As winter is rapidly approaching Segovia, we, the new Segovia Lifestyle Team at the Stork, are hoping to give you some relief from the walks in the cold and rain with a few tips and ideas to share with you throughout the year! Since Juan Bravo’s cozy blankets are now a thing of the past and we no longer have Irish to make the cold nights more bearable, we wanted to create a series called Winter in Sego so that you can enjoy your time in Segovia despite the current situation. Of course, the first and most important aspect of one’s lifestyle is food, so here are three recipes (suited to three different lifestyles) that you can prepare quickly to share with your friends or enjoy on your own.
Cashew Chicken
This is a great dish for whenever you get home tired and you want to eat something satisfying without having to spend an hour in the kitchen.
Ingredients:
- 1 chicken breast
- 1/2 cup of water
- Soy sauce
- A bit of flour
- Handful of cashew nuts
Start by cutting the chicken breast into small pieces and cover them with flour (the smaller the pieces, the faster they’ll cook). Then put a bit of oil in a pan and turn the stove on at medium intensity. Wait a few seconds for the pan to get warm, and then add the chicken. When the chicken gets a golden colour, add a bit of soy sauce and the water and cook for about another five minutes.
Finally, add the cashews, mix everything for a couple of minutes until the chicken is brown or however cooked you prefer and your dinner is ready!
(You can also prepare the same dish with almonds instead of cashews)
Zucchini Pesto Pasta (Vegetarian)
Who doesn’t like pesto? Well, if you don’t, you may as well stop reading here. If you do, here’s a fresh and somewhat different version that you might be excited to try!
Ingredients:
- Pasta (whichever type and amount you prefer)
- 200 g of zucchini
- 10 g of basil leaves
- 60 g of parmesan cheese
- 30 g of pine nuts
- 125 g of oil
First of all, start from shredding the zucchini with a cheese grater (using the widest shape); once it’s all grated you can add salt and put it in a colander for about 20 minutes. Remember to put a dish below the colander, so the water coming from the zucchini doesn’t go everywhere.
While you are waiting for the zucchini to dry, put some water in a pot and make it boil. Then grate the cheese and wash the basil leaves.
When the water is boiling, put the pasta into the water and let it cook for the time recommended on the package.
In the meantime, take the grated zucchini, and put it into a mixer, adding also the pine nuts, oil, parmesan cheese and basil leaves. Blend all the ingredients until the sauce looks homogeneous.
When the pasta is ready (and “al dente”), drain the pasta and simply add it to the sauce. I like to add a few other basil leaves and pine nuts on top of the pasta, but you can also add some cherry tomatoes or whatever you think would fit!
Pro Tip: try to avoid wearing white while making this dish, or you’ll end up staining your t-shirt like I did.
Eggplant Pizzas (Vegan)
Here’s something for our vegan readers. It’s perfect for a light meal or an aperitivo with friends. They’re super tasty, healthy and easy to make!
Ingredients:
- One eggplant
- 50 g of breadcrumbs
- 10 cherry tomatoes
- Parsley
- Pine nuts
Start cutting the eggplant in round slices (averaging as thick as one finger) and put them on a baking tray with a bit of oil on top. Then cook them in the oven at 180 degrees for about 10-15 minutes.
While the eggplants are baking, mix some breadcrumbs with parsley and a bit of oil in a bowl.
Once the eggplants are ready, take them out of the oven and put the mixture of breadcrumbs on top; then add the cherry tomatoes (usually about one per eggplant slice) cut in four pieces, and finally some pine nuts. You can also add some more parsley or basil on top to give a final chefs touch.
And voilà! It is ready to be served! You can use your creativity to garnish or decorate the eggplants with the ingredients you prefer (I also really like them with mozzarella, cherry tomatoes and olives!).
Stay tuned for more articles in our Winter in Segovia series!
