Meringue with Dark Chocolate Filling

As it was the case with my previous meringue recipes (with strawberries and raspberries), this one has also been inspired by a cake I had in a confectionary. I ate it for the first time many years ago but somehow for a very long time I didn’t even try to make it myself and only enjoyed it when I went there occasionally.

The cake I enjoyed so much consisted of meringue with dried figs and dates, and dense, dark chocolate filling. When I finally decided to prepare it, I knew I wouldn’t have a problem with making the meringue but the filing could possibly be problematical. I remembered I used to have a recipe for a butter cream that would match this cake very well but even though I searched every possible place, I couldn’t find it. So at the end I made the below filling instead. It was perfect and exactly like I wanted it to be: dark, intense with a pretty strong taste of alcohol. And because of the alcohol in the filing, this is ratter a grown-ups cake. It is also pretty heavy – even the members of my family with the sweetest tooth couldn’t have a second helping straight away (mind you, they did have a different cake at first ;)). But this is only a good news – you will be able to enjoy it longer!

INGREDIENTS (for 6-8 portions):

Meringue:

6 egg whites,

300g caster sugar,

2 tbsp Demerara sugar,

1 tsp white wine vinegar,

1 tsp cocoa powder,

a pinch of salt,

5 dates, thinly chopped,

5 dried figs, thinly chopped.

Filling:

250ml double cream,

200g chopped dark chocolate,

2 tbsp icing sugar,

75ml coffee liqueur,

5 dates, thinly chopped,

5 dried figs, thinly chopped.

Extra cocoa powder for dusting.

METHOD:

1. Take two pieces of baking paper and draw 23cm-diameter circle on each one; then put them on two baking trays.
2. Pre-heat an oven to 180 Celsius degrees.
3. Put the egg whites to a big, clean and dry bowl, add a pinch of salt and beat them with an electric mixer.
4. When they are stiff, start adding sugar (while you still beat the egg whites): add one tablespoon at a time and carry on beating for 20-30 seconds before you add another tablespoon of sugar. At first add the caster sugar and then the Demerara.
5. When you have used all the sugar, keep on whisking for another 2-3 minutes, then add the vinegar and beat for another minute.
6. Sieve in the cocoa powder, add the chopped dates and figs and gently stir.
7. Divide the beaten egg whites into 2 portions and carefully spread them on the drawn circles, put both baking trays to the hot oven.
8. After 5 minutes decrease the temperature to 140 Celsius degrees and bake for 90 minutes; afterwards turn off the oven, open its doors slightly and keep it open for 5 minutes. Close the door and keep the meringues in the oven for a few hours or overnight.
9. In a small pot heat up the cream (but don’t boil it).
10. Once hot, move away from the heat, add the chocolate and stir from time to time.
11. When the chocolate is melted and combined with the cream, cool the mixture down and put to the fridge for approximately 1 hour so it thickens (but don’t allow it to thicken completely).
12. Add the sugar and liquor to the cream and chocolate mixture and beat with the electric mixer until it increases in volume and becomes paler; stir in the dates and figs.
13. Put one meringue disc (the worse looking one) on a serving plate, spread the chocolate filing and place the second meringue on top; decorate with sifted cocoa powder.
14. Keep refrigerated till needed.

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Mussel Soup with Vegetables

Fresh mussels are not widely available in shops here so whenever I go shopping and see them at the counter, I straightaway buy them. As you may know from my earlier posts, I am still a rookie as far as mussel recipes are concerned because I have prepared them only in two ways so far: with white wine and pasta.

Therefore when I bought them last time, I wanted to prepare them differently and cooking a soup with mussels seemed to be an idea worth pursuing. And it certainly was as the result proved it – this soup was a hit: delightful taste of mussels, loads of vegetables, some of them softer but other ones, like pepper and celery, wonderfully crunchy. Plus also all the warm colors of the ingredients. We all loved it and I will definitely make it (many times) again!

INGREDIENTS (for 4-6 portions):

1 kg fresh mussels,

150ml dry white wine,

400ml water,

2 tbsp butter,

1 small red onion, thinly chopped,

1 small leek (about 60g), thinly sliced,

1 medium carrot (about 120g), thinly chopped,

2 tomatoes (about 200g), peeled, deseeded and thinly chopped,

2 garlic cloves, crushed,

1 handful of parsley leaves, thinly chopped,

1 handful of basil leaves, thinly chopped,

1 celery stick, thinly sliced,

0.5 red pepper, deseeded and thinly chopped,

100ml single cream,

Salt and pepper.

METHOD:

1. Prepare the mussels:                                                                               * rinse them very well in cold water.
   * take a mussel: if it is damaged, discard it straight away and if it is open, give it a vigorous tap. If it stays open, discard.
   * if a mussel is closed (or closes after tapping), wash it and scrape off with a knife any barnacles; remove “beard” that may be between the two shells.
   * repeat the above with all the mussels.
   * rinse all of them again.
2. Pour 75ml of wine and 150ml of water to a big pot, put the mussels there, bring everything to boil and cook covered for 4-5 minutes.
3. Transfer with a slotted spoon the cooked mussels to a bowl and leave till cool enough to handle.
4. Strain the cooking liquid through a sieve, layered with a cloth to eliminate any sand and impurities.
5. In the same pot (rinsed) melt the butter, add the chopped onion, leek, carrot, tomato and garlic; fry for 2 minutes on medium-high heat.
6. Lower the heat down and fry the vegetables for 3 minutes longer, then add the reserved cooking liquid, the rest of wine (75ml) and of the water (250ml), the chopped parsley and basil and cook for approx. 10 minutes (till carrots are no longer hard).
7. Remove the mussels from their shells but leave a few for garnish.
8. Add the mussels, celery, red pepper, cream* and seasoning and serve the soup.

*In the original recipe double cream was used. I used single cream that worked very well but to make sure it doesn’t split when you add it to the soup, you should at first add a few spoons of the liquid to the cream, mix it well and only then add to the soup while stirring it.

The above dish is based on a recipe from “The New Fish Cooking Encyclopedia” by Kate Whiteman

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Fruity Chicken [Korma Style]

Although in my family we have always used a word korma to describe this dish, I have realized that curry specialists may not approve of this so I decided to investigate the subject further. From “Ultimate Curry Bible” by Madhur Jaffrey I learnt there are three variations of korma. In India, Pakistan and Bangladesh name korma suggests a rich dish cooked with loads of yogurt, expensive spices (nutmeg, cardamom or saffron) and nuts. Malaysian version uses yogurt as well, but also coconut milk and fresh green chilies. But if you order korma in an Indian restaurant elsewhere in the world, you will most probably get a mild, creamy dish.

Comparing the below version with the three characteristics I can say it has something in common with each one: there are almonds, coconut milk and chili there and the course is pretty mild and rich, too. But there are also some unorthodox additions like raisins and bananas. Therefore calling it korma-style is a much better idea. However even though this is not a really authentic dish, this Fruity Chicken Korma Style is authentically delicious.

INGREDIENTS (for 4 portions):

1 onion, roughly chopped,

0.5-1 red chili, deseeded and roughly chopped,

2 garlic cloves, crushed,

2 tbsp mild curry powder,

1 tsp turmeric,

3 cm piece of ginger, peeled and roughly chopped,

2 tbsp olive oil,

500g skinless and boneless chicken thighs, cut into 2-3 cm pieces,

1 cinnamon stick,

400ml can coconut milk,

150ml stock (chicken or vegetable),

150g raisins,

50g ground almonds,

2 small bananas (not soft), peeled and cut into half-slices,

Chopped fresh parsley.

METHOD:

1. Put the onion, chili, garlic, curry, turmeric and ginger to a food processor or blender and whizz everything together until you get a paste. You may have to add 1 tbsp of olive oil, if the paste is too difficult to whizz.
2. In a heavy pan heat up the olive oil, add the paste and fry it stirring for 1 minute.
3. Add the chicken pieces and fry them for 5 minutes on medium heat stirring often to coat in the paste and also to prevent from burning.
4. Add the cinnamon stick, coconut milk and stock, bring everything to boil and cook for approx. 20 minutes.
5. Stir in the raisins and almonds, check the seasoning and add bananas.
6. Serve with rice sprinkled with chopped parsley.

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Bolognese Sauce [ragu]

Spaghetti Bolognese is probably the most popular pasta dish and, as such, it has lots of variations as everybody cooks it their own way. For a long time that was the case also for me but everything changed when an Italian lady taught me how to make it the real, Italian way. And the most important tips I learnt from her are:

1. you should use 3 times as many tomatoes as the amount of meat you are cooking your sauce with,
2. 3 quarters of a litre of dry red wine is not too much when you have half a kilogram of meat, and
3. cooking the ragu for at least 3 hours will ensure a rich, intense and wonderful flavor of the sauce.

I have used the below recipe for years now and don’t look for any improvements as it is already perfect. The only exception was when I wanted to make a vegetarian version of Bolognese recipe for the lasagna but even then I still based it on this one so it is equally delicious.

P.S. Since it takes 3 hours to cook this perfect Bolognese sauce, make loads of it and freeze some portions so they can be enjoyed later.

INGREDIENTS (for 8-10 portions):

1 onion, peeled,

1 carrot, peeled,

1 celery stalk,

2 garlic cloves, peeled,

2 tbsp olive oil,

250g minced beef,

250g minced pork,

4 tins (400g each) of tomatoes,

2 bay leaves,

0.5 tsp sugar,

750ml dry red wine,

salt and pepper.

METHOD:

1. Either very finely chop or process in a food processor the onion, carrot, celery stalk and garlic.
2. In a big heavy pot warm up the olive oil, add the chopped vegetables and fry on a medium heat stirring often for 3-5 minutes.
3. Increase the heat to high and add the two types of minced meat; fry stirring constantly till the meat is no longer pink.
4. Add all of the tomatoes, bay leaves, sugar, some salt and pepper (you will adjust the taste at the end so don’t add too much at this stage), and half a cup of wine; once everything starts to boil, decrease the temperature to low and cook for 3 hours.
5. During the cooking time stir the sauce at least every half an hour to break any bigger pieces of meat or tomatoes and to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Each time you stir, add half a cup of the red wine till you have used all of it.
6. After the 3 hours of cooking check the seasoning. The sauce should be thick and without lumps of meat. If there are any, you can break them with a potato masher.
7. Serve the sauce with your choice of pasta cooked al dente (the best is not spaghetti but wider type like tagliatelle or pappardelle) and grated Parmesan cheese.

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Spicy Parsnip Soup [vegetarian]

Parsnip is a much underrated vegetable. At least that was the case in our (Polish) family for a very long time. I can remember my mother using it in 2 dishes only: as one of the ingredients of stock and of Polish vegetable salad. Actually, it was my husband who introduced me and my side of the family to roasted parsnip and we all were surprised how delicious it tasted just by itself.

Since then I have been more open minded and used it for other meals as well, I even plan to bake a parsnip cake one day! However for now, I am sharing a parsnip soup recipe that I have tested many times. The soup is creamy and smooth, and the slightly nutty taste of parsnip is very well complimented by curry powder.

INGREDIENTS (for 4 portions):

2 tbsp rapeseed oil,

1 onion, peeled and chopped,

2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped,

1 bay leaf,

1-2 sprigs of parsley,

0.5-1.5 tbsp curry powder (the amount depends on the heat of the powder you use and on your own preferences),

500g parsnips, peeled and chopped,

1 l vegetable stock,

250 ml milk,

salt and pepper.

METHOD:

1. Heat up the oil in a big pot.
2. Add the onion, garlic, bay leaf, parsley, 0.5 tbsp curry powder and parsnip, stir everything well to coat in the oil and curry, and cook on medium heat for 10-15 minutes.
3. Add the stock and cook the soup for another 15-20 minutes until the vegetables are soft.
4. Liquidize the soup, season it (if it is not spicy enough, you can add more curry), add the milk and bring to boil.

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Mexican Salad with Avocado, Tomato and Red Beans [vegan]

I called this salad Mexican but in truth it could also be called Guacamole Salad because it uses more or less the same ingredients as the ones that are required to make this well-known dip. However – to make it more filling so it can be a proper, nutritious lunch option - I also added red beans.

Even though I know that eating salads are more associated with spring and summer, this one is still a good option for autumn or even winter, since the addition of red chilies (the amount of which you can always adjust) will surely warm you up ;)

INGREDIENTS (for 4 portions):

2 big tomatoes, cut into cubes,

2 avocados, cut into cubes,

1 can of red beans,

1 small red onion, thinly chopped,

chopped coriander,

red chili, thinly chopped (the amount used depends on you but it is better to start with less at the beginning and then slowly add),

Dressing:

2 tbsp lime juice,

3 tbsp olive oil,

Salt and pepper.

METHOD:

1. Put all the salad ingredients to a bowl.
2. Make the dressing by mixing the ingredients.
3. Pour the dressing over the salad, season and stir.

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Spaghetti Squash with Mushroom Sauce [vegetarian]

I heard and read about spaghetti squash earlier and really wanted to check myself how it tasted, and if its flesh really looked like spaghetti. So when I finally managed to buy it, I was really excited. And because it just happened that in my garden there were lots of porcini mushrooms growing (I couldn’t believe it myself how many of them we had this year – please look at the photo below), I decided to make a mushroom sauce to serve it with.

After the squash was baked, I scrapped it with two forks and did indeed end up with strands. Ok, they were not really as long as spaghetti but did look like noodles. I served them just with the mushroom sauce and grated Parmesan but the whole dish tasted really delicious.

INGREDIENTS (for 3-4 portions*):

1 spaghetti squash (approx. 1kg),

500g mushrooms (champignons or wild mushrooms),

1 tbsp butter,

1 tbsp olive oil,

200ml vegetable stock,

2 tsp dry thyme,

200ml cream (30%),

salt and pepper

grated parmesan cheese to serve.

METHOD:

1. Heat and oven to 180 Celsius degrees (fan oven).
2. Wash the pumpkin, cut in half and with a spoon remove its seeds.
3. Place the halves skin side up on a baking tray covered with aluminum foil and bake for 30-40 min until the skin is soft and can easily be pierced.
4. Clean and slice the mushrooms.
5. On a medium heat warm up the oil and butter, add the mushrooms, raise the temperature and fry for 3 minutes.
6. Add the stock and on a medium heat cook everything for 5 minutes.
7. Add the thyme, cream and seasoning and cook for 1-2 minutes longer.
8. When the pumpkin is baked through, scrap its flesh with 2 forks to get noodle-like strands.
9. Transfer the pumpkin to the frying pan with the sauce, stir it and adjust the seasoning. You probably will have to add quite a lot of salt and pepper, as the pumpkin has not been seasoned at all.
10. Serve with grated Parmesan.

*This dish is quite filing. But if you are planning to make it for 4 very hungry people, you may want to serve a light soup at first. 

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Plum Crumble

When I was a child one of my favorite autumn dishes were knedels (a type of dumplings) stuffed with plums and served with cream that my grandmother used to make. I can still remember cutting them in half and watching the plum juice flow and mix with the cream: it was pure deliciousness! Nowadays when I fancy a similar taste (in a much lighter version of course) I simply cook some plums for a few minutes till they release their juices and have them with yogurt. Not the same but does the trick!

The below recipe combines cooked (or in this case – baked) plums that I like so much with a dessert I adore – a crumble. The crumble topping is made with porridge oats so I guess you could have it either as a dessert, or maybe even as breakfast on a lazy day, if served with yogurt.

INGREDIENTS (for 6-8 portions):

700g plums, washed, stoned and each cut into 8 pieces,

1 tbsp demerara sugar,

0.5 tsp cinnamon,

Crumble:

120g plain flour,

50g porridge oats,

50g dark muscovado sugar,

100g butter, cut into small cubes,

1 tbsp demerara sugar.

METHOD:

1. Preheat an oven to 200 Celsius degrees.
2. Put the prepared plums to an oven-proof dish, sprinkle the sugar and cinnamon on top, stir.
3. In a bowl mix the flour, porridge oats and muscovado sugar, add the butter cubes and rub it in using your fingers until you can’t see any of the dry ingredients not combined with the butter but you have crumbs of different sizes.
4. Scatter the crumble on top of the plums, sprinkle the Demerara sugar on top and put to the hot oven.
5. Bake for 35-40 minutes.

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Concentrated Vegetable Stock Paste [vegetarian]

I like soups very much. They are - in general - healthy, low calorie and comforting. And everybody will find at least a few favorite ones as there are so many types of soups. However, despite this huge variety, all of them have at least one common denominator – stock.

When you have time, you can prepare good quality stock earlier and then use it for your soups. But what if you don’t have time? You can use stock cubes although this is certainly not the healthiest option. There are plenty of hydrogenated fats in them, which are very bad for us. But luckily, if you get the ingredients (see below) and you have about an hour free, you can make your own ‘stock cubes’ or rather concentrated stock paste that kept in a tight jar in a fridge, will last you a few months.

I have to confess that in the past when I was in a rush, I would use stock cubes myself. I liked them for their immediacy and their taste. So when I started making and using this concentrated stock paste, the taste was my major issue: it was not bad, it was… unfamiliar! There are various flavor enhancers included in industrial made stock cubes and obviously I neither could nor would like to use them. Therefore I decided to substitute them with a more natural one – soya sauce – that ads this desirable ‘pleasant savory taste’ – umami. So I think the below combination and proportions of ingredients work really well and you will end up having a high quality, healthy and instant homemade concentrated stock paste.

INGREDIENTS (for approx. two 330ml jars):

250g carrots, peeled,

40g parsnip, peeled,

40g celeriac, peeled,

80g leak,

40g cabbage,

80g onion, peeled,

1 garlic clove, peeled

140g tomato,

1 bay leaf,

4 parsnip sprigs,

2 handfuls of fresh herbs (leaves only from basil, sage, etc.),

200g coarse sea salt,

35g white wine,

3 tbsp olive oil,

2 tbsp light soya sauce,

50g grated Parmesan cheese.

METHOD:

1. Cut all the vegetables into pieces and put them to a kitchen processor; add the herbs and process till everything is almost liquidized.
2. Transfer to a heavy bottomed pot, add the salt, wine, olive oil and soya sauce, stir and bring to boil on a medium heat.
3. Decrease the temperature to low, cover the pot with a lid and cook for 20 minutes stirring occasionally.
4. Take off the lid and cook for 10 minutes more, remembering to stir every now and then.
5. Increase the temperature to high and cook stirring often for 10 minutes (towards the end of the cooking time you may have to stir the mixture all the time to prevent it from burning). You want all the liquid to evaporate and end up with a dry pulp.
6. Add the grated Parmesan cheese, stir and transfer everything to the processor; liquidize till everything is very well combined.
7. Put the prepared pulp to a sterilized jars and keep in a fridge for up to 3-4 months.
8. To make stock use 2 tsp for 0.5l of water.

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4 Ingredients Peanut Butter and Amaranth Bars [gluten free]

When I was wondering who would like these bars the most, I couldn’t make up my mind. For obvious reasons this is a great option for peanut butter and chocolate lovers as well as everybody who has a sweet tooth. But including amaranth in this recipe and using high quality ingredients makes it a healthy treat so whoever is into healthy diet, will also be extremely happy with them. And also, you need only 4 ingredients and max. 15 minutes to make these bars so either people who don’t like complicated recipes or those who don’t like to (or can’t) spend too much time in the kitchen should be ecstatic as well.

So I still don’t know which group would like them the most. But what I do know is that my family loved them: they disappeared in no time!

INGREDIENTS (for 16 bars):

160g peanut butter,

100g honey,

30g amaranth popping,

100g dark chocolate (60% cocoa).

METHOD:

1. Cover a bottom and sides of a small baking tray (I used 14 cm x 23cm) with baking parchment.
2. Put the peanut butter and honey to a pan and warm up on a medium heat until runny (but don’t boil them).
3. Add the amaranth popping and stir well.
4. Transfer it into the prepared tin and smooth with the back of a spatula.
5. Melt the chocolate in the microwave or over a pan of simmering water and pour over the amaranth mixture.
6. Spread it and leave in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

These bars have been inspired by a recipe from www.simplyquinoa.com

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