Tag Archives: food photo

Plum cake

It’s a fact that spring came to this year-round sunny city too, and temperature start to creep slowly. During the day the weather is still nice for swimming and sunbathing without uncomfortable sweating like in the summer months. Another pleasure is to take an evening walk in the fresh air, or to sit outsite and enjoy sipping a tea while the weather is till cool. Having a tea without a piece of cake is absolutely wrong thing! 😀 So, you can guess that one of my favourite ‘indoor activities’ is baking! I had mascarpone cheese and ripe plums that used to be a jam, but mascarpone was nearly to expiry date and I had to use it somehow.. It was a ‘mix all what you have’ cake, I also added a splash of cognac for an extra hit. After a half an hour of baking the cake was still uncooked and I was a bit worried. But the final result was a wonderfully divine and delicious cake! It was totally worth the wait: tender, moist and filled with amazing flavour! I will be making this cake again! 🙂

Plum cake with mascarpone and cognac

Servings: 6
Time: 1hr 15mins
Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients for 18cm baking tin

50g butter, very soft

80g brown sugar

2 eggs, at room temperature

1 tbsp cognac (or brandy)

1 tsp vanilla extract

2-3 tbsp lemon zest, optional

100-120g mascarpone, at room temperature

100-110 g plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

4-5 dark plums, sliced

1 tbsp plum jam (or apricot jam), optional

Preparation

In a mixing bowl, beat the butter with sugar. In a separate bowl, beat eggs with cognac, vanilla and lemon zest. Gradually stir into the butter mixture. Fold in mascarpone cheese. Sift flour with baking powder into the batter, mix to combine.
Pour the batter into greased baking tin. Arrange plum slices on top. Bake in preheated 180C oven for 50-60 minutes or until the inserted toothpick comes out clean. Grease the top with jam. Let it cool slightly before serving.

Enjoy!

Citrusy Scampi with fennel salad

One day my husband brought home these strange-looking shrimps from a local fish market. A fishmonger called it ‘scampi’, wikipedia told it’s a kind of shrimps or langoustines. So, I’d decided to make a citrusy marinade as for shrimps and then fried it. Sliced fennel with cubes of bell pepper and orange segments worked out great with fried scampi. The smell was amazing! It turned out unbelievably delicious! This scampi recipe can be done in minimal time, super tasty and will leave you satisfied!

Now, it’s one of my favorite seafood meals. Moreover, it looks elegant and you can serve it as a top-class dish for your guests or for a romantic dinner under the stars in your garden. 🙂

Citrusy scampi with fennel salad

Servings: 2
Time: 1hr
Difficulty: moderate
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You can substitute scampi with large prawns.

Ingredients

3 large scampi per person as a starter or 6-7 as a main course

Marinade

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp lime juice

1/2-1 tbsp orange juice

2-3 tsp orange zest

2-3 garlic cloves, crushed or chopped, as you like

1 tbsp fresh chopped coriander

S&P to taste

Salad

1/2 red onion

1 small fennel bulb or 1/2 large

1/2-1 bell pepper, red

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 tsp white balsamic vinegar

1 orange

S&P to taste

Serving

fresh chopped coriander

extra virgin olive oil or basil oil

Preparation method

Cut the fennel and onion into julienne (thin slices) and add to the mixing bowl with the balsamic vinegar and oil, toss in. Cut bell pepper into small cubes, add to the bowl. Remove the rind on the orange then cut into segments and add to the mixing bowl (save all orange juices and add it to the salad); gently toss in the bowl with all ingredients. Reserve at room temperature.
Clean scampi, leave tails on if desired. In a bowl mix together olive oil, citrus juices, garlic, chopped coriander and orange zest. Add scampi and leave to marinate for 30 minutes to 1-2 hours. Heat the frying pan on a medium-high heat, add scampi without marinade. Cook for 2-4 minutes on each side, depends on the size of scampi. Season to taste.
Season the salad and gently mix. Divide the salad evenly on plates. Serve salad with scampi placed on top. Sprinkle with finely chopped coriander and drizzle even more oil, if desired.

Enjoy!

Sharing at 62nd FF party with Angie, co-hosts Jess, Prudy and all guests! Hope you all gonna love these bright, healthy and delicious dish!

Pirogki with spring onions and eggs

Pirogki means small pies in Russian. Most of the time yeast dough is used for these delicious pirogki, like I made for Kulebyaka pie. But making such dough is a time-consuming, and you need to make lots of small pies or one big. I suggest you to try the dough based on kefir or any other soured milk product, it’s very quickly to prepare, and you can use both sweet and savory filling. Today I chose one of favourite filling in my family – a mixture of chopped spring onions and hard-boiled eggs. Pirogki with this filling reminds me warm days in Russia, first of the spring crops, including young and juicy spring onions from parents’ garden and amazing aroma of these pies. For my husband, it brings memories about his grandmother, the days she was cooking these pies and serving with a jug of fresh milk. 🙂

Pirogki with spring onions and eggs

Servings: 3-4
Time: 1hr30mins
Difficulty: easy
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*Using sour cream is optional, you can substitute it with the same amount of kefir or creme fresh.

These pirogki is also good with a soup instead of bread.

Ingredients

220-250ml full fat kefir (buttermilk or laban)

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp white sugar

2 tbsp sour cream*, optional

1 large egg

2 tbsp sunflower oil

400-450g plain flour

Filling

150g spring onions, chopped

1 tbsp butter

4 large eggs, hard-boiled, chopped

S&P to taste

Egg wash

1 large egg yolk

1 tbsp milk

Preparation method

In a large mixing bowl, add kefir, soda, salt, sugar and mix. Leave for 4-5 minutes. Add sour cream (if using), egg, sunflower oil and mix well. Sift the flour into mixture, stir to combine. Cover with plastic wrap or kitchen towel and leave to rest for 20-30 minutes. If you don’t have time – rest it for 10 minutes or for a time while you’re preparing the filling.
For the filling, in a small frying pan melt the butter, add chopped onions and saute on a medium heat for 5-7 minutes until soft. Don’t let it burn. In a bowl combine soft spring onions with eggs, season to taste.
Roll the dough into 10-12cm circles, add 2-3 tsp of the filling into each circle, seal the edges.
Arrange pirogki on a lined baking tray. Brush each pie with egg wash {for egg wash whisk ingredients together}. Bake in preheated 180C oven for 20-22 minutes or until golden.
Serve warm with a glass of milk.

Enjoy! ❤

Sharing at Fiesta Friday party, wonderful party where Angie is a lovely hostess, and Margy and Selma are co-hosts this time.

Braised Rabbit with red wine, prunes and thyme

I’m sure you know that Easter is on the way (Catholic falls on April 5 and Orthodox April 12), and you’re probably planning what to cook, or searching your notes with traditional recipes. I think some of you have a special main course recipe for this occasion, or may be it’s a wide range of recipes. What will you choose this year? An elegant dish or simple&casual? I think, with spring bringing nice and pretty weather, that you’re likely to be in the mood for something hearty and light! 🙂 I’ve always been partial to rabbit; when I’m visiting my parents in Russia I’m always pleased to eat a rabbit stewed in sour cream. It’s always tender and delicious, of course because it’s prepared by my mom. 😀 Today recipe is elegant and great for a special dinner! I’d like you to try rabbit with prunes and thyme, braised in red wine. It requires few ingredients to be transformed into a flavoursome meal! Enjoy!

Braised Rabbit with red wine, prunes and thyme

Servings: 3-4
Time: 2hr
Difficulty: moderate
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Ingredients

1 rabbit, 1.3-1.5kg

water

1-2 tsp apple or wine vinegar, optional

2 tbsp olive oil

20g butter

1-2 garlic clove, peeled, chopped

5-6 shallots or 1 onion, chopped

1 bay leaf

4 black peppercorns, optional

4-5 juniper berries

12-15 prunes, pitted

4 springs thyme or 1 tsp dried

150ml dry red wine

100ml or more hot water, if needed

sea salt and white pepper to taste

Garnish

boiled or roasted potatoes

sour cream

Preparation method

Joint the rabbit, wash it and put in a large bowl, fully cover the meat with water, add vinegar if using, then cover with a wrap and leave to marinate for 1-3 hours. It helps to make rabbit meat more tender and get rid of any unpleasant smell.
Heat the oil and butter in a heavy-bottom pan on a medium-high heat. Add the rabbit pieces and brown each side for 6-8 minutes or until golden colour. Take out the rabbit pieces and place aside. Don’t clean the pan.
Reduce the heat to medium, add onions, garlic, peppercorns (if using), juniper berries, bay leaf, some thyme leaves and sauté for 3-5 minutes or until onion have softened. Add rabbit, pour over wine and scrape up the bottom of the pan. Bring to boil, reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 15 minutes.
Fold in prunes and remaining thyme. Season to taste. The liquid should come half way up the rabbit pieces. So, add some water, if needed. Reduce heat to low, cover with a lid (keep a small slit) and braise the rabbit for 45 minutes. Now turn the rabbit pieces on the other side, adjust the seasoning, again cover the pan with a lid and braise for further 40-45 minutes. The rabbit should be easily pulling off the bone.
Serve with sliced boiled/roasted potatoes, or rice. Add a tablespoon of sour creme, if desired.

Best Ever Plum Crumble

I discovered crumbles not long time ago, but immediately fall in love. Thank to the British for this amazing, simple and absolutely delicious dish! I’ve already tried various sweet crumble recipes – with peaches, mixed berried, pears.. I love them all! But.. Once I stumbled upon a new crumble recipe by James Martin, he is a well-known English chef; the recipe called for plums, spices and wine. And what do you think – it’s the best crumble I’ve ever made and tried! Plums with spices sautéed in red wine remind me mulled wine, and it’s incredibly tasty! This crumble is very aromatic and delicious even without ice cream on top! I slightly adapted the recipe – added oats and chopped nuts, walnuts and/or pistachios is a nice crunchy addition here.

Best ever plum crumble

Servings: 2
Time: 40mins
Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

20g butter

7-8 dark plums, halved, stones removed

1 vanilla pod or 1 tsp vanilla extract

1 star anise

a pinch of fresh nutmeg

1 cinnamon stick

20ml water

60ml red wine

2-3 tbsp golden syrup (I used honey)

2-3 tbsp brown or raw sugar

Crumble topping

50g plain flour

30g oat flour or fine oats

2 tbsp demerara sugar

40g butter, softened

2-3 tbsp chopped pistachios or walnuts

To serve

vanilla ice cream

Preparation

Preheat oven to 200C.
Heat the butter in a pan over medium heat. Add the plums and fry for a few minutes.
Add the split vanilla pod, star anise, nutmeg and cinnamon stick to the pan. Add the water, red wine, honey and sugar and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5-6 minutes, until the plums break down to a thick sauce. Transfer plums with sauce to one or 2 individual baking dish.
For the crumble topping, mix the flours and sugar together in a bowl. Rub in the butter with your fingers until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Mix in chopped nuts.
Sprinkle the crumble over the plums and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, until golden-brown.
Remove and allow to cool slightly before serving with ice-cream.

Enjoy!