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Tortellini with Prawns, Spinach and Pine Nuts

Ingredients For 3 people 500g four-cheese tortellini (fresh pasta). 350g fresh spinach. 300g peeled prawns. A handful of raw pine nuts. 1 spring onion. 4 tender garlic cloves, chopped. 5 sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil. 125ml evaporated milk. Freshly ground black pepper. Salt. Extra virgin olive oil. Preparation Wash the spinach, blanch it in salted boiling water, then cool it down quickly under cold water so it keeps that lovely bright green color. Chop it into small pieces, squeeze out any excess water, and set aside. Toast the pine nuts in a dry pan without any oil. Set them aside once they're golden. Season the prawns with salt and pepper, then fry them in a bit of oil for about a minute on each side. Take them off the heat and set aside. In the same pan, adding a bit more oil if needed, sauté the onion, chopped very fine. When it turns transparent, add the spinach and tender garlic. After three or four minutes, toss in the chopped sun-dried tomatoes. Cook for another 2 or 3 mi...

Cream Puffs with Cheese Cream and Ham


A delightful little appetizer that always makes an impression!



Ingredients

for about 50 cream puffs
  • 250g water
  • 75g unsalted butter
  • 150g all-purpose flour
  • 5 to 6 whole eggs
  • 1 pinch of salt

for the cheese cream:

  • 200g cream cheese (Philadelphia-style)
  • 200g goat cheese (soft log)
  • 150g heavy cream
  • a pinch of freshly ground black pepper

you'll also need:

  • ibérico ham, sliced very thin

Preparation

We'll start by making the dough for the cream puffs. Now, if you want them to turn out just right, make them by hand — don't reach for the mixer.
Cut the butter into small pieces and put it in a saucepan with the water over medium heat. Keep the water from boiling while the butter melts completely.
Take the pan off the heat and dump in all the flour at once. With a wooden spoon, stir vigorously until everything comes together into a ball.
Add the eggs one at a time, making sure each one is fully mixed in before you add the next. After the fifth egg, beat the sixth one and add it bit by bit. Stop when you lift the spoon and the dough falls back down in a ribbon...
Heat your oven to 180ºC.
Spoon the dough into a piping bag fitted with a star tip and pipe small rosettes onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Make them smaller than a walnut — they'll puff up as they bake...
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes. When they're golden and the time's up, turn off the oven and leave them inside with the door slightly open for another 5 minutes...
Once they're baked and cooled, you can store them in a metal tin for up to 3 or 4 days.
To make the cheese cream, put the heavy cream in a saucepan along with the goat cheese (broken into chunks) and a pinch of black pepper. Heat gently, stirring now and then, until the cheese melts.
Blend with an electric hand mixer until smooth. Stir in the cream cheese, mixing well so it's completely incorporated. Let it cool — it's best to make this ahead of time.
Slice the tops off the cream puffs and fill them with the cheese cream using a piping bag. Finish with a ruffle of very thinly sliced ibérico ham...

Hope you enjoy making these!


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