Chicken liver pâté

       

Ingredients:

- 400g chicken liver;

- 1 large carrot;

- 3 medium onions;

- 150g butter;

- 150 ml milk;

- one sprig fresh thyme;

- 2 dry bay leaves;

- a pinch of nutmeg;

- salt and pepper by taste.

* to prevent oxidation, I put a thin layer of gelatin or melted butter on top. 

Method:

Add the liver, roughly cut vegetables, 50g butter, thyme and bay leaves to a pot. Pour the milk on top and place on low fire. Boil for about 20-30 minutes, stirring continuously. After the liver and the vegetables are completely boiled and softened (check the carrot, it has to be soft), remove from heat, remove and discard the thyme and bay leaves and let cool.

Meanwhile, leave the remaining 100g of butter on the table, so it can get to the room temperature.

Once the liver and vegetables are cooled, pass them through the meat grinder or process them in a food processor / with a vertical mixer, until they become a smooth paste. Add some of the liquid remained in the pot, until the paste is soft (not watery). Save the liquid so you can make the paste smoother later, if needed.

Whip the remaining 100g of butter, using a hand mixer. Add the remaining liver paste, one spoon at a time, mixing continuously and in the end add the nutmeg and season with pepper and salt (if there are no restrictions). 

Place the liver pâté in jars. In this phase it will probably be pretty soft, so put the jars in the fridge and let it set for a few hours. If you want to keep it longer (for a few days or a week), add a thin layer of gelatin or melted butter on top, to prevent oxidation.

Enjoy!

 

Courgette and goat cheese clafoutis

On March 21st, famous chefs and restaurants from all around the world participated in the 3rd edition of the event "Gout de France / Good France" (more details aici), dedicated to the French cuisine. To be in line with the international events, I decided to prepare a French recipe for the kids - a courgette and goat cheese clafoutis. 

Clafoutis is a traditional dessert from the French region Limousin and it is similar to a no-crust tart, traditionally prepared with black cherries. Last year I tried a sour-cherry clafoutis and this time I found this recipe with courgettes and goat cheese, which seemed very tempting.

Ingredients:

- 2 small courgettes (or 1 large);

- 2 eggs;

- 150 ml milk;

- 40g flour;

- 150 g fresh cheese (I used goat cheese but I'm sure cow cheese works as well);

- basil, thyme, pepper and salt by taste (if no sodium restrictions);

- a little butter to grease the molds.

Method:

Turn on the oven and let it heat up to 200 degres Celsius.

Wash the courgettes and slice them (skin on). Bake the slices in a non-sticky pan (no oil) on both sides, until most of the water from the courgette evaporates. Remove from heat and place the slices in a strainer. Set aside. 

In a bowl, whisk the eggs with a fork, then add the cheese, flour and milk and mix well. Season by taste.
Prepare the molds for baking (the original recipe calls for a 20 cm round silicone mold, but I used a ceramic rectangular one and two ramekins) and grease them with butter (no need to grease if using silicone molds).

Place the courgette slices in the molds and pour the batter on top (you can also put the courgettes in the batter and then pour everything in molds - however you prefer).

Bake in the preheated oven (200 degrees Celsius), until the batter is set and the top becomes golden brown (35-45 minutes).
Enjoy!
 

Rosemary biscuits (crackers)

Ingredients:

- 2 cups flour;
- 100g butter, cold, diced;
- 1 egg;
- 2 Tbsp. fresh rosemary leaves, finely chopped (or any other aromatic plants of your choice - chives, basil, oregano, etc.);
- 2-5 Tbsp water;
- salt, by taste (optional).

Method:

Place the diced cold butter in a bowl, add the flour and mix using your fingers, until you get a sandy texture. Add the egg, rosemary and 2 Tbsp of water and knead until you get a firm dough (but not hard). If needed, add 1 to 3 more Tbsp of water, until you get the right texture. Form a ball of dough, wrap it in cling film and place it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the oven at 180 degrees Celsius.
Remove the dough from the fridge, roll it thinly and cut in the shapes of your choice. Place the biscuits in a tray lined of baking paper and bake in the preheated oven for about 10 minutes or until they become slightly golden.
They are perfect either simple, as a snack, or with some cream cheese or other creative toppings, as a party appetizer.
The dough is perfect as a crust for salty tarts (quiches).


Enjoy!

Oven baked veggie patties

Ingredients:
- 1 big courgette (zucchini);
- 2 carrots;
- 1 egg;
- 4-6 Tbsp flour or bread crumbs.

Peel and grate the vegetables, then drain them well (by either squeezing them with your hand or using a strainer or a clean cloth). Add the egg and 4 Tbsp bread-crumbs or flour and mix well. You have to get a thick mixture that can be shaped by hand. Depending on the size of the egg and veggies, you might need to add 1-2 extra Tbsp of flour or bread-crumbles. Once you get a firm enough texture, wet your hands and form the patties. Place them on a tray lined with baking paper and flatten them gently with your hand (if they are thinner they will bake faster).
Place the tray in the preheated oven (180 degrees Celsius) and bake for about 1/2h (depending on the size of the patties). Enjoy!

Chicken and capia pepper rolls

Ingredients:

- 2 boneless chicken breasts; 

- 2 capia peppers (or red bell peppers), baked, skin and seeds removed;
- 2-3 garlic cloves;

- a few sage leaves (fresh or dry);
*this recipe does not contain salt. If you don't cook for babies and you don't have restrictions, add salt by taste.

Slice every chicken breast in half, but don't cut all the way, so that you get an only thin slice from every breast. Pound one side with a meat mallet. (If you are using salt, sprinkle it on top of the slices).

Place the pepper (cut lengthwise to obtain a single slice) and roll tightly. Use a string to tie the rolls or fix them with toothpicks.

Place the rolls in a Pyrex tray (or similar), not very wide, and pour water on top to cover them about 3/4. Add (next to the meat) the garlic cloves and the sage leaves. Cover with a lid or with baking paper. Bake in the oven (200 degrees Celsius) for about 1h, until the meat is tender. Take of the lid and bake for 10 more minutes, to obtain a crust (if you want the rolls to have more crust, remove them from the sauce and bake them on baking paper for the 10 extra minutes).


The chicken rolls go perfectly with mashed potatoes or as an appetizer, with bread and cheese.

Enjoy!

Chişcă - Romanian traditional Christmas sausage (with pork and rice)

Every Christmas, although spent far away from home, gives us the opportunity to explore (in our own kitchen) some of our traditional meals that our grandparents used to prepare.
This year I am going to prepare (for the first time ever) a special kind of sausage, made of meat and rice. I tried yesterday a simple recipe (adapted to be baby friendly) and in the next days I am planning to make another version, just to see which one is closer to the taste I know from childhood (that one I will also prepare for Christmas).

Ingredients:
- 500g minced pork;
- 4-5 Tbsp short grain rice;
- one large onion;
- 3 Tbsp oil;
- 1/2 tsp ground pepper;
- 1/2 tsp sweet paprika;
- 4 bay leaves;
- 1/2 tsp coriander seeds;
- 1/2 tsp dry thyme;
- a few pepper corns;
- sausage skin (I used pork intestine, very well cleaned)
* if you are not cooking for babies, add 1tsp salt.

Method:
Finely chop the onion and place it in a pan, over medium heat, with 6 Tbsp of water and 3 Tbsp of oil. Stir continuously. Once the onion is soft add the rice (washed and drained) and 150 ml of water. Let ot boil until all the water evaporates (the rice should be partly boiled). Set aside and let cool.
Add the minced pork, ground pepper, thyme and paprika (and salt, if using) to the rice and onion mixture.
Using a sausage accesory or a funnel fill the sausage skin with the meat and rice mixture. Make tight knots at both ends of the intestine or sausage skin and form more sausages (at the preferred length).
Pierce the sausage skin a few times using a toothpick (so that they won't swell while boiling).
Place the sausages in a pot and cover them with cold water (plus 2cm above). Add the pepper corns, coriander seeds and bay leaves. Boil over low fire for 1/2h. Remove the sausages from the water and let them cool.
Before serving, fry the sausages for a few minutes in a pan (no oil) or on the grill. They go perfectly with fresh onion and polenta.
Enjoy!

Turkey roll with cauliflower filling

I bought some turkey fillets and cauliflower as I wanted to experiment a new tart (as I said before, tarts / quiches are my new passion :)))) I feel I could add almost any ingredient to a tart and I like to get creative). But I gave it some thought and I decided to take a break from the floury recipes and to make a turkey roll instead. The experiment succeeded, as proven by the empty plates :)).

Ingredients:

- 500g turkey fillets;

- 3-4 cauliflower florrets;

- 70g grated hard cheese;

- one egg.

Method:

Steam or boil the cauliflower florets until smooth then dry them with a paper towel. Place the florets in a blender then pulse a few times, until you get a grainy texture. Add the result to a strainer and press with a spoon, to eliminate as much water as possible. Place them in a bowl and add 50g grated cheese.

In a separate bowl whisk an egg, then add about 1/2 of it to the cauliflower and cheese mixture and mix well.

 Tap the turkey fillets with a paper towel until completely dry. Add a spoonful of the cauliflower filling (or more, as much as the fillet's shape and size allows so that it can be rolled).

Roll and fix the ends with toothpicks so that they will maintain the shape while baking.

Use the remaining egg to coat the rolls and sprinkle the rest of the grated cheese on top.

Bake in the preheated oven at 200 degrees Celsius, until they get a golden crust (you can increase the temperature for the last few minutes to make the crust crispier). 

Enjoy!

Three (absolutely delicious) types of quiche

The quiches were the absolute stars of the Sunday party. I made them the day night before, without having a specific idea about how they should turn out. I just got creative and used the ingredients I liked in a random way. I made three quiches: one with prosciutto, hard cheese and spring onions, one with chicken fillet, hard cheese and red bell pepper and one with 2 kinds of cheese, mushrooms, bell pepper and spring onion.

I made the crust after one of Jamie Oliver's recipes (the original here), with just three ingredients:
- 300g white flour;
- 150g unsalted butter,
- 90-120 ml cold water.

(I tripled the quantities, to get 3 tarts.)
Place the flour in a bowl, add the cold butter, diced and mix with your fingertips until you get a sandy mixture. Add about 100 ml cold water (add it slowly, as you might need a little bit less or a little bit more water, depending on the flour), until you get a firm dough. Form a ball,cover it with cling film and leave it in the fridge for about 30 minutes (I made 3 balls of dough, for the 3 tarts).

Meanwhile, prepare the toppings. You can choose virtually any combination of meat, cheese, vegetables. I used 3 combinations and the quantities I used were inspired by another one of Jamie Oliver's recipes (the original here).

Prosciutto and hard cheese quiche


Ingredients:
- 200g prosciutto;
- 200g hard (yellow) cow cheese, grated;
- 2 spring onions, finely sliced;
- 2 whole eggs;
- 2 egg yolks;
- 250 ml cow's milk;
- 250 ml sour cream;
- a pinch of nutmeg.

Method: Take the dough out of the fridge and roll it out on a flat surface (little floured) until you get a shape and a size similar to the tart tin. Place it over the tin (lightly buttered) and press with the fingers to make sure it covers the whole surface and the sides. Cut the excess dough that hangs out from the tin, using a sharp knife. Place the tin back in the fridge for 30-40 minutes.

Remove the tart tin from the fridge, pierce it a few times with a fork (so that it wouldn't form air bubbles underneath) and place in the oven. Bake at 190 Celsius until the dough becomes golden (about 20 minutes).
Remove from the oven, let cool for a few minutes and add the toppings - prosciutto, grated cheese and spring onions.
Mix well  the eggs, egg yolks, cream, milk and nutmeg and pour the resulting liquid carefully over the tart. Place back in the oven for 30-40 more minutes or until the top becomes golden brown.
Once completely baked, remove the tart from the oven and let it cool in the tin. When it's cooled you can remove it from the tin and place it on a platter.


Quiche with chicken breast, hard cheese and red bell pepper  

Ingredients:
- 200g chicken breast / chicken fillet, roasted or boiled;
- 200g hard (yellow) cow cheese, grated;
- half of a red bell pepper, finely chopped;
- 2 eggs;
- 2 egg yolks;
- 250 ml cow's milk;
- 250 ml sour cream;
- a pinch of nutmeg.

Method: Remove a ball of dough from the fridge, roll it out on a flat surface (little floured) until you get a shape and a size similar to the tart tin. Place it over the tin (lightly buttered) and press with the fingers to make sure it covers the whole surface and the sides. Cut the excess dough that hangs out from the tin, using a sharp knife. Place the tin back in the fridge for 30-40 minutes.

Remove the tart tin from the fridge, pierce it a few times with a fork (so that it wouldn't form air bubbles underneath) and place in the oven. Bake at 190 Celsius until the dough becomes golden (about 20 minutes).
Remove from the oven, let cool for a few minutes and add the toppings - chicken, grated cheese and bell pepper pieces.
Mix well  the eggs, egg yolks, cream, milk and nutmeg and pour the resulting liquid carefully over the tart. Place back in the oven for 30-40 more minutes or until the top becomes golden brown.
Once completely baked, remove the tart from the oven and let it cool in the tin. When it's cooled you can remove it from the tin and place it on a platter.

Vegetarian quiche, with 2 types of cheese, mushrooms, red bell pepper and spring onions 

Ingredients:
- 200g fresh cow's cheese (or any other cheese you like);
-200g hard (yellow) cow's cheese, grated;
- 5-6 champignon mushrooms;
- 1/2 red bell pepper, finely chopped;
- 2 spring onions, finely sliced.
- 2 eggs;
- 2 egg yolks;
- 250 ml cow's milk;
- 250 ml sour cream;
- a pinch of nutmeg.

Method: Take the dough out of the fridge and roll it out on a flat surface (little floured) until you get a shape and a size similar to the tart tin. Place it over the tin (lightly buttered) and press with the fingers to make sure it covers the whole surface and the sides. Cut the excess dough that hangs out from the tin, using a sharp knife. Place the tin back in the fridge for 30-40 minutes.

Remove the tart tin from the fridge, pierce it a few times with a fork (so that it wouldn't form air bubbles underneath) and place in the oven. Bake at 190 Celsius until the dough becomes golden (about 20 minutes).
Remove from the oven, let cool for a few minutes and add the toppings - the twi kinds of cheese and the vegetables.
Mix well  the eggs, egg yolks, cream, milk and nutmeg and pour the resulting liquid carefully over the tart. Place back in the oven for 30-40 more minutes or until the top becomes golden brown.
Once completely baked, remove the tart from the oven and let it cool in the tin. When it's cooled you can remove it from the tin and place it on a platter.


Enjoy!


Photo credits: Tamara Boskovic Dereta (facebook  / instagram)

Oven baked meatballs (basic recipe)

Trying to make oven baked meatballs (baby friendly) taste like fried ones was a "trial and error" kind of process. In the end, I found the perfect recipe to make tasty meatballs, juicy and with a slightly crispy crust. This is the "basic" recipe, though, so be creative and add any ingredients you like: vegetables, greens, ground nuts or seeds.

For this recipe I used:
- 700g ground beef;
- one egg;
- one onion;
- 2 garlic cloves;
- 2 Tbsp bread crumbs + some extra, for the crust;
- a few sprigs of fresh thyme.

Finely chop the onion and garlic, add the meat, egg and bread crumbs and mix well. Leave in the fridge for 12 h. Wet your hands and form the mixture into meatballs, rolling every one of them into breadcrumbs to coat. Place the meatballs in a tray lined with baking paper and bake in the preheated oven, at 210-220 C until they are browned.

To obtain meatballs with a perfect texture, similar to those fried in oil:
- The mixture shouldn't be soft, you should be able to shape spherical meatballs that won't lose their shape in the tray;
- If you don't have bread crumbs, you can use a slice of bread soaked in water (and drained) or a grated raw potato (drained);
- The bread crumb crust gives a crunchier note;
-  Baking at very high temperature has the role of sealing the crust so that the juices stay inside;
- If you use less than 700g of meat, you might need to add less than 1 egg; slightly beat the egg in a separate bowl and then add as much as you need; if you think the mix is too moist, add some more breadcrumbs.

Enjoy!

Roasted eggplant salad, with tomatoes and spring onion

Roasted eggplant salad is one of my favourite summer foods. This recipe, with tomatoes and spring onion has a fresher touch than the classic simple one (just with onions and oil) and it's much healthier than the one with added mayonnaise. Therefore, it can be equally enjoyed by kids and parents. P
The inspiration is from the Mediterranean recipes, both Greek and Middle Eastern cuisines have similar recipes (containing also pomegranate juice, vinegar, tahini, etc.)  

The recipe I am suggesting contains:
- 2 medium eggplants, roasted (on the grill or on the stove);
- one tomato;

- 2-3 spring onions;
- 2 garlic cloves;

- juice of half lemon;
- a handful of fresh parsley, chopped;
- 5-6 Tbsp olive oil. 

* you can also add, by taste, olives, slices of roasted peppers, pomegranate juice and seeds, one Tbsp of tahini or chilli flakes).

Roast the eggplants on the grill, peel them and let them drain.
In the meantime, chop the tomato, spring onions and parsley. Prepare a dressing by mixing the crushed garlic with the lemon juice and the olive oil.
Finely chop the drained eggplants and add all the ingredients. 

You can add salt, by taste.
Serve on hot slices of toast or flatbread. 

Enjoy!

Courgette (zucchini) patties

 

I was writing in a previous post that, having some nicely colored courgettes, I got inspired to use them in some new recipes. After I made the zucchini rolls in walnut crust (recipe here), I decided to use the leftover courgettes to make some patties - a simple and quick recipe, highly appreciated by the (very) young critics :)

I used:
- 3 courgettes;
- 1 egg;
- 4 Tbsp bread crumbles;
- 1 tsp flax seeds;
- 2-3 sprigs thyme.

As I had very little time, I kept the recipe as simple as possible, but you can get creative and add any kind of vegetables, green leaves, seeds.

I peeled and grated the courgettes and drained them very well. I added the egg, the flax seeds and the bread crumbles (you can vary the quantity of bread crumbles, so that in the end you would be able to shape the patties). Set aside and let rest for 5 mins.
Form the patties and put them on a tray lined with baking paper and add the thyme sprigs. Some of the patties I left simple, while I covered some with bread crumbs. The latter had, in the end, a crunchier note.


Bake in the pre-heated oven, at 200C, for 20 minutes.
Enjoy!