Spanish-style Lentil stew

Ingredients:

500 grams of lentils (brown lentils of any size)

1 garlic head

2 onions

3 red tomatoes (the riper the better)

1 green pepper

1/2 red pepper

2 carrots

1 Spanish-style cured chorizo

paprika

salt

black pepper

fresh parsley

2 bay leaves

olive oil

water

1. SOFRITO (onion and tomato base)

Chop up 3 garlic cloves, 1 onion, the green and red peppers, 2 tomatoes, and mix in a sauce pan with 1 tsp of salt and olive oil (roughly 3 tblsp. enough so the vegetables don't burn). Sauté for roughly an hour on low heat (almost until it becomes a sauce-like consistency).

2. Once the sofrito is ready, move it to a larger pot along with the lentils (rinsed), garlic head, 1 onion, and one tomato (garlic, onion and tomato should be whole, but well rinsed), 2 carrots peeled and chopped, a little bit of chopped parsley (3 tblsp?), chorizo (chopped), 1 tsp black pepper, and 1 tsp. paprika. Cover with water and heat until it begins to boil, then reduce heat to medium. It will take roughly an hour to cook, make sure to stir from time to time and adjust heat so the lentils do not burn.

This is so far the best lentils recipe I have tried (I found it online) but it turned out really well. I made the sofrito the night before and stored it in the fridge until I had time to cook the lentils. The sofrito is a very important step in cooking the stew as it helps give a lot of flavor (as well as the chorizo).

More cooking...

Ok so the picture makes it look like a pretty disgusting mash of food, which I know is my "trademark" (I  love being able to eat everything with a spoon and a bowl), but please take my word for it, this dish was mm mm good.

I didn't follow the recipe exactly, as I had to improvise (we have no measuring cups, and everything is in metric and celsius), but it was really good anyway. Mariana and her friend Chio tried it and now my nickname is "La Abuela" (The Grandma) because the Abuela always has something good cooking in the kitchen.

I got this recipe from cooks.com:

Baked Chicken Breasts with Gruyere and Mushrooms

2 to 3 chicken breasts, boned & skinned (3 is good)

4 eggs, well beaten

1/2 tsp salt

1 c. fine bread crumbs

8 tbsp. butter

1/2 lb fresh mushrooms, sliced (the more mushrooms, the better)

4 oz. Gruyere cheese, shredded

1 c. chicken stock

Juice of 1 lemon

Cut boned breasts into strips. Marinate in egg and salt mixture for 1 hour. Roll chicken in bread crumbs to coat. Brown lightly in butter in small pan. Transfer to 1 1/2 quart casserole dish. Slice mushrooms over chicken. Sprinkle cheese over mushrooms. Pour chicken stock over all. Bake in 350 degree oven for 30 minutes or until heated through. Pour fresh lemon juice over casserole just before serving.

HABICHUELAS BLANCAS

I am thinking of renaming my blog "Recipes from around the world". Since I was informed that I don't have to work Fridays and my work week is only 16 hours (seriously, how is this possible?) I am going to dedicate a good amount of time to perfecting my kitchen skills. My first recipe was provided by Angelita, my gaditana host mom and I have a feeling there will be many more to come.

HABICHUELAS BLANCAS (White cannellini bean stew)

1/2 kilo of cannellini beans (1.1 lbs)

1 spicy chorizo, cut into one inch pieces

1 large green or red bell pepper, cut into one inch pieces

1 large onion, chopped

2 TBL. ground sweet red pepper (not spicy)

2 sticks of celery, cut into one inch pieces

2 carrots, chopped into one inch pieces

2 potatoes, peeled and cut into 2 inch pieces

1 bay leaf

2 garlic cloves (chopped or mashed)

3 TBL olive oil

Salt

Pressure cooker

1. Soak the beans overnight in water

2. Drain the beans and put all the ingredients (minus the salt) in the pressure cooker

3. Cover with cold water (about two inches above the ingredients, one inch if you want it less soupy) and turn the pressure cooker to medium-high heat

4. Once the pressure valve starts spinning, time to cook for 20 minutes

5. Remove the pressure valve and let sit until the air stops blowing

6. Salt to taste and serve with baguette bread