Spanish mussels with Manchego & Serrano

For ➍
2 kg mussels
2 onions
2 cloves garlic
1 tbs smoked paprika
½ ts peri peri
20 cl white wine
33 cl passata tomato frito
20 g flour
45 g Italian or Spanish ham s.a. Serrano
50 g Manchego
fresh flat-leaf parsley
juice 1 lemon
peanut oil

Rinse the mussels several times in cold water. Remove the beard.
Peel the garlic and onion. Squeeze the garlic. Cut 1 onion into rings and finely chop the other onion.
Heat some peanut oil in a mussel pot and fry the onion rings until translucent.
Add the mussels and deglaze with white wine. Bring to a boil under lid.
Shake up after a few m. Let it boil for another 2 m, or until the mussels open.
Remove from the heat and strain the mussels. Keep the mussel liquid.
Always remove the shell half to which the mussel is not attached.
Heat peanut oil in a frying pan. Fry the onion. Bake the smoked paprika powder and the periperi for 1 m while stirring. Add the flour and stir well. Add the passata.
Add 25 cl of mussel juice and let it boil for a few m.
Season with salt and lemon juice.
Reduce the heat after cooking time and add the mussels. Let them warm in the sauce for 1 m.
Finish with fine slices of ham, grated Manchego cheese and finely chopped parsley.
Serve with pasta, bread or rice.

Couscous salad with peri peri chicken

For ➍
370 g chicken thigh fillets
3 tbs peri peri sauce medium*
300 g couscous
40 cl boiling water**
3 tbs olive oil
2 avocados
190 g vine tomatoes
1 red onion
75 g arugula salad mix
175 g fresh mango pieces

Brush the chicken fillet with the peri peri sauce. Heat the grill pan without oil or butter and grill the chicken over medium heat for 10-12 m.
In the meantime, put the couscous in a large bowl and pour over the boiling water**. Add the oil and leave covered for 10 m.
Meanwhile, cut the avocados in half lengthwise. Remove the kernel and scoop the flesh out of the skin with a spoon. Slice the flesh. Cut the tomatoes in half and the red onion in half rings. Stir the couscous with a fork and season with salt and pepper.
Mix the couscous with the salad mix. Halve the mango pieces. Slice the chicken thigh fillet..
Scoop the couscous on a large plate. Divide the avocados, tomatoes, onion, mango and chicken slices on top.

*Or make fresh peri-piri.
**Add chicken stock power for flavor.
***You can prepare the chicken fillet on the barbecue. Keep the same preparation time.

Peri peri sauce

For ➍
1 red onion
4 cloves garlic chopped
1-2 bird's-eye peri peri peppers, chopped
2 tbs sweet, smoked paprika powder
4 tbs white wine vinegar
2 tbs Worcestershire sauce
grated zest plus the juice of 2 lemons
pinch salt & pepper
small bunch basil

Mix the ingredients. Add a little water and chop finely.
You can then let the chicken marinate in the sauce for a while, before you roast it in the oven. If you use chicken thighs, you can first grill them in a grill pan and then bake them in a large baking dish together with the marinade in a hot oven at 200°C for 10 m.

Serve with chicken f.i.