Chickpea salad with Kebab skews

serves 4 - 6

Ingredients:

* 500 grams minced beef

* 1 red onion

* Kebab/Köfte herbs ( can be found in Middle-Eastern supermarkets)

* 800 grams chickpeas, cooked

* 1 red paprika

* 1 yellow paprika

* 1 cucumber

* a handful of flat parsley

* 2 garlic cloves

* 250 gram cherry tomatoes

* zest and juice of 3 lemons

* a handful of fresh mint

* 5 spring onions

* 100 gram feta

* 2 spoons of olive oil

* salt to taste

* black pepper to taste

Preparation:

Finely chop the onion, and the garlic. Keep one garlic clove for the salad, and one for the kebab.
In a bowl, mix the herbs with the kebab, onion and garlic. You can also add a bit of parsley if you like. Leave alone for now.

Cut the paprika's and cucumber in cubes and cut the spring onion in slices. Halve the cherry tomatoes and add them to a bowl. Add the chickpeas too.

Use a rasp and take the zest from the lemon, straight to the salad bowl and finely cut the parsley and mint. Add them to the bowl with the remaining garlic.

Now take the juice from the lemon and put it straight to the bowl with the olive oil, and mix.
Break the feta with your hands in pieces to your preference and mix. Add salt and pepper to taste, and your salad is done.

Now use skews  and put the meat on them, in amounts you prefer. I made 4 skews out of the meat.
Heat up a grill pan and put a drop of oil. Take a paper towel and spread the oil over the pan.

Add the skews, and turn them once one side is done. If you like medium raw, count 3 minutes for each side, like I did, else keep them longer. Be sure that the outside is cooked thoroughly before serving!

Once the skews are done, serve next to the salad and enjoy your meal!

Mike & Leda

Piri Piri Chicken

Serves 4

Ingredients:

* 4 Chicken breasts of 150 gram each

* 1 Spoon paprika powder

* 1 Spoon smoked paprika powder

* 1 Spoon onion powder

* 1 Spoon garlic powder

* 1 Spoon ginger powder

* 1 Spoon cardamom powder

* 1 Spoon oregano

* 1 Spoon salt

* 1/2 Spoon piri piri chili, or cayenne powder

* Olive oil 

* Optional: Lime or lemon juice

Preparation:

Mix all the herbs in a bowl and put in a jar for future use.
Take the chicken breast and cover with the piri piri herbs, olive oil, and optionally some lime or lemon juice. Put in the grill for 20-30 minutes, turning them halfway.

I served it with a summerish salad consisting of:

* Corn
* Cucumber

* Cherry tomatoes

* Kidney beans

* Spring onion

* Sweet pointy paprika 

* Mango

Eating it with fries is also an option, but rice goes well too.

Enjoy your meal!

Mike & Leda

Ranch Salad

serves 2 - 3

Ingredients:

Salad:

* 1 can of corn

* (iceberg) lettuce

* 1 pointy paprika

* cucumber

* carrots

Ranch Dressing:

* Mayonnaise
* 150g of sour cream
* Butter milk to taste
* Onion powder
* Garlic powder
* Black pepper
* Salt
* Dill
* Chives
* Parsley
* Vinegar

Preparation:

Mix the ingredients for the dressing. Use the mayonnaise and sour cream as your base, and add everything else to taste. Use the buttermilk to make the dressing more liquid if you need to.

Cut the lettuce in strips, the paprika and cucumber in cubes, and the carrot julienne. Add everything in a bow, and add the dressing to taste.

Serve as a side dish.

Enjoy!

Yours truly,

Mike & Leda

Grilled blade chop

serves 2

Ingredients:

* Salad of choice

* Vinegar 

* Basil

* 2 blade chops

* 4 garlic cloves
* 1 big onion

* Oregano

* Salt

* Pepper

* Oil

Preparation:

This is a dish my mom taught me. I tried it today and it tastes fabulous!

Finely cut the garlic. Chop the onion in large pieces. Take an oven dish and smear with oil. 

Now marinade the blade chops with salt, pepper, oregano and garlic to taste on both sides. Place in the oven dish. Put the onion in the open spaces between the meat and cover everything with a bit of oil.

Now put the ovendish in the oven on the grill stand for about 30 minutes. Flip the blade chops halfway.

For the salad, use anything you like. I used a mixed salad and added tomatoes to them. Make a dressing out of vinegar, (olive) oil, salt, pepper, and basil to taste.
Serve with bread or fried potatoes.

I hope you enjoy this simple, but absolutely stunning recipe. It's definitely worth a try!

Bon apetite!

Yours truly,

Mike

Kapsalon

serves 1

Ingredients:

* 150g chickenbreast or calf meat
* 1 teaspoon cinnamon
* 1 half teaspoon cayenne powder
* 1 teaspoon paprika powder
* 1 teaspoon coriander powder
* 1 spoon of oil
* Cucumber
* 1 tomato
* Lettuce
* 1 small onion
* Cheese
* Fries

Additional:
* Garlic sauce
* Sambal Ulek

Preparations:

First of all a little bit of history. Kapsalon is the Dutch word for barbershop. You probably wonder why this dish is called "barbershop", I am going to tell you. The Kapsalon originated in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. A guy owning a barbershop asked a kebab take-away restaurant to put together a meal with his favourite ingredients; fries, kebab, salad and cheese. The restaurant would take this order and tell the staff it was for the barbershop, or Kapsalon in Dutch. This is the way the Kapsalon came to exist today.

Mix together all the herbs with the oil in a bowl. Cut the chicken in small slices, and add to the mixture. Leave alone for a while.
If you are using fresh potatoes for the fries, peel the skin off and cut them in sticks. If you are using frozen fries like I did, prepare them following the instructions. I used the oven for this as I don't like them fried.
Cut the lettuce in small strips, and the cucumber and tomato in small cubes. Cut the onion in half rings.
Now stir-fry the chicken until done. Add the fries to a small tray and put the chicken above it. Place the salad on top of that. If you want you can add the sauces over the salad, but I recommend not to, as it still has to go in the oven/grill/microwave (personally I used the oven) for the cheese to melt, that you just placed on top. Once the cheese is molten, the dish is ready. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did, and hopefully until soon!

Yours Truly,

Mike

Tortilla de patatas (with mustard honey salad)

serves 1 to 2

Ingredients:

* 4 medium sized eggs
* 4 medium sized potatoes
* 1 medium sized onion
* A handful of parsley, fresh or dried
* Salt to taste
* Pepper to taste

Additional:
* Garlic powder

For the mustard-honey dressing:
* 1 spoon of mustard
* 1 spoon of honey
* 2 spoons of lemon
* 1 spoon of dill

Preparations:

Cut the salad like you want to, or use a prepared salad like I did because I was lazy. Mix every ingredient for the dressing and pour 1 or 2 spoons over the salad.

This recipe is how my dear father makes the tortillas. It is one of my favorite dishes from his (the Spanish) cuisine. The recipe is very special to me as I never quite knew how to make them myself until my dad taught me. Ever since this is a very dear recipe to me and I am sure to continue the legacy.

Peel the skin of the potatoes and cut them in slices as thin as possible. Cut the onion in half rings. Whip the eggs with the herbs and salt. Fry the potatoes until they start to color and soften. Add to the egg mixture. Fry the onions, but keep them half raw, and add to the mixture too. Stir well and make sure everything has egg over it. Leave alone for a bout 5 to 15 minutes. Heat up a skillet with less than a spoon oil. Make sure the skillet is hot and the oil is spread throughout the whole skillet.
Pour the mixture in and make sure the potatoes are covered over the whole skillet. Fry at maximum heat for about one minute. Now turn the heat to medium and leave alone for 3 minutes. Now put a plate on the skillet and hold well. For this part it is important that you use little oil as I burned my wrist once using too much oil! Now this is tricky, but if you do it right it is well worth it. Turn the skillet upside down, it is best to do this over the sink so if something falls out, the stove will be unharmed.
Put the skillet back on the stove and slowly slide the tortilla back in the skillet with the undone side down. Use a fork to help it slide back in. Fry for about 2 minutes if you want the tortilla to be a bit moist, fry for 3-4 minutes if you want the eggs to be well done.
Now slide back on the plate, and cut in parts if you want to use it as tapas. Eat the whole if you are hungry, but if you are like me and have enough with half and one salad, cut them half!
I hope you enjoy this recipe and have a good meal!

Yours truly,

Mike