Dutch Baby, so fashionable these days, is nothing else but the pastry my Mum used to make for my siblings and I when we were in need for some dessert fix. Now that I’m older it doesn’t surprise me why that was her fix of choice. It’s surprisingly easy to make it, takes minutes to bake it and above all it looks rather spectacular whether you’re an adult or child in need of sugar rush.
So, baking this kind of pancake- Yorkshire pudding- pastry was not only fun but also a nostalgic carefree flashback of a sweet times with my sweet Mama.
To make this 26cm size pastry you need:
3 whole eggs
100g plain flour
1 tbsp of caster sugar
pinch of sea salt
1 vanilla pod
150ml whole milk
large tbsp of butter of any kind
Preheat the cast iron pan in oven at 220C.
Place the eggs and sugar in a blender, mix them well.
Add milk, vanilla beans from the pod, salt and the flour to achieve a smooth batter.
Take the hot pan out of oven and melt the scoop of butter.
As soon as butter has melted, pour the batter into the pan and place it in the oven for approx. 20 mins.
Once golden brown and high in size, take it off carefully out oven and garnish with seasonal fruits and icing sugar if you like it.
There are two groups of people, apparently – the ones who love their pasta mixed with the sauce, and the others who prefer to have it just on top.
It doesn’t bother me which option I have as long as the meal is well, tasty.
Bearing in mind my friend’s preferences, I made this simple dish the way she likes it – separated. And what’s your favourite?
To make this tree flavour pasta you’ll need:
a tin of cherry tomatoes
250ml of tomato passata
100g of dried tomato pesto
1tbsp of freshly grated ginger
1tbsp of freshly grated garlic
1 tsp of sambal oelek paste
2 medium red peppers
2 tbsp of balsamic vinegar glaze
a spoonful of good quality green pesto
parsley leaves and parmigiano reggiano to garnish
1. Using a glug of live oil, roast thinly sliced peppers in non-stick pan.
Stir them occasionally so they’ll caramelise nicely on both sides.
Once they soften, mix them with balsamic vinegar glaze and keep on a low heat for 3-5mins. Take off the heat and sed aside to cool.
2. In a heavy bottomed pan, fry garlic and ginger, and pour over tomato passata.
Follow with cherry tomatoes and simmer on a low heat. At this moment add the dried tomato pesto and sambal oelek ( or just chili as a substitute ) and stir occasionally until the sauce is thickened to a creamy consistence. Season up to your taste with salt, pepper and Worcester sauce – it’s a genius flavour enhancer!
Serve with your favourite type of pasta ( hint: it goes really well with penne!).
And here’s the trick; you can either add pepper into sauce and mix it all together, or serve the sauce on top of your penne with roasted peppers to taste the difference between the sauce, peppers and green pesto – used as a garnish.
The three flavours in one!
Festive season is behind us, and so is its food. But unlike Christmas, winter will stay with us for a while. I find winter warmers – like this Spiced Carrot&Sweet potato cream, I’m sharing here with you, are a perfect solution to the cold months. As usual I’ve made sure that the recipe is hassle free and the outcome filling, yet delicious.
To make this easy meal you’ll need:
3 medium potatoes
3 medium carrots
1 brown onion
some fresh thyme, ginger and a few garlic cloves – quantity to your own taste
smoked salt roasted almonds to garnish
a small chunk of freshly grated ginger
1 litre of vegetable stock
With a glug of olive oil, roast the onions in a large saucepan.
Once they soften, add grated garlic, following by the vegetable stock.
Boil the mixture for a few minutes then add chopped carrots and sweet potato and cook on a low heat for 10-15 mins until the carrots are al dente. Add the grated ginger.
The secret to the warming taste of this meal is to add the ginger at this moment (you could ad some chilli as well) so the gentle spiciness wont evaporate from the soup.
Once all the ingredients are cooked through, blend them gently to achieve a delicious cream.
Serve garnished with smoked almonds thyme and pepper if you like.
A sprinkle of finely chopped chives is also a good option for this meal.
It’s one of these super easy meals, which despite minimum effort they still manage to look, well, super appetising.
You’ll need:
a bag of freshly rinsed rocket,
3 smoked mackerel fillets
2 medium ripened pears
about 100/150 g of stilton/gorgonzola cheese
1 small green onion
smoked almond flakes
olive oil, balsamic glaze
Place rocket in the serving bowl and follow with the rest of ingredients; thickly sliced pears, shredded smoked mackerel, chunks of cheese and thinly sliced onion.
Sprinkle generously with smoked almonds and finish with olive oil and balsamic glaze.
One of good things about the weekend is that local fishmongers are very freshly stocked with their “catch of the day”. I love that feeling when standing in front of iced shelves fully covered by sea food and you just simply don’t know what to buy?
Every time when I think I’ve had enough time to make a decision whilst queueing, and I hear “what can I get you, Sir?”, my fishmonger can read from my eyes – I DON’T KNOW! Are you after some fish? Had it last time, I reply back. Scallops? He continues. Not this time. Why don’t you have a bunch of Razor clams? Why don’t I! I reply enthusiastically. Never mind the inpatient clients behind me, waiting to be served. I just got I didn’t know I wanted! Which makes my weekend a bit more exciting.
Razor clams are this type of seafood which doesn’t require a lot of preparation; good old salt and pepper plus, shaved shallots, butter and ginger…and they’re ready to go in the oven!
Roast them at 200C for about 10min on greaseproof paper, turning the tray around to ensure that clams cook evenly. Once they open, sprinkle generously freshly grated gruyere cheese and roast for another 5mins until cooked through.
Once they’re ready, serve on a piece of bread or baguette, garnished generously with chopped parsley or chives.
PS. Just make sure the clams are rinsed throughly of sand before seasoning them.
I have a vivid memories of my grandparents taking my brother and I for the weekend trips into the woods. I remember the Autumn ones especially because of the mushrooms about which most of my family was mad about. Well, let me tell you picking up a mushroom has nothing to do with picking up a wild berries or herbs. It takes a skill which to this day I seem to lack. So whilst my grandparents, supported by my helpful brother, were busy adding one mushroom after another into their baskets, I was just wondering what we’ll make out of them. Chanterelles in particular. Their characteristic, slightly spicy aftertaste, reminds me of autumn and of precious moments spent with family. As I couldn’t compete with my granddad’s mushroom creamy soup and my grans marinated fungi, I created this dish out of what was available in their garden: shallot onions, kale, garlic and pasta. Who would have thought that just a few ingredients could create such tasty meal?
To serve two, you’ll need;
a handful of chanterelle mushrooms
1 medium shallot onion
a bunch of kale
2-3 garlic cloves
one fresh chilli
2 tbsp of butter
cheese to finish
it goes like this:
Rinse mushrooms out of sand and grass and dry them gently on paper towel.
In a non stick pan melt a table spoon of butter and add the mushroom, sprinkle with salt and pepper and cover by lid. Sweat on a low heat for about 10 mins, stirring occasionally. This will keep them moist rather than fried which wouldn’t be ideal for this particular meal. Meanwhile in another pan, fry shallots with a chunk of butter. Once they soften, add sliced garlic and kale. Stir gently until soft and slightly caramelised. Mix the veggies into the mushroom and add finely chopped chilli. The spiciness of the chilli will warm up the flavours perfectly.
In a large pan boil your favourite pasta ( I chose fusilli which is just perfect for that meal) Once the pasta is ready, mix all together. If, like myself, you’re a butter addict , at this stage you can add another bit of butter before serving.
Grate some parmigiano or gruyere cheese and enjoy your meal!
Comfort food. Classic of the classics. Quintessentially French ‘manger’.
This autumnal meal, in Anglo-Saxon dictionary also known as a Burgundy Beef, is a great option for weekend cooking for many reasons. Especially when you host a small dinner party for your friends. Its a really good warmer and indulgent enough to not bother with a starter. Unless a crusty baguette is considered as a starter…
As usual, I didn’t follow any particular recipe to make this excellent meal, so here are ingredients used in order to create the #boeufbourguignon
600g of good quality diced beef
8-10 chestnut mushrooms
4 shallot onions
4medium carrots
2parsnips
bunch of lemon thyme
1 whole garlic
2 tablespoons of dried garlic leaves
2 tablespoons of smoked salt
2 tablespoons of white/green pepper
1 bouquet garni
3 bay leaves
2-3 cox apples
3 tablespoons of freshly grated ginger
1 bottle of reasonably good wine (cheap=bad)
2 tablespoons of goose fat or good butter to fry the meat
From my experience it is good to fry the seasoned (with salt&pepper) beef in a heavy bottomed dish, ideally using goose fat. This not only fries the meat well but also keep it moist at the same time. When the meat is done, put it to the side and using the dame dish braise the onions, mushrooms, thyme, garlic, ginger and herbs until golden brown and softened.
When ready, add the meat and braise together for a few minutes with a generous splash of wine from the bottle.
At the same time on a low heat – using another pot – braise together (using a remaining spoon of goose fat) chopped carrots, parsnip, apple and dried garlic leaves cover with a lid to keep the moist. The smaller the chunks of the veggies, the shorter the time of braising. It shouldn’t take more than 10 mins to do so. Do not worry if some of the chunks aren’t soft enough. They’ll will be when mixed with meat and wine for additional 3 hrs of cooking.
When all is ready to be mixed together into one large heavy bottomed pan, finish it with the remaining wine from the bottle and stir well. Braise the contents, covered with lid on a very low heat for about 3-3,5hrs unit beef is very soft and succulent and flavours are just perfect. Don’t worry, when it comes to boeuf bourguignon, you’ll know when it tastes perfect.
TIP; Divide wine into 3 parts so you’ll know how much to use and when.
1st part for braising the meat,
2nd for braising the vegetables
3rd for the final stage when both, beef and vegetables are mixed together.
Serve in the bowl with topped with a fresh baguette. And a glass of red wine, obvs!
Oh, October. A month holding the last days of summer with opulent rhapsody of ripe fruit and veg. A month where warming meals are becoming the main staple in or menus. A month bringing us shorter days and more time to cook!
When it comes to cooking, I think it is best to use ingredients not only available in the kitchen, but particularly what’s in season. Japanese autumnal curry is one of the meals I cannot wait to cook when the first days of Indian summers are melting with bygone summer. This curry is easy to make it, and an excellent meal for post holidays blues – allowing you to enjoy something more exotic than your average comfort food.
What do you need to prepare this dish:
2 medium carrots
1 onion
1/4 of celeriac
1 parsnip
2-3 bay leaves
a few allspice corns
2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce
a handful of cashew nuts
1 fresh red chilli chopped
approx. 2 tablespoons of curry paste (I leave the spiciness to your taste)
1 tablespoon of curry powder
pinch of fresh herbs such as oregano, dried garlic leaves
2 cloves of smoked garlic ( although regular will do too)
300-500g of white buckwheat
2 boiled eggs for garnish
500g of lean beef mince
Start by marinating the mince meat. I try to marinate it the night before so all the flavours of spices and herbs are mix together wonderfully. I attach the photo to show you the way I marinate the meat then keep it covered in the fridge overnight (cling film cover a bowl will do nicely).
Fry the beef on heavy bottomed pan with a glug of olive oil.
Sprinkle the Worcestershire sauce and add chopped chilli. Then when the meat is semi cooked add grated vegetables, including the onion. These can be grated using the largest sheds on your grater.
Mix all together and sauté, covered by lid. After 5 to 7 mins everything should be ready but not overcooked. Toss everything once again and let it dry a bit, as the idea of this meal is not to be too “juicy” as all the flavours are in the meat mixed with veggies.
Once the meal is ready to be served, sprinkle the top of the meal by chopped egg and freshly grounded pepper.
I think you’d agree with me that there’s nothing better than cooking for your friend. So when Joanna came over, it was no brainer that kitchen would be the place to have a proper gossip while I’ll prepare our dinner! Friends&Food&Fun !
In search for a summer meal? Well, there’s nothing better than scallops carmelised with sesame oil. A succulent and light alternative to meaty meals. Buckwheat roasted with shallot and pumpkin seeds is a delicious companion to sesame fried scallops.
To prepare meal for two:
100g of white buckwheat
8-10 scallops (fresh or frozen)
1 medium shallot onion
a handful of pumpkin seeds
1 tbsp of sesame oil
2 tbsp of white sesame seeds
Cook buckwheat according to the instructions on the packaging. When ready drain well from water and fry with chopped shallot, then season with coarse pepper and sea salt and add the pumpkin seeds.
Meanwhile dry the scallops with paper towel (especially when defrosted) and sprinkle them with sesame oil and sea salt. Following this dip the scallops in sesame seeds. Heat a heavy bottomed pan and fry them for about 5 mins until tender and carmelised. Leave to rest for a minute before serving.
TIP: 1. do not overdose with sesame oil, otherwise scallops will tend to burn rather than fry.
2. fry scallops on both sides in total time approx 5 mins.
3. to perfectly fry the onion with the buckwheat, start with lightly frying the shallot with a glug of olive oil and when softened, add cooked buckwheat and toss all together. Finally add the pumpkin seeds.
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