Yogurt cake

by aleksandaurelie

Taken from the Moro cookbook.

Cake
6-8 large eggs, separated
5/8-3/4 cups caster sugar
3-4 vanilla pods, split in half lengthways
700-900 g yoghurrt
finely grated zest of 2-3 lemons and 1-1.5 oranges
juice of 2-3 lemons
1/3-1/2 cups plain flour
60-80 g unsalted pistachio nuts, roughly chopped

For serving
Yogurt
Pomegranate seeds

Preheat the oven to 180 Celsius / 350 Fahrenheit, and put a bain-marie of water in to warm on the middle shelf. Have ready a 8×13 square baking dish or cake tin with a solid bottom, lined with greaseproof paper.

In a bowl, beat the egg yolks with 3/4 of the sugar until thick and pale. Scrape out the seeds from the vanilla pods and mix into the egg-sugar mixture. Add the yogurt, lemon and orange zest, lemon juice, and the flour, and mix well.

In a separate bowl, whisk up the egg whites with the remaining sugar until soft peaks form. Gently and evenly, fold the whites into the yogurt mixture.

Pour the mixture into the baking tin. Place the tin in the bain-marie, making sure that the boiling water comes halfway up the tin, and cook for about 20 minutes.

Then add the chopped pistachios, sprinkling them gently on top, and continue cooking for a further 20 minutes or until the top is light brown in color. The correct consistency of the cake should be a light sponge on top with a wet custard below.

Serve with yogurt and pomegranate seeds.

Serves 10-12.

Tomato pomegranate salad

by aleksandaurelie

Taken from Ottolenghi.

Salad
1 cup (200g) red cherry tomatoes, diced
1 cup (200g) yellow cherry tomatoes, diced
1 cup (200g) plum tomatoes, diced
4 medium (500g) vine tomatoes, diced
1 red pepper, diced
1 small red onion, finely diced
1 pomegranate, seeds removed

Dressing
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp ground allspice
2 tsp white vine vinegar
1 1/2 tbsp pomegranate molasses
4 tbsp olive oil
1/3 tsp salt
1/3 tsp black pepper

Garnish
Small oregano leaves
Olive oil, drizzled

Mix together the tomatoes, red pepper, and onion and set aside. In a separate dish, whisk the garlic, allspice, vinegar, pomegranate molasses, olive oil, and 1/3rd teaspoon of salt. Pour over the tomatoes and mix gently.

Arrange the tomatoes, pepper, and onion on a large flat plate. Sprinkle over the pomegranate seeds and oregano and finish with a drizzle of olive oil.

Serves 4.

Fish tagine with potatoes, tomatoes, and olives

by aleksandaurelie

Taken from the Moro cookbook:

Marinade:
2 garlic cloves
1 tsp sea salt
2 tsp ground cumin
juice of 1 lemon
1/2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp paprika
1 small bunch fresh coriander, roughly chopped
1 tbsp olive oil

We make the marinade in a mortar and pestle. Pound the garlic with the salt until a smooth paste is formed, then add the cumin followed by the lemon juice, vinegar, paprika, coriander, and olive oil. Rub two-thirds of the marinade into the fish and stand in the fridge between 20 minutes and 2 hours.

*

4 steaks or fillets (~250g each) of any white fish (ideally hake)
20 small, waxy new potatoes, peeled (Charlotte, Roseval, or Ratte)
3 tbsp olive oil
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
15-20 cherry tomatoes, halved
4-6 green peppers, grilled until black and blistered, skinned, seeded, and sliced into strips
a handful of black oily olives
100ml water
sea salt
black pepper

Boil the potatoes in salted water for 10-15 minutes until just tender. Drain and halve lengthways. In a medium saucepan, heat 2 tbsp of the olive oil over a medium heat and fry the garlic until light brown. Add the tomatoes and toss for 2 minutes until they begin to soften. Stir in the green peppers and remaining marinade and check for seasoning. In a 25cm tagine, saucepan, or frying pan with a lid, spread the potatoes evenly over the bottom. Scatter three-quarters of the pepper and tomato mixture over the potatoes, then place the marinated fish on top. Dab a little of the remaining pepper and tomato on top of each fish as well as the olives. Add the water, drizzle on the remaining tbsp of olive oil, put on the lid, and steam over a medium to high heat for 10-15 minutes or until the fish is cooked through.

Yellow pepper and Jerusalem artichoke soup

by aleksandaurelie

Again, a recipe taken from Yotam Ottolenghi’s innovative collection.

4 tbsp olive oil, plus extra to finish
2 medium onions, peeled and sliced
6 yellow peppers, deseeded and cut into quarters
12-15 Jerusalem artichokes, peeled and quartered (450g net)
750ml vegetable (or chicken) stock
½ tsp caster sugar
Salt and white pepper
20g chopped coriander

Heat three tablespoons of the olive oil in a large saucepan, and cook the onions on medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft but not coloured. Add the peppers and artichokes, and cook, stirring, for five minutes, then add the stock, sugar, half a teaspoon of salt and a quarter-teaspoon of white pepper, and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes, until the artichokes are cooked, and take off the heat. Add half the coriander, leave to sit for five minutes, then blend – try to keep a bit of texture.

Serve the soup hot with a sprinkle of fresh coriander, croutons (optional) and a drizzle of olive oil.

Photo to follow.

Meatballs with lemon and celeriac

by aleksandaurelie

Thank you, Yotam Ottolenghi, for a tasty holiday break!

400g minced beef
1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
120g breadcrumbs
20g chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves, plus 1 tbsp extra, to garnish
1 egg, beaten
½ tsp ground allspice
Salt and black pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
1 small celeriac, cut into 5cm x 1.5cm batons
3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
½ tsp each ground turmeric, cumin and cinnamon
1½ tsp fennel seeds, lightly crushed
¾ tsp smoked paprika
500ml chicken stock
3½ tbsp lemon juice
60g Greek yoghurt

In a large bowl, use your hands to mix the beef, onion, breadcrumbs, parsley, egg, allspice, half a teaspoon of salt and some black pepper. Form into 5cm x 3cm meatball-like shapes. Makes ~20 meatballs.

Heat the oil in a large pan for which you have a lid, and sear the meatballs all over for about five minutes in total. Remove them and add celeriac, garlic and remaining spices to the pan. Cook on high heat, stirring, for two minutes, return the meatballs to the pan and add the stock, lemon juice, half a teaspoon of salt and some black pepper. Bring to a boil, turn down the heat, cover and simmer gently for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and leave to bubble away for 10 minutes more, until the sauce is quite thick.

Remove the pan from the heat and let it sit for a few minutes to settle. Taste, season as necessary and serve topped with a dollop of yoghurt and a sprinkling of parsley.

Fruit Pie

by aleksandaurelie

Dough
See instructions for Multipurpose Dough.

Ingredients
Apple pie: 6-8 apples (preferably Macintosh, Spartan, or ideally Cortland) + 1 tbsp sugar + noisette butter

Apricot pie: around 20 very ripe apricots + 1 tbsp corn starch (if apricots are really ripe) + 2 tbsp sugar

Blueberry pie: 2 pints of blueberries + 1 generous tbsp corn starch + 2 tbsp sugar

Nectarine pie: 7-10 very ripe nectarines + 1 tbsp corn starch + 2 tbsp sugar

Plum pie: 12-15 plums (preferably ones that are dark red on the outside and yellow on the inside and contain some acidity, like quetsche/Italian plums) + 1 generous tbsp corn starch + 3 tbsp sugar

Baba au rhum

by aleksandaurelie

Ingredients (cake)
2 eggs, separated
6 tbsp sugar
1/2 (-) cup flour
1/2 (+) cup milk
3 tsp baking powder

Beat 2 egg yolks and add sugar. Then add flour, milk, and baking powder, in that order. In the end, add the egg whites and mix until ready.

Bake for approximately 30 minutes on 330-340 degrees.

Ingredients (syrup)
2 cups (-) water
2 cups sugar
6 tbsp rum

Note: do not boil the syrup too long (maximum 15 minutes).

Spinach, Sun-Dried Tomatoes, & Feta Frittata Cups

by aleksandaurelie

Based heavily on this Healthy Foodie recipe:

Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil
4 cups baby spinach leaves, chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 bell pepper, finely diced (optional)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
10-11 eggs (ideally 5 egg whites and 5-6 whole eggs; recipe calls for 3 egg whites and 8 whole eggs; can be adjusted to taste)
100g Feta cheese, crumbled
8-10 sun-dried tomatoes, finely chopped
1 small tsp thyme (or it will overpower the taste of the frittata cups)
1 tsp herbes de Provence (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and coat a 12-large cup muffin rack with olive oil.

Drizzle large skillet with olive oil, and heat over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent and tender, about 4-5 minutes. Add salt, pepper, garlic, and bell pepper, and continue cooking for about a minute.

Throw in spinach leaves and toss gently until completely wilted, about one minute. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, add whole eggs, egg whites, thyme, and herbs. Beat the eggs until fully incorporated and slightly frothy. Add spinach mixture, sun-dried tomatoes, and Feta cheese.

Spoon into prepared muffin tin. Do not fill the cups more than 3/4 of the way to avoid spillage.

Cook for 22-25 minutes, until eggs are set and top starts to color.

Allow to cool on a cooling rack for at least 10 minutes before removing frittata from cups.

Can be served immediately, but is equally good served cold, perhaps with a fresh salad.

Mushroom Risotto

by aleksandaurelie

How it all started:

Ingredients
1 tbsp butter / olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 1/4 cups rice (preferably short-grain Italian Arborio)
1 cup mushrooms, finely chopped
1/2 cup dry white wine
10-oz can chicken broth, undiluted
2 (10-oz) cans water (use the can from the chicken broth)
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1/4 cup fresh parsley (preferably Italian), finely chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter / heat olive oil in a large wide saucepan set over medium heat. Add onion and garlic. Sauté, stirring often, until onion has softened, about 3 minutes. Then, add rice and stir until coated with butter.

While constantly stirring rice mixture, immediately add mushrooms, then wine. Stir gently until rice absorbs wine.

Then, add chicken broth. Stir frequently and wait until liquid is absorbed before adding water. (This process is necessary in order to achieve proper creamy texture.) Add 1 can of water and continue stirring until all is absorbed. Add remaining can of water. Stir frequently until most of water is absorbed and rice is cooked, about 20 to 25 minutes. When cooked, rice should be tender but not mushy and sauce should have a creamy texture.

Stir in cheese and parsley until evenly distributed. Taste and add salt and pepper, if you wish. Serve in a shallow soup bowl scattered with thick gratings of Parmesan cheese and Italian parsley.

Makes 6 servings.

Spring Rolls

by aleksandaurelie

Another Basil Cooking School recipe:

Ingredients
100 g glass noodles, soaked and cut into 1-inch pieces
Handful of bean sprouts
Half a chicken breast, minced
Half a carrot, shredded
4-6 baby corn, thinly sliced
1 green onion, finely sliced
2-3 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 tbsp fish sauce
3 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp sugar
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 egg, beaten
4 spring roll pastries (8.5 square inches, 21.5 square centimeters)
4 cups vegetable oil (for deep frying)

Making the filling
In the wok, warm the oil over medium heat. Add garlic and cook until golden. Add chicken and stir until ready. Then stir in bean sprouts, carrot, baby corn, and green onion. Add fish sauce, oyster sauce, and sugar. Add noodles and stir well until done, and set aside.

Wrapping the spring rolls
Place 1/4 of the filling in one corner of the spring roll pastry, fold the bottom side of the pastry to cover the filling, and roll until halfway through the pastry. Dab some egg on the edges of the pastry with brush or finger, then fold the left and right side and keep rolling up tightly.

Preheat the oil over medium heat. Deep fry spring rolls until golden brown, then transfer to the strainer to drain the oil. Remove extra oil from the spring rolls with a tissue or paper towel. Serve with sweet chili sauce.

Makes 4 spring rolls.

One photo from Montreal:

And one from Thailand: