Category: recipes

Sticky Post
baking, dessert, recipes

Passion Fruit Bomboloni

Call them krapfen, bomboloni or doughnuts,  we all seem to have a fondness to stuff our faces with fried dough bombs, usually stuffed with even more gluttonous ingredients. Krapfen are usually filled with apricot jam, while bomboloni are a lot richer, filled with crème patissiere or even nutella! I was lucky enough to have some fresh passion fruits that I could pick up form the common garden’s harvest, so I decided to come up with a quick curd, which seemed perfect to fill in some doughnuts. I always follow Lilvienna’s krapfen recipe, but I add some lemon and orange zest to intensify the aromas.  Continue reading “Passion Fruit Bomboloni”

blenderandbasilLeave a comment
Meatless Monday, Simple Recipes

Easy Homemade Hummus

We just love Hummus. The well known Middle Eastern cream is versatile and perfect for every occasion. So much that we would hardly imagine a gathering without it served to accompany crudités or some crunchy bread. And we love homemade hummus even more, whether it’s the strong garlic flavour, or the extra virgin olive oil to do the trick, you have the power to make it your own and enrich it with your favourite ingredients.
All you need is a can of chickpeas and some tahini. In case you don’t have tahini, this recipe will tell you how to make your own using sesame seeds and sesame oil.

Continue reading “Easy Homemade Hummus”

blenderandbasil1 Comment
Sticky Post
Meatless Monday, recipes, Simple Recipes

Spinach and Chickpeas Tapa (Espinacas con Garbanzos)

This meatless dish with spinach and chickpeas is a popular Sevillian tapa, in which the cumin seeds and paprika will titillate your palate: these spices makes this very simple dish an unforgettable starter for your guests and a perfect dinner fix when all you have at home is cans and frozen spinach! Popular as a meatless mid-week meal option, we often have it with bread like a bruschetta, or on a bed of roasted potatoes, or just as it is, with a sunny side up on top!

Continue reading “Spinach and Chickpeas Tapa (Espinacas con Garbanzos)”

blenderandbasilLeave a comment
Sticky Post
recipes, Simple Recipes, Sunday Lunch

Russian Salad

For many years, Russian salad has been a mystery for me. In Italy we don’t consume it much, apart from the odd buffet-style dinner party so I never had too much curiosity about making it at home. In London, between my good Russian friend and my Spanish other half, I discovered the many faces of this salad. A favourite tapa in Spain, where they call it Ensaladilla: you will find it in all the menus around the land. A winter favourite in Russia: I got to learn, and taste, that they have meat versions and  fish versions. Continue reading “Russian Salad”

blenderandbasil4 Comments
Sticky Post
recipes, Simple Recipes

Babaganush – a Simple Dip

Following the Levantine/Middle Eastern thread, we are back with another aubergine recipe. This time, we are using our beloved vegetables for a famous dip recipe, Babaganush. While there can be variants, the classic recipe is very simple. This is the ideal dip to serve as a starter with crudities, a few toasted slices of your favourite sourdough, or pitta bread, or even some crunchy crispbreads.

Continue reading “Babaganush – a Simple Dip”

blenderandbasil5 Comments
Sticky Post
Meatless Monday, recipes, Simple Recipes

Salmorejo – a Spanish Cold Soup

Weather you’re in Europe and in the middle of a heatwave or, like me, in a tropical country when heatwaves are the only weather you get, cold soups can be very helpful! Salmorejo is more of a cream rather than a soup. It’s a proud dish from Cordoba and very much dislikes to be so often associated with the liquid, drinkable cousin, Gazpacho. So much so that Cordoba university even conducted a scientific study to find the perfect consolidation of ingredients for Salmorejo, with the aim of creating some sort of controlled designation of origin and standardize the perfect proportions for its final homogeneous result. This recipe will serve up an excellent Salmorejo: bring it to its utmost by relying on good quality seasonal tomatoes and garnishing it with well-sourced fresh ingredients. It’s also suitable for vegans!

Continue reading “Salmorejo – a Spanish Cold Soup”

blenderandbasilLeave a comment
Sticky Post
recipes, Sunday Lunch

Homemade Pasta

It is well known that Italians need a constant intake of carbs and, if we don’t have pasta for a few days, we’ll feel as if we haven’t eaten it for years. Nowadays pasta is consumed mostly dried, as the latest generations see the making of fresh pasta confined to the most traditional shapes and the stuffed variety of pasta, such as tortellini or ravioli. Continue reading “Homemade Pasta”

blenderandbasil6 Comments
Sticky Post
Meatless Monday, recipes, Simple Recipes, Sunday Lunch

Spanish Tortilla (Tortilla de Patatas)

Considered the key dish of Spanish cuisine, tortilla is one of our go to recipes when we have guests or when we are looking for an easy fix with few ingredients. Distinguished from its Italian cousin frittata by its characteristic thickness, it can also contain other featured ingredients, such as chorizo, like this one does. But of course, tortilla can be enjoyed by vegetarians, who instead of adding chorizo can add their favourite greens, or simply add a lot of parsley to the mix. This serves eight if eaten as a starter or four as a main – but keep it between two, and you can have seconds! Continue reading “Spanish Tortilla (Tortilla de Patatas)”

blenderandbasilLeave a comment