Tag Archives: food photo

News + Plum tart tatin

 Hello my dear blogofriends, foodies and readers! Hope you’ve been missing my posts. I’ve got a huge news for you – I birthed new life: became a first time mom. 🙂 I am literally in a different world. World filled with love, joy, sleepless nights and all kind of things. Needless to say, it’s all new, overwhelming and touchy to me. Almost all the time I’m busy with by little bear, the rest hours I’m eating, sleeping and again eating. I haven’t cooked anything interesting for ages, but I do hope I will be back into the foodblogolife soon..

 I know there are many mothers of newborns out there, who could join baby feeding and caring with blogging, but that seems a bit hard for me right now. I’m sure I will be alright and get into this new life soon. So.. what about you? How it was, what did you feel being a new mom? Please do share.

my little bear_feets

 This widely-popular French Tart Tatin is the treat, that I was able to prepare in a short time. A perfect dessert for the new mom. If you remember I always prefer homemade pastry and I made it myself (yay!), of course you can switch to a store-bough but try to find the good one with butter (no any palm or margarine). PlumTartTatin

Plum tart tatin

Ingredients
Pastry
250g plain flour
1 tbsp white sugar
a pinch of salt
150g butter, cubed and cold
2 tsp cold water
Filling
6-8 plums, cut into halves (or more, depends on the size of your pan)
80g white sugar
40ml water
40g butter, cubed
Method
  • For the pastry, sift flour and add all other ingredients until just combined. Shape into a disk and chill for 20 minutes. Roll into a 3-4mm  disk to suit your baking dish.
  • In a pan add sugar with water, leave to soak for few minutes. Heat on a medium heat until golden. Turn off the heat. Stir in butter, add plums and saute for 5 minutes.
  • Transfer plums into baking tin (or leave in the same pan if it’s oven-safe) with the liquid. Cover with pastry (slightly tuck the edges).
  • Bake in preheated 190C oven for 30-40 minutes or until the pastry is golden-brown.
  • Leave to cool for 10 minutes or so, then carefully flip over into a large serving plate.
  • You can eat it as is or there are few options to serve it with: whipped or Greek cream, creme fraiche or frozen vanilla yogurt.
Enjoy! and stay turned!

Sunday Breakfast: Baked quail eggs

 When it’s not a weekend, sometimes being pressed for time can make hard to prepare anything for breakfast, and I’m not saying about to sit down and enjoy it, and you probably skip it day by day.. I never skip breakfast, and studies show that those who eat breakfast regularly lose weight! So be sure you eat a good and tasty breakfast! Like this protein-based, that starts your metabolism and your energy level will be fired up.
 You only need to put all ingredients together in a baking dish (small-individual or one large to share), crack small&tasty quail eggs in it and bake for few minutes. Meanwhile, you can make a fresh tea or toast some bread. Sunday Breakfast: Baked quail eggs

Baked quail eggs with Gruyère cheese, ham and spinach

  • Difficulty: very easy
  • Print
Ingredients
butter, for greasing baking dishes
fresh spinach leaves
cooked ham slices (1 large per person), cut into strips
5 or more quail eggs per person
1-2 tbsp grated Gruyère cheese per person
salt, crushed pink peppercorns to taste
Garnish
extra grated cheese
chopped parsley
cherry tomatoes
bread
Method
  • Preheat oven to 200C.
  • Grease baking dishes with butter.
  • Put in spinach, ham, 1/3 of cheese. Crack eggs, season with salt&pink pepper and sprinkle with some cheese.
  • Bake for 6-10 minutes or until the egg white is set.
  • Sprinkle with parsley, garnish with cheese. Serve immediately with cherry tomatoes and bread.
Enjoy!
Have a lovely and delicious weekend breakfast!

Baked quail eggs with Gruyère cheese, ham and spinach

Russian roll with Argentinian pears

 Everything is simple here. A few days ago, Argentinian pears were sold in a supermarket here, I’ve never tried them before and the price was attractive, so I bought a huge pack. Even though they turned out juicy and very delicious I still had some not-so-ripe left. Good to highlight, that using a bit hard but ripe pears that retain its shape during the baking process is a key to the good and not mushy filling.
I added tvorog (as I mentioned many times in my blog – it’s very Russian product) into the dough for my roll, it makes the dough softer and more tasty. Don’t worry, the dough won’t rip but make sure you carefully roll it out on a floured surface. Pear Roll
 The roll looks like a strudel, but the dough is absolutely different, it’s not that thin and thus much easier to roll out! It is tender&delicious and absolutely deserves to make it again and again. Another bonus, the dough can be make a day ahead! Plus juicy pears, sweet black raisins and crunchy nuts in the filling! Doesn’t it sound luscious? It is! 😀Russian roll with Argentinian pears

Russian roll with Argentinian pears

  • Servings: 6-8
  • Difficulty: moderate
  • Print

Ingredients

Dough

250g tvorog
90g soft butter, at room temperature
1 large egg
1 tbsp white sugar
200-210g plain flour
a pinch of fine salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
Filling
40g black raisins
hot strong black tea or water
1 egg white, optional
80-100g roasted almonds, chopped
450g (3-4) pears, cut into small cubes
2 tbsp brown or raw sugar
Glaze
1 egg yolk
2 tsp milk
1 tbsp demerara or raw sugar, optional
Method
  1. For the roll dough, whisk tvorog with butter.
  2. In another small bowl, whisk egg with sugar until pale. Add beaten egg into the mixture.
  3. Sift the flour along with salt and baking powder into the dough. Combine to get the soft dough, shape into the disk. Cover in a plastic wrap and put in a fridge for 30-60 minutes to cool.
  4. Preheat oven to 180C/360F.
  5. Wash raisins and cover with hot strong black tea or water. Leave to soak while ready to use. Drain.
  6. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface into 30x40cm rectangle, making sure it doesn’t stick to the surface.
  7. Brush the surface of the roll with egg white (optional). Sprinkle with nuts, spread pears and raisins. Sprinkle with sugar. Slightly fold in all sides (thus the filling will stay inside the roll and don’t fall out). Roll the dough into a barrel.
  8. Carefully transfer the roll on a greased lined baking tray. Brush the roll with egg glaze and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 40 minutes or until golden-brown.
  9. Leave to cool for 15-20 minutes. Slice and serve as is or with whipped cream/frozen vanilla yogurt/ice 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’. Spiced cauliflower with peas

 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.
Fried cauliflower with spices
 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
  • Difficulty: very easy
  • Print
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!
Fried cauliflower with peas, mustard seeds and round chilli

Thick lentil soup with pork ribs

 One is dreaming about spring and warm days, another like me wants the weather staying cloudy and windy as longer as possible. This soup is not something extraordinary, but it is comforting and hearty. It nourishes and fills you up, and sometimes that’s exactly what you need after a long day at work. I love lentils because they are healthy – contain protein, fiber and vitamins, and easy to prepare – you do not need to soak them for hours.
 Aromatic bay leaf and hot chilli flakes make this thick soup brighter! So, wake up your taste buds and start cooking the soup, it’s  a great way to warm up your belly and bowl!Thick lentil soup with pork ribs
If you want this soup to be vegetarian, feel free to omit the meat or try this recipe of red lentil soup (meatless).
Lentil soup with pork ribs, chilli and bay leaf

Thick lentil soup with pork ribs

  • Servings: 2-3
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print
IngredientsThick lentil soup
200g pork ribs, cut into segments
200g beef, but into medium cubes
4-5 black peppercorns, optional
100g brown or green lentils, washed
1 small leek and 1 small red onion, sliced
2 small potatoes, peeled, cubed or sliced
1/2-1 tsp chilli flakes
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 bay leaf
1 medium tomato, chopped
1+1 tbsp olive or other veg oil, for frying
salt, black pepper to taste
small bunch fresh parsley or coriander, chopped, for garnish
Method
  1. In a frying pan, heat oil and fry pork ribs and beef cubes from all sides on high heat until just browned. Transfer the meat to a soup pan along with peppercorns, cover with water. Bring to boil, reduce the heat to medium, cover with a lid and simmer for 20 minutes. Do not season with salt, it will increase the lentils cooking time.
  2. Add lentils to the pan, and simmer for 15 minutes.
  3. Meanwhile, in the same frying pan (you use another one if you wish), add more oil if needed, and fry leek and onion on a medium heat for 5 minutes. Add potatoes and fry for another 5 minutes. Turn off the heat, stir in chilli and garlic, saute for a couple of minutes.
  4. Stir vegetable mixture into soup, season to taste and simmer on a low heat for 15 minutes or until lentils and potatoes are cooked.
  5. Serve hot, sprinkle with chopped parsley.
Enjoy!
Adapted from Rus magazine “Collection of recipes”, 2010
1 … 5 6 7 … 35
Blog at WordPress.com.