Beaf Book with Almonds
preparation time: 20 minutes
cooking time: 45 minutes
makes: 4

Ingredients:
500 gr. (1 pound) steak or fricandeau,
For the paste:
50 gr. (2 oz) peeled, roasted and chopped almonds,
2 hardboiled eggyolks,
olive oil,
salt and pepper,
2 chopped garlic cloves,
a handful of freshbasil leaves.

Cut the meat in thin fillets with a sharp knife, but don't divide them at one end. Keep them together like the leaves in a book. Make the paste in a foodprocessor and spread between the filets.Bind the meat firmly together with a cotton thread. Brown the steak in oil or butter and cook in a preheated oven until done.

Stewed stuffed quail
preparation time: 20 minutes
cooking time: 45 to 50 minutes
makes: 4

Ingredients:
4 quails, cleaned and dried,
1 sliced lemon,
some sprigs of thyme an leaves of sage,
2 garlic cloves sliced,
olive oil,
half a glass of white wine,
sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Sprinkle some salt and pepper in the quails stomach. Put a slice of lemon and some thyme and sage in each stomach. Make little cuts in the skin and push slices of garlic under it. Arrange them together in a frying tin, pour some oil and white wine over them, cover with aluminum foil and slide in the pre-heated oven at 160 Cº, (350 Fº)Cook for about an hour, or less. The last 10 minutes, without the foil to give them a nice crusty skin.

Lamb with figs
preparation time: 20 minutes
cooking time: 25 minutes
makes: 4

Ingredients:
A loin of lamb of about 1200 gr. (2.5 pounds),
a glass of red or white wine,
16 dried figs cut in small pieces,
some sprigs of sage, thyme and rosemary leaves,
salt and pepper,
10 -15 unpeeled cloves of garlic,
a few almonds or walnuts coarsely chopped,
25 gr. (1 oz) of butter or olive oil,
25 gr. (1oz) of flour.

Cut the meat in small regular cubes. Marinate for a few hours in the wine, with figs, herbs, salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in a deep frying pan and fry the cloves of garlic in their skins for 5 minutes. Take the meat and figs out of the marinade, as dry as possible and fry for 7-10 minutes, add the chopped nuts, while stirring. When the meat is almost done take out everything and keep apart. Melt the butter or oil in the frying pan, make with the flour a roux, use the wine-marinade to make the sauce. Add more wine or water when the sauce is too thick. Put the meat and figs back in and simmer some 10 minutes more.

Easy curry
preparation time: 20 minutes
cooking time: 45 to 50 minutes
makes: 4

Ingredients:
500 gr. (1 pound) of lamb or chicken cut in dices.
a pot of Patak curry sauce, there are several flavours from mild to very hot.
1 onion,
3 or 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped,
1tblsp. of curry powder,
2 sliced fresh tomatoes or a tin of tomatoes,
half a glas of coconut milk,
optional: other vegetables, like courgette, pumpkin or red or green pepper sliced in cubes, finely cut Spanish pepper.

Marinate the meat for a few hours in half a pot of Patak. Fry onion with garlic, add curry powder. Add the meat, stir and fry untill golden brown. Add a few freshly sliced tomatoes or a tin of tomatoes. You can add more vegetables or an extra Spanish pepper. Let the curry simmer for half an hour. Add more wine or water when the sauce is too thick and don't forget the coconut milk for the special curry taste. Serve with with a long grain rice, such as Basmati, grated coconut, fresh coriander leaves and green tomato chutney