Piperade Recipe with eggs

Piperade of the Basque specialty without ham is easy and delicious cooked in the microwave oven.

How to make Piperade with eggs

Ingredients for piperade

Serves 4

¼ cup/50 ml/2 FL Oz vegetable oil

1 garlic clove

1 small onion, peeled and diced

2 shallots, sliced

1 sweet capsicum, deseeded

1 green capsicum, deseeded

1 bouquet garni

1 bay leaf

2 large tomatoes, skinned

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

8 eggs

2 tbsp / 25 g/ 1 Oz butter, cut into small pieces

How to prepare piperade

1.  Heat the vegetable oil in a browning dish. Slightly crush the garlic clove but leave it whole and add it to the dish. Cook for 30 seconds at full power in the oil.

2. Add the onions and shallots to the garlic and cook on half power for 6 minutes.

3. Prepare the capsicum by pouring boiling water over them in a bowl and leaving them to stand for 2 minutes. If preferred, prepare them the traditional way by charring under a hot grill (broiler) and then removing the flesh from the skin. Chop the capsicums very finely by hand or in a food processor, taking care not to liquidize them completely. Add them to the onion and cook on full power for a further 5 minutes with the bouquet garni and bay leaf.

4. Remove the seeds from the tomatoes, chop finely and add to the vegetable mixture. Season well and cook on full for a further 5 minutes.

5. Beat the eggs in a bowl with ¼ cup/ 5 ml/ 2 FL Oz water. Add the butter.

6. Remove the bouquet garni, bay leaf and garlic from the tomato mixture and stir in the eggs. Cook on full power for 4 minutes, remove and mix well.

7. Return to the microwave oven, cook for a further 4 minutes. Remove and stir again. If the mixture is too liquid, cook for a further 2 minutes and test after stirring now piperade is ready.

Note: Remember that the mixture thickens very quickly at this stage and the delicious, creamy eggs can toughen if microwaved for a few second for a few second too long.

To serve

Sprinkle with chopped shallots and triangles of toast. This dish can also be used to fill savory pastry shells and is particularly good as a starter.

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New Year Cod Recipe

Best Cod Recipe

This easy dish can be enjoyed throughout the year, but in Denmark is served in most homes on New Year’s Eve with a colorful selection of garnishes.

Ingredients

Serves 6

6 cod steaks, each about 25 mm/1 in thick

 (about 175 g/6 oz each)

For the garnishes

Small capers

Cooked beetroot, diced

1 medium-sized onion, diced

3 medium-sized hard-boiled eggs, the whites

And yolks chopped and served separately

Chopped parsley

Freshly grated horseradish

Melted butter

Coarse-grained mustard

Boiled new potatoes

Preparation method

1. Sprinkle the cod on both sides with salt cover it and put it in the refrigerator for 1 hour. Rinse off the salt. This improves the flavor and texture of the fish.

2. Put the fish in a large saucepan and pour in water to cover. Remove the fish, bring the water to the boil and add 5 ml/1 tsp salt for each 600ml/1 pt water.

3. Carefully lower the fish into the water. Lower the heat so that the water barely simmers. When the fish is cooked but still tender, about 3 minutes, carefully drain it. Put it on a warmed serving platter and surround it with a selection of garnishes.

Preparation time

1 hour

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