Original and delicious film recipes

Cinema usually leaves a pleasant taste in the mouth, especially when it's good. Today we'll be reviewing some of the most memorable recipes from films of recent decades.

Whether because they provide the film's title, are part of a scene or because they are part of our collective imagination, these dishes are already part of the history of cinema and gastronomy.

'Ratatouille'

Ratalouille, which the little rat Remy triumphs with as a chef in the fun animated movie, is a traditional Frecnh dish with many variations. The base is aubergine, courgettes, green and red peppers and tomatoes. It can be prepared with sliced vegetables, which is the most common, or in pieces, and cooked in the oven or a casserole cash. It is always seasoned with olive oil, salt, garlic and Provencal herbs.

Ingredients 

· 250 g aubergines
· 125 g of courgettes
· 150 g onion
· 250 g tomato
· 150 g green pepper
· 40 g olive oil
· 2 g aromatic herbs
· 2 garlic cloves
· Salt

How to make:

1. Wash the aubergines and courgettes and cut them into 1cm thick slices.

2. Put them on a tray and sprinkle with salt. Leave to stand for about 30 minutes, to release their juice.

3. Rinse and drain well.

4. Peel and chop the garlic.

5. Peel and cut the onion into fine slices.

6. Peel the tomatoes (previously scalded to facilitate peeling), remove the seeds and finely chop.

7. Wash and clean the peppers and cut them into strips lengthwise.

8. Heat a dash of oil in a pan and separately fry the aubergines, then the courgettes, peppers and finally the onions.

9. Put to one side.

10. Heat the vegetables again in the same pan (adding more oil if necessary).

11. Add tomato, garlic and aromatic herbs, season.

12. Stir well, cover and cook until the vegetables are tender.

13. Remove and serve.

The spaghetti that we fell in love with in 'The Lady and the Tramp’

One of the most romantic scenes in film history. And yes, starring two dogs and a pasta dish. Find out how to prepare Neopolitan spaghetti with meatballs, which was such a hit with the lady.

So that it's just like in the movie, serve it on a tablecloth with red and white checks, with Italian music in the background and on a shared platter.

Ingredients 

· 500 g minced beef
· 1 egg
· breadcrumbs
· flour
· 1/2 teaspoon chopped parsley
· 1 chopped garlic clove or 1/2 a teaspoon of dried ground · garlic
· 1/2 glass of milk and a slice of bread from the previous day (optional)
· 500 g of fried tomato
· 500 g of spaghetti
· Olive oil
· Salt

How to make:

1. Put the minced meat in a large bowl and mix well with the egg, parsley and chopped garlic until you have a uniform mixture.

2. If you use bread from the day before, soften it in warm milk.

3. Add salt to the mixture to taste.

4. Work the mixture well then take lumps of it and form into balls using a spoon, with the help of your hands as needed.

5. Lightly flour and out to one side.

6. Fry the meatballs in hot oil, turning over from time to time, making sure they do not lose their round shape.

7. Once they are nice and brown, leave them on greaseproof paper to soak up the excess oil.

8. Once they're ready, fry up the green tomatoes and put them on top. Keeping the flame low, let them cook for 10 minutes so they are fully done inside and have absorbed all the flavour of the sauce.

9. Cook the spaghetti following the package instructions.

10. Present the dish by placing the pasta first and 3 or 4 meatballs on top.

'American Pie’

First there was the pie, then the song, which has hundreds of versions, and then the movie and its aftermath. And American Pie is more than a recipe, it is a concept that is very much made in the USA, that could be summarised as the loss of innocence. Find out how to make it step by step.

Ingredients 

· Two packets of shortcrust pastry
· 1/2 kg of apples
· 100 g brown sugar
· 1/2 lemon juice
· 1 pinch of salt and cinnamon powder
· 1 pinch of vanilla extract and anise (optional)

How to make:

1. Stretch out one of the dough disks in an oven dish and prick with a fork so that it doesn't raise up. Heat in oven at 200º until it starts to go brown. Take out and put to one side.

2. To prepare the filling: wash and peel the apples, remove the cores and cut into pieces. Mix in a bowl with the lemon juice, cinnamon, with the anise and vanilla extracts if you are using them. Also add brown sugar.

3. Mix well, cover with clingfilm and put the bowl in the fridge for a couple of hours.

4. Then pour the filling over the baked dough, avoiding spillages. Once the dough is filled, take the other half and with the help of a pizza cutter it into strips to cover the top of the pie. The strips intersect forming a lattice, in the American style.

5. Cook the pie in a pre-heated oven for about 40 minutes or until golden in colour to your taste.

Big Kahuna Burger, 'Pulp Fiction’

Seen in ‘Reservoir Dogs’, ‘Four Rooms’, ‘From Duck Till Dawn’, and of course, ‘Pulp Fiction’, Tarrantino has made the Big Kahuna burger another special fictional product.  Although none of these films details the recipe, cinephiles and foodies agree that this burger has a Hawaiian touch, because Kahuna is the title given to priests in Hawaii.  We'll share our version.

Ingredients 

· Pineapple
· Hamburger bread
· Beef and pork
· Cheddar cheese
· Ketchup
· Teriyaki sauce
· Onion

How to make:

1. Caramelise the pineapple and onion.

2. Toast the hamburger bun with butter.

3. Assemble to your taste

'Fried green tomatoes’

A traditional recipe from the southern United States, popularised by the film of the same name. Fried green tomatoes are usually eaten as a side dish for meat and fish or as an appetiser. Be careful because cornflour is not Maizena. Cornflour is yellowish and thick, and used to make arepas or a crunchy batter.  

Ingredients 

· 500 g of green or unripe tomatoes
· 100 g of normal wheat flour
· 50 g of cornflour (for making arepas, not Maizena)
· 1 egg
· 125 g of natural yogurt
· 50 ml milk
· Cayenne powder or other spice
· Salt
· Pepper

How to make:

1. First wash the tomatoes well, cut them into slices approximately 1 cm thick, and place them on greaseproof paper to absorb some of the moisture.

2. Then beat the egg and mix it with yogurt and milk.

3. Mix the flour in a separate bowl with a pinch of salt, pepper and cayenne powder or other spices to taste.

4. Meanwhile, heat a large pan with olive oil over medium-high heat. Dip the tomato slices in the egg and yogurt mixture first, then drain slightly, and finally coat it with a good layer of the flour mixture.

5. Fry the tomatoes in small slices, leaving plenty of space in the pan. When the underside is golden, flip over and fry the other side. Once the tomatoes are fried, put them on absorbent paper.

6. They can be accompanied with mayonnaise or a yogurt-based sauce.

Chocolate cake from the movie 'Matilda’

Matilda is one of those films that has impacted the childhood of several generations. In this children's tale, little Bruce is forced to eat an impressive chocolate cake. As the recipe was not revealed in the story, we have an equally inspiring chocolate dessert just for you.

Pastrami Sandwich from "When Harry Met Sally"

I'm sure you remember Meg Ryan's mythical scene in ecstasy in front of Billy Crystal in 'When Harry found Sally'. But do you remember what they were eating? A pastrami sandwich.

Steel Magnolias 'Red Velvet Cake’

Steel Magnolias was a turning point for the big screen, since during the 1970s and 1980s, all the cinema produced tended to star men and be directed toward a male audience, where the woman had a secondary role, often confined to “girl of the movie”.

The famous cake that was served at the wedding of one of the film's protagonists'  (played by a young Julia Roberts) did not go unnoticed and is one of the most popular cakes on social networks today.

Ingredients 

· 120 ml soft olive oil
· 320 g sugar
· 1 egg
· 2 level tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
· 1 teaspoon of red pasta dye
· 3 teaspoons of vanilla extract
· 250 ml milk
· 2 teaspoons of lemon juice
· 350 g of flour
· 1 teaspoon of baking soda
· 2 teaspoons of white vinegar

For filling and decoration:
· 250 g butter at room temperature
· 600 g icing sugar
· 250 g cream cheese

How to make:

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC.

2. To substitute the buttermilk, add a dash of lemon juice to the milk. Put to one side.

3. Grease and flour the moulds.

4. At the same time beat the oil, sugar and eggs in a bowl until they are well blended. Add the sifted cocoa and mix again. Add a drop of milk with the lemon and stir.

5. Gradually add the sieved flour and then the rest of the milk with lemon and don't stop mixing.

6. Then mix the vinegar with the baking soda in a glass. When it starts bubbling, add it to the previous mixture.

7. Once you have a smooth mixture add the vanilla extract and the red colouring, adjusting the amount to achieve the required intensity.

8. Weigh the resulting dough and divide it equally into two round moulds.

9. Bake at 180ºC for 25-30 minutes or until the moulds are separated from cake, and when a toothpick is inserted it comes out clean.

10. Then remove it from the mould and allow to cool completely on a rack.

11. Finally, let's make the cream. To do this, sieve the icing sugar and mix it in a bowl with the creamy butter. Beat at full speed for 5 minutes or until the mix increases in volume, becomes clear and has a similar texture to ice cream.

12. Add the cheese to the cream and beat for 3 more minutes. Put the cream into a pastry sleeve with a large round nozzle.

13. Make the cakes straight and level with a knife or cutter and go ahead and fill them with the cream.

14. Make a circle of dots with the icing sleeve in a circle shape on a cake layer. Cover with another cake layer and decorate with petal shapes.

15. Sprinkle crumbs from the pieces of cake with the help of a sieve.

16. Serve.

TRICKS

 For this recipe you'll need three 18 cm or two 20 cm moulds.