No Pirates, just food - Mofongo

Well, I don't know, what is going on, but ...

Did you know why I first liked to visit the Caribbean? Well, it was a very strange idea of mine. It had to do with Pirates. Back then there was a computer game going by that name and I used to play it a lot. After I while I thought, well, it would be nice to visit the Caribbean once. So I did.

Well, these days I haven’t much to do with Pirates or computer games, but I still like the Caribbean and to be more specific when it comes to food.

Fine, it’s no secret we are travelling to the Caribbean with our Bloggers Around the World challenge and I have also shown you some dishes I tried. Today I like to show you another one.

Of course, everything depends here on the ingredients. If you happen to get your hands on some cooking bananas you can go ahead. For we need some cooking bananas so to speak. In the Dominican Republic they go by platanos (which auto-correction tried to turn into platoons, which I really don’t appreciate of auto-correction).

The dish is called Mofongo (auto-correction had no ideas here – good). It’s a lovely side dish to put together with some meat and if you care some rice

Ingredients:
2 cooking bananas, peeled, cut into pieces
100 g ham, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
3 spring onions, chopped in rings
Salt pepper
Oil for frying

Method:
It’s all quite simple. Bring the oil in a pan to heat and then you fry the pieces of the cooking banana.

Then you remove the banana pieces from the pan and bash them up in a mortar.

While you have your pan still on the heat it’s good to reduce the heat a tiny bit and fry the onion, garlic and ham in it. Really, no big deal.

Once all is nice, get the mashed up bananas back into the pan and cook them together with the rest. Season it all with salt and pepper and finally add the rings of the spring onion to finish it all off.

Then enjoy your Caribbean style meal, it’s quick, simple and delicious. For sure I will have it more often, when I get my hands on cooking bananas. I have to buy them anyway each time I see them. So it’s just a matter of time.

Welcome Back - Spinach, Goat's Cheese and Ham Pasta Roulade

Welcome back! I reckon I have to do it and welcome myself back to the kitchen, since no one else is going to do it. Eh, well, how could possibly anyone else but me do this without knowing that I  am actually back in my new flat cooking? I haven't told anyone, have I?
Of course, I mentioned that I am going to move to a new flat and that I didn't have a kitchen to do some proper cooking anymore. Anyway, everything went well with the moving, just two dead and one injured. A friend, who helped, kept on knocking some pieces of furniture against his shinbone. So he had a little bit pain there afterwards, but nothing serious. As to the two dead one ... a clock went to the bin, because I was split in two halves. Then the plastic sign "Maltese on board" in my car broke to pieces. In fact the latter happened after the actual moving day - two days later - when I decided, for what reasons whatsoever, I needed a new bed. So I had no other choice as to transport it in my small sized car. Imagine for yourself ...
Otherwise, things went so well, that actually I didn't need to take a day off from work. However, I  already did. So, apart from getting a dentist appointment at the new dentist, acquainting myself with a new doctor and doing some shopping, I had ample of time to do some proper cooking again ...



For that we are going to make some fresh pasta dough, a spinach, goat's cheese and ham filling, a tomato salsa and a béchamel sauce ...

Long Goodbye, Long Lunch ... Fresh Baguette with Ham and Cheese

To me it seems I'm working now a very long long time on my move to a new flat and I still have a lot to do. I tried a relative organised way to do it, but ... I keep on doing here a bit and there a bit. Well, that doesn't mean I don't get anything done. It's rather gives me some variety and in the end ... I am sure about ... well, have to be ... that everything will be achieved in time. Anyway, it's a long goodbye from this place.
Therefore it's only fitting I have a long lunch ... eh ... well ... eh ... sort of ...

... yes, it was fresh, it was long and it was delicious ...

Simple Ricotta and Ham Puff Pastry Swirls

Who wouldn't like to have a quick and simple snack available for visitors!? Maybe those that never get any visitors ...
Since it is so convenient I very often have ready puff pastry available at home. I never tried to make it by myself before, but maybe this would be something for the to do list. Then again it might be a bit at the bottom end of the top 100.
Anyway, now we want to do a quick and simple snack with that conveniently ready puff pastry and a few other things ...

Ingredients:
275 g puff pastry (depends on the size they sell it)
250 g ricotta
100 g ham, cut into small pieces
25 g chopped dried tomatoes (optional)
A hand full of chopped basil
1 egg
Salt and pepper

Method:
Mix all the ingredients apart from the puff pastry, of course, together in a bowl (or if you have any other ideas on how to do it, just go ahead). After all we want to keep it simple.
Then roll out your puff pastry and spread over it the ham and ricotta mix. Then roll it together so you are having a nice ... eh ... roll ...

While you could put this already in the oven, I decided to cut them at this point. I said we are having ricotta and ham puff pastry swirls. Cutting about 2-3 cm swirls will be fine.

At this point they go to the oven at 180°C for 30 minutes.

Now you can go ahead and serve them. For what occasion would you use those simple ricotta and ham puff pastry swirls?