Colorful Carrot and Beetroot Salad With Maple Syrup Dressing

Ingredients:

5 colorful carrots

1 pre-boiled beet

50 g broad beans

40 g soft goat's cheese

Handful fresh rocket

Handful pecan nuts

1 tbsp raisins

1 tbsp walnut oil

Dressing:

2 tbsp balsamic vinaigrette

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp maple syrup

dash of fresh lemon juice

salt&pepper

*

In the dark winter months this colorful healthy sweet in taste salad brightens up the day.

Boil the carrots al dente. Pre-heat the walnut oil in a sauce pan, throw the carrots in along with pecan nuts and raisins and stir fry. Prepare fresh rocket on a plate along with cut cooked beetroot and broad beans. Add carrots and sprinkle with goat's cheese. Finish up by seasoning with the maple syrup dressing that is simple to prepare only by mixing all the ingredients together. Server with bread or crackers.

Bon Appetit!

Almond Apricot Cake

Ingredients:

Corpus

250 g almond flour

80 g brown sugar
50 g spelt flour

140 g melted butter

2 eggs

Topping

50 g melted butter

450 g apricots, halved and pitted

50 g whole almonds, skinless

3 tbsp brown sugar

*

This was another of her weekend baking experiments that worked out pretty nicely. It's been already a while ago at the time of apricot season.

The original recipe included classic flour and crushed almonds that she substituted with the almond flour and a bit of spelt flour. Preheat the over for 200 C, mix all the corpus ingredients together which creates a kind of a paste mixture and place it onto a baking paper in a form. Place the apricot halves onto the corpus, fill them with whole almonds, brush them with melted butter and sprinkle with the brown sugar. Bake in the oven for about 40 minutes until the apricots are nicely caramelized and the corpus has golden color and crunchy rounds. Serve with whipped cream if you wish.

Bon Appetit!

Macrel With Sweet Potato Salad

Ingredients:

2 smoked macrel fillets
3 medium size sweet potatoes
3 stalks celery sticks, chopped
2 tbsp kalamata olives, chopped
1 tbsp capers
bunch of fresh parsley, chopped finely
bunch of fresh argula leaves
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon maple syrup
salt&pepper
*

She came across this recipe in a Dutch magazine called Red and wanted to try it out immediately. The combination of salty smoked macrel, sweetness of the potatoes and sourness of the capers made this dish an extraordinary taste buds experience. Simply boil the sweet potatoes until soft for about 10 minutes depending on their size, but be careful not to overcook them as they would not hold shape while cutting. Meanwhile prepare the rest of the ingredients and throw them in a bowl, mix with cooked skinned and cubed sweet potatoes. Season with chopped parsley, salt, pepper, lemon juice and maple syrup and stir gently altoghether. Serve with the macrel filet on side or with pieces incorporated in the salad.
Bon Appetit!

Porn Star Martini

Ingredients:

2.5 cl Passion fruit juice - here Innocent Mango and Passion Fruit smoothie

1.5 cl Vanilla syrup

1cl Lime Juice

3.5 cl Vanilla Vodka - here Absolut

1/2 Passion Fruit

50 ml Champagne or Prosecco

1 cup ice cubes

Shaker

*

This was one of her favorite cocktails that she discovered in a bar close by their place. And as the prices in the bars are not so friendly, they decided to try their own version.

Shake up the vodka, lime juice and passion fruit juice and vanilla syrup with ice until the shaker becomes frosted. Double strain into a chilled cocktail glass and top up with champagne or for cheaper version with Prosecco. Place half a passion fruit on the top as a decoration.
Cheers!

Linguine With Spinach And Smoked Salmon

Ingredients:

200g linguine pasta

100 g smoked salmon fillet, cut into cubes

100 ml sweeter white wine eg. Muscat
5 champignos, sliced

1/2 small onion, chopped finely

3/4 of pack Philadelphia cheese spread or creme fraiche

2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon butter

Bunch of fresh dill, chopped finely
Bunch of fresh baby spinach leaves

salt&pepper

*

Another pasta variety. Cook the linguine al dente with a pinch of salt.  While the pasta is boiling, melt the butter on a pan, add chopped onion and fry until soft and golden. Add the cut smoked salmon pieces. Pour in some sweet white wine and cook until the wine almost reduces. Meanwhile also add the mushrooms and spinach leaves. At the end comes the Philadelphia spread or alternatively creme fraiche. Cook until it melts and creates sauce that is thick and not too runny. Season with salt, pepper and fresh chopped dill. Finally, throw in the linguine and stir all together. Sprinkle the top with a bit of Parmesan cheese.

Bon Appetit!

Thai Style Coconut Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients:

1/2 pack (150 g) skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into stripes

1/2 pack (75 g) oyster mushrooms, cut into stripes

1/2 can unsweetened coconut milk 

1 nest of noodles

3 cups chicken broth (1/2 bouillon cube)

1 tbsp fish sauce 

1 tbsp sugar 

1stalk fresh lemongrass

1/2 chili pepper

Small piece of ginger, peeled 

5 kaffir lime leaves or 1 tbsp lime zest and ¼ cup lime juice 

Bunch of fresh coriander leaves, chopped

salt

*

Cooking this soup was a true senses experience. The beautiful exotic scents of lemongrass and lime, the sweet and spicy taste, the texture and vibrant color palette, all together was a perfection. This became one of her favorite dishes of all times.

 Using the back of a knife or mortar stick, lightly smash lemongrass and ginger; cut lemongrass into 4 pieces. Bring lemongrass, chili, ginger, lime leaves, and broth to a boil in a large saucepan. Reduce heat and simmer until flavors melt, 8–10 minutes. Strain broth into clean saucepan; get rid of the solid parts.

Add chicken and return to a boil. Reduce heat, add mushrooms and simmer, skimming occasionally, until chicken is cooked through and mushrooms are soft for about 15-20 minutes, add noodles for the last cca 5 minutes. Mix in coconut milk, fish sauce, and sugar. At the end season with salt, throw in chopped coriander and a bit of lime juice.

Divide soup among bowls. Serve with lime wedges.

Bon Appetit!

Recipe altered from BonAppetit.

Puff Pastry Tarts

Ingredients:

1 pack of puff pastry

1 egg, whisked

A few circles of chorizo salami

A few circles of thin sliced courgette

A few sun dried tomatoes in oil

A few pine nuts

Fresh rosemary, chopped finely

A slice of prosciutto ham

15 g soft goat's cheese

1 dried fig, cut in circles

walnut

1 teaspoon tomato sauce or ketchup

1/2 thinly sliced tomato

3 anchovies in oil

3 green olives, sliced

15 g feta cheese

Fresh rosemary, chopped finely

1 caramelized onion with a pinch of nutmeg

1 slice of Parma ham

15 g crumbled feta cheese

Fresh thyme

salt&pepper

*

This meal was so much fun and so easy to make, one can play with different combinations as per personal preference and the food is ready in literally 10 minutes. Just place your chosen ingredients on the pastry, don't forget to score about 1 centimeter from the side which you brush with the whisked egg at the end. Above were examples of her combinations, other ingredients you could use were canned tuna, mozzarella and basil, brie cheese and dried cranberries, smoked salmon with capers and dill; the options were endless. Just work with what you have at home. Bake in over until the pastry rises and gets golden brown color.
Bon Appetit!