Raspberry Dessert

I will be quick today. I have to go somewhere and I don’t have much time for stories. I just want to tell you that this is a very easy and quick dessert, loved by everyone and the source of it is a card named ‘Delicious Meals Made Easy’ from London, in the time when London found out that it would host the Summmer Olympic Games.

Raspberry Dessert

Preparation: 15 minutes

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp orange juice
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 284 ml (10 fl oz) pot of double cream
• 275 g (10 oz) natural yogurt
• 450 g (1 lb) fresh raspberries (or frozen ones, defrosted, but I don’t recommend)
• 100 g (4 oz) plain chocolate mini flakes, lightly crushed
• 4 mint sprigs to decorate

Method:

• In a bowl, mix together orange juice, ground cinnamon and nutmeg. Set aside. Whip cream in a bowl until stiff peaks form. Stir in yogurt and orange juice mixture.
• Put three-quarters of the raspberries in a food processor or blender. Process until smooth. Using a spoon, press the purée through a fine sieve into a bowl. Discard seeds.
• Divide half the cream mixture between 4 dessert dishes. Pour half raspberry purée over the mixture in the dishes. Gently swirl through the 2 mixtures to create a marbled effect. Sprinkle over half the chocolate flakes.
• Top with the remaining cream mixture, raspberry purée and chocolate flakes. Put remaining whole raspberries on top. Decorate with mint sprigs and serve at once.

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!

Tortellini With Mushroom Cream Sauce

I am not in the mood for writing anything today. That is why I will be short. The recipe I have chosen is a very tasty and fragrant one. It is that good that you will empty your plate at once. I bet on that. So let’s eat some

Tortellini With Mushroom Cream Sauce

Time: 18 min

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 185 g (6 oz) small mushrooms
• 1 small lemon
• 60 g (2 oz) butter ( you know already, 80-82 % fat)
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 300 ml (9 1/2 fl oz) cream
• black pepper
• pinch nutmeg
• 3 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
• 500 g (1 lb ) cooked tortellini, drained and kept warm

Method:

• Slice the whole mushrooms finely. Grate the lemon rind finely. Melt the butter in a medium-sized pan and cook the mushrooms over medium heat for 30 seconds.
• Add the garlic, cream, lemon rind, freshly ground black pepper and nutmeg. Stir over low heat for 1-2 minutes. Stir through the grated Parmesan cheese and cook gently for 3 minutes further.
• Place the cooked tortellini in a warm serving dish. Add the sauce and stir gently to combine well. Serve immediately.

Bon Appetite!

This dish is perfect, easy and sooo delicious. I picked it up from the cookbook “Confident Cooking – Classic Essential Pasta”, 1996. In case you have it, don’t look here! 😉