Thursday 22 January 2015

Sea bass with florence fennel and saffron

You probably agree with me that one of many positive things associated with Spain is the constant access to fresh fish and seafood and fresh vegetables and fruits. It's been almost 10 years since I moved here and during this time my everyday meals have become almost entirely dominated by sea creatures, vegetables and legumes, leaving behind meat, poultry and cold meat (excluding jamón serrano, because I just can't resist this delicious ham:)). When it comes to seafood the one I like the most is all kind of shellfish (mejillones, almejas, chirlas, lapas, navajas), in case of fish I mostly reach for sardines and sea bass. The last one is probably the most commonly eaten fish in our small family. Most frequently I simply bake it in salt, because this is the easiest and the fastest way; sometimes I just fry the fillets with a little bit of olive oil, garlic and parsley, and very rarely I serve it with some tasty sauce... like this one with florence fennel, saffron, young garlic, almonds and a hint of ginger, which I've seen in cooking show presented by the cook Julius Bienert.



Wednesday 14 January 2015

Pumpkin and chestnut cream soup

Feliz año 2015, my dear friends!.

I know, I know that Christmas holidays are long gone, but I'm just now starting slowly to adjust to my daily rituals. Any break in the routine is undoubtedly very positive, indicated, welcomed and eagerly awaited, but then I need some days or even weeks to stick to the rhythm of a normal day...

Today's recipe for the soup has been waiting quite a few weeks for the publication... More than 3 weeks ago winter started and this soup is truly autumn one; but I hope that even though the season changed it won't be a problem to find pumpkin and chestnuts in your local markets or grocery shops. In any case, you can always keep the recipe until the next year, because it's really worth it:).