Weekend: Portuguese Custard Tarts, Borgen, and Quinoa with Caramelised Red Onions, Sautéed Vegetables and kohlrabi salad

Just us this weekend...no visitors, and no visiting.  I love having people stay but sometimes it's nice to have some down-time together, just the two of us.


I worked Saturday afternoon but met up with 'A' later at Akiport Portuguese cafe for coffee and a Pasteis de nata, Portuguese custard tart...I reckon if you're going to break your detox for a coffee, that you may as well throw in a custard tart too!


I'm reliably told by a good blogger friend that Jamie Oliver's Portuguese Custard Tart recipe that you can find here, is not only delicious, but fairly easy to make too.  I haven't tried because I'm afraid. I have very little will power where custard tarts are concerned...comfort food with too many nostalgic memories that make them very hard to resist. If I made them, I would probably eat the whole batch without much help from anyone else...

Then we cooked supper together 'A' made his famous pizza, and I made Quinoa with Caremalised Red Onions, Sauteed vegetables, Kohlrabi and Mixed leaf salad. 

Quinoa with Caramelised Onions and Sauteed Vegetables


Ingredients for two people:

• 80g of Quinoa
• 250ml of warm stock
• One large Portobello mushroom, sliced finely
• One small sweet pepper,de-seeded and cut into small pieces or thin slices
• Two medium sized red or one large red onion, peeled and thinly sliced
• Two cloves of minced garlic
• A stick of chard or something green, chopped into smallish pieces
• Olive oil
• Sea salt and black pepper

Method:

1. Wash the quinoa, place in a saucepan and cover with the warm stock. Cook for about twenty minutes by which time the quinoa should have absorbed the stock and be cooked. 
2. Meanwhile, drizzle oil into a frying and cook the onions until they are softly sweet and caremelly. 
3. When the onions are caramelised, add the garlic and cook a little being careful not to burn.
4. Add the other vegetables and sauté until tender.  Season a little.
5. Once the vegetables are ready, add the quinoa to the pan giving it a good stir to mix in all the tasty onion and garlic

This makes a great inexpensive vegetarian supper that's quick to make. Or you could serve it with pan fried fish, or a piece of chicken.

Kohlrabi, Radish and Chinese leave salad.

Ingredients:

• Half a smallish kohlrabi, peeled and sliced very thinly.  A mandolin would be good to use
• A handful of radishes, topped and tailed and sliced in the same manner
• About an eighth of a head of chinese leaves, shredded finely
• A small red onion, sliced very thinly
• A small green apple. Sliced thinly 
• The juice of a lemon or lime
• Good olive oil
• Sea salt and crushed black pepper

Method:

1. Combine all the salad vegetables.
2. Season carefully and then dress with the lemon juice and olive oil.

Then finally settled down for our current favourite, compulsive television viewing. Borgen, a political Danish television drama series that we are totally obsessed with.  Two  episodes, back to back. A great series with really strong female roles. Highly recommended. 

I hope you had a good weekend too...