Chicken and spinach quesadilla

This Mexican cheesy comfort food turned out to be a bit of a challenge and it took me a few tries until I got it right. The difficulty is to make a quesadilla that can be easily cut and held in hand without falling apart. Tortillas must be crispy, rather than soggy and at the same time cannot be burnt. Once you get it right though, it is a wonderfully satisfying dish. If you decide to make your quesadilla spicy, you might want to cool it with some guacamole on the side.

You'll need:

2 wheat tortillas

1 chicken breast

6 mushrooms

grated cheddar cheese

50g fresh spinach leaves

fresh ginger

a clove of garlic

fresh red chili (optional)

Baharat spice mix

Salt & pepper

1. Start off by preparing the ingredients for the filling. Cut the chicken breast into small cubes, season with salt & pepper and baharat and fry on a pan.

2. Put a little bit of oil on another pan (not too much, you don't want spinach to get oily), add finely chopped ginger and garlic (and chili if you want your quesadilla to be spicy), fry until the aroma of the spices is released, add fresh spinach leaves, stir and cover with a lid. Wait until the spinach softens, stirrring occasionally if needed. Remove from the pan and chop a bit for ease of eating.

3. Put the chicken on the side and fry the mushrooms  (cut into smaller pieces or sliced) on the same pan, adding some salt & pepper for taste. 

4. Warm up a grill pan with some oil on it. Put on a tortilla and fry until it gets golden brown, turn to the other side for a moment, and then remove it from the pan. 

5. Turn down the heat under the pan a little bit, make sure there is enough oil on it and put another torilla on. Quickly add grated cheddar and then chicken, mushrooms and spinach on top, making sure that the ingredients do not to overflow and removing any excess liquid from the filling beforehand.

6. Add some more cheese on top, cover everything with the first tortilla and squeeze down. Wait for the cheese to melt, et voila!

7. Transfer carefully from the pan to a plate and enjoy.

Buon appetito!

Vindaloo aloo

Vindaloo is a Goan curry stemming from Portuguese carne de vinha d'alhos (meat with wine and garlic, which is served in Madeira as a Christmas dish). This special occasion curry can be found in most Indian restaurants in the UK where it is usually served as one of the spiciest dishes in the house. Myself, I usually prepare it as a rather mild curry, allowing ginger to dominate a bit more. The traditional version does not contain potatoes, but they are sometimes added, possibly through a mistake deriving from the name that contains the word 'aloo' (potatoes) in it. Since this version also contains potatoes I thought it would be best to call this recipe vindaloo aloo to avoid confusion. It is also most definitely a Europeanised version of the dish, since I use beef, rather than lamb or pork. The key ingredient, however, is the red wine vinegar in which the meat needs to be marinaded beforehand. Vindaloo done this way is a favourite recipe of Cristina, my landlady in Florence.

You'll need:

500g beef

5-6 medium potatoes
red wine vinegar
1 onion

2 spoons of sour cream

broth (optional)

4cm ginger

3 cloves of garlic

English yellow mustard powder

ground cumin

ground coriander

cinnamon

chilli

pepper cayenne
salt & pepper

oil

1. Cut the beef into cubes and marinade it in red wine vinegar, with some salt and pepper and a spoon of oil at least for 3 hours.

2. Chop the onion and fry over medium heat. Add chopped garlic and ginger and follow with the rest of spices, paying attention to not burning them.
3. Brown the meat, preferably in a thick den pot. When it's ready, add spiced onion and previously peeled potatoes cut into cubes.
4. Add water or broth to the mixture, enough to cover the potatoes and cook without a lid until they soften. The mixture will reduce itself quite a bit, so it might require a stir from time to time and possibly some more liquid.
5. Add sour cream, et voila!

Buon appetito!