Recipes

Making food yourself is a great way to learn about food and meal preparation.

Cigares au fromage et aux champignons (Cigarettes of cheese and mushrooms)

This quick French meal is perfect to accompany main dishes or as a starter. The cigarettes has a very crispy outside with a soft and creamy interior, because of the Ricotta cheese and the mushrooms, which give the dish a great taste.

They are warmed and served with mushroom sauce and whipped cream. They are one of my favorite things to eat, I try to cook them every special weekend because I love them!

Preparation: 15 min.
Cooking: 15 min.
For 6 people.
Ingredients:

• 12 pastry sheets.
• 250 g of Ricotta cheese (or goat cheese).
• 50 g of grated Parmesan cheese.
• 3 tablespoons of mushrooms.
• 1 lemon.
• 2 tablespoons of chopped parsley (or basil or mint).
• 4 pinches of grated nutmeg.
• 4 pinches of cinnamon powder.
• 20 g of butter.
• Salt and pepper to taste.

Preparation method:

1. Turn the oven to 150°C. Melt the butter and let it cool. Gild the mushrooms in a dry pan.
2. Crush the Ricotta cheese in a bowl with a fork. Add the mushrooms, Parmesan, nutmeg, cinnamon and parsley. Wash and grate the lemon zest finely above the bowl. Add the salt and pepper to taste and mix well.
3. Cut the pastry sheets in half. Arrange 1/12 of the preparation in the center of one half, into a rectangle of 5 cm long. Put the other half of the sheet on the preparation, then fold the corners toward the center, and finally roll it up.
4. Put the cigarettes on a antiadhesive plate and brush them with the melted butter. Slide the plate in the oven and bake for about 15 minutes, until the cigarettes are golden brown. Enjoy it hot or warm.

Colombian beans

This Colombian (Antioquia region) meal is my favorite of all Colombian cuisine. The beans have a mushy texture with a spicy taste, which can be sweet if you add the carrot sauce. They are served with different kinds of meat, like pork rind and chorizo and also with avocados, eggs and fried plantains.

Preparation: 15 min.

Cooking: 50 min.

For 4 people.
Ingredients:

• 1 lb of beans.
• 1 lb potatoes.
• 1/2 lb of bacon.
• 3 carrots.
• 2 tomatoes.
• 1 onion.
• 1/2 chili pepper.
• 3 garlic.
• 1 beef bouillon cube.
• Oil.
• Salt, pepper to taste.

Preparation method:

1. Leave the beans soaking the night before, in 2 cups of water.
2. Put them in a pressure cooker with water, carrots, potatoes, bacon and the beef bouillon cube. Let cook by 15 min, until the pressure cooker starts to beep.
3. Remove the carrots and mix them in a blender. Add this sauce to the beans.
4. Put tomatoes, onions, oil, salt, pepper, garlic and paprika in a pan, and cook them until onion and tomato start to wilt, stirring frequently. Put this mixture on the beans and let it seasoning and cooking over low heat for 35 min. Stir frequently.
5. Finally, serve them hot.

Three cheese mushrooms pizza with red grapes

This is a pizza recipe that you may love. It is a slight modification of the original recipe "Red grape pizza with honey, rosemary & pecorino" by Jamie Oliver. I wanted to give a more creamy texture to the pizza, and for this, it is important to use a mushy cheese like Ricotta, pecorino or goat cheese, also I wanted to add some mushrooms which in general have a bland taste and combine them with the sweet taste of the red grapes. A perfect piece of pizza for me!

Preparation: 20 min.

Cooking: 30 min.

For 4 people.
Ingredients:

• 1 package of refrigerated pizza crust.
• 1/2 cup of red grapes.
• 1/2 cup of mushrooms.
• 1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese.
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese.
• 1 cup of Ricotta cheese.
• 1 green onion.
• Salt, pepper to taste.

Preparation method:

1. Preheat oven to 220 °C. Lightly grease a pizza pan or medium baking sheet.
2. Unroll dough, and press into the prepared pizza pan or baking sheet. Bake crust for 7 minutes in the preheated oven, or until it begins to turn golden brown. Remove from oven.
3. Place mushrooms in a large pan over medium heat and cook them with olive oil. Let cool, then chop into small pieces.
4. Cut the grapes in half and remove the seeds.
5. Spread Ricotta cheese over partially baked crust. Sprinkle on mozzarella cheese. Place grapes, green onion, and mushrooms on top of Mozzarella cheese, then top with Cheddar cheese. Return to the oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until cheese is melted and bubbly.