Creamy Mushroom and Gorgonzola Risotto

I love a good risotto… I mean, a creamy, rich bowl of rice? Hell to the yes. It’s relatively straightforward to make risotto. However, it requires patience, and you have to be organised. The only annoying thing is that you cannot use just any rice for this dish. And a tip for you guys, do not wash the rice as you would be rinsing the starch off – you need starch to make the dish creamy.

For the sauteed mushrooms and peas:

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 clove garlic finely chopped
• 100g dry porcini mushroom
• 150g frozen peas
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• salt to taste

For the risotto:

• 500ml chicken stock + 500ml mushroom water
• 1 + 1/2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 small white onion finely chopped
• 320g risotto rice
• 60ml dry white wine
• 100g blue cheese diced – Preferably Gorgonzola
• 20g salted butter
• 20g grated parmesan cheese
• freshly ground black pepper

Start off by soaking the mushrooms in boiling water, making sure the bowl is covered. You will need to leave them to soften for roughly half an hour.

Another trick is to use hot stock when making risotto. In a saucepan, bring the chicken stock with the mushroom soaking water to a boil over medium heat. Once it’s boiling, lower the heat to low to keep it warm.

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large frying pan over high heat and add the chopped garlic. Sautee until its fragrant. Add the mushrooms, peas and thyme, season with salt and cook for about 10 minutes. Once the mushrooms and peas are cooked, set them aside in a bowl and start on your rice.

Add 1 + 1/2 tablespoons of oil to the pan, and sautee the onion until softened. Add in the risotto rice and toast it, often stirring, for about 2 to 3 minutes, you will notice that the edges will turn translucent, but the centre is still opaque.

Pour in the white wine and, when it has been absorbed, add just enough stock to cover the rice and reduce the heat to low. Keep adding half cups of stock, stirring continuously and allowing each cup of stock to be absorbed before adding the next one. About halfway through, add the mushrooms and peas making sure its mixed well. When the rice is al dente, remove from heat and stir in the gorgonzola, grated parmesan cheese, and butter.

Top off this lovely dish with some freshly ground black pepper.

Churritos with Chocolate and Hazelnut Sauce

If you live in Southeast London, you have probably been to Greenwich Market, and have most likely seen the Brazilian churro stand in there.

I went for dinner with my friends yesterday and passed by the market, in the corner of my eye I could see the empty stand, and that’s when it hit me, the big urge of having their chocolate filled churro…

Apparently, my willpower is weak, and the path of bikini bod is not the smoothest.

Some of you might know that I already have a churro recipe on here, but I have found an easier and quicker way to make them. Heads up, I have tried it before just hand rolling the dough, but it is not the same. Therefore, for the best result possible, I would recommend using the piping bag.

For the Churros:

• 175ml boiling water
• 25g melted unsalted butter
• 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 125g plain flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1l sunflower oil for frying

 

For the chocolate and hazelnut sauce:

• 50ml condensed milk
• 50ml milk
• 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder
• 10 hazelnuts, crunched

 

For the cinnamon sugar:

• 50g white caster sugar
• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

 

In a measuring jug, add the water, melted butter and vanilla extract. Sift the flour and baking powder in a bowl and make a little well in the centre. Pour in the liquid and very quickly beat into the flour with a wooden spoon until it’s combined. Let it cool for about 10 minutes.

In the meantime, start making the chocolate sauce by combining all ingredients in a pan and gently melting everything together. Keep it warm on a low heat stirring it occasionally.

As some of you might know, I have a deep fryer, which makes it handy when making this kind of recipes. If you do not have one, simply use a large deep saucepan to fry your churritos in.

Put the churro dough in a piping bag with a star nozzle fitted. Start by piping finger length churros into a greaseproof parchment paper. Make sure you have a pair of scissors nearby, as you will need to cut the dough. Unless your aim is to have the Guinness world record for the largest churro.

Fry 4 or 5 at the time until golden brown and crisp. Once they are ready, remove them from the fryer or the pan – I like using wooden chopsticks for this job. You will need to kitchen towel, to drain any excess oil. Don’t forget to toss them in the cinnamon sugar. For that, you just need to mix the sugar and the cinnamon in a plate or bowl.

Serve the chocolate and hazelnut sauce in a small ramekin to dip the churritos in.

 

Gluten Free Tahini and Chocolate Cookies

For the little monsters, I like to try out super healthy recipes, because let’s face it… who wants to feed children cups of sugar? Well I know I don’t! 

We have got today, a gluten free, vegan and refined sugar free recipe! What? What is left of good? How can I be lots of butter and not give you an indulgent recipe? Well.. there’s always a balance! 

Gluten free tahini and chocolate cookies

• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup tahini
• 1 cup walnuts (ground finely)
• 1 + 1/4 cup gluten free flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 cup cacao powder 

Firstly, in a bowl, whisk up maple syrup and tahini. When fully combined add in the walnut and whisk the mixture well. 

In a separate bowl, combine sifted flour, cacao powder and the baking soda. Add it to the tahini mixture in three batches. The mixture will be thick and sticky so it’s best to use your hands. Make sure you don’t overmix it otherwise the cookies will be hard. 

Weigh the dough and divide it into 12 even pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and press the ball down with a rolling pin, or an empty bottle of wine.

Put the cookies into the fridge for about 40 min. When about 30 min in, pre-heat the oven to 175C. 

Bake in a hot oven for about 10-12 mins. Once they are ready, remove from the over and transfer to a cooling rack. Let the cookies cool down before eating! 

I hope you enjoy this little bit of healthy heaven and please do let me know your opinion! 



Courgette Fries

I’m terribly sorry I have not posted anything for the past 10 months. Life has changed a lot and there’s no excuse because I’m obviously still cooking.. just not writing down the recipes and posting them on my beloved blog. 

I’ve got a new job which I’m in love with, lucky to work close from home and doing a bunch of traveling this year! 

Anyway let’s get to why we are here! Courgette fries! I went to Granger and Co last week with some friends and had courgette fries there… however.. they were undercooked.. but I’m always too damn nice to send my food back, so I just chewed through tough rubbery fried disks.

I had some baby courgettes in the fridge during this weekend, so decided to make it at home. 

For this beautiful recipe: 

• 8 baby courgettes (cut lengthwise in quarter)
• 1/2 cup plain flour
• 1/2 cup cornstarch 
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1/2 cup milk 
• 1 egg

I am lucky enough (or not… depending if you’re a doctor or not haha) to have a deep fryer at home, turn your fryer to 180C. 

In a bowl, mix all of your dry ingridrients (flour, cornstarch, seasoning), slowly add the milk to the dry mix, making sure to whisk well, then add the egg. Make sure the batter is well combined. 

Dip the courgette in the batter and fry it until golden brown. If you don’t have a deep fryer, use a pan deep enough to fry your courgette fries. 

Once the fries are ready to come out of the oil make sure you use kitchen towel to drain any excess oil. Season with sea salt to taste. 

Fantastic on its own, or with a tangy dip.