I came across a video last week with Damian Kordas, the winner of Polish edition of Masterchef and Jamie Oliver, making pierogi together. The idea for the filling what was I really liked, so I purchased a piece of smoked cheese in Polish deli and made some last night. Unusual, as I’d never have thought of such combination, but different and very pleasant. The filling consisted of mashed potatoes, the said grated, smoked cheese, could be oscypek, if one happened to be in south of Poland. Some cranberry jam/cranberry sauce. Chopped, fried shallot. Seasoning, lots of nutmeg. Twice cooked, first blanched, then quickly panfried and served with some crunchy bacon bits or soured cream, the way Florek likes his pierogi. Interesting, festive.
Lemon tart.
Just finishing the first piece. Excellent crumbly pastry, the filling as lemony as it gets, I think a touch more sugar would not hurt it, which is unusual for one of Dorotka’s recipes. Very good dessert though and not too complicated.
I had the pastry done by the time I had to get Izzie from playgroup, part one ( Father Christmas was to make an appearance today, so at 1.30 she went back in). 195 g of plain flour, 2 tbsps of icing sugar, 115 g of butter, one egg yolk, 2 tbsps of lemon juice and a splash of water to bind it- the pastry rested for 30 minutes in the fridge, then blind baked in 190 degrees for 15 minutes, minus the beans for another 5.
Filling, perfect if one’s dieting 🙂 . 5 whole eggs, 120 g of sugar, 2 tsps of potato flour, 200 ml of double cream, lemon rind of 2 lemons and 150 ml of lemon juice- all well combined and poured into the prebaked pastry. 30 minutes in 180 degrees. Must have paid attention to it every few minutes in order not to brown it too much, the pastry edges needed to be covered with alu foil.
Overall, 8 out of 10 I’d say, maybe a touch less lemon juice or more sugar.
Belgian waffles.
In spite of having a good recipe for waffles that always works, I tried a different one yesterday, one with fresh yeast and sparkling mineral water. Initially I wasn’t blown away, but Florian loved them , said they were lovely and light and that he preferred them to the other ones. There is only 1 tbsp of sugar in this recipe, I did not serve the waffles with whipped cream, as they made our lunch, but I think they will work, when we have them with everything we like. This time it was just berries and maple syrup.
About 180 ml of sparkling water, 210 ml warm milk ( some poured away to prepare the yeast, 6 g, later added back). Some vanilla extract, 2 egg yolks, 1 tbsp of sugar, a sprinkle of salt. All this made a nice batter, to which I added 270 g of plain flour and 90 of melted butter. While all this sat and proved for about 15 minutes, I whipped the egg whites and added in, then again about 20 minutes resting. And into the waffle maker, as usual. Good waffles, worth the effort.
Introduction to ancho chilies.
Having heard Rick Stein talking about their amazing smoky flavour, then Thomasina Miers about the diversity and authentic taste, I placed the order on Amazon and made tacos this evening, which were served with ancho chili salsa. I used Jamie Oliver’s recipe from 15 Minute Meals. The crowd is divided. Half of the crowd, Florek, is not quite sure if he likes it. He can take a lot more heat than me, but as for the taste he wasn’t exactly drinking this salsa. The other half, myself, did like the flavour, but could hardly take the heat in that bowl and will be reading some more about what to do with the remaining 2 anchos. We had a little of the salsa on the chicken last night, but the majority of it went to Andy’s, a big Mexican food fan and a chili enthusiast.
For the salsa, I first rehydrated the chili with enough boiling water to cover it in the blender. 2 spring onions in, 4 cherry tomatoes, 1/2 a bunch of fresh coriander with stalks, 1 fresh red chili,juice of 1 and 1/2 limes, a splash of balsamic vinegar and 1 tbsp of soy sauce. All this blitzed into a salsa and served alongside chicken tacos with cheese and avocados. Further research to be continued. 🙂
Apple and cinnamon afternoon cake.
Nice little tray of cake topped with lots of apple and even more cinnamon. What’s not to like on a cold December afternoon? Cup of tea, a child that reaches for the second piece and I’m happy.
Relatively simple recipe, found on mojewypieki.com. Unusually for me I’ve made the the whole portion, planned on taking some with me while dropping Izzie off at Lila’s tomorrow, but there might not be enough to take anymore!
200 g of soft butter got creamed with half a glass of caster sugar, 4 whole eggs added one by one. 300 g of plain flour, 1 packet of vanilla budyn, dry, in, 2 tsps of baking powder. 250 ml of milk. Vanilla essence is always a nice touch. I was careful not to overmix the whole thing, as people were talking of zakalec a lot in the comments ( zakalec is a Polish word for a baking disaster, when the cake initally rises and then comes crashing down, leaving the cake heavy and horrible). A little over 750 g of Braeburn apples peeled and sliced, not too thinly, generously placed on top of the cake. It took almost an hour to bake in 160 degrees and while still hot, I brushed it some melted butter and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. Really nice!
Zucchini lasagne.
I had a similar dish for lunch in Italy last month, I thought it was nice, tame, tasty, but I thought I could make it better. I think I did this evening, what can still improve it would be home grown zucchini, which I intend to cook with next summer.
I grated 2 courgettes, pan fried them with half a red onion, half a tbsp of chili flakes, seasoned with some stock, salt and pepper and a touch of tomato puree. Made bechamel usual way and layered the dish with the courgettes, topped with grated parmesan and baked for about 25 minutes in 180 degrees. We both liked it a lot, a glass of Romanian pinot noir sealed the deal.
Cream horns, part 2.
This time from scratch, not from a block of puff pastry. I used a simple recipe from mojewypieki.com, half a portion, as usual, still have about 12 horns left unfilled. Maybe with creme pat this evening, I think I might be bothered actually!
250 g of plain flour, 125 g of cold butter, 125 g of sour cream and a pinch of salt all kitchen aided, rested in the fridge for about an hour and then rolled thinly, wrapped around the horn moulds and baked in 200 degrees for less than 15 minutes, till golden. Deliciously crunchy and delicate. Filled simply with whipped cream, a few blueberries and sprinkled with pistachios. Can’t say they’re effortless and quick, but worth the work for sure!
Mushroom (overloaded) cannelloni.
I was thinking about making this while buying truffles in Lucca. Had great expectations, maybe too great, as we had style over substance for dinner last night. 🙂 It was tasty, satisfying, but as I packed the sauce with minced porcini mushrooms I found it very difficult to make it look appetizing. There is never a problem when a duvet of bechamel covers pasta, but here I struggled…. 
The filling was much like the ravioli last time, a good combination of ricotta, parmesan, minced porcini, truffle paste, cooked, riced potato for texture and seasoning. All wrapped into a fresh pasta made by Florek and baked under the sauce; fried shallot, a couple of chestnut mushrooms, yet more porcini, more truffles, mushroom stock thickened with flour and a splash of cream. Tasty, like I said, but not eye catching! Quite heavy too, I found my liver calling me names at about 10 pm….:-)
Coffee and vanilla mini sponge cakes.
Found on mojewypieki.com, when browsing for some ideas. Masterchef The Professionals started on Tuesday, something nice and sweet with a cuppa while watching it makes it a lot better.
These are really easy. 150 g of butter creamed with 120 g of sugar, 2 eggs added one by one, 150 g of flour, 1,5 tsp of baking powder. Some vanilla extract. 2 tbsps of milk. The whole mixture divided in half, one went onto the bottom of the muffin cases, the other got mixed with 2 tbsps of coffee ( previously diluted with hot water). I think next time I’d use maybe a double espresso or something better, this Nescafe crap simply has nothing to do with coffee. Such a lovely idea, but for me it needs better coffee.
The brown layer went on top of the vanilla one and baked for 25 minutes in 170 degrees. Topped with whipped cream and a dusting of cocoa. Good looking and pleasant.
Pistachio ice cream.
Cheatty ice cream, let’s face it. I did, for a brief moment entertain the idea of getting myself an ice cream machine, but I’m pretty sure I will not. I bought one once, never used it, it then spent a few years in the shed in Staines, before being given to Colin.
That gelato we have eaten in Lucca a couple of weeks ago blew my mind, Izzie loved it too and keeps on talking about “green ice cream”. It was smooth, nutty, rich and fantastic. What I’ve done today was the idea carried through from mojewypieki.com that had worked before- whipped cream and condensed milk in equal amounts. Added to that was the remaining half a jar of my Sicilian pistachio paste bought in Lucca and a 2 good handfuls of chopped, roasted and SALTED pistachios. And these made it. Condensed milk is really sweet. Pistachio paste is mental sweet. But when frozen and set the sweetness subsided a bit and the salty nuts added texture and flavour the whole thing needed. We all had a scoop after dinner. I must say it’s very rich and one couldn’t have too much of it, but it is good ice cream anyway. And will not be wasted. 🙂