COOKBOOK (236)

In this section, I post my recipes, and only those that I often use myself and that I really like.

I regularly update them if I find a more successful and delicious way to prepare a dish. Those recipes that I no longer like, I mercilessly delete.

An important caveat: this section is not a reflection of my diet, since I also eat some very basic dishes, the recipes of which are simple, and I do not see the point of writing them down;) Plus, there are dishes in the section that I consider successful, but usually I don’t cook them for myself.

Salad of young lightly pickled zucchini

Ingredients:

• Zucchini – 500g

• Parsley – a small bunch, chop

• Garlic – 2-3 cloves, pass through a garlic chopper

• Vegetable oil (olive, avocado) – 3 tbsp.l

. • Ordinary vinegar – 2 tbsp.l

. • Jerusalem artichoke syrup – 1 tbsp.l

. • Salt – 1 tsp

. • A pinch of black pepper and a pinch of chili pepper

How to do:

1. Chop the zucchini very thinly, add salt, stir, and drain in a colander.

2. At this time, make a dressing from all the other ingredients, mix thoroughly.

3. When the juice stops flowing from the zucchini, mix them with the dressing and put them in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

The best marinade for salmon

My most favorite marinade for salmon (1 whole small fish in the photo):

• Juice of half a lemon, as much as possible, to your taste

Crushed red basil (preferably dried, it gives a more interesting taste) – 1 branch or a handful of dried. Green won’t do, it’s too sharp, it’s different.

• 50 ml. Jerusalem artichoke syrup (or honey)

• 2 tbsp.l. olive oil

• 1 tsp. adjika (I have Georgian)

• Salt, pepper a little

First sprinkle the fish with a little good tasty soy sauce. Then pour the marinade, evenly distribute. Leave for a couple of hours, then you can cook in any convenient way.

Poppy seed roll in pita bread

Once Upon a time I posted a recipe poppy seed oatmeal roll this option is much easier, because you do not need to make the dough, but it still turns out very tasty.

Ingredients:

  • Lavash (the composition should be flour, water and salt)
  • Poppy seeds-200-250 GR.
  • 50-70 ml of any milk (delicious with almond and coconut)
  • 1 chicken egg
  • Jerusalem artichoke syrup / honey to taste
  • Optionally, you can add dried fruits, butter, nuts, lemon zest to the poppy filling.
  • A pinch of salt

How to do:

1. filling.

The most important thing in the filling is to grind the poppy. Either dry in a coffee grinder, or already steamed in boiling water, grind with a blender. I use the second way as it is faster. So:

Poppy pour boiling water in a saucepan or ladle, in which you will then cook it. It is better to pour more water, then salt the excess. Leave it for at least 30 minutes, I pour it at night. So it becomes very soft and malleable to grinding.

Then drain all the water that is above the level of the poppy and grind the future filling with an immersion blender for 2 minutes. It is not necessary to turn it into dust. After that, evaporate the remaining water over medium heat, then add 50-70 ml of milk mixed with egg white, a pinch of salt and Jerusalem artichoke syrup/honey to taste (try to your taste).  Everything is well and thoroughly mixed so that the protein is completely rastovrilsya in the filling, and not baked in pieces. If desired, you can add dried fruits, butter, nuts, lemon zest to the poppy. Just complete improvisation. When the mass is not liquid-remove from heat and let cool (this is important).

2. twist the roll.

First of all, turn on the oven to warm up to 180 degrees.

Lavash is better cut into small pieces. Because if you twist a large thick roll, then in the very center the pita bread will not be baked and will be too wet.

This filling is enough for me for 3 pieces of about 30 by 40 cm + to decorate the roll from above.

Evenly distribute the filling on the surface of the pita bread, quickly fold it until it starts to get wet, grease the top with egg yolk and decorate with poppy seed filling. Decoration is optional.

3. baking.

Bake the rolls on the middle shelf without a fan (and then they will break in the process) for about 25 minutes. On top should get a ruddy crispy crust, then immediately take it out, otherwise it will all crack.

Let the roll cool a little, cut and eat. But if you have the strength to wait, then it will be even tastier to completely cool it, cut it. And just before serving, warm up at 200 degrees in the oven for 5 minutes. Then it will not be hot inside, but very crispy and appetizing outside.

Dressed herring salad (our family recipe with my additions)

There are as many recipes for this salad as there are housewives preparing it. I will tell you about my favorite recipe.

Ingredients:

  • 1 large herring, in butchered form should be about 250g. I highly recommend buying a whole good tasty fish, and not canned pieces. But if you do not have such a herring anywhere at all, then you can replace it with another fatty low-salted fish or canned fish of good quality (as a maximum of salt and oil).
  • 4 chicken eggs.
  • Potatoes-2-3 pieces of medium size
  • Beets-2-3 pieces of medium size
  • Sweet and sour apple – 1 large or 1.5 small
  • 1 large onion
  • Mayonnaise. I really ask you to buy delicious or make it yourself. Unfortunately, a stupid Mazik can spoil the taste of even a very tasty salad.

How to do:

First, this salad should be prepared the day before serving. He needs time to brew and soak.

Second. For a salad, you will need either a cooking ring to spread everything in portions, or a deep salad bowl, or a flat plate. It is more convenient to put everything in the salad bowl, plus everything is better soaked there, but it is more difficult to get the salad when serving. With a plate, the opposite is true: it is more difficult to stack and shape the salad, and then it is more convenient to put it in plates. Choose what is closer to you.

So, how to cook it.

1. pickle onions (this is optional, but it will be much tastier, and the pungent smell of onions will not appear at all, only its juicy taste). Cut the onion into a small cube, put it in a colander, pour boiling water, let the water drain. Next, put it in an airtight container, add to it 2-3 tbsp.balsamic/Apple or wine vinegar, 1 tsp. sugar or Jerusalem artichoke syrup/agave, 0.5 tsp. salt. Stir, Close, leave aside while we prepare the rest of the ingredients. When we collect the salad, we again throw the onion into a colander and let the marinade drain.

2. cook eggs and potatoes in a uniform. Cool, clean. All the nuances of cooking described in the recipe salad Olivier (link HEREBy the way, I usually cook two dishes at the same time, so I cook just two salads at once.

3. in parallel I cook beets. Wash it, wrap it in foil and bake at 200C for about an hour. The baking time depends on the size of the root vegetables.

4. cut the herring, carefully remove all the bones. Cut into small cubes.

5. apples are washed and cleaned.

6. Collect salad. Layers: potatoes-Herring-onions-apples-eggs-beets.

All ingredients except herring and onions grate on a coarse grater. Each layer is lubricated with mayonnaise. Do not overdo it, a thin layer is enough.

Layers do not need to be salted. Enough Herring salt and sauce. Let the salad brew in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours, preferably a day.

Bon Appetit!

Olivier salad (our family recipe)

It is this salad that I have eaten since childhood, and honestly, I have not found a recipe tastier than it. Neither with caviar, nor with shrimp and squid, nor lean, nor with fish, and with anything else does not give me such a buzz as our family recipe.

Ingredients:

  • Beef pulp-700 g.
  • Chicken eggs-5-6 PCs.
  • Potatoes-2-3 pieces of medium size
  • Carrots – 2 PCs. large or 3 pcs. medium size
  • Sweet and sour juicy apple – 1 large or 2 small (I like more apples, it tastes juicier and fresher)
  • Salted / pickled cucumbers-5-6 PCs.
  • Canned peas (without sugar) – 1 jar or 200-250 G.
  • Mayonnaise – to taste. I really ask you to buy delicious or make it yourself. Unfortunately, a stupid Mazik can spoil the taste of even a very tasty salad.
  • Horseradish (optional, but it will be much more interesting and tasty).

How to do:

1. meat, eggs and vegetables I usually cook the day before. Pour boiling water over the meat and cook for 2-3 hours until very soft. I cook without spices and salt because the salad will have a lot of spicy and salty ingredients. Cool completely, then cut into cubes about the size of peas. I like it when all the ingredients in this salad are the same size.

2. potatoes and carrots wash and cook in salted water for about 30 minutes. You do not need to clean them. Readiness is checked with a knife, it should easily enter to the middle of the largest vegetable. Immediately drain the water, completely cool, clean and cut into cubes.

3. eggs cook in salted water for 10-15 minutes. In salt, so that the shell easily departs. Fill the finished eggs with cold water, clean right in it. So it is easier to clean, and the shell all settles to the bottom, there is definitely nothing left on the eggs themselves. Cut into cubes.

4. apples need to be washed, cleaned and similarly cut into cubes.

5. cucumbers cut into cubes, like all the previous ingredients. I recommend buying them small. If the cucumbers are very large, they will have tasteless huge seeds and a lot of brine, and they themselves will be too sluggish, not crispy. In addition, small cucumbers can not be cleaned, their skin is tender.

6. peas are thrown back into a colander, drain the brine and rinse them a little. You can not rinse, the main thing is to drain the brine well, because there is a lot of salt in it.

7. combine all the ingredients in a large container, which can be hermetically sealed. I do not recommend all mayonnaise at once, unless you immediately eat it all. It is better to mix the required amount of salad with the sauce immediately before serving. Salad can be served in portions, laying it out in a culinary ring. I decorated it with mayonnaise, pickled cucumber straws and boiled egg yolk. I highly recommend eating this salad with horseradish.

Taking this opportunity, I want to thank my mother for this recipe (and also for the recipe Herring under a fur coat) and wish everyone a good appetite!

Garlic and black olive butter

This is a very, very tasty snack or addition to breakfast. I recommend preparing this oil in advance, so that it has time to fill with the flavors of all the ingredients. I recommend serving it with warm bread.

Ingredients:

  • 250 g of good tasty butter,
  • 150 g of Olives (you can use any, but I like it best with the blackest dried). Most importantly, remember that the taste of this snack oil directly depends on the taste and quality of Olives.
  • 1 tsp. ground dry garlic (can be replaced with 1-2 cloves of fresh, passed through a garlic chopper),
  • 2 tsp dried herbs oregano / rosemary,
  • Salt and pepper to taste.

How to do:

1. soften butter at room temperature.

2. free the olives from the bone, cut arbitrarily without bringing them to the paste.

3. when the butter is soft, mash it with a fork, add the olives, garlic and herbs, mix thoroughly and season with salt / pepper to taste. A lot of salt and pepper is not worth it, because later the olives will give their spice to the oil, keep this point in mind.

4. transfer the butter to an airtight container if you intend to store it, or to a nice serving dish if you plan to serve immediately. his to the table. Send it to the refrigerator to brew for 1-2 hours. When serving, you can sprinkle it with olive oil and garnish with olives.

Creamy pumpkin cheddar millet porridge with nuts + some more recommendations for serving

Today I will tell you how to make a piece of culinary art from ordinary millet. The most important thing in this porridge is the additional ingredients, depending on which it plays with new colors every time.

Ingredients for porridge (for 1 serving):

* Millet – 50g.

* Water/milk-approximately 150 ml

• Mashed baked pumpkin-3-5 tbsp. l. or to taste

* Aromatic cheddar/gruyere – the more, the tastier))) But I put 20-30g, grate or finely chop.

* Dates – 3-4 pcs.

• Cinnamon-0.5 tsp

. * Salt-to taste

• Butter is optional, I do not use it, I have enough cheese

Ingredients for topping (the possible options are listed below, you do not need to put everything at the same time):

* Nuts are better than pecans or walnuts (a handful)/pumpkin seeds

* Nuts + thin slices of cheese, so that they have the opportunity to melt on the porridge

* Mushrooms fried with oregano and sage + some pine nuts. It turns out something like a risotto.

• Caramelized bacon + maple syrup • Nuts (handful) + orange zest (from a quarter of an orange)

• Pecans (handful) + caramelized pear (peel, cut not very finely, fry in ghee withjerusalem artichoke dill until brown)

How to do it.

1. Bake a pumpkin (better butternut or Hokkaido) in the oven (recipe here). Then you can make not only porridge from it , but also pumpkin soup, tortillas, hummus and other dishes.

2. Wash the millet until the water is transparent, pour it with boiling water and drain the water. So the porridge will definitely not be bitter. Then pour the millet with water/milk, add salt and cook until tender under the lid, stirring occasionally for about 35 minutes. If desired, you can remove the foam.

2. While the porridge is cooking, blenderim pumpkin together with washed dates and cinnamon in mashed potatoes. You should get about 5 tablespoons.

3. As soon as the porridge has become viscous and boiled, add the pumpkin-date mixture to it, mix, let it boil for a couple of minutes. We try the salt/sweetness/sufficiency of the pumpkin in taste. What you need-add, throw in the cheese, mix until it is completely dissolved and try again. It should turn out not liquid and not too viscous, moderately aromatic, sweet and creamy-cheesy. Find this balance, then turn off the stove and let the porridge stand for 5 minutes.

4. Serve with any of the toppings described above.

Roasted/baked chestnuts

Chestnut has a unique aroma and sweet taste. The texture is similar to a nut, but not as fat and high-calorie. You can eat it just like that, make soups out of it (I especially like it in cream soups), desserts (very tasty if there is chocolate or maple syrup in the dish), add it to stews/pilafs/risotto/pasta/casseroles/cutlets/salads. Chestnut flour gives a very unusual taste. In General, an interesting and versatile product.

Immediately important: do not confuse plz horse decorative chestnut and edible!!! In Moscow, you can buy raw edible chestnuts at markets, and there are also some in stores, but more often they are canned.

How to do:

1. Chestnuts iterate, throw too soft (they are most likely spoiled) and with the damage, my (if I have time, I leave them in water for about 30 minutes to peel softened), water is drained, dry fruits to to cut the rind of the they didn’t nothing happened.

2. Cut the skin with a sharp knife on the convex side of the cross or line, as I have in the photo. It is better to cut on the convex side, because then it is easier to clean. You can generally make a line around the entire circumference, then the peel can be opened like a matryoshka doll))) Ideally, do this with a special gadget (for example, thisone), but you can just use a sharp knife. With a knife, it is more convenient to make an incision on the Board, and not on the weight, so as not to get hurt.

The most important thing is to make sure that you cut the skin exactly, but the chestnut itself is not. If the skin is badly cut, the chestnut may explode during heat treatment, and if the flesh itself is strongly cut, it will also fall apart and dry up during cooking.

3. fill the processed chestnuts with water for 15 minutes, or blanch in boiling water for 5 minutes. This step is necessary in order to make the peel later easier to move away, and the kernels themselves become juicier. I recommend salting the water to taste, don’t be afraid to overdo it with salt;)

4. while the chestnuts are soaking, preheat the oven to 180, or a frying pan. It is better to use a thick-bottomed frying pan with a lid of such diameter that the chestnuts are placed on it in 1 layer. It’s not terrible if a few things are in 2 layers, in the process of stirring, all the chestnuts will still be fried.

Spread the chestnuts on the pan with the flat side, so that the maximum amount of the fruit surface is immediately warmed, and the peel opens. Then fry, periodically shaking the pan, over medium heat for 25-40 minutes (the time depends on the size of the chestnuts) until nice brown scorch marks. Check readiness with a toothpick or sharp knife. If it’s easy to enter, it’s done.

For baking, you need either a form with a lid, or a baking sheet on top tightly cover with foil so that the chestnuts do not dry out. Bake for 180C for 40 minutes or until tender.

5. Put hot chestnuts in a container with a lid, or cover with a towel for about 10 minutes. During this time, they will become more saturated taste and slightly cool down, and they can be eaten without burning. The most important thing is to eat warm. After cooling, they become dry and completely not as tasty as warm ones.

It was a basic recipe. You can also add large sea salt + rosemary, cinnamon + maple syrup to the chestnuts, or whatever you fancy. I like to fry them in a frying pan and add spices near the end so that nothing burns.

If you are frying chestnuts for a particular dish, the most important thing is to clean them while they are warm, because as they cool down, the skin will again become tight to them.

Dried plums with garlic and herbs

If you love sun-dried tomatoes, but have never tried sun-dried plums – you urgently need to try them. This is just a bomb, unreal and the coolest snack, especially with cheese and wine.

It is very simple to do, but it takes time (6-7 hours).

Ingredients (for 1 pan):

• 1.3 kg plums (I like to do with blue, you can use any, the main thing – it should be ripe, but firm/fleshy, juicy pulp otherwise evaporated, and will remain a tough skin).
• 1 head of garlic (no need to use if you don’t like or replace with 2 tsp. of dry finely ground garlic),
* Leaves of 2-3 sprigs of thyme + 1 tbsp of dried herbs that you like (oregano, Basil, rosemary, marjoram, hops-suneli, etc.). depending on the chosen spice, the taste of the finished plum will change in the direction of a particular cuisine of the world. My favorite thing is to make a mixture of thyme and Provencal herbs. If you will use only dry spices, put up to 2 tbsp in total.
* 2-3 tbsp olive oil,
• 1 tsp sea salt with a slide,
* 1-2 tbsp sweetener (I have Jerusalem artichoke syrup) – this is optional and depends on the acid of the plum,
* 0.5 tsp ground Cayenne chili-optional.
For storage in a Bank:
• 3 tbsp balsamic, wine or Apple cider vinegar,
• Olive oil.

How to do:

1. wash the Plum, wipe it with a towel (we do not need extra moisture), cut it in half lengthwise and remove the bones, put it in a large bowl. Garlic is cleaned and cut into thin plates.

2. add salt, spices, oil, sweetener to the plums and mix thoroughly. If you use dry garlic, then add it too.

3. Put the oven to warm up to 100 degrees (normal mode, not convection), and at this time spread the plums on a baking sheet with parchment/silicone Mat pulp up. In each slivinu put 1-2 plates of garlic and remove this splendor in the oven for a time of 5 hours. I bake for 7 hours, but after 5 hours I become more alert so as not to over-dry.

4. in the process of baking, please do not go crazy from the flavors and do not drag the plum from the baking tray, and there is a risk that in the end there will be nothing to put in a jar))
Open the door periodically and let off steam. When the plums look like sun-dried tomatoes, it’s done. The flesh should remain slightly moist, and the skin should become wrinkled.

5. transfer The finished plums to a glass jar, tamp them down and fill them with vinegar and oil so that they are all closed. I’m ramming hard so I need less oil. Store in the refrigerator. They are tastier for 2-3 days.

Separately, I want to say about garlic, it caramelizes and turns into garlic chips. You can put it together with plums in a jar, or collect it and use it separately, and cut a couple of fresh cloves to the plums. The taste will be different, try both options.

P.S. it Is also very interesting to make these plums in barbecue sauce or with any other spicy marinade. The principle is similar. In a bowl, mix everything, spread it out and let it stand.

Flatbread with sweet potato/pumpkin

Ingredients (10-12 pieces):

* 1 medium-sized sweet potato (about 2 cups of pulp). Sweet potatoes can be replaced with ordinary potatoes, but the taste will certainly be different, and it can also be replaced with pumpkin, or a mixture of pumpkin and potatoes, then the taste will be very close to sweet potatoes;)

2 cups whole wheat flour. It is this flour that you need exactly as much as the sweet potato occupies in volume. You will get 1 cup of pulp, so you will need 1 cup of flour. In addition, you can safely experiment with flour, replacing part of the wheat with barley, spelt, rye, etc.

* 1 tsp salt

* Optionally, you can add any spices to your taste (chili, turmeric, paprika, cumin, curry, etc.).

How to do:

1. bake sweet potatoes. First, carefully wash it, pierce it with a fork in several places so that it does not crack, wrap it in foil or spread it on parchment. Bake for 40-60 minutes at a temperature of 180C-200C in the standard mode “top-bottom”. The temperature and time depends on the oven. The readiness of sweet potatoes is determined by a knife, if it is easily pierced – everything is ready. Do not turn off the oven, but put it to warm up to the maximum.

2. let the fruit cool slightly, peel it, then chop it with a fork in a large bowl, adding salt and spices.

Important. Do not knead it for too long, grinding it into porridge. So the mass will be too starchy, like paste, and the cakes will turn out to be rubber, not soft.

3. in the crushed sweet potato, gradually add flour and mix the contents. I first put half of the flour, mix, and then add portions. Add until the dough stops sticking. It is important not to overdo it with flour, so that the cakes do not become too dry and hard in the end.

And again, do not knead too intensively, it is not necessary.

4. cover the dough hermetically and let it stand for 30 minutes, after proofing it will become tender and pliable to Rolling.

5. dust the surface with flour, spread the dough on it and roll it into a sausage. Cut in half, then each piece into 5-6 equal parts. The result is 10-12 identical pieces, well, or almost identical.

Roll each piece into a smooth ball, put it to rest for another 10-15 minutes under a towel. This item can be omitted if you are in a hurry.

6. each ball is first flattened by hand, then on the surface dusted with flour we roll out with a rolling pin about 3 mm thick. As thin as possible, as thick as you like.

We fold the cakes in a pile under the towel so that they do not zavetrel.

7. then spread a few tortillas on a baking sheet with parchment in 1 layer and bake until they are inflated and baked. It’s 5-10 minutes, depends on the oven. After each batch, peel the parchment from the fallen flour so that it does not burn and does not spoil the taste of the next tortillas. Or fry in a dry preheated frying pan on medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes on each side until brown.

Put the finished cakes in a sealed container in a towel. It will keep them warm and soft.

They can be eaten with any dishes instead of bread, used as pita/Pita Bread for snacks with any fillings. Bon Appetit!