Healthy choice

A touch of summer. Radish salad with goat cheese and black salt.

I know! It’s autumn out there.. and most of you would like to see hearty, meaty dishes with lots of roasted vegetables.. When I think “autumn and hearty” I always imagine stew and potatoes! Or that’s because I love potatoes! 😀 You know, in Russian potato is ‘kartoshka’, and we consume it a lot. But today’s hero is a fresh salad!Radish salad with goat cheese, black salt and sesame seeds

 The temperature in Dubai slowly but steady going down.. I was pretending again that it’s kinda autumn while did my shopping, and was looking for pumpkin and beets, when stumble upon beautiful radishes! They literally told me – buy us, eat us! 😀 Certainly, I had to buy them! Beautiful radishes

I love simple salads, when you can cut cucumbers and radishes, dress it with sour cream or olive oil, season with sea salt, and that’s it! This salad is one of such variations, but with a small twist – pungent goat cheese, fancy black salt and crunchy sesame seeds! Oh, they work super here! The salad looks so bright and cheerful, that I bet you want it right now! 😉 I hope you can get fresh radishes and make it.. Otherwise, welcome to the UAE, the country of eternal sun!

Ingredients for one person
Radishes 5-6, or as many as you like
Cucumber 1
Cherry tomatoes 4-5
Goat cheese 1-2 Tbsp
Coriander or parsley 2-3 Tbsp, chopped
Chives 1 Tbsp, chopped
Sesame seeds 1-2 tsp, roasted
Walnuts 1 Tbsp, roasted and chopped
Black salt and pepper, to taste
Extra virgin olive oil 1 Tbsp
Balsamic vinegar or cream 1 tsp
Method
Thinly slice radishes and cucumbers. Cut tomatoes into haves. Put all vegetables in a serving bowl, add all remaining ingredients.
Enjoy!
Radish salad

Moroccan-inspired Dinner. Roast chicken with chickpea stuffing and sauteed okra.

 When was the last time you had a proper Sunday dinner {or Friday dinner in Arabic countries}? Do you plan it ahead or make it spontaneously? I suggest you to plan the dinner this time. Find the recipe you haven’t tried yet (or try mine) and which doesn’t require much time to be cooked, do the shopping a day ahead. And probably in the weekend you can allow yourself the luxury of feasting on the company of those you love the most.
 I love to spend a weekend afternoon in the kitchen preparing dinner surrounded by the wonderful aromas! Last weekend I was browsing through the photographs from the trip to Morocco, and inspired by all those bright, ancient and beautiful scenes, I decided to prepare the dinner in Arabic style. 🙂
 This roasted chicken recipe is a terrific option for dinner if you are looking for scrumptious, healthy and something easy to cook! The richness of garlic, the fire of harissa paste and the aroma of lemon make the dish comforting and that the whole family will love!
 So get cooking! 😉
Arabic-spiced Chicken

Roast Arabic-spiced Chicken

Roast Arabic-spiced Chicken
Ingredients
1*1.3-1.5 kg chicken,corn fed, free range
Salt, pepper to taste
2Tbsp butter, at room temperature
1 tsp thyme leaves, fresh or dried
Rub:
1/2 lemon, juice and zest
3-4 tsp harissa paste
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp ginger powder
5 allspice berries, ground
1 Tbsp olive oil
+2 Tbsp zaatar
Stuffing:
200g chickpeas, cooked or from tin
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 small chilli, finely chopped
1/2 lemon
olive oil
Method
Rinse the chicken and pat it dry. Coat it inside and out with salt and pepper.
Gently separate the skin from the flesh with your fingers and insert butter and thyme under the skin.
Mix ingredients for the rub to make a marinade. Rub all over the chicken, cover and refrigerate for 1-3 hours.
Take the chicken out of the fridge 30 minutes before cook. Sprinkle with zaatar.
For the filling, in a bowl mix chickpeas, garlic, chilli and a dash of olive oil. Stuff the chicken and place the half of the lemon at the entrance.
Truss the chicken and place in the roasting pan (breast-side up).
Roast in preheated 210C oven for 40 minutes, then down the heat to 180C and roast 30-40 minutes more, or until the juices run clear.
Remove from the oven and rest for 10 minutes before carving.
Extract the lemon from the cavity of the chicken and spoon the filling in a serving bowl. Squeeze the juice from the lemon, season with salt and pepper, mash chickpeas with a spoon a little bit. Drizzle with olive oil.

Sauteed Okra

Okra
Ingredients
400-500g fresh okra, cut into pieces
400g/1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 garlic, chopped
2 tsp dark muscovado or brown sugar
2-3 Tbsp lemon juice
fresh coriander, chopped
salt, pepper to taste
olive oil
Method
Heat the oil in a large pan on medium heat, add onion and saute until soft.
Add garlic, okra and cook for 5 minutes.
Add tomatoes, lemon juice, sugar, season with salt and pepper.
Cover and leave to cook for 10 minutes more.
Turn off the heat, sprinkle with coriander.
Serve alongside the roast chicken and chickpeas.
Enjoy the food!

Autumn Pumpkin Roll

 October is a pumpkin harvesting month, and also a time for making delicious amber-color pumpkin dishes, like cream-soups and pies. And the Halloween is coming very soon! I love this time of the year, I believe autumn is the most beautiful season. Well, Emirati autumn is different, but let me pretend that it’s autumn here. 😀 It’s raining outside, and golden, brown and flame-colored laves are falling down from trees..
 In real the heat is becoming less intense and nature is waiting for the cool season to come.
And only one thing is on my mind – baking! This is one of quickest recipes, I swear! 😀 Especially, if you already have puff pastry in your fridge. So, you need cut pumpkin and apples, and saute it in butter, then mix with couscous and roll into puff pastry. That’s it! Since I prefer not very sugary bakes, I make the roll almost not sweet, the sweetness of pumpkin and apples is more than enough here. I slice the ready roll and serve warm with hot tea. 🙂 In case if you want sweeter, add more raisins and brown sugar! Anyway, the roll will be so delicious and comforting!
 It doesn’t matter what’s the weather outside, when your home is filled with amazing scent of dark brown sugar, cinnamon and baked veggies!
Autumn Roll

Autumn Pumpkin Roll

 I suggest to make own puff pastry, you can keep it in the freezer for several weeks, or if it’s store-bought, be sure that it made from butter not palm oil or margarine!
 You may vary the quantity of pumpkin and couscous to suit your taste.
Ingredients
250g butter puff pastry
150-200g pumpkin
1 small apple
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 Tbsp butter
50-60g couscous, cooked
30g raisins (black or golden)
1 Tbsp dark brown sugar (or increase for sweeter option)
1/3 tsp cinnamon
a pinch of salt
1 egg yolk
 
Method
  • Cut apple and pumpkin into small cubes, add to the pan with butter, drizzle with lemon juice and saute on medium-high heat for 5-6 minutes. Let the mixture cool.
  • Soak raisins in warm water or cognac for 10 minutes, then drain.
  • In a medium bowl combine pumpkin, apple, raisins with couscous. Add salt, sugar, cinnamon and give it a good stir.
  • Arrange the mixture on the puff pastry sheet. Make the roll, brush it with egg yolk.
  • Bake in preheated 180C/360F oven for 25 minutes.
Serve warm with tea in your favorite tea cup! 🙂
Happy autumn! ❤

German Cheesecake – Käsekuchen

 Last weekend I went shopping to the local supermarket and found a dairy product which was new to me – fromage fraise (quark). So, I bought the quark in the hope of finding a recipe and use it somehow. I was browsing the net, when stumble upon the info that Germans making their cheesecake version and using quark; even though I use Jamie Oliver’ cheesecake recipe most of the time, I decided to try new recipe without hesitation. And what do you think! The cheesecake turned out golden and very fluffy, but after setting in the fridge it fell down.. The texture was creamy and tender, and it reminded me the bake with cottage cheese from my childhood. So, if you are not fun of heavy and over-sugary cheesecakes, it’s your option! I will make it again for sure.German Cheesecake

German Cheesecake - Käsekuchen

Ingredients for 22cm baking pan

Crust
170g all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
a pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla sugar
1 Tbsp granulated sugar
70g butter
1 egg
Filling
600g quark
3 eggs, separated yolks and whites
150g granulated sugar
80g butter, at room temperature
1/2 lemon, grated zest, optional
180ml heavy cream
vanilla bean, seeds
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp lemon juice
a pinch of salt
Method
  • Crust. Sift the flour in a big mixing bowl, add baking powder, salt, vanilla, sugar and mix. Add butter and egg, knead until smooth. Cover the dough and keep in the fridge for 30 minutes.
  • Filling. Beat egg yolks with sugar and vanilla until pale. Add butter, lemon zest and beat again. Add heavy cream and quark and stir to combine. Beat egg whites with salt and lemon juice until stiff; then gently fold into the quark batter along with cornstarch, adding a little at a time.
  • Line the baking pan with paper. Roll out the dough into 30cm circle, or simply place it in the baking pan and press it, pushing it up the sides to make a rim.
  • Pour the filling over crust and smooth with spatula.
  • Bake in preheated 160C oven for 45-55 minutes until the top is golden and the filling set. If the top browning too much, cover with a piece of foil.
  • Cool the cheesecake at the room temperature, then cover and refrigerate for 3-6 hours or overnight.

Enjoy!

Cheesecake/Quarkcake

Scallops. Impress your guests!

Hey guys! Excluding this awesome, simple and yet satisfying recipe, I have a question for you. Have you ever gone out from your comfort zone? Are you doing anything unusual or off-limits during the week or month, that people usually don’t expect from you?
Can you take a bicycle instead of car and go to work? Or can you stop eating desserts just for a week? Or may be say ‘yes’ to green tea, even if you never drink it, instead of your fav coffee? Can you stop drinking cola (I hope you don’t drink it at all)?
 Or may be to call a person, who is really dear to you, and you’ve been shy to speak to, and invite him/her for a dinner? 😉
Start from simple things, try out new recipe! Prepare this amazing and delicious appetizer! Impress yourself and only then others! 🙂
Scallops

Scallops with avocado puree and strawberries

You can serve tender scallops with strawberries or just with sauce. A glass of bubbly or chilled white wine would be perfect here! 
Ingredients
6 scallops
1 avocado
60-80g cream cheese
2 tsp lemon juice
8 strawberries
2 Tbsp finely chopped coriander
1-2 Tbsp olive oil, for frying
sea salt, white pepper
Sauce:
60-80ml dry white wine
1 tsp garlic puree (roasted garlic is great here)
1 tsp finely chopped coriander
1 Tbsp butter
Chop and blend avocado, add cream cheese, lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste.
Cut strawberries into small cubes, mix with fresh coriander.
Season scallops with salt and pepper, fry in the piping hot pan 2 minutes on each side.
In the middle of serving plate, arrange avocado puree, top with strawberries; then arrange scallops.
If you don’t like avocado, you can serve scallops simple as is with a sauce. In the same pan, where you fried scallops, add wine and deglaze the pan’s bottom. Add garlic, coriander, season to taste and bring to boil. Add butter, mix well and cook for few minutes more. Pour the sauce over the scallops.
Enjoy!
1 … 9 10 11 … 16
Blog at WordPress.com.