Christmas specials: śledzie w pomidorach (herring in tomato sauce)

Last but not least when it comes to salted herring, herring marinated in tomato sauce. An absolute must on the Christmas eve supper table in my house.

You'll need:

salted herring fillets

tomato concentrate

oil

onion

whole black pepper

bay leaves

vinegar

laurel leaves

1. Just like with other recipes involving salted herring posted here, the fillets need to be put in cold water first for a few hours until they reach the right level of saltiness.

2. Fry onions in hot oil. Add tomato concentrate, black pepper, 2-3 bay leaves and vinegar.
3. Cut the hering fillets into smaller bits and put in a jar.

4. Allow the sauce on the frying pan to cool down and then transfer into the jar with herring.

5. Leave aside for 2-3 days.

Bon appétit!

Christmas specials: rolmopsy

Yet another way to enjoy salted herring: rolled herrings (PL: rolmopsy).

You'll need:

4 salted herring fillets (for 8 rolmopsy)

1 sour cucumber

1/2 onion

spicy mustard

oil

vinegar

8 coctail sticks

 

1. Put the herring fillets in cold water for 2-3 hours, depending on how salty they are. Change water from time to time. Remove when they achieve the right level of saltiness.

2. Cut the fillets into halves longways. Spread some mustard on the inner side.

3. Cut the cucumber and the onion into thin slices.

4. Put a slice of a cucumber and onion on the edge of each herring fillet and roll. Pin each rolled fillet with a coctail stick.

5. Put you rolled herrings in abowl or a wide den jar.

6. Add oil to 3/4 height of the herrings and and then add enough vinegar to cover them fully in the marinade.

7. Leave for two days in the marinade, et voila!

Bon appétit!

Christmas specials: śledzie po japońsku

It's December again, and Christmas is getting closer and closer, so it's high time I continue with my Christmas specials series (last year I started off with recipes for breaded mushroom hats and a beetroot fish salad). This time I commence with my favourite Chritmas Eve dish: śledzie po japońsku ('Japanese' herring). It's herring covered in a 'duvet' of apples and cream.

You'll need:

200g of salted raw herring fillets

2 sour apples

250g of sour cream

dill for decoration

1. Salted herring straight from fish monger's is too salty to use, so first it needs to be put in water for 2-3h. The exact time will depend on the level of saltiness of the herring. Change the water from time to time to achieve the desired effect.

2. Cut the herring fillets into smaller bits, like the ones in the picture below, and put them on a plate.

3. Peel the apples and grate them on a cheese grate.

4. Add the apples on top of the herring

5. Cover everything with sour cream, add some dill on top for decoration et voilà!
6. It's even better the next day!

Bon appétit!

turkey leftover treat

 

It's been a week since Thanksgiving and I still have some turkey leftovers in my fridge (what can I say, it was a big bird), so I've been experimenting a little bit. Here's one of the quick recipes I came up with (it's great for less attractive parts of turkey, they will become really tender once cooked in wine):

You'll need:
- turkey bits
- some lima beans (around 1/3 of a can for a portion)
- 1/4 glass of white wine
- 1/4 glass of crème fraîche
- parsley
- black pepper
- nutmeg 

1. Put the turkey bits in a hot pan and add the wine, beans, freshly grated pepper and nutmeg. Allow to simmer slowly for around 5 minutes.
2. Add cream and leave on the hob for another minute or so.
3. Add parsley et voilà!

Bon appétit!

Fetuccine con zucchini e pomodirini

 
In Italy a starter is usually followed by primo piatto (first dish) which might be pasta (secondo piatto is usually a meat dish). Today I propose fettuccine (a type of long, flat pasta) with zucchini and pomodorini (cherry tomatoes). A simple recipe ideal for people in a hurry.

For this recipe you'll need:

fettuccine
1 medium zucchini
100g of  cherry tomatoes
3 or 4 spoons of basil pesto
around 5 cashew nuts, crushed or finely chopped
some freshly grated pecorino or parmigiano cheese
olive oil


1. Start by cutting the cherry tomatoes into halves or quarters. Put them on the den of a baking dish, sprinkle with a bit of olive oil and put in the hot oven set for 180 degrees for around 10-15 minutes.

2. In the meantime boil some water for the fettuccine and cut the zucchini into thin slices along the length of the zucchini and fry them on a hot pan until they become soft.

3. Once your fettuccine is al dente, transfer it to the frying pan with the zucchini, add pesto and cashew nuts and stir. I know that some ready-made basil pestos already contain nuts, but I added some cashew nuts separately on purpose to add to the structure of the dish.
4. Transfer the mix from the pan into the baking dish on top of the tomatoes and allow another 5-10 minutes in the oven.
5. Transfer into a plate, sprinkle with cheese, et voila!

 

Bon appétit!

Bruschette al pomodoro

I decided to start my Italian adventure with a a very simple antipasti (starter), which to my mind has at its heart the essence of Italy. Bruschetta in its simplest form is just a piece of grilled white bread rubbed with garlic sprinkled with some prime quality olive oil. The most popular form is served with a salad of chopped tomatoes and basil:

Veramente fantastico!!

(truly fantastic)

My Italian dream

It's been a while since I last posted here... certainly not because I lost interest in cooking, but rather because I changed my location to the land of pomodori and prosciutto - Italy. Now that I have settled there I shall start posting again :)

Italy, or to be more exact Tuscany, is a land of many culinary delights. My new challenge is to discover the secrets of Tuscan cuisine. Below are some pictures of a delicacies market on Piazza Republicca, Firenze held around once a month, selling all sorts of superb products (including the best mature pecorino I ever ate coming from Pienza):

and some shops in Bologna:

 

Creamy countrystyle chicken with white wine

Sometimes the simplest ingredients can lead to a wonderful dish (either that or perhaps I'm a girl of simple tastes). This is exactly what happened here. I got an inspiration from a movie - it's not an exact copy of the dish they made there, but I wonder whether you can guess which movie it was? Hint: "three medium carrots"

You'll need:
1 chicken breast
3 medium carrots
30dag mushrooms
125 ml double cream
1/2 glass of white wine
rosemary
salt & pepper
2 spoons of oil

 1.Peel the carrots and cut them into slices.
 2. Peel the mushrooms and cut them into quarters.
 3. Transfer the carrots and mushrooms into an oven dish.
 4. Add salted and peppered pieces of chicken breast on top.
 5. Sprinkle everything with rosemary (be generous).
 6. Add the oil. Don't add too much, you don't want the sauce to be too oily.
 7. Pour cream over it all and add the wine.
 8. Put in the oven set for 200 degrees for about 30-40 minutes (the exact time depends on the size of  chicken breast  pieces), et voila!

Bon appétit!

My favourite potato salad

For this recipe you'll need sour cucumbers. They look similar to gherkins, but they taste differently. It's a traditional Polish product that can be bought in most Polish shops in the UK

You'll need:
4-5 medium potatoes
3 sour cucumbers
75g ham
1 egg
fresh parsley
3 spoons of mayonaise
1 spoon mustard
salt & black pepper

1. Peel and slice the potatoes. Boil them in salted water.
2. Hard-boil the egg. When ready cut it into pieces.
3. Cut the ham into small cubes. Do the same with the cucumbers.
4. Mix the mayo with mustard and add some salt and pepper to the mixture. Be generous with the pepper.
5. Wait until the potatoes cool down before mixing all of the ingredients together. Sprinkle with fresh parsley on top, et voila!

Bon appétit!

Asparagus and leek cream soup

Yet another way to enjoy the delicate taste of asparagus!

You'll need:
10 green asparagus shoots
1 medium leek
1/2 medium size onion
5 medium size potatoes
thyme
0,5l bouilion (it's ok to use a vegetable cube)
sour cream
croutons
salt & pepper
olive oil

1. Peel the potatoes and cut them into small cubes. Carefully clean the leek and cut it into thin slices. Chop the onions.
2. Fry the onions, potatoes and leek on olive oil with thyme for about 5 minutes in a deep pan/thick bottom pot. Add some salt and pepper for taste.
3. Add bouilion and boil for another 10-15 minutes until soft. 3 minutes before it's ready add the asparagus (cut into 3-4cm bits).
4. Remove the asparagus heads for decoration.
5.Wait until the soup cools down and then blend it.
6. Warm it up again and transfer into a bowl.
7. Decorate with sour cream, asparagus heads and croutons, et voila!

Bon appétit!

PS. This soup also tastes very good if served with chicken.

Asparagus and prawns linguine

With the season for asparagus slowly coming to an end, it's the last chance to enjoy this delicate vegetable. It's important for asparagus to be very fresh to be tasty. To check if it is, just rub two stems against each other, they should make a squeaky sound. The real secret of this recipe though is tasty extra virgin olive oil and the freshly hot 'marinade' it makes part of.

For this recipe you'll need:
4 green asparagus shoots, cut into bite-size bits
100g king prawns
50g mozarella, sliced
50g freshly grated pecorino cheese (or other hard cheese, eg. grana padano or parmesan)
1 lime
5 spoons of olive oil
crushed dried chili
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
a handful of linguine (or spaghetti)

1. Boil the linguine in salted water. In the meantime prepare the 'marinade'. Zest the lime. Mix the olive oil, juice from half the lime, lime zest, garlic and crushed chili. Add a pinch of salt.
2. 3 minutes before the pasta is ready add the asparagus into the boiling water.
3. Warm up the 'marinade' on a pan. Once it's hot, add the pasta together with the asparagus and prawns. Fry for 2-3 minutes while stirring so that the flavours mix. Add half the pecorino cheese towards the end of the frying.
4. Transfer the contents of the pan onto a plate. Add mozarella slices on top. Sprinkle everything with pecorino, et voila!

Bon appétit!

PS. Did you know that asparagus belongs to the lily family?

Pear and cranberries salad

It's time for a veggie and diet friendly recipe :) Something light to welcome springtime

You'll need:
A salad mix
one pear (any kind, I used a turkish pear)
a handfull of dried cranberries
50-70g blue cheese (crumbled)
5 spoons of olive oil
2 spoons of red wine vinegar

All you need to do is cut the pear into small cubes and mix all the ingredients together. It takes next to no time. The vinegrette sauce for this salad is very simple, it's just a mix of olive oil and vinegar - a classic vinegrette sauce would also have mustard, but it would not fit here. There is no need to add salt as blue cheese is already salty.

Bon appétit!

Andy's green "carbonara"

This is my uncle's recipe for what he calls carbonara. While it is obviously not an Italian carbonara, it's still delicious.

 

You'll need:

Pasta (tagliatelle works very well)

small chicken breast 

4 slices of bacon

mushrooms 

green olives (add black olives too if you have some, they will contrast nicely with the green colour of the dish)

1 1/2 spoons of basil pesto

250 ml of sour cream

hard cheese (parmesan or grana padano) 

tarragon

While the pasta is boiling, cut the chicken into cubes and fry it with tarragon adding also some salt & pepper for taste. Cut the bacon into small slices and add to the chicken. Peel and slice the mushrooms and also add to the pan and fry for two more minutes. Remove from the hob and add the olives, cream, basil pesto and stir. Add hot pasta and put back on the hob for another 30 seconds. It's best when left for 10 minutes before serving (and possibly reheating) as it ensures that the sauce sticks well to the pasta. Add freshly grated cheese on top, et voila!

Bon appétit!

Mustard coated coley fillet with sweet potatoes

 

 White wine adds an extra twist to this recipe. Sweet potatoes are especially good when baked with wine :)

You'll need:
One coley fillet
mustard (I recommend one of the more spicy types)
sweet potato
3 garlic cloves
half a glass of white wine
fresh coriander leaves
lemon
sour cream (optional)
chilli powder (optional)

1. Peel and cut into cubes the sweet potato. Boil it in salted water until it's nearly ready. It will go into the oven next, so no need for it to be completely soft.
2. In the meantime, finely chop the garlic and coriander leaves.
3. Put the fillet in an oven dish, sprinkle with lemon, cover with 1/3 of the garlic and mustard. Add some coriander on top.
4. Put the sweet potato cubes in the oven dish next to the fillet. Sprinkle with garlic.
5. Put the dish in the oven set to 200 degrees for about 20 minutes. Halfway through the roasting process add the wine.
6. Once ready sprinkle the potato cubes with some more coriander.
6. Serve with sour cream with chilli powder on the side.

Bon appétit!

Christmas specials: beetroot fish salad

This might sound like an unusual combination of flavours, but it is actually really good. The ingredients might be slightly difficult to buy outside Poland.

You'll need:
2 sour cucumbers (one of Polish regional specialties, it's different from gherkins. My grandma makes them herself so we use our own rather than bought ones- perhaps I will reveal the recipe one day ;))
2-3 salted herring fillets
1/2 can of white beans
3 cooked beetroots
2-3 spoons of mayonaisse
salt and pepper for taste

Salted herring fillets are widely available in Poland, but might be a little bit more dfficult to obtain elsewhere. It's basicly raw fish put in salted water for taste and preservation. When you buy them, they are a bit too salty to use straight away. So, you need to put them in cold! water  (it has to be cold, if you put them in hot or warm water they will become hard) for a few hours. You'll need to change water from time to time. The number of times and the time depend on how salty the fillets are to start with. The idea is for them to be only slightly salty at the end of the process.

Once they are ready, cut them into small cubes and put them in a bowl. Cut the cucumbers into small cubes as well. Add to the bowl. Add the beans. Grate the beetroots on a cheese grate and similarly add to the bowl. Add the mayonaisse, a pinch of salt and pepper for taste and mix it all together, et voila!

Bon appétit!

Christmas specials: breaded mushroom 'hats'

Finally it arrived. Christmas. The season to be jolly. Together with all the goodies I've been waiting for all year.

I decided to share some of my family Xmas recipies with you. In Poland the biggest celebration is Christmas eve. On that occassion we traditionally prepare a supper consisting of twelve dishes, none of which contains meat. The exact dishes vary from house to house and from region to region. For this reason in my house we now have fifteen dishes - we couln't agree on the dishes following the joinder of different family traditions.

I will start with one of the easiest elements of our Christmas eve supper: breaded wild mushroom caps.

Wild mushrooms can be seen as a rare delicacy in Western Europe, but back home we collect the mushrooms ourselves (it can be considered a national hobby back in Poland) so we always have lots in strorage. For this recipe you need to select only the finest caps.

You'll need:
dried wild mushroom caps
one egg
breadcrumbs
black pepper

First you need to put the mushrroms in the hot water for around two hours so that they become soft. Then you break the egg into a plate, mix it with a fork and add some pepper to it. You put the mushroom caps first in the egg mix and then coat it in breadcrumbs, just like when making a schnitzel. Then you fry them on a hot pan, et voila! Your first Christmas dish is ready. Bon appétit!