Savoury cupcakes: chickpeas and spinach

 

We were in a mood of eating a classic dish today: spinach and chickpeas. And we were in a mood of eating cupcakes. So we decided to combine both and we cooked chickpeas and spinach cupcakes. A traditional flavour combination presented in an original way.

 

 

We used mascarpone and fresh herbs for the frosting, but if you prefer, you can leave them as muffins and skip the frosting, the are good that way too.

 

Do you want to know how to cook them? You just need a couple of minutes (as always!) to watch our new video. We hope you enjoy it.

 

 

How to make hummus if you don't have tahini

     Today we are coming back with a recipe we cook quite often at home: hummus. We don't always cook it with the recipe we are sharing though. Hummus is a popular dish in the middle east. It is a dip or spread made with chickpeas and a sesame seed paste called tahini. This paste is starting to be easily available, although it is not yet part of our daily food culture and therefore, it is not normally found in our supermarkets.

     You can make your own Tahini paste. It is quite easy and you can use it in other recipes, or even as a spread on its own. But if you don't want to make Tahini this is the perfect recipe to make hummus. You actually make the tahini in the process. 

     So! here is the video:

     And the recipe:

Puy lentils salad with butternut squash and goat cheese

     We are still cooking summer recipes in Cuukinando. We love beans in general at home and in the summer we like eating them in salads. I tried this combination (lentils with butternut squash and cheese) in an Italian restaurant some weeks ago and I loved it, so I decided to do something similar at home. Maybe it is not exactly the same salad, but I would say it is every bit as good as that one was.

     We have roasted the butternut squash in the microwave, so it is a really fast dish to make. It is really colourful and full of vitamins and it tastes yummy. We will repeat for sure. Will you try it? Just check our video:

 

     This is the recipe:

Crispy vegetables snack

    It seems that with the hot weather we are lowering our activity level in Cuukinando. To solve that we bring you a new recipe today. It is a healthy one, a good option for these days.

     They are a fantastic alternative to processed potato crisps and their taste is just as good as theirs (if not better!)

     We have used different vegetables with different cooking times. That means that the crispiness is not the same for all of them. We could try to be more exact and adjust the cooking times, but the truth is that the method is so simple and the result so good that at least for us... it is just not worth it! Be specially careful with the courgette, it is the first one to burn in our combination. We think that parsnip are specially good. 

     Use good quality olive oil and sea salt to cook them, you will see they are much better that way. 

     Will you try to cook them? Let us know if that is the case! 

 

Roasted peppers soup

     Today we cook a starter we love: roasted peppers soup. It is a recipe we discovered several years ago, and we have been cooking it in special occasions since then. Actually we even cooked it at home for Christmas dinner this year!

     
     We roast the pepper in the microwave, following the recipe we posted some time ago (you can see it here). As an alternative to this recipe you can keep the vinegar syrup to decorate at the end, although we prefer the version we have cooked, because it gives a beautiful contrast between sweet and acid flavours.

     You have to tell us what do you think about this soup, we are sure you will be surprised by its flavour! 

     You can see the video here: 

     We hope you like it! 

Mini flower potato and asparagus quiches

     After a short holiday in the lovely Spain we come back full of energy in Cuukinando. We bring you a new recipe that you will love if you try it. 

     These mini quiches do not just look beautiful, but they taste fantastic as well. It is a different quiche, in which we added baked potato to the basic egg and cream mixture. We like presenting them in individual portions (with this recipe you could fill around 6-8 tartlets) but you can always present it in the original pie shape if you prefer it. 

     You can find the video here:

     

     You have to try them!

Microwave "roasted" peppers

     We love roasted peppers as a side dish. They can be served with meat, with fish or simply with bread. In Spain we eat them all the time. You can always find them in the supermarket but we usually like to make them at home. Cooking roasted peppers in the oven is time consuming, but with this method you can have them ready in 30 minutes.

     So we bring you today in Cuukinando a fast way to cook your own roasted peppers: in the microwave. You would be surprised to taste how authentic the flavour is. 

      Just watch the video here:

     There is no excuse now. Not long hours in the oven. So easy! 

Spanish omelette

     The Spanish omelette is one of the most international dishes of the Spanish cuisine. There is no Spanish home where it is not eaten in a regular basis, and there is no Spanish party without a "tortilla". 

     The basic recipe consists of fried potatoes mixed with eggs and cooked in a cake shape. This simple equation can be varied in an indefinite number of ways, and that is why every Spaniard you will meet is proud of their own version of this classical dish. Bigger or smaller potatoes, adding or not onion, different potatoes/eggs ratio. But always delicious. 

     Usually people struggle to give the tortilla the right shape, simply because they are afraid. Just be sure to be decisive, you can see in the video it is a very easy thing to do!

     This is our version of the Spanish omelette. And of course... what can we say. It is the best you can try! 

     Watch the video here:

     

     Give it a try, it is easier than what you think. And let us know what you think!