Baked Portuguese Cod

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Filed under Main Dishes, Seafood Entrees

This is a dish I grew up with that is very popular in Brazil, it is inspired by Portuguese cuisine and known as “Bacalhoada.” There are many variations of  this dish. It is originally made using salted cod but I’m using fresh cod in this recipe due to difficulty finding salted cod in Arizona, where I live. Although salted cod is a key ingredient, this recipe with fresh cod still gives you a good taste of this wonderful Portuguese dish and brings me memories of Brazil.

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Ingredients:

8 cod fillets

1 bag small Yukon gold potatoes

4 roma tomatoes thinly sliced

1 large yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced

3/4 Cup pitted Kalamata olives

1 shallot thinly sliced

1 tsp garlic powder

1 lemon

1/2 cup olive oil

1 tsp red pepper flakes

dried oregano

Salt and pepper

fresh Italian parsley chopped

Directions:

  1. Pre heat oven to 375F.
  2. Arrange cod fillets in a baking dish. Make a marinade with lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder and red pepper flakes and pour over cod. Cover and place in refrigerator.
  3. Cut potatoes in half and cook them in boiling water for 10 minutes. Drain water, sprinkle salt and pepper and arrange them in baking dish with the cod.
  4. Add sliced tomatoes, sliced shallots, sliced yellow peppers, Kalamata olives,drizzle olive oil and sprinkle dried oregano.
  5. Cover with foil and bake for 30 min. Remove cover and broil for 8 minutes. Garnish with fresh parsley.

 

Serve with a side of sautéed spinach or kale with a little butter.

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Bom Apetite!

Pasta Trentino

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Filed under Uncategorized

Nothing says fall like the fresh fruits and vegetables that are in season this time of year. A few weeks ago we took the kids to an apple orchard in Wilcox, AZ for a day of fun picking fresh fruits.

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After our adventure, we had plenty of apples on hand, which meant plenty of recipes to try.

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I decided to make Pasta Trentino.

The sauce is basically an apple-tomato ragu sauce over a favorite pasta. It’s so delicious and easy to prepare, I make this recipe very often whenever I have extra apples that need to be used.

This recipe is named after the Trentino region of Italy known for their wonderful apple orchards.

Enjoy!

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Ingredients:

1 package Mezzi Rigatoni pasta

1 can (12 ounces) San Marzzano crushed tomatoes

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1/2 cup olive oil

2 shallots, diced

2 garlic cloves, diced

4 celery stalks, finely sliced

5 medium crispy apples skinned and diced

3/4 cup vegetable broth or water

2 Teaspoons fennel seeds

2 tablespoon dry basil

1/2 cup shredded Romano or parmesan cheese

1 bunch of fresh basil chopped

6 slices of prosciutto*

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. Cook pasta according to pkg directions, drain and set aside.
  2. In the same pot used to cook the pasta cook the prosciutto slices until golden brown and crispy, remove prosciutto and set them on a paper towel to dry then crumble them.
  3. Heat the olive oil in the same pot where prosciutto and pasta were cooked and saute celery, shallots, garlic and apples until apples and celery are soft stirring frequently to prevent garlic and shallots from burning.
  4. Add crushed tomatoes, tomato paste and vegetable broth or water. Season with salt and pepper. Stir and bring to a boil.
  5. Use a hand blender or regular blender to smooth the sauce, add Romano cheese, fennel seeds and dried basil. Let it cook over low heat for a few minutes until bubbly to allow spices to release flavors.
  6. Add pasta, folding gently with the sauce.
  7. Transfer pasta to a serving platter and garnish with crumbled prosciutto and fresh basil.

Serve with your favorite salad and a good wine. Bom apetite!

* Prosciutto is Italian bacon it is not smoked, you may use regular bacon or even turkey bacon instead.

French Casserole

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Filed under chicken entrees, Main Dishes
French, Food, Cooking, Casserole, French Casserole

Here it is!

 

This recipe is a family favorite and very popular among Brazilians specially at family Sunday meals when extended family gathers to share a big lunch. It is easy to prepare, simple and elegant.  A wonderful dish for every occasion.

Ingredients:

  • 3 Chicken breasts
  • 1 lemon
  •  1 Cup chicken broth
  • 1 Package of Farfalle pasta
  • 3 Table spoons butter
  • 4 Cups of milk
  • 2 Table spoons of corn starch
  • 1 Pint of crème fraiche* or heavy cream
  • 1/2 Tea spoon of nutmeg
  • 2 Tea spoons of herbs de Provence
  • 3/4 Cup shredded Asiago cheese
  • 1 Cup shredded Gruyère cheese
  • Olive oil
  • Salt and pepper

Directions:

  1. Pre-heat oven to 350 F.
  2. In a frying pan, brown chicken breasts with olive oil and 1 tbsp. of butter, season with salt and pepper and squeeze lemon juice. Add chicken broth, cover and let it cook over medium heat until fully cooked. If liquid dries, add more broth or water.
  3.  Meanwhile, cook pasta according  to package directions. Scoop pasta with a skimmer into a large rectangular glass or ceramic dish. Set aside.
  4.  When chicken is cooked, pull it apart into several shredded pieces and add to pasta. Drizzle with some olive oil, salt and pepper. Set aside.
  5. Dissolve corn starch in milk, mix in nutmeg and herbs de Provence. Melt 2 tbsp. butter in a large sauce pan over medium heat. Add milk mixture, salt and pepper and bring to a boil stirring constantly until slightly thickened. Add cream and bring to a boil again stirring constantly until bubbly. Turn off heat and stir in gruyère cheese until melted.
  6. Pour cream over pasta and chicken. Cover all with Asiago cheese. Sprinkle some herbs de Provence over it and drizzle with olive oil. Cover with aluminum paper and bake for 30 minutes. Let it stand for 5 minutes before serving.

 

Serve with a Caesar salad or your favorite salad and Bon Apetite!

* Crème fraiche is easily found in the gourmet cheese area of many grocery stores.