Recipes by chef David Ariza for OFELIA Home & Decor.

David Ariza Abad is a researcher, developer of gastronomic identities, writer and cookery teacher. His life currently focuses on his concept "Freelandcook". This concept was born in 2015, after having been in the kitchen since 1992 and in response to a vital need: to enhance the value of his environment, generating synergies that can improve people' lives, combining this with the recovery of the Mediterranean mountains and its sea.

This is reflected in his daily work to enhance the value of Mediterranean ethnography through gastronomy. Those who know David personally are aware of his great passion for local products, for edible wild plants, for Mediterranean fish and, above all, for the promotion of the values of Mediterranean cuisine, the main focus of all his work.

David Ariza stars in our cooking section Ofelia Kitchen. He has prepared three easy and delicious recipes that will impress the most demanding palates. He shares his culinary secrets, but he also goes a step further by serving them with tableware from our firm Ofelia Home & Decor.

Lentils and quinoa salad

Ingredients:

400 g cooked lentils
200 g quinoa
1 soft-boiled egg
50 g sultanas
100 g carrot ribbons
10 g black garlic paste
25 g fried almonds
25 gr edamame
15 gr crispy ham
pepper
salt
toasted white sesame
rocket
base dressing
miso seasoning (Asian sauce)

Preparation:

You can make it with dried lentils, cooked in advance, or from a tin. Once they are ready, set them aside. If you use dried lentils, you will have to soak them in water the day before. Then cook them and leave them to cool.

Next, cook the quinoa. Its preparation is similar to that of rice. In other words, twice as much water as cereal and cook for about 20 minutes. It is very important that you wash the quinoa under running water before cooking it to eliminate the saporin, a bitter-tasting poison. Once you see that the grain is transparent, remove it from the heat, drain and let it cool.

When both ingredients are cool, you can mix them with the sultanas, garlic paste, almonds and season with salt, pepper, base dressing and Asian seasoning.

Presentation:

We put the salad on the plate. Chef David Ariza has used our Karma deep plate in brown. And for mixing the ingredients and serving our Rodin table spoons.

Then add the egg (remember it must be soft-boiled), the carrot strips (you can use a peeler to chop them), the edamame, the chopped crispy ham and the rocket.

As a finishing touch you can decorate with toasted sesame seeds.

Salmon foquiche

Ingredients:

For individual servings

1 rectangular focaccia, ready-made or purchased, uncut. (If it is large, you can cut it in half and make two. In this case, the quantity of ingredients must be doubled)
100 g marinated salmon
60 g diced avocado
100 g cream
1 egg
50 g mozzarella cheese
15 gr pickled gherkins in vinegar, chopped
10 gr dried black olives

Photo of, Sensei round cutting board

This recipe is a combination of a stuffed foccacia and a quiche. Therefore, the focaccia is hollowed out, leaving a border for the filling. In this case, do not cut the focaccia in half.

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 180º while preparing the ingredients.

Dice the marinated salmon and avocado and set aside. Next, beat the egg, then add the cream, salt and pepper and beat again. Add the salmon, avocado, gherkins and mozzarella to the mixture and fill the focaccia.

Bake at a temperature of 180º for 15 minutes.

When serving, heat it and add the chopped olives. We can present it on a nice wooden cutting board.

The presentation of the dishes is not the only issue to consider. Table decoration also plays an important role. At Ofelia, we understand the importance of a well decorated table, Therefore, for these recipes, a composition has been selected that includes individual fiber placemats and a combination of flat plates and deep plates from two different crockeries that add depth and texture to the table.

Roasted pumpkin with orange

Ingredients:

100 g roasted pumpkin
crunchy muesli
orange jam
cocoa powder
5 gr lemon zest
50gr agave
a few slices of candied orange, optional

In the photo small ceramic Bass bowl and Rodin dessert spoon.

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 180º and in the meantime cut up the pumpkin to roast it. It is not necessary to peel it. Place it on a tray and put it in the oven at 160º for 45 minutes.

Once this time has passed, peel the pumpkin and put it in the thermomix or blender with the zest of a lemon and 50 grams of agave. Blend all the ingredients at speed 10 until you get a fine texture without lumps.

Presentation:

There are countless ways to present a recipe like this, but few can be compared to the charm offered by bowls. The selection of chef David Ariza is a small ceramic bowl. We put 3 tablespoons of orange jam on the base. Then cover the jam with a good portion of the pumpkin purée and set aside.

When serving, add the cocoa powder, the muesli and half a slice of candied orange.