Mushroom Parmesan Tart
Monday, October 16, 2023Creamy, delicious, and so moreish, mushrooms are the star ingredient in this simple savoury tart. It is ideal for lunch or as a starter for a dinner party. With Parmigiano-Reggiano and mushrooms, it's a comfort meal guaranteed to please everybody. The pastry and filling can be prepared one day before. The good thing about this mushroom tart is that you can enjoy it hot right out of the oven, at room-temperature or cold from the fridge. I even reheated it in my airfryer for 5 minutes and it still tasted GREAT. Serve it with a bitter green salad if desired.
Beef Kabobs
Saturday, October 14, 2023Colourful and so delicious, these steak kabobs or kebabs use keto-friendly rub with olive oil, rosemary and spices that will give you more succulent and flavoursome beef bites. You can use ribeye, strip steak, fillet or sirloin to make the kabobs. My favourite is ribeye, but leaner sirloin is typically the best choice for using when making beef kabobs, as it is relatively tender, has great flavour, and holds together well on the skewer. Tzatziki can be prepared a day before. I used metal skewers to thread the meat, if using wood or bamboo skewers, then soak them first in water for 30 minutes. This will help prevent them from burning.
Pistachio and Raspberry Scrolls
Thursday, October 12, 2023Fluffy, pillowy and nutty -- these scrolls will fill your kitchen with a sweet, delicious aroma. Besides pistachio cream, almond or cashew cream are also fantastic to use for the filling. Scrolls are usually just frosted with a simple sugar glaze, but cream cheese based frosting would be just as great for these buns. They are best eaten warm, straight out of the oven for the breakfast or as a snack.
West African Roasted Pepper and Peanut Butter Chicken
Tuesday, October 10, 2023This easy recipe with roasted chicken thighs celebrates the rich flavours of poulet maafe / mafé, a spicy, creamy, nutty chicken stew that is an ultimate comfort food in Western Africa. Instead of stewing the chicken, I marinated bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs in a peanut sauce overnight, then roasted to perfection. For the sidedish, I serve zoodles tossed with some of peanut sauce. You can serve the chicken with couscous and carrot salad.
Roasted Delicata Squash with Rosemary and Chicken Schmaltz
Sunday, October 08, 2023This easy Roasted Delicata Squash recipe features squash tossed with chicken schmaltz (rendered chicken fat), fresh rosemary, salt and pepper, roasted to beautifully golden, then sprinkled with crumbled feta, pomegranate arils and some more fresh herbs. If you don't have chicken schmaltz, then use clarified butter or olive oil. It makes an easy side dish in the autumn and winter and its cute ring shape makes it a perfect holiday dish.
Delicata squash, aka peanut squash, Bohemian squash, or sweet potato squash, is naturally sweet and easy to cook. It is actually named for its delicate, edible skin, so no peeling needed here.
Wholegrain Quick Beer Bread with Greek Yoghurt and Honey
Friday, October 06, 2023A quick and simple recipe for wholemeal beer bread made from just a few of pantry ingredients. It does not require yeast or kneading. It's so delicious either plain or buttered. Good with soups, chilli or salads. Makes excellent toast too. Flavour of bread will change, depending on type of beer used. I used Pilsner, if you prefer a more robust, pronounced bread flavour, then use darker beer, like stouts and porters. Feel free to include some spices and herbs to the batter if desired.
Prosciutto-wrapped Pork and Veal Terrine
Wednesday, October 04, 2023Deliciously studded with a mixture of fresh herbs (sage, flat parsley and thyme) and wrapped in flavourful and slightly salted prosciutto, this pork and veal terrine will make any occasion extra-special. I have chosen to omit the nuts in this recipe, but feel free to add a handful of pistachios, pine nuts or macadamias to the mixture. Or try this chicken terrine with pistachios.
Miso Banana Oat Bars
Monday, October 02, 2023Miso gives these oat bars a beautiful, nutty flavour and satisfying salty sweet depth. White or shiro miso is the sweetest and mildest type, but you can use yellow or brown ones to bake these bars too.
They are so quick and easy to make and are perfect as a snack, breakfast, or healthy dessert! Store the cooled bars in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 1 week, or the freezer for up to 6 months.
Boiled Egg Masala Stirfry
Saturday, September 30, 2023The eggs first have been hard-boiled, then fried in ghee (or coconut oil) with spices and herbs until they are evenly golden brown. It's simple, delicious and with minimum fuss.
Kala namak, aka Himalayan "black salt", is a rock salt in the Pakistan / Indian cuisine. It is pinkish grey rather than black and has a very distinctive sulfurous smell and taste similar to hard-boiled eggs. Use regular sea salt if you don't have it.
German Pork Knuckle
Thursday, September 28, 2023Pork Knuckle (Eisbein or Schweinshaxe in German) is a traditional Bavarian dish that's popular not only during the Oktoberfest but all year round. It's usually served with dumplings / Knödeln, Sauerkraut, and of course a beer gravy. I served it with roasted pumpkin since it's in season, and a salad, but you can use other root vegetables. Instead of gravy, we just enjoyed it with a cold top-fermented Weißbier.
If you ever wanted to re-create this typical Oktoberfest dish at home try this recipe, look for the meaty rear pig knuckles that are fresh, not cured and allow it to sit in the fridge for two days to let the skin dry out. Don't rush the process. Use two metal skewers to keep the skin stretched and the prevent from shrinking while it roasts. Without the skewers, the skin contracts as it slow roasts, creating folds in the skin that don’t become crispy.
Simple Styrian Pumpkin Seed Oil Bundt Cake
Tuesday, September 26, 2023What better way to celebrate pumpkin season than with this lightly green coloured dessert, studded with uniquely hull-less Styrian pumpkin seeds.
This simple bundt cake features the rich, nutty flavour of pumpkin seed oil from Styria, a province in southeastern Austria. Styrian pumpkin seed oil is made by pressing roasted, hull-less pumpkin seeds from a local variety of pumpkin, the "Styrian oil pumpkin". In addition to its characteristic dark green color, pumpkin seed oil also has a distinctive nutty taste.
Pan Seared Scallops with Butternut Squash and Brown Butter Hazelnuts
Sunday, September 24, 2023This is an elegant meal that is really easy to prepare. Scallops take only 3-4 minutes to cook until caramelized yet succulent. The trick to achieving that golden crust without overcooking the scallops is to heat your cast iron or stainless steel skillet over high heat for a few minutes until very hot and the scallops should be dry when they hit the pan. Pairing the plump, juicy and perfectly browned sea scallops with creamy butternut squash puree (parsnip puree would be fabulous too) that's roasted with garlic and thyme and brown butter hazelnuts is simply heavenly.