It seems like the day before yesterday when you were on vacation at the beach, the mountains or your favorite city, with no more worries than deciding what to read, what ice cream you wanted or if beer number 12 was a good idea. The work seemed like just a bad dream that you had a distant day but there you are now, in immersive experience mode from which it will take a while to escape, counting on the calendar how much is left for the next bridge -a lot- and for the following vacations (so much so that it seems like it will never happen): welcome to reality.
If, in addition, the relaxation came with everything included or you have been eating and dining out every day, it is possible that the idea of cooking again becomes hard for you. If, on the other hand, you have spent the holidays making sure that everyone was properly fed, you can also be up to the task. For either of the two cases, we bring a list of rich, simple and seasonal proposals so that the re-entry catches us at least well eaten and without leaving us the little budget that we have left. Because the penalties, with bread are less.
Quick Pickled Vegetables with Asian Noodles
For four servings, cut in half and then in half moons two medium cucumbers, two small courgettes and two onions (if large, only one). Prepare a dressing with a tablespoon of peanut butter, soy, a generous splash of vinegar and if you want a little minced garlic and ginger. If you have pad thai base or satay sauce instead of peanut butter, you can use those. Stir everything well to distribute the dressing and take it to the fridge for an hour, stirring once or twice during the process. Serve over cold wheat or rice noodles, and top with sesame and spring onion stems: one of my favorite foods – apart from gazpacho – when the heat is on.
Wholemeal pasta with arugula pesto, roasted cherrys and Parmesan
Prepare a pesto with two generous handfuls of arugula, about 45 ml of oil, a splash of lemon juice, garlic to taste -between half and a clove- and 80 grams of roasted cashew nuts. Roast in a frying pan, over high heat and without oil, 500 g of cherry tomatoes. When they are slightly tan in color, but hold their shape and haven’t popped, they’re ready. Mix with 400 g of short whole wheat pasta cooked al dente and a splash of the cooking water, a little salt and pepper or chili flakes and finish with 80 g of grated or sliced Parmesan.
Couscous salad with roasted peppers and aubergine, pistachio vinaigrette and sardines
Turn on the oven at 180 degrees and put in it two peppers, two aubergines, two onions and a head of garlic (and more things until you fill it, since the price of energy is not there so as not to optimize its use). Meanwhile, hydrate a glass and a half of couscous with the same amount of salted water, and a splash of oil. Take the garlic out after about 30 to 35 minutes. After about an hour – the total time depends on the size of the vegetables, they must have dark parts and a deflated appearance – take them out and let them cool down. Prepare a vinaigrette with half the peeled garlic, lime juice and zest to taste, a handful of chopped peeled pistachios, fresh parsley and the oil from two cans of sardines (or a part if there is a lot). When you can do it without burning yourself, peel and chop the vegetables and mix with the already hydrated couscous, the vinaigrette and the sardines on top. You can prepare it in advance -it is perfect to take in a tupperware-, as long as you leave it for a while at room temperature before eating so that it cools down.
Chickpeas with egg and tomato
Surely one of the dishes with the best effort-result ratio that you can prepare: for a generous portion, cut half an onion into strips with a little oil and a tablespoon of water so that it does not burn. Add a minced clove of garlic and give it two more turns. About 250 g of cooked chickpeas, three tablespoons of tomato sauce, spices or herbs, a little salt and two eggs. Stir first to curdle the white – try to leave the yolks aside – and almost at the end break the yolks. And to the plate, without further ado, although you can finish off with whatever you want: parsley, hot sauce, ñora, salt flakes…
Polenta with sautéed chicken, figs and grapes
Heat three glasses of water, or one and a half of water and one and a half of milk if you want a creamier polenta (you can adjust the amount of liquid and semolina according to the result you are looking for, here we tell you how). Pour the contents of the same glass of instant polenta and then another half of it, stir until smooth and lump-free, and bring to a boil for a couple of minutes. Top if you want with a knob of butter and distribute among four plates. Cut six chicken thighs into strips, season with salt and pepper and sauté them in a pan with a little thyme: when they are golden, spread them over the polenta. Add 12 quartered figs and 16 halved grapes to the same pan, turn up the heat and let them caramelize for about three minutes. Distribute to the plates, top with pepper and a little more thyme and eat.
Potato, tomato and egg salad with yogurt sauce
Chop 700 g of clean new potatoes with skin and boil them for 15 minutes (or cook in the microwave following this technique). Season with a little oil, vinegar and salt when you take them out of the water or the microwave and let them cool. Meanwhile, cook four eggs -in the already boiling water, leave it out of the fridge a while before so that the thermal shock does not cause them to explode- for eight minutes, cool and peel. Cut about 700 g of tomatoes into wedges or slices and a thin spring onion, mix with the potatoes when they are at room temperature. Prepare a vinaigrette with Greek yogurt, herbs to taste, a splash of vinegar and another of oil, salt and pepper. Dress the salad and top with the chopped eggs, some pickles -capers, gherkins, onions- and, if you like, some hot sauce. Take 20 minutes to the fridge and serve.
Pumpkin with coconut milk and tofu curry
A couple of days before, freeze 600 g of diced hard tofu; the day before, thaw in a colander and press to help remove the water that has been released. With this process we will get the tofu to become porous and absorb the flavors of the marinade like a sponge. Mix a dash of apple cider vinegar with another of oil, salt, a clove of minced or grated garlic and curry powder to taste, put the tofu in a container, cover with the marinade, cover and stir well to soak. Take it to the fridge and let it rest for a few hours or overnight. Cut an onion into large pieces and 800 g of diced pumpkin. Take both things to a saucepan with a little oil of mild flavor and give them a few turns until they take on color; At the end and off the heat, put a tablespoon of curry powder and stir it a few times to awaken the aromas. Add 100 ml of coconut milk, 100 ml of vegetable broth and bring to a boil over low heat, covered, for about 10 minutes or until the pumpkin is tender. Before serving, brown the tofu in a pan with a little oil over high heat until it takes on a crisp color and texture (if you sprinkle a little cornstarch on it first, you will speed up the process). Serve the tofu over the pumpkin stew, top with cilantro and some chopped peanuts and eat.
Brown rice with spinach, corn and mackerel
Cook 200 grams of brown rice according to the manufacturer’s instructions and drain it. Brown a chopped onion in a frying pan, when it is coloured, add one or two minced garlic cloves and when they are golden add 200 grams of spinach. When they have been reduced and you are surprised -for the umpteenth time- that 200 grams of spinach is actually less that 20 years for Gardel, add 200 more and repeat the operation. Put a large can of corn and spices to taste, the cooked rice, a little more oil and give it a few turns to mix the flavors. Place on a plate, raise the heat and brown eight fillets of mackerel on the skin side, seasoned with salt and pepper, for a couple of minutes, turn them over, cook for another minute and return to the plate. Top with slices of green onion and if you want a little more of the spices.
#healthy #tasty #dishes #return #reality