Sunday, December 22, 2013

ORANGE TIRAMISU






RECIPE:

for 4-5 small glasses

INGREDIENTS:

250g mascarpone cheese,room temperature
150ml double cream, cold
2 egg yolks,room temperature
2 łyżki icing sugar (less if your sponge fingers are covered with sugar)
100g sponge fingers(around 8 ), broken into smaller pieces
100ml freshly squeezed orange juice
40ml cointreau (in adult's version of course)
2 oranges,peeled and white pith removed from around the flesh,chopped
40g dark chocolate, grated
50g pistachios without the shell

METHOD:

1. Bring 1/4 water to boil in a medium pot and turn the heat right down. Put the egg yolks and sugar into a metal bowl and place over the boiling water(make sure the bowl doesn't touch the water) and whisk it with an electric mixer until pale and creamy. Take it of the steaming water and whisk for another couple of minutes.Combine with mascarpone.

3. Whip cream until soft peaks, and spoon by spoon mix it with mascarpone.

2. Mix orange juice with  with cointreau in a separate bowl.

3.Dip some of the biscuit in orange mixture(try not to make them too soggy) and place on the bottom of each glass, layer with a spoonful(or maybe 2) of mascarpone cream on the top and sprinkle with grated dark chocolate, repeat again - I fit 2 layers in my glasses.

4.Chill in the fridge overnight (or at least 5 hours)

5.Decorate with orange pieces and pistachio nuts ;)

Polish ''greek style'' FISH

As the name indicates it's a Polish dish ;) with a very weird name :D I haven't got a clue where the name ''greek style'' comes from as nobody never heard of it in Greece.....To make it funnier it's one of our traditional Christmas dishes ;D Oh well, it doesn't really matter what the name is because it's a very delicious dish and not necessary eaten only during Christmas period. I eat it all year round ;)






RECIPE:

You will need 6-8 remekinds or one bigger dish

INGREDIENTS:

600g skinless and boneless cod
250g carrots, medium grated
70g parsnip,medium grated
50g celeriac, medium grated
1 big onion,chopped
1 small leek,or half big one, chopped
1 glass boiling water
2 berries allspice
1 bay leaf
50g tomato purée(room temperature)
3 tbsp olive oil
salt, pepper

METHOD:

1.Preheat the oven 190C/170fan/Gas5

2.Rinse fish under cold water, dry with paper towel, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place on a baking tray, sprinkle with olive oil.Bake for 25 minutes.

2.Place grated veg in a medium pot and cover with one glass of boiling water.Bring to boil and simmer for 10-15 minutes.Leave the lid ajar.After this time add allspice,bay leaf and tomato puree.

3.In a meantime fry onion and leek with some olive oil until golden and add to veg.Season with salt and pepper.Bring to boil and turn off the heat.

4.If you use one bigger dish place fish on the bottom and cover with veg(still warm), if you decide to use remekinds put the veg first and cover with fish and  press with a spoon.Let it cool and put in a fridge for minimum 2 hours.

To take the fish from remekinds, circle a knife around the edges and turn the dish over a plate, it should slide out quite easily.To serve fish from a bigger dish simply spoon it out on a plate.












Saturday, December 21, 2013

MULLED WINE











 RECIPE:

INGREDIENTS:

750 ml red wine
2 cinnamon sticks
4 star anise
6 - 8 cloves
50g brown sugar
fresh orange juice from 1 orange
2 – 3  oranges,peeled, cut into wedges
50g fresh cranberries, slightly pressed

METHOD:

1.Put all ingredients into a medium pot, simmer for around 6-8 minutes,don't boil!

2.Serve with orange wedges ;)

The best enjoyed with company ;)


 



Christmas BORSCHT




RECIPE:

INGREDIENTS:


3l water
6 medium beetroots
1 carrot
1 small parsnip
a piece of celeriac (ok 100g)
1 medium onion, cut in half and burn a little bit over fire ;)
0.5 leek
5berries of allspice
3 bay leaves
4 garlic cloves, crushed slightly
few peppercorns
salt pepper
4 - 5 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

METHOD:

1.Wash all the vegetables, peel and place in a big pot(leave one unpeeled beet for later). Add garlic, onion,leek,allspice, bay leaves and peppercorns. Cover with cold water, bring to boil, turn the heat down to minimum and simmer with lid on for around 1 1/2 -2 hours. 

2.After this time,peel 1 left beetroot and grate it(medium). Turn off the heat and add grated beetroot,lemon juice, salt and eventually some pepper.Mix with a spoon.Strain before serving.

Serve with sauerkraut and wild mushroom pasties ;)

http://beascookbook.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/sauerkraut-and-mushroom-pasties.html

Friday, December 20, 2013

SAUERKRAUT and MUSHROOM PASTIES

Does your homes smell like Christmas yet?We've got our Christmas tree up, smell of fresh spruce fills the house, fire on(electric ;) - but still nice! ;)), candles lit everywhere.It's warm and cosy.I love Christmas - there is something so magical about it ;) Different scents remain me of different times in my life, some even take me back to my childhood in a split second, when as a little girl I puttered around the kitchen,poking my nose in every single pot.....it smelled so christmassy back then ;) And I make sure that my home smell of Christmas now too ;)

Most of polish Christmas dishes are made of sauerkraut and wild mushrooms and I associate their scent with this time of the year ;) These pasties render the taste of Polish Christmas perfectly.The filling is very time-consuming but it's worth every effort ;) It's very important to use dry, wild mushroom - they make this dish!







RECIPE:

for 26 pasties

REMEMBER:allow more time to prepare the sauerkraut and mushroom filling.
INGREDIENTS:

PASTRY:

480g bread flour + 50g for kneading
320 ml tepid water
30g fresh yeast or 15g dry
3 tbsp olive oil
pinch of salt
pinch of sugar
2 tbsp poppy seeds + few pinches to sprinkle on the tops
1 egg
butter for greasing

FILLING:

0.5kg sauerkraut(I do recommend polish one as it's not as vinegary as the one I bought in the UK)
50g dry wild mushrooms
2 medium onions,chopped finely
black pepper
salt
2 tbsp olive oil, for frying

1.You can prepare filling the night before,because it's very time-consuming. Rinse sauerkraut under a tepid water in a colander,place it in a medium pan and cover with cold water.Bring to boil and simmer for around 1 1/2 -2 hours(until soft) with a lid on.Strain, let it cool down, drain the remaining water out and chopped finely(some sauerkraut might already be chopped).

2.Soak dry mushrooms in water for few hours until soft.After this time put it over a medium heat and bring it to boil, turn the heat down and simmer for 1 hour.Strain, cool down and chop finely.If you are using fresh mushrooms, chop them finely and fry.

3. Fry onions with olive oil until golden.

4.Place sauerkraut, mushroom and onions into one bowl and season well with salt and pepper - this is your filling DONE ;)

5.PASTRY: Crumble fresh/dry yeast with pinch of sugar, 40 ml lukewarm water and a 1-2 tbsp flour.Stir and leave to foam for 10-15 minutes

6.Mix sifted flour and salt in a bowl, add olive oil and poppy seeds.Add yeast mixture and the rest of lukewarm water.Mix with a wooden spoon, when the mixture comes together start kneading it using your hands.Add some more flour if the dough is too sticky.Knead for around 5-10 minutes until the dough is very soft.(trust me you will feel the difference). Cover the bowl with a cotton tea towel and put to rise somewhere warm, but NOT hot, until dough has doubled in size - it takes around 1 hour.(remember dough doesn't like draughts!)

7.Preheat the oven 190 C/170 C fan /Gas 5

8.When the dough doubled in size, put it on a lightly floured surface and knead for another 2-3 minutes,roll it out and cut 7,5 cm circles and place on a well greased baking tray(sprinkled with semolina but not necessary)

9.Place some of the filling on each circle, fold into a half-moons and pinch edges, forming a well-sealed crescent.Transfer each one onto a baking tray,brush with beaten egg and sprinkle with poppy seeds.

10.Bake for 35 minutes, cover with aluminium foil if get too brown.

GREEN CANOE STYLE - WINTER ISSUE

New GREEN CANOE magazine is out - still warm :) Truly amazing, full of beautiful pictures and gorgeous inspirations!You will also find some of my recipes inside + a very aromatic article ;) It's in Polish but I hope it will be translated to English one day and go GLOBAL ;)

http://issuu.com/greencanoe/docs/gcs-zima_2013

http://issuu.com/greencanoe/docs/gcs-zima_2013

Saturday, December 14, 2013

Mini APPLE CRUMBLES








RECIPE:

For 6 remekins

For FILLING 

750g/26.4 oz apples,peeled,cored and chopped
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp cinnamon

For CRUMBLE

150g/ 5.3 oz plain flour
110g/ 3.9 oz butter(cold)
50g/ 1.7 oz oats
60g caster sugar

METHOD:

1.Place apples in a medium pan, add sugar and cinnamon and cook over medium heat for abound 10 minutes.

2.In a meantime place flour,oats,and sugar in a medium bowl and then rub in the butter until it resembles breadcrumbs.Fine or coarse- whichever you prefer ;)



CUSTARD:

INGREDIENTS:

600 ml/17.5 oz milk
2 large egg yolks
2 tbsp caster sugar
vanilla pod
2 1/2 tbsp corn flour

METHOD:

1.Place 450 ml/1lb milk over a medium heat, add sugar and vanilla seeds scraped from 1 pod.
2.Mix the rest of milk with yolks and flour, until smooth.
3.When the milk starts to simmer, turn the heat down and pour milk-yolk-flour mixture slowly into the pan.Keep whisking until it gets thicker.Bring to boil and take off the heat.IT'S READY ;) ;) ;)

POUR IT OVER THE APPLE CRUMBLES AND ENJOY! ;)

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

MINI APPLE PIES






RECIPE:

INGREDIENTS:

You will need a muffin tray for this recipe ;)

CRUST:

220g plain flour
230 g butter(cold),cut into small cubes
salt,small pinch
60-70ml cold water

PLUS:butter for greasing

Apple FILLING:

750g apples,chopped
2-3 tbsp cinnamon
4 tbsp sugar


1.Sift the flour into a medium bowl,add salt and butter.Rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips.Now add 60 ml water and combine together using hands.If the mixture feels too crumbly  add some more water.Divide into two balls, flatten them into discs,wrap with cling film and put in the fridge for 1 hour.

2.In the meantime put apples into a pan over a small heat.Add sugar and cinnamon and cook for 10-15 minutes.After this time, turn off the heat and let it cool.

3.Preheat the oven 190 C/170 C fan/GAS 5.Grease muffin tray with butter.

4.Take the pastry out the fridge and roll out on a lightly floured surface (around 5 mm thick) and cut out the circles (9,5-10 cm) using a glass or a jar.Line each muffin mould with the cut out pastry so that the bottom and the edges are all covered.Fill up with the apple mixture.Cut narrow stripes from the rest of the pastry and wove on the top of each pie and press the edges together.If you don't feel creative just cut out smaller circles(7 cm), press the edges together and cut small crosses in the middles.

5.Bake for 30-33 minutes.

Served warm or cold ;) ;) ;)

Saturday, November 16, 2013

BEHIND THE SCENES

How long do you think it takes to create a photo you see on food blogs?


Planning,cooking, styling, taking photos, shopping of course for ingredients and props.........

Food bloggers are either mad or they just love what they do ;) I think I'm both - barmy and devotee of good food and good food photography!


WELCOME TO MY WORLD!

Photography is all about LIGHT right???!!!This actually can be very, very, very tricky!Especially if you live in ENGLAND ;)

Believe me, the sun was shining 5 minutes before this photo was taken, I set the scene, ready for photo shoot and......upsss.That's what you call  ENGLISH WEATHER!



It takes a long time to set the scene and take satisfying photo.....And some house mates or husbands -  to be more precise get very impatient.....especially if the delicious smell fills in the house from top to bottom ;)




Working from 7 o'clock on Sunday,all day long can sometimes be exhausting....but it all doesn't matter when you see the photo on the screen of your laptop and it's exactly what you wanted to achieve.



And then you happen to walk into a kitchen.....rub your eyes.....rub your eyes again.....OMG!What happened in here?

Anyone volunteer to help????




Friday, November 15, 2013

APPLE AND BLACKBERRY CRUMBLE

This recipe supposed to be added on my blog ages agoooo!I'm not sure if you will be able to find any blackberries anywhere now, if not, simple apple crumble is as nice ;)






INGREDIENTS:

FILLING:

500g/17.6 oz apples
500g/17.6 oz blackberries
1 TBSP fresh lemon juice
3-5 TBSP brown sugar

CRUMBLE:

200g/7oz butter(cold)
150g/5.3oz plain flour
100g/3.5oz oats
50g/1.7 hazelnuts, chopped
100g/3.5 oz brown sugar

METHOD:

1.Prepare crumble first. Place the flour, oats and hazelnuts in a large bowl and then rub in the butter until it resembles crumbs - leave a few lumps of butter so that the topping is not too fine. Add the muesli or oat/seed/nut mixture and the sugar and mix through.

2.Preheat oven 190C/!70C FAN/GAS 5

3.Place chopped apples in a pan over medium heat.Add sugar and lemon juice and cook for 5 minutes, stirring from time to time.Add blackberries and cook  for another minute.

4.Place the fruit mixture in a oven/pie dish and bake for 40-45 minutes.

5.Cool for few minutes before serving.

Eaten NECESSARILY with custard ;)


I prepared this recipe and some more for  AUTUMN GREEN CANOE  
http://issuu.com/greencanoe/docs/gcs-jesien_2013

It's in Polish but I hope it will be translated to English one day!It's truly amazing!!!



Friday, October 18, 2013

CHICKEN & WHITE BEAN SOUP

Flavoursome, heart-warming, comforting soup - ideal for these cold and dark autumn evenings.Enjoy!



Inspiration: bbc good food

RECIPE:

INGREDIENTS FOR STOCK:

 2 free range chicken legs(leave out for vegetable stock)
1/2 onion (small), browned sligtly on a clean frying pan
celeriac,(small piece - 30g)
1/2 stalk celery
1 medium carrots
1/2 parsnip
2 dried bay leaves
allspice(2 berries)
3 black peppercorns
2 and 1/2 - 3 l water
 
Method:

1.Cover the chicken legs with water and bring to boil.Skim off any scum that has formed.Add the rest of the ingredients, bring to boil, turn the heat down and simmer for around 1-2 hour.

2.Remove the legs from the pan(we will use them in this recipe), and drain the stock.

Why not double up the ingredients and freeze half of the amount for next time....

INGREDIENTS FOR SOUP:

2 tbsp rapeseed oil
2 free range chicken legs, cooked(I used the ones from home made stock)
1 onion, finely chopped
2 carrots(medium),finely chopped
3 celery sticks, finely chopped
1 bay leaf
1.5 l home-made vegetable or chicken stock
600 g cannellini beans, drained
 a bunch of flat leaf parsley, chopped, to serve

METHOD:

1.Heat the oil in a large pan, add onion, fry until soft.

2. Pour stock into the pan, add bay leaf,carrot and celery.Cook for about 15 minutes.

3. Add beans and cook for another 10-15 minutes .Remove the meet off the bone and mix in big chunks into the soup.

4.Served with chopped parsley.


Friday, October 11, 2013

AUTUMN SMOOTHIE



KEEP
 CALM
and
 LOVE
 AUTUMN
 FLAVOURS






RECIPE:

INGREDIENTS:

for 1 glass

1 pear,peeled, cored and chopped
2 plums, stoned,chopped
180 ml orange juice
pinch of cinnamon
1-2 tbsp oats
1 tbsp flaxseeds

Method:

1.Place the ingredients in a blender and mix on high speed until smooth ;) So simple, so delicious ;)

Sunday, October 6, 2013

NUTTY GRANOLA

The colourful leaves falling from the trees are dancing in the wind, goodbying the Summer.
Crisp mornings, cooler evening all signal that AUTUMN is here. Time to relax....wind down....reflex.
Welcome back warm slippers, knitted jumpers and cosy blankets ;)
I like Autumn, it balances my life somehow; after active summer I can loosen my busy schedule a  little bit and I have a pretty good excuse - it's ''me'' time.
I sink into the armchair wrapped up in my favourite blanket, sipping warm green and lemon tea with my best autumn friends - books.And I want time to stop in that moment.....it's perfect....






AUTUMN changes the ingredients on my plate too. Hello heart - warming, comforting food.
Hello honey, cinnamon and nuts ;)


Nuts about NUTS?

HOME MADE GRANOLA









RECIPE:

150g jumbo oats
100g pumpkin seeds
150g nuts
1 egg white
1 tsp cinnamon
100 ml good quality honey(alternatively agave nectar or maple syrup)

METHOD:

1.Preheat oven to 190 C/ 170C fan/Gas 5

2.Mix honey with cinnamon and stir in the oats, seeds and nuts until mixture is evenly coated.Whisk egg white in a small bowl until frothy and pour over granola and stir until all ingredients are well combined.

3. Spread out evenly on a baking tray(lined with baking paper) and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until lightly toasted and fragrant, stirring with a wooden spoon occasionally.

4. Cool, break it in clumps and store in a jar at room temperature.

Mind that this granola doesn't contain any oil so it may get a bit ''stiff'' when stored in a jar, just stir with a spoon before serving.