Tag Archives: Recipes

May 21, 2011 · 10:54 am

Pesto al Prezzemolo

I had been meaning to make pesto for such a long time and when I looked in the fridge to see what my options were, a big bunch of bright, green, fresh parsley was gleaming out at me. I had never had Pesto al Prezzemolo before but surely it would be just as yummy as the traditional basil version.

I got all of my ingredients out, some fresh garlic, parmesan, pine nuts, a dash of olive oil and a big ole bunch of parsley.

Here is how you do it…..

What you need:

150 g Fresh Parsley

50 g Pine nuts

50 g Grated Parmesan

200 ml Olive Oil

2 cloves of garlic

Pinch of salt

In a food processor, blend the pine nuts with the garlic and salt.

Slowly add in the parsley leaves and pulse.

When all of the parsley has been added in, drizzle in the olive oil and let the pesto come together.

Mix through the grated parmesan.

Season with some pepper, to taste.

Serve with some antipasti or mix through spaghetti.

Buon Appetito!!!

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April 9, 2011 · 7:11 pm

Chili con Cacao

 

 

 

Chili con Cacao, sounds good right? Who couldn’t resist this traditional Spanish dish, infused with my very own raw chocolate. Simmered over a low heat for the day and served up with basmati rice, this dish was perfect for the Irish Foodies Chocolate Cookalong. It was my first time experimenting with savoury and bitter sweet and I really enjoyed the flavours and so did my guinea pigs. A little more chili for an extra kick is more than welcome. I was a little apprehensive about using chili and only used 2 red chilis in this but I think that 4 would have given it the desired POW! factor.

 

 

Here are the ingredients and feel free to mix it up a little bit. Make a dish your own by adding in your favourite flavours.

 

500g Minced Beef

2 large onions

3 cloves garlic

2 cans of tomatoes (diced)

4 tspns cumin

1 tspn oregano

2 bay leaves

2-4 red chilis

2 tspns salt

1/2 tspn pepper

2 cans of kidney beans (drained and rinsed)

80g Raw Chocolate

1/2 glass of wine

1 cup of rice

 

Method

Heat a saucepan with olive oil.

Dice the onions and garlic and add to the pan. Sweat for about 15 minutes.

Add the meat and brown.

Add in the cumin, bay leaves, oregano, salt and pepper.

Cook for 10 more minutes to release the flavours.

Pour in the two tins of tomatoes.

Simmer for 30 minutes.

Tipple in the red wine.

Break in the chocolate and allow to melt.

After draining the kidney beans, throw them in to the pan with the chili.

Leave the chili on the lowest heat and simmer for about 2 hours.

Boil up the cup of rice with 2 cups of water and serve with the chili.

Sprinkle with some cheddar and devour.

 

I left my chili cooking for 4 hours in total and I feel it needed every second. It had the chance to release and absorb all of the flavours, the meat was tender and the flavours had combined to form a rich and exotic taste.

It was followed by these mini chocolate and rummy cakes. The guinea pigs had a great feast! I’d be lost without them :)

 

 

Que Aproveche!!!

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· 12:00 pm

Raw Chocolate and Rummy Goodness

 

 

When the Irish Foodie’s Cookalongs announced that the April Cookalong would be chocolate themed, I got tremendously excited!! My mind was racing with ideas about what to make and THEN I remembered that I invested in a ‘How to make your own Raw Chocolate Kit’. That came out and I whipped up some beautifully creamy bittersweet bars of chocolate in preparation for these chocolate and rum cakes for the chocolate cookalong.

They were gobbled up after the Chili con Cacao.

The recipe is Nigella Lawson’s and I added in a tipple of some rum just to give it that extra ooomph!

70g soft unsalted butter

350g Pure Raw chocolate

150g castor sugar

4 large eggs, beaten

A pinch of salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

50g plain flour

6 individual pudding moulds, buttered (I used ramekins)

Tipple of Dark Rum, about 4-5 tblspns

Heat the oven to 200°C. Place a clean baking tray in the oven.

Butter the ramekins/moulds.

Heat a pot of water to about 50°C and place a heat proof bowl in to it.

Add in the chocolate to the heatproof bowl and allow to melt.

In a separate mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar.

When pale and fluffy add in the beaten eggs, vanilla extract and pinch of salt.

Sift in the flour and whisk together to combine all the ingredients.

Add in your tipple of rum, I used about 4-5 tablespoons of dark rum.

Pour in the chocolatey goodness and mix.

Make sure the mixture is combined and all ingredients are mixed well.

Pour in to ramekin dishes/moulds.

Remove the dry baking tray from the oven and place the ramekins on it.

Place in the centre of the oven and bake for 10-12 minutes.

When the cakes are ready, pop them on to a plate, sprinkle with icing sugar and devour the creamy richness with a kick!

 

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April 8, 2011 · 2:00 pm

Make Your Own…. Food of The Gods

With the impending Irish Foodies Chocolate Cookalong which, surprise surprise I am very excited about, I thought what better time to whip out my ‘Make Your Own Indigo Raw Chocolate Kit’ . I ordered it online a while ago after a fellow blogger posted a link about it on ‘The Twitter’. I was very intrigued at the idea of making my own chocolate, so I just had to have it.

 

 

I never thought it could be so simple and after making it and tasting it (:p) I think I’ll stick with the home made version. It seems to be about 70% cocoa and I’m really looking forward to using it in some never been tried before chocolate recipes at the Cookalong.

I have never gotten into raw foods but I have heard of the amazing benefits from fellow yogis. More energy, better eye sight, increased flexibility and sharper memory are but a few of the advantages attached to switching over to a raw food diet. I am keen on the idea now and after experimenting with the raw chocolate it is definitely something I may consider. As an experiment, of course.

Instructions and some info came with the kit so I stuck to it, next time I may stray a little!

Here is what I got up to with the Make Your Own Raw Chocolate Kit…..

What I used:

250 g Raw Cacao Butter

250g Raw Cacao Powder

250 ml Raw Organic Agave Syrup

7 g Raw Vanilla Powder

Method

Heat a sauce pan of water to 45 degrees celcius.

Remove from the heat

Place a heat proof bowl in the water, creating a bain marie.

Place in the Raw Cacao Butter.

 

Melt until all solids disappear.

Add in the Raw Vanilla Powder and stir to make sure all of the powder has dissolved.

 

Add in the Raw Cacao Powder and stir until creamy. The experts suggest 100 stirs, just to be sure!

 

Now, tip in the Raw Agave Syrup and stir.

 

Watch with delight as your mixture turns into a beautifully thick, creamy and devilishly delicious chocolate concoction.

 

Tip into moulds. Rubber moulds are recommended for ease of popping once the chocolate has solidified.

Pop into the fridge for a few hours and share!

 

I fell in love with the aromas that filled the kitchen and the rest of the house. The result was a wonderfully creamy bitter sweet chocolate.You drift away in to chocolate heaven in one nibble.

I would definitely recommend trying this out!

I am going to use the raw chocolate I made here to make Chili con Cacao and Wasabi infused Chocolate Brownies for today’s Irish Foodies Chocolate Cookalong

Happy Weekend Everyone!!!

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March 20, 2011 · 5:29 pm

Brown Soda Bread


I have been trying to perfect my bread making skills for months now and it wasn’t until I went home a few weeks ago to visit my parents that I got a proper bread making tutorial from my mum and she showed me the tricks of the trade. This is her recipe and it’s really simple to make and tastes rather yummy. I love making bread, it’s such a therapeutic process and is good for the soul.

Here in Doha, buttermilk is not available so I use Laban, which is a popular natural yogurt drink or else I will use milk and lemon juice which have the same effect.

Ingredients

250g wholemeal flour

250g plain flour

1 small tspn bread soda

1 tblspn olive oil

500 ml Buttermilk

Handful of sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, linseed and oats

Heat the oven to 200 °C.

Sieve the wholemeal flour, plain flour and bread soda together in a mixing bowl.

Lift up the flour through your hands to aerate it.

Add in the seeds (optional)

Add in the olive oil and mix.

Pour in the butter milk a little at a time. If you need more just add to it.

You should have a wet batter, but not soggy.

Grease your bread tin and spoon the batter into the tin.

Take a dry knife and make a line through the centre of the bread.

Put the bread in the centre of the oven and reduce the heat to 180 °C.

Bake for 40 minutes or until golden brown.

When the bread sounds hollow, it is done.

Serve up with some bread and jam and enjoy with a hot cuppa!

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March 8, 2011 · 9:33 pm

I can has pancake love?

Pancake Tuesday, Mardi Gras, Shrove Tuesday…..(whatever tickles your fancy) has descended upon us and what better way to spend a Tuesday than gobbling up some seriously mouth watering pancakes.  In preparation for this special day, I put my pancake thinking cap on and dug up a few ideas, I put together some of my favourite ideas and I was so lucky to have stumbled upon my new favourite and extremely cute heart shaped pancake pan. Perfect pancake love!

 

 

As I have never had the greatest luck following pancake recipes, The Boy was kind enough to take care of that side, so I sent out an emergency ‘I need your pancake recipe fast’ message, I got the recipe and he had a little chuckle at my expense! But, his recipe is foolproof and absolutely gorgeous (biased? me, never!!)

 

All you need for perfect pancakes is

 

2 cups flour

1 egg

1egg white

2 cups milk

 

Sieve the 2 cups of flour in to a mixing bowl.

Make a well in the centre.

Drop in the whole egg and egg white and whisk.

Keep whisking as you add in the milk.

It should end up lovely and creamy, no bumps!

Heat a pan with some butter and add in a ladel of your batter, fry for about 4 minutes on each side.

Fry until golden brown, avoid over cooking as they may become a tad rubbery!

 

And top with….. (this is the best part!)

 

Nutella and Marshmallow Extravaganza

(Lather in nutella, top with marshmallows and pop under a hot grill for 20 seconds…don’t take you eye off them in case they burn!)

 

 

Top with stewed apples and blackberries.

(Heat butter in a pan and add chopped apples, brown sugar, cinammon and blackberries)

 

 

Fried rashers and drizzle in Maple Syrup, lovely with a cup a cha!

 

 

Chocolate Chip

Ladel the batter into the pan and throw in a few dark chocolate chips and just watch them melt….your heart :p

 

 

Tradtional Sugar and Lemon

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March 7, 2011 · 3:00 pm

Creamy Garlic and Parmesan Bake

I love the combination of garlic and Parmesan, it is a match made in heaven. So, I whipped up this little jem. It’s rich and creamy and the flavours just melt into one another. Perfect after a long day in the office, or in the classroom, in my case. For some extra indulgence, a glass of red wine just sets it off to perfection.

 

 

 

3 chicken breasts

400g can of chopped tomatoes

1 medium onion, sliced

3 cloves garlic, grated

50g grated parmesan

Fresh basil leaves

Salt and pepper

White sauce

1 tblspn flour

1 tblspn butter

250ml low fat milk

400g fresh gnocchi

Fry up the chicken in olive oil.

When it is slightly browned, add in the onion and 2 cloves of garlic.

Throw in the tin of chopped tomotoes and simmer on a low heat.

In a separate saucepan, heat the butter and flour and whisk to make a paste.

Take off the heat and add in the milk a little at a time until a nice creamy consistency is formed.

Add the white sauce into the chicken and tomato mixture, stir to combine, simmer for 5 minutes.

Add the gnocchi into the sauce. Cook for a further 3 minutes.

Tear the basil leaves into the sauce just at the end of cooking.

Butter your baking dish, tip the chicken sauce into the dish.

Sprinkle over some grated parmesan and garlic and pop in the oven for 25 minutes.

Niente di più semplice……. Buon Appetito!!

 

 

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March 6, 2011 · 4:43 pm

Julia Child’s Reine De Saba

After finished Julia Child’s ‘My Life in France’, I immediately got stuck into ‘Mastering the Art of French Cooking’ and just had to try something from it. There were so many amazing dishes to choose from; her famous boned, rolled and stuffed duck, Moules á la Mariniere, beurre blanc. However, I wanted something exquisite. Something rich and…. chocolatey!!!

So, it just had to be the Reine De Saba avec Glacage au Chocolat. Chocolate and Almond Cake with Chocolate-butter Icing.

Julia’s recipe for Reine De Saba goes a little something like this……

I have kept the layout and wording the way it is written in ‘Mastering….’ as I did not stray from the recipe and feel that it is perfect just the way it is.

A round cake tin 8ins. in diameter and 1 1/2 ins. deep

4 oz. plain chocolate melted with rum/coffee

Butter and flour the cake tin. Melt the chocolate and rum/coffee over very hot water (I used coffee); be sure it is smooth and creamy. Measure out the rest of the ingredients.

A 2 1/2 qt. mixing bowl

A wooden spoon/electric beater

1/4 lb. softened butter

1/4 lb castor sugar

Cream the butter and sugar together for several minutes until they form a pale yellow, fluffy mixture.

3 egg yolks

Beat the egg yolks until well blended.

3 egg whites

pinch of salt

1 tblspn castor sugar

Beat the egg whites and salt in a separate bowl until soft peaks are formed; sprinkle on the sugar and beat until stiff peaks are formed.

A rubber spatula

2 oz. pulverised almonds

1/4 tspn almond extract

2 oz. sifted cake flour/plain flour

With a rubber spatula, blend the melted chocolate into the butter and sugar mixture, then stir in the almonds and almond extract. Fold in one quarter of the egg whites. When partially blended, sift on one-quarter of the flour, and continue folding, alternating with more egg whites and more flour until all is used.

Turn the mixture into the cake tin, pushing the mixture up to it’s rim with a rubber spatula. Bake in the middle of a preheated oven for about 25 minutes. Cake is done when it has puffed, and 2 1/2 to 3 inches around the circumference are set so that a needle plunged into that area comes out clean; the centre should move slightly if the tin is shaken, and a needle comes out oily.

A cake rack

Allow cake to cool in the tin for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the edges of the tin, and reserve cake on the rack. Allow it to cool for an hour or two; it must be thoroughly cold if it is to be iced.

Chocolate-butter icing

A wooden spoon

A small saucepan set over very hot water

2 oz. plain chocolate

1 tblspn rum/coffee

2 oz. unsalted butter

A bowl of cold water

A small, flexible blade-spatula, or a table knife

Stir the chocolate and rum or coffee in the saucepan over the hot water until chocolate has melted into a very smooth cream. Remove saucepan for hot water, and beat butter into the chocolate, a tablespoon at a time. Then beat over cold water until chocolate mixture is cool and of spreading consistency. At once spread it over your cake with the spatula or knife.

Bon Apetit!!!

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February 25, 2011 · 3:00 pm

Butternut Squash Soup

Butternut Squash, the almighty superfood, has been part of my kitchen life for so many years. Whenever I come home, I always make sure I get to make a big pot of butternut squash soup for my family.

 

Here is a very simple yet very tasty recipe for Butternut Squash Soup.

1 large butternut squash, cubed

Ground nutmeg

1 large potato, chopped

1 medium white onion, diced

1 1/2 litres of Vegetable/Chicken stock

1 tspn  whole peppercorns

Olive oil

In a large saucepa, heat up olive oil and add in the onion.

Sweat them for a few minutes and add in some nutmeg and peppercorns.

When the onions have become translucent, throw in the potatoes. Cover them with the onions and fry for a few more minutes.

Add in the butternut squash and mix everything up together.

Pour in the stock, a little at a time.

I like to use chicken stock, but if you would like to keep the soup vegetarian then you can opt for the veggie stock. Either tastes lovely!

Allow to come to a bowl and then reduce to simmer for 20 minutes.

Blend and serve, piping hot.

Decorate with a sage leaf…tastes yummy too.

 

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February 24, 2011 · 9:00 am

Parmesan Crusted Chicken with Colcannon Mash

 

Parmesan chicken is a melt in your mouth kind of meal. The flavours blend so beautifully together to create a refreshing and light mouthful!

I wanted to mix the Mediterranean influence of the chicken with something traditional and homely so I thought that Colcannon Mash would go well, and it did!

With a bit of rocket and parsley salad, this meal is perfect for having a few friends over.

Here’s the recipe…. I hope you like it :)

For the Parmesan Chicken:

6 fresh chicken fillets

150 g Breadcrumbs

60g finely grated parmesan

Handful of chopped fresh parsley

1 tspn lemon zest

For this recipe, you will need to start by flattening the chicken fillets. You can use either a rolling pin or an empty bottle of wine and cling film. I used a bottle of wine and pounded the chicken until it was nice and flat.

To make the crust, mix the breadcrumnbs, grated parmesan, chopped parsley and lemon zest together in a bowl.

 

 

Beat the 2 eggs together in a separate bowl.

Dip each chicken fillet into the egg, shake off any excess.

Lay the chicken fillets into the breadcrumbs one at a time, ensuring total coverage on both sides.

Leave to set on a wire rack for 10-15 minutes.

Heat up a wide based frying pan with butter and a dash of olive oil.

Place each fillet into the pan and fry for 4-5 minutes on either side.

 

 

I put the cooked chicken fillets into a baking try and popped them in the oven for 10 minutes before serving.

Colcannon mash:

8 medium sized potatoes

250ml fresh milk

1 head savoy cabbage

1 bunch spring onions, chopped

salt

pepper

butter

Boil up the potatoes, leaving the skin on.

When the potatoes are almost cooked, drain off some of the liquid and put back on the heat to finish cooking.

Peel the dark leaves off the cabbage and place in a saucepan with a little water on a low heat. Cook for 7 minutes.

Put the milk in a saucepan and allow to come to a low heat for a few minutes, without letting it simmer.

Peel the skins off the potatoes. Mash the potatoes and add in the milk and a tablespoon of butter.

Mix in the cabbage and spring onions.

 

Sprinkle in some salt and pepper to taste.

Serve up the Colcannon Mash with the Parmesan crusted Chicken.

 

A side salad of rocket, parsley and a few shavings of parmesan with some balsamic vinegar, olive oil and lemon juice dressing goes really nicely with this meal too.

 

 

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