My “minimalist cooking” contributions. When I was growing up I lived with four people who combined about a dozen tummy problems, so my cooking is very “naked.”
Garlic fried chicken, Spanish style (pollo al ajillo)
You can use any parts you fancy, but it’s common to either get a whole chicken chopped up (no separating the breasts first) or use dark meats.
Items needed:
A frying pan; the oil will jump but don’t bother with a lid, if you do it’s likely to overcook.
Enough chicken to feed however many people you’re feeding: 1/4 per person, unless you’re dealing with teenagers (a single teenager can devour a range chicken in its entirety and then start eyeing what’s on other people’s plates).
Cooking oil.
A few cloves of garlic.
A green pepper (optional).
Long thongs. No, not the underwear kind, which would be a contradiction in terms: the ones you use to grab hot stuff.
Have the chicken cut to small pieces. Wings can go whole or get separated in two bits at the elbow joint; legs get chopped at the knee and then each half gets chopped again; the body gets chopped up in similar-sized pieces.
Put oil in the pan; it shouldn’t be so much that the food swims in it, but more than just wetting the pan. Heat it.
When you think it’s hot enough, put a clove of garlic in it (if you’re going to eat it, peel it; otherwise you don’t need to). If it doesn’t sizzle, wait a bit more. When it sizzles, add another clove, the whole washed pepper and as much chicken as your pan has room for.
Turn the chicken pieces around a few times so they’re golden all over. As they get done, take them out to a plate and add more pieces in. Turn the pepper around too; if you’re eating the garlic you shouldn’t do it too much. Replace the garlic as needed.
The pepper is usually not eaten (this isn’t just my family and our tummy problems, it’s a real “usually”).
You can use dipping sauces if you want (salsa, mojo verde, mayo, guacamole…) but it’s not needed at all.
Baked salmon
You need:
an oven,
a whole salmon, cleaned and de-spined (“like a book”),
an oven pan or a cocotte. If you’re using a cocotte, you can skip the oil.
oil and lemon
salt
While the oven heats, pour some oil into your recipient, just enough to keep the salmon from sticking. It will start letting water out after a while, so you don’t need to drown it. If it’s a cocotte, you can squeeze half the lemon instead.
Lightly salt the inside of the salmon. Close it. If you’re feeling fancy, mark some cuts where you expect to cut the portions and stick slices of lemon in there. Place it in the recipient. Squeeze the (rest of the) lemon over it. If it’s a cocotte, close it (yeah yeah, so I do know people who thought the lid was for decoration).
When the oven’s hot, put it in.
When it smells good, it’s done! (Depending on the size of the salmon and whether it was a pan or a cocotte, it will vary between 25’ and 45’, at least in Mom’s oven).
Temperatures aren’t given because I have no idea what temperature we use, my oven just has non-temperature numbers and I don’t have the manual. It’s the same setting as for chicken or a slightly lower one.
Salmon with orange: the same, using orange instead of lemon.
Salmon with shrimp: ditto, with peeled shrimp inside the salmon.
Microwave fish:
a portion of fish (for example, a slice of salmon).
Half a lemon.
A microwave.
A plate.
A microwave cover.
A ladle (metal works well).
Squeeze a bit of lemon on plate. Put unsalted fish on plate. Stick in, on a medium setting, for one minute, covered. Let it rest for two minutes. Flip over. Stick it for another minute. Take it out. It should be done, but check it anyway, specially if it’s your first time (you may need to adjust time and settings depending on the microwave and on your idea of a slice). If it isn’t, wait a couple minutes before sticking it back in. If it is, move it to the serving plate and salt slightly.
Repeat the process with any other portions.
The waiting times mean that you can actually cycle three portions at the same time, but this means more dishes to wash.
Works well with fishes you’d bake and with flat fishes.
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