Unfussy Peach Biscuit Crostata

Unfussy Peach Biscuit Crostata

INGREDIENTS:
for the crostata:

• 6 tablespoons cold butter, cut into chunks
• 2 cups flour
• 1/3 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk

for the peaches:

• about 4 peaches, cut into slices (you can leave the skin)
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1 pinch of nutmeg

for garnish:

• 1 tbsp sugar for crust
• as much powdered sugar for garnish

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 400 F and spray baking sheet or pie pan. (I like to spray the pan closer to when I put the dough into the pan.)
   
2. Wash and slice your peaches. If you’re not a fan of skin, you can peel it. It tastes pretty good with the skin! Set aside.
   
3. Blend the cold butter in a food processor with the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and spices. Pulse it a few times until the butter turns into small pea-sized lumps. Whisk the egg with the buttermilk and combine with the dry ingredients and butter. You want it to become a soft dough ball, so might need to add some more flour. I had to add almost a cup more of flour to getting to this kind of sticky ball shape.
   
4. Spread dough into a circle on the pan. (Tip: Cover your hands with flour so it doesn’t stick to your hands!) Arrange peach slices in a pretty pinwheel pattern — or whatever pattern you want! Sprinkle cinnamon, sugar, and nutmeg on peaches.
   
5. Crimp up the edges of the dough so they fold over the peaches just a bit. Brush egg wash on the edges and sprinkle sugar so it turns out nice and crispy.
   
6. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until crust is a golden brown. Garnish with powdered sugar and dig in!

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Mussels and Scallops Soup

Mussels and Scallops Soup

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 pounds fresh mussels 
• 2 cups white wine 
• 1 teaspoon shallots, chopped 
• 1 teaspoon saffron 
• 2 teaspoons chopped parsley
• 2 cups chicken broth 
• 2 teaspoons butter 
• 2 teaspoons flour
• 1 cup cream 
• 8 ounces scallops
• 1 ounce butter
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• to taste salt and white pepper

DIRECTIONS:
 
1 Wash and scrub mussels, remove beards, and discard dead open mussels.
Heat wine in a large pot. Add mussels. Cover pot and steam for about 5 minutes, or until mussels are opened.
2 Strain cooking liquid through cheese cloth. Save. Remove mussels from shells. Reserve for garnish. In a medium saucepan, add mussel broth, shallots, onion, saffron, parsley and chicken broth. Simmer for 10 minutes. Combine butter and flour to a paste.
3 Whip in the cooking liquid to thicken. Add cream and seasoning.
Saute scallops in butter and lemon juice until transparent. Cut into small cubes, and add to soup together with mussels and scallop cooking liquid.
Heat soup, and serve hot.

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Black Bean, Corn, and Avocado Salsa

Black Bean, Corn, and Avocado Salsa

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 15.5 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 cups corn - if frozen, thaw and canned, rinse.
• 2 plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped
• 1/4 cup red onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Fresh ground pepper, to taste
• 1 small avocado, diced

DIRECTIONS:

1. To prepare the dressing for the salsa, whisk together lime juice and olive oil in a small bowl.
2. In a medium bowl, combine black beans, corn, tomatoes, onion, cilantro, salt and pepper. Pour in the dressing and mix to coat.
3. Refrigerate the salsa for at least 30-40 minutes.
4. When you’re ready to serve, add the avocado; mix together.

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Paprika With Mushroom and Pasta Stuffing

Paprika With Mushroom and Pasta Stuffing

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 large paprika (250g)
• 2 large mushrooms, chopped
• 4 tbsp fine pasta
• 1/2 medium onion, chopped
• 1 slice cheese, finely chopped
• 1 slice ham, chopped
• 1 tbsp grape seed oil
• 1 pinch of salt, pepper, favorite herbs
• 1 glass apple juice

DIRECTIONS:
Cook the pasta (about 8 minutes) in salty water. Warm one teaspoon of the oil on a small pan, add the mushrooms and onion. Fry for about 5-7 minutes, stirring from time to time. Wash the paprika. Cut off the top and hollow it out. Combine the contents of the pan with pasta, cheese and ham. Season to taste. Fill the paprika with the stuffing and cover it with the cut top. Lay it on an oily ovenproof dish. Bake for 35 minutes at 180C/356F. Serve the dish with apple juice.

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Slow Cooked Lamb Moussaka

Slow Cooked Lamb Moussaka

INGREDIENTS:

• One diced onion
• 2 garlic gloves, minced/finely chopped
• Olive oil
• 400g diced lamb
• 2 x 400g cans of diced tomatoes
• 3 tablespoons tomato purée
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• Juice of half a lemon
• 2 teaspoons dried basil
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• One medium eggplant, finely sliced horizontally, into circles
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 5 tablespoons oat bran (plain flour could be substituted for a higher carb version, but aside from the health reasons, I think the grainy texture of the oat bran works well)
• 1 cup of milk
• 150g feta cheese, cubed

DIRECTIONS:
In a frying pan, fry onions and garlic in a dash of olive oil until onions are golden. Add lamb and cook whilst stirring for just a minute or two until browned. Stir in canned tomatoes, tomato purée, cinnamon, lemon juice, oregano and basil. When liquid starts to bubble, transfer to slow cooker, place sliced eggplant in a layer on top of the lamb mixture, cover and cook on low for around 2 hours.
When the time is nearly up, preheat your grill, then melt butter in a saucepan and then stir in the oat bran. Add the milk and the nutmeg, then stir in the eggs. Gently simmer whilst constantly stirring. Add more milk or oat bran as necessary to get a a medium-thick white sauce. Pour the white sauce over the the lamb/eggplant mixture then sprinkle the crumbled feta on top.
Remove pot from slow cooker and place under hot grill, until top is browned. Serve up with a salad - rocket scattered with olives would work well.

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Peanut Butter Cup S’mores Bars

Peanut Butter Cup S’mores Bars

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/4 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
• 16 peanut butter cups, regular size
• 1 1/2 cups marshmallow fluff

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line an 8×8 baking dishing with parchment paper; coat lightly with cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl of the bowl of stand mixer, beat butter and sugars until fluffy.  Beat in egg and vanilla until combined.  Scrape down the sides.  With the mixer on low, stir in the flour, baking powder, salt, and graham cracker crumbs until mixed.
3. Spread 2/3 of the dough on the bottom of the prepared baking dish.  Lightly press the peanut butter cups into the dough, then spread marshmallow fluff on top.  Press the remaining dough on a non-stick surface into the shape of an 8×8 square.  Place the square on top of the fluff and press down lightly.
4. Bake for 30 minutes or until the edges just begin to brown.  Allow to cool for at least two hours* to give the bars a chance to set, then remove from the pan and cut into squares with a large, sharp knife.

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Reincarnated Stuffed Egg

Reincarnated Stuffed Egg

INGREDIENTS:

• 5 Eggs, hard boiled
• 2 String Beans, Boiled
• 1 cup Cabbage, finely chopped, boiled & seasoned with salt
• 1/4 cup Squash, boiled
• 1/2 Onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp. Garlic chives, finely chopped
• Salt & pepper
• Nutmeg

Sauce:

• Banana catsup
• 2 tbsp. Soy sauce
• 1 tbsp. Vinegar
• 1 tsp. Sugar
• Salt & pepper
• 1/2 tsp. Oil
• Thin Garlic chives for garnish

DIRECTIONS:

Shell hard boiled eggs and slice into half, slowly separate yolk from egg whites. In a bowl, mix egg yolk together with squash, onions and garlic chives. Season with salt and pepper to taste, pinch of nutmeg and small amount of oil. Mix until ingredients are well blended. In a plate, form a nest using finely chopped cabbage, string beans cut into 2-inch length and place two pieces on top of the nest- String beans serve as branches. Stuff mixture back to it’s egg whites gently to avoid breakage of egg whites due to it’s tenderness. Place two eggs on top of the nest.
Mix all sauce ingredients and drizzle on top of the egg. Garnish with garlic chives, string or chopped. Perfect with rice.

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