Cooking series presents... RUSSIAN SALAD! + BONUS (homemade mayonese)!!

You will need: (3) potatoes, (3) eggs, (1/2) onion, (2) small pickles, (1) can of sliced black olives, (1) can of roasted sweet red peppers, (4) asparagus, (2) small cans of tuna (in olive oil), salt and pepper, (1) cup of sunflower oil, (1/2) lemon,

Start by boiling water in a sauce pan. Peel the potatoes and cut them into pieces. When the water boils, add the potatoes and one egg. Cover the pan and leave it boil for 20 minutes.

In a bowl, mix the following: the half onion (minced), the pickles, the sliced olives, the roasted sweet red peppers (cut into small pieces), the tuna cans and the asparagus (cut into pieces). Add some salt, pepper and a little bit of vinegar. Remove the potatoes and add them to the mix, too.

The tricky part is the mayonese: to do it properly, you need one egg, 1 cup of sunflower oil, salt and half lemon. Break the egg into a tall mixing cup, add the oil, and a generous pinch of salt. Use a blender to mix everything, but here's the trick: DO NOT MOVE THE BLENDER! The ingredients will mix together at their own pace, it may take you 4 or 5 minutes. Finally, add the juice and remove it for one minute.

Finally, for a nice presentation, I suggest the following: Mix HALF of the mayonese you've just done with the potato mix into one serving platter. Use the other half to cover the salad and add some olive slices to the top. If you still have some roasted sweet peppers, you can add them to the bottom. Do you remember the boiled egg? Remove the shell and dice it. Put it on top of it. It'll look just great.

My personal suggestion is that you serve it cold. Keep it in the fridge for at least two hours.

Enjoy!

Cooking Series presents... HOW TO MASTER THE SPANISH PAELLA! + PRESENTATION TIP

You will need: (1) chicken breast, (1) red/green/yellow bell pepper, (1/2) onion, (1) clove of garlic, (1) can of green beans, (2) apricots, (1) can of peas, (1) cup of rice, (1) tomato, (1) lemon, (1) can of roasted sweet red peppers, (1) coloring spices or saffron, olive oil, salt and pepper, a large frying pan

Let's start by peeling and chopping the garlic and the onion. Mix them in a small bowl. Slice the chicken breast and add it to the bowl, too. In the frying pan, add some olive oil and heat it. Pour the mix and remove. Let it fry for some 10 minutes.

In the meantime, mix the following ingredients in the same bowl, once they are sliced: the roasted sweet red peppers, the tomato, the cores of the apricots, the green beans and the peas. Use a strainer to remove the water. Add it to the frying pan.

Here's the tricky part: the amount of rice depends on the number of guests: 1/2 cup of rice is enough for two people. Each measure of rice will require three measures of water. Add the rice you need, along with the water, two or three pinches of salt, one pinch of black pepper and the saffron or coloring spice. Turn the heat up until the mixture boils, and then turn it down for 20 minutes. The rice will absorb the water little by little. Be careful not to allow the rice to get dry! Slice two lemons in quarters, and give two quarters to each guest. The flavor will be bette if you squeeze the lemon and mix it with the Paella.