Category: Lighter bites/lunch dishes

Delicious quesadillas with chorizo, pickled hot peppers and spinach

Published on by Hanna1 Comment

One of the most fulfillinh feelings I can think of, associated with food, is actually not that of content after a delicious meal, but when I manage to create a lovely supper out of only leftovers. Not throwing food away is something my mother has always preached but in my teens and early twenties, it was difficult for me to eat leftovers. It was totally silly, but I just couldn’t do it, as it never tasted as nice as when it was just cooked. Since then I have learnt that ‘my thing’ is to transform leftovers into a new meal or if it is a lasange or pasta bake, have them as they are the next day.

So this is such a good feeling for me, overcoming wasting food, and now creating whole dinners out of only leftover food.

These quesadillas are a great example. We had tortillas left after a pulled pork feast, pickled hot peppers leftover from when I made a sauce, chorizo that needed to be eaten because it had been opened for a week, and spinach that was on the verge of wilting in its bag. Oh, and some left over cream cheese from a cheesecake and grated cheese that almost had gone a bit dry.

Throw all this into quesadillas, fry them in butter, which is oh so important for the flavour and serve either as they are as a simple supper or together with a soup. I managed to make a green pea soup out of leftovers as well, even using up some old white wine. Love it!

Quesadillas with chorizo , pickled hot peppers and baby spinach, serves 2-3

6soft wheat tortillas

3 tbsp cream cheese

150-200 ml grated cheese, I used Monterey Jack because I like the way it melts

9 slices chorizo

6-7 small pickled hot peppers, halved

baby spinach

2 tbsp butter for frying

Spread the cream cheese onto all the tortillas. Distribute grated cheese, chorizo, peppera and spinach on 3 of the tortillas. Place the plainer ones on top. Melt the butter (and perhaps some oil) in a large frying pan and fry the quesadillas on both sides until golden brown and crisp and until the cheese has melted on the inside. Cut every quesadillas in six wedges and serve straight away. 

Aubergine gratin with mozzarella and pancetta

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Before I made the absolutely gorgeous aubergine lasagne, I came up with this – its predecessor. And boy, this was good too! Can it be anything but delicious when combining aubergines with buffalo mozzarella and pancetta, I wonder? NO!

I really enjoyed this calorific dish, but on its own it was not enough. At least my body was craving carbs and not just salad. I would recommend perhaps a mixed bean salad, garlic bread or rice with this, although it is lovely on its own as well.

Aubergine gratin with pancetta and mozzarella, serves 2

2 aubergines

olive oil

100 g pancetta

400 g chopped tomatoes

3 tbsp balsamic vinegar

plenty of Italian herbs

a pinch of brown sugar

salt, pepper

1 buffalo mozzarella

cheddar

Peel the aubergines and slice them lengthways. Fry them until soft in plenty of olive oil. Make a tomato sauce by letting chopped tomatoes, balsamic, sugar and herbs reduce. Fry the pancetta crisp and drain on kitchen towel. Slice the mozzarella. Pour some tomato sauce into a gratin dish, place a layer of aubergines at the bottom, then mozzarella and pancetta. Continue layering, topping it with tomato sauce and cheddar. Bake for 25 mins, 200 C.  

Sicilian omelette

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Yet another recipe courtesy of the lovely Nigella. This omelette is quick, filling and absolutely delicious despite the fewingredients. I love omelettes, since I learned that I prefer them creamy instead of set, and they’re even better with cheese on. Perfect for brunch, lunch or for supper when you’re in a hurry.

Sicilian omelette, serves 1

2-3 eggs

a splash of cream/milk/water

salt/white pepper

butter for frying

creamy goat’s cheese

fresh mint

Beat eggs and liquid. Season. Melt butter in a frying pan on medium heat. Pour in the batter and turn the heat down to low heat. Cook the omelette until it starts to set. Add cheese and mint. Fry until it had the consistency you prefer. Serve straight away. 

Creamy Croque Monsiuer

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Since I visited Gaby in the autumn, I have been meaning to try to re-create the croque monsieur we had in a French brasserie in Winchester – it was absolutely perfect!

And this weekend, I came pretty close! Yay! 🙂

This is a perfect dish for lunch, as a snack on its own or as a light supper together with a salad. There are plenty of different ways to make a croque monsieur, but I prefer this creamy version with bechamel on top.

Croque Monsieur, serves 1

2 slices white bread

butter

2 slices of cheese

1-2 slices smoked ham

butter and flour for the roux

200 ml milk

grated cheese

grated nutmeg

salt, white pepper

Butter the breadslices, place cheese and ham in the middle of the two to make a sandwich. Heat up a frying pan with some butter and fry the sandwich on both sides on medium heat. Put the sandwich in a small oven dish. Melt the butter in a saucepan, pour in some flour to make a roux, and add milk. Stir until it thickens. Add the cheese and season with nutmeg, salt and pepper. Make the sauce really thick and pour it onto the top of the sandwich. Put the dish under the grill to gratinate it for a few minutes. Serve immediately.

Yummy frittata

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It is sometimes needed to clear out the fridge, and I love when some leftovers result in a lovely meal. For this frittata I used up some new potatoes, asparagus, feta and sunblush tomatoes. It was lovely and the different ingredients really work together! It doesn’t matter how much filling you have really, it is the right amount of eggs to the right size pan that matters. For this large pan I used four eggs.

Frittata, serves 3

olive oil

150 g new potatoes, boiled

sliced chorizo

6 cooked asparagus

1/2 feta cheese

some sunblush tomatoes

4 eggs

4 tbsp cream

salt, white pepper

Heat up the oil in a frying pan on medium heat. Add the potatoes and chorizo and fry for a few minutes. Add asparagus, tomato and feta. Beat the eggs and cream and season with salt and pepper. Remove the pan from the heat and turn the temperature down. Pour in the eggs and put a lid on the pan. Fry on low heat and make sure not to burn the bottom of the frittata. Serve when it has the consistency you prefer (I like mine runny and creamy on the top). Serve with a nice sallad.

Mexican scrambled eggs – my way

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In the cookbook Nigella Express, Nigella has a recipe for Mexican scrambled eggs with soft tortillas, chilli, spring onions and tomato, and although that sounds very appealing to me, I wanted to make my own version with the hard tortilla chips, and here it is… Sooo tasty!

I must admit I felt like Nigella as well; standing by the stove in my PJs and taking my scrambled eggs for one, back to bed. 😉

Mexican scrambled eggs – my way, serves 1

a handful corn tortilla chips

olive oil

2 eggs

2 tbsp cream

salt

small handful of grated cheese (I used Monterey Jack)

cherry tomatoes and half an avocado to serve

Heat up the olive oil in a pan. Break the tortillas and add them to the pan. Beat the eggs with the cream, and add salt and add them to the pan. Take it off the flame and stir, add the grated cheese, and stir until they have the consistency you prefer. Serve immediately with half an avocado and cherry tomatoes.

Caesar salad with quick dressing

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I just love this salad! And I actually really like salads in general, but because of my way-less-fiber-diet-to-keep-the-stomach-happy, most salads are difficult for me, but a Caesar sallad is in a way a non salad. I know it has lettuce in it, but that is the only green, the rest is just nice proteins to make it taste nice, and that is the best kind of salad to me. One that fills you up, makes it feel lighter than a carb-heavy meal but still tastes absolutely delicious. Chicken, bacon, parmesan, croûtons and dressing – what’s not to like?!

For us it was nice with a break from the heavy food we tend to eat during the cold months. I really have to remember to eat more soups in the winter and more salads in the summer, because as much as I like my meat, fish and potatoes, I really do like soups and salads. Especially this one.

The reason for making a quick dressing was just that I was out of eggs, and if you have the bacon and chicken ready since the day before, this is a quick meal to whip up. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did. In fact, this very minute I am really looking forward to having the leftovers for lunch. 🙂

Caesar sallad eith quick dressing, serves 2-3

2 romaine lettuce heads

3 fried chicken thighs (prefferably fried in the oven)

5-6 slices crispy bacon

3 slices stale bread

1 clove garlic

olive oil

parmesan

Dressing:

100 ml creme fraiche

100 ml mayonnaise

 2 anchovies in oil, finely chopped 

2 tsp dijon mustard

1 pressed garlic clove

1-2 tbsp finely grated parmesan

a tiny pinch of salt

white pepper

Mix the ingredients for the dressing and leave it while preparing the salad. Trim the edges off the bread and cut into large cubes. Heat up olive oil on medium-low heat and add the pressed garlic, throw in the bread and fry them until golden all around. Add more oil if needed and take care not to burn the garlic.  Rinse the lettuce and tear into pieces. Put on plates. Take away the bones and skin from the chicken and distribute it on top of the lettuce. Tear the bacon in pices and scatter on top, add croûtons and slices of parmesan. Drizzle the dressing on top. Alternatively, dress the lettuce before putting onto the plates and place everything else on top. Finish off with some black pepper.

Quesadillas fried in butter, with courgette, chilli and coriander

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The first time I learned about quesadillas was when I still lived with my parents and I saw Jamie Oliver on TV. His version was simple: soft tortillas + grated cheese + sliced spring onions + chopped red chilli + dry frying pan. They were delicious and since then I have made lots of different versions myself. But I have always always used a dry pan as he did.

Until I read on  Pioneer Woman about how much better it is with quesadillas fried in plenty of butter. Nothing bad about Jamie, but I think I trust Ree in this one. 🙂 The same evening I madee some. Only because we had some tortillas left that needed to be eaten. I love when that happens, when I get given a reason to eat something yummy. 🙂

What I had at hand was fresh coriander, red chillies, grated gruyére and courgettes. And butter. It was sooo much better with butter!

Quesadillas fried in butter, with courgette, chilli and coriander

I won’t give you any measurements, just grab what you think will do. These are easy to throw together.

soft flour tortillas

grated strong cheese

chopped red chillies (seeds and membranes removed)

chopped coriander

courgettes

olive oil

butter

Slice the courgette finely and fry in oil until it is nice and golden. Add salt and pepper. Melt butter and some oil (to prevent the butter from burning) in a  frying pan on medium heat. Put one tortilla in the pan. Add the cheese, chillies and coriander. Distribute the courgette and maybe add some more cheese. Put another tortilla on top and press it down with the palm of your hand. When the bottom tortilla is golden and crisp, turn the quesadilla around to fry the other side in more butter. This is the only tricky bit, because we don’t want the filling to fall pout. Turn it around using a plate or two spatulas. When golden and crisp on the other side too, cut into wedges and serve immediately, perhaps with some salsa and/or guacemole.  

Hannu’s Christmas paté

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My mother is very much into her gardening, and she’s very good at it too, everyone who has seen her garden can verify that. One of my mother’s favourites within gardening is a Swede called Hannu Sarenström, and he does recipies too! We found this recipe in his book  Vinterkalas (Winter parties), and my mother and I made this at Christmas. It might be a bit late to post a recipe for a Christmas paté after New Year’s, but there is nothing Christmassy about this paté apart from the name. You can make this paté all year round.

We nearly followed the reipe this time, but made a few changes. We used 200 g chicken liver and 200 g mixed mince instead of pork mince and smoked ham instead of smoked bacon. We just added slightly less liquid and that worked really well. We also used a food processor for everything but the mince, so ours is a bit smoother. Really nice!

Hannu’s Christmas paté (called Barbro’s traditional Christmas paté in the book)

300 g chicken liver

300 g lean pork mince

1 packet smoked bacon

1 onion, grated

2 cloves garlic, pressed

2 tsp salt

2 tsp marjoram or oregano

1 tsp black pepper

100 ml dry white wine

2 eggs

100 ml plain flour

100 ml double cream

2-3 tbsp chopped parsley

Chope the liver and add to the mince. Cut the bacon into small strips and add to the mixture. Add onions and garlic. Add salt, oregano (marjoram) and pepper. Stir in the wine, eggs, flour and cream. Add the parsley.  

Put the oven on 200C. Grease and coat a dish with flour, fill it with the mixture. Cover with tin foil and bake for 1 1/4 hour.

Mushroom toast with wilted spinach

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It was Christopher’s birthday on Sunday so we have had a real food orgie of a weekend. Not that I’m complaining… 😉 On Friday we went to Christopher’s mother and she served a lovely three course meal; halloumi with lime dressing, roast lamb with root vegetables, potatoes and red cabbage and for dessert a baked lemon cheesecake with raspberry coulis. No one even attemped the cheese board afterwards… 🙂

Then on Saturday we had venison that I brought home from Sweden last week, and a starter we had to come up with in Sainsbury’s, but it was actually really tasty! But I do hate to come up with food ideas in the supermarket. I much prefer to have my shopping list and stick to it. 🙂

Christopher found some really nice onion bread, that I fried in butter, topped with wilted spinach, fried mushrooms with garlic and some shavings of parmesan. Really nice!

We then finished off the weekend with a lunch at the Wolseley followed by a port and cheese party. Good times.

Does anyone know what mushrooms we used? You can see the picture here. It is so annoying when the label only says ‘exotic mushrooms’. These were the only mushrooms more exotic than normal button mushrooms, sad really that that is all they stock.

Mushrooms toast with wilted spinach, serves 2

2-4 slices of nice bread (depending on the size of the loaf)

140 g mixed mushrooms

a handful fresh spinach 

1 clove of garlic, pressed/greated

some chopped parsley

butter for frying

olive oil for frying

parmesan

Fry the breadslices in butter until they’re golden brown and pretty. Place on plates. Wilt the spinach in the same pan. Season with salt and pepper and place on top of the bread. Lägg på tallrikar. Heat up the same pan again and fry the mushrooms in butter and olive oil on high heat. Add garlic and parsley. Add salt when they’re done (otherwise they will get watery). Place the mushrooms on top of the spinach, put some parmesan shavings on top. Enjoy!