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Recipe: Asparagus and feta frittata
This asparagus and feta frittata is a quick breakfast you can make on the weekend and refrigerate to eat during the week. It’s a great way of consuming quality protein, calcium and vegetables in the morning. Of course, you can also pair it with a salad to have it for lunch or dinner. You can use this same basic recipe as a template and substitute your favourite vegetable and cheese. Feel free to add your favourite herbs and spices, too.
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Recipe: Palta rellena
Also known as Palta a la reina, palta rellena is a classic Peruvian entrée. I do not know much about its origin but it’s a fairly popular dish, particularly in restaurants offering set menu weekday lunch deals (aka “menú”). My version is heavier on the filling, which means it makes a decent-sized lunch.
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Recipe: Mixto completo (sort of)
Another sandwich recipe? Really? Yeah, we still got a lot of protein bread in the freezer. Peruvians took the French classics croque monsieur and croque madame and made the poor person’s versions mixto and mixto completo. These generally contain jamón inglés (regular leg ham) and Edam cheese. The completo (equivalent to the croque madame) has a fried egg. These are normally buttered and put in a sandwich press. Another option is to heat it on a flat grill iron (or pan). When using this method, it’s common to cut a whole on the top slice of bread with a small glass or cookie cutter and pour the egg in the…
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Recipe: Pan con aceitunas
Recently I wrote about craving sandwiches from my childhood. Today’s sandwich is even simpler: it involves only three ingredients but tons of memories. I recommend using botija olives (I’ve bought them in Tierras Latinas, Flemington Markets and Loving Earth in the past) but any flavourful black olive would do. Pro-tip: next time someone you know goes to Perú, tell them to bring some olives (and lúcuma and maca), they’re way more expensive over here. Once again, this sandwich features the high-protein low-carb gluten-free protein bread. Pan con aceitunas Yield: 1 sandwich Ingredients 2 slices protein bread black olives (preferably botija), pitted butter Directions Bread, butter, olives, bread. As simple as…
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Recipe: Triples in protein bread
I don’t crave bread often but when I do it’s usually in relation to childhood memories. Among other sandwiches, we grew up eating triple, which is very popular back home although there’s nothing typically Peruvian about it. Its name refers to the three different fillings that are separated by four (FOUR!) slices of bread. Yep, Peruvians eat lots of carbs, that’s why we’re all “doughy”, as Robb Wolf would say. I’ve come across a couple of great commercially-available bread options that we use once in a while. One of them is protein bread, that is gluten-free and low carb. The good news is that we haven’t noticed any ill effects…
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Recipe: Two dips with CO YO
As promised, here’s a recipe featuring the wonderful coconut yoghurt CO YO. Serve with cucumber slices, on top of salad greens, or however you prefer. Trout and tuna dips Yield: about 1 cup each Ingredients Trout & beetroot dip 100g beetroot 100g smoked trout fillet 4 tablespoons natural CO YO 1 gherkin, chopped 1 tablespoon gherkin liquid 1 tablespoon minced dill Curried tuna dip 185g can tuna in springwater 8 tablespoons natural CO YO 2 gherkins, chopped 1 teaspoon curry powder 1/2 tablespoon Dijon mustard Directions Trout & beetroot dip Cut beetroot in chunks and steam until soft (20-30 minutes). Mash beetroot and trout with a fork, add the rest…
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Recipe: Crustless smoked trout quiche
This recipe was inspired by a Facebook comment from my great friend Oriana. I used to spend most Sundays in her house. We played, laughed, and dreamed about starting a band. We played outside with her cousin. We went to the shops to buy bread, ham, and milk for afternoon tea. We wrote silly things. Dad picked me up when I was tired, well fed and happy. Oriana left school to move to Tacna (city in the South of Perú) with her family and one day she decided to move to Norway – and became a great writer and cook in the process. “Naturally”, the only way we can keep…
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Recipe: Crustless sausage & spinach quiche
I know, I know… this is getting kinda boring but we’ve been really enjoying the variety of breakfast quiches I’ve been coming up with. For this one I didn’t even have to go to the market, as the sausages and spinach were already in my freezer. The snags were pork & ginger from Feather and Bone, the best quality you can possibly get: pastured-fed pork, no fillers (and therefore grain- and gluten-free), and amazing flavour. Crustless bacon & zucchini quiche Yield: 10 servings Ingredients 3 tablespoons coconut oil 1 kg good quality sausages (I used pork & ginger from Feather and Bone) 500 g frozen spinach 12 eggs salt and…
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Recipe: Crustless bacon & zucchini quiche
Another egg-based breakfast recipe featuring Trunkey’s products. This time it was the turn of everyone’s favourite: bacon. I used a mix of nitrate-free smoked and plain bacon, feel free to use your favourite. Crustless bacon & zucchini quiche Yield: 8 – 10 servings Ingredients 3 tablespoons ghee or butter 500g good quality bacon (preferrable nitrate-free) 4 medium zucchini 1 small bunch of dark leafy greens (I used beetroot leaves) 16 eggs salt and pepper Directions Preheat oven to 180°C. Grate zucchini, place on a sieve or colander and press to get rid of as much water as possible. Wash and spin dry dark leafy greens, chop them coarsly. Chop bacon…
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Recipe: Crustless ham, mushroom & spinach quiche
There’s a new pork stall at the markets. Trunkey’s pigs are not pasture-fed but at least they’re farm-raised with no added hormones or antibiotics. They sell the usual cuts and pork products but the thing that really got my attention was nitrate-free bacon (smoked and plain) and ham. Both contain only three ingredients: pork, water and salt. Lately we’ve been alternating our meat breakfasts (some kind of minced meat with different veggies and seasonings) with egg-based breakfasts. I make a big tray, cut it in portions and put them in containers so they’re ready to be reheated and consumed during the week. Here’s the recipe for the latest crustless quiche…
