COOKING AND CULINARY
22/08/2011. From Natasha M.
Puff Pastry Pizza
I make it each time I have no bread and I expect guests for lunch or dinner. It is more than simple and easy to make in 15 min but it is sooooo tasty! I placed two photos of my latest creation: before and after baking
Here is the recipe:
one sheet of puff pastry - direct from the freezer placed on baking paper sheet
tomato paste (Leggo's)
fresh thyme, oregano
one fresh tomato
cheese (tasty + parmesan and may be fetta?)
green parsley leaves
zucchini
ham, meat salami etc
fetta cheese
mushrooms
red bell pepper
garlic
Method:
Place the ingredients on the top of the puff pastry sheet in the way they appear on the list above
Oven - preheat to 200C
baking takes 15-20min
The pizza should start to smell nice - so you know it is ready
Sometimes I add some black olives and anchovies or what ever you put on your pizza - I do not care...
Enjoy - the pastry is thin and delicious - the topping - oh, you can never go wrong with that - and remember it is never enough of your pizza on the table!
And I really thought my idea was original till I found this video today on youtube...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMvs6vsz5H8
06/08/2011. From Natasha M.
Beer Bread
I make it each time I do not have time to go shopping and I need some nice bread quickly and of good quality. It is very simple and easy to do and it is sooooo deliciously sensational! It can be eaten with soup, with dips or on its own. You need to watch it as when your kids get a taste of it the bread will disappear very quickly. I placed a photo of my latest creation: the turned out a bit rough as I did not have any wholemeal wheat flour at home – I used oats instead. But it still tastes divine!
Here is the recipe that works:
3 cups of flour (can be a mix of corn flour, white, wholemeal, buckwheat flour, a bit of oats etc; sometimes I even use self raising flour but then I need to use less or even no baking powder). Try to sift the flour if possible – it will make a big difference and make your bread soft like a light white cloud on a sunny day…
2-3 teaspoons of baking powder
1 teaspoon salt (I use sea salt or any healthy variety)
¼ cups sugar (I use raw or brown)
1 bottle or can of beer (add water or a little bit of milk to make the liquid 400ml all together)
¼ cup of olive oil (cold pressed), butter or none at all
Oven - preheat to 200C
Mix ingredients. Add beer as the last ingredient
Pour into a pan covered with baking paper
Bake till it is ready – about 50-60min - when a toothpick insearted into the centre comes out clean
The bread should smell nice - you know it is ready
The bread turns to be very hearty, heavy, tasteful, crunchy and crusty. It is delicious on its own.
I often add some black olives, cheece and sunflower or pumpkin seeds to batter.
It makes a difference – you always get something special to surprise your family and your guests. Enjoy!
youtube instructions:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uVnbfUVb40
23/07/2011. From Natasha M.
Kolobok
I baked four beautiful Russian Koloboks the other day - for real! - the same ones my grandma used to buy for me when I was a small girl. They sold them somewhere next to Arbat in Moscow - a magical mysterious place for me, loving all those fairy tales... Колобок: "я от бабушки ушел, я от дедушки ушел..." I could really see poor Kolobok, hot and tasty, ready to travel from a silly hare to an angry wolf and... suddenly ending up between smart fox Lis sharp teeth... what?
Kolobok - it is something like sweet bread. I put sunflower seeds and prunes inside one and chicken and mayo in the others. Usually they put sultanas and hazelnuts, but I did not have any at home.
There is only one recipe that I found in Russian:
250ml warm milk
5g of dry yeast
50g of sugar (I used brown as I do not have any other at home)
a pinch of salt
...1 egg (from a chicken please)
mix everything very well so it does not stick to your hands
add 20g of olive oil (I used cold pressed)
mix well again
make a nice round ball out of your dough and let it stay covered in a warm place for 2 hours
I then cut the dough in four equal parts and made 4 round balls out of it
You can put anything inside your Koloboks - like boiled egg, chicken with mayo, tuna with mayo, sultanas and hazelnuts or even jam. I used prunes and sunflower seeds for variety. You can also give them eyes made out of sultanas or something like lips or even a nose.
Then I whisked a raw egg and glazed the four dough balls with it.
Cooking in the oven on 250C takes only 10-15 min – I used some baking paper too - you will see the Koloboks will turn golden brown and will start to smell nice…
Then it’s the time to take them out :o)
Just do not place your Koloboks next to an open window to cool down – I suppose they could easily run away – and who knows - a clever fox might get them!
*** I suppose you can add sour cream to your dough when you mix it too, or even some cottage cheese
Kolobok Tale (modern interpretation) - The Fox has eaten Kolobok:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwC6lhoDx1k
10/07/2011. From Natasha M.
Borsch – thick beetroot soup
Every house keeper in Russia has got her own recipe of borsch. The recipe below I got from my mum, she always tries to cook healthy way to keep all the good juices in. This is the best recipe I ever tried in my life and my mum got it from her mum too so it is authentic in some way.
Prepare and wash all the veggies first. You can cut and shred them the way you would like to eat them.
Get a large pot, put it on the stove and put some olive oil in.
Heat it so you can see a light smoke coming from the oil – so it is ready and hot enough for cooking.
Cut one onion in small pieces. Add to the pot.
Cut some carrots and add to the pot above the onions.
Cut some beetroot and add to the pot above the carrots.
Mix the veggies in the pot so they do not get burnt
Shred some white cabbage, parsnip (root) and two-four potatoes. Add to the pot.
Do not mix the veggies this time - just add boiling water to the pot so it covers all the veggies.
Wait till the soup starts boiling. Now add tomatoes, a bit of tomato sauce, green dill, parsley and celery soft parts (leaves).
Sometimes I add capers and some other spices (like mustard seeds) – depends what taste you want to achieve.
You can add some dill cucumbers, even olives, and some baked beans from the can for the better taste too.
You can even add some prunes – 5-6 - not much for the sweeter taste.
Add salt, pepper and bay leaves according to your taste.
Leave the soup till it starts boiling again and switch it off immediately to keep all the goodness inside.
Wait for 1/2 hour so the soup collects all its flavors from the veggies.
Serve with fresh dill, rye bread and sour cream.
You can also cook it with meat but the meat needs to be cooked beforehand for 2 hours for the stock instead of boiling water. I love the vegetarian version more.
This soup is very healthy and good in winter to warm you up.
Enjoy!
Puff Pastry Pizza
I make it each time I have no bread and I expect guests for lunch or dinner. It is more than simple and easy to make in 15 min but it is sooooo tasty! I placed two photos of my latest creation: before and after baking
Here is the recipe:
one sheet of puff pastry - direct from the freezer placed on baking paper sheet
tomato paste (Leggo's)
fresh thyme, oregano
one fresh tomato
cheese (tasty + parmesan and may be fetta?)
green parsley leaves
zucchini
ham, meat salami etc
fetta cheese
mushrooms
red bell pepper
garlic
Method:
Place the ingredients on the top of the puff pastry sheet in the way they appear on the list above
Oven - preheat to 200C
baking takes 15-20min
The pizza should start to smell nice - so you know it is ready
Sometimes I add some black olives and anchovies or what ever you put on your pizza - I do not care...
Enjoy - the pastry is thin and delicious - the topping - oh, you can never go wrong with that - and remember it is never enough of your pizza on the table!
And I really thought my idea was original till I found this video today on youtube...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMvs6vsz5H8
06/08/2011. From Natasha M.
Beer Bread
I make it each time I do not have time to go shopping and I need some nice bread quickly and of good quality. It is very simple and easy to do and it is sooooo deliciously sensational! It can be eaten with soup, with dips or on its own. You need to watch it as when your kids get a taste of it the bread will disappear very quickly. I placed a photo of my latest creation: the turned out a bit rough as I did not have any wholemeal wheat flour at home – I used oats instead. But it still tastes divine!
Here is the recipe that works:
3 cups of flour (can be a mix of corn flour, white, wholemeal, buckwheat flour, a bit of oats etc; sometimes I even use self raising flour but then I need to use less or even no baking powder). Try to sift the flour if possible – it will make a big difference and make your bread soft like a light white cloud on a sunny day…
2-3 teaspoons of baking powder
1 teaspoon salt (I use sea salt or any healthy variety)
¼ cups sugar (I use raw or brown)
1 bottle or can of beer (add water or a little bit of milk to make the liquid 400ml all together)
¼ cup of olive oil (cold pressed), butter or none at all
Oven - preheat to 200C
Mix ingredients. Add beer as the last ingredient
Pour into a pan covered with baking paper
Bake till it is ready – about 50-60min - when a toothpick insearted into the centre comes out clean
The bread should smell nice - you know it is ready
The bread turns to be very hearty, heavy, tasteful, crunchy and crusty. It is delicious on its own.
I often add some black olives, cheece and sunflower or pumpkin seeds to batter.
It makes a difference – you always get something special to surprise your family and your guests. Enjoy!
youtube instructions:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uVnbfUVb40
23/07/2011. From Natasha M.
Kolobok
I baked four beautiful Russian Koloboks the other day - for real! - the same ones my grandma used to buy for me when I was a small girl. They sold them somewhere next to Arbat in Moscow - a magical mysterious place for me, loving all those fairy tales... Колобок: "я от бабушки ушел, я от дедушки ушел..." I could really see poor Kolobok, hot and tasty, ready to travel from a silly hare to an angry wolf and... suddenly ending up between smart fox Lis sharp teeth... what?
Kolobok - it is something like sweet bread. I put sunflower seeds and prunes inside one and chicken and mayo in the others. Usually they put sultanas and hazelnuts, but I did not have any at home.
There is only one recipe that I found in Russian:
250ml warm milk
5g of dry yeast
50g of sugar (I used brown as I do not have any other at home)
a pinch of salt
...1 egg (from a chicken please)
mix everything very well so it does not stick to your hands
add 20g of olive oil (I used cold pressed)
mix well again
make a nice round ball out of your dough and let it stay covered in a warm place for 2 hours
I then cut the dough in four equal parts and made 4 round balls out of it
You can put anything inside your Koloboks - like boiled egg, chicken with mayo, tuna with mayo, sultanas and hazelnuts or even jam. I used prunes and sunflower seeds for variety. You can also give them eyes made out of sultanas or something like lips or even a nose.
Then I whisked a raw egg and glazed the four dough balls with it.
Cooking in the oven on 250C takes only 10-15 min – I used some baking paper too - you will see the Koloboks will turn golden brown and will start to smell nice…
Then it’s the time to take them out :o)
Just do not place your Koloboks next to an open window to cool down – I suppose they could easily run away – and who knows - a clever fox might get them!
*** I suppose you can add sour cream to your dough when you mix it too, or even some cottage cheese
Kolobok Tale (modern interpretation) - The Fox has eaten Kolobok:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwC6lhoDx1k
10/07/2011. From Natasha M.
Borsch – thick beetroot soup
Every house keeper in Russia has got her own recipe of borsch. The recipe below I got from my mum, she always tries to cook healthy way to keep all the good juices in. This is the best recipe I ever tried in my life and my mum got it from her mum too so it is authentic in some way.
Prepare and wash all the veggies first. You can cut and shred them the way you would like to eat them.
Get a large pot, put it on the stove and put some olive oil in.
Heat it so you can see a light smoke coming from the oil – so it is ready and hot enough for cooking.
Cut one onion in small pieces. Add to the pot.
Cut some carrots and add to the pot above the onions.
Cut some beetroot and add to the pot above the carrots.
Mix the veggies in the pot so they do not get burnt
Shred some white cabbage, parsnip (root) and two-four potatoes. Add to the pot.
Do not mix the veggies this time - just add boiling water to the pot so it covers all the veggies.
Wait till the soup starts boiling. Now add tomatoes, a bit of tomato sauce, green dill, parsley and celery soft parts (leaves).
Sometimes I add capers and some other spices (like mustard seeds) – depends what taste you want to achieve.
You can add some dill cucumbers, even olives, and some baked beans from the can for the better taste too.
You can even add some prunes – 5-6 - not much for the sweeter taste.
Add salt, pepper and bay leaves according to your taste.
Leave the soup till it starts boiling again and switch it off immediately to keep all the goodness inside.
Wait for 1/2 hour so the soup collects all its flavors from the veggies.
Serve with fresh dill, rye bread and sour cream.
You can also cook it with meat but the meat needs to be cooked beforehand for 2 hours for the stock instead of boiling water. I love the vegetarian version more.
This soup is very healthy and good in winter to warm you up.
Enjoy!
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