Mexican tortilla envelopes with salsa

Andalusia was, in one word, amazing. No, I need more words. It was amazing, beautiful, fantastic. Warm, colorful and festive. The food was so good, and so were the wines. The best of all was the company: my mother and sister. We made long walks amongst black pigs and thousands of wild flowers; climbed the steps of ancient castles; stared at thousands of women in traditional flamenco dresses at the Sevilla fiesta and finally got a bit burned in our bikini's on the beach.

We ate tapas almost every day. A lot of meat and fish, so I thought to make something vegetarian tonight. Not with a Spanish, but with a Mexican twist.



Mexican tortilla envelopes (serves 4)

sunflower oil
1 onion, cut in thin slices
6 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 red chili pepper, seeds removed and finely chopped (or keep the seeds if you like it more spicy)
1 red bell pepper (NL:paprika), chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 400 g can kidney beans
1 340 g can corn (NL: mais)
handful of fresh coriander, finely chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
8 tortilla's, the smaller ones, around 20-22 cm in diameter
100 g grated cheese, eg. Gouda or Cheddar
a little bit of oil for greasing

* fry the onion, garlic and chili pepper in a large frying pan or wok on a low heat until soft
* add the red bell pepper and 1/2 teaspoon cumin, 1/2 teaspoon chili powder and 1 teaspoon oregano and fry for two minutes
* rinse the kidney beans in a colander (NL: vergiet) and drain the corn
* add the beans and corn to the pan and fry for a few minutes more
* preheat the oven to 200 C
* take the pan off the heat and let it stand for 5 minutes
* stir in the chopped coriander, tomatoes and 1 teaspoon salt
* line a baking tray with baking paper and grease with a little bit of oil
* place the tortilla's on your work surface and put a few spoons of the mixture in the middle of each of them
* sprinkle a handful of cheese on top
* fold the tortilla's by folding in the sides, then fold in the bottom. take the tortilla in your hand, tuck the mixture down with your fingers, fold in the top and place seam down on the baking tray. be careful not the brake the tortilla's.
* brush the envelopes with some oil
* place in the oven for 15-20 minutes, until they are a bit brown around the edges
* serve as they are, or with salsa, sour cream or guacamole




Salsa (makes one bowl)

2 tomatoes, finely chopped
1 green bell pepper, finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
1 handful of coriander, finely chopped
2 tablespoons of sunflower oil
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
1 or 2 teaspoons of tabasco to taste
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, crumbled between your fingers
sea salt
black pepper

* stir all the ingredients together and adjust seasoning (NL: zout/peper) to taste
* serve with Mexican dishes like tortillas and burritos, or with grilled meat

Tip: the seeds and inner membrane (NL: zaadlijst) are the hottest part of the chili pepper. To de-seed a chili pepper, cut off the top part and roll the pepper between your fingers until the seeds come loose. Tap the pepper with the opening down on your work surface until all the seeds come out. This way you don't touch the seeds. Still; wash your hands afterwards and try not to touch your eyes or other sensitive areas - it can really burn!

Prawns with homemade mayonnaise

Up until a few years ago I didn't like prawns. In fact, I didn't like anything that could crawl or still had legs, claws or antennas.
Then I started going to this tapas place around the corner of my old house in Amsterdam. I would go there with either my roommate and best friend A. and/or my boyfriend M. Both of them were crazy about the gambas al ajillo. With fascination and disgust I looked at those little animals and watched how they were devoured. The head was jerked off, and then the rest of the skin. Taking the bowels out and then, finally, they could eat this poor little pink thing. Not so appealing, but the smell of garlic and oil..hmmm.
Finally I took a bite. Since then I am sold and now I skin these little mama's without any scruples what so ever.



I also love eating them plain, with some homemade mayo, toasted bread with butter and some lemon juice. Just put everything on the table, and let everybody clean the prawns themselves.
Take 100 g of unpeeled, cooked prawns per person.

Mayonnaise (around 1 cup)

1 egg yolk
1 small teaspoon Dijon mustard
2,5 dl sunflower oil
little bit of lemon juice
salt and pepper

* mix the egg yolk with the mustard with a (electric) whip (NL: garde)
* add just a drop of oil and mix
* add another drop and mix and continue this way until it's getting thick and creamy
* dribble in the rest of the oil slowly while whipping continuously (I tend do it too fast and have to start over - very annoying)
* stir in some lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste



Tips:
* don't use olive oil for your mayonnaise, or use half olive and half sunflower oil, because otherwise the olive oil flavour will dominate the mayonnaise too much.
* make sure all the ingredients of the mayonaise are on room temperature
* you can use frozen prawns if you skin them while they are still frozen. This way they won't get soggy (I got this tip from my 'aunt-in-law' who is a food journalist/writer and great cook)

Feta cream / hummus

Back to my Moroccan plate. You got the couscous recipe earlier and now I will let you in on the sauces. A thick cream of feta, a nutty and earthy hummus and some harissa form the ideal company to some couscous or serve well as a dip with other dishes.



Harissa is a hot North African sauce made of chillies and garlic. In Morocco it's served with couscous and other food. I found it in the regular supermarket, otherwise a North African store will have it. You can substitute it by sambal, or hot ajwar.



Feta cream (half bowl)

The feta cream is made by mixing 100 g of feta with a few tablespoons of Turkish yogurt. Put it together in a bowl and mix into an almost smooth paste with a fork.

About the feta: there is feta and there is feta. Feta should be made of sheep and/or goat milk, but definitely not of cow milk. Check the ingredients. Real feta might be a bit more expensive, but there is such a big difference between the real feta and the fake, that it's worth paying a little bit extra.
Turkish yogurt is almost like mascarpone: it's very thick and creamy. Can be substituted by ordinary full fat, thick yogurt.

And then the hummus. I tried making hummus with my handheld mixer (NL: staafmixer) but that didn't work. My mixer is not very strong though, so you could try it and maybe it works. I have a little food processor that is more like a small chopping machine that did the trick (wish I had a real machine though..)



Hummus (makes a full bowl)

1 can chickpeas (400 g) (NL:kikkererwten, S: kikärtor)
juice of 1/2 small lemon
3 tablespoons tahin (sesamepaste)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
8-10 tablespoons of olive oil
3-4 tablespoons of liquid from the chickpeas

* place all the ingredients in the mixer bowl
* mix it
* stir and mix again
* repeat until it has become a smooth paste, add more olive oil/liquid if necessary
* drizzle a little olive oil on top before serving, or some paprika powder

If you have the time: make the hummus a day in advance. That way the flavours work together to get an even better tasting substance.

The hummus and feta cream also serve very nicely as a snack, with for example some toasted pita breads or sliced red bell peppers and sticks of cucumber.