Pecan pie & small pleasures in life

What I liked the most in the movie "Amélie" (or "Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain") was the admiration for small pleasures in life.  I have a list of quite a few of such small pleasures, that make a grey day just a bit more colorful.  The silky milk foam on a expresso-enforced latte, sprinkled with cinnamon or nutmeg.  A long bath, with aromatic bath salts, relaxing music, candles and a glass of wine.  The smell of fresh hay.  Curling up near a heater with a good book, watching it rain cats and dogs outside.  Melting chocolate au-bain-marie and making swirls with the spoon in the glossy mixture.   A cup of hot lemon & honey tea when you have a cold.  Waking through fresh, virgin-white snow.  The radio playing your favorite song and you singing as loud as you can with it.  Kicking off your shoes on this first warm spring day and feeling the grass under your bare feet.  The smell of freshly roasted nuts...   

Speaking of freshly roasted nuts -- the unquestionable stars of this pie are the dashing pecans.  And pecans are your typical top-knotch stars: expensive, luxurious and a tad mysterious (is the pronunciation "pee-kahns", "pi-kahns" or "pee-cans"?!).  I didn't grow up with pecans -- we always had walnuts instead.  The nuts are very similar in appearance and taste, yet still different.  Pecans are much softer in flavor and physical characteristics, more buttery, a tad sweeter.  They are the more sophisticated brother of walnuts -- the star of the family.

This pecan pie is unique in flavor, thanks to the golden syrup -- there is nothing like it!  It's quite sweet, but absolutely divine, so you can't stop eating it (you have been warned).  The rich taste of crunchy roasted pecans is elevated by the honey-like, rich filling, and perfectly completed by the shortbread crust.  Serving the pie with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream is a must for me - as it balances the sweetness with a fresh, milky touch.  Nothing left to say but: enjoy this divine pie!

INGREDIENTS

Base:

• 185 g flour
• 50 g fine sugar
• 125 g cold butter, roughly chopped
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tbsp ice water

Filling:

• 300 g pecans (or walnuts)
• 6 egg yolks
• 175 g golden syrup (I tried honey & molasses mixed half-half: works very well too)
• 100 g dark brown sugar
• 90 g butter (melted)
• 80 ml cream

DIRECTIONS:

• Mix all the ingredients of the base in a mixer (or knead by hand) until the dough forms a ball.  Butter a tart form (preferably with removable bottom) and distribute the dough evenly, also on the sides of the form.  Refrigerate for approx. 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 180ºC.
• Remove the base from the fridge and punch little whole in the bottom with a fork.  Cover with parchment paper and put ceramic balls on top (you could also use beans or rice) - this will prevent the base from rising.  Bake for around 15 minutes, remove the paper and bake for another 5 minutes.
• Roast the pecans in a dry pan, until fragrant (watch out not to burn them).  Put the nuts on the pre-baked base.
• Mix all the ingredients of the filling until they form a smooth mixture.  Pour over the nuts.
• Bake for approx. 30 minutes (same temperature).  Let cool and serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

The recipe comes from the Polish blog Moje Wypieki.

Bon appetit!

Mini stuffed pork roulades

Today: a real treat for the palate and a truly sophisticated dish!  Mini pork roulades stuffed with tarragon-marinated prunes and camembert, wrapped in prosciutto ham and served with a spicy wine sauce.  The pork is really soft and tender and goes very well with the moist and sweet prunes, rich camembert and salty cured ham.  Each bite just melts in your mouth!  The thick wine sauce is essential - it adds the spice, and also gives the dish a festive touch.

BE WARNED - there is quite a lot of work involved in making 20-30 petite rolls!!!  First, you have to slice your pork tenderloin, and tenderize each slice with a meat hammer, until really thin - almost transparent.  Watch out not to make any holes!  Second, you have to marinate the prunes, slice the prosciutto in thin strips and dice your camembert. Third, stuff and roll your roulades -- that's where the fun starts, but it takes some time.  Fourth, you wrap each roll in the ham and secure with a toothpick, if necessary.  Finally - pan-fry the rolls, until the ham is crisp and the meat nice and tender.  

And let's not forget you need to make the sauce too.  And a salad.  And baked potatoes.  So if you want a quick fix dinner - forget this and just bake some fish.  

Stages of preparation:

The roulades are just packed with flavors and spices.  Prunes and camembert are sometimes paired with meat, but the surprise ingredient here is gingerbread spice.  It is added not only to the sauce, but also to the prune stuffing.  Nonetheless, if you don't know it's in there, you would not guess it; all it does is elevate the taste of the meat -- it does not give it a gingerbread-cookie kind of flavor.  Gingerbread spice works very well with the other seasoning added - tarragon and tangerine zest.  These three spices complement each other, but also balance the overall flavors.

The dish is best served with a fresh salad and baked potatoes.  It goes very well with a rich, smokey red wine.

Making these mini roulades is a great idea for the coming holidays -- Thanksgiving or Christmas.  It's very elegant and festive, which makes it well-suited for special occasions.  Also the particular spice combination strikes a very festive note.  When preparing the sauce, your house is filled with the most welcoming and delicious aroma.  Every single person in your home will be drawn into the kitchen: intrigued and instantly very hungry and impatient to try some of the sauce (which is great on its own too).

I made this dish for the first time when preparing for the Flemish TV show "Come dine with me" ("Komen Eten").  I have made it several times since then for family and friends.  As it has always been received with the highest praise from my guests, I plan to add to my top recipes list, and make it on special occasions.  Highly recommended!

  

METHOD

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:

Roulades:

• Pork tenderloin of about 500-600 g
• 150 g prunes, pitted
• approx. 80 g camembert
• approx. 200 g dry-cured ham in thin slices (prosciutto, jamón serrano etc.)
• 1 big tbsp butter, very soft or melted
• 2 tsp dried tarragon
• 1 heaped tsp gingerbread spice
• 2 tbsp of non-sweetened plum marmalade or spread (typically Polish "powidla" can be bought in any Polish store)
• zest of 1/2 tangerine
• freshly ground pepper

• additional oil and butter for frying

Sauce:

• 2 glasses (400 ml) of dry red wine (I recommend the Carménère variety)
• 8 tbsp of non-sweetened plum marmalade or spread (typically Polish "powidla" can be bought in any Polish store)
• 4 tsp gingerbread spice
• zest of 1 tangerine
• freshly ground pepper

DIRECTIONS:

Roulades:

• Trim the excess fat off the pork tenderloin.  Cut it in 1,5 cm pieces, and tenderize with a meat hammer (best to cover the meat with cling film first).  You need thin, almost transparent pieces, but make sure not to make holes.  Season each slice with pepper.
• Cut the prunes in half, and place in a bowl.  Add the butter, tarragon, gingerbread spice, plum marmalade and tangerine zest.  Stir thoroughly.
• Dice the camembert in small pieces.
• Cut the ham in thin, long strips.
• Put 2-3 pieces of prune and a piece of camembert on the pork and roll into a roulade.  
• Wrap the roulade in the cured ham.  You can secure the rolls with a tooth pick, but usually it's not necessary.
• Heat oil in a large frying pan, once hot place the roulades in the pan.  Add some butter. Fry around 4 minutes on each side, then gently remove the toothpicks and fry the sides until nice and brown.  It's good to start with a high heat, and then lower it, when frying each side.
• Serve with the sauce.

Sauce:

• Mix all the ingredients and let simmer on a small heat for about 1h - 1h30, stirring occasionally.
• Serve hot with the roulades.

The recipe comes from the Polish website Kwestia Smaku.

Bon appetit!

Quinoa & mung bean patties

Lately I have been in a real "cleaning and organizing mood".  My inner Monica Geller (remember "FRIENDS"?) woke up and and told me to arrange my drawers, segregate the paperwork, and throw out clothes I haven't worn for a while.  Of course the first step to every proper cleaning up is making a total mess.  You take all the stuff out your closets and introduce major chaos to your environment.  It is highly advisable to do this when no one is around -- after all you don't want your boyfriend to make remarks along the lines of "do you really need so many pairs of shoes?" or "how can so many clothes fit into one closet?".  

Despite the overarching chaos I find that organizing your stuff can be really therapeutical and cleansing - you feel like things in your life regain their purpose and fall back into their place, and most importantly: you get rid of all the clutter.  I don't know about you guys, but I just loooove throwing useless things away - it's so liberating! 

Mung beans: after and before soaking

Whilst in my "Monica Geller mood", I also got to cleaning and organizing my kitchen cabinets and pantry.  There, I discovered I have quite a decent stash of mung beans.  I have actually never had mung beans before in my life.  I just heard they were really healthy and good for you, so I bought them a few months ago without a clear idea of what I would do with them.  And now - BINGO!  Time to put them to good use :-)

I have always been a big fan of veggie burgers and patties, so my first idea was to make some with the mung beans.  To be honest with you -- the rest of the ingredients were also part of my "clearing the pantry plan".  But hey - they go so well together, and I wouldn't change a thing even if my pantry was stuffed with every ingredient there is.  

I decided to go for the quinoa to add some more texture to the patties -- the plan was to mash the beans, but leave the quinoa sprouts intact and with a bit of bite to them.  Not to mention that quinoa is super healthy too -- thus boosting the "good-for-you-value" of the patty.  For additional flavor, I spiked the burgers with some red onion, garlic, lime, and coriander -- you need that to give some character to the bean/cereal background.  And the finishing touch: creamy tahini, which really is essential to the dish.  It brings an incredible sesame nuttiness, which really enhances the flavor.  Plus you need the fat - after all it's the only fat going in the patties, and it helps keeping the burgers from falling apart.

These patties are very versatile.  You can experiment with the ingredients and spices -- and add things you like (or you need to get rid of when you have your own "Monica Geller cleaning mood").  Try them with chickpeas or lentils, add some curry or ginger - maybe peanut butter instead of tahini?

The burgers go very well with a fresh salad.  I made a beetroot-apple salad, for a delicious and very healthy meal - the recipe is coming soon!

METHOD:

Makes 6 patties

Ingredients:

• 1 cup / 200 g of dry mung beans (you could also use other beans, lentils etc. - just cook them according to their package)
• 1 cup / 180 g of quinoa
• 1 red onion
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2-3 tablespoons of tahini
• juice & zest of 1 lime
• ground coriander
• fresh coriander
• salt
• pepper

Directions:

• Soak the mung beans overnight and cook the next day according to the package instructions until completely soft (mine were done after about 20 minutes).  Mash the beans roughly in a big bowl.
• Cook the quinoa according to package instructions (mine took 8 minutes).  Let cool a bit and add to the mung beans.
• Dice the red onion and garlic very finely, add to the beans.
• Add tahini, lime juice and zest, and season well with ground coriander, salt and pepper.  Taste the mixture and season some more if needed.
• Line a baking tray with parchment paper.  Form six flat patties with your hands and bake the patties in a preheated oven (180°C) for about 30 minutes until golden brown (no need to turn, as the tray will be hot and the bottom will brown too).
• Serve warm, sprinkled with fresh coriander, with a light and crispy salad - e.g. the beetroot/apple salad.

Bon appetit!

Komen Eten @ Gabi's Bistro

***
Komen Eten ("Come Dine With Me"): an awesome TV experience: delicious food, great participants and SO MUCH FUN!!!

***

Plum Cake & how to enjoy Autumn

Autumn rarely gets the credit it deserves.  People tend to favor hot summer days, crisp winter snow or the fresh spring breeze.  Nonetheless, autumn is the most picturesque season - that is if you're lucky enough to get some sunshine and a clear blue sky.

On sunny autumn days, Mother Nature paints the most colorful and elaborate pictures.  Bright reds dancing with yellows and oranges, mosaics of all sorts of leafs covering the ground, and the contrast between already bare, sad tree branches, and the still covered die-hards.  Such days are a huge inspiration to me - I just can't resist grabbing my camera, and going out for hours and hours of exploring, admiring and capturing this dazzling, flamboyant beauty.

These pictures were taken in November in Philadelphia, where I lived at the time. I'd been wanting to capture the autumn colors for a while, and when the right sunny weekend came, I ventured on the quest. I was so hungry for nice shots, that I walked and walked for hours, not even noticing I spent almost an entire day taking pictures. A day very well spent, in my book ;-)

But even when it's gloomy and rainy outside - autumn has its charms. Don't you ever feel like not doing anything particularly "ambitious" on a free day? Just curling up under a blanket, with a good book in one hand and a cup of hot lemon & honey tea in the other. In my always-busy-and-hectic-every-day-life I truly long for such cosy moments of peace. 

However, I find you can only enjoy such days when it's pouring with rain and gloomy outside. Nice weather lures me out: I want to go running, cycling, taking pictures: OUT. But when it's cold and wet, I feel absolutely no urge to go outside. Watching the rain fall and hearing the wind blow while you're sitting next to a heater (nice & cosy; dry & warm) makes you feel so safe and peaceful. Autumn is great for such slow-paced and easy-going moments.

The great thing about autumn is also the produce available during this season. Fragrant apples, pears and plums, fresh walnuts and hazelnuts, chestnuts, and let's not forget Queen Pumpkin. With such delicious fruits and veggies at hand, the range of autumn recipes is endless. Hearty soups, warming you up on cold, long evenings; roasted root vegetables; purées, mashes and stews of all kind.  And of course, the many great desserts: pumpkin bread or pie, plum crumbles, upside-down pear cakes, caramelized apples, cranberry cheesecakes... this divine list goes on and on.  This recipe is one of my favorite desserts during plum season.

This plum cake is the definition of what I know to be good old-fashioned, home-made cake.  Simple, not too fancy-schmancy, but so delicious and homey.  The cake is moist, because of the the huge amount of added fruit, not too sweet, and topped of with a delicious crumble.  You can add almost any type of fruit to the cake - also frozen if you prefer (no need to defrost beforehand).  The recipe is foolproof, and always works.

The cake stays fresh for quite a few days, which means you can make a bigger batch at once, and enjoy it longer.  We all know, the world looks a little bit better with a piece of cake in your hand.  So go ahead, bake the cake and enjoy this beautiful autumn season!

CAKE INGREDIENTS (all at room temperature):

• 200 g butter
• 160 g sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 200 g flour
• 40 g potato starch or 1 package of pudding powder mix (vanilla flavor, approx. 40 g)
• 1 tsp of baking powder
• a pinch of salt

CRUMBLE INGREDIENTS:

• 150 g flour
• 100 g cold butter
• 50 g powdered sugar

ALSO: 

• 800 g plums, halved and pitted (other fruit will also work, e.g. peaches, strawberries)

DIRECTIONS:

• Preheat the oven to 175ºC.
• Sift the flour, pudding powder and baking powder.
• Mix the butter in a mixer until light and fluffy.  Keep on mixing and add the sugar and salt.  Add the eggs, one by one, mixing after every addition.
• Add the dry ingredients to the butter mix, and stir them in with a spatula until just combined (don't over-stir).
• Line a baking tray (20 x 30 cm) with parchment paper.  Transfer the batter onto the tray, even out.
• Distribute the plums evenly on the batter, skin side down.
• Prepare the crumble by quickly mixing the ingredients by hand.  Sprinkle on top of the plums.
• Bake for approx. 45 minutes.  Test if the cake is done wh a woden skewer / matchstick - if they still come out wet, bake a bit longer.

The recipe comes from Dorotus' blog (modified by me).

Bon appetit!

AA (or Avocado Appetizer)

Aaaaaaaaaavocado appetizer - an actually a-complicated and astonishingly appetizing antipasto!  

Yet another simple and healthy dish.  Avocados are a great source of healthy fats (actually reducing bad cholesterol), they are high in fiber contents and packed with vitamins.  But they are also very delicious!  Their creamy, smooth texture makes a great base for various salads and salsas.  They go so well with a whole bunch of different ingredients, which leaves the door open for you to experiment and try to pair them with all sorts of things.  This very recipe is the product of a quick experiment - based on what I thought would go well with avocado and.... what I had in the fridge at that time.

This appetizer has a great combination of different tastes and textures.  You have the smooth and rich avocado, tangy-sweet apple, crunchy shallots and peppers, and nutty roasted pine nuts.  The freshness of the lemon gives it an extra twist, and thick Greek yoghurt combines all the ingredients into one delicious salad.  Avocado really is a great canvas/background that brings out the crunchy, tangy and sweet components.  Yet again, without them, it would be bland and too rich.  With them, it's elevated to the super fruit status it fully deserves.

This appetizer can be served on its own or with a slice of good bread.  Double the portion (two halves per person) and you have a healthy, nutritious and filling lunch.  You could also serve it as a simple salad - a side dish to a main course.   

Makes 4 appetizers

Ingredients:

• 2 ready to eat avocados
• 1 yellow pepper
• 1 small crisp, tangy-sweet apple (e.g. pink lady)
• 2 shallots (a big red onion would also work)
• a big handful of pine nuts (approx. 70-80g)
• juice of 1 lemon
• 2 tablespoons of very thick greek yoghurt (or mayonnaise if you prefer the taste - but this makes the recipe a bit less healthy ;-) )
• salt
• pepper

Directions:

• Toast the pine nuts in a very hot dry pan until golden brown (watch out not to burn them!).  Set aside to cool.
• Slice the avocados in half, get rid of the stones.  Gently remove the flesh, leaving the shells intact (this can be very easily done with a tablespoon).  Set the shells aside - they will serve as bowls.  Gently dice the avocado (in rather large pieces), put in a bowl and immediately generously sprinkle with lemon juice (this will prevent the avocado from going brown).
• Dice the shallots (finely), pepper and apple and add to the avocado.  Sprinkle some more lemon juice over the apple (otherwise it will also go brown).  Add the pine nuts, yoghurt and season well with salt and pepper.  Stir gently (e.g. using two forks) not to mash the avocado.
• Serve inside the avocado shells, garnished with basil.

Bon appetit!