Welcome to Mum&sons

My two eldest boys challenged me to start a cooking blog with simple recipes that we can cook together - and my youngest one has now joined in. I am hoping they pick up some cooking and photograph skills... or that at least they learn to design and run a blog.


MEATBALLS

You need:
- 500 gr mince meat
- 1 egg
- 1 clove of garlic
- 2 handfuls of breadcrumbs
- 1 and a half tablespoons of chopped parsley
- 1 tablespoon of wine vinegar
- 2 pinches of salt

- flour (plain) - around  100 gr
- 1 egg - beaten with a tablespoon of milk
- olive oil

- 1 onion - finely chopped
- 1 glass of white wine
- 1 glass of water
- another clove of garlic
- 2 tablespoons of parsley (chopped)
- one bay leave
- a bit more salt

Mix the mince meat, egg, vinegar, breadcrumbs and salt. Separately mince the garlic and the parsley (both together) in a pester and add them to the mixture. Mix well with your hands.

Take handfuls of the mixture and shape them into balls ( the size of a golf ball more or less). Put a dish with the flour and another one with the beaten egg. Heat the oil ( over medium heat).

Now, take a meatball, coat it in flour, then coat it in the egg and then fry it ( do not overfly them, you just need to get them a little bit brown on all sides). Keep doing this with all the other meatballs ( you should be able to fry 6 or 7 at the same time)

Separately heat a bit of olive oil, fry the onion slowly until it becomes translucent (7-8 minutes). In a pester mince the garlic with the parsley. Add the white wine to the garlic mixture and put it all into the pan with the onions (increasing the heat to high). Add the water and the bay leave. Heat until you see bubbles come up. Add the meatballs, lower the heat to very low and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes.

Eat with plain rice or crusty bread. My grandma used to add little cubes of fried potatoes that she added to the simmering pan for 3-4 minutes so that they would get soft and catch the flavour of the meatballs.


FRIED PEPPERS

You need:
- 1 glass of olive oil
- 4 peppers cut into matchsticks
- salt

Put the oil into a small deep pan. Heat the oil (under high heat) until it is about to produce smoke. Add the peppers. Reduce the heat to medium and fry the peppers for 3-4- minutes (or until the edges start getting black) As you take them out put them on a piece of kitchen paper to get rid of any excess oil. Sprinkle with salt.

Keep the oil as it adds great flavour to eggs or tortilla.

The fact that the colours of the peppers are the colours of the winners of the European Championship is pure coincidence.