All recipes found onhttp://purplecalabash.wordpress.com

Pre-baked pastry for 9-inch crust pie2 cups crisp raw spinach1 cup grated rocquefort cheese1/2 cup finely chopped onion4 large eggs2 cups heavy whipping cream1/4 teaspoon salt to taste1/4 teaspoon pepper1/2 teaspoon garlic salt2 tablespoons powdered parmesan cheeseSprinkle of oregano

Heat oven to 425 degrees.In bottom of the crust pastry shell lay the spinach. Add rocquefortcheese, onion and dry ingredients.Beat eggs slightly; beat in remaining ingredients.Pour into quiche dish over spinach, cheese and onion.Sprinkle some parmesan cheese over the top.Sprinkle oregano for effect.Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 300 degrees and bake forabout 30 minutes longer or until knife in centre comes out clean.Let it stand 10 minutes before cutting.

Rocquefort and SpinachQuiche

Pre-baked pastry for 9-inch crust pie1 cup diced, crisply cooked bacon1 cup grated cheddar cheese1 cup finely chopped onion4 large eggs2 cups heavy whipping cream1/4 teaspoon salt to taste1/4 teaspoon pepper1/2 teaspoon garlic salt2 tablespoons powdered parmesan cheeseSprinkle of oregano

Heat oven to 425 degrees.In bottom of the crust pastry shell sprinkle bacon, cheese andonion.Beat eggs slightly; beat in remaining ingredients.Pour into quiche dish over bacon, cheese and onion.Sprinkle some parmesan, cheddar cheese.Sprinkle oregano.Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 300 degrees and bake forabout 30 minutes longer or until knife in centre comes out clean.Let it stand 10 minutes before cutting.

Bon Appetite!

Classic Quiche Lorraine

Masala Chicken Wrap6 de-boned chicken breasts6 medium ready-made wrapsSpices – Cumin, Garlic powder, Masala spice, Paprika, saltOlive oilLemon juice1 cup sour cream or yoghurt

1. Cut the chicken into strips or small pieces.2. Add olive oil to a shallow pan, mix the chicken pieces into the pan with the oil.3. Add the spices and lemon juice to the chicken. Rub it in well and let stand for at least 20 minutes.4. Pre-heat oven to 200 C with grill.5. Bake in the oven on grill for 15 minutes or until slightly golden brown.6. Add one teaspoon of corn starch to thicken the gravy.

Pour 1 cup of sour cream into a small bowl.Add 2 teaspoons lemon juice, garlic powder, onion powder and masala spice to taste.Mix well.Onto an open wrap, add some chicken and pour the sour cream topping over.Wrap up an enjoy!

I love this dish with loads of the sour cream masala topping oozing out of the wrap.It gets messy but really worth it.

175g butter2/4 cup liquid cocoaor melted chocolate1 tsp instant coffee2 tsp Port or Sherry1 tsp vanilla essence2 tsp treacle sugar(optional)1½ cup crumbled fudge1 cup sugar11/4 ¼cup flour3 eggs

Ingredients:

- Mix together the butter, cocoa, vanilla and coffee.- Add Port/Sherry, treacle sugar and half the fudge.- Whisk the eggs and sugar separately and add to the chocolate mix.- Sift in the flour and stir gently.- Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees C.- Pour the batter into a prepared pan and sprinkle the rest of thefudge on top.- Bake in the center of the oven until it puffs up. About 45 minutes. The mix should start pulling away from the edges. - Remove and allow to cool at room temperature. - Slice it into squares. - Finally, sprinkle some icing sugar over the brownies.

Enjoy with a glass of milk!

Grilled

Portuguese style.Sardines

Ingredients:6-12 sardines6-12 mackerelcoarse saltolive oilgarlicparsleygreen peppers12 medium potatoesServes 4

Before you start, place the fish into a shallow dish and sprinkle liberallywith coarse salt and parsley. Let it stand for at least an hour in the fridge.You might want to cover it or your fridge will smell...

1. Prepare your grill. Make sure the coals are hot enough.2. Boil the potatoes, sprinkle or roll them in coarse salt and wrap themindividually in foil.3. Place the potatoes directly onto the coals. Some parts will turn black.We want it to look like that, it adds to the flavour.4. When the foil starts to turn brownish, remove the potatoes and placethem on the sides of the fire so that they can still keep warm and cookslowly.5. Now for the fish. Place the fish onto the grill - the sardines have a veryoily skin, so it might smoke quite a bit. Have some water handy for theflames. I like a little flame on mine! Fish cooks very quickly, so give it 10minutes or so. Do not over cook the fish or it will be dry.Also grill some peppers if you would like, it’s a great combination.8. While this is cooking, prepare the olive oil mix.9. Into a small dish, add olive oil, garlic and fresh parsley. I don’t like togive exact measurements because everyone likes it differently. But remem-ber that the garlic and parsley are just for adding flavour, you don’t wantit to over power the taste of the fish.10. The fish should be ready now! Serve the fish, potatoes and peppers ona plate and drizzle lots of olive oil over the top.

Bom Aproveito!

Cheese and ChivesCreamy Potato Bake

:8 medium potatoesHalf a cup of Chives - fresh or dried1 cup of grated cheddar cheese1 1/2½ cup fresh cream2 tsp maizena (corn flour) with enough milk to dissolveSaltOnion salt, garlic saltServes 6

1. Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees C.2. Slice the potatoes into 1.5 cm slices and boil until done but not toosoft as they will still cook in the oven later. I normally cook themwith the skin. Remove from heat when done and drain.3. Into a baking dish arrange the potato slices in layers, sprinklingthe chives, onion salt, garlic salt, salt and grated cheese betweenlayers.4. Mix the maizena with some milk into the cream and pour over thepotatoes. If it looks like it will not cover the potatoes, add some morecream.5. Place in pre-heated oven and bake for approximately 30 minutes.6. Set grill on and brown for about 10 minutes or until golden brown.7. Great combination with Schnitzels.

Quick , simple and delicious

. Voila!

Chicken Schnitzels:

12 de-boned chicken breasts 3 eggsFinely ground bread crumbs SaltGarlic salt, pepper, dried basil Oil for frying

Serves 6

1. Beat the eggs in a shallow bowl and addsome garlic salt.2. Pour the breadcrumbs into a shallow bowl,add salt and pepper.3. Into a non-stick frying pan, pour enough oilto cover the chicken breast. Heat the oil tomedium high or medium, depending on yourstove. The chicken must be cooked in very hotoil, so it does not boil and become soggy.4. Dip the chicken into the egg mix then intothe crumbs. Pat the chicken flat, turn and patagain. Repeat until the chicken is com-pletely covered in crumbs.5. Fry the chicken until golden brown.Do not over cook - you want the chick-en to still be moist inside and slightlycrispy on the outside.6. Remove from stove and drain onpaper towel before placing on servingdish.7. Sprinkle some garlic salt on theschnitzels and garnish with lemonslices.

- Place the chicken in a potand add enough water tocover the chicken. Threequarters of the pot full.- Add the onion, carrot bits,salt pepper, rosemary, basil.- Bring to the boil and allow tosimmer until the chickenstarts to pull away from thebone.- Remove the chicken from thepot and let it cool. Strip themeat off in tiny bite sizedpieces.- In the meantime, add thecup of rice to the stock andlet it simmer for another 10– 15 minutes. The rice mustbe well cooked.- Add the celery and thechicken to the soup.- Allow to simmer foranother 10 minutes.- Ready to serve withsome crispy hot bread orcroutons on the side.

1 Whole Chicken1 Stick of Celery finely chopped1/2 a large onion or 1 small onion the size of an egg1 Carrot, chopped into tiny bits1 cup of basmati riceSaltPepper1/2 tsp Rosemary1/2 tsp Basil

1 large onion finely chopped8 cloves of garlic finely chopped125ml Tomato puree or twochopped tomatoes2 small peppers (green and red oryellow)Plenty olive oil3 cups chicken1 cup white wine1 chicken chopped up into small pieces(could use chicken breasts)2 tsp PaprikaSalt to tasteLemonRice (short grain)¼ to ½ tsp saffron strands1 chourico cut into thin slices250g shrimps250g calamari strips2 tins Smoked Mussels8 to 12 King size prawns - 1 or 2 per person

PreparationPar boil the chicken pieces in a large pot forabout 10 minutes and save the stock.Place the large “paellera” on a gas burner or onthe fire.Add enough olive oil to cover bottom of thepan.Heat the olive oil and add the onion, greenpepper and garlic.Fry gently for about five minutes.Add the chicken pieces and the chourico andfry quickly for 2-3 minutes.Add the shrimps and calamari strips and stir.Add the tomato and simmer for another tenminutes.Fry everything for about 2 minutes and addthe wine.Add all the spices ( paprika, salt, saffronand 2Tsp lemon juice)Add the rice and enough stock to cover the rice. Give it a taste and add more salt if necessary.Arrange the prawns and mussels on top and cover with a lid or foil and simmer for another 10 minutesor until the rice is cooked. This must be on very low heat and must be checked so as not to burn anddry out the rice. If the rice is getting too dry, add some more stock or water and gently shake thepan by the handles but do not stir. This does not get stirred again until ready to serve.

Brazilian Pork and Bean Stew

In a pot, saute the onion and garlic in enough olive oil.Add the vinegar and bay leaves and stir.Add the pork to the sauteed mix and fry for about 5minutes.Add the carrots, chourico and blood sausage and mix itin. Add the salt.Now mix in the tomato puree and add the wine.Turn the heat down to low and allow to simmer forabout 30-40 minutes or until pork is cooked and tender.Add the beans and gently fold into the stew.Do not over stir or the beans will turn tomash.Leave on the stove for another 15 minutesso the beans can soak up the flavours ofthe meats.As with most stews, the longer you let itstand the thicker the sauces and the betterit tastes.

Olive oil2 Tsp minced garlic1 small onion finely chopped1 tsp balsamic vinegar3 large bay leavesCoarse salt1 tin tomato puree1 chourico sliced into 2cm pieces1 blood sausage sliced into 2cm pieces2 large carrots thinly sliced2 glasses of wineApproximately 500g diced pork pieces1 tin red kidney beans1 tin red sugar beans1 tin butter beans

Rabanadas

Golden Slices1 Small Baguette2 or 3 eggs¼ cup milk or cream1 tsp cinnamon1 tsp vanilla extract

1 glass of water1 cup brown sugar¼ cup maple syrup3 tsp vanilla extract¼ cup Port wine/sherry1 cinnamon stickLemon peelGround cinnamonCastor sugar to sprinkle

Serves 6 people

1. Slice the baguette into thin slices2. Mix the eggs, milk/cream, vanilla and cinnamon into a

small bowl.3. Into a frying pan pour enough oil to shallow fry theslices in.4. Dip the slices one by one into the egg mix and frythem until golden brown on one side, then turn themand do the same. If the heat is too high, turn it downto medium so as not to burn the toast.. On the otherhand, if the oil is too cold, the slices will become oilyand soggy.5. Remove from the pan and dry on a paper towel onboth sides.6. Arrange into a shallow serving bowl.7. Sprinkle with cinnamon and castor sugar and let itstand for a while.You can simply enjoy them as is, with sugar and cinna-mon or drizzled with the ‘piece de resistance”.

1. Pour 1 glass of water into a small pot. Add the sugar,syrup, vanilla, wine/sherry, cinnamon and lemon peel totaste (not too much peel).2. Bring to the boil then let it simmer for 10 minutes.3. Remove from heat and let it cool to room temperature.4. Pour half of the syrup over the slices. Ten minuteslater, turn them over and pour the remaining liquid overthe slices.5. In the summer these are best enjoyed cold and servedwith vanilla ice- cream. They are just as delicious servedhot.