Reactivation: almond & basil-crusted salmon

Hello world!  It's been a while since I posted here.  Obviously the circumstances are to blame - not me.  You are asking: how come?  Well, my inspiration for writing was brutally beheaded time after time by the changing aura.

First, I wanted to complain about the bad weather (not an infrequent inclination of mine :P)  And the weather got much better...  So then I wanted to write about the sun, hot weather, ice cream, running through fountains, pleasant evenings on the terrace, and lying on the grass waiting for that first sunburn -- pretty much your average summery stuff.  Before I got to that, however, the weather changed again.  It got chilly and rainy, and the possibility of catching sunburn was exchanged for the possibility of catching a cold.  Nonetheless, at that point it seemed pointless and so-oh passé to complain about the bad weather, and I was left without topic, yet again.

 

This whole (questionably interesting) inner debate brought me to the conclusion that maybe I shouldn't base my blog posts on weather descriptions -- as fascinating as they may be (...for grannies waiting for weather reports whilst finishing knitting new scarfs). After all, this blog is about so much more than weather (theoretically, at least).

I guess what I'm trying to say by this whole litany of excuses and boring weather talk: I missed this blog, and will make sure to start posting on a regular basis again! The good thing is that I managed to take an insane number of pictures in the meantime -- all of insanely delicious food -- so I have plenty of great resources to draw from.

 

Thanks for bearing with me. And hold on to your hats: the reaaaaally good stuff is just about to start!   

 

Speaking of really good stuff: this almond & basil-crusted salmon is packed with flavors and utterly delicious.  The freshness of the basil paired with zingy lemon zest and buttery roasted almonds makes a perfect combination.  When you are making the dish, the most amazing harmony of scents fills your kitchen and hungry housemates intrigued by the smell flock to you.  I also like the combination of textures - meaty salmon, crunchy almonds and delicate herbs -- it really melts in your mouth.

 

The dish is very easy to make, so you can prepare it for a simple weekday dinner.  At the same time, the perfect flavor blend and appealing presentation make it a sure winner for dinner parties with friends -- your guests will love it!

Ingredients:

• 4 skinless salmon fillets (approx. 600 g)
• 100 g of whole unsalted & unroasted almonds
• small bunch of fresh basil
• 1 lemon (juice + zest)
• 2 tbsp butter
• salt
• pepper

 

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 180-200 °C.
• Chop the almonds coarsly and roast for a few minutes in a hot dry frying pan, until golden-brown.  Transfer to a bowl, add the lemon juice and lemon zest.  Let cool.
• Chop the basil and add to the almond mixture.  Add the butter and a bit of salt and pepper.
• Spread the crust on top of the salmon fillets.  Bake for about 15-20 minutes (check if your almonds are not burning -- if so decrease the heat).
• Serve with steamed veggies and/or garlic baked potatoes.

 

*I found the recipe (by doktorek) on a Polish discussion forum.

Bon appetit!

Thai red curry with shrimp & noodles

Have you ever wondered how your imagination can write the most fascinating, yet somewhat bizarre scenarios?  My mind, in any case, seems very prone to coming up with the craziest ideas.  One thought I'm often puzzled by, for example, is what would the world look like if everybody had the same personality, talents and flaws as me.  I'm not talking about looks, educational choices, or even interests.  Just hard skills & character = what you are born with.

Imagine all the plumbers, architects, athletes, policemen, doctors and taxi drivers would have your take on life (optimistic or pessimistic), your enthousiasm (or the lack of it), your ability to learn (slowly or quickly), to tackle problems and face challenges, your dedication or your laziness, as well as your social skills.  

It's a funny exercise for your mind and I recommend you have a go at it and see what kind of world you would come up with.  All you need to do is think of yourself in every possible social scenario and profession -- and assume you have full power to do things your way.  After all -- the only person who could stop you would be you.

You don't need to dig deep when playing this game and keep it simple.  Think about things you are good at / not good at.  Maybe with your skills there would be a cure for cancer by now?  Or maybe we wouldn't have even made it to the Moon?  What would the buildings designed by you look like (IOW: what is your style?)?  How would cities and road networks be planned (IOW: do you have a decent spatial intelligence and can you predict social needs or technological developments?)?  What would you find on the shelves of an ordinary supermarket: more types of yoghurt? more exotic fruit? less meat?  Would the Air Force One have a SPA on board?  Would there be different TV channels? 

If you do wish to dig a bit deeper -- focus on the more fundamental issues.  Would the world be a cleaner, safer and more peaceful place?  Think carefully!  The fact that now you are against war does not mean much.  You probably live a nice, cheerful life in a safe country, have a decent job and never go hungry (except when on a diet :P ).  But would you still be against war if you were born poor, in a third world country, and some guys sent by a ruthless dictator threatened your family?  Would you fight -- or still choose peace?

But enough of this philosophizing: let's get to the food :D  This Thai red curry is really one of the best things I ever ate!  Spicy, creamy, and with a perfect balance of flavors and textures.  I love curries in general, but used to be more familiar with the Indian ones, rather than the Thai, which I discovered quite late.  I love their exotic taste: the blend of heat, sweetness and zingy freshness, combined the lovely smoothness of coconut milk.

Once you get a grasp of the basics and are able to make this amazing red sauce, you can throw in almost any ingredients you like.  You don't need to go for shrimp -- try using meaty fish, chicken or veal instead, if that's more to your liking.  Also various types of veg go very well with this.  Based on the original recipe you should add bamboo shoots and soft green peppercorns -- but baby corn or red peppers are great too.  Enjoy!

[METHOD]

Bon appetit!

Easter memories & chocolate almond mazurek

Traditions.  Customs.  Family rituals.  I was brought up with tons of those, especially customs that apply during holiday season.  When it comes to such traditions I feel very lucky to be Polish, as we have plenty of really cool customs that have been cherished and nurtured for centuries.  I cannot imagine how plain and boring Easter holidays would be without them.  They are what glues families together, what accounts for hundreds of memories, and what makes home feel like home.  And as all great things -- they come at a price: lots of hard work and planning (a big chapeau bas for my Mum).  But they are totally worth it!

The profane traditions obviously evolve around food.  There are plenty of traditional dishes, such as the "white borscht" (barszcz biały or its variety żurek) -- a sour rye soup with white sausage, potatoes and eggs), white sausage served hot, baked pâté and slow-roasted meats, the famous Polish vegetable salad and various egg dishes.  There are also plenty of traditional desserts such as the babka (sweet yeast bundt cake, sort of like the Italian panettone, but less buttery), traditional cheesecakes, mazurek (see below) and a curd cheese dessert called pascha [pass-hah].

Traditional Easter activities include painting whole egg shells (you make holes on both sides of a raw egg, and blow the egg white and yolk out), preparing a basket with symbolic Easter foods and having it blessed in church on Holy Saturday, or abundantly spraying each other with water on Easter Monday, a day we call śmigus-dyngus or lany poniedziałek (both names basically signal you will get soaking wet that day).

And let's not forget the tradition cultivated at every holiday season -- eating as much as you can, and then some.  No wonder the most frequent commercials on Polish TV during this time promote anti-acids and indigestion pills.

One of the most traditional items on the Easter table in Poland is a cake called "mazurek" [mah-zoo-reck].  There is no one type of mazurek -- it varies greatly depending on the regional customs, family recipes, and simply your own taste and imagination.  Nonetheless you will definitely know one when you see it.  

You can recognize a mazurek by the following: (i) it is very very sweet, and thus is served in small pieces (exceptions apply -- for example my brother has no problems at all with eating huge chunks of it), (ii) it has thin layers: usually a pastry bottom topped off with a luscious sweet layer, (iii) it is flat and short in height (iv) it is hard and crumbly, yet sticky, and (v) it is both simple and fancy - simple in structure, and fancy in decorations.  The latter include the word "Alleluja" written in icing or chocolate, and candied / marzipan eggs, bunnies or flowers.

Mazurek is often made with shortcrust or ground almond pastry, sprinkled with lots of dried fruit and nuts, and abundantly covered with colored icing, chocolate, fudgy caramel or smooth marzipan.  And last, but not least -- it is insanely delicious! 

Left: two marmalade / icing mazurki, middle: chocolate almond mazurek, top right: caramel fudge mazurek, bottom right: babka.

This chocolate-almond-raisin mazurek has been on the Easter table in my family since I remember.  It has the best, signature shortcrust pastry -- very similar to the one I use in the poppy seed almond cake and Christmas cookies.  The pastry is so fragile and crumbly that you have to be careful when transferring the cake from tray to platter, as it brakes easily.  I remember this once happened to my Mum when I was a kid, and she had to make a new one totally last minute.  She was bummed of course, but the rest of was could not have been more happy -- somebody had to eat the broken chunks of the shortbread.  And it was incredibly delicious on its own!

The shortbread is covered by a layer of melted chocolate, with a bit of butter added for increased smoothness and glossiness.  You can add raisins or chopped nuts to the chocolate or leave it plain.  The top layer is a traditional decoration with peeled almonds -- the perfect finishing touch.  Feel free to let your imagination run wild and be creative!

BASE

Ingredients:

• 300 g of flour
• 200 g of good quality butter
• 100 g of sugar
• 3 egg yolks, boiled (boil whole eggs and get them out) and crumbled (it's best to pass them through a sieve)
• 1 package of vanilla sugar (or vanilla essence or scraped out vanilla seeds from 1 bean)
• Natural rum aroma
• Pinch of salt

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 180ºC.
• Roughly chop the butter (makes it easier to kneed the dough) and put in a bowl with the rest of the ingredients.  Kneed the dough until it forms a uniform ball (I did it by hand, but you can of course use a food processor).
• Line a big square baking tin with parchment paper (also on the sides and sticking out of the tin - it will help lift the cake out of the tin once baked).
• Distribute the dough evenly in the tin, forming 1-2 cm high edges (the base will better hold the chocolate layer).  Punch holes with a fork on the bottom of the cake.
• Put the tin in the fridge for an hour or two, or in the freezer for around 30 minutes.
• Take out of the fridge/freezer and bake around 35-40 minutes until golden.
• Let cool entirely.

CHOCOLATE ALMOND RAISIN LAYER

Ingredients:

• 300 g of good quality dark chocolate
• 200-250 g of good quality milk chocolate
• 50 g of butter
• 200 g of big golden raisins, rinsed and dried
• 200 g of whole peeled almonds

Directions:

• Roast the almonds for a few minutes in a hot dry frying pan, until golden.  Let cool.
• Melt the chocolate and butter au bain marie (in bowl over a pan with boiling water).  Add the raisins and stir thoroughly.
• Spread the chocolate mixture evenly over the baked shortcrust bottom.  Decorate with the roasted almonds.

Bon appetit!

Merry Easter & chewy cranberry chocolate cookies

Aah, the holiday spirit!  Streets covered by a white fluffy blanket, snowflakes dancing playfully in the air, frosty wind biting you in the nose and cheeks, and colorful store window decorations announcing the holiday season.  ♫ It's beginning to look a lot like Christm... ♫ NO, WAIT A MINUTE!  It's not December, but nearly April!  

Spring has officially -- or at least theoretically -- started, and we shouldn't be listening to the jingle bells ring, but rather make sure we have enough chocolate eggs in store.  Nonetheless, somehow I am more inclined to go Christmas tree shopping than to pick up some fresh daffodils to decorate my house for the upcoming celebrations.

I don't remember it ever being so cold during Easter time.  Certainly not in the US, not in Belgium or the Netherlands -- not even in Poland.  Clearly I am not the only one who is surprised by this cold spell, as lately weather is literally the only thing people can talk -- or in fact complain -- about.  

You hear it on the news, read it online, talk about it with your colleagues while getting coffee, or use it as a solid conversation starter during conference calls.  Hell -- even the people you meet in the elevator (that usually seem particularly intrigued by their shoes and keep staring at them -- barely noticing you) become disturbingly chatty and complain about yet another snowfall last night.

I decided to make the most of it by posting this great cranberry chocolate cookies recipe.  Theoretically, these cookies fit better in the Christmas season than Easter, but when you look outside the window it is really hard to tell one from the other.  Besides -- who is to say you can only bake Christmas cookies during Christmas?

Call me eccentric (the more diplomatic word for "nuts"), but I often like to do things that normally would be considered unfitting for the circumstances at hand.  Singing Christmas carols while sunbathing near a pool in mid-August, eating ice-cream during a walk in a snow storm or starting a meal with dessert.  It's not that I don't like singing carols at Christmas time. It's just that I like singing them so-oo much, that I can't wait a whole year before I can do it again.  And why would I?

Similarly -- why would you wait with baking these cookies until next December?

And they are totally worth it!  The cookies are as good as oatmeal cookies can be.  Tangy from the cranberries, sweet and luscious from the milk chocolate, incredibly chewy and finished off with crispy almond flakes.  Let's not forget the cinnamon flavor that will fill your entire house when you're baking these. Mmm - holidays in your kitchen!

So go ahead and have yourself a merry little cookie!

The recipe comes from Dorotus' blog, slightly modified (mainly through the addition of almonds, and increasing the amount of cranberries).

Ingredients:

• 170 g of flour
• 1 tsp of cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp of baking soda
• pinch of salt
• 140 g of oats
• 150 g of butter (soft, at room temperature)
• 150 g of light brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp of vanilla extract
• 180 g of fresh cranberries, roughly chopped
• 200 g milk chocolate, roughly chopped
• 70 g of almond flakes

For the decoration:

• 70 g of milk chocolate, roughly chopped
• 50 g of almond flakes

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).  Line 2 cookie trays with parchment paper.  
• Whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt.  Add the oats and combine.  Set aside.
• Mix the butter with the brown sugar and vanilla extract.  Add the egg and mix again.
• Add the butter mixture to the flower mixture, combine.  Add the chopped cranberries, chocolate and almonds, combine.
• Scoop small amounts of the dough on the baking tray, leaving enough space between the cookies as they will melt and expand.  
• Bake for around 15 minutes, checking often towards the end to see if the cookies don't burn.  Let cool on the tray.
• Melt the chocolate au bain marie (over a pan with boiling water).  Toss the almond in a dry hot frying pan for 30 second or until golden.
• Decorate cookies with the chocolate and sprinkle with almonds.

Bon appetit!

Oh-so-yummy stuffed peppers

Lately the idiom "I could eat a horse" has evolved from a fun expression to a very literal -- yet unfortunate -- prophecy for the European consumer.  Reports of horse meat found pretty much everywhere and in everything have made me think twice even when buying horseradish in a jar.  Seems like greedy food producers are going out of their way to make consumers reach the bitter conclusion that nothing will ever surprise them again.

Rest assured -- this recipe has nothing to do with horse meat.  Nonetheless, the horse idiom is definitely appropriate here, as the dish is great for very hungry people.  After trying this, you will want to change the expression to "I'm so hungry I could eat a stuffed pepper."  Sounds much nicer in view of the recent events.

There is no doubt about this: the peppers are very filling. I was totally stuffed after eating two -- one would have been enough, but they are just soooooo delicious I couldn't resist having the second one.  They are great on their own, but you could also serve them as a side dish -- with some meat, potatoes or salad.  

This dish is very healthy and low in fat or calories.  The peppers are stuffed with red lentils, buckwheat, mushrooms and herbs.  Lentils and buckwheat are an excellent source of fibre, proteins, vitamins and minerals -- they are among the healthiest foods out there.  You won't even notice when you become healthier and happier after eating the peppers (ok, ok: this is not a miracle worker -- just very good for you).

The dish requires almost no preparation and is extremely easy to make.  Vegetarians/vegans will love it.  Meat-eaters won't even notice there is no meat there (or they can have it as a side dish with a steak, if they really must have some meat).  

There is also a lot of room for experimenting: you can add any ingredients you like to the stuffing (tomatoes, minced meat, capers, topped with cheese etc.).  But this combination is a perfect balance of flavors, and goes very well with the sweet, soft, delicately cooked pepper.  

Mmm, I can't wait to make this again!

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 4 red or yellow peppers (firm, fresh, and with thick flesh)
• 100 g of dry buckwheat roasted groats
• 100 g of dry red lentils
• 300 g of mushrooms, finely chopped
• 1 large onion or 2 small ones, finely chopped 
• 400 ml of light vegetable stock (I used bio)
• 3 tsps of herbes de Provence (I used bio)
• olive oil (around 1 tbsp)
• salt & pepper

Directions:

• Sauté the onions with the olive oil until golden.  Add the chopped mushrooms, herbes de Provences, and a little bit of salt and pepper.  Sauté until light brown.
• Chop off the top of the peppers.  Be careful not to make any holes in the lid while doing that.    Cut off the stems if they are too long.  Clean the peppers inside, getting rid of the pips. 
• Mix the dry buckwheat, lentils and mushrooms in a bowl.  Fill the bottom part of the peppers, leaving around 1 cm of space from the edge.
• Pour a bit of hot water in a pan, filling it with a layer of around 3 cm.  Put the peppers in a pan, very tightly next to each other.  They will become very soft and slippery, so they must be arranged really tightly or otherwise they might fall over.  
• Pour the vegetable stock filling each pepper up to the edge.  Cover with the pepper lid.  
• Cover the pan with the lid.  Let simmer over a small heat for around 40 minutes (yellow peppers are softer than the red ones, so monitor them closely to see if they don't fall apart).

Bon appetit!

The chili con carne fairy tale

There is nothing better to write on a food blog than the -- undoubtedly -- magical story behind the presented dish.  What inspired the dedicated blogger to take this particular culinary path? 

Maybe they found the recipe in some old, discolored notebook left as a treasured legacy by their great-grandmother?  Or maybe they had an epiphany and in a flash of culinary genious brought together the perfect combination of flavors and textures?  Surely they couldn't have just chucked random stuff in a pan and on a plate -- serious food bloggers are per definition supposed to do better than that.

Since I've been pretty much writing about random, not necessarily food-related things lately, this post will cater to the needs of all the true-blooded foodies out there, and focus on the dish itself.  Interested?  Well, read-on!

Spice it up!

The recipe for this chili has been in my culinary repertoire for 13-14 years -- which basically means half of my life.  When I first made it, I would never have guessed it would become my family's favorite dish and that I would be making it to this day.  I guess it's just like with all great things in life -- you don't see them coming.  

But enough with the philosophizing (I already see the foodies frowning and rolling their eyes).  Let's talk about the history behind the recipe.

Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, lived a teenaged girl.  During the summer, her Mum went away on holidays for a few days, and she decided to prepare dinner for her hard-working Dad.  On the same day, she happened to visit her Grandma in her summer house, deep in the middle of the forest.  I must dissapoint you -- the girl did not wear a red hood nor carry a picnic basket, and the Grandma was not eaten by a bad, scary wolf (or any other wolf, for that matter).  What the girl did find at her Grandma's was a collection of culinary magazines, which she decided to skim for inspiration. 

In one of these magazines (the exact name has long escaped her memory), the girl found a very inviting recipe for chili con carne.  Since she knew her Dad was highly fond of spicy food, she copied the recipe and rushed back home (yep -- through the forest again, and nope -- no wolf).

The teenaged girl prepared the chili and her Dad really liked it.  She later made it for the whole family.  The chili quickly became a family favorite and the girl prepared it several times afterwards -- and still does until this day. 

And they lived happily even after.  

THE END.

Stages of filling the tortilla wrap

The chili is very simple and basic.  No super fancy ingredients, no cocoa, no elaborate side dishes or salsas.  But the great taste is based on this simplicity.  Make sure you use good quality meat -- that's really crucial.

Because it's so good -- side dishes are absolutely not needed.  I served this with great tomato salsa, sour cream and/or guacamole -- all was nothing more than "a nice touch". Even the flour tortilla is not crucial -- you could just serve the chili as it is.  And I guarantee -- it will disappear from the plates in a blink of an eye (it was super hard to take the attached pictures, because people DEMANDED they want to start eating.  NOW!).

To round up -- I didn't give you a wolf.  So let me at least show you the unexpected guest I found in the leek.  Not quite as scary as a wolf, you'd think.  Clearly -- you haven't met me.

Serves 4 (or 3 very hungry men)

Ingredients:

• 1-1.2 kg of ground beef (good quality)
• 2 cans of red kidney beans (I used bio), drained
• 2 cans of peeled tomatoes (good quality -- I used bio & Italian)
• 1 leek 
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 2-4 cloves of garlic (I used 4), minced
• tabasco to taste (I used around 4 "shakes" -- a few drops each)
• chili powder to taste (I used 4 tsp)
• olive oil (around 2 tbsp)
• 2-3 pieces of dark chocolate (70%)
• salt & pepper
• soft flour tortillas

Directions:

• Sauté the onions with the olive oil in a big pan.  Add the meat and fry until it is not red anymore -- around 5-7 minutes.  (Ground meat has a tendency to clump when cooked, so use a fork or spatula to separate the clumps and get the fine, ground texture.  Do this from the beginning -- it gets harder with time). 
• Add the minced garlic to the meat, and season with salt and pepper, tabasco and chili powder.  Stir to combine.  Add the drained red beans and combine.  
• Add the peeled tomatoes, and cut them a bit with your spatula (not a lot since they are soft anyway and fill fall apart -- just in half is fine).  Cover with a lid, and let simmer for 20 minutes.
• Slice the leek in half, lengthwise and wash thoroughly in cold water (get rid of any "visitors", if you find them).  Chop off and discard the roots and the top of the green part (leave some of the green -- the part that looks fresh).  Chop in slices and add to the pan.
• Let simmer for 15 more minutes, until the leek is tender.  If there is too much liquid, leave the lid off.  
• Crumble in the chocolate and let it melt.  Stir.
• Season to taste, if needed.  Serve on it's own or with warm flour tortillas.  Glass of full-bodied red wine highly recommended!

Bon appetit!