it with parmesan, if you are so inclined.

Servings: 4
Calories: 159 per serving

Vegetable Soup

It has been very cold for the past three weeks and one of my favourite things for this weather is to have soup. I make a different one every night, depending on what I have in my fridge. It is healthy, it warms you and it is very easy to make.

I make my soup the way mom taught me: chop everything, chuck it in the pressure cooker with vegetable stock and then blend it enough to look like baby food, just the way I like it.

Here is today's recipe:

Ingredients

1 onion

2 carrots

2 small potatoes

1 parsnip

1 leek

1 vegetable stock cube

Chop the onion and sauté it with a little bit of olive oil, in the pressure cooker or whichever cooker you have.

Chop all the other ingredients and add them to the cooker, together with the vegetable stock and salt and leave it to cook for about 20 minutes.

Carefully open the pressure cooker (never forget to let the pressure out before trying to open it) and blend it. If you have some leftover pasta (no sauce) or rice, put it in and blend it too, so as not to waste food and make it more filling :) I added white rice to this one, you can see it if you look carefully at the picture. Go ahead, look!

Serve it with grated parmesan or basil leaves (these were added to make the picture look nice :D)


Calories (4 servings): 321 per serving

Baked Aubergines (Caponata)

This is one of my favourite dishes of all times. It is very easy to make and everybody loves it. I got the recipe from Sérgio, my friend's stepdad, in a very fun day of food, cards and wine, years ago.
I have made this aubergine so many times that I consider it mine now. :)

Ingredients:

1 large onion
8 garlic cloves
1 red pepper
1 yellow pepper
1 green pepper
1 cup of raisins
2 medium-sized aubergines
1 cup of olives

"Sauce":
1 cup of extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup of vinegar
1 cup of water
2 tbsp salt
2 tbsp dried oregano

The amount of each ingredients vary according to taste, obviously. The above are more or less what I usually use. Today, for example, I used two onions, because they were quite small. And a good amount of garlic, which I randomly called "8 garlic cloves" for the sake of giving you a quantity :P
Always remember that you are free to cook however you like. Recipes are for inspiration only, not to restrict you.

How to make it:

Chop everything... and I mean everything! (except the raisins :P) Mix it all and put it in a baking dish. Make the "sauce" by mixing it in a cup and throw it upon the vegetables. Cover it with foil and put it in the oven for about 40 min or until the aubergine is very soft. It smells great, so you need to control yourself and leave it for as long as necessary, so that the aubergine is soft... the longer you wait, the better it tastes :)

Here is a picture of the vegetables in their "sauce" before going inside the oven


Serve it hot or cold with pitta bread or as a side dish.

Ratatouille

Zé Eduardo, a close friend of mine, was always telling me how I should make Ratatouille, how great it was and how easy to make. So I made it today, and he was absolutely right.

Let's see the recipe, then.

Ingredients

1 large onion, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1 aubergine, thinly sliced
1 courgette, thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves, chopped
4 tomatoes, chopped

Generously pour extra virgin olive oil to a pan. Place onions and peppers and cook until soft. Add the aubergines, garlic and salt. Lower the heat and add a little bit of water, so that the onion and pepper don't stick to the pan. Cover the pan and leave to cook for a few minutes, until the aubergine is cooked. Add the tomatoes, the courgette and let it cook until courgette is slightly cooked.

Serve with pasta or bread.

Salted Cod with Potatoes and Peppers

This is one of my favorite dishes ever. My grandmother and/or my mom make it every year for Christmas and/or New Year's Eve. It was my turn to make it for my family in London this year... and I can't lie, it was very good!
And it is very easy to make... so here it goes.

Ingredients

- 500g salted cod fillets, preferably skinless and boneless
- 1kg potatoes, peeled and sliced
- 1 red pepper, deseeded and sliced
- 1 yellow pepper, deseeded and sliced
- 2 onions, sliced
- 1 cup of pitted olives


Method

To rehydrate salt cod, soak it in cold water for 24 hours, changing the water two or three times, depending on how much salt you like (yes, you will have to taste it... don't be a wuss!)
Save the last water in a pan and pre-cook the potatoes on it (let it boil for a few minutes, until the potatoes are slightly cooked).

Generously coat the bottom of a casserole with olive oil. Place the other ingredients in layers, with a bit of olive oil in between them: first, a layer of potatoes, then a layer of onions and peppers, then a layer with more potatoes, a layer of codfish, another of onions, peppers and the pitted olives on top of everything. Pour some more olive oil and cover the casserole with kitchen foil.
Place in the oven on medium heat, and cook, covered, for about 1 and 1/2 hours (dependin on the oven), until everything is completely through.

Serve with white rice on the side.

Take a picture of it and send it to me.
Comment on the blog, please. It will make me really proud and happy :)