Natillas (Vanilla-Lemon Custard)

Natillas is a very traditional Spanish dessert; you can find it in the menu of every restaurant in Spain, in the refrigerated section of every supermarket and in every home. It is a custard dish made with milk, eggs, vanilla bean and lemon zest and it is traditionally served with cinnamon on top. It differs from the custard used in French cuisine for crème brûlée since its consistency is much lighter.
I find it an easy dessert to make and if there are children around they will lick the bowls until clean. It is packed with calcium and it is gluten-free!

Tips: You will get a richer custard if you use either whole milk or 2% milk.
You need to constantly stir your custard while it is over the heat or it will become lumpy and the result will be terrible. Never let your custard boil or it will also get lumpy.
You will have to cut the vanilla bean in half lengthwise, then scratch inside with the tip of a knife to get all the seeds out and into the milk. If you cannot find fresh vanilla bean, you can substitute for 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract.

NATILLAS (VANILLA-LEMON CUSTARD)

5 egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar
5 cups milk (whole milk or 2% preferred)
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 vanilla bean
zest of one lemon
ground cinnamon

Place milk, lemon zest and vanilla bean (cut in half lengthwise) in a saucepan and heat at medium-low until about to boil. Do not let milk boil, separate from heat and cover pan; let rest for 5 minutes to infuse vanilla and lemon flavors.

Before heating

After heating; cover and let rest for 5 minutes to infuse flavors

In a heavy bottomed pan add egg yolks and sugar and whisk for about 5 minutes until pale yellow. Add corn starch and mix well.

Whisk egg yolks and sugar until pale yellow, then add cornstarch whisk again

Remove and discard lemon zest and incorporate milk into egg-sugar mixture little by little.

Place custard over medium heat and stir constantly with a wooden spoon until custard begins to thicken and reaches desired consistency, about 2 and 1/2 minutes.

Immediately transfer to a glass or ceramic bowl or to individual bowls.

Let cool to room temperature and sprinkle some ground cinnamon when ready to eat.

Enjoy!

Colorful Winter Citrus Salad with Walnuts

Did you know that citrus are at their peak season? If you want to find the juiciest, sweetest, most flavorful citrus now is that time of the year. Gather all the different citrus you can find at your grocery store: blood oranges, tangelos, clementines, pink and white grapefruit, ugli fruit, cara cara oranges, regular oranges, kumquats, etc... They all have different flavors and colors, perfect to make a seasonal citrus salad topped with the peels from all of them and some more. I like to add the peel of limes and lemons to give it even more color.

You will have a very colorful, healthy (lots of Vitamin C), gluten-free, vegan and tasty dessert in 20 minutes.

COLORFUL WINTER CITRUS SALAD WITH WALNUTS

Serves 4

1 orange
1 cara cara orange
1 blood orange
1/2 pink grapefruit
1/2 white grapefruit
1 mineola tangelo
1 ugli fruit
3 clementines
8 kumquats

peel of 1 orange
peel of 1/2 pink grapefruit
peel of 1/2 lemon
peel of 1 lime

1 cup of water
1/2 cup of sugar
2 oz Grand Marnier (optional)

1/4 cup of walnuts

Start by zesting the citrus: using a vegetable peeler or knife remove the top layer of the orange, grapefruit, lemon and lime making sure not to remove the pith. Use a sharp knife to slice finely the peeled pieces.

Make the syrup: In a small pan put the water, sugar and sliced citrus peels. Bring to a boil and cook covered at low heat until the peels are soft, about 15 minutes. Add the Grand Marnier and cook at medium-high heat for another 1 or 2 minutes. Set aside and let cool.

Prepare the citrus: Peel and slice all your citrus and assemble in a large serving platter. Add citrus peels and syrup. Top with walnuts or your favorite nut.

Enjoy!

Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies

These cookies don't need an introduction, they are so crisp and light you will not be able to stop eating them!

LEMON POPPY SEED COOKIES

Makes about 20 cookies

1 and 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cups of granulated sugar
grated zest of 1 lemon
2 teaspoons of poppy seeds
1 stick of butter (chilled and diced)
1 egg
a pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 350ºF

Put the flour, sugar, grated lemon zest and poppy seeds into a food processor and mix thoroughly.

Add cold chunks of butter and process; add the egg and process again until the dough comes together.
Shape the dough into a log about 3 inches in diameter and wrap in foil or plastic. Transfer to refrigerator until dough is hard (about 2 hours).

Slice log into 1/4 inch thick rounds; place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper; leave space between cookies as they will grow when baking.

Chilled log ready to cut in 1/4 inch rounds

Bake in preheated oven at 350ºF for 10 minutes or until the edges are beginning to turn golden brown.

Transfer to a wire rack to cool down.

Enjoy!

Citrus Chicken with Roasted Red Cabbage

Red cabbage is a winter vegetable; now is the perfect time to eat it! Roasting a chicken is easy and if you add oranges and lemons it will be delicious!

This is the perfect Sunday dinner: I suggest you prepare the chicken and cabbage and put it in the oven a couple of hours before planning to serve dinner. You are now free to do the chores around the house or just relax; when you are finished lunch or dinner will be ready for all the family. Don't forget to ask your children to set the table in the meantime!

Tips: Always let your chicken come to room temperature before placing it in the oven. Take the chicken out of the fridge at least 45 minutes before roasting.

Always dry your chicken really well on the outside with paper towels. By drying your chicken you will ensure a great browning.

You can either roast the chicken placed on a rack or directly on the roasting pan.  I suggest you roast it directly on the pan if you are a beginner cook or don't want to check your roast every 20 minutes. If you place the chicken in the rack, you will need to add chicken stock or water every once in a while but you will ensure your chicken cooks evenly and doesn't stick to the pan.

I like to roast the chicken at low temperature since it will be very tender and juicy. However, it will take a little longer to cook. If you want to speed it up, you can increase your oven temperature to 380-400 degrees Fahrenheit and reduce the roasting time to 45 minutes to one hour.

You can roast the cabbage at the same time with the chicken but in different pans. Also adjust the roasting time for the cabbage if you are increasing oven temperature.


CITRUS CHICKEN

1 whole chicken
2 oranges (cut in 10-12 pieces)
1 lemon (cut in 10-12 pieces)
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
1 cup of chicken stock

For the sauce: 

1/2 cup of sweet white wine (like amontillado sherry or any other sweet wine)
1 tablespoon of honey
1 tablespoon of brown sugar

In a roasting pan place the chicken breast side up. Stuff the chicken with orange and lemon sections and place the rest of the citrus in the pan around the chicken. Season with olive oil, salt and pepper. Add the chicken stock to the bottom of the pan.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F and roast for about 10 minutes. Decrease oven temperature to 350 degrees F and cook for about 1 and 20 minutes or until a thermometer inserted in the meaty part of the thigh registers 165ºF.
If you are using a rack you will need to add chicken stock or water to the bottom of the pan every 20 minutes or whenever the liquid has dried out.
Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and let it stand for 15 minutes before carving.
Meanwhile, transfer all the juices and drippings left in the pan to a small saucepan. Using a fine-mesh sieve, strain juices left in the orange and lemon sections directly into the saucepan. Add 1/2 cup of wine, honey and brown sugar and let cook at high heat so that the alcohol evaporates for about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Carve the chicken and serve the meat drizzled with the sauce.

ROASTED RED CABBAGE

1 cabbage
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons of ground cumin
4 cloves
salt and pepper

Slice cabbage in half lengthwise. Use a sharp knife to cut a V-shaped notch around the white core and discard it. Slice both pieces in half again so you have four quarters. Slice the cabbage again in quarters and then thinly slice each piece crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick strips.

In a large mixing bowl toss the cabbage with olive oil, cumin, cloves, salt and pepper. Transfer to a baking pan. Tightly cover with aluminum foil and bake at the same temperature set for the chicken 30 minutes. Remove foil and continue cooking for another 10 minutes.

Preparing the chicken

How to cut the cabbage

Cabbage is out of the oven

Roasted chicken should reach a temperature of 165 degrees F when inserted in the thigh

Smash the citrus to get the juice into the sauce. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve.