Sweet Potato Salad with Baby Spinach and Feta
Thursday, May 24, 2012Nothing tastes fresher, happier and better than a spring salad just picked from your own garden or windowsill. Besides that, salad is a great way to increase your fruit and vegetable consumption.
Baby spinach is amazingly easy to grow, as seeds germinate in cool weather. I started mine outdoors in containers around the mid-April and 3-4 weeks later, they were ready for harvest.
The flavour of this salad sparkles with the subtle depth and bright note of acidity from Balsamic vinegar, its tartness tempered by the natural sweetness of tasty, low-calorie roasted orange sweet potatoes.
Salad | Dressing |
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- Preheat a grill or broiler to medium-high. Place the potato slices, 2 tbsp olive oil, salt and pepper in a bowl. Toss well. Place them in a single layer on a baking sheet, and broil until they are nicely caramelised, 5 minutes on each side. Adjust the oven to the bake setting at the temperature 180C/350F. Cook for 15 minutes until they are fork tender.
- Toss baby spinach, toasted almonds, and red onions together and divide the mixture into two serving plates. Top with crumbled feta.
- Whisk the balsamic, olive oil, honey and mustard together. Season well. Pile sweet potato slices on top of the salad and drizzle with the dressing.
Whole Wheat Cheese Crackers with Chives and Mustard
Monday, May 21, 2012These delicious crackers are indulgently buttery, cheesy, flaky and practically melt in your mouth. A mix of sharp Cheddar and Grana Padano was used here, but if you can't get enough sharp-tasting cheese, then substitute Grana Padano with vintage Cheddar.
Whole Wheat Cheese Crackers with Chives and Mustard
adapted from Taste
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- Whisk and sift together the wholewheat flour and all purpose flour in a mixing bowl. Set aside. Line two baking trays with parchment papers.
- Beat chopped butter and mustard in a bowl until combined and creamy. Stir in the flour mixture, grated Cheddar, Grana Padano, and chives. Turn onto a lightly floured work surface. Use your hands to bring the dough together.
- Divide the dough into two equal portions. Roll out 1 portion onto a lightly floured work surface until about 5mm thick. Use a wave or flower 5cm-diamenter cookie cutter to cut cookies from the dough. Place on the prepared trays. Place them in the fridge for 15 minutes to chill.
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Bake the cookies, swapping trays halfway through cooking, for 18-20 minutes or until golden. Set aside on the trays for 5 minutes to cool before transferring to a wire rack. Repeat with the remaining dough portion. Store the crackers in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
Wholegrain Spelt Bread Rolls
Wednesday, May 16, 2012These bread rolls are made with a mix of ground whole grain spelt and refined spelt flour. Spelt's nutty flavour doesn't just taste good, it has so many other nutritional benefits that are amazingly good for you.
Like wheat flour, it is sold as both refined / white or whole grain flour. Because it has an extremely fragile glutten content, so don’t expect bread that use spelt to rise high.
Spelt has the right combination of nutrients and can help you with Migraine Headaches, lower your risk of Type II Diabetes, Cardiovascular Disease, and help women avoid Gallstones and Breast Cancer. For an in-depth nutritional profile, please visit whfoods.
Wholegrain Spelt Bread Rolls
adapted from Dinkel-Vollkornbrötchen - brotbackforumStarter | Dough |
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- Combine all the starter ingredients in a mixing bowl and leave it, covered with a plastic film, for 12 hours until bubbly.
- Place all the starter, spelt pastry flour, water, sugar and yeast in the mixing bowl of your stand mixer. Mix at slow speed for 2 minutes. Add in salt and olive oil. Once the salt and oil are incorporated with the dough, increase the speed and knead for a 4 further minutes.
- Shape the dough into a ball and proof, covered, for about 2 hours, stretching and folding the dough at 45 minutes and 90 minutes.Place the dough on a lightly floured work surface and knead lightly to release the air.
- Divide the dough into 18 pieces, each weighs about 90 grams. Shape each portion of dough into an oval or round roll. Place them on the baking trays lined with parchment paper. Cover and and leave to proof for 45-60 minutes.
- Brush the surface with water or egg white. Preheat the oven to
- Place a roasting pan at the bottom shelf and preheat the oven to 250C/500F. Just before putting the bread into the hot oven, slash the tops in an asterisk with a sharp knife. Bake the bread for 10-13 minutes. Now turn down the oven temperature to 215C/420F and bake a further 12-15 minutes until nicely golden brown and crusty.
Honey Peanut Spelt Bars
Saturday, May 12, 2012A sweet, salty, crunchy bar cookie topped with roasted peanuts. Honey and roasted peanuts, a decadent bliss and a bewitching flavour combination that brings out the best in one other. Irresistible and thoroughly satisfying!
Honey Peanut Spelt Bars
adapted from Fine CookingCrust | Topping |
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- Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 9x13-inch baking pan with cooking spray and line the bottom with parchment.
- Finely grind peanuts and sugar. Place them in a large mixing bowl together spelt pastry flour, baking powder, and salt. Whisk to combine. Cut in the butter and rub with your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the lightly beaten egg and mix just until the dough begins to gather into large clumps.
- Using your fingertips, press the dough into the bottom of the prepared pan and about 1 inch up the sides to form a 1/4-inch-thick side crust. Using the tines of a fork, dock the crust evenly all over.
- Bake until light golden brown on the edges and the center looks dry, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool the crust on a rack.
- At the same time, bring the brown sugar, butter, honey, and salt to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring often. Slowly and carefully add the evaporated milk and return to a boil. Remove from the heat and carefully add the nuts, stirring to coat.
- Pour the nut mixture over the crust and spread evenly with a spatula. Tilt the pan to help spread the liquid to the edges and corners. Bake until the topping has just started to bubble slowly in the center, about 20 minutes.
- Let cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes and then run a knife around the inside edge of the pan to loosen the crust from the sides. Let the bars cool completely. Cut into 16 bars. The cookies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 to 5 days.
White Asparagus Salad with Strawberry Vinaigrette
Tuesday, May 08, 2012White asparagus is the same species as the green but is grown entirely surrounded by earth which protects the slender stalk from sunlight exposure and thereby keeps it from turning green.
White asparagus has long been considered a delicacy in Europe and is especially popular in Germany. It has a beautiful delicate flavour and tender texture. A white asparagus dinner (very often with Holloandaise or just melted butter) during the "Spargelzeit"- Asparagus Season will make most German jump with joy.
When buying asparagus, make sure the stems are crisp and plump, and the tips are intact and firm, a slight violet tinge is normal, though considered a flaw in Germany. If you don’t intend to cook them right away, wrap them in a damp kitchen towel and store in the vegetable drawer of the refrigerator.
Salad | Vinaigrette |
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- Peel white asparagus with a sharp vegetable peeler. Trim off touch ends and discard.
- Fill a large pan with water halfway. Add the salt, sugar and butter and bring the water to a gentle boil. Place the peeled asparagus lying down in the pan. Turn down heat so that water is just simmering. Cover with the lid. Blanch the white asparagus 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente and drain. Dip them into a large bowl of cold water to stop further cooking.
- Rinse and dry the strawberries. Dice half of the strawberries. Blend together the rest of the strawberries, blood orange juice, red wine vinegar, sunflower oil and salt. Mix in diced strawberries, chopped green peppercorns and coriander leaves.
- Drain the white asparagus and divide them into two serving plates. Drizzle the strawberry vinaigrette over and let stand for 20 minutes before serving.
Smoked Salmon and Lettuce Salad with Orange Cress Dressing
Friday, May 04, 2012This salad recipe is really simple and quick to prepare, combining a mix of salad leaves, smoked salmon and a delicate orange-cress dressing. Works fantastic as either a starter or a light main.
Smoked Salmon and Lettuce Salad with Orange Cress Dressing
adapted from KüchengötterDressing | Salad |
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- Place the freshly squeezed orange juice and brown sugar in a saucepan. Over the medium heat, simmer the mixture until it reduces to 150 ml. Remove from heat and cool to lukewarm.
- Drizzle in the walnut oil and whisk until well combined. Season the dressing with sea salt, black pepper, and hot mustard sauce. Garnish with garden cress.
- Arrange torn lettuce leaves, arugula, sliced cherry radishes, garden cress, strawberry wedges, smoked salmon strips on a large serving bowl. Serve immediately with prepared salad dressing.
Nutella Spelt Cookies with Pistachios
Thursday, April 26, 2012If you are a fan of Nutella or chocolate, those rich, crispy, chocolatey and nutty cookies are sure a real treat. If you can't find spelt, just use plain wheat flour instead.
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- Whisk together the spelt flour, baking soda and salt in a mixing bowl.
- Cream the softened butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, until completely incorporated. Add in nutella and coffee liquor.
- Sift the flour mixture into the nutella mixture. Mix until just incorporated. Cover with a plastic wrap and chill at least 4 hours or overnight.
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 175C/350F. Shape the cookie dough into balls and roll in the chopped pistachios. Place them on the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 1-inch between cookies. Bake for 15 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
Asparagus Baton Bread with Sesame Seeds
Sunday, April 22, 2012Crisp crust with a moist and soft interior, this is an interesting and a perfect spring bread recipe, especially with asparagus season in full swing. This Baton is based on a bread recipe from daheim und unterwegs.
Starter | Dough |
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- In a mixing bowl, stir all the starter ingredients until you get a rough dough ball. Cover with a plastic film and leave it at the room temperature for an hour. Transfer the starter, still covered, to the fridge and leave it for 15-24 hours.
- Trim, rinse and dry the green asparagus. Cut them into 2cm pieces. Dissolve the starter with water in the mixing bowl of your stand mixer. Add in bread flour, sesame seeds, sugar, salt and yeast. Stir at low speed for 3 minutes, then increase the speed to medium and knead for 5 minutes until the dough is smooth and pliable. Turn the dough on a lightly floured work surface, gently knead green asparagus pieces into the dough until evenly distributed.
- Cover the dough and allow it to rest for 30 minutes. Divide the dough into two portions. Shape each into a round. Cover and set aside for 5 minutes.
- Shape each dough into a baton on a floured work surface and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cover and allow them to rise for 45 minutes.
- Place a roasting pan at the bottom shelf and preheat the oven to 230C450F. Just before putting the bread into the hot oven, slash the tops in an asterisk with a sharp knife or with a floured scissor snip 1/2-inch-deep V into top of each roll.
- Place the bread in the oven and throw a handful of ice cubes into the roasting pan. Close the oven door and bake for 35-40 minutes until nicely golden brown and crusty. Remove the bread and allow them to cool on a wire rack to room temperature before cutting.
I am sending this to the "Bake Your Own Bread-April" at Girlichef.
Soya Spelt Scones with Cranberry and White Chocolate
Wednesday, April 18, 2012Scones, similar to American biscuits, are a type of pastry, which is often served at breakfast or tea, especially in Britain. The dough is usually made in the shape of a round which is cut into triangles, although scones can also be cut into squares or made using a cookie cutter. These soya spelt scones are so tasty when eaten warm. They can be also served at room temperature with clotted cream, jam or honey.
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- Preheat oven to 200C/400F and line a baking tray with parchment paper. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flours, brown sugar, salt, and baking powder.
- Cut the butter into small pieces and blend into the flour mixture with your finger tips. The mixture should look like coarse crumbs. Stir in dried cranberries and white chocolate chips. Add in milk and egg. Stir until just combined. Do not over mix.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead briefly. Gently pat the dough to form a 2cm-thick round. Use a 3.5cm fluted cutter to cut out 16 discs. Dip the cutter into flour between cutting to prevent dough sticking to it.
- Place them to the prepared lined tray and then brush the top of the scones with milk or cream. Bake in the middle of the hot oven for about 15 minutes or until beautifully browned and puff.
Red Lentil and Green Pea Salad
Sunday, April 15, 2012Fast-cooking red lentils teamed up with frozen green peas to make this hearty fiber-rich salad. It makes for a healthy and satisfying lunch with its bright colours and chewy yet tender texture. It turned out that I didn’t touch any chicken breast leftover, so just leave it out if you haven’t got any leftover.
Salad | Dressing |
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- Spread the red lentils out on a work surface and pick out any pebbles, debris, or damaged lentils. Rinse lentils until the water runs clear. Finely chop the onion.
- Place vegetable stock in a medium pot and bring to a boil. Add in rinsed lentils and onions. Cook for 8-10 minutes. Stir in frozen green peas 5 minutes before lentils are tender. Drain well, refresh under cold water and drain again.
- Combine all the ingredients for the dressing in a medium bowl. Mix well and season with salt and pepper. Add the lentils mixture, sliced carrot, radish, strawberry wedges to the bowl of dressing and toss to mix.
- Arrange the salad leaves on a serving plate. Spoon the lentil salad in the middle, top with sliced chicken breast if used and drizzle a bit of balsamic cream over.