TAPAS NIGHT KICK OFF: ROASTED BELL PEPPER WITH GARLIC

This bread spread is another classic in my kitchen. It's actually the recipe that made me love roasted bell peppers. I'll share a secret with you, it is absolutely mind-blowing on second day, assuming you are able to leave aside some until that, which is a challenge!

The recipe is from Epicurious.com, initially published in Bon Apetit (January 2004) magazine.

Makes 8 servings

Ingredients:

12 large red bell peppers
1/4 cup olive oil
6 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced crosswise
1/4 cup Sherry wine vinegar
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 450°F. Toss peppers with 1/4 cup olive oil in bowl. Transfer peppers to large rimmed baking sheet. Roast peppers until partially charred, turning every 10 minutes, about 50 minutes.

Transfer peppers to reserved bowl; cover tightly with plastic wrap. Cool 15 minutes. Peel and seed peppers over bowl. Tear each pepper lengthwise into 6 strips. Transfer pepper strips to heavy large skillet. Strain liquid from bowl into skillet. Add garlic, vinegar, and 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil to skillet. Simmer over medium heat until liquid becomes syrupy, stirring frequently, about 25 minutes. Cool. (Can be made 4 hours ahead. Cover; let stand at room temperature.)

Transfer pepper mixture to platter. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/printerfriendly/Roasted-Red-Peppers-with-Garlic-109061#ixzz15ZK9kIcT

HUSHH... IT'S THE COUSCOUS SALAD!

Amazing salad that I have already made several times and it was part of my Middle Eastern dinner. Very easy to make! I added all the ingredients without measuring, but for your convenience here are the quantities from the original recipe published in the BBC Good Food issue from August 2010:

for 2 servings

100 g couscous

25 g butter

50 g black olives, pitted

zest of 1 lemon

2 tbsp chopped coriander

pinch ground cumin

1 red chilli, finely chopped, seeds in or out as you choose

85 g drained chickpeas from a  can

1 small carrot, grated

Place the couscous in a bowl with the butter. Pour over 100ml boiling water, then cover and leave to steam for about 4 minutes. Fluff couscous with a fork, then stir in remaining ingredients and season to taste.

Hou-hou-houmous!

We all know it, it's the best dip on planet, right! My favourite version is with roasted paprika ( I love everything with roasted paprika to be honest). This one is the classical version and very easy to make, not to mention it screams for HEALTHY!

1 can of chickpeas (do not throw out the liquid!)

3 tbsp tahini paste (or to taste)

1 garlic glove

½ tsp ground cumin

½ tsp chilli powder

3 tbsp lemon juice

3 tbsp olive oil

A good pinch of salt and black pepper

Tip the chickpeas in a food processor and whizz with a little liquid from the can until smooth. Add tahini, ground cumin, chilli powder, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil and a good pinch of salt and blend again (add more of liquid if it seems too dry).

Serve drizzled with olive oil.

Roast Pepper and Walnut Dip

Firstly, apologies for the lack of posts lately. I'm a bit occupied with language studies these days, so there is not much spare time to devote for blogging. :((

Secondly, I want to publicly declare my love for Moroccan cuisine, which is absolutely amazing. At least by judging what I have tried lately. In fact a little while ago I even had a little dinner party inspired by this new fascination as well as some other Middle Eastern dishes.

But for now I want to share with you this wonderful dip, which I served with lavash (the thin bread that I heated on grill mode in the oven for the extra crispiness) and natural nacho chips.

The recipe is from BBC Good Food and original version is available here.

Here is my slightly modified, tried, tested and approved by everyone version:

• 1 tsp each ground cumin and ground paprika, plus extra to serve
• 6 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 100g walnuts halves
• 400 g red peppers
• 1 tbsp tomato purée
• 1 garlic clove , crushed
• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• salt and black pepper to taste

First I roasted the peppers. For that I drizzled some olive oil on the whole peppers and grilled them in the oven, turning sides as the top one had burned almost to black. After it was done, I removed them from the oven and let cool. Then removed the skin and the seeds.

In a pan, heat the ground cumin and ground paprika in the olive oil until fragrant. Combine the rest of the ingredients (including the roasted paprika) in a food processor, then season with salt and pepper. With the motor running, slowly pour in the spiced olive oil until incorporated. Add a tbsp of water if it's too thick. Scoop into a bowl and serve with freshly ground black pepper and ground paprika on top.

Chanterelles Alert

I've had this craving for chanterelles for days now and today my patience run out. I rushed to the supermarket, tracked down the seasonal yet totally over-priced chanterelles, carefully (with love and affection) placed them into my shopping cart, grabbed some young potatoes and off to the counter I went.

Since these days I am a no fuss woman with ability to come out with only the simplest solutions (must be the tropical heat that has hit this unprepared northern country) I made the following:

- Boiled the potatoes without removing the skin

- cut some onion in small pieces

- heated the pan and added butter

- tossed in the onions and fried on medium heat until the onions turned golden

- cut the chanterelles into smaller pieces and added them to the onions

- simmered for 7-10 minutes and then added some salt and black pepper to taste.

Upon serving I cut the potato lenghtwise into half, put some chanterelles there, topped with sour cream, salt, black pepper and dill.

 

My chanterelle craving got totally satisfied but how is the situation with your cravings?

The Herring Delight

This is the busy woman's herring dish. Being one my first step was to head to the local supermarket and buy some ready-made marinated herring. Today's pick was herring in black currant marinade, which in fact was very nice  and I can only imagine in my wildest dreams how it would taste if I made it myself.  But sometimes even the wildest dream come true especially when it's the black currant season.. ;)

This delicious dish is so simple I want to cry and you only need:

sour cream

marinated herring

spring onions

bread

and butter, if you insist

First I toasted my bread, then I put some cream butter on it (you can skip it if you are health conscious, I am taste conscious so for me it is a must). Top with herring pieces, then sour cream. Sprinkle some salt and black pepper and eventually the onions.

Best thing in the summer, trust me! Not to mention very regional dish here in Northern Europe.

Honey on your Goat Cheese

 

It was one of those days I felt nostalgic about beet, my last year's favourite friend to fool around in the kitchen. And there is no better combination than beet and goat cheese with a dash of honey!

There is not much fuss about this little snack:

1. Boil your beet until ready. Let it cool before removing the skin or be ready to burn your fingers.

Since I was in a hurry (read: hungry) I let some ice cold water to run on it to speed up the cooling process.

2. Pre-heat the oven to 225 Celsius (I used grill mode).

3. Cut thick circles of beet (1 cm), atop with slices of goat cheese and off to the oven it goes.

I think I kept it there approximately 10-15 minutes until the goat cheese looked nice and mildly browned.

4. Toast your favourite boccata bread. Add some olive oil for the extra flavour and set the beet and goat cheese on top of it. Continue with some honey, then freshly ground black pepper and something green (I had coriander, but I bet basil and ruccola leaves do it the same justice).