Filhós

These Delicious Filhós, I grew up with, were always at our Christmas table and Carnival.
Because they are served hot, there´s  a tendency to prepare them just during the cold season. I like them all year round, besides, they are funny to prepare specially with the family because everybody can participate so;


Don´t be fooled by these small “Filhós” just because they are fried. The very light dough and hot oil will make them absolutely light and soft. You don´t even notice any traces of oil because it barely has. 

Follow the steps below and the little fritters will surprise and delight you at every bite.  Next time, you may want to double the recipe!

RECIPE
Ingredients:

• 500g   flour
• 50g     fresh yeast (if using dry yeast, reduce  the weight by half)
• 2 ~3    eggs (medium)
• 0,5l     water (lukewarm)

• sugar  and cinnamon
• vegetable oil

Preparing the ingredients, weighting the fresh yeast

Preparation:

1.    Put the flour in a big bowl.

2.    With your hands, rub the yeast with the flour.

3.    Add the water and mix very well with your hand. It should be a very wet dough.

4.    Mix in the eggs one by one and with your hand totally open beat the dough very well until you can see air bubble being formed.  It may take up to 10 ~12 minutes.

Beat very well BY HAND (you may get tired, but the more you beat the better it turns)

5.    Cover the bowl with a clean tea towel and let it rest for 01:15H.

It should look like this after being beaten

1 hour ~ 1:15H later it looks like this

6.    By that time, heat the vegetable oil in a deep container until very hot.

7.    With the help of 2 tablespoons, drop one by one full tablespoon of the dough into the frying pan and let them fry until golden brown all over.  Don´t over crowd the pan or they don´t have space to turn by themselves. If by instance they doesn´t turn by themselves, use a fork and turn them over in order to fry both sides. If the oil is really hot and the dough very light it should turn over by itself.

Frying the "Filhós" with vegetable oil

8.    Meanwhile, prepare a plate with granulated sugar and cinnamon and mix very well. Reserve

9.    When the first batch is fried, remove to a rack and finally transfer to the plate where the sugar and cinnamon is already prepared and roll the “filhós” to coat them very well.  This step should be performed batch after batch. Don´t wait until you fry them all because the sugar mix doesn´t stick to it very well if cold.

Mix of sugar and cinnamon

10. I recommend START EATING while they are hot/warm, I personally don´t like them cold since the sugar starts turning into a syrup as the time goes by.

Chocolate Cake - Coca de Chocolate

Isn´t that good when we can indulge in some chocolate cake without being worried with those little “evil” things called calories? This Delicious and Light Cake has it all, nice flavor, moist texture and it´s so light that you can feel the pleasure at every bit.

Give it a try and please let me know your opinion. Send me your pictures and I will be glad to post them at my FB page

No es maravilloso cuando uno puede disfrutar de un maravilloso trozo de tarta sin estar preocupado con esas “diabólicas” criaturas llamadas calorías? Esta maravillosa coca de chocolate tienen todo que le que nos puede gustar, un maravilloso sabor, una textura húmeda e es tan ligero que uno puede sentir un enorme placer en cada trocito.

Pruebe hacerla  y diga-me su opinión. Envíeme sus fotos que tendré todo el placer en colgarlas en mi pagina FB.

RECIPE  ( English - Castellano)

English:

                         

Ingredients:                             

• 250g             Dried Prunes, cut lengthways
• 4 TBSP                    Brandy/Cognac
• 25g              Cocoa powder
• 100g             Chocolate, 55% and up, pieces
• 50g              Butter
• 175g             Sugar
• 4                  Egg whites
• 85g              Flour
• 1 Tsp            Cinnamon
• 1 Tsp            Baking powder
• 1.5 dl           Boiling water
• Optional:     Chantilly

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 190ºC / 375ºF .  Butter a rectangular pan and line it with baking paper.
2. Cut the prunes lengthways and soak them in Brandy. At least 30 minutes.
3. Put the cocoa, chocolate pieces, butter, 140g of sugar and 1 dl hot water in a pan and stir it well. Heat until smooth. Set aside to cool down slightly.
4. Whisk egg whites and after a while add the remaining sugar.
5. Add the egg whites to the chocolate mixture and fold until combined.
6. Sift the flour and cinnamon together and gently fold in with a metallic spoon.
7. Put mixture into the pan and arrange prunes over the top. Drizzle with remaining brandy if any.
8. Bake for 20 minutes, check with a toothpick and look for a firm texture but still wet.
9. Remove from the pan. Let it cool down and cut in pieces
10. Serve with Chantilly if desired.

Nutritional Value: 210 calories per serving (Chantilly included) (serves 12 ~14)

RECETA

Castellano:

Ingredientes:           

• 250g                       Ciruelos deshidratados y sin hueso, cortados in trozos
• 5 a 6 cucharas sopa Brandy (Cognac, Ron o Whisky)
• 25g                        Chocolate en polvo
• 100g                       Chocolate en barra cortado en trozos pequeños
• 50g                        Mantequilla, sin sal
• 175g                       Azúcar
• 4                            Claras de huevo
• 85g                        Harina de pastelero
• 1 cucharada te       Levadura en polvo
• 1 cuchara te           Canela
• 1.5 dl                     Agua caliente
• Opcional:               Chantilly para decorar

Preparación:

1. Cortar los ciruelos en trozos y añadir el alcohol. Reservar pelo menos 1 hora o preparar en la noche anterior.
2. Calentar el horno para 200ºF.  Preparar un molde rectangular con mantequilla y forrar con papel vegetal.
3. En una cazuela poner el chocolate en polvo, chocolate en piezas, mantequilla, ¾ del azúcar 1,5 dl de agua caliente. Levar al fuego hasta que todo se derrita y quede una crema.
4. Montar las claras a punto de nieve y añadir el restante azúcar seguir montando por mas unos minutos para incorporar todo el azúcar y para que se espese.  
5. Juntar las claras a la mezcla de chocolate  y envolver bien pero con cuidado para que las claras no pierdan so volumen.
6. Por fin añadir la harina y la canela previamente mezcladas e incorporar al preparado anterior con mucho cuidado.
7. Vasar la mezcla en el molde, distribuir los ciruelos por en cima  dejando que el  brandy restante caiga sobre la mezcla.
8. Llevar al horno durante 25 a 30 minutos o hasta que este firme pero sin pasarse demasiado.
9. Retirar del molde y dejar que se enfríe sobre una reja.
10. Cortar en trozos y servir con chantilly o salsa de chocolate.

Valor Nutricional:  210 Calorías por porción, con chantilly (sirve 12 a 14)



Cherries Tart

Just a few ingredients, no special tools or skills and the result is a very Delicious Tart!

Cherries are in season although their prices are still very high in some places. I was fortunate to be given a lot of them but, if you have a chance to make this Delicious and Easy Tart give it a try.

            You can also use this recipe for another fruit tart, just make sure the pieces are not too big or  otherwise precook them before using for the tart. This away the batter will not be over baked.

I recommend using a shallow ceramic dish for this Tart; however, you can also make it with a spring form. Grease the mold, line it with waxing or baking paper lightly greased, and finally, cover the external  bottom and about 2 fingers high of the sides  with aluminiun paper to avoid some leakage that might occur if the mold is somehow loose.

Pitted Cherries

Ingredients:                                    

·         500g                 Cherries, fresh and pitted

·         1 cup                flour

·         2                      eggs

·         1 ¼  cup           milk

·         1/8 cup             fine sugar

·         ½ Tsp               vanilla extract

·         A pinch of Salt

·         Powder sugar for dusting

No crust just batter and cherries

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 375ºF

1.       Put the flour in a bowl, add the salt and sugar.

2.       Add 2 eggs and stir to mix.

3.       Pour in the milk little by little mixing well until creamy. The texture will be a batter like.

4.       Spread the pitted Cherries over the bottom of a greased baking dish (preferentially a shallow ceramic one)

5.       Carefully, pour the batter over the cherries. Take the baking dish to the oven and bake for about 1 hour to 1 ¼ H or until it has a golden color. If using a metallic mold it may take less time so, check it after 45 minutes.

Just out of the oven (baked with a spring form)

Feel free to use anither kind of fruits, just make sure their size is not too big or otherwise, precook them before baking, this way the batter will not be over baked.

Arroz de Polvo Malandrinho (Octopus Rice)

Octopus (Polvo) is very popular in Portugal and “Arroz de Polvo”, is probably the most known Portuguese octopus dish worldwide.

It is traditionally cooked in a glazed clay pot, but don´t refrain yourself from cooking it if you only have a regular cooking pan.  

Just follow the steps below and it will be delicious for sure.

A few notes on the recipe:

1.    The octopus cooking time given in the recipe is just a guideline and it may differ from yours due to the size/weight of the octopus.  Check if it is cooked before turning of the fire.

2.    It can also be cooked in a pressure cook, being the time reduced by half.

3.    This is not a dry rice at all, therefore, I recommend the ratio for water-rice to be at least 4 to 1.  If you use 1 measure of rice, a cup for instance, use 4 measures of water (four cups of water).

4.    The final cooked rice should be served with a very reasonable amount of liquid, which turns it into a very delicious “Arroz de Polvo Malandrinho”.

5.    And the last but not the least; serve the Octopus rice as soon as it is cooked, when the grains should be cooked but still firm or otherwise the rice will end up soft and over cooked.

Arroz De Polvo

“Portuguese Octopus Rice”

Ingredients:                                                                                                

·         1 to 1,3 Kg     Octopus (see tip on Octopus)

·         1          Onion, Medium (whole with skin)

·         1          Onion, chopped

·         1          Tomato, peeled and seeded

·         2 TBSP Tomato paste or tomato sauce

·         2          Garlic cloves

·         1          Bay leaf

·         1 dl       White or red wine

·         2 cup    Water from cooking octopus

·         2  ~3 cup Water, regular

·         1 dl       olive oil

·         Coriander, fresh

·         Piri-piri  or red pepper  *

·         Salt and Pepper

·         2 cup    Rice (Long grain)

Preparation:

1.       Put the octopus and the whole onion in a pan, bring to a boil and let it cook until tender. About 1 hour and 15 minutes more or less.

2.       Remove the octopus from the pan and drain it over a rack/colander.  Reserve the cooking water. Once almost cold, cut it in pieces.

3.       In another pan, put the olive oil, the chopped onion, garlic cloves, and bay leaf and let it caramelize. Stir from time to time to avoid sticking and burning.

4.       Add the tomato and tomato paste, cook for 3 to 5 additional minutes.

5.       Add the pieces of octopus and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring to avoid burning.

6.       Pour the wine and cook for a few more minutes. Season with salt, pepper and piri-piri to taste (this dish is good on the spicy side).

7.       Add the cooking water plus 2 to 3 cups of regular water. When boiling, mix in the rice,  previously washed and drained, and the fresh Coriander.

8.       Cook for 8 to10 minutes. Should be cooked but still firm.

Check the seasonings and SERVE INMEDIATELY!

* piri-piri – is a very hot sauce made with red chilli peppers, if you can´t find, just replace it by  crushed red pepper.

TIP: Do you know that if you freeze your octopus for at least 1 week period and then cook it, the octopus will be tender because the frozen process expands the flesh and therefore, breaking down the tough tissue.