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Coconut panna cotta

Panna cotta is such a universal dessert that suits any season, whether it’s freezing winter or hot summer. Cold panna cotta being served straight from the fridge with some fresh chopped strawberries is a perfect refreshing dessert for a sunny day; but if you take it out from the fridge a lit bit ahead of time, while quickly prepare super easy but super aromatic topping, like rosemary-scented mandarins, or quick sauté fresh cubed apples in a butter with a pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg – and you have got a nice dessert that warms you up on a cold day.

I have noticed that I make this dessert during cold months here: probably I miss the snow and the white color of panna cotta reminds me winter in my hometown… This time the idea to garnish panna cotta with coconut candies and flakes came to my mind, so I decided to add coconut milk to the mixture instead of using only regular milk or cream.

It looks like a mountain, which is completely covered in snow. Doesn’t, it? and those candies are like small snowballs, that little children make to play in a snow fight.

TIP: If you sprinkle panna cotta with red and pink edible hearts – it can be a lovely dessert to impress your other half on a St.Valentine Day.

I serve panna cotta in glasses, but If you prefer, you can grease cups/ramekins with some oil and pour panna cotta in it, and then when it’s set and firm untold it before serving onto small individual plates.

Coconut panna cotta

Difficulty: easy
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What You’ll Need

2 tsp gelatin powder

3 tbsp cold water

1/2 can coconut milk (about 180ml)

250ml whipping cream (or heavy cream)

60g white sugar

1 tsp vanilla

coconut candies and flakes for garnish, optional

How to Make it

In a small bowl, add cold water and sprinkle with gelatin, and let stand for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a small pan over medium heat, heat the coconut milk, whipping cream, vanilla and sugar until sugar is dissolved, (but not simmer). Remove from the heat.
Add softened gelatin to the creamy mixture and stir until gelatin is completely dissolved.
Divide the pan cotta mixture evenly among prepared cups/glasses. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until set, at least 4 hours or overnight.
Garnish with coconut candies and flakes before serving.

Enjoy!

Coconut panna cotta//with coconut candies

Red pepper Dip

Hello-hello! If you have seen the previous post, I promised the recipe with roasted peppers, so for keeping you waiting for so long. Here it is. The dip is such a nice snack, especially for mums, when you are doing lots of thing at a time, it is easy to forget to feed yourself (of course not your child, haha). All you need for this lovely dip is to prepare roasted peppers ahead, and then just whizz peppers with nuts and oil in a blender until you have a rough paste. In fact, I actually prefer not to measure ingredients in such simple recipes, throw in as you feel – that’s all. Then scoop the dip into a beautiful bowl, put on a table with some sliced bread or crackers on the side, and dig in when you have a time. Red pepper dip goes nicely with roasted chicken or fried chicken breasts. Yum! Healthy, delicious and sooooo quick to prepare, sounds perfect. 😀

I’ve tried this dip with a store-bought almond meal and homemade roasted ground almonds, and surprisingly I love the option with almond meal. Honestly speaking, I thought I would like a note of roasted nuts in the dip but I didn’t. The choice is up to you, try both and let me know what do you like more.

Dip with roasted red peppers and almonds

Tips

If you like it spicy – add chili flakes or chili oil.

If you want to make the consistency thinner – add a splash of water.

No nuts? Not a problem, make it nut free – sub almonds with breadcrumbs.

Red pepper Dip

Servings: 2
Difficulty: easy
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What You’ll Need

1 roasted&marinated red pepper

1 garlic clove from the marinade

1 tbsp EV olive oil

2 tbsp almond meal

6-8 basil leaves (optional)

1-2 tbsp water, optional (to thin the dip, if desired)

Salt, pepper, to taste

How to Make it

Put all ingredients in a blender, blend until desired consistency.
To make it thinner, add water – spoon by spoon, but not much!
Serve with bread, crackers or even chicken.

Enjoy!

Fish. Arabian red grouper

Hello-hello! Many of us know that fish is loaded with lots of important nutrients, such as omega-3 fatty acids, plus it is a low-fat and high-protein food. But let’s speak honestly: do you consume it at least once a week? I bet you often stick to the same preferences, it sounds “easier” to cook “favourite” chicken thighs or simply grill sausages… Maybe because you don’t know how to cook fish properly? or don’t like its smell?

And for those of you who really like fish, what type do you prefer? Have you ever wonder how do you choose it: is it common salmon or tilapia, or do you buy whatever is sold on the market? Do you always stick to the same recipes or experimenting is your motto?

What are your thoughts, guys?

I like fish, most often I cook salmon, sea bream or sea bass. The easiest way to cook fish is Bake it. You need season fish, arrange it on a baking sheet/dish and bake until it’s done. Sounds easy, but if the cooked fish is too flakey that unfortunately means your overcooked it, and most probably it became dry and tastes not that nice as it should be. Well, it’s not a secret that I overcook fish quite often, especially fillets… I think I need to buy a special thermometer.. because how on earth I should check that fish color turns from translucent to opaque without flaking the fish? If it’s not right, I have to bake (cook) it longer and then flake it again..? So, finally, you will serve ruined-flakey fish instead of a whole piece of fillet. I prefer to cook it a bit longer that it has to be. I desperately need a fish thermometer! Red grouper with citrus slices and fresh herbs

Red grouper with citrus slices and fresh herbs

This beautiful fish called ‘grouper’, it was caught in the Arabian Gulf (i.e in the UAE; I like to try everything local and that’s s why I chose it). When I don’t have any new ideas how to cook fish, I stuff it with fresh herbs and beautifully aromatic citrus slices, sprinkle with some extra dried ones plus seasoning and bake; and it turns out always good. If the fish itself is fresh and good, you can’t spoil it, right?

Baked Arabian red grouper

Tip: I have read 140F/60C is a desired internal temperature.

What You’ll Need

2 red grouper fishes

fresh coriander

fresh fennel or dill

some chopped garlic

few lemon slices+juice

few lime slices+juice

1/2 tsp dried fennel

freshly ground pepper

sea salt

EV olive oil

How to Make It

Wash, pat dry fish. Arrange on a baking tray.
Drizzle with lemon or lime juice, and season inside and out.
Stuff with fresh herbs and citrus slices.
Sprinkle with dried fennel and extra seasoning.
Drizzle with a bit of olive oil.
Bake in preheated 360F/180C oven for 15-18 minutes or until it’s cooked.

Enjoy!

Arabian Red grouper

Blini spiral pie

February 23, 2017
milkandbun
11 comments
blini, blini pie, blog, Butterweek, cooking, food photo, food photography, food styling, photos, pie, Russian cuisine, Russian food, Russian pie, spiral meat pie, spiral pie

Maslenitsa or Butterweek is going on in Russia right now. It’s a winter festival, saying goodbye to the cold winter days and greeting the warm and sunny spring. During this week people prepare and eat lots of blini. For breakfast blini can be served simple and quick with melted butter and sugar or some homemade jam, for lunch – again blini, and for the dinner, especially when the whole family is getting together, is really nice and festive to serve the delicious salmon pie or this one – soft, aromatic and nourishing spiral meat pie.

Blini and the filling can be prepared a couple of days ahead, so you can assemble the pie whenever you have the time or just before the dinner. Succulent stewed cabbage, tasty beef and aromatic dill along with coriander and parsley make the filling truly wonderful! Moreover, blini will be soaked in a mixture of sour cream and eggs, that adds extra moisture and taste.

Maslenitsa is a very kind and light time, each day has a special meaning according to old tradition. For example, Wednesday is called “Gourmand”. On this day huge tables and stalls were settled on main squares, where people could drink hot honey-based sbiten and aromatic tea, enjoyed gingerbreads, fresh buns and some other sweet treats, and definitely taste the unlimited blini! But the main event was the visit of son-in-law his mother-in-law, and the mother tried to prepare the best blini she could to show respect and love to her daughter’ husband.

On Friday, the mother-in-law returned the visit, then her daughter made pancakes and the son-in-law had to please the mother and her other relatives.

Blini spiral pie

Servings: 6
Difficulty: moderate
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The quantity of the ingredients is given approximately, as it totally depends on the taste, quantity of blini, etc.

*For the pouring mixture, you can use either sour cream or double cream; even milk will work, just reduce the quantity.

Ingredients

~8 blini

Filling

250g mince beef

250-300g raw white cabbage

1 medium red onion

2-3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

dried herbs: dill, crushed whole coriander, marjoram

salt&pepper to taste

some oil for frying

2-3 tbsp sour cream (15-20%)

100ml double cream (30-35%)*

2 eggs

Garnish

sour cream

Method

Make blini. The recipe is here.
Heat some oil in one frying pan, add chopped onion and beef, season with marjoram and salt and pepper. Fry on a high heat for few minutes, breaking up the lumps with spatula. Reduce the heat to medium and fry for 10-15 minutes more. Then add some warm water, if the meat is too dry, cover with the lid and simmer until tender or while you’re preparing the cabbage.
In another pan, heat the oil and shredded cabbage, fry on a medium-high heat, stirring occasionally and adding water if necessary, allow cabbage to brown but not to burn. Fry until cabbage is brown, then sprinkle with dill and coriander, season, cover with a lid and cook until the cabbage is soft.
To assemble, you need any round baking dish, covered with baking paper and drizzled with oil. Mix meat with cabbage and fresh parsley. Take one blin and put one-two tablespoons of the filling into it, roll. Make as much as fits to the baking dish.
Mix creams with eggs and pour over the blini pie.
Bake in preheated 190C oven for 30 minutes.
Serve warm with a dollop of sour cream.

Enjoy!

Spiced cauliflower with peas

A year ago I visited “Taste of Dubai”. It was a large, full of fun and activities festival, dedicated to food, cooking and eating! It brought together restaurant and street food, music performances, cooking classes and live cooking demonstrations. You could order some nice food, relax and enjoy the music, another great way to spend the evening was to cook along with top chefs. Many world-famous and celebrity chefs were invited to the festival, and I could watch how they are preparing amazing and tasty food, and then taste it. Among many chefs was Dhruv Baker, he is known as a winner of MasterChef 2010, and I didn’t miss a chance to sign his cookbook ‘Spice’.

Honestly speaking, I’ve prepared only few recipes from his book so far. 😀 They were not spectacular as I expected: for example, “caponata” turned out as a regular eggplant stew, that I make often too – only without vinegar and olives. But I really liked this recipe made from fried cauliflower florets with peas, tomatoes and a mixture of spices. Mustard seeds, fresh ginger and cumin infuse the dish perfectly, while chilli adds a mild spiciness. The final addition of fresh coriander leaves on top and lime juice adds a beautiful touch. I served this simple but tasty cauliflower with roasted chicken.

I am curious about all new foodie things and lately, I have discovered on the Internet that the combination of cauliflower and peas is a common in Indian cuisine. I really liked this easy and healthy dish. Spices do wonders! 🙂

Spiced cauliflower with peas

Servings: 2
Time: 30min
Difficulty: very easy
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Adapted from “Spice” by Dhruv Baker.

Double the qauntity of cauliflower and peas to serve the dish as a main vegetarian course.

Ingredients

200-300g cauliflower

2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp cumin seeds, crushed

1 tsp grated fresh ginger

3 small round chilli

100g frozen peas

1 large tomato, finely chopped

2-3 tsp lime juice, optional

some fresh coriander leaves, chopped

salt, white pepper to taste

Method

Wash the cauliflower and cut into small florets.
Heat the oil in a frying pan on a medium heat, add mustard seeds. As soon as the start to pop add all spices and stir for a minute.
Add cauliflower florets and stir to coat with spices. Cook on a medium-high heat for 5-6 minutes.
Add frozen peas and tomato, season to taste. Reduce heat to low-medium and cook for 20 minutes or until cauliflower is cooked.
Arrange on a serving plate, drizzle with lime juice if using and top with coriander.

Enjoy!