Autumn is best time for apples and I’m not sure if I’ve ever told you that apple is an all-time favorite fruit of mine. The best way to enjoy an apple is in its raw state, according to my opinion. Every morning I get up, an apple is the first thing I’d bite into – and I do this 365 days per year, literally. I grew up surrounded with belief that “an apple in the morning feels like “gold” for your stomach and an apple in the evening feels like a stone”. I like it sliced up and “seasoned” with some lemon juice, a dash of cinnamon and with a cup of soothing green tea on the side – if that isn’t a great way to start a day! (Of course, that’s not all I’d eat in the morning; it’s merely an “introduction” to my breakfast!)

OK, now that I’ve proclaimed my eternal loyalty to apples, I’d like to tell you about this apple pie I made a couple of days ago. This is my latest version of not-your-usual apple pie: with pastry cream filling. I’m not even sure who invented this combination; for the first time I ate it in Burgos a couple of years ago and I thought it tasted really scrumptious. That pie had a cookie-and-butter base, however here I’ve prepared a sort of sponge cake base with yogurt and grated apple. The result was, as you can imagine, a super moist and deeelicious pie!

Ingredients for a round pan (25cm):

For the pie base:
2 eggs
3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
180g full-fat plain yogurt (in our case this is equal to 3.2% fat)
3 Tbsp cane sugar
2 small apples
juice of one lemon
a dash of cinnamon
a splash of orange liqueur
also: butter for the pan and 4 small apples, peeled and thinly sliced

For the pastry cream:
1/2l whole milk
2 eggs
1 cinnamon stick
3 green cardamoms
3 cloves
3 Tbsp cane sugar
2 Tbsp flour

1. To make the pastry cream, pour 1/2l milk in a pan, add spices and slowly bring to boil. Let simmer on a very low fire for 15 minutes, then let it stand for some minutes and discard the spices.
2. Beat the two eggs, mix the flour with sugar and combine with the beaten eggs. Pour this mixture to the milk and place the pan back on the stove. Heat it slowly while stirring constantly with a whisk. The mixture will start thickening. Do not let it boil. When thick enough, your pastry cream is ready. If not using it right away, cover it with a cling film or aluminum foil and keep it in the fridge for a few days.
3. To make the batter, beat the eggs with sugar, add yogurt, cinnamon and orange liqueur. Peel and grate 2 small apples and mix them with lemon juice, then add to the egg mixture.
4. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour and baking powder. Combine the flour with egg-apple mixture. Pour the batter in a buttered pan and transfer to the oven (180ºC). Bake for 20-25 minutes or until almost set.
5. Take it out of the oven and cover evenly with the pastry cream (I didn’t use all of it) and decorate with thin apple slices. Place back in the oven and bake for additional 15 minutes.
6. Let the pie cool before slicing. It keeps well in the fridge (in case you’ll have leftovers), covered.

Arlanzón river runs all the way along the core of the town of Burgos

I couldn't resist taking photos of these lovely ducks

Beautiful park by the river, perfect for a Sunday stroll

Arco de Santa María is one of the most symbolic monuments of Burgos. In the main six niches there are the statues of Nuño Rasura and Laín Calvo (the judges of Castile),  the counts Diego Rodriguez Porcelos (the founder of Burgos) and Fernán González (the first independent count of Castile), El Cid (Spanish hero) and Carlos I (Holy Roman Emperor, King of Spain, Duke of Burgundy and Lord of Netherlands among others).  Above these niches there is a statue of St. Mary, city’s patron saint. For a close-up photo of this portal, check the Wikipedia page.

Arco de Santa María, the old town's portal: built in 14th and remodeled in 16th century

On the other side of the portal you are greeted by the enormous early Gothic-style cathedral, declared a World Heritage site. Richly ornamented, this cathedral was being built from 13th to 15th century, and is located in a corner, surrounded by two natural walls. Due to the multilevel terrain, which made the construction difficult, the cathedral’s exterior lies in several levels as well. In 1919 it became the burial place of El Cid and his wife Doña Jimena.

Cathedral Our lady of Burgos

On of the entrances to Cathedral

This little train can comfortably take you to the main sightseeing points in town

Burgos forms a part of Camino de Santiago, a major Christian pilgrimage route leading to Santiago de Compostela. On the photo below you can see a monument to the pilgrims. The scallop shell is a traditional symbol of Santiago (St. James) and is therefore very popular among pilgrims. These shells can be seen all over the old part of Burgos (carved into the facades of buildings as well as sold as a souvenirs in shops).

A statue of a pilgrim

Souvenir shop selling pilgrim's staves with shells of St. James

Souvenirs you are most likely to buy in Burgos include all sorts of things medieval

As the walk leads us past the cathedral into one of a many lovely pedestrian street, you will find shop by shop loaded with delicious local products: different types of legumes, vegetables, wines, liquors and cheeses. Let’s take a peep at some of them:

Local products of Burgos in a shop window display

Red beans

Wines, liquors and cheeses

A perfect present for medieval fans (I'm having hard times imagining the air transport of this particular piece though!)

Nope, this one is not a souvenir. Not sure of his purpose in the middle of medieval town, either

Bota bags, Spanish wine (or any other liquids) containers, traditionally made of leather (modern ones tend to have a latex liner though)

A restaurant in the old part of town, offering specialties of the region: lentils, lamb and suckling pig

After filling our bags with souvenirs and local products, we approach Plaza Mayor – the main square of Burgos (located east of the cathedral). This is the place of many social and political gatherings as well as meet up and starting points. I like to come to this square because of one book shop – I just adore books! These are a few images of the square:

Plaza mayor and its vivid colors - with a statue of Carlos III

Plaza mayor - town hall (the white building)

Buildings of Plaza mayor, from close

Buildings of plaza mayor - apartments

And as our walk is approaching the end, let me show you some fascinating images of the apartment buildings in pedestrian streets in the very center – I loved their vivid colors, they really made my day!

I hope you enjoyed this little walk through old part of Burgos, come visit later on for more images from our trip to Burgos and its surroundings.

From the moment I saw this recipe in a Spanish cooking magazine last week, I knew I would try to re-create it as soon as I’d get back home. Those baked apples were so cute-looking and without doubt tasty too – I made two for our dessert today and even Juanpi, not a fan of baked apples, enjoyed his portion with much delight! Enough said, let us head for the recipe. 

1. You will need 2 apples, suitable for baking (I used Topaz apples), 1 Tbsp chopped pine nuts, 1 Tbsp raisins (soaked in a bit of rum – if you like), a dash of ground cinnamon, 1 Tbsp cane sugar and 1 Tbsp butter at room temperature. For the “eyes”: 4 pine nuts and a piece of dark chocolate. In addition: pine nuts and raisins for the plate decoration.

2. Wash and dry the apples, make a horizontal cut to remove the “cap” of the apples, then remove the cores using an apple corer – if you have it – or simply a paring knife.
3. For the filling: mix together the chopped pine nuts, sugar, cinnamon, raisins and butter.

4. Make a few zig-zag cuts to the open apples, then fill the apple holes with the mix and cover with the “cap”. Transfer the apples carefully onto a buttered pan and place in the preheated oven (200ºC) for half an hour.

5. Melt the piece of chocolate and “paint” the upper part of the 4 pine nuts with it – wait for the chocolate to dry (I skipped the waiting because I was a bit short on time, but I really advice you to let them dry), then stick the “eyes” gently in each apple.
6. Place the Halloween apples on a serving plate, decorate with some apple liquid (from baking), pine nuts and raisins. Serve warm (preferably).

These Halloween apples were really, really tasty, apart from looking so lovely! The original recipe uses almonds but I opted for pine nuts that I brought from Spain. Mmmm, what a treat!

Yes, you guessed right… to Spain. We just came back, and I feel I will need some time to adapt to life here again…
Anyway, we’ve had some great time and despite the changeable weather we managed to make some short trips in the neighbor regions, and most of all – we indulged in a lot of good, hearty food.

The trip started for us in Venice, Italy, from where we took a direct plane to Madrid. Traveling by plane is becoming more and more unpleasant (says a former plane fanatic, mind you). I have a piece of advice for all of you gals, who intend to board a plane wearing boots: just don’t. Put on other shoes. My poor boots underwent 3(!) in-depth analysis – meanwhile I had to be there standing barefoot waiting for the confirmation that my boots did not contain any explosive or weapon for massive destruction. All for the sake of our safety, without doubt.

On the road from Madrid towards Burgos

Upon our arrival to Madrid, the weather was simply gorgeous (which I can unfortunately not say for the rest of our vacation), clear skies and warm sun. Nevertheless, in the next days of our staying I was feeling very happy to walk around with boots. The cold weather of Castilla y León or better said, of the northern part of Spain, is an unpredictable thing. I come from an Alpine country and yet it seems I had no idea what cold is – until spending some time in Spain. Now, every time I go to Burgos, I bring my warmest clothes. Lesson learned!

Terra rossa, red Mediterranean soil

I’ve written about Burgos before, it’s the hometown of my dear Juanpi. It’s located in the north-east of Castilla y León, in the Meseta Central (”Inner Plateau”) and the proximity of the sea (cca 150km) paired with high altitude (cca 900m) produce extreme temperature ranges, low in winter (-21ºC was the lowest recorded temperature) and high in summer (with 42ºC as the highest recorded temperature). The city of Burgos (it is the capital of the province of the same name) is one of the perfect size, not too small, not too big: you can reach many places on foot or use a 100% clean public transport. I have some photos of the city for you, I will tell you more about it in the next article.

The landscape on the way to Burgos, in the background you can see a typical "flat mountain"

As always, we used the opportunity to make another small trip to my beloved region of La Rioja, the home of some of the finest wines of the world. I’ve visited an incredible wine museum and savored genuine local food in a typical restaurant of that region. I’ll tell you more about that soon, too.

There’s been a whole lot of home cooking as well, from stews to fish and of course, chorizo, famous spicy sausage adored and praised in Spain and beyond its borders. If the Spaniards are proud of something, they are proud of their food. The incredible variety of products grown in Spain contributes to a very rich selection of dishes and I believe it’s really a pity that most of foreigners that come to visit Spain only eat paella and already think they know everything about Spanish cuisine. Not that I’m saying paella isn’t a great dish. It surely is, I personally love it and prepare it almost every Sunday. But there’s so much more than that. The Spanish inland is home to some of the best stews I’ve ever tasted, not to mention the delicious roasted leg of lamb (or kid), stuffed roasted peppers, and jamon ibérico – the pearl of Spanish cuisine. I’ve taken some photos of what we cooked and ate, for you to get an idea what I’m talking about here.

I've noticed more coniferous than deciduous trees throughout the landscape

All the photos were taken through the car window while driving… so don’t blame me about the quality!

So, that’s it for today. Come visit later on this week when I will tell you a bit more about Burgos!

The past few weeks have been all about herb processing, exaggerated grape eating and pickling foods. I’ve been spending a great deal of time in the kitchen and loading our pantry with goodies for wintertime. The autumn has come in so suddenly, from one day to another – literally. I was running around with a t-shirt on Monday, today I’m wrapped in a warm sweater!

Gone are those cucumber days – I still have one left in the fridge and it just doesn’t appeal to me anymore…! Now it’s time for red beets, cabbage and radicchio, carrots, cauliflower and all the bounty of  root vegetables! I’m really looking forward to them. Also, more stews will be regularly on the menu again, as well as those warm chicken broths I like to prepare on a chilly evening – how can one resist such hearty food!

Speaking of legumes, another staple of our cuisine, they mostly end up in stews and in salad. Throughout summer, green and yellow beans take over as protagonists, in autumn the season of (dried) bean stew (usually brown or red) gets started, not to mention lentils and garbanzos (chickpeas)! However, since discovering that brown lentils make  great cannelloni and lastly, extremely delicious patties, they’ve been on the menu even more often. I believe lentil patties create a wonderfully balanced meal, specially if paired with vegetables – in my case that would be a potato salad!

I don’t really measure the ingredients when making these patties. It’s one of those recipes you just put together without weighing. The breadcrumb quantity depends solely on the lentil’s moisture, so I recommend you add them slowly – having in mind also that while the patties will sit in the fridge, the breadcrumbs will absorb redundant moisture. The egg is an essential ingredient for the patties because it helps bind the ingredients.  They can be frozen, too, once shaped. For a healthier alternative, you can also try to oven-roast instead of frying them. Here’s the recipe:

For lentil patties:
cooked brown lentils
fresh herbs, chopped (parsley, thyme, rosemary, celery leaves…)
bread crumbs, semi-dry
egg(s)
sea salt
ground pepper
grated nutmeg
ground sweet paprika
a dash of curry mix
minced garlic (optional)
olive oil/ghee/coconut fat for frying

For potato salad:
small-sized potatoes, with skin on, washed
onion, sliced
bell pepper, sliced
(canned) sweet corn
(thawed) green peas
a bit of mayonnaise
apple vinegar
olive oil
sea salt
freshly ground pepper

1. In a bowl, mash coarsely the cooked lentils using a potato masher. Add the egg, chopped herbs , garlic (sometimes I’d also add some finely chopped onion or chives) and season with salt, pepper, nutmeg, paprika and curry. Mix well.
2. Add enough breadcrumbs to be able to form patties without them sticking to your hands. Place the patties on a plate, cover and let sit in the fridge for an hour at least.
3. Heat some fat in the frying pan and fry the patties on both sides. Serve immediately.
4. For the potato salad: boil the cleaned potatoes, drain and let cool. Then peel and slice thinly. Place them in a salad bowl and add slices of onion and bell pepper, the sweet corn and steamed green peas.
5. Prepare the vinaigrette by combining the mayo, vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper. Mix with potato salad and let sit for a while, then serve.

The mayonnaise can be omitted if desired – the salad tastes great without it as well. This is one of those dishes that can be prepared ahead, so it is very convenient for busy days.

As mentioned in my previous post, I used the other half of my pumpkin for delicious gnocchi. I don’t make gnocchi very often, not more than a couple of times per year. Although I like them, their heavy consistency puts me off somehow (I’m talking about potato gnocchi here). I’ve also tried quark cheese-based gnocchi which are put together in much less time and are healthier, too – but not as tasty as the potato ones. Yet now I can say, I had no idea what a good gnoccho was – until trying these delectable pumpkin gnocchi!

I used a mix of white spelt flour and rice flour for an even lighter consistency and I sautéed the pumpkin slices instead of steaming them. A dash of turmeric powder helped preserve the beautiful yellow-to-orange color of gnocchi, so if you have it at hand I highly recommend it.

PUMPKIN GNOCCHI
recipe adapted from Gastronomía y cía

Ingredients for 3 or 4 servings:
530g of pumpkin, washed, cored and chopped into smaller pieces
200g white spelt flour
100g rice flour + a bit more for shaping
1 large egg
80g grated cheese (I used 60g neutral cow cheese and 20g Parmesan)
freshly grated nutmeg, a generous amount of
freshly ground (black) pepper
a dash of turmeric
olive oil
a pinch or two of salted

1. Sautée the chopped pumpkin in some olive oil until soft, seasoning it with salt, nutmeg, pepper and turmeric.

2. Let cool then using a blender mix it together with an egg and grated cheese.

3. The pumpkin mix will have a pretty liquid consistency. Now start adding the flour little by little, while stirring with a wooden spoon until homogeneous.

4. Place the obtained pumpkin dough in the fridge and let rest for at least an hour. The rested dough will be easier to shape.

5. Shape the gnocchi by dividing the dough into smaller portions, rolling each one of them into a finger-thick rolls. Cut them into little pillows (or as you like) and place them on a floured board until ready to be boiled. If you think you’ll have leftovers, I recommend you freeze them at this point by gathering them on a floured wooden board which you place in the freezer until frozen – then you can transfer them into a zipper storage bag.

6. Boil the gnocchi in salty water. Once they float to the surface they are cooked.
7. I served them like this:

With meat sauce for Juanpi…

… and with pumpkin seeds, grated Parmesan and a splash of best quality pumpkin seed oil for me – the taste was unforgettable!

I loved this pumpkin challenge and I’m looking forward to preparing more such tasty dishes with some other type of squash as well!

“I have no idea what to do with it, so if you want, please take it!” said my mum to me, pointing at the orange pumpkin they were keeping in the cellar. Apparently they got it from some friends from the eastern part of the country, where pumpkins are grown massively – not only for feeding pigs but lately mainly for the production of the precious pumpkin seed oil, or bučno olje in Slovene, a delicacy to be found in Slovenia and Austria, in the region we both share (we call it Štajerska, Austrians call it Steiermark).

I was glad to take the little orange head with me – I’ve never cooked with pumpkin before and so this was a great opportunity for me to learn something new. I’ve read a ton of things people do with squashes and it’s just amazing: here in Slovenia we’ve just started discovering them and they are now far more appreciated than they used to be before, mostly for their numerous health benefits.

My pumpkin weighed 1 kilo. I decided to use half for a savory meal and a half for a dessert. I made gnocchi for the main meal and flan for the dessert. Today I will tell you about the flan. As you know, flan is a classic  Spanish egg-and-milk dessert, cooked in water bath. We both adore it. Juanpi doesn’t like it too much if I experiment with it, yet that doesn’t stop me to tweak the recipe from time to time. Last year I made sweet potato flan -which was absolutely delicious- and so I thought, that recipe could work for pumpkin flan as well.

I didn’t peel the pumpkin because there was no need for this, the skin was so thin that there was no problem to use it. Also, I watched a couple of videos of Jamie Oliver cooking with pumpkin and he says peeling it would be a big pity. Of course, there are types of squashes with hard skin that definitely need peeling.
I opted for steaming the pumpkin because I like to steam food. I could have as well boiled it, I suppose.

PUMPKIN FLAN WITH MAPLE SYRUP AND PUMPKIN SEEDS
(for 3 ramekins)

Ingredients:
500g pumpkin, washed, sliced, the core with seeds discarded
150ml cream (I used oat cream)
3 large eggs
75g blond cane sugar
a pinch of salted
1 tsp ground cinnamon
oil for ramekins
for serving: maple syrup and a handful of roasted pumpkin seeds, coarsely chopped

1. Steam the pumpkin pieces until soft – they will look translucent once cooked

2. Puree the pumpkin with a pinch of salt and set aside.

3. Beat the eggs together with sugar, add cinnamon, pumpkin puree and cream. Do not over-stir.

4. Pour the pumpkin preparation into oiled ramekins and transfer them in an oven-proof dish, filled with water. Cook in the preheated oven (150ºC) for 1 hour. Cover with aluminum foil if you notice the top browning too fast. Turn off the oven and let flan inside for additional 10-15′, then let cool at room temperature.

5. Unmould the flan by running the blade of a knife around its border, turning the ramekin upside-down on a prepared plate. Serve with good quality maple syrup and with some chopped pumpkin seeds.

I chose maple syrup as an alternative to caramel and roasted pumpkin seeds as a crunchy kick to the flan. Overall, it makes one healthy dessert and I loved how the cinnamon complemented the pumpkin flavor.

In my next post, I will tell you more about delicious pumpkin gnocchi!

]]> http://www.storiesfromemona.com/2009/10/09/cooking-with-pumpkin-flan/feed/ 1 http://www.storiesfromemona.com/2009/10/06/the-best-poppy-seed-cake/ http://www.storiesfromemona.com/2009/10/06/the-best-poppy-seed-cake/#comments Tue, 06 Oct 2009 20:50:46 +0000 Maya http://www.storiesfromemona.com/?p=509

I’ve been a fan of poppyseed since always. It doesn’t seem to me so long ago when -as a child- I would always stop when passing by a bakery, look at the window for a moment and observe all those pretty arranged buns, sprinkled with cheese, sesame and – poppy seeds, my favorite! Nowadays I don’t stop at bakeries anymore, in fact I haven’t bought bread for about 3 years already, since now I bake my own bread. I still like to sprinkle it with seeds, so much even that Juanpi started calling me a bird!

Back to poppy seeds, I have only baked poppy seed cake once before and it charmed me entirely. I could eat it every day! The best poppy seed cakes are flourless and while on the search for an “upgrade” to my old recipe, I found this one. I adapted it a little bit to my liking and the outcome was just… fantastic. The best poppy seed cake ever!

Ingredients for a round cake pan (18 or 20cm):
60g butter, softened
60g full-fat yogurt, at room temperature
120g blond cane sugar
zest of a lemon, grated
4 eggs, separated
100g almonds, ground
160g poppy seeds
a pinch of salt
5g baking powder
also: butter for the pan
confectioner’s sugar for decoration

1. Start by greasing the cake pan and/or lining it with parchment paper. Preheat the oven at 180ºC.
2. Prepare 3 bowls: mix the softened butter, yogurt, 100g sugar and lemon zest in one bowl. Add the egg yolks and mix until fluffy.
3. In the other bowl combine the ground almonds and poppy seeds.
4. In the 3rd bowl, beat the egg whites with pinch of salt, the remaining sugar and baking powder until glossy.
5. Now add one third of the egg whites to the first (butter-egg yolk) mixture, fold in (very gently) half of the almond-poppy seed mixture, then add another third of egg whites, again the remaining almond-poppy seed and finally, the last third of egg whites.
6. Pour the batter in the cake pan and bake until lightly brown (depending on your oven, it can take from 30-40′ – I had to cover the pan with aluminum foil halfway through baking). Turn the oven off and let the cake inside for another 10′, then transfer it to the cooling rack, unmould and let cool completely.
7. Dust with confectioner’s sugar and serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. A perfect slice of cake for your afternoon tea/coffee!

Talking about the cauliflower, people either love it or hate it. There’s no middle way, I think! So, if you belong to the first group, definitely read on!

I don’t have a special story about cauliflower. As a child I was encouraged to eat all vegetables and today I’m grateful for that (particularly when I see how some parents now spoil their children with fast food and sweets instead of feeding them natural food). In our house, cauliflower was on the menu mostly in form of a thick soup or simply boiled and served with breadcrumb “sauce” (which is breadcrumbs fried in some lard, usually butter or vegetable oil – this is a very common sauce in Slovenian cuisine) as a side dish.
I mean, I did eat cauliflower, not with such pleasure as I would eat ice cream, for example, but I bolted it somehow, trying to forget its yucky cooking smell. It was only recently (last year or two, to be precise) that I really began loving it. -the cauliflower, not the smell- Yet, gone are those times of cauliflower soup, now it’s time for cauliflower pasta!

This is one siiimple recipe, almost too simple to write down! The combination of carrots and green peas is already an all-time favorite of mine, and I think they merry cauliflower in a perfect way. The quantities of this recipe are approximate.

Ingredients for 2 persons:
200g pasta, your favorite shape
a few tablespoons frozen green peas
half a small cauliflower head, washed and sliced
1 carrot, cleaned and chopped
1 Tablespoon olive oil
200ml oat cream (or cream for cooking)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
a dash of grated nutmeg
salt and pepper
grated Parmesan, to serve

1. Cook (in very little (salty) water) or steam the sliced cauliflower and carrot (al dente, please), drain and keep warm.
2. Cook the pasta. In a saucepan, heat the olive oil and add minced garlic. Just stir and immediately add the cooked cauliflower and carrot.
3. Season with thyme and nutmeg and pour in the oat cream. Let simmer for a couple of minutes, finally add the green peas, salt and pepper to taste.
4. Mix with the cooked pasta and serve warm with some Parmesan.

Tip: Try adding a few drops of dry white wine to the sautéed vegetables.

It’s grape season and recently I’ve been given a huge basket of deliciously sweet grapes. So I’ve been eating them twice or three times per day ever since – yet the basket seemed as full as the day I got them! I simply had to come up with an idea of using them faster, because grapes can not be stored forever and I just hate seeing things rot – so what better way of using than turning them into grape juice!

The result was absolutely great. For starters, I made juice out of 2 kilos of grapes, just enough to drink in one day. I used 2 types of strainers to filter the juice, however the result was a bit dense -but in no case less tasty- juice. I thinned it with a little water since it felt bit heavy for my stomach. I guess if I had used a cheesecloth instead of one strainer, the juice would have been less dense. I photo-documented the procedure and here it’s how the preparation goes:

Rinse the grapes well and de-stem the berries. It took me 15 minutes to de-stem 2 kilos of grapes

Mash with a help of a potato masher but not too hard cos you don't want to end up with split seeds (they lend bitterness to the juice)

Slowly heat the mashed grapes in a large pot and let simmer for about 10 minutes. You can mash some more at this point, then remove from the stove

Filter the grapes: here I used a not-so-fine strainer for the 1st filtration

And then I strained them again using a very fine sieve. The filtration is a little messy proceedure -in my opinion, at least- so make sure you're not wearing any fine clothes and don't forget to put on an apron. Once filtered, pour the juice into the prepared jars/containers

I managed to get a good liter of juice out of 2 kilos of grapes

You got to love the color of grape juice

If you let the juice sit for a while, the sediments will have formed on the bottom of the jar/container but that's pretty normal for all the natural juices

We totally liked this juice and I can’t wait to repeat the “exercise” with the white grapes which I’ll be getting next week! 

It was one of those days when things are just not meant to go as planned. That’s not necessarily bad because eventually, things will work out somehow. In this particular case, I’ve discovered that the lentil stew ingredients can be simply used for a very delicious cannelloni dish! Oh yes, you read that right: lentil stew ingredients. I usually do make compromises regarding food, since it -honestly- pays off. I get to enjoy the meal then, and Juanpi does too – so, we’re both happy. And in case our wishes don’t meet at all (which doesn’t really happen often), I would just make 2 types of meal. It takes more time and more dishes to wash – but all for the sake of a happy meal.

Brown lentils are the kind of food that I normally try not to mess with too much – according to him, brown lentil stew is a sacred dish for a Spaniard. Amen. Surprisingly, he agreed on the idea of using them for the cannelloni dish and I was like left with my mouth open but instantly hurried into the kitchen and started preparing it. I had no clue how these cannelloni would taste, yet I believed they could have been edible. We both like cannelloni AND lentils – so what could possibly go wrong??

For the cannelloni filling, I combined lentils with chicken and some grated vegetables, I mixed in an egg which, as we know, works as a binder. Instead of a rich and heavy bechamel topping, I prepared a tomato sauce with a touch of light cooking cream which worked really well. Served with a bowl of lettuce, this meal was more than satisfying and moreover, I will be making it soon again!

Ingredients for 2:
100g cooked brown lentils
half a cooked chicken breast, deboned and finely chopped
1 egg
1 small onion, chopped
1 small carrot, grated
1 small zucchino, grated
salt and pepper to taste
a dash of each sweet paprika and grated nutmeg
a little bunch of fresh herbs (I used parsley and thyme), chopped
olive oil
2-3 tomatoes, chopped
150ml (oat) cream for cooking
basil leaves
some grated cheese (your favorite)
10-12 cooked  cannelloni (al dente)

1. To make the filling, mash the cooked lentils in a bowl. Season with salt, pepper, sweet paprika, nutmeg, chopped parsley and thyme. Add the egg, chopped onion, grated carrot, zucchino, chopped chicken and mix well. Set aside.
2. To make the tomato sauce, heat some olive oil in a pan and sauté the chopped tomatoes. Season with salt, pepper and add the cream. Cook for a few more minutes and add the basil leaves.
3. Fill the cooked cannelloni with the lentil filling and arrange them in the bottom of an oiled oven-proof dish. Top with tomato sauce, sprinkle with some grated cheese and transfer the dish into the oven. Bake until golden brown.

I could claim that this is one healthy dish. Lentils are one of those super-foods that everyone should indulge in as often as possible, and overall the dish contains very few fat – coming from olive oil and vegetable cooking cream, both naturally cholesterol free. I’m so happy to have discovered this oat-based cooking cream, it lends a pleasant, silky touch to the dish, creamy but light at the same time. It definitely makes a great alternative to dairy cream. Nevertheless, this is one pretty flexible dish – just like most of the ones I publish here, so feel free to adapt it to your liking. 

I must tell you about this dessert before the peach season is over! I first made it last summer and we totally loved it.

I usually use peaches or nectarines here, but it would surely go well with other fruit as well (think plums, apples, pears). Ricotta cheese is an all time favorite of mine and paired with fruit it absolutely rocks!

I won’t tease you anymore, here’s the recipe. 

Ingredients for 2:
2 big, beautiful peaches / nectarines
250g fresh ricotta
2 eggs
3-4 Tbsp cane sugar (or to your liking)
butter for the pan

1. Wash the peaches / nectarines and run the knife all the way around them. Twist each half in the opposite directions, that’s how you free one of the halves from the pit. Remove the pits and slice the fruit into 4 parts (you get 8 from both peaches).
2. Butter a (round or square) baking pan and arrange the peach slices in the bottom. Sprinkle with some sugar.
3. Mix the drained ricotta with the two eggs and cover the fruit with this mixture. Sprinkle some more sugar on top and bake in a preheated oven (175ºC) for 30 minutes approximately.
4. Serve warm or lukewarm.

It must have been over a decade ago since I’ve last eaten liver. When I was small, my mum would often prepare this dish. “It’s got a lot of iron, it’s good for you”, she’d usually say to me. I used to have this tendency to anemia, and  liver was some of the best foods to help me fight it. By that time, I wasn’t sooo terribly enthusiastic about eating it, yet I gulped it down somehow. I remember we’d always pair it with polenta and a bowl of green lettuce which would make the dish more palatable.

And only recently I started craving liver again, don’t really know the reason! (I just hope it doesn’t have anything to do with my iron levels, yikes!) I prepared it the way we used to eat it back home – with a little upgrade: home made tomato sauce. The latter gave the whole dish a totally new, fresh touch, it made a truly good lunch that I know I will be making soon again!

Note: after searching on Google a bit, I found out the Italians call this dish “Venetian Liver” and they also serve it with polenta.

Ingredients for 1 person:
150g veal liver, sliced thinly
1 onion or shallot, chopped
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
a bunch of parsley, chopped
olive oil
50g of (instant) polenta
250ml of water (plus a pinch of salt) or stock
home made tomato sauce

1. To make polenta, bring the salted water or stock to boil, reduce the heat and slowly pour in polenta, stirring continuously. Cook for about 8 minutes.
2. Heat a little olive oil in a shallow frying pan and sauté the chopped onion for a minute or so, then add the liver and sauté it for 5 to 7 minutes. It should not become too dry. Finally, season with salt and pepper and transfer to a plate.
3. Serve with polenta and tomato sauce, sprinkled with chopped parsley. Goes well with a bowl of lettuce or other type of salad.

Tasty and healthy for you!

]]> http://www.storiesfromemona.com/2009/09/07/veal-liver-with-polenta/feed/ 4 http://www.storiesfromemona.com/2009/09/02/roasting-corn-cobs-on-top-of-your-vitro-ceramic/ http://www.storiesfromemona.com/2009/09/02/roasting-corn-cobs-on-top-of-your-vitro-ceramic/#comments Wed, 02 Sep 2009 19:06:59 +0000 Maya http://www.storiesfromemona.com/?p=493 Why not!

If you have no other option (e.g. grill or similar), that is. I haven’t eaten corn on the cob for years. So the other day when my grandpa brought me a few of them, I momentary recalled those old times -a decade and a half ago, more or less- when I was a child and we would roast home-grown corncobs over hot embers… Such things are hard to forget! And this year, after such a long time, my grandpa has planted corn -for some reason- again. I felt excited about roasting it, and a little less excited about cleaning the vitroceramic afterwards… but O.K., I did it for the sake of good ol’ times – and here I have photo-documented the procedure of the roasting for you!

First make sure the vitro is clean from any cleansing agents! Turn on one of the rings and place two (or more) corn cobs on top of it. When you notice the smoke, I recommend you lower the heat a bit...

... or else, the corn can get burnt too much. I used 2 wooden spatulas to turn them around. Don't get scared of cracking sound while it roasts. The roasting takes like 15-20 minutes.

Better eat while still warm!

The smell of this roasted corn reminded me of autumn! It’s September already and while I don’t want summer just to leave yet, I do look very forward to hearty soups and stews, prepared on a chilly day. Not to mention all those root vegetables that will start appearing in the markets soon…

The images are from the place where I used to spend many a summer (and winter) holiday as a child. It’s where I learned to appreciate nature and admire its endless beauty.