Blitva - chard with potatoes from Croatia

 Blitva is a Croatian word that means chard, and it is the main ingredient in this traditional recipe from the Dalmatian coast. It is widely used as a side dish for meat and fish throughout Croatia.

This recipe is very simple, healthy, vegan, and has a quite good taste.

Ingredients (2 people):

- 2 Potatoes.

- 6 garlic cloves.

- half a bunch of chard .

- oil.

- Salt.

- White Pepper.

Method:

1- Wash, peel, and cut the potatoes into cubes. Put them in a saucepan with water and salt, and cook for 20-25 minutes, until they are tender.

2- Wash the chard and keep only the leaves, saving the stalks for another recipe. Chop the leaves.

3- Slice the garlic and sauté it in a pan with oil over medium heat until it starts to brown.

4- Turn up the heat and add the potatoes, fry for 5 minutes.

5- Add the chard, pepper, and adjust the salt. Stir well and cook for 10 more minutes on low heat with the lid on.

Receta en Español

You can also watch the recipe at my Youtube Channel:

Here you have a link to my favourite cooking tools where you can find my spices grinder:  

Favourite cooking tools

Croacia

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Rice with hearts of palm - Costa Rica

Rice with heart of palm is a delicious dish very typical from Costa Rica. Additionally, it's simple to cook, and heart of palm can be easily found in Spain at Mercadona.

Ingredients:

- 1 cup of rice.

- 2 cups of water.

- 1 cup of milk.

- 1 cup of evaporated milk or cream.

- 2 tablespoons of oil.

- 2 tablespoons of flour.

- 60 grams of butter.

- 1 onion.

- 1 garlic clove.

- 1 green pepper.

- 1 can of heart of palm.

- White pepper.

- Nutmeg.

- 1 and 1/2 cuos of mozzarella cheese for grting.

- 4 slices of mozzarella cheese.

Method:

1- Cut the onion,garlic,pepper and hearts of palm into litle pieces. Pour the oil in a casserole and fry onion,garlic and pepper until the onion gets transparent.

2- Add the rice and cook for a minute, then add 2 cups of water, put on a high heat until it boils and then put on a low heat and cook covered with a lid for 20 minutes.

3- While the rice cooks, let's do the dairy mixture. Take another casserole, put the butter and the flour, mix well (in a low heat):

4- Add a cup of evaporated milk or cream and another cup of milk, stir and cook at low heat for 5 minutes.

5- Add the heart of palm, salt, pepper and nutmeg, stir well and keep cooking for about 15 minutes.

7- Add the rice, mix well , cook for 5 more minutes and add the slices of mozarella cheese, mix well and pour everything in an oven proof dish.

8- Put some mozzarela cheese to grate on top of all the surface. After that put inside the oven to grate until you see that the cheese gets golden.

Serve hot!

You can also watch the recipe at my Youtube Channel:

Here you have my  favourite cooking tools: https://viaja-en-mi-cocina-english.blogspot.com/2023/05/shop.html

Costa Rica

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Koupas from Cyprus

                                                                                Receta en Español

Koupas are a kind of 'croquettes' very typical from Cyprus and Greece. They are also known als Kibe or kibbeh at Libano, they are made using bulgur, it is, wheat that they let dry after cooked.

You can find bulgur in different sizes; whole, half grain or thin , you must use this last one to prepare the koupas.

The filling of the koupas is also very important, you must use ground pork or beef.

This recipe shows the influence of Middle East into the Greek and Cypriot cuisine, at the same time, is shows the culture of these countries because they use pork meat, something that Middle East people would not dare.

Ingredients for the dough:

- 300 grams bulgur.
- 525 ml water.

- 80 grams flour.

- Salt.

- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon.

- 1/2 teaspoon white pepper.

Ingredients for the filling:

- 400 grams ground pork or beef.

- Olive oil.

- 1 finely chopped onion.

- 2 tablespoon mint.

- 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon.

- 1/2 teaspoon cumin.

- 2 tablespoon pine nuts.

- Salt.

- Black pepper.

- Parsley.

Method:

1- This is the  bulgur that we are gooing to use:

2- We first prepare the dough, put the bulgur and salt in a bowl, add flour, cinnamon and white pepper, mix well and add boiling water, stir and let stand for 2 hours until all the water has been absorbed. To let stand you should cover it with cling film.

3- For the filling, first toast pine nuts.

4- Chop the onion and sauté it.

5- Add the meat and stir well, then cook until the meat has changed its colour. Add pine nuts, parseley, mint, cumin, cinnamon, salt and black pepper. Stir well and cook for more few minutes.

6- Soak your hands in water to prevent the bulgur to stick to your hands, take some bulgur and put it on your hand palm, smash it:

7- Place a little portion of meat over the bulgur.

8- Take other portion of wheat to cover the meat, use your hands to help you to wrap all the meat, and make koupas the same shape you see at the following pictures:

9- Fry koupas in hot oil until they change its colour to slightly brown. Place them on paper towel to absorb the excess of oil.

10 - Serve them with some parseley.

Where to find the ingredients

You can find bulgur near Madrid mosque, at Antonio Calvo street. El Carmen metro station.