Andra

Crispy Bread Sticks

Crispy Bread Sticks

Leave a Comment / Bread & Co, Recipes, Snacks /

These crispy snacks were one of my childhood’s favorite. You see, I am more of a savory food kind of girl. My mother used to bake a big batch and just have it around. It was perfect to have a to go snack on our way outside to play.

I did not like cumin before, I guess kids usually don’t like strong flavors, but I do now, I think the sticks and cumin are a pretty good match. But as a child and teen, I would also bake these by myself and I would experiment with adding some paprika into it, or oregano. I wanted to get rid of the cumin…They were delicious. So feel free to experiment too.

The cheese from the dough is optional, you can definitely go without it, but I think for my taste it is a good addition. Also instead of butter, you can use lard, they will melt in your mouth. If you make these changes, adjust the quantity of milk and flour, so that it results in a firm dough.

During the resting time of the dough, it will not really rise. But it will afterwards in the oven. So if you are in a hurry, I guess you can skip the resting part. Although, I recommend at least 20 min, for the gluten to relax and ease the extending of the dough.

You can serve them as they are, or they can be a very handy snack option for a party or movie night, along with some dips. You can check this Feta Cheese Dip recipe I wrote. It can be done quickly and also made in advance.

Crispy Bread Sticks

Crispy Bread Sticks

These bread sticks are so delicious, easy to do and they last a very long time. So if you plan a party, be sure to bake them a few days before and not stress in the last moment. You can adapt them to your taste and add the spices of your choice.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time 3 hours
Course Snack
Servings 8

Ingredients
  

Dough:

  • 500 g flour
  • 7 g dry yeast
  • 250 g butter
  • 200 g cheese optional
  • 140 g milk

Topping:

  • 1 egg
  • 70 g cheese
  • cumin seeds
  • sesame seeds

Instructions
 

  • Crumble the cheese for the dough.
  • Mix flour with yeast.
  • Add butter, cheese and milk to form a fairly stiff dough.
  • Knead for 1 minute.
  • Rest covered for 90 min.
  • After resting, preheat oven to 180°C. Beat one egg.
  • With a rolling pin extend half of the dough to 0,5 cm thick rectangular sheet.
  • Brush the dough with egg wash.
  • Sprinkle cumin or sesame seeds. Cut sticks with a pizza cutter or knife.
  • Transfer the sticks on a baking tray covered with parchment paper or silicon mat. Bake 20 min or until golden.
  • The other half of the dough can alternatively be spread with grated cheese.
  • Optional you can twist the sticks a few times on their length.
  • Can be eaten warm (softer) or cold (crispier). Can be stored in a dry container for a few weeks.

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Keyword bread, cheese, savory

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Feta Cheese dip

Feta Cheese Dip

Leave a Comment / Recipes, Snacks /

This cheese dip can be easily prepared for a quick snack or for parties. You can put it together in advance, or doing it in a moment. It only takes 5 minutes to make. You can vary its flavor by changing the spices and herbs that you add.

I spontaneously created this dip, because my mother sent me a bunch of Feta style cheese, and one needs to get creative. I used what I had on hand, you can of course adapt it to your taste and the state of your fridge/pantry.

Main ingredients are cheese and yogurt, but you can also replace the yogurt with sour cream. If you don’t have Feta, you could probably replace it with some dry cheese like Pecorino. But I think Feta cheese adds in a little bit of sourness too, which I like.

CrispyBreadSticks

Feta Cheese Dip

This simple recipe of a cheese dip can be quickly prepared ahead for a party or a movie night. You can dip in bread sticks, nachos, vegetables…
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Prep Time 5 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes
Course Snack
Servings 4

Ingredients
  

  • 50 g Feta cheese
  • 100 g yogurt

Optional:

  • oregano
  • scallion
  • black pepper
  • dried tomatoes

Instructions
 

  • Crumble the cheese with the help of a fork.
  • Add the yogurt and mix well. This is the base. Add the spices or herbs of your choice.
  • I added additionally, oregano, chopped scallion, black pepper and dried tomatoes in oil.
  • Serve with veggie sticks, nachos or bread sticks. You can even use it as a spread.

Video

Keyword cheese, dip, feta

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Banana bread

Banana Bread | Banana Bundt Cake

Leave a Comment / Recipes, Sweet Stuff /

This one of my favorite cakes ever, moist and unctuous, but also a little crunchy from the chocolate, pleasantly flavored from the bananas and not too sweet.

For me adding the chocolate is a must and I don’t advise you to skip it, unless you hate chocolate. I don’t eat very often cakes, and I don’t usually like them, but I simply love this one. And I made the recipe not too sweet, but you can add more sugar if you feel like.

Also, I use light brown sugar, so it is even less sweeter, but I think it is enough, the bananas will also give it some sweetness. Vanilla is another ingredient that combine so well with the banana and the chocolate.

I recommend to eat the cake only the next day, it gets better with time. You will probably cannot help yourself and you will cut it while it is warm. I also do that, but it really is worth the wait.

You can bake it in a Bundt cake form, or a classic bread tin, or even flat in a rectangular pan, whatever you have in your home. It will still taste delicious.

But enough rambling, bellow is the recipe.

Banana bread

Banana Bread | Banana Bundt Cake

A very moist and flavorful banana bread, with the addition of chocolate for a bit of crunchiness.
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Ingredients
  

  • 380 g flour
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 250 g butter room temperature
  • 220 g sugar I used light brown sugar
  • vanilla
  • 2 large eggs or 3 small
  • 4 big or 5 small very ripe bananas
  • 200 g sour cream or Greek yogurt
  • 200 g chocolate

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven at 180 °C.
  • Butter the pan of your choice (Bundt, bread pan, rectangular pan), and dust with flour.
  • Mix the flour with salt, baking soda and baking powder.
  • On a plate, smash the bananas with a fork,
  • Chop the chocolate.
  • Separately, using a whisk or a hand mixer, beat the butter with the sugar and vanilla.
  • After it gets fluffier and creamier, add one egg at a time.
  • Add the banana.
  • Using a spatula, and folding motion, add alternately the flour mixture and the sour cream/yogurt.
  • Mix fast and only until the flour is almost incorporated. Do not overmix, the texture of the cake will be too dense.
  • Add the chocolate and fold a few times.
  • Pour the batter into the baking pan of your choice and bake around an hour.
  • The cake is done when a toothpick or knife inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.
  • Cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then flip it on a cooling rack and cool completely.
  • It tastes better the second day if you feel you can wait for it.

Video

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Bread in the oven

Traditional bread from Transilvania

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I want to share with you some photos that I took a few years ago. This is how my grandmother used to make bread, and my aunts replicated it some years ago on a smaller scale. Now there were maybe just 10 smaller breads made, and not 20 big ones, as my grandma used to bake.

Back when I was a child, my grandmother, in the evening, prepared the dough in a big elongated wooden recipient. She would mix the flour from her own cultivated wheat with sourdough, brewer’s yeast, water and salt. And she would let it ferment overnight.

At 4 AM she would wake up to burn the brick oven with wood for some hours, until the oven interior would turn white from the ash. Then she would wipe it clean in preparation for the breads.

She would form up the bread loaves and lay them on a big wooden board close to the oven. It required skill and quickness. The dough was not proved in bannetons like in the modern days, so it was pretty slippery.

Bread forming

Then she would quickly transfer the dough into the hot oven with the help of a wood peel (like the ones used for pizza). That was really difficult. because the dough was sticky. She would bake the bread for some hours and then they will turn out like this.

Bread in the oven

Yes, it is burned, but don’t panic, this is how it is supposed to be. So all the loaves are taken out of the oven to get to the next step. They are still very very hot, and it is a skill to know how to scoop them out with the peel.

bread peel in action

The last step is the “beating” of the bread. It sounds strange, but we would all participate in this activity. You would get a thick stick, and start smacking the bread, so that the burnt crust would removed from the bread. We would do it where the chicken did their roaming, and they would go crazy eating these bread rests.

Removal of burnt skin

In the picture above, you can see this bread has a “malformation”, some dough escaped from it’s roundness and started forming its own bread crust. As kids we would love these things and we would fight for them. We all had a desire of eating just the skin of the bread. If only the bread was made only of these “malformations”…

The magic of this bread, is that is used to hold for two weeks, until another batch of bread was prepared. And people used to get inventive the last days of a batch, because it got a little harder. So you would use it to dip into a soup, or toast it and scrub garlic on it. And then some lard and salt on top, and it was the most delicious breakfast. And if it was summer and the tomatoes were ripe, you would add some tomatoes to the bread magic and you were good to go.

After the bread was baked, the oven would still be warm, and other specialties were baked afterwards. But that will come in another recipe and I am looking forward to be sharing it with you.

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Sourdough bread with yogurt

No Knead Sourdough Bread With Yogurt | Easy Bread Recipe

4 Comments / Bread & Co, Recipes /

The magic world of sourdough is extensive, you can make so many variations of ingredients and tastes. You can also vary the type of yeast that will make your dough rise, by changing the type of flour, or changing your location, country, continent.

You will not have a consistent result compared to the commercial yeast, but you will gain in complexity of flavor and texture, and in excitement to see how your bread will surprise you. You will watch through the oven door like a child excited to see the wonders of baking.

You will then suffer because it smells so good and you know you have to let the bread cool off before cutting it. And sometimes you will cave in, because you see and feel and smell the crust and you imagine how wonderfully chewy it will be, and what a perfect carrier it will be for the salted butter you will spread on top.

Old times

For me the smell of bread gets me to childhood era. My grandmother used to bake bread in her village, in her wood fired stone oven. She would prepare the dough the night before and she would wake at 4 AM to start the process. By 9 when we, the kids, would wake up, the bread was taken out of the oven. So there was everywhere the smell of bread that would just make you happy.

I remember she was also using sourdough, and additionally brewer’s yeast. And before forming the bread she would save some dough in a jar, for the next batch of bread, in two weeks. She would bake around 20 huge bread loaves, to last for 2 weeks for the big family. And the magic of sourdough bread is that it lasts a long time. Yes, it will not be fresh in the end, but you can toast it, or eat it with soup.

Modern times

The good news is, one does not need a wood fired oven now. I have excellent result with a mediocre oven and with a good Dutch oven that will simulate baking with a professional steam oven for a good oven spring. I dare say, my bread is even better than my grandmother used to bake. It is fluffier and more complex in flavor. And I can experiment with lots of additions inside it.

This recipe adds yogurt, but I also baked breads with potatoes, the liquid of lacto-fermented pickles, buttermilk, quark and other experiments. And they turned out great and unique in their way.

Sourdough bread with yogurt

No Knead Sourdough Bread With Yogurt | Easy Bread Recipe

Easy no knead sourdough bread that will make you reconsider buying bread ever again.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Resting Time 14 minutes

Equipment

  • Dutch oven or cast iron pot

Ingredients
  

Levain:

  • 30 g active sourdough starter
  • 100 g room temperature filtered water
  • 100 g all purpose flour

Dough:

  • levain made the night before
  • 700 g all purpose flour
  • 80 g natural yogurt
  • 16 g salt
  • 390 g water filtered, warm(not hot)

Instructions
 

  • The night before baking, feed the starter with the water and flour to make the levain.
  • Leave covered at room temperature, at least 18°C.
  • Next morning, in a bowl, add the flour, the levain made the night before, the yogurt and the salt.
  • Add warm water (~36°C), not all at once. You might need more or less water than the one in the recipe. The dough has to just barely come together, but no flour left dry. You can mix it with a wooden spoon or your hands.
  • Cover and leave in a warm place.
  • It will need at least 2 stretch and folds: after 1/2h and after 2h 30min. I did 3, with an additional one after an hour.
  • Fold by grabbing the dough from the outside, stretch the dough a little and then fold it on top. Turn the bowl 90° and continue folding about 8 times in total.
  • The total rising time will vary based on your room temperature. mine took 4h30min at 18°C. In summer it rises faster. It should have risen at least 50%, but not doubled.
  • Prepare a parchment paper that will fit inside your Dutch oven(cast iron pot), and heat the pot with the lid on, without the paper inside, in the oven at 220°C. I use 250° because my oven is very weak. My Dutch oven has a diameter of 28 cm, 26cm would also be fine.
  • Meanwhile dust with flour a banneton, or a bowl with a kitchen towel inside.
  • Flour the work surface and turn the dough on it.
  • Fold from the exterior to the center and press a little in the center. Do this 8 times turning 90°.
  • Then pick up gently the ball of dough and put it seam side up into the banneton.
  • Cover with a kitchen towel and leave to rise 45 min.
  • Check if the dough is ready by pocking with a finger. If the dimple rises slowly, it is done.
  • Get the Dutch oven out.
  • Turn your dough, seam side down, onto the paper that lies on top of a big cutting board.
  • Score the bread with a razor or sharp knife (e.g. a cross, or square) with quick and decisive movements. The slits will allow the bread to rise without breaking the crust.
  • Take the lid off from the pot with the help of oven mittens.
  • Transfer the parchment paper with the dough inside the pot, cover and return to oven for 30 min.
  • After 30 min remove the lid and continue to bake for 15 min.
  • Remove from the oven and cool on a cooling rack.
  • Let the bread cool completely, it is still cooking while it rests.

Video

Keyword bread, sourdough

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Vegetable curry

Vegetable Curry

Leave a Comment / One pot, Recipes /

This recipe is a life saver in our home. I cook it often, when I have few of many vegetables left and don’t know what dish to make. And it usually solves the issue of having too little of one vegetable to make it as a main dish and not wanting to throw it away. I avoid as much throwing food away, I think it is a shame and we should do our best to use up everything we have.

The ingredients can be quite simple, but I do recommend having some staples in the pantry, like: rice, onions, garlic, ginger, potatoes, some sort of cabbage, cans of coconut milk, oil, dried or canned mushrooms, carrots and some spices, normal or exotic.

I made my on spice blend with what I have, but you can use a premade curry mix if you wish. If not, main ingredients would be fennel seeds or cumin seeds, cinnamon, turmeric (curcuma), maybe lemongrass, black pepper.

Vegetable curry

Vegetable Curry

Easy to cook vegetable curry with ingredients from your fridge and pantry. It is perfect to warm you up on a cold winter day.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine Indian
Servings 4

Ingredients
  

  • 3 medium potatoes
  • 2 onions
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1/4 Nappa cabbage
  • 150 g fresh okra
  • 300 g kale
  • 150 g mushrooms e.g shiitake
  • 1 tbsp tomato paste
  • 1 can coconut milk
  • 1 can water
  • 1 tsp Gokhujang korean chili paste – optional
  • salt to taste
  • juice of half a lemon

Spices:

  • 2 lime leaves
  • 1 tsp fennel seeds
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric curcuma
  • pinch of dried lemongrass optional
  • pinch of Tom Yum optional

Instructions
 

  • Cut potatoes in medium sized pieces.
  • Chop onions and garlic.
  • Cut Napa cabbage in big chunks, bite size.
  • Chop roughly the mushrooms.
  • Place pot on a medium high heat. Add oil, onions and garlic.
  • When softened, add spices and tomato paste. Stir 30 seconds.
  • Add the can of coconut milk and the same can filled with water.
  • Add the chili paste and salt to taste.
  • Add the potatoes, mushrooms, kale.
  • Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat to a shimmer.
  • After 15 min add the okra and the Napa cabbage.
  • Cover and cook for 5 more minutes.
  • Add the juice of half a lemon, taste to see if it needs more salt.
  • Serve with a bowl of steaming rice or noodles.

Video

Keyword curry, easy, one pot, vegetables

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Kale and Feta Buckwheat Crepes

Kale and Feta Buckwheat Crepes | Gluten free Pancakes

Leave a Comment / Pantry specials, Recipes /

This is a really easy recipe and was created on the go, with ingredients I had on hand. There was some feta cheese left in the fridge, and some rests of Kale that I cooked earlier in the week.

Why buckwheat? Because I cannot digest gluten very well, and I have buckwheat at home usually. These kind of thin pancakes, made with buckwheat flour come from the French cuisine. They use them for the savory fillings. Their sweet filled crepes(pancakes) are made with normal wheat flour.

I recommend that the batter rests in the fridge at least an hour, so that the flour gets rehydrated. It might be that you have to add more liquid (milk or water), because the batter has thickened too much. The final consistency has to be runny, but would still coat the spoon nicely.

I invite you to vary the fillings and use whatever you have at home, in the fridge or pantry. You could use for example spinach, chard, mushrooms, other type of melty cheeses, maybe some leftover cooked chicken breast or turkey. Just go wild experimenting and repurpose those leftovers that no one wants to eat anymore.

Don’t be shy in trying some sweet fillings also: jams, chocolate, whipped cream and berries, cream cheese and vanilla.

You can definitely eye-ball the quantities of the ingredients, but if you want a starting base, please take a look at the recipe bellow. For any questions, leave a comment bellow. I would be happy to answer if I can.

Kale and Feta Buckwheat Crepes

Kale and feta Buckwheat Crepes | Gluten free Pancakes

Quick and easy pancakes for breakfast or dinner using leftovers from the kitchen or pantry.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Course Breakfast, Main Course
Servings 2

Ingredients
  

Batter:

  • 1 egg
  • pinch of salt
  • 150 g whole grain buckwheat flour
  • 380 g milk

Filling:

  • 150 g kale no stems
  • One big garlic or two cloves
  • 100 g feta cheese
  • 2 tbsp oil
  • pinch of salt
  • pepper

Instructions
 

  • Mix all the batter ingredients, add milk little by little.
  • Pour into a measuring cup and store in the fridge at least an hour.
  • Chop the kale.
  • Mince the garlic.
  • Fry the garlic in the oil, medium heat.
  • Add the kale.
  • Add a pinch of salt.
  • Cook on low heat for 10 min. Mix from time to time.
  • When kale is cooled, add the feta cheese, crumbled with your hands or a fork.
  • Add pepper. Mix.
  • On medium heat, drip some oil on the hot pan and add some batter while continuously move the pan in circular motions.
  • when upper part is no longer shiny, flip the pancake.
  • Put some filling in it and fold it in two. Pres gently on the half moon.
  • Flip the pancake to roast the other side.
  • Done. take it out on a plate and continue with the others.
  • If you choose to leave them empty, when you flip the pancake, do not fold them.
  • The empty pancakes you can fill with jam or chocolate spread and roll them into a tube, or fold them in 4.
  • Serve warm.

Video

Keyword crepes, easy, feta, gluten free, kale, pancakes, quick, savory

 

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Roasted lamb leg

Simple One Pot Lamb Leg Roast

Leave a Comment / One pot, Recipes /

I found the other day a lamb leg in the supermarket and decided to make something of it. It is not often that we eat lamb, and it always feels like a special occasion. Christmas is upon us, so why not a lamb leg roast?

I think for many people cooking lamb is daunting, because it is not very often that we get to experiment with it, but it shouldn’t be. It is true it has quite a strong taste, but keeping the cooking simple, allows the lamb to shine.

I chose to cook it in my 24 cm Le Creuset Dutch oven, but any pot will do. What I do recommend is, to choose a narrow one, that will make the lamb leg fit almost snug in it, so that the liquid will reach more of the meat.

Preparation

If you don’t want to stress yourself too much during cooking, I recommend you to prepare the ingredients before you start dealing with the stove. So peel and chop or slice vegetables, dry the meat with a paper towel if it is wet, get any condiments and spices at hand. Also try getting some countertop space available, just in case things get messy and you start spreading plates, spoons and other utensils. Also, kitchen towels always come in handy. 

So wash the leek by cutting it lengthwise, and chop it finely. If you choose onion, peel it and chop it fine. Wash and chop the celery stalks. wash and chop the red sweet pepper. I used this time canned roasted red pepper, because it is what I had. Peel and chop garlic. 

I add zucchini whenever I want a lot of sauce without having to thicken it with flours or starches. It is my trick to have nice low carb and gluten free gravies. You can peel it if you choose, I like to have the skin in too. So wash the zucchini and chop it fine as well.

Lamb pot ingredients

Cooking

We will first start with the meat, which is patted dry. Heat the pot with the oil on medium high heat and sear the meat a few minutes on every side, until the meat gets a golden hue. Then add to the pot the leek/onion or both, and the garlic, with a pinch of salt to soften it all and with the wooden spoon push it under the meat, so that it gets in contact with the oil. 

After it softens and releases some flavor it is time to add the wine and wait for a few minutes for the alcohol to evaporate. Now it is time to add in the rest of the ingredients and bring it to a boil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. After it boils vigorously, put the lid on, lower the heat to minimum, and simmer it softly for about 3 hours. Flip the meat every half an hour or so, to allow it to cook evenly and not dry. 

Simmering lamb inside Dutch oven

The gravy

When the lamb leg is done, and the meat has shrinked on the bone, take it out on a plate. Fish out any herbs that remained in one piece.  For making the gravy creamy you just need to blend it, using a hand held mixer, a blender, or a food processor. No flour needed to thicken it, the veggies did their business. 

I usually like the gravy more than the meat itself. Just imagine a thick loaf of sourdough bread to dunk in this creamy and savory sauce. But you can of course also accompany it with some roasted potatoes and salad, or even some homemade pickles. If you want to keep it low carb, maybe consider accompanying it with some sautéed kale, broccoli or spinach. Either way, it is absolutely delicious. And apart from the prep time and the initial roasting, it is not a lot to do, and not too many dishes to wash afterwards.

I hope you try it out and let me know if you like it. 

Roasted lamb leg

One Pot Lamb Leg Roast

Easy lamb leg roast recipe using just one Dutch oven pot.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 3 hours
Total Time 3 hours 15 minutes
Course Main Course
Servings 4

Ingredients
  

  • 1,5 kg lamb leg with the bone on
  • 150 g leeks or onions
  • 150 g celery 2 stalks
  • 230 g zucchini 1 medium
  • 80 g red peeper 1 small
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 3 tbsp oil of your choice
  • 100 ml white wine
  • 150 ml stock or water
  • to taste salt, pepper, thyme, sage, rosemary

Instructions
 

  • Wash/peel, chop finely all the vegetables.
  • Pat dry the lamb leg.
  • In the heated pot, on medium high heat, add the oil and roast the lamb leg on all sides until golden.
  • Add the leek/onion, garlic and some salt into the pot, around the meat, and fry them a little.
  • Add the wine and cook it for a few minutes so that the alcohol evaporates.
  • Add the rest of the ingredients, bring it to a boil, put the lid on, and simmer for 3 hours. Turn the meat inside the sauce every 30 min or so.
  • When the meat starts to pull off the bone, remove it on a plate, and make the gravy by blending it with a hand held blender, inside a blender jug, or in a food processor.
  • Slice the lamb as thin or thick as you like, pour generously some gravy and serve with veggies, rice, potatoes, salad or pickles. I recommend some toasted slices of sourdough bread also.

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