TAHINI

                                                                               Receta en Español

Tahini is a sauce made from sesame seeds , it is typical from Middle East, it is very common to accompany hummus (chickpeas pâté) ,babaganuch (eggplant pâté) or meat dishes.

It is very easy to make.

Ingredients:

• 65 grams sesame seeds.
• 1 tablespoon Olive oil.

Method:

- Take a pan and toast sesame seeds whithout oil. You should slightly toast them, this way the taste of tahini will be soft. The more you toast the seeds, the stronger tahini will be. Once sesame seeds get hot , they start to jump so you should toast them covered.


- Grind the toasted sesame seeds.

- Mix well the grinded sesame seeds with oil. 

- Boil a little quantity of water and pour it over the grinded sesame seeds, mix well. 

- Pour more water if you see that the mixture is very thick. The consistency should be like tomato sauce.

My comments to the recipe:

It is fast and easy to prepare.
You should keep also in mind that sesame is very healthy, it provides more calcium that milk. 
100 ml milk provide 150 mg calcium , the same quantity of sesame provide 700 mg calcium.

Where to find the ingredients:

Sesame seeds can be bought at every herbalist's shop.



Saudi Arabia

khubz

                                                                               Receta en Español

khubz is a kind of bread typical in Middle East. It is similar to 'pita' bread but bigger and thicker.

To make this bread you don't need yeast, it doesn't get dry soon. Because of this reason it is wide consumed by nomads families who travel along the dessert.

Once you have baken this bread ,there is a hollow in the middle where you can place some other ingredient.

This type of bread is the oldest kind of bread in the world.

Ingredients:

• 125 grams all-purpose wheat flour.
• 125 grams wholegrain wheat flour.
• Warm water.
• Salt.

Method:

1. Place both kinds of flours into a bowl, make a hole in the middle and pour inside a little quantity of warm water.

2. Stir and add more water step by step until all the flour is well mixed and the dough is uniform.
3. Add Salt.
4. The result will be a sticky dough .Now you shoul knead it, to do it you should sprinkle a little flour in your hands.
5. While kneading,the minute you see that the dough is still sticky, you sprinkle flour once again in your hands and keep on kneading until the dough remains not sticky.
6. We should knead the dough for at least 10 minutes, to get a good dough for a bread.

7. Cover the dough with a towel and let it stand for 30 or 40 minutes.
8. Knead the dough a little more.
9. Split the dough into balls the size of your hand palm and flatten them.
10. With the help of your hands try to make that flatten ball bigger, that is turn them into thick pancakes.
11. Put parchement paper on an oven tray and place the breads on it.
12. Preheat oven at 200 ºC for 10 minutes.
13. Now cook the breads in oven for 10 minutes at the same temperature.
14. Once thay are baken you should wrap them in a towel so they keep warm. You should serve them warm.

My comments to the recipe:

It is amazing how this bread can rise even when you don't use yeast. This bread is very good to accompany all kind of dishes you can imagine. 



Arabia Saudita

Argentina

This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.

Recipes from Argentina that I cooked:

Baked Provoleta

Steaks with criolla sauce

Alfajores from Mar de Plata

Argentina

Flag: De Government of Argentina - Here, based on: http://manuelbelgrano.gov.ar/bandera/creacion-de-la-bandera-nacional/, Dominio público, Enlace

Alfajores from Mar de Plata

                                                                               Receta en Español

Alfajores are very typical in South America, this version is from Argentina, from Mar de Plata a place where inhabitants of Buenos Aires go for tourism. These alfajores became very famous thanks to these tourists that came back to Buenos Aires bringing this sweet as souvenir. You cannot miss this treat if you go to Argentina.
If you cannot travel there, here you have the recipe.



Ingredients (For 31 alfajores):

• 200 gr butter.
• 150 gr sugar.
• 1 egg.
• Salt.
• 400 gr flour.
• 20 gr cacao.
• 100 gr corn starch (maizena).
• Tangerine rind.
• 1 tablespoon honey.
• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate.
• 1 teaspoon yeast.
• 500 gr Caramelized condensed milk.

Chocolate coating:

• 350 gr dark chocolate.
• 150 gr butter.
• Tangerine rind.

Method:

1. Soft butter using microwave during 10 seconds.
2. Mix well butter and sugar.
   
3. Take another bowl , mix flour, corn starch and cacao. Once well mixed add to the mixture of the point 2. Add yeast, bicarbonate, honey and tangerine rind.
4. Mix well until you have an homogeneous dough, you don't need to knead it. It has reached the right consistency when you press it with your finger and then the print remains. The dough crumbles a little, it is normal. 
5. wrap dough with cling film, let stand for half an hour in the fridge. This way the dough hardens.
   
6. Now it is time to work the dough , sprinkle cacao over the surface where we are going to stretch the dough.
7. Divide the dough into several pieces , to meke it easier to work. Take a piece and roll it out , it shoul be 1/2 cm thich.
8. Take a fluted round cookie cutter , cut the dough into circles.  
   
9. Place the dough over an oven track protected with parchment paper.
10. Preheat oven at 180 ºC for 5 minutes.
11. Cook in oven for 7- 10 minutes.
12. let get cool.
13. Take two pieces of baked dough, place some caramelized  condensed milk in between.  
    
14. Now we prepare the coating: Fill a pot with water, put over low heat, put another pot inside it.
15. Break chocolate into pieces, put it into the litle pot that we have prepared on point 14, mix with butter and grated tangerine rind.
16. Let chocolate melt , stir with a wooden spoon.
17. Dip alfajores into the chocolate.
    
18. Place alfajores coated with chocolate over a tray protected with parchment paper. Let cool in the fridge, once they are cold, it will be very easy to detach.

My comments to the Recipe:

The dough crumbles easily, because of that it is difficult to work with it, the consistency should be like that , this way the cookie will be easy to eat.
The taste is wonderful!, you shoul not miss it!.

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

Favourite cooking tools

Argentina

Flag: De Government of Argentina - Here, based on: http://manuelbelgrano.gov.ar/bandera/creacion-de-la-bandera-nacional/, Dominio público, Enlace

Caramelized condensed milk

                                                                               Receta en Español

This is a typical sweet in South America, specially in Argentina.
You can eat it by its own, or as a filling for several desserts like sponge cakes or 'Alfajores'
In Argentina it is called 'Dulce de leche', in Chile 'manjar', in Mexico 'cajeta' and in Venezuela 'arequipe'.

Here you can find the traditional way to prepare this sweet: Argentinian recipes. 

You must heat milk with sugar, and stirr well during 2 hours.

I did it in 2 faster ways,one is using Thermomix and the other one cooking a can of condensed milk:

Thermomix:

Ingredients for 500 gr:

• 1 liter whole milk.
• 350 gr sugar.
• 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate.
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla powder.

Method

1. Put all the ingredients into the thermomix, cover and place the basket over it.
2. Program 45 minutes, varoma, speed 5.
3. Programam 30 seconds, speed 5 to mix well.
4. Pour in a jar and let cool.

Here the faster way, you need a pressure cooker.
The taste of the dessert is similar to the other method.

Ingredients:

• 1 can condensed milk.
• Water.

Method

1. Put the can laying on the botton of the pressure cooking, if the can has some paper get rid of it.
2. Pour water into the cooker until the can is covered.
3. Close the pressure cooker and put on a high heat.
4. Once the steam starts to come out , put on a low heat and cook for 30 minutes.
5. When the pressure cooker is cold, open it and let the can get cool.
6. Once the can is cold, you can open it and taste the great 'dulce de leche'.

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

Favourite cooking tools

Argentina

Flag: De Government of Argentina - Here, based on: http://manuelbelgrano.gov.ar/bandera/creacion-de-la-bandera-nacional/, Dominio público, Enlace

Steaks with Criolla Sauce

                                                                               Receta en Español

Criolla's sauce is very popular in Argentina. The recipe I present today  shows a way to eat meat different from argentinian barbecue. It is based on the recipe that I found at this page, full of argentinian recipes:
http://recetasdeargentina.com.ar/bifes-a-la-criolla-2/

Ingredients

• ½ kilo rump steaks.
• ½ Kilo potatoes.
• 2 onions.
• 3 Tomatoes.
• 2 green peppers or green chili.
• Oil.
• 2 cups of water.
• Salt and Pepper.

Method

1. Peel ant cut potatoes into slices 1/2 cm thick.
2. Cut onions into slices with a similar thickness as potatoes.
3. Cut tomatoes into slices and peppers into strips.
4. Take a big pot , pour some olive oil in it.
5. Put the ingredients inside the pot following this order: steaks on the bottom, then onions, patatoes, tomatoes, peppers. If you have more steaks put a new layer of steaks and then the rest of the ingredients following the same order. Add salt at every layer.

 

6. Pour 2 cups of water.
7. Put on a medium heat for 10 minutes.
8. Put on a low heat, cover the pot. Cook for 30 or 40 minutes until potatoes and meat are well done.

 You can serve it together with fried eggs.

My comments to the Recipe:

It is a recipe very easy to make, the meat is tender and juicy. Besides, it is a complete dish with meat and vegetables.

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

Favourite cooking tools

Argentina

Flag: De Government of Argentina - Here, based on: http://manuelbelgrano.gov.ar/bandera/creacion-de-la-bandera-nacional/, Dominio público, Enlace

Baked Provoleta

                                                                               Receta en Español

Provoleta is an Argentinian cheese's trademark. It is similar to  Italian provolone, it is cooked on the grill and sometimes baked in oven to accompany roast meat.  

Today's recipe is baked Provoleta, I will use microwave. This is an easy and fast way of preparing it!.

Ingredients (2 people) :

• 1 teaspoon papikra.
• 1 teaspoon oregano.
• a sprinkle of pepper.
• 2 dessertspoonful olive oil.
• 150-200 grams provolone cheese.

Method:

1. Take a microwave proof dish, put olive oil , paprika, pepper and oregano. Mix well.
2. Put provolone into the dish, let mix with the rest of ingredients both sides.
3. Let stand a while in the fridge, this way it will absorbe better all the flavours of the ingredients.
4. Put the dish to minutes in the microwave...and here it is!.
5. It is accompanied by chunks of bread.

My comments to the Recipe:

Once the cheese loses heat it becomes a little taffy. You can also cook provoleta in oven, the result is better.
Preheat oven for 5 minutes at 200ºC, the cook provoleta for 15-20 minutes.

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

Favourite cooking tools

Argentina

Flag: De Government of Argentina - Here, based on: http://manuelbelgrano.gov.ar/bandera/creacion-de-la-bandera-nacional/, Dominio público, Enlace