COOKBOOK » Dinner (34)

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.

Baked French fries with homemade ketchup

Who doesn’t love French fries? I don’t know, honestly))) That’s just a classic recipe too fatty for me, so I make potatoes in the oven. It turns out with a crispy flavorful crust and tender middle. Not sluggish, not wet, not too dry.

Cool to cook fries in the oven need to know a few nuances. They have happened empirically, and not fail in 99% of cases:

• Selection and preparation of potatoes. Remove the starch.

You need a dense potatoes and a little starch. That is not too young, and the non-starchy varieties. But, I usually don’t bother and buy the potatoes, which like visually, and then just soaked it in the water.

My brush (this is optional), cut into sticks or slices, in water for 20-30 minutes. So any varieties of potatoes, a large part of the starch will be released into the water. Then it was washed, dried on a towel and then baked.

• Cutting.

If you’re a fan of straight crunch, slice the potatoes more thinly. If you like the softer core (like potatoes “country style”)– cut the slices thicker. And try to cut all pieces roughly the same thickness, otherwise the cooking will be uneven. I usually cut into bars with a width of up to 1 cm.

• Oil, salt, spices.

Spread prepared potatoes on a baking sheet with parchment and salt straight drop (it is better then to add salt), vegetable oil literally 1-2 tsp on a baking sheet, just to make the crust more appetizing spices (optional) and mix thoroughly. If oil and salt will be a lot when baking, the potatoes will turn out limp, boiled. All the spices to your taste and color.

I like to add paprika, turmeric, nutmeg, thyme, rosemary, oregano and other Italian herbs, parsley, dill, coriander, chili, chopped onions and garlic. Not simultaneously, of course, and the mood and depending on what potato dish to serve.

• The baking.

Put the potatoes must be strictly in a single layer and preferably not right next to each other, and then again get lethargic sticks, not fries))) Bake in a preheated(!) the oven on the middle shelf to the top and bottom are baked evenly with a fan at 220 °C. the baking Time will be about 20-25 minutes, it depends on oven and size of potato pieces. At the end of baking closely follow her that did not burn.

If your oven bakes unevenly (somewhere hotter, somewhere colder), it can be seen by the color of the potatoes, in the middle of the process just flip the pan 180 degrees. Ready potatoes salt, stir and serve.

Finally, I want to say that sometimes, observing all these details – so sad Spud. At the same time, sometimes not respecting any of my tips – all of it, because in addition to technology much also depends on the type of potato from the oven, and your mood while cooking;)))

As for the ketchup. For the potatoes I use as ketchup – my tomato sauce for the pizza, or the sauce for shakshuka, punched in a blender.

The main sauce base (tomato, onion, garlic, salt, pepper, sweetener), but the flavors you can create the mood. In addition to the spices mentioned in the recipes above, I also like to use cinnamon and cloves. The most important thing is to add the spices when the sauce is already Uvarov not to overdo it.

Mind-blowing Shawarma with falafel

This dish is perfect for parties because it can be requested to procure parts and then just twist Shawarma with ease.

You need to prepare the babaganoush was, hummus, falafel with yogurt sauce (click on a word and go to the recipes).

You will also need: pita bread, lettuce, any what like, tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, red cabbage, if you like red sweet onions. It is good to wash. Lettuce and onion slice, carrot and cabbage finely shred. Tomatoes to cut and it is desirable to remove the seeds to reduce the moisture. Cucumbers cleaned and cut into strips.

How to make Shawarma:

1. Preheat the grill pan well, or a regular non-stick pan, preferably with a thick bottom. I put the fire 7 of 9.

2. While it heats, take the pita, spread the entire surface of the yogurt sauce, leaving a clean distant edge, so that when you minimize the sauce does not leak outside of the gyro.

3. Next, put some lettuce and other vegetables, then spread a thick strip of babaganush, hummus, put in a row falafel, pour more yogurt sauce and turn the Shawarma more elastic.

I edge not wrapped on the sides, the filling is in principle not particularly falls. You do as you wish. Plus, at its discretion, can add tomato sauce, hot sauce, who he loves. But I have such a recipe, no extra sauces, because then all the ingredients are pretty spicy.

4. Put the Shawarma in a very heated pan and fry until crisp lavash with 2 sides. If you have a grill pan, the pita bread should appear Golden stripes.

5. When ready put in a plate, cut in half and enjoy the juicy Shawarma. Well, it turns out very tasty!

Sesame-crusted tuna tataki (seared tuna)

Tataki is a cooking method, not the name of the dish. Fish/meat a very quick stir fry pan/Sears on fire, while inside, it remains moist, then cut into slices. Fast, simple and very tasty.

This quick method of cooking tuna makes me happy, because after long heat treatment it loses its taste and its structure. Is similar to canned, but we do not need it.

Ingredients:

• Steaks tuna,

• Optional sesame seeds (I mix black and white)

• Vegetable oil.

How to do:

0. Point zero about choosing the right fish. The tuna should be firm, with uniform bright red/pink color, without spots. No fishy smell, most from the meat smell.

If you are using frozen steaks, then defrost the day before in the fridge. If I bought a chilled steak recommend cooking the same day, otherwise the fish will dry out and lose its taste, and in General to deteriorate.

1. The fish dry with paper towels of excess moisture. Please, just don’t wash. Ideally, if the steaks are thick and about 3 cm, at least 2 cm can fry Them whole on two sides, and can be cut into cubes with sides about 3 cm and fry on all four sides. You can roll them in sesame seeds, you can roast without it.

Slice the steaks on the bars transversely to the fibers, then to cut the finished dish was not visible veins. If you appearance is not important, then do not bother the fiber direction.

Then you need to sprinkle the fish with olive oil and thoroughly coat it, allow to soak 5 minutes. Tuna loves oil, so it becomes more juicy. According to your taste you can season the steak, but personally I don’t even add salt, as then the fish is served with spicy sauces.

2. The pan is very good to warm up, then make the fire slightly less than the maximum.

3. While heated pan, pour the sesame seeds in a wide flat dish and dip them in the fish from all sides. Fish direct press down to the grains that they are well stuck.

4. Pour into the pan a little oil, fry the tuna: wedges on each side for 30 seconds, whole steaks on each side for 1 minute. Sesame seeds should be Golden. Put the fish on a paper towel to excess oil is gone.

5. Cut the fish into very sharp knife (otherwise you’ll start to fall apart) slices no thicker than 1 cm.

I like to serve this fish in a bowl with rice/quinoa, soy edamame beans, seaweed, mango and avocado, definitely Dobrev spicy sauces. Also, this tuna is perfect in salad Nicoise.

Rice for sushi + life hacks on cooking sushi rolls

To make sushi rolls at home is fun, delicious and healthy because you can put in them only what you think is right. The main thing here is to buy the sushi rice and cook it properly.

Ingredients (6 sheets nori):

• 1 Cup sushi rice,

• A little more than 1 Cup of water,

• 4 tbsp rice vinegar (you can at least replace with white wine vinegar),

• 3 tbsp sweetener (I have Jerusalem artichoke syrup),

• 1 tsp. salt,

• 0.5 sheet nori (optional).

How to do:

1. Thoroughly rinse the rice until until the water is clear. The water should be at room temperature, the capacity for washing is quite large. Wash need hands, raking the palm of the water from bottom to top. Not in a colander under the tap. Why so much detail was written in this post. Put the rice in a colander to dry while you boil water.

2. Pour water in a thick-walled bowl with a lid (ideally, if it is transparent, so you can see it boiled off the water or not). Bring water to a boil and cover the rice, put the nori. Bring water with rice to a boil, take out the nori, turn down the heat to low (if you have an electric stove, a better move pan to another burner preheated to low) and cook for 10-15 minutes, until the rice absorbs all the water. Remove from heat and let stand 15 minutes. Cover during cooking, do not open.

3. While preparing the rice, make the filling. Mix the vinegar, salt and sweetener. If you use sugar, then it needs to dissolve completely, as, indeed, and salt. You can heat the dressing on low heat, stirring constantly and without leading up to boiling, to speed up the process.

4. After the rice has rested, you need to put it in a large bowl. Accurately and quickly divide the rice spatula to from a coma, he has become a more or less crumbly. Spread the filling over rice. Try to do it evenly. Can slightly povoroshit rice shovel, but not to mix, and then get a sticky mess.

5. Cover the rice with a towel and allow to cool slightly, so that it can be taken by hand. Now he’s ready for sushi/rolls. You need to use it immediately, then it will become too dry and hard.

Life hacks on twisting rolls:

1. Nori should be placed shiny side down.

2. For laying out rice on nori, you need to prepare tezu to wet hands. Pour into a bowl with a little water and 2 tbsp of rice vinegar. Rice spread on nori it hands dipped in this mixture.

3. To roll had the form of a snail, and looked correctly, the figure you need to lay out stepping back from the edge about 2 cm, and fill to the middle of the sheet. That is, the side which to you should be filled with rice from the edge and at a distance of 2 cm, and then the rice is laid out to the middle of the sheet.

4. To nori stuck to each other, and roll together, edge of the sheet lubricate tezu.

5. Roll to cut you need a very sharp knife dipped in tezu.

Quinoa and water pizza crust

I already told you about unconventional the pizza crust from cauliflower. Today I’ll tell you about another unusual and very easy to prepare recipe with quinoa.

Ingredients to form about 26-28 cm, the layer turns the thickness a little less than 0.5 cm:

  • ¾ Cup quinoa (I make the usual white),
  • ¼ Cup water
  • Salt about 1/4 tsp., herbs to taste,
  • Olive oil for greasing the form.

How to do:

1. Quinoa rinsed and soaked for at least two hours (can be overnight), then rinse well again.

2. Preheat the oven to 140-160C.

3. Quinoa punch in a blender with water and salt until a homogeneous consistency of liquid sour cream. If you want you can put in the dough Basil/paprika or any spices to your taste.

4. Split form lay baking paper, grease it with vegetable oil and pour the batter. If you don’t have a split form – nothing terrible, just pour out the dough on baking paper and immediately remove the pancake into a preheated oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until done, which I think is necessary. I recommend using the convection, so the crust will be more crispy.

5. Slightly cool the cake, and you can do pizza directly on the form. Personally, I make pizza not according to the rules – I don’t leave the empty edges, I put a lot of toppings, and everything rests before baking only because of the bumpers shape;) So if you do too little dough and lots of toppings, then this is for you. But keep in mind that the cake quinoa still loses the crunchiness from it. So, if you want thin crispy dough – do not put a lot of ingredients, especially wet (sauce, cheese, vegetables, mushrooms).

In this case, I made homemade tomato sauce for pizza (recipe already wrote), top with grated cheddar, then pre-cooked chicken breast, mushrooms, roasted zucchini, blue cheese and some cheddar. It’s got delicious! Bake about 10 minutes until cooked mushrooms and melt cheese. Gently remove the top of the form, and the pizza turns you on baking paper in free access. Cut it with pizza cutter and enjoy.

Bon appetit!

Stewed venison with cranberry sauce

To prepare the game, need or experience with talent, or this recipe. It is very simple and, in principle, suitable for any meat. Even from the “soles” you will be able to make divine delicate dish.

You need to come up with a marinade, pour it over the meat, put it in an airtight container (culinary sleeve, roaster, etc.), put it in the oven for 4-5 hours at 140C. As a result, you get something amazing!

By the way, ideally the meat first sear in a pan until brown and then bake, but do not always have the pan on which is placed this huge piece of meat that I had:) Even without frying, the taste turned out excellent.

In this case, I had deer ribs (2 lbs.), and the marinade is this:

50 ml olive oil

150 ml dry white wine

3 tbsp Dijon mustard,

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce,

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar,

3 garlic cloves, minced,

Spices: 1 tsp each:

Oregano,

Basil,

Rosemary,

Powder dried garlic,

Cayenne Chile pepper,

Salt,

Freshly ground pepper (I have a mixture of peppers).

The marinade is a bit like a set of spices in the recipe of tomato soup with venison. This is all because I made some soup, wildly happy with the result and decided from this concept not to leave.

Here in this and this recipes is another good options of marinade.

After all, as I described above. Mix the marinade ingredients together with the meat removed in the oven. After cooking, allow the meat to relax a bit, then separate the flesh from the bones and serve with cranberry sauce (recipe here).

Ideally, if you have such meat will be two of sauce, some cream and berries. Then all the flavors will be revealed correctly and sparkle.

Garnish is perfect mashed pumpkin, Jerusalem artichoke puree, or sauteed mushrooms. Yes, any vegetables or light vegetable salad, and pickles.

P. S. According to this principle, and I cook beef ribs, but unlike the game, I have them at the end of searing to a crisp. Here this trick will not work – everything begins to dry up.

Whole wheat quiche Lorraine with chicken breast and mushrooms

This post I will gradually be supplemented with recipes of quiches with different fillings, and now I will describe the basic nuances and cooking technique on the example of a recipe that is prepared most often.

Actually Kish is a high-calorie and fatty dish, so in the classic version I don’t eat, and home of “fat-free” it))

Kish consists of 3 parts, each of which I am optimizing to your taste (all the proportions bring to round shape dimetrom about 25 cm, height keisha makes about 4 cm):

1. The base/crust of dough (2 recipes).

You need about 200-300 g of the test, if you do not do bumpers. I have kisha bumpers do not.

A classic recipe (wheat flour + butter).

Typically, the proportions of flour and butter in shortcrust pastry 1 to 1, I’m in 2 times less oil. In addition, the dough I make from whole wheat flour and ghee (my recipe here).

Dough vegetable oil from buckwheat flour. Recipe here.

Important. I usually make a lot of dough, portion it and then freeze the food in the film, that at any moment you can quickly prepare this pie.

2. Filling.

The filling is cooked mainly from lean poultry/fish with the addition of mushrooms and vegetables. It’s mostly protein and fiber.

3. Cream sauce with cheese.

In creamy egg sauce traditional cream replace with low-fat sour cream/Greek yogurt or milk.

The specified form size I make about 500 g of sauce: 300 g of sour cream/yoghurt/milk, 150 gr. cheese (about 100 g of cheese type Gouda + 50 g aromatic Parmesan/gruyère/Roquefort) and 2-3 eggs. If you use less cheese, add the filling 1 egg to the quiche not lose shape.

The process:

1. On the bottom of the form lay out the dough, prick it randomly with a fork and 20 minutes at 160C in the oven. Get the form, silent cooled cake. Put the oven on to warm to 180C.

2. While preparing the cake cools, prepare the filling.

This variant of the filling consists of 2 large onions 5-6 large enough mushrooms or 10-15 small, 2-3 chicken fillets. Instead can use breast fillets chicken thighs. With him is delicious, and with the breast dietine.

Cut onion into cubes and fry on medium heat until Golden brown in a small amount of ghee oil (or any frying), then add the sliced wafers mushrooms and thyme a couple pinches (he is very cool goes well with mushrooms), salt and pepper to taste, wait until all the moisture from the mushroom will come out, and they are browned, then add chicken, cut into medium-sized pieces. Also wait until any excess moisture is evaporated and all the stuffing is ready.

The most important rule of preparation of the filling: it should be like you just like that, without dough and cheese. Made, tried. If delicious – so quiche you will like it. Put here anything you want, in any combination, if only you were good.

3. Cheese grate, mix. A handful aside for sprinkling on top.

Beat eggs with salt, pepper, 0.5 tsp. nutmeg and other spices at your discretion, add sour cream/milk/yoghurt and cheese, mix well. I mix straight into the blender.

3. Grease ghee the edge of the form with the crust. Spread the filling of chicken and mushrooms, pour cheese mixture and sprinkle with the cheese, which previously was postponed. Put into the oven for about 30-35 minutes at 180C.

You can certainly have a dish immediately, but I prefer it ostatici in the refrigerator, and then reheated before serving. So he’s like delicious and perfectly keeps the shape and not falling apart like freshly made.

Often I cook the quiche for the future. In this case, it is first necessary to fully cool at room temperature, then put into the refrigerator. Then I cut it in portions and freeze in a plastic container.

This little more is dietary the recipe in taste from the classics to differ almost not be checked;)

How to cook chickpeas

1. The most common method that I usually use:

Chickpeas are sorted, washed and filled with clean water in a ratio of 1:3 and leave for 8-12 hours (I usually do this at night). After that, drain the water, rinse the chickpeas, pour fresh water above the chickpea level by 5 centimeters. Bring to a boil, then cook for 5 minutes and drain the first water. This is recommended to avoid problems with the gastrointestinal tract, or rather with the appearance of gas formation after eating legumes. I didn’t do this before, but then I realized that it’s not difficult and really helps. Some people change up to 3 waters, but I don’t do this)))

Then again fill the chickpeas with fresh water, also with a margin of 5 cm, add a little salt water, add a few tablespoons of vegetable oil (it prevents the formation of a large amount of foam) and cook over low heat until ready. This is about 1-2 hours on low heat under a slightly open lid, removing the foam. Chickpeas are ready when they’re soft, but haven’t started to fall in half yet. Put the finished chickpeas in a colander. The cooking time of chickpeas depends on the quality of the chickpeas and on the dish, for example, for hummus, chickpeas can be made more boiled.

2. Express method (without soaking).

If you do not have time to soak the chickpeas, then cook it for 10 minutes on high heat, then about 1 hour on low heat under the lid.

3. Cooking chickpeas to get aquafaba.

If you want to get aquafaba from cooking chickpeas, then you need less water-1.5-2 cm above the chickpeas and cook for 2 hours. So the broth will be more concentrated. Then drain it in a jar, cool it and put it in the refrigerator. Store for 5 days or pour it into a ladle in portions (3st. l. – 1 egg) and store in the freezer.

Important. The weight of boiled chickpeas is about 2.5 times the weight of dry chickpeas.

And separately, I want to tell you that different varieties of chickpeas are very different in appearance, taste and cooking time. It is highly recommended to buy chickpeas from Turkey, Greece, Israel and other countries where it is an integral part of the national cuisine.

For example, here is a comparison of chickpeas produced in Russia and chickpeas from Greece:

My ideal ribs in BBQ sauce

Long ago I was looking for a recipe for ribs that was easy to prepare, without a lot of manipulation, like pre-roasting, the result has always been excellent and the sauce was prepared along with the meat. So that is invented for himself the best option. For this recipe, you can successfully cook beef and pork ribs.

Recipe about 2 kg of raw edges:

1. At first I ribs simmered until perfectly tender.

Ribs washed, to exclude the ingress of bone fragments in the dish and just to cleanse, cut into pieces 1-2 bones each, put in a deep cauldron/pot, preferably with a thick bottom. Pour ribs marinade-sauce of the future so that they were fully closed, bring to boil and simmer on low heat, covered for 2-4 hours. Time depends on meat quality. Once it became very soft and not falls off the bone – off.

My sauce usually consists of: 500-700ml of beer you like to drink just like that, it should be very cool (usually light lager, stout or their mix), 500-700ml tomato trade winds, 4 crushed garlic cloves, a pinch of Cayenne Chile pepper or a dash of Tabasco sauce, necessarily (!) Worcester/Worcestershire sauce 3-4st.l., 3st.l. balsamic or wine/Apple cider vinegar, soy sauce and pepper to taste, add gradually. Optionally you can put 2-3h.l. Dijon mustard.

Instead of beer you can use wine, water, Apple juice (strongly recommend to use freshly squeezed) or a mix of juice and water.

2. Cooking BBQ sauce.

When the meat is prepared, take it out of the pan spread out on baking sheet in 1 layer and temporarily set aside.

Give the sauce to cool completely in the refrigerator, then remove the top all dripping, it is usually very much. Throw. After that, the sauce should boil down to the consistency of sour cream. Then add herbs (thyme, rosemary, oregano, Basil, parsley, etc.) to taste, Jerusalem artichoke syrup and (if necessary to your taste) spices of claim 1.

Herbs I put about 2-3 tablespoons in total, as Jerusalem artichoke syrup 3-4 tbsp, but this is not accurate. I am guided by the situation, try the sauce several times and gradually add the ingredients. Cook for another 2-3 minutes and ready. In the end, you should get a stunning rich meat flavored barbecue sauce. Slightly sweet and spicy.

3. Sahelian ribs.

Put ribs in oven on grill mode at 180 ° C, and as soon as they began to get a savory crust, take it out and lubricate them with a thick layer of sauce, return under the grill for 3 minutes or until the sauce is also covered with crust, then repeat the procedure. And so until then, until the sauce is not over. Usually I can get 2-3 layers.

Ribs are ready! All this can be repeated on the fire, just put the ribs on the grille and similarly lubricate them periodically.

The result is tender meat that falls apart into fibers, and the top is mind-blowing crust with BBQ sauce. I like to serve with fresh vegetables or with grilled vegetables.

By the way, you can not use all the BBQ sauce when baking, and leave it for other meals, it can use independently, and the Prime rib grill in the Jerusalem artichoke syrup with mustardor any other sauce you like;)