Light Pasta Salad

I love this Pasta salad because of its lightness and great taste. It is inspired by a recipe by Elise Bauer on  Simply Recipes that I found years ago: 


You Need: 
16 oz torchiette pasta
1 tablespoon olive oil
1.5 cups cherry tomatoes - chopped
3/4 cups chopped olives 
2 handfulls pine cone seeds 
1/2 cup basil pesto 
1 cup peas
1/4 cup basil leaves chopped
salt and pepper to taste 

Instructions  
cook the pasta al dente (approx 10-11 minutes) in salted water and strain. 
Mix in a tablespoon of olive oil to prevent the pasta getting sticky and let it cool down.
Gently mix everything else in  and then it is ready to serve.

Enjoy! 

Guinness Ice Cream with Chocolate covered Pretzels

I have just made this ice cream in readiness for St Patrick's day tomorrow and it is AWESOME! Even for a non-beer drinker like myself - and so I felt like I had to share!
I got this recipe from Food & Wine and it is by pastry chef Cory Barrett.

You Need: 

2 cups of Guinness (16 oz)
2 cups of heavy cream 
1 3/4 cups of whole milk
15 large egg yolks
1 cup granulated sugar

Chocolate covered pretzels for serving

Instructions
In a large saucepan, combine the Guinness, heavy cream and whole milk and bring to a simmer over moderately high heat. In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar. Gradually add the hot Guinness cream to the yolks, whisking constantly until well blended. 

Pour the mixture into the saucepan and cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly until it coats the back of the spoon, about 6 minutes; do not let it boil. Pour the custard into a medium bowl set in a large bowl filled with ice water. Let it stand until the custard is cold, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes.

Pour the custard into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions (this may have to be done in two batches). Pack the ice cream into an airtight container and freeze until firm, about  4 hours. 

Spoon the ice cream into bowls and top with some chocolate covered pretzels and serve

Make ahead: The ice cream can be frozen for up to 1 week 

enjoy!

SAVORY TURKEY CRÉPES

I made these for my family on European Pancake Day. They were a total hit with all ages and a nice healthier and more nutritious alternative to the normal crepes with sugar, jam or ice-cream. The crepe recipe can be used for sweet as well.

Crèpes (approx. 12)

You need: 
1.5 cup all purpose flour
2 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt

3 eggs
1.5 cup milk
butter or oil for frying

Mix everything together. Melt a little butter on a large frying pan. spread a thin layer of batter on  the pan. Pan fry at medium heat for a few minutes, then turn over (note: the first one has a tendency to go wrong - dunno why). Repeat until all batter is gone 

Meat filling: 

You need: 
1lbs ground turkey
1/2 red onion
1 tablespoon oil
1 medium carrot (grated)
2 celery sticks (chopped)
1 cup strained tomatoes or chopped tomatoes
1 tablespoon oregano 
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 leaf of green cabbage finely chopped (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
Grated parmesan cheese to taste

Heat up the oil in a medium size pan and brown the onions and meat. Add everything else and let it simmer for 10 minutes on medium heat.

Put the filling on the crèpes (as shown in picture), roll and place in a lightly greased oven dish. Sprinkle a little grated parmesan cheese on top and place in the oven for 15 minutes at 390 degrees

Enjoy 

Turkey Burgers

These are a great, healthy and tasty alternative to your normal burger. I always use nice whole wheat burger buns to carry through on the healthy theme...

4 burgers
You Need:
1 lbs ground turkey thigh meat
1 small zucchini, grated
1 handfull grated cheddar cheese
1 red onion finely chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions: 
Mix everything together - by hand or food processor
make into 4 paddies and either BBQ or pan fry - approx. 8 minutes on each side at medium heat. 
Once you are a couple of minutes into the second side, put your desired cheese (if any) on top and let it melt while side two is cooking.
Serve with your favorite burger garnish (in my case mayo on the bun, lettuce, red onion, tomato, avocado and ketchup)

enjoy!

Rye Pigs in a Blanket

I made these for my 5 year old's birthday. The kids loved them because they are perfect for little hands on the go and parents loved that the bread was part rye. I used a good nitrite free organic beef hotdogs cut in half.

You Need:





4 tablespoon butter
2 cups milk
2 oz. yeast
5 oz. greek yogurt
1 lbs 7 oz all purpose flour
5 oz. rye flour
2 teasp salt

12 beef hotdogs

Instructions:
Heat the oven 400 degrees.
Melt the butter in a pot and add the milk. The mixture should be finger warm. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and stir in the yeast.
Add the other ingredients (minus a little of the all purpose flour to use for kneading). Mix the dough well, cover the bowl with a tea towel and let it rise for an hour somewhere nice and warm.

put the dough on flour-drizzled work top and knead thoroughly. Cut the dough into 3 portions.

Roll one portion into a circle like a pizza (approx 16" diameter). Smear ketchup on the 2.5" outer edge (see pic).
with a pizza cutter cut circle into 8-10 pieces (depending on the size of your sausages).

Put half a sausage on each piece and roll (start from the wide end).

Set the pigs in blankets on a baking tray with baking paper and let them rise for another 1/2 hr
Repeat with the other 2 portions of dough

Bake in the middle of the oven 20-25 minutes 

Enjoy

Chocolate Soufflé for two

I made this for the Hubbie and I on Valentine's Day - my first ever soufflè. It was simple and so so delicious. The recipe is from the San Francisco Chronicle - Emily Luchetti

You need:
2 1/2 oz bittersweet 70% cacao chocolate, chopped
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 large room temperature eggs,separated
2 tablespoons sugar
Large pinch of salt
Whipped cream for serving (optional)

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter and sugar the insides of two 1/2 -cup ramekins; set aside

Bring a small pot with about 4 cups of water to a simmer. Place the chocolate and butter in a small bowl. Place a over the pot of simmering water - the bowl should not touch the water. Stir occasionally until the chocolate is melted and smooth; set aside, but leave the water simmering.

Place the egg whites in another small bowl with the sugar. Whisk lightly just until the sugar dissolves. Place the bowl on top of the pot of simmering water and whisk lightly until the whites are very warm and almost hot. This will only take a minute or two. You need to whisk continually so the whites don't scramble, although you are not trying to get then to increase in volume.
When the whites are very warm, set the bowl aside and turn off the heat. Put the bowl of chocolate back over the pot of hot water to keep warm.

Use a hand mixer or old-fashioned rotary beater to whip the warmed egg whites until thick. They should be satiny and glossy, not wet or limp.

Remove the chocolate from the stove and stir in the egg yolks one at a time until blended. Stir in the salt.

Using a rubber spatula, place half the egg whites on top of the chocolate. Gently fold the two together until the mixture is streaked brown and white.

Place the remaining beaten whites in a medium-size bowl (so there is more room for folding). Scrape the chocolate mixture on top of the whites, then fold in just until you no longer see white streaks in the batter.

Gently divide the batter between to two prepared ramekins. Run your finger around the inside edge of each ramekin so the batter does not touch the surrounding rim. (This will help the soufflés rise).

Place the ramekins on a rimmed baking sheet.

Bake for 14-16 minutes until a skewer inserted horizontally through the top of the soufflé comes out wet, but not raw. When in doubt undercook because the soufflés will continue to cook out of the oven. It is better for them to be too creamy than too dry.
Use a large flat metal spatula a towel and a pair of tongs to place the ramekins on plates. Serve immediately with whipped cream, if desired.




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

HUMMUS

This is a very simple recipe for a beautifully plain hummus. I personally like my hummus to taste like hummus, not garlic or sun-dried tomatoes and this is exactly that

You Need:

1 can garbanzo beans
2 heaping tablespoons Tahini
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4-1/3 cup olive oil
salt to taste

Instructions: put everything in the food processor and blend! Consume!!