Parmesan – Agapi.Style

Corn. How to choose and enjoy.

In corn at the same time 3 important points: choose the right ear, properly cook and delicious served.

1. How to choose.

1.1. First, determine what is in front of us corn. Food or feed.

The cob of feed corn long, color of grains yellow, and they are pretty tough, they are difficult to crush with fingers, the shell they have thick, taste tasteless.

The cob sweet corn food more short and thick, the color of the bean white-yellow-beige, they are soft and full, with pressure from them is juice (it is similar to milk), the taste is sweet.

We need food that is corn, but if you only sell feed, it is also possible to prepare. Below I will describe how both types of corn.

Important. Also comes in multi-colored corn, but it is often used as decor for popcorn or for making flour. I saw this in USA, but she is not ready. And there white corn. To choose it is necessary, by analogy with yellow, but not focusing on the color of the beans. Here’s the corn I cooked, and I will say that the yellow varieties closer to me to taste.

1.2. How to choose a young fresh corn.

Buy only untreated corn. First, without the leaves it dries quickly, without leaves it is not necessary to cook (taste will not be the same) and that on the leaves you can see how long the cobs are collected.

The young corn and bright green succulent leaves, and stigmas (hairs that are sticking out of them) – light, tender and moist.

Definitely need to see how the ear looks like inside. Reveal the leaves to the ground, but not pulling them. The grains should be soft but elastic, equal in size, closely adjacent to each other and without dents and shriveling. The color of the grains should be as bright.

2. How to cook.

Depending on the variety and degree of ripeness, cooking time is very different. Food corn cook for 10-30 minutes, aft 2-3 hours. I recommend when cooking choose one pilot on the cob and occasionally to try to pinpoint readiness. It is important not to overcook the corn, otherwise the grain will become hard. And undercooked corn will also be solid, and even the starch flavor of the beans. In General, when corn will reach the condition, you will this taste is not to be confused;)

The cooking process:

• To cook corn should with leaves and stigmas. I reach for my cobs only the outer couple of leaves, rinse it well and put into a pan. Or you can remove all the leaves and stigmas, but be sure to lay them in a saucepan with the corn (part on the bottom part of the top). They give the corn the right flavour and taste.

• The pot with thick walls, well-kept temperature. Size such that all the bobbins fit in the cooking process were under water. If they at length do not fit, cut them in half.

• Pour the corn will need is boiling water. So it is more delicate. So I put a pot of corn on the stove, pour the boiling water, and over high heat bring water again to a boil, then make a quiet fire and cook it under the lid. If cook feed corn in water, add milk/cream/butter/sweetener. It’s a bit ennobles the taste. Salt when cooking I don’t put, it makes the corn tough. Cooking I wrote above, be sure to taste the corn in the process.

• Once the corn is cooked, turn off the fire. If you don’t plan to eat all the corn at once, then store it in the fridge or in the pot of water, or put part of the broth in a zip package. If you keep it dry, it’ll dry out.

3. How to make corn.

My favorite way is:

Preheat the oven to maximum. RUB finished corn with grated cheese (ideally Parmesan), cheese that has penetrated into all the slits between the grains, spread it on a baking sheet, sprinkle some more cheese on top, you can season with salt/pepper to taste and be sure to sprinkle a pinch of ground Chile pepper. In the oven to melt cheese. Removed, sprinkled with lime juice and enjoy your meal;)

Can do it in a frying pan, quickly fry the corn over high heat on all sides.

Delicious cauliflower soup with nutmeg

I don’t like soups made from ordinary white cabbage, but with cauliflower – very much;) So immediately and do not understand what it is, just feel that vkuuusny!

Ingredients for the soup:

• Cauliflower – 2 small kachna or 1 large,

• 2-3 tablespoons – oil for frying,

• 3-4 large yellow onion bulbs (don’t spare the onion, it gives the desired taste to the soup),

• 400 ml – almond milk (can be replaced with cow’s milk or cream, depending on your love of fat),

• 800 ml – water/vegetable or chicken broth,

• 4-5 cloves of garlic,

• 0.5 tsp – nutmeg,

• Salt – 2 tsp or to taste,

• Pepper – 2 tsp or to taste.

Oregano and sage are also very suitable. I don’t always put them in, according to my mood.

For satiety and increase the amount of protein in the dish, you can add a couple of handfuls of white already cooked beans to the soup. The main thing is not to overdo it, otherwise the taste will not be so bright. But don’t worry, it can be balanced by adding a little more spice;)

Ingredients for topping:

• Shredded cheddar cheese/cream cheese/blue cheese/Parmesan (you can also put the cheese in the soup itself, as you like).

For 1 serving 30-50 g of cheese. If Parmesan, 1-2 tbsp grated.

• Red caviar – 2-3 tbsp.

• Mushrooms baked or fried with thyme + pine nuts.

For any option, I recommend serving toast from bread

How to do:

1. peel, wash, and chop the Onion and garlic. Wash the cabbage, divide it into inflorescences, cut the stalk, and wash it again.

2. in a large saucepan, heat the oil and add the finely chopped onion, passer until very browned, then add the crushed garlic, fry for 30 seconds until fragrant and throw the cabbage with water/broth. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and cook for 15-20 minutes, until the cabbage is soft.

If the cabbage is not completely immersed in the liquid, it’s okay, it will still be steamed. To speed up the process and cook evenly, stir the contents of the pan periodically.

3. after the cabbage is cooked, add the milk/cream and all the above spices to the soup. Grind the soup with a blender until smooth, taste, add more liquid or spices if necessary. Bring to a boil over low heat and turn off immediately.

4. Pour the soup on plates, sprinkle with freshly ground pepper and put any topping to your taste. If using cheese, let it melt a little.

In my photo, the soup is simple with croutons, balsamic cream and truffle oil. The simplest version, but it is no less delicious than the more complex versions)

By the way, if you put less liquid, you will get a great puree on the side dish or sauce for a hot dish.

Perfect pumpkin cream soup served two ways (with Gorgonzola or Parmesan croutons)

Ingredients:

2 small pumpkins (Butternut, Hokkaido, Provence or any that you like)

2 medium carrots,

2 large onions,

4 garlic cloves,

2 sticks of celery (optional, if you like it)

1 chili pepper or 1 tsp dry Cayenne pepper,

2 sprigs fresh rosemary or 2 tsp. dry seasonings,

5-6 fresh sage leaves or 0.5 teaspoon dry ground sage

1 tsp dried oregano,

1 gallon water, vegetable or chicken broth (can substitute part of the liquid milk or cream, recommend to use no more than 300 ml),

2 tbsp Apple cider vinegar

Oil for roasting vegetables (I had a mixture of ghee and olive oil),

Salt and ground black pepper to taste

Ingredients for the filing will describe below.

How to do it.

1. All vegetables to be washed. Onion cut into cubes, celery, garlic and chilli also finely chop. Pumpkin and carrots cleaned and cut into small random pieces.

2. Onions and celery saute in the pot for soup in the frying oil until Golden. Then add the chopped garlic and chili peppers, fry until fragrant about 30 seconds, then throw to the onion, the carrot, and after 5-7 minutes the pumpkin and fill it with some water/broth to the liquid closed vegetables. Simmer for 10-15 minutes until the vegetables are tender.

3. Once the vegetables are softened, add herbs (rosemary leaves, sage, oregano) and Apple cider vinegar, pushing the soup in a blender until smooth. Try, what happened, and salt/pepper to taste. If necessary, add more water/broth and spices. Once again whisk the soup, bring to a boil and immediately remove from heat.

4. I have another version of cooking the pumpkin with carrots: roasting. Pumpkin cut in half, to release the seeds, put on baking sheet cut down. Peel the carrot, cut into 2-3 pieces and put next to the pumpkin. Bake at 180-200C for about 30-40 minutes until soft. Allow the pumpkin to cool slightly, remove skins.

Then combine the fried onion, celery, Chile and garlic, roasted vegetables, all seasonings, punched in a blender, gradually adding water/broth, and finally add salt/pepper to taste. Once again whisk the soup, bring to a boil and immediately remove from heat.

Try to cook soup with different types of broths, with the addition of cream or milk to choose your perfect option. I make this soup often with vegetable broth or water and without the addition of cream.

5. Serve this soup I love in two versions:

Flow 1. With olive oil, balsamic, pumpkin seeds and croutons parmezanom.

For this flow you need unleavened whole wheat bread cut into pieces (1 piece per serving), put on top of each piece with 1 tbsp shredded cheese and bake in the oven until Golden.

Soup pour into a bowl, drizzle with olive cold-pressed oil (I like Greek) and balsamic, sprinkle a handful of roasted pumpkin seeds. For beauty can sprinkle the soup with some parsley. To eat, biting into the hot fragrant toast.

Flow 2. With melted Gorgonzola, pumpkin seeds and balsamic cream.

For this supply ladle hot soup into bowls, put in every 2-3 tbsp crumbled blue cheese, give him a little melted alone or in the convection oven/microwave. Then throw a handful of sunflower seeds, a bit of balsamic cream and enjoy!

And that I experimented and cooked this soup with white gourd Ficifolia.

The Gorgonzola you can substitute another blue cheese or goat cheese curd.

I want to draw your attention that each ingredient is very important, and in soup, and serve. For example, if you roast pumpkin seeds or use Parmesan and Gorgonzola, and other such cheeses, the taste will be less interesting. Of course be delicious, but not so elegant;)

Salad with beets, curd cheese and pesto

This is one of my favorite salads with beets. It can be supplemented with lettuce (like corn), cheeses to use on your taste, throw on top, not cedar, and walnut. Most importantly – it’s delicious to roast the root and make bomber pesto!

This is the recipe I like best (1 serving):

1. Bake beets 100-150g (how to do it, wrote here).

2. Beets peel and cut into large cubes, not melchite, this is important. Top crumble 20-30g goat cheese curd or any other curd cheese, chaotic spread 2-3 tbsp of pesto (recipe here), drizzle with balsamic cream and slicer astrogate 5-7 slices of Parmesan and top with a handful of roasted pine nuts. Ready.

It is very tasty!

Classic pesto with spinach

The spinach I put in for a beautiful color and just because I love him. It does not affect the taste can be a little it softens and makes tender.

Ingredients:

Leaves 1 large bunch of Basil (about 50g),

A handful of spinach (optional)

2-3 cloves garlic,

4 tbsp (50g) pine nuts (pine nuts you can substitute walnuts or any other, try to make different),

50 g. Parmesan/Pecorino (you can substitute 2-3 tbsp nutritional yeast is inactive),

50-100 ml of unrefined olive oil (50ml – at least, the more butter, the tastier of course, you can add it gradually to your taste),

3-4 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp Apple cider/wine vinegar,

Salt/pepper/Cayenne chili pepper to taste.

If you don’t eat cheese, simply replace it with 1 tbsp of nuts or 2-3 tbsp nutritional yeast (not to be confused with baking), the vinegar is replaced with lemon juice. In pesto, you can also add arugula, Kale, parsley and even the young tops of carrots/radishes. The amount of oil also vary according to what the sauce consistency you like.

How to do it.

All wash, pine nuts, too, to rinse, just dry with a paper towel.

Ideally, grind all the ingredients in a mortar or at least to scroll a meat grinder, but a blender will also work, although the texture turns out overly smooth, not authentic.

The sauce tastes better on the second day when the ingredients thoroughly together. I keep it 5-7 days in a glass sealed jar in the refrigerator.

Pesto transforms a huge number of dishes: pasta, various sandwiches (recipe 1, recipe 2, recipe 3, recipe 4), salads (recipe 1, recipe 2).

Closed scrambled eggs with mushrooms and cheese

This dish surprises everyone! Fragrant melted cheese, sweet filling in a frame of fried eggs – just incredibly tasty stuff.

The filling can generally do any to your taste, here’s the best part in cooking technology;) this is Probably my favorite kind of submission of the eggs, well, after poached, of course))

The recipe is for 2 servings.

1. 1 medium onion minced and passerbys oil for frying (in this case better the butter ghee) on medium heat. It is important to bring the bow to the point that he started to get caramelized and became sweet.

2. 200-250g of mushrooms/Portobello washed and cut into plates. At the end of frying onions increase the heat and add 1-2 crushed garlic cloves, season with salt and pepper. Fry for 30sec to a strong garlic smell, then put the mushrooms and the leaves of 1 stem of thyme/any herbs that you love. Cook stirring occasionally until Golden mushrooms, place in a bowl.

3. Wash 3 eggs and with a fork lightly stir the eggs in the bowl. I fry egg pancake in the same pan as the stuffing, pre-wiping it with a paper towel. You can take the other pan. Grease it with a drop of oil, pour the eggs and distribute them across the surface of the pan, like we always do with pancakes. Immediately spread the filling on one half “pancake” slightly receded from the edges and sprinkle with grated cheese (about a handful).

I like to use a mixture of Parmesan and Gruyere, or blue cheese with some neutral.

Once the egg clutch from the bottom, you hook the big blade free edge and close them stuffing. It turns out the envelope. Fry for two minutes, turn over, fry for another 1-2 minutes. It’s all finished.

4. Straight from the pan, chop the eggs with a spatula into two parts, spread on a plate. Serve, sprinkled with Parmesan cheese, sprinkled with truffle oil and optional balsamic cream.

Bon appetit!

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;)

Umami tomato-anchovy appetizer

I put together this dish the most delicious, just a storehouse of the minds;)

Ingredients (for 1 serving):

1 sweet fragrant tomato,

1-2 tbsp pesto (my pesto recipe here),

1 tbsp sliced sweet juicy red onion or shallot (optional)

3-5 anchovies, canned in oil (do NOT substitute salt such as sprat),

1 tbsp grated Parmesan, a good flavorful Italian Parmesan

Salt and pepper to taste

To serve: slice your favorite bread, olive oil, balsamic, capers, and Basil.

How to do:

1. Tomatoes wash, remove stalk, cut into rings, place on a plate and little desire to season with salt and pepper. A bit as all the other ingredients are pretty spicy, do not overdo it.

2. Randomly put on top of pesto, then leave sweet onions, lay out the anchovies (they can be divided in half or into several parts, but as whole they look more aesthetically pleasing), completes the composition with a topping of Parmesan cheese. Then sprinkle the dish with olive oil and balsamic cream. Can put a little capers and Basil leaves.

3. Serve immediately with a fried piece of delicious bread, which I recommend dipping in the formed on a plate the juices from the tomatoes mixed with olive oil and oil from the anchovies and balsamic vinegar.

This appetizer can be made in the form of bruschetta. The ingredients are all the same, only they are laid out on fried bread, and in a slightly different order: bread, then pesto, then tomatoes, onion, anchovies, Parmesan, oil and balsamic vinegar. Capers and Basil – optional.

The most delicious mushroom sauce «the best» with truffle oil, cheese and thyme

This sauce really includes all the best from: blue cheese, Parmesan, and herbs, and truffle oil.

Fragrant, words can’t describe! With him any dish sparkle with new colors. To me it is more like a duet with meat (steak, meatballs, etc.), also the sauce is suitable for pasta.

Sauce recipe around (4 servings):

1. 1-2 medium onions (I have shallots) and fry in the oil for frying (I have ghee) until Golden, add 1-2 crushed garlic cloves, wait for the aroma and throw in about 300g cut into slices mushrooms, fry the mushrooms until it will turn brown. Mushrooms are suitable in principle any, but it would be best with chanterelles, Portobello, white.

2. At this time, breaks into pieces of 30-50g blue cheese and grate about 3st.l. the Parmesan. If some cheese, you can substitute it with Gruyere or some other fragrant variety. My 3-4 branches of thyme (can be replaced by 1H.l. dry).

3. To the skillet with mushrooms and onions, add 300ml. milk/cream, whole cheese, thyme leaves, a pinch of nutmeg, salt/pepper to taste and optional a handful of dried mushrooms, crushed into dust. I grind them in my hands.

Dried mushrooms is not at all, and you can do without this ingredient, but the sauce is different, so concentrated and very aromatic. Cook the sauce until cheese melt and thick (about 3-5 minutes).

4. Remove the sauce from heat, cool a few minutes, then add 3-4 tbsp of olive oil with truffle aroma and urgently apply!

Optional sauce can be punched in bleder (see photo below), but I like to leave it in its original form.

P. S. the Recipe for meatballs already wrote, or rather two recipes. One in the Italian style with tomato sauce, the other about my perfect Swedish meatballs.

Spinach and green buckwheat pancakes

The theme pancakes limitless, of course!

These spinach you can do vegetarian, gluten-free and what you want.

It is only important to observe the proportions and the ingredients you choose to your taste:

1. Make the dough.

250ml milk (cow or vegetable with a neutral taste)/yogurt/yogurt,
1 egg (you can substitute 1 tbsp ground Flaxseed or Chia seed + 3 tbsp hot water)
150g (about 1 Cup) of your favorite flour or a mixture of different varieties (even more interesting),
40-60g of fresh spinach,
salt/spices/sweetness to taste.

In this case, I have a pancake 100g of yoghurt, 50g of milk, 1 egg, green 50g buckwheat, 50g. tsz rye flour, 50g. tsz spelt flour, 60g spinach, a pinch of salt, mix peppers, a little Parmesan for flavor and a little garlic.

If you want to make this recipe large thin pancakes, then increase all the ingredients by half, except the flour (it will need 150-200g), plus add 1-2 tbsp of vegetable oil.

All beat in a blender until smooth. Ideally, let stand the dough for about 15 minutes, but not necessarily.

2. Bake until Golden on a medium heat for a good pancake pan, then this can be done without oil.

3. Feed. These pancakes are combined with a record number of fillings and toppings. My favorite options: smoked salmon + poached egg + cream cheese/feta + avocado, Greek yoghurt with garlic and dill or tzatziki.

Important. For this recipe you can make delicious waffles in a waffle iron if you have it;) it Turns easier and faster!