Spinach & Feta Quiche

This quiche is my eight year old niece's favourite! 

For the base you'll need:
50g of butter
2.5 dl of flour
1 egg
salt

...and for the topping...

150g of frozen spinach (or fresh if it is available)
2 large cloves of garlic
200g of feta cheese
2 eggs
2 dl of cream
2dl of grated cheese
black pepper

Pinch the butter, flour and salt together add the egg. Grease a pie dish and spread the dow evenly into the dish.

Defrost the spinach and drain the excess liquid into the sink. Mix in the crushed garlic with a spoon. Then spread the mixture over the dough in the pie dish. Crumble the feta cheese and the grated cheese over the layer of spinach. (You can add a bit of parmesan or other strong cheese to the grated cheese to give it more flavour if you like).

Whisk the eggs, add the cream and black pepper (I sometimes add herbsalt or other spices) into the mix. Taste it to make sure it tastes good! Then into the oven dish. Place in the oven at 225 C for about 25 min.

Basbousa

This lovely dessert is easy to make and totally irresistible! It is very common in Eastern Mediterranean cuisine and goes by many names (Basbousah, Hareesa, Revani, Ravani). I only came across it recently when the home economics teacher bought some into the teacher's room for everyone to try. I made sure I had more than my share on that day  :)( as I said, it is irresistible!)

Ingredients

My first attempt at Basbousa

2  1/2 dl semolina
1  1/4 dl coconut flakes 
1  1/4 dl sugar
3/4 dl plain flour
1 dl thick yoghurt
100g butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla sugar
12-15 almonds
milk, if needed

Syrup

1  3/4 dl sugar
1  1/4 dl water
1 tsp lemon juice

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 180C
Melt the butter in a bowl in the microwave oven
Mix the semolina, coconut, sugar, flour, yoghurt, melted butter and vanilla sugar in a bowl. If the mixture seems too thick, add a little milk -but it should still be fairly stiff.
Spread the mixture in to a greased 15x12x5 cm or round baking tray. The surface should be smooth.
With a knife, cut the cake into diamond or square shapes, pressing hard. Place an almond onto each piece.
Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.
Meanwhile, make the syrup.

Place the sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Simmer for 5 minutes without stirring. Stir in the lemon juice and remove from the heat.Leave to cool.Pour the syrup over the cake while the cake is still hot. Cool to serve.

Cranberry Cookies

My cranberry cookies

Biscuits, cookies, call them what you will but these are fantastic! If you're not big on cranberries, you can use raisins, dried apricots or whatever you fancy really!

You'll need

135 g butter
80 g white sugar (about 3/4 dl)
80 g soft light brown sugar ( 3/4 dl)
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
190g flour (3dl)
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
100g of dried cranberries

You can also throw in a bit of desiccated coconut if you have some :)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 170 C.
Line 2-3 baking trays with baking paper.
Cream together the soft butter and two types of sugar with an electric whisker.
Add the egg and vanilla essence, mix further.
Add other ingredients.
Break off pieces of the dough, about 2 tablespoons per cookie, then roll into balls and place on the prepared baking tray. Allow 5-6 cookies per tray with gaps of about 7cm as they will spread.
Press the cookies slightly and bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Cookies make a lovely gift!

Baquettes

Baguettes, an all time favourite! Some of my fondest memories of eating with friends revolve around bread. Here's a basic recipe for baguettes. You can make a healthier version by using rye flour, some other brown flour or spelt wheat if you choose.  You can make filled ones too, as shown in the photos. I used garlic and butter mixed up into a paste for two thirds of my dough and feta cheese with fresh basil leaves for the remaining part. You can use pretty much whatever you fancy. Other filling ideas : mozzarella & sun dried tomatoes, butter with herbs, ham and cheese...Experiment and see what your winning combination is!

Baguettes

2.5 dl of water
half a bag of dried yeast 
1.5 tsp of salt
3 tbs of sunflower oil
5 dl of flour (use more if the dough still sticks to your fingers after kneading) 

Instructions

Measure the luke warm water into a bowl and add the yeast. Measure in the salt, oil and flour and knead the dough until it no longer sticks to your hands. Cover the bowl with a tea towel and leave the dough to rise. 

Divide the dough into three parts and use a rolling pin to flatten each section of dough into a rectangular shape. Add on your filling. 

Then start rolling the dough from one corner to the opposite corner on the long side. (i.e if it was an envelope you'd roll from left bottom corner to top right.) If it's too long for the oven tray, chop it in half. The bread looks nice and rustic if you give it a twist!

Leave the bread to rise under a tea towel. Add a sprinkling of sea salt, Himalayan salt or herb salt if you wish and pop into the oven at about 250C for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. 

Original recipe:
http://www.hellapoliisi.fi/leivonnaiset/suolaiset-leivonnaiset/1491-patongit-kolmella-tapaa

Spinach Soup

Half a hard boiled egg crowns the soup!

This is one of those love it or hate it things. I always loved spinach soup and used to buy it frozen until I made it myself once, after which there was no going back! Ooh what a difference in taste! Plus it is so easy that it's not even worth going for the shop one, honest! 

You'll need 

100 g of spinach leaves      

25 g of butter 

5 tbs of flour 

5 dl of vegetable bouillon (1 vege cube 5 dl of water) 

2 dl milk (optional)

Season to taste with herb salt, nutmeg and white pepper and serve with a hard boiled egg cut in half.
                                                       

Instructions

Rinse the spinach well and chop it up. Melt the butter in a pan and add the flour stirring it in with a whisk as to avoid lumps. 
Whisk in the vegetable bouillon slowly and bring to a boil. 
Add the spinach and let it boil for a while. Add the milk if you like. If you don't like the idea of spinach bits flouting around, put it through a session with your blender :) season to taste. Enjoy!

Chicken Balti

 Spice up your life....

(but not in a nose dripping and brow sweating way) with this not so hot chicken balti dish. Of course, if you like it hot, (as some do!), you can add real chili to give it a bit more kick! 

Ingredients

Steaming Balti

1-2 Onion
a piece of  ginger (about 2,5 cm)
3 cloves of garlic
2-3 tbs of oil
3 chicken breasts (you can also use some other part)
1 tsp of ground cumin (cuminum cyminum)
1 cinnamon stick (cut in half)
1,5 tsp of ground cardamom
6 whole cloves
0,5 tsp of turmeric
1 tsp of chili powder
1 tin of tinned tomatoes
4 dl of chicken stock (4 dl of hot water with 2 chicken stock cubes)
Fresh coriander 
25 g of almond flakes

Instructions

Chop the onion, garlic and ginger up, either with a big knife or in a food blender if you don't like big bits in your food. Heat the oil in a large frying pan and stir in the chicken. Cook for about 5 min, or until the chicken is golden. Add the onion, garlic and ginger. Give these a few minutes in the pan before adding the spices. Stir in the tomatoes and chicken stock and let it simmer for about 30 min. If you cook it with the lid on, it'll be a lot runnier. I make it without the lid which gives it a thicker consistency. 

Before serving, toast the almond flakes lightly in a separate pan. 

Just before serving the balti, chop the fresh coriander into the frying pan. Tastes delicious with naan bread!

Original recipe:"Hamlyn all color 200 Chicken Dishes" (Hamlyn 2009) 

Balti with toasted almonds

Sweet Potato Soup

Went to my lovely Goddaughter's 3rd birthday party today where they served Sweet potato soup. It was heaven in the form of soup! The soft and creamy taste left me craving for more, so I made my own improvised version when I got home. The basic ingredients are as follows, as I used what I found at home:

Sweet Potato soup with coriander

Sweet Potato Soup

1 kg of sweet potatoes
2 onions
3 cloves of garlic
1,5 l of water
2 cubes of chicken bouillon
2 dl of cream (coconut milk works well too)
half a squeezed lemon
0,5 tsp white pepper
0,5 tsp dried thyme
salt to taste (I used herb salt)
Garnish with fresh thyme (although coriander works well too!)

Chop the sweet potatoes, onions and garlic roughly and put them in a pan with the water and bouillon. Bring to the boil until cooked. Use a food blender to get a smooth texture. Add the cream, lemon and spices and herbs and boil for a bit longer. Check the taste, you might want to add salt and when you're happy, garnish with some fresh thyme. Serve with some lovely crusty bread and Bob's your uncle!    

Sweet Potato Soup served as a starter in a beautiful coffee cup!