Back in Maputo

So - after another long hiatus from posting anything...
We are back in Maputo with the family, cooking most days, interesting ingredients, as I am using what is in A's house and trying not to buy things they'll never use.  Decent store cupboard, less than at home, but we have made Indian (dahl, veg curry, chicken tandoori, rice) Italian (spaghetti and ragu), Mexican (refried beans, cheese, sweetcorn relish, chili salsa, rice, cheese, flatbead, BBQ chicken) British (cottage pie), cheese scones, pasta (recipes later).

Eaten out a couple of times,  Txhapo Txhapo, excellent as always, A Nossa Tasca, just around the corner from A's, may go back v nice, some nice coffee and cakes, every visit I think Maputo improves, but maybe that's the company.  We stayed in  Hotel Cardoso for a night, (ate over the road in excellent A Casa Da Maria),took grandaughter to pool and had lovely breakfast

Cheese scones:
110g plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
(if not for babies a sprinkle of paprika is good)
Mix together

45g butter in as small as pieces as possible, into the dry ingredients, then rub in to make a breadcrumb like mixture, grate in as much cheese as you want and mix a bit more. Stir in a tablespoon of milk and knead, only add more milk if still powdery. Flatten, add  grated cheese over top, cut into shapes, batons best for babies, bake for about 20 mins medium over on a greaseproof paper lined tray.


Broccoli and almond pasta.

Chop broccoli into small bite size florets, drop into boiling water for about 90 -120 seconds then into cold water
Add pasta to a pan if salted boiling water

Bring a tablespoon of butter up to nearly foaming in a frying pan then add a tablespoon of olive oil, handful of flaked almonds and broccoli (sage leaves if you have them, and maybe raisins if you want to try)
When the pasta is not quite done, add it (slotted spoon, so you get some of the pasta liquid) into the pan, season and let cook for a minute or so to finish cooking the pasta, turn onto dish, add generous shavings of Parmesan