What I figured out while living in the US is that people get nuts about pumpkin and spices during fall season. Every time I pass through a coffee shop or a restaurant and have a brief look at their menu I always find something new and curious with pumpkin and spices.
Some chefs like their pumpkin in savory meals, some of them prefer pumpkin spice deserts. I consider myself as a pumpkin desert lover and thatās why Iām gonna show you this amazing and delicious pumpkin bread pudding with a touch of cinnamon.
So grab your tea, your woolen blanket and get ready for some cookinā!
There are only two occasions to prepare a bread pudding:
1ā²st ā because you crave for something sweet and it has to be done quickly;
2ā²nd ā Ā because you have some leftovers of stale bread and you simply donāt want to waste that much of a product.Ā
In this recipe I used a baguette leftover which was the right fit for my bread pudding.
Serving size: 4 slices
List of ingredients:
Pumpkin puree ā 250 grams
Stale white loaf ā 160 grams
Eggs ā 2Ā
Whole milk ā 240 ml
Sugar ā 0,8 cup
Dried cranberry ā 0,5 cup
Butter ā 2 tbsp
Cinnamon ā 1,5 tsp
Honey roasted almond flakes ā 5 tbsp
Method:
Soak your stale bread in milk for 5-7 minutes until nice and soft.
Beat the eggs until foamy and start adding sugar gradually until the mixture is combined.
Then add the butter and pumpkin puree to the egg mixture. I recommend adding 2 tablespoons of pumpkin puree at a time for better consistence.
Give your bread a little stir and transfer it to a greased baking dish.
Add cinnamon, almonds and dried cranberries to your pumpkin mix, whisk it all together and transfer to the baking dish with soaked bread.
Preheat the oven to 180 C (360 F) and bake for 40-50 minutes.
Serve with a scoop of caramel ice cream or some whipped cream.
For quite a long period of time, chefs all around the globe have been using apples as additions to their main dishes and salads. And so have I.
So one day I woke up with a strong desire to combine my favorite ingredients such as: nuts, cheese and apples. And this is exactly how I created this incredible, both sweet and savory toast.
Now I would like you to try it!
This toast will fit into any breakfast, lunch or dinner as an addition or as a separate dish. I highly recommend to use wholegrain or wholewheat bread just because itās healthier.
Serving size ā 2 toasts.
List of ingredients:
Wholegrain bread ā 2 splices
Gala or Pink Lady apple ā 1 piece
Goat cheese ā 20 grams
Thyme ā 2 branches
Honey roasted sliced almonds ā a handful
Salt ā to taste
Olive oil ā 2 tbsp.
Method:
Toast the bread and spread some cheese over it. Try to not overcheese it.
Cut your apple into the small wedges. Fry the wedges in a small pan with olive oil and thyme over medium heat for 2 minutes. Then add almonds and cook for another 2-3 minutes.Ā
Put fried apple wedges with almonds and thyme leaves on the toast and enjoy its taste.
Fall is when those wrinkled apples on a counter of a shop are tastier than the ones that are bulk and shiny. Fall is when pallets in a fruit department burst with seasonal vegetables, berries and boxes of a ripe soft figs. I love figs so much not just because they taste like heaven but also because you can make so many things with them. Iām not talking about pies and desserts, Iām talking about salads, entrees, second courses and snacks. Since the fall season is also a fig season in Russia I made this simple and delicious fig salad.
Fresh figs, unlike the majority of sweet fruit donāt make you thirsty. They also satisfy hunger pretty fast. Thatās why this fruit is often used in snacks, salads and even second courses.
Serving size ā 2 plates.
List of ingredients:
Figs ā 15
Watercress salad ā 1 pack
Shallot ā 1Ā
Blue cheese ā 40 grams
Olive oil for dressing ā 20 ml
Lemon salt ā a pinch / lemon juice ā 10 ml
Honey ā 1 tsp
White wine vinegar ā 1 tsp
Salt ā to taste
Pepper ā to taste
Method:
Finely chop the shallot and put it in a cold pan with cold olive oil. Turn on the heat and fry stirring slowly until onions are softened. Lower the heat and continue stirring occasionally. Cook until onions darken. *
* If onions start sticking to a bottom of your pan, add a little water and continue cooking.
In a separate bowl mix olive oil for dressing, vinegar, honey, salt, lemon salt / juice and pepper.
Cut the figs.
Mix your watercress with figs and onion and all of it dip into the dressing. Then transfer the salad into a separate plate and sprinkle with blue cheese.
Iāve been out for quite a while and there is a very good reason for that. I finally got a job as a cook. Can you imagine? Iām a real cook now! After several years of blogging (yes I had another blog before), culinary journalism and studying culinary arts in London I finally became who Iām supposed to be. I love my job a lot and for the past two months of my absence Ā I tried to figure out the schedule and the industry itself. Now I have enough days-off to cook something for this blog and show you something new and delicious. If you want to learn more about my job and my personality feel free to follow me on instagram and facebook. Sometimes I switch to Russian because there is a lot to explain to my russian-speaking followers too.
What about the recipe of the day? Here it is: Clams Mariniere.
As if there is no difference in preping you can use mussels for this recipe if you want to.
Serving size ā 2 big bowls or 3 medium bowls.
List of ingredients:
Cams or mussels ā 800g/1kg
White wine ā 250 ml
Unsalted butter ā 30 g
Onion ā 1
Garlic ā 1 clove
Double cream ā 120 ml
Chopped parsley ā to serve
Salt ā to taste
Method:
Finely chop the onion and garlic. Put the butter with onion in a deep pan and saute until soft, then add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
Add white wine into the pan, bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium and cook for another 5 minutes.
If your clams/mussels were frozen defrost them at a room temperature or in a microwave.
Put the clams/mussels into the pan with butter, onion, garlic and wine, cover and cook for 4-5 minutes. Then transfer the clams/mussels to a plate and throw away the ones that are not opened.
Pour all of the cream into the pan with sauce and cook over medium heat for 10-12 minutes and add salt to taste. After the liquid is slightly evaporated ,mix in the clams/mussels.
Put some chopped parsley on top and enjoy your dinner!
Lentils are edible pulse which i love the most. You can make from them almos whatever you want: porridge, soups, casseroles and even spread based on lentils. Today I will tell you how to cook a soup of yellow lentils without using a blender and extra fatty foods, so sit back and read the recipe below!
Before I start letās make one thing clear about lentil. You can find several types of lentils on the market: red, black, yellow and green. Green and black lentils are good for soups but not suitable for creamy ones because they preserve their round shape during boiling process. For this recipe I would recommend to use red or yellow ones, as if they split after 30-40 minutes of cooking and you can literary mash it with a fork.
Serving size ā 4 medium bowls.Ā
List of ingredients:
Yellow lentils - 250 grams
Onions - 2Ā
Garlic - 2 cloves
Olive oil - 4 tbsp
Cumin - 1 tsp
Lemon juice - from half a lemon
Parsley - a small bunch
Salt - to taste
Pepper - to taste
Toasted bread and vegetables - to serve
Method:
Finely chop the onions and place them in a cold pan with olive oil. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until the onions become brownish.
Once the onions are brownish, add finely chopped garlic and cook for 35-50 seconds, until you smell the garlic.
Once you felt the garlic, pour in 4-6 cups of water* and place your lentils into the pan. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium and cook for another 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Lower the heat to medium low and continue cooking for another 45-50 minutes, until the lentils are split.
* I usually add approximate amount of water and donāt stick to the rule ā 2 cups water to 1 cup of lentils.
If the soup seems too heavy add one more glass of water and bring to a boil.
Remove your ready soup from heat, add cumin, lemon juice, salt, pepper and the finely chopped parsley.
Serve your soup with some vegetables and toasted bread.
My favorite time of the year is summer. The only time when I eat lots of veggies, fruit, light snack and drink Pino Grigio. Today I would like to show you an example of my favorite perfect summer snack full of vegetables and flavor. Mediterranean tart is also a good company for both Pino Grigio and Sauvignon Blanc.Ā
There is nothing difficult in preparation of this recipe thatās why I highly recommend it to those who like stress-fee cooking.Ā
Serving size ā 2 tarts.
List of ingredients:
Puff pastry - 150 g
Olives - 6Ā
Basil - a small bunch
Egg - 1Ā
Tomatoes - 2Ā
Mozzarella cheese - 40 grams
Dried oregano - 2 tsp
Olive oil - 2 tbsp
Salt - to taste
Method
If the pastry was frozen you need to defrost it first. Do NOT use microwave because it will destroy the puff pastry. Be patient and defrost it at a room temperature, it takes about an hour or so.
Once our puff pastry is soft and gooey, gently roll it into a layer 5 mm thick.
With the rear side of the knife mark the boundary.
Brush the inner square with some olive oil and sprinkle it with dried oregano.Ā
Cut the tomatoes into rounds and put them the middle of the square with some mozzarella cheese.
Put the olives on top of the tomatoes. Whisk 1 egg and brush remaining edges of your tart with it.
Preheat the oven to 200 C (400 F) degrees and bake the tart for 17-20 minutes or until the crust is golden.
Remember I posted the recipe for cod with parsley sauce and said (did I?) that there is nothing wrong combining fish snack with fish meal? So here is it: today Iām gonna show you how to cook a quick and absolutely delicious snack which will be a great addition to any fish meal.
You can make this pate in advance and store it in a fridge for 3-4 days. It can be a good addition to your breakfast or lunch.
List of ingredients:
Mackerel - 2 fillets
Plain yogurt - 30 grams
Port or sherry - 1.5 tbsp
Cream 35% - 120 ml
Method
Remove the skin from mackerel and put it into a blender with yogurt and give it good grind. Then add port or sherry and mix on a medium speed.
Add the cream and mix everything again.
Serve your ready pate on a piece of bread with some fresh vegetables and paprika on top.
What is a scone? This type of pastry is classified as a quick bread because it bakes quickly and doesnāt take much time to prepare. Scones were invented in Britain and being served as a snack to traditional afternoon tea to this day. Many places serve them sweet with some fresh cream and unsalted butter. More creative ones sometimes cook them with cheese such as parmesan or grana padana. Probably my next recipe will show you how to bake them with other ingredients but now I would like to show you how to make traditional sweet scones.
Despite itās obvious advantage, scones have one disadvantage ā they are not a long lasting product. Scones prepared without preservatives keep their freshness up to 4 hours on a table. After that they will probably turn into a stone so cook wisely.Ā
Traditionally British people cook scones with raisins. I decided to add a little bit sourness into the recipe and replaced raisins with candied citrus peel.
Serving size ā 5-6 scones
List of ingredients:
Plain lour - 130 grams
Baking powder - 1.5 tsp
Salt - pinch
Sunflower Oil - 1.5 tbsp
Sugar - 3 tbsp
Egg - 1Ā
Egg yolk - 1Ā
Milk - 70 ml
Candied citrus peel or raisins - 4 tbsp
Method:
In a bowl mix the sugar, flour, salt and baking powder.
Then whisk the egg with milk and add to the dry mixture. Pour in some sunflower oil and knead the dough. If it seems a little wet, add some flour, if itās dryish, add 1 extra tablespoon of milk.Ā
The dough should be slightly moist and should not stick to your hands. After you finish the dough add candied citrus peel or raisins and knead it again.
Dip your hands into the flour and shape small balls. Put them on a greased baking sheet.
Preheat the oven to 250 degrees celsius (approx 480 F). Glaze the scones with egg yolk and pit into the oven for 10-12 minutes.
How often do you eat breakfast? Each day, twice a week, on the weekend? Various nutritionists proven: the more regularly you eat breakfast, the less you eat throughout the day. This time of the day is very important for me. Every day a make a small ritual ā first I make coffee, then do my makeup routine and then I start preparing my breakfast and nothing has changed since I started doing so. To brighten up one of the rainy mornings in Britain I decided to cook something tasty and unusual and made what you see on the picture below.
To make my morning even more bright I not just fried my onions which I usually do but I caramelized them with a little bit of sugar so it gave my meal a sweet crunchy taste.
Serving size ā 2 eggs
List of ingredients:
Yogurt plain - 2 tbsp
Lemon juice - 2 tsp
Eggs - 2
Red onion - 1Ā
Sugar - 1 tbsp
Chives - a small bunch
Salt - to taste
Pepper - to taste
Olive oil - 2 tbsp
Vinegar - 1 tbsp
Method
Caramelize your onion. Heat some olive oil in a frying pan and chop an onion into thin half moons. Fry it stirring for 4-5 minutes, then add the sugar and cook for another 3-5 minutes until it becomes brown.
Now letās make the poached eggs. Boil some water with 1 tablespoon of vinegar.
Lower the heat to medium and stir water with a spoon. Brake one egg into it and cook for 4-5 minutes until itās poached. Do the same thing with the second egg.
While the eggs are cooking make aĀ āsauceā. Add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice to the plain yogurt and mix well.
Spoon your lemony yogurt onto a plate
Put caramelized onion on top of the yogurt
Put each egg on top of eachĀ ānestā and sprinkle with salt, pepper and chives.
You can serve this breakfast with whole wheat or wholegrain bread and also with some french fries or garden salad.
In May 2015 the doctors decided to put me on a strict diet in order to get rid of some weird kind of allergy that covered my entire body with red dots. For six days I ate only green vegetables, dairy products, cereals and boiled meat. I decided not to despair that I was deprived of delicious fruits and beloved blueberries. To get at least some hormone of happiness I drank 2-4 glasses of smoothies a day. Today will show you a piece of my diet, which not only gave me a good mood, but was a very important part of my anti allergy detox program.
Although I was allowed to eat and drink dairy products, milk was the only thing I couldnāt consume. Thanās why I made all of my smoothies with plain kefir.Ā
List of ingredients:
Plain Kefir - 300 ml
Banana - 1 pc
Fresh spinach - 60 grams
Honey - 1 tbsp
Lime juice - 2 tsp
Method
Mix plain kefir, banana and spinach in a deep bowl and puree with a blender.
Then add some lime juice and honey and mix again.
You can drink your smoothie with or without this wonderful cheesy-spinachy snack.
Here you go! Ready healthy green smoothie will cheer you up in a cloudy day or make you energized before workout or after.
I started consuming a lot of bananas when I got a chance to review my diet. Turned out that lots of unhealthy stuff comes from the amount of white sugar I eat so I started replacing it with fresh fruit. I know that sometimes a couple of large bananas contain more calories than chocolate, cookies or a scoop of ice cream. The only difference is that bananas are definitely healthier than all mentioned above because they contain natural sugars and protein. A benefit of natural sugars in bananas makes them a good replacement for cane sugar that you buy in a supermarket. Thatās why I started treating myself with banana pancakes every saturday and feel no guilt about that. So let me show my favorite recipe of banana pancakes to you.
If you decided to reduce the amount of sugar you consume ā good for you! You can substitute it with honey or pureed sweet fruit. If you wish to make gluten free banana pancakes use almond flour and any other type of gluten-free flour that you will find on a market.
Serving size ā 5-6 pancakes.
List of ingredients:
Flour - 130 grams
Salt - 2 pinches
Egg - 1
Whole milk - 150 ml
Banana - 1Ā
Ground nutmeg - 0.5 tsp
Vanilla extract - 1 tsp
Honey or any other natural sweetener - 1 tbsp
Method:
Mix the flour, sweetener, salt, Ā and ground nutmeg in a bowl.
Puree a banana and mix with milk, egg and vanilla extract. Give it a stir using a whisk.
Combine dry ingredients with wet. Mix well until the lumps disappear.
Heat sunflower oil in a pan over a medium heat. Fill a ladle on third and fry your pancakes for 1,5 minutes on each side under a lid.
To make your banana pancakes taste even better add some fresh bananas and honey to it.
Some restaurants often cheat while preparing tomato soup. They use powdered concentrate, add some hot water to it and voila! Youāve just been served a hot tomato juice with no tomatoes in it. Thatās kinda makes me sad when people refuse to order tomato soup because they donāt want to overpay for their juice. Now guys Iād like to show you the way of how normal restaurants cook their tomato-basil soup without cheating. You will not regret, I promise!
This soup is a great medicine from dehydration and flu. Remember: if you are planning a fun night out, donāt forget to cook tomato soup in advance because thatās probably the only thing that will cure your hangover in no time. The same works with flu.
Serving size ā 4 medium bowls
List of ingredients:
Olive oil - 4 tbsp
Fresh Tomatoes - 680 grams
Garlic - 4 cloves
Fresh Parsley - 120 grams
Dry oregano - 1 tsp
Sundried tomatoe puree - 3 tbsp
Tomato Passata- 450 grams
Vegetable broth - 600 ml
Fresh basil - 3-4 tbsp
Salt and pepper - to taste
Method
Remove the skin from the tomatoes. To do this, boil water in a deep saucepan.
Dip each tomato into the boiling water for 30-60 seconds. The skin should peel off easily.
Finely chop the garlic. Heat olive oil over medium heat in a saucepan and fry the garlic until you feel the smell *. It takes about 20-30 seconds.
* If the garlic came brown - your soup will likely be a rubbish. Wash the pan and start again.
Cut the tomatoes into small pieces. Add them to a saucepan along with the passata and sun-dried tomato puree.
Finely chop the parsley and add it to the pan with the oregano. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce heat to medium and simmer for 5 minutes.
Add vegetable broth and bring the mixture back to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for another 7 minutes.
Once cooked, puree the soup using a blender in a minimum speed for 30-40 seconds.
Once the soup is ready, add basil. Donāt try to chop your basil because the texture of its leaves is very delicate and damages easily. Simply torn the leaves by hand into your soup. I like to add basil just before serving.
You can eat this soup hot or cold depending on weather and mood.
Vegetarian Burger with Chickpeas, Tomatoes and Sweet Corn
Read this recipe in Russian here
Heavy meals are less desirable especially in a hot summer day. For those who love burgers, but doesnāt like that heavy feeling in the stomach after an oily patty or two I made a vegetarian option. It is as delicious as meaty ones but contains less fat and slightly less calories. Try it with gluten free bread and some greens and your body will sayĀ āthank you!ā.
I bought canned chickpeas and corn in a nearest supermarket so it let me to make this burger faster. Patties can be preapred in advance. Youāll just need to puree the ingredients, for your patties, wrap them into plastic and leave in a fridge. Donāt forget to take them out when youāll go to barbecue.
Serving size ā 6 burgers
List of ingredients:
Canned chickpeas - 400 grams
Canned sweet corn - 350 grams
Bread for toasting - 2 pieces
Paprika - 0.5 tsp
Cayenne pepper - pinch
Flour - 1 tbsp
Buns for burgers - 6 pieces
Green onions - a small bunch
Tomatoes - 400 grams
Garlic - 2 cloves
Salt - to taste
Pepper - to taste
Method
Letās make bread crumbs first. Remove the crust from the toast bread and throw it away. Place Ā your bread into a toaster and cook on medium power or until very crispy and brown. Instead of doing this you can always buy breadcrumbs in a supermarket.
Make the tomato sauce. Cut the tomatoes into medium chunks, place in a saucepan and simmer them for 7-10 minutes. Then add finely chopped (or crushed) garlic, paprika and salt. Cook stirring for 5 minutes.
Then make patties. Put chickpeas, sweet corn, green onion, flour, cayenne pepper, breadcrumbs and salt to taste into a blender and puree well.
Form medium patties and heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat in a large pan, Fry your patties for 4-5 minutes on each side.
Toast your bugger buns, put your ready patties inside, top them with tomato sauce and serve hot.Ā
Since childhood any kind of pate was a great and tasty delicacy, which occasionally appeared on the table (USSR, tough times you know). Today you can find dozens of kinds of different pates but before buying it I always have the same question: are there any preservatives inside? Sometimes looking at the list of ingredients I want to cry because my favorite delicacy contains at least one element of group E (very unhealthy stuff). For those who are concerned about what they eat I offer to explore a simple and delicious recipe of chicken liver pate which was kindly given to me at London cookery school.
Once I discovered what MSG is and how it affects my body I started giving a closer look to the list of ingredients I consume. Bad news for me ā almost 60% of pates I ever consumed contained MSG so I immediately stopped buying it. If you are interested in what MSG is and exactly it affects your health hereās a good article about it. I suggest you to read it before you do groceries next time.
Okay letās find out how to make your own chicken liver pate without any preservatives and MSG.
Serving size ā a generous dish of pate
List of ingredients
Onion - 1Ā
Garlic - 2 cloves
Olive oil - 3 tbsp + 2 tbsp for cooking
Parsley - a small bunch
Chicken liver - 230 grams
Egg - 1Ā
Dry sherry or white wine - 1 tbsp
Cream 33% - 120 grams
Salt and pepper - to taste
Bay leaves - for decoration
Method
Finely chop the onion and garlic. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over a medium heat and fry the onion for 5-7 minutes until golden brown. Then add chopped garlic and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
Put parsley leaves with fried onion and garlic into a blender with blade and mix well.
Then add chicken livers and mix again
Brake 1 egg into the mixture and continue blending. Slowly pour in the cream and remaining olive oil.
Add sherry or white wine into the mixture, and mix again. At this stage, you will need to add salt and pepper to taste *Ā
* Believe it or not, but at this very stage it is necessary to dip a teaspoon into the paste to understand if there is enough seasoning or not. I have done it a dozen of times and Iām still alive
Pour the mixture into a baking dish and garnish with bay leaves.
Place the baking dish with pate to another bigger baking dish with 200-300 ml of water. Preheat oven to 130 degrees C (270 F) Ā and bake for 1-1,30 hours. To check if ready stick a knife and if it comes out clean its time to cool our pate.Ā
Cool in a refrigerator for 2 or 3 hours. The upper crust should be brown, while the inner shall be pinkish color.
Spread your homemade delicious pate on bread or crackers. You can eat it at any time of the day and serve as appetizer to the a main dish.Ā
The snack that I offer to try is a must have for any noisy (and healthy) party. It consists of very affordable products that can be found in any supermarket. It cooks so quickly that you would probably not even finish preparing other dishes. And yes itās healthy and will definitely melt your heart!
Firstly this snack contain the incredible amount vitaimins and even fiber, which is ver good for your health. Secondly spinach, unlike other greens doesnāt loose almost any healthy features while heated ( I could use basil, parsley or dill in this recipe but unfortunately they loose most of their vitamins while baked or boiled ).
Serving size ā 3-4 balls
List of ingredients:
Spinach - 100g
Salted crackers - 65 grams
Grated Parmesan cheese - 70 grams
Eggs - 2
Butter - 60 grams
Garlic or garlic paste - 1 clove or 1 teaspoon.
Salt - Ā¼ tsp
Method
Lightly beat the eggs in a separate bowl.
Dip all the spinach in the egg mixture
Crumble crackers, melt the butter and grate parmesan. Add the garlic, salt, butter, cheese and crackers to the spinach with egg and give it a generous stir.Ā
I donāt like to using flour and often avoid it, but if you think that the mixture is too liquid, add just 1 tablespoon of flour or crumble 3-4 small crackers. This will help the dough come together.
Form the balls using a tablespoon and place them on a parchment paper. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C (360 F) and bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden.
Iāve been looking for an ideal recipe of cookies that would fit my ābefore bedtimeā milk. One night I came up with the idea of adding some lavender to it after a cup of aromatic lavender tea. Whenever you drink it (or eat it) lavender makes you sleepy and reduces stress down to almost 90%. At least thatās how lavender affects my body.
So let me show you my version of perfect sedative which I hope would make you happy and calm at the end of a stressful day.
Once I made a mistake of arranging myself a little break from working and had some tea with fresh lavender shortbread. Exactly 40 minutes later, I found myself lying on a keyboard pressing space button with my forehead. That moment I realized that this recipe is a perfect cure for insomnia.
Serving size - about 15 cookies
List of ingredients
Sugar ā 40 grams
Butter ā 50 grams
Flour ā 75 grams
White chocolate ā 100g
Lavender flowers ā 1.5 tbsp
Method
Mix butter and sugar together until soft and the puffy using a mixer.
In a separate bowl combine lavender with the flour and add your dry ingredients to butter and sugar mixture and mix well.
Sprinkle some flour on a table and shape the ball. Wrap it into plastic and put it into a refrigerator for a couple of hours to chill.
When the dough is chilled take it out of the fridge and roll it into a 4 cm thick sausage.
Using a sharp knife, cut your dough into 2 cm thick piecesĀ
Put the pieces on a greased baking sheet. Preheat oven to 160 degrees C ( 320 F) Ā and bake for 15-20 minutes.
If you wish to add some chocolate to your shortbread, melt it!
Put an iron bowl with white chocolate over a saucepan of boiling water and wait until the chocolate is completely melted. You can also add some lavender to it.
When the shortbread is baked cool at room temperature and dip each piece into the white chocolate.
Steamed white fish is probably the most tasty and healthy dish that you can ever cook. To make it even more delicious you need to choose wisely and make the right sauce. This recipe was given to me by one of my teachers in cookery school in London.
I donāt have a steamer so I had to steam my cod in old fashioned way ( Iāll talk about it later). I also will write a separate post about the snack you can spot on the picture. You'll be surprised how a fish dinner can be matched with a fish snack.
Serving size - 2 servings.
List of ingredients
Chilled cod fillets - 2
Flour - 1 tbsp
Butter - 2 tbsp
Onion - half
Lemon juice - from 1 lemon
Parsley - Medium bunch
Milk - 250 ml
Nonfat cream - 1 tbsp
Bay leaf - 1Ā
Salt - to taste
Pepper - to taste
Method
Separate parsley leaves from stalks and chop the onion to half moons.
In a separate saucepan combine milk, parsley stalks, onion and bay leaf. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce heat to medium and cook for 5-7 minutes.
Decant milk into a separate bowl and leave to cool down.
You get to choose what to do with stalks and onions but I just threw them away.
In the same saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat.
When the butter is completely melted, pour milk into the saucepan, add flour, reduce heat to low and mix well using a whisk. Cook stirring for about 7 to 15 minutes depending on portion size.
Add cream, finely chopped parsley leaves, juice of one lemon, salt and pepper to the saucepan. Keep on low heat until youāll prepare your fish.
Now letās steam. Find a colander that would fit and put it on top of your saucepan (the colander must not touch the bottom of a pan). Pour some water into a saucepan so that it does not touch the bottom of the colander. Bring water to a boil. Put parchment paper inside of the colander and place your cod fillets inside. Cover it with a lid and cook for about 5-7 minutes.Ā
Pour parsley sauce over the cooked cod fillet and serve immediately.
