STUCK WITH LEFTOVERS...

I found myself in a situation that I know quite well and that definately was not a first for me- being stuck with leftovers. Especially leftovers that do not have a very long shelf life. This time around it happened to be mushrooms (champignons de Paris to be precise) and mint, and I absolutely had to use them up- I would feel guilty throwing them out! Fortunately, mushrooms and mint are lovely ingredients but I was lacking inspiration...when miraculously - or you was it destiny!- my mother gave me a ring and proposed that I match it up with cabillaud (cod) or go with a vegeterian pasta dish. Then I thought to myself...but why do either / or? Why not do both? Besides, now that mother mentioned it, I do indeed remember very well having tasted her suggestions in the past- she had made these before and they were delicious.

What was especially appealing was the idea of matching up cabillaud with a ton of fresh mint, mushrooms, lemon, garlic...amongst other things, as it really gives a lovely flavour boost to the fish. I admit, cabillaud is not my preferred type of fish as I tend to find it quite bland in taste. So it needs a very flavourful cookup in my opinion.

This is very quick and easy to make. You just need to pan sear the cabillaud with some olive oil, lots of lemon and garlic, break it into little pieces and then throw on top sliced mushrooms and chopped mint leaves. And of course, season with salt!

For a vegeterian option, this is absolutely delicious. A mixture of pasta, mushrooms, mint, olive oil, some garlic, feta and toasted pinenuts.


Recipe for the cabillaud (cod) with mushrooms & mint:
Cabillaud filets- no bones, no skin
Olive oil
Garlic, chopped
Mushrooms, sliced
Mint leaves, chopped
Lemon, juice of

Heat some olive oil and garlic in a skillet pan. Sprinkle cabillaud filet with salt and transfer to skillet. Cook on each side for 2-3 minutes, then break into small pieces with a wooden spoon. Add the mushrooms, lots of lemon juice and mix everything on high heat- allow any liquids to evaporate. Add the mint leaves at the very end, mix well one last time and season if necessary.

Recipe for pasta with mushrooms & mint:
Pasta, already boiled (preferably penne or a short pasta)
Olive oil
Garlic, chopped
Mushrooms, sliced
Mint leaves, chopped
Feta cheese, crumbled
Pinenuts, toasted
Salt & Pepper

In a deep pan, heat the olive oil with the garlic, then throw in the pasta. When you boil the pasta, try to boil it 1-2 minutes less then recommended time as it will continue to ''cook'' in the next steps. Add the mushrooms and mint, season and mix well. When serving, top off with some crumbled feta cheese and toasted pinenuts.

SO GRATIFYING - HOMEMADE PIZZA

Maybe there is something intimidating about the thought of homemade pizza, but it really isnt that difficult. Of course, in an ideal dream-kitchen we would all have a wood-fired oven and dough rolling skills of a pizzaiolo, but if that's not the case, making it from scratch without the fancy accessories can work out just as well.

In my opinion, you really need two things. Firstly, you need to find a great base pizza dough recipe- and never lose it! I have mine, and because sharing, is caring you'll find it at the end of this post. Secondly, you need superb quality ingredients to dress up a wonderful dough. Coupled with some creativity, just unleash your imagination...let your tastebuds guide you into choice of toppings, cheeses, herbs, etc. Here is what I went for:

First off, the pizza dough...

Option 1: garlic rubbed dough, mozzarella, mushrooms, dash of black pepper. I love mushrooms on my pizza- the more, the better!

Option 2: a classic margarita

Ten minutes later, my mushroom pizza was ready and I topped on a mixture of arugula and chopped fresh basil

I think this deserves another shot :)

And here is the margarita, the edible incarnation of the expression ''simplicity at it's best'' !

Recipe for basic pizza dough - makes 2 large pizzas

400gr flour

15gm dried yeast + 40ml warm water

200ml water + 1 teaspoon salt

Olive oil for brushing

Mix the dried yeast & warm water in a cup, leave for 15 minutes until frothy.

Prepare a bowl with the flour. Form a well in the center and add the yeast mixture. Mix, then add the 200ml water with the salt. Knead dough for 10 minutes. Form two balls, leave dough to rise in a container that has been brushed with olive oil. I usually leave my dough to rise for at least 5 hours, sometimes I will leave it overnight.

Preheat oven to 220C. Knead the dough again for 5 mins, roll out thinly on a baking tray, add your choice of toppings and bake for 8-10 minutes until golden and crisp.

BREAKING NEWS!

Quick update- I've just come back from a very spontaneous session in the kitchen...and...in sticking to homemade gelato goodness, can I just say that if you ever venture down chocolate lane, please add some orange blossom water AND cardamom. It has to be both together, preferably! What wonders it will do to your chocolate gelato (or ice cream, whatever you decide to do!) It will provide a lovely tingle to your tastebuds, the orange blossom water with the cardamom make a beautiful symphony with the chocolate.

I thought this was news worth sharing- give this flavour combination a try next time!

x

Marianna

Recipe for chocolate gelato with orange blossom water & cardamom:

300ml milk

300ml liquid cream
100gr brown sugar
1 tablespoon orange blossom water
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
20gr unsweetened cocoa
100gr 70% chocolate, chopped
300ml cold milk + 1 tablespoon cornstarch

In a pot, heat 300ml milk with the cream, sugar, orange blossom water and ground cardamom in a pot. Then add the cocoa and baking chocolate, stir and make sure the chocolate has fully melted into the mixture. Just make sure that during this process, the milk and cream doesn't burn. In a cup, mix the cornstarch with 300ml of cold milk- make sure the cornstarch has dissolved completely, then add to the pot and keep mix over heat for two minutes. Remove from heat, chill in fridge for at least two hours before transfering to your ice cream machine. Follow manufacturer's instructions, and enjoy either immediately or place mixture in freezer for a couple of hours.

HONEY GELATO

Mmm gelato. The ultimate holiday food. I dont know about you, but gelato is pretty much all I eat when I'm on holidays. It just makes me happy, and I feel adventurous wanting to try the gazillion flavours that are usually presented at a gelateria. Even the most humble gelateria I've come across has had at least 10 to 15 offerings. I'll usually have two flavours - in a cup please (sorry, cones are not for me!). Sometimes I'll have three flavours. And if calories weren't an issue and I could eat all I wanted without having to worry about not fitting into my jeans, then yes, I would had probably even gone for a cup containing six different scoops. With some whipped cream and sprinkles on top. That's how much I love gelato.

Anyway, strange that I had never tried making it at home. Plus, my ice cream machine even has a gelato function- it churns much slower then on ice cream mode. Slow churning means less air which explains the dense creamy texture gelato has.

What I also loved about making gelato is that it is eggless. One day I will tell you why I prefer sweets that are eggless... it's a long story so I will save it for another time :)

The only issue at hand now was what flavour should I try? The answer seemed evident- I wanted to make honey gelato. I had once made homemade honey ice cream, and I still remember how fantastic the taste was. It was pure bliss, and nothing compared to commercial honey ice cream. There are some flavours that just taste so much more better at home- for instance pistachio is a good example in my opinion. Well the same applies for honey. Homemade versus commercially made is like night and day. You cannot even compare. Do you know what I mean? Not only the taste is different, but the colour too. Honey ice cream at home is white- not some light brown colour. You get that naturalness with pistachio too- none of that radioactive fluorescent green colour at home!

However at the last minute I threw in some bits of speculoos...although to be honest with you, this addition gave a bit of a wintery feel and darker colour to the end result. But it was good nonetheless!

Wanna try some?

Recipe for honey gelato:

300ml milk

300ml liquid cream

100gr honey

300ml cold milk + 1 tablespoon cornstarch

In a pot, heat 300ml milk with the cream and honey in a pot. In a cup, mix the cornstarch with 300ml of cold milk- make sure the cornstarch has dissolved completely, then add to the pot and keep mix over heat for two minutes. Remove from heat, chill in fridge for at least two hours before transfering to your ice cream machine. Follow manufacturer's instructions, and enjoy either immediately or place mixture in freezer for a couple of hours. You can optionally add chopped nuts or cookies of your choice for some crunch when transfering cooled mixture to your ice cream machine.

QUICK & TASTY: FRESH GOAT CHEESE TWO WAYS

;

I love fresh goat cheese- I love it's taste and texture and that it is like a blank slate to which you can add a variety of ingredients especially if you're looking to enjoy something quick to make and full of taste.

When I opened the fridge the other day, heard the birds chirping outside, and felt the sunrays shining through the kitchen windows (wow, does this all sound way too perfect or what?) , I knew that the goat cheese on that refrigerator shelf needed a bit of a revamp. Plain goat cheese was just not an option on a lovely sunny day!

What it needed was a bit of a crunch, something sweet, and it definately could make use of some fresh herbs.

Walnuts & dried apricots are just perfect with goat cheese... dont forget a dash of black pepper too

Add some fresh chopped mint leaves on that too

Mix everything and get ready to spread on a delicious toasted slice of bread

The other option with fresh goat cheese is to let it marinate in some olive oil combined with some ingredients of your choice. This will taste delicious if you leave it set for 24 - 48 hours. Here I used the same ingredients: walnuts, dried apricots and black pepper but replaced the mint with fresh basil leaves.

What are your favourite flavour pairings with fresh goat cheese?

CANT GET ENOUGH OF KNAFEH BIL JIBNE!

Mmmm... a bite of crunch combined with creaminess, straight out of the oven, with a drizzle of orange-blossom scented syrup... knafeh bil jibne is a firm favourite here at home when it comes to desserts. Actually, this is not the first time I write about this middle eastern dessert on my blog, but last time I presented it in a fun bite size form- which, I'm pretty sure, you would never find in any Middle Eastern shop or restaurant. They just dont make them like that as the traditional way is really to prepare it in a gigantic round pan that could feed an entire country! I've tried taking lots of photos to show a step-by-step method of making this delicious dessert at home...just incase you get that sudden craving and there is no place nearby to indulge into a ready made slice!

The key ingredient here is knafeh- you can find this in Middle Eastern food shops.

A mixture of the right cheeses explains the creamy inner magic of a knafeh bil jibne. You will need a mixture of akkawi cheese (here on the left, the texture is more goey) and haloumi cheese (on the right, with a firmer texture). These cheeses are salty, so you will need to leave them in a bowl of cold water for 48hours in the fridge to remove saltiness. Make sure to change the water at least twice during the 48hours.

Place your knafeh in a mixer

And shred it. Some shops might sell knafeh that is already shredded- so in that case skip this step.

In a bowl, mix all the shredded knafeh with a generous (and I mean it literally here- you need to be extremely generous) amount of melted butter- or even better, if you have ghee then use that instead. Make sure the knafeh is well coated with the melted butter or ghee and take half of the quantity and spread a layer of it on a baking tray.

Then top on diced akkawi and haloumi cheese

And cover that with the remaining half of the knafeh

Bake at 190C for 20 minutes, then check every 5 minutes. It will be ready when it has a nice golden colour. Once out of the oven, immediately pour over some orange-blossom scented (or rose water if you prefer) syrup

It needs to be well soaked in the syrup, so dont be shy!

If you want, you can sprinkle some pistachio on top

Slice it up and enjoy immediately- eating it cold is a big no-no!

Hopefully the photos make it easy to understand, so I'm not including a recipe, but here is an overview of the ingredients you will need:

Raw knafeh
Akkawi cheese, diced
Haloumi cheese, diced
Butter or ghee, melted
Pistachios- optional

The important thing here is to coat the shredded knafeh very generously with the melted butter or ghee- otherwise the end result is too dry.
I understand these ingredients may not be easily available everywhere, so a cheat method if you cant find akkawi and haloumi cheese is to use mozzarella instead. In that case, you don't need to soak in water as mozzarella tends to be less salty.
For the syrup place equal amounts of sugar and water and boil for a good 10 mins (until it’s texture is rather thick). At the end, add some orange blossom or rose water to the syrup.

FYI-Although they might all be eating the same thing, this name for this scrumptious dessert does vary from country to country!

NOT YOUR USUAL...

...strawberry ice cream that is. Anyone who is a minimum familiar with my blog will notice I am not one for sticking to classics. I guess you could say I'm the anti- vanilla/chocolate/strawberry person (although from time to time a nice scoop of one of those isn't so bad) (oh, and no offense to the vanilla/chocolate/strawberry people...don't want to make myself any enemies out there hehe).

Because of the messed up weather we've had here in Paris, it had been months since I last pulled out the ice cream machine, but I heard it calling my name when we had some nice sunshine the other day (yes my kitchen appliances talk to me from time to time incase you're wondering). And the luxury of having an ice cream machine means you can experiment with flavours- which is indeed what I did this time around. So to inaugurate my ice cream machine for summer of 2010 (i had been waiting for this moment people!!!) I went for a not so common combination of strawberries and...

champagne?

sorry, no

hmm.. ginger?

nope...

vanilla?

definately NO

....

..

.

cardamom...?

YES!

Strawberries and cardamom are a fantastic match, trust me. It's not one you see too often, but my little finger tells me it might be the next big thing...or not... but in anycase it is worth the try, especially if you are one of those cardamom lovers out there.

Just add a pinch of ground cardamom to your ice cream mixture

When heating, the mixture has to reach a temperature of 82C-85C celsius. The fancy term for this is having it cooked ''a la nappe'', which means if you place a spoon in the mixture and swipe your finger on the back of the spoon it should form a visibly clear line.

I like to add the strawberry chunks in the mixture while it's still warm

And then very last minute, I decided to throw in some broken meringue for a bit of crunch...

There you have it, a scoop of strawberry-cardamom ice cream. Enjoy!

Recipe for strawberry-cardamom ice cream with bits of crunchy meringue

Ingredients:

4 egg yolks
125gr sugar
300ml low fat milk
200ml liquid cream
Vanilla
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
A dash of rose water (optional, but it does a little magic)
Strawberries, diced
Meringue, broken into little pieces

How to make it:

Mix the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl. In a pot, bring the milk, cream, cardamom and vanilla to boil. Pour the boiling milk mixture over the cold mixture (eggs + sugar) while stirring. Return to heat and continue to stir until the cream starts to thicken. This stage of cooking is known as “la nappe” which is achieved between 82-85C. If the cream is not heated sufficiently, the ice-cream will be thin and watery. Remove the pot from the heat and stop the cooking process by placing it in cold water mixed with ice cubes. Pass the mixture though a strainer and refrigerate for at least 6 hours. Then transfer mixture to your ice-cream machine. Add the broken meringues before churning. Follow manufacturers’ instructions.

FEELS (AND TASTES) LIKE SUMMER....

A perfect summer day is one with a clear blue sky, a warm feeling on your skin, a picnic in the park, flowers in bloom, sugar and spice and everything nice.... you get the picture. But, a perfect summer day also has it's perfect summer food- and to me, an inviting dish of calamari and shrimps enjoyed with a cool glass of white wine (or beer if you prefer) just makes the sunshine even more delicious. Wouldn't you agree? That's my idea of what summer feels and tastes like ...

... and here's what it looks like (in the kitchen) too!

Fresh herbs are a must! My basil pot and fragrant mint leaves came in handy...

I like to just throw calamari rings in a mixture of flour, cornstarch and salt for a crispy result minus the heavy feeling deep-frying can sometimes produce.

Calamari is nice, but with some shrimps it's even better...

And if you want to add an interesting visual twist to your dish, you can serve the calamari rings and shrimps on fried spaghetti! Since you'll be frying in the first place, you can throw in some spaghetti that will become golden strands in just about 10 seconds.

Voila, and there you have it. Fried calamari rings and shrimps bursting in a mixture of basil, mint, garlic and lemon!

This summery dish is really easy to make and a real crowd-pleaser, but I urge you to prepare the calamari rings yourself and not buy the ready-to-fry ones that come in the frozen-products aisles of supermarkets...

Recipe:

Calamari rings- get them from your fish monger

Flour mixed with cornstartch, salt and pepper (ratio 3/4 flour: 1/4 cornstartch)

Shrimps

Onion, chopped finely

Garlic, chopped finely

Fresh basil and mint, chopped

Lemon, juice of

Olive oil

Spaghetti (optional)

Lemon wedges to serve

For the calamari:

In a bowl, place the flour mixed with the cornstartch, salt and pepper. Then add calamari rings and ensure they are well coated with the flour mixture. Heat a deep pan with oil to fry, once ready, throw in the calamari rings and fry for 5-7 minutes. If you wish, at the end, you can fry some spaghetti for presentation (the spaghetti fries very quickly in a matter of seconds- so keep a close eye when doing this)

For the shrimps:

Chop the onion and garlic finely, set aside. Chop a generous amount of fresh mint and basil, set aside. Heat a large pan with some olive oil, add the onions and garlic on med-high heat until golden. Add the shrimps, squirt over some lemon, and cook for 5-8 minutes always on med-high heat. At the last minute, turn off heat and add the basil and mint.

Place the fried spaghetti on your serving dish, and the calamari rings and shrimps on top. Great with avocado and a beer! Enjoy!