Polish Omelette

I know, you might think that this is the Polish version of a simple omelette. It is not, sorry to disappoint you. I simply name it like this because of a Polish friend, Asia. She made this one day while we were in London, I really liked it and from that moment I decided that my favorite omelette was her version. It is not very difficult to make as you may think and it is mouth-melting. For a hearty and delicious breakfast I would go for this one while for a quick and nice one I would go for cereals. 😉 What I also like about it is that it is versatile, it goes with a lot of toppings, from sweet ones to salty ones. You can play with them. I prefer the sweet one with jam or honey. My recipe here is for just one person so if you want to make more omelettes, you have to start all over again each time and make sure you keep them warm on the plates until they are all done. It doesn’t sound too good but imagine the faces of those who will eat. 🙂 It will worth it.

Polish Omelette

Ingredients:

• 2 large eggs
• 2 tbsp flour
• 2 tbsp water
• jam, honey, chocolate cream or soft cheese, grated cheese
• yoghurt (go for a fat one)

Method:

• In a bowl, separate the whites from the yolks. Put the yolks in a cup and leave. Mix the whites with a mixer until stiff.
• Put the flour and the water in the cup with the yolks and mix with a tablespoon until well combined.
• Add the yolks to the whites and carefully fold them with circular moves until uniform. This way you keep the air inside and the omelette is fluffy.
• Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a pan, add the omelette and leave to fry a  few minutes on one side, until golden brown then flip it with a pan slice or a palette knife like you do for a pancake and leave again for a few minutes until golden brown.
• Slide it out of the pan onto a plate and add jam or honey, etc. Top up everything with a thick layer of yoghurt.

Bon appetite!

Hazelnut Rugelach

When I first made this recipe, I thought that it is the same as something that mom used to make at home. Well,  it is almost, but with a twist. Imho, I like this much better. It is slightly different but I do enjoy eating it more than anything. In my journey to try the international cuisine, I found this book “The Jewish Kitchen. Recipes and Stories from Around the World” by Clarissa Hyman, 2003 and this delicious recipe: Hazelnut Rugelach.  The result was mouth-melting. If you like cooking, try this at home, if you don’t, find someone who does and eat together. 😉

Hazelnut Rugelach   

Makes 32 small or 16 large

Ingredients:

• 200 g (7 oz) butter, softened
• 200 g  (7 oz) soft cream cheese (I prefer Philadelphia but may be you prefer something else)
• 2 tsp caster sugar
• 250 g (9 oz) plain flour, sifted with a pinch of salt
• 100 g (3 1/2 oz) finely chopped hazelnuts (or walnuts)
• 50 g (2 oz) soft brown sugar
• 4 tbsp cocoa
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 25 g (1 oz) butter, melted
• 1 egg white beaten with a little water ( you can use a whole egg, I’m sure I wouldn’t mind)
• granulated sugar  (optional)

Method:

• Cream the butter and cheese until well blended. Stir in the caster sugar, then the flour and mix until the dough begins to hold together. Gather into a ball, wrap in clingfilm and chill overnight.
• Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 4/ 180°C, 350°F.
• Combine the nuts, brown sugar, cocoa and cinnamon and set aside.
• Cut the dough ball in half and return  one half to the fridge while you work with the other. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry into a thin circle about 25 cm / 10 inches in diameter. If it is too sticky, flour the pastry too. The pastry may feel hard at first but it quickly softens. Use a cake tin or a plate to help cut out a neat circle. Cut the dough circle into a 16 or 8 equal pie-shaped wedges.
• Brush the surface pf the wedges with melted butter, then sprinkle evenly with half the nut mixture. Cover with a piece of clingfilm and use a rolling-pin to press the filling lightly down into the dough. Remove the clingfilm and roll up each wedge from the outside, wide end towards the point, so you end up with mini croissants. Place on a lightly greased baking tray and brush with beaten egg white. Sprinkle with a little sugar, if wished. Repeat with the remaining dough and bake for 20-30 minutes until golden brown.
• Leave to cool slightly the transfer to a  wire rack.

Bon appetite!

Mousaka with Gruyere Cheese

I feel so relieved! My exams are over. So is my stress. I can continue writing here, without thinking that I have an exam tomorrow or I have to learn for one. So I add today the recipe I put some weeks ago in Romanian. This is the English recipe of mousaka, the Greek type . But this one comes with a twist: it has Gruyère cheese in it. I loved it the moment I put my eyes on it, as it has cheese and aubergines, one of my favorite vegetables. Plus, it is traditional to make with aubergines, not potatoes. I have made mousaka with potatoes some years ago just to see how it tasted, but I didn’t like it. My fave is this one. If you are lucky to have this book: Josceline Dimbley “Marvellous Meals with Mince” – 1982, than you can just skip this.

What I like about this recipe is that it has exotic spices like cinnamon and nutmeg, that add a special flavour and fragrance to the dish.

Mousaka with Gruyère Cheese  

Ingredients:

• 550-675 g (1 1/4 – 1 1/2 lb) aubergines (approx. 3)
• lemon juice
• 2 onions
• 25 g (1 oz) butter (80-82 unsalted butter, if you find)
• 450 g (1 lb) lamb mince (you can add half lamb and half beef mince if you like)
• 1 tsp (5 ml spoon) ground cinnamon
• 2 tbsp tomato purée
• 6 tbsp water
• a good handful of parsley, chopped
• 200 g (8 oz) Gruyère cheese, sliced thinly (the original recipe states 100 g, but my experience has shown me that it is not enough, plus I love cheese, so there is never enough for me)
• salt and pepper

For the topping:

• 50 g (2 oz) butter
• 50 g (2 oz) plain flour
• 450 ml (3/4 pint) milk
• a little grated nutmeg
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 tbsp single cream
• salt and black pepper

Method:

• Peel the aubergines, slice into 1/4 – 1/2 inch (5 mm – 1cm) rounds and immediately smear with lemon juice to prevent discoloration. Then rub all over with salt and leave in a colander in the sink for half an hour, to drain away the bitter juices. I can tell you that there won’t be much or no bitter juices.
• Peel and chop the onions. To do this I have discovered in London the excellent Alligator Onion Cutter. I hate cutting onion so I have purchased one there. I saw it in Selfridge and other stores. It is worth it having one, believe me. Heat the butter in a large frying pan and cook the onion over a gentle heat until softened. Add the minced lamb and fry over a rather higher heat, stirring and breaking up with a wooden spoon until it is separated and sealed. Stir in the ground cinnamon and  a good seasoning of salt and pepper. Then stir in the tomato purée and water and bubble until the water is absorbed. Turn of the heat and stir in the chopped parsley.
• Bring a large pan of water to the boil and empty the aubergine slices into it. Cover the pan and boil for 2 minutes. Drain and rinse in cold water.
• In a 2 1/2 – 3 pint (1,4 – 1,7 litre) ovenproof dish (a glass one shows tha layers attractively) make layers of aubergine slices, mince mixture and Gruyère cheese, starting and ending with a layer of aubergine.
• To make the topping, melt the butter in a saucepan, remove from the heat and stir in the flour. Stir in the milk, gradually at first. Bring to the boil, stirring all the time and then bubble gently, still stirring, for about 3 minutes. Season lightly with salt and black pepper add a little grated nutmeg. What a lovely flavour!Remove from the heat.
• Whisk the egg yolks with the cream and gradually add the white sauce, stirring in thoroughly. If the sauce is al all lumpy, whisk until smooth and then pour on tp of the aubergine and meat layers.
• Heat the oven to Gas Mark 4/ 180°C, 350°F and bake in the centre of the oven for 45 minutes, until a rich golden brown on top.

Bon appetite!

Marble Cake

When I say marble, I always remember Marble Arch in central London. This is a symbolic sign of London, but not the only one. But I like the way it stands marking the end of Hyde Park and the beginning of Oxford street, in an open area and circled by roads and cars. I would love to see it again.

Talking about marble, what I am to put here now it is a recipe that it is well-known in Romania and it is somehow different from the way others do it. But, in my humble opinion ;), this recipe is better, even if it takes longer but the result is worth it. Trust me! I have eaten it in my godson’s house. His mother made it and I asked for the recipe. Since then, I haven’t tried out other marble cakes but this one is the best.

Marble Cake

Ingredients:

• 10 eggs, separated
• 2 cups flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 10 tbsp oil
• 1 – 2 cups walnuts, chopped
• 2 – 3 tbsp cocoa
• 1 tbsp sugared vanilla or vanillin sugar
• butter
• honey
• icing sugar

Method:

• Preheat oven to 170°C.
• Whisk the egg whites with sugar and vanilla sugar in a big bowl until stiff.
• Beat the yolks with the oil in a smaller bowl.
• Pour the yolks and fold gently with the whites until mixed.
• Sieve in the mixture a cup of flour and fold again until mixed.
• Divide the cake batter and put 1/3 of it in another bowl. Combine the cocoa with this 1/3 and fold carefully.
• Sieve the flour in the white batter and fold again until mixed then add the walnuts.
• Brush 2 loaves pan with melted butter to lightly grease or choose 2 foil bread loaves for a quicker baking. If you have a non-stick loaf pan, you don’t need to use butter at all, or do as I do: use non – stick baking paper to line the loaves and pour the mixture directly. Once it is cooked, you just take out of the loaves the marble cakes and discard the paper. Easy, peasy!
• Pour the white mixture and then the cocoa one. Use a spoon to gently swirl the batters together to create a marble effect. Tap the base of the pan on a flat surface to smooth the surface.
• Bake in preheated oven for 50- 60 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Remove from oven and set aside in pan for 5 minutes. Brush the top with honey or sieve some icing sugar
• Turn onto a cake rack to cool completely and cut into slices. Serve.

Bon appetite!

Say Cheese! :D

Today I am going to post a very tasty, easy and vegetarian dish. The first time I made it, I found it so delicious that I had said to myself, I would do it again. And I did it.

In case you have a toothache, this recipe is also welcomed. It is tender and it melts in your mouth. One thing I also like about it is the fact that you can mix vegetables that are in season and you end up with a nice colored dish. This recipe is from “Original card from Delicious Meals Made Easy”.

Cheesy – topped vegetables

Serves 6

Ingredients:

• 3 carrots, peeled and sliced
• 1 cauliflower, divided into florets
• 225  (8 oz) broccoli, divided into florets
• 75 g (3 oz) frozen peas (you can choose petit pois if you want or fresh peas)

Sauce (as you know, there is never enough sauce so you can double the ingredients):

• 40 g (1 1/2 oz) butter (or 80 g)
• 40 g (1 1/2 oz) plain flour (or 80 g)
• 450 ml (3/4 pint) semi-skimmed milk (or 1 l for a the same milk or a whole one)
• 100 g (4 oz) reduced – fat double Gloucester cheese, grated (or 200 g of that cheese or cheddar or any other that you prefer)
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard (or 4 tsp)
• 1/4 (or 1/2) tsp salt
• black pepper
• 2 tsp of dried herbs de Provence (optional, for a herby flavour)

Method:

• Boil the carrots in a big pan of water for 3 minutes. I said big because you add the cauliflower, broccoli and peas. And they need space. Boil for 4 minutes or until the vegetables are just tender.
• Drain the vegetables. Transfer to a flame-proof dish or a Jena oval or square dish and keep covered.
• For the sauce, melt the butter in a pan. Add the flour and cook gently, stirring, for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and gradually stir in the milk. Heat gently, stirring constantly, until the sauce thickens. Stir in three-quarters of the cheese, the mustard and seasoning.
• Pour the sauce over the vegetables and stir until well coated. Sprinkle over the remaining cheese.
• Preheat the grill to medium. Put the dish under the grill for 5 minutes, or until the cheese starts to bubble. Serve.

Bon appetite!

Chicken Curry

I know. You know. Curry is one of the tastier dishes I have ever eaten. I hadn’t heard about Indian food until I went to London. There I discovered the international cuisine. And the tastes behind it. I can’t believe how lucky I am.

I have many favorite recipes and one among them is curry. Any curry. I have cooked and eaten fish, chicken, lamb curry and other Indian recipes that are absolutely delicious. I am only sorry that in Romania I can’t cook them all. For some dishes there are absolutely no spices here and there is no way I can replace them. If I do that it will be no longer an Indian recipe. Too bad. My wish is to make accessible the recipes for those who love cooking in Romania. I know that sometimes is impossible or let’s say it is impossible for the moment. I hope for the best. 🙂

For today I have mixed two curry recipes I have, to try to make an easy one. The taste of India remains. 🙂 So

Chicken Curry

Ingredients:

• 350 g skinless chicken breasts, cut into 2-5 cm (1 in) pieces (or you can try with 2 chicken breasts)
• 30 g butter (or more for more chicken)
• 2 packets of curry powder (this is how you find it here and I have to say I am not at all satisfied about its quality, or about 2 tbsp of really good curry powder)
• 1 large (about 200 g) onion, sliced
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh lemon grass
• 1/2 tsp red chili flakes (for a spicier recipe, yummy ;)) )
• 2 tsp chopped fresh coriander
• 2 tsp lime juice (or lemon juice)
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp fish sauce (optional)
• 1 tsp sugar
• a pinch of pepper
• 2 tsp plain flour
• 300 ml chicken stock
• 1 can coconut milk (you can make it by putting 75-100 g coconut in a bowl, pour over the 300 boiling water and leave to stand for 30 minutes. I have done this and I don’t like it. There is nothing as good as the coconut in the can or if you are reaaaaaaly lucky, the milk from a fresh coconut)

Method:

• Heat butter in a pan, add chicken, cook, stirring, until browned and tender; drain on absorbent paper. You can buy the chicken meat ready cooked but you will never beat the taste and smell of a freshly buttered cooked meat.
• Reheat the pan, add onion, garlic, lemon grass, chili, coriander, juice, seeds, turmeric and sauce, curry powder, pepper, cook , stirring, until the onion is soft. Stir in chicken, sugar and flour, then the stock and milk, stir over heat until mixture boils and thickens.
• Serve with the best Indian rice: basmati rice.

Bon appetite!

Feeling Blue?

To be or not to be…

As we all know, a little chocolate now and then makes us happy. Very happy. Especially when we are heartbroken. But as they say, forget love, I’d rather fall into chocolate. :)) I wish!;) No, I’d rather fall into chocolate and Love. For the moment let’s talk about chocolate. Not any chocolate but something special. A chocolate cake full of this aphrodisiac.

I found this recipe a few years ago in a supermarket in Constanta in “BBC Good Food” magazine. In pictures it didn’t look extraordinary. But the look can be deceiving, as we all know. I read the ingredients and then it clicked. This cake had 7 chocolates in it! Imagine that! 7! I searched Google at home at that time to see if I could find something similar. But I couldn’t. There were only cakes with 3-5 chocolates mostly. That was different.

Because of this I decided to make the cake on a special day. It was almost 2 years ago, probably on Christmas, Easter, my name day or my birthday. Or mom’s. Who cares! I made it and it was an instant hit from the beginning. It was sooooo delicious, you can’t imagine. Feeling the chocolate melting in your mouth, the smell, sensations that can’t be described. I just felt happy. Thinking now of it, makes me happy again. 🙂

For a tastier and why not, funnier description of this simple cake with 7 chocolates try my choice. Because my choice of cake is made with plain chocolate only, of at least 70% cocoa. Yes, you already know that, but bear with me. I was more generous with the cream and chocolate. I would never put only 250 g of chocolate in something but go for 300 g. I know, you agree with me here.

Chocolate Cake

Serves 12

Ready in 1 hr 30 minutes, plus cooling

Ingredients:

• 250 g flour/ self raising flour
• 1 baking soda package (in case you don’t find self raising, mix flour with baking soda)
• 250 g unrefined soft brown sugar (if you don’t have it in your kitchen, choose the white one)
• 50 g cocoa
• 250-300 g plain chocolate
• 250 g butter (again, 80-82% fat if you don’t mind, because I do)
• 4 eggs

For the cream:

• 400 g plain or milk chocolate (please, please, please, plain)
• 300 ml pot single cream (my choice is full-fat)
• 25 g butter
• 100-200 icing sugar
• cocoa powder for dusting

Method:

• Heat the oven to 160°C/ fan 140 C/ gas 3. Line a 20cm x 20 square cake tin. I use at home my round 26 cm diameter cake tin.
• Mix the flour, sugar and cocoa together in a bowl. Melt the chocolate (don’t touch it!) and the butter together with 200 ml water in a pan and then beat this along with the eggs into the dry mixture. Pour into the cake tin and bake for 1 hour or until a skewer comes out clean. It may crack a little on top but this will be covered by the icing. Cool.
• To make the icing, melt the chocolate (I said to keep your fingers out of this!) with the cream and butter until smooth and then cool to a spreadable consistency, beat in enough icing sugar to make the icing opaque and stiff.
• Slice the cake horizontally into 2 or 3 layers and spread some icing (yummy) between each layer. Ice the outside of the cake in a thick even layer and smooth the icing down as much as possible, don’t worry about the top too much. I worry, I want it to be smooth on top too.
• Dust with cocoa powder just before serving.

Bon appetite!

Blessed those who have tried this out!

PS: while searching this recipe on the net one day, years after, I discovered that it was no longer on the BBC Good Food site. So I turned myself into a detective. And guess what? I looked closely on the printed recipe I had since 2009 and there it was: “Recipe from olive magazine, September 2007.” While you find it here too, the original is from that site and I must add this. I am glad that everybody can access it too, from different sources.