Eldorado Cookery
A random collection of some meals cooked with, by or for the Eldorado Family.
When they used to be my family too.

Scrambled Eggs
breakfast veg
Ingredients
Eggs
Butter
Plain Yoghurt (!)
Grated Cheese
Salt
Method
Start the butter melting in a small pot over a very gentle heat.
Break in the eggs and continually whisk them, or fold them gently with a plastic spatula if you prefer your eggs more curdy, but don't take your eyes off them for a second.
Once they've thickened to your satisfaction remove from the heat and blend in some plain yoghurt or mayonnaise or some crème fraîche if you're posh. Not too much though, or the eggs don't cohere. A little gives a nice tang .
The Eldorado girls like cheesy eggs, so add the grated cheese once the eggs are cooked and stir it in, or season with some salt
Gordon Ramsay reckons that if you add the salt at the beginning it will break the eggs down and make them watery. And who am I to argue with Gordon, even if I don't believe him?

You can also add chopped ham, chives and chopped tomatoes at the end, which works nicely providing you don't overcook the tomato to make the eggs all weepy.
A nice Greek-style variation is to use olive oil instead of butter, and add a splash of lemon juice at the end.
For intensely tomato flavoured scrambled eggs, add tomato purée sweated in a little butter. You can add chopped tomatoes but it tends to make the eggs watery.

Linguini Carbonara
main pasta meat
Ingredients
Linguini
Smoked bacon
Olive oil
Eggs
Cream I believe I used single
Avocado
Garlic
Parmesan
Method
Slice the bacon into lardons, chop the avocado into short sticks, press the garlic, grate the parmesan.
Boil up the pasta.
Fry the bacon in olive oil until golden, add pressed garlic towards the end.
Whisk up the eggs with the cream.
Drain the cooked pasta, drizzle with olive oil, return to the pot. Add the bacon, avocado, eggs and cream and stir well.
Season and serve with the parmesan.
Actually I think I simmered up the cream with the bacon and threw the beaten eggs directly into the drained pasta, but this is more common, and the effect should be the same.

Spanish Tortilla or Spanish Omelette
breakfast snack veg
Ingredients
1 large Spanish onion
6 Potatoes
6 Eggs
Salt
Method
Halve and slice the onion. Add sliced garlic if you're feeling adventurous and the girlies aren't watching. Heat loads of oil in a frying pan and gently fry the onions until soft. Meanwhile slice the potatoes and add them to the pan. Add plenty of salt - this dish needs a lot. Cover and fry until the potatoes are softening, but don't brown too much. Whisk the eggs and pour over the potatoes. Jiggle the pan to mix, cover and cook until the egg is set through and has browned on the bottom and separated from the pan. Flip the tortilla (using a plate or two if you're weak) and brown the second side uncovered. Tip out onto a chopping board and cut into delicious slices. Pack in plastic box. Take on picnic.
If you're using an oven-proof pan you can put it in there to set the eggs rather than browning on the stove.
Feel free to add peppers, chillies, or pretty much anything lying around in the bottom of your fridge :)

Butternut Mash
side veg
Butternut squash goes well added to mashed neeps, tatties or carrot purée.