Crab Cakes

Hello! 

After two weeks of California road trippin’, having an amazing time with my family, eating amazing food, just having an amazing experience.. I’m sure my waist line gained a few inches for letting loose. 

Missing the fresh seafood in the USA, I’ve decided to make and share this delicious recipe with you guys. This recipe makes for five cakes.

For the crab cakes:

• 170gr crab meat
• 150gr peppered smoked herring (or any smoked oily fish) 
• 1 medium sweet potato (mashed)
• 1 cup coooked finely chopped spinach 
• 1 egg (beaten) 
•  cup flour
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/2 cup breadcrumbs 

In a large bowl, combine the crab meat, smoked hearing, sweet potato and spinach. One is well mixed, shape into five patties. 

In three shallow bowls, put in each the egg, flour and breadcrumb. Cover each pattie with flour, dip in flour and fully cover it with breadcrumb. 

If you have a deep fat fryer, then perfect.. fry each pattie for about 2-3 minutes on each side at 190C or until it’s golden brown. Alternately heat the oil in a sauce pan and fry the crab cakes. 

Enjoy it with a nice fresh salad or some slaw! 

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.

 

Stuffed Crust Pizza

Hello guys, 

My sincerest apologies for the lack of communication.. It’s been very crazy lately. 

You all know how I love the pizzas, and this time I’ve made a mozzarella stuffed pizza (and I did not cheat when it comes to making the pizza base!) 

For the dough base: 

• 500gr plain flour
• 1 sachet instant yeast
• 320ml luke warm water
•  1/2teaspoon salt 
• 1/2 teaspoon caster sugar
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Start by mixing the the water, yeast, olive oil and sugar in a cup until it’s dissolve. 

Sieve the flour and add the salt, if you have a big enough surface, I would suggest mixing the dough in your kitchen counter, but if you don’t, use  a large enough bowl that you can use to mix the ingridients. Don’t feel discourage just because you don’t have the space to. 

Gradually bring in the flour from the sides of the bowl, and keep mixing until you have a smooth springy dough. 

Place the dough in a lightly floured bowl and cover it with a damp towel to proof for one hour at least.

Once the dough has risen, you can divide it in 4 pieces and wrap in cling film and freeze the pieces you’re not going to use straight away. 

Preheat your over to 250C. 

I’ve cheated and used a rolling pin to roll out my dough into a perfect circle. I would usually do it the traditional way however because we want to stuff the crust, we got to make it look nice.

Pizza topping:

• Tomato and basil passata 
• Grated mozzarella 
• Salami 
• Ham
• Chopped vine tomatoes 
• Rocket

Put the rolled dough on a grease proof paper sheet and neatly put grated mozzarella on the edges of the rolled out dough and slowly fold the edge over the cheese and press down. 

Top the dough with the passata sauce first, then some more grated mozzarella, the meats, some more mozzarella (never enough cheese!) and finally the chopped tomatoes. 

Cook the pizza in the preheated oven for about 15-20 minutes, or until the crust is lightly brown and the cheese bubbling. 

Top the pizza with rocket for some fresh peppery taste! 

Try it and let me know how it goes! 
Ana X 

Coconut and Key Lime Pie

Hello lovelies! Sorry I haven’t been posting much lately! I have been busy loving life! 

Jokes! I haven’t had much time to cook beautiful meals unfortunately! I have had the day off today and have craved for key lime pie for weeks, so I couldn’t pass on the opportunity to make it! 

  

The ingredients you will need: 

• 200g digestive biscuits
•  20g desiccated coconut
•  100g butter, melted
• 397g can condensed milk
• 1 tablespoon finely grated lime zest 
• 125ml lime juice
• 4 egg yolks
• 150ml coconut cream
• 3 tablespoons icing sugar

 For the meringue: 

• 4 egg white at room temperature
• 100g icing sugar
• 100g caster sugar 

Place the can of coconut cream in the fridge overnight to settle.

Preheat oven to 160C. Grease a tart pan with removable base. Place the biscuits in a food processor and process until finely crushed. Add the dissecated coconut and butter and mix until combined. Spoon into prepared pan and use the back of a spoon to press the mixture evenly over the base and side of the pan. Fine crust or thick crust is up to you! Place in the fridge for at least 30min to chill and harden. 

Whisk the condensed milk, lime zest, lime juice and egg yolks together in a large bowl. Pour over the chilled crust base. Place on a baking tray. Bake for 30 mins or until just set. Once it’s done, set a side to cool down and put it in the fridge. 

To make the coconut cream, open the can of coconut cream and scoop the hard cream at the top into a bowl. You won’t be needing the coconut water/liquid. Add thickened cream and icing sugar. Use an electric mixer to beat until it’s soft then spoon the coconut cream over the pie. 

  
For the meringues, reheat the oven to 100C . Put the egg whites on a non plastic bowl and beat them on medium speed with an electric whisk until the mixture resembles a fluffy clouds and stands up in stiff peaks when you lift the whisk. 

Now turn the speed up and start to add the caster sugar, spoonful at a time. Continue beating while you add the sugar slowly. However, don’t over-beat. When ready, the mixture should be thick and glossy. Sift icing sugar over the mixture and gently fold it in. Continue to sift and fold in the rest of the icing sugar bit by bit. Again, don’t over-mix. The mixture should look smooth! 

I’ve used silicone muffin trays to keep them the same size, once spooned you can sprinkle with lime zest or thinly sliced lemon zest like I did. Bake for an hour and a half in the oven, until the meringues look crisp. Leave to cool on the tray and put them on top of the coconut cream to decorate. 

Pumpkin Soup

It’s autumn and we love it right? We love the leaves, we love pumpkin lattes and pumpkin spice, pumpkin all things everything!

So I have a really easy and quick pumpkin soup recipe!

 

What you’ll need:

• Splash of olive oil
• 1 chopped onion
• Half of a small pumpkin (chopped, deseeded and peeled) – let’s say about 500g
• 400ml chicken stock (or vegetable if you’re vegetarian)
• Double cream to serve

Heat some olive oil in a large saucepan, then gently cook the chopped onions until soft but not coloured. Add the pumpkin to the pan, then carry on cooking stirring occasionally until it starts to soften and turn golden.

Pour the stock into the pan, then season with salt, pepper and some smoked paprika. Bring everything to the boil, then simmer on a low fire until the pumpkin is very soft. Purée the ingredients in a blender and the most important part: push the soup through a fine sieve into another pan for a smooth consistancy!

Once you’re ready to serve, add a tablespoon of double cream! And taaaadaaah! Smooth delicious pumpkin soup!

Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it!
Ana X

Pastéis de Bacalhau – Salted Cod Cakes.

I love my Portuguese roots and I am a bit disappointed that I don’t cook enough Portuguese dishes!

To show my appreciation, I’ve decided to make one of our most popular snacks. To be honest with you, I had left over mash potato from my lamb stew earlier this week, so why the heck not.

 
You can get Bacalhau in any Portuguese food store, or for the cheaper option, you can go to any Afro Caribbean food store, and you will be able find salt fish!

Depending on the thickness of the dry fish, you will have to soak it in water for 1 to 2 days. Don’t forget to change the water every 12 hours. Pinch some of the cod and taste it, it should not taste salty but slightly salty is right. If it doesn’t taste of any salt you will need to adjust the salt in the recipe later.

• 400g Salted Cod
• 200g Mash Potatoes
• 1/2 onion (minced)
• 2 cloves garlic (minced)
• Handful of finely chopped parsley
• Vegetable oil for frying

Boil the cod. You can boil the cod without any flavourings. When the cod is cooked it will come apart when probed with a fork. When this is cold, you will need to debone, skin and shred the fish.

If you do not have mash potato laying around like me, you will need to make some. Boil them potatoes and mash them.

Add the cod with the mash, and mix this well, then add the rest of the ingredients. Add salt and pepper to your taste. Mix everything very well again until all is incorporated and homogenized. Make quenelles shaped of any size and take it to refrigerate for 15 to 30 minutes.

 
Fry in a very hot and generous amount of oil. At least half of the cakes must be covered when frying. Let it golden and then turn the cakes around and golden the other side. Remove from pan and let the cakes dry in paper towel for few seconds and then serve.

 
It should be deliciously crunchy. Serve it with a lime wedge or some hot sauce!

Morning Bagels!

Good morning my loves.

After having a few drinks last night, all I want this morning is unhealthy comfort in food..

What do I have in the fridge… Black pudding, eggs, bagels….hmmm right, I know what to do now.. But what do I call this? Egg in a bag’hole? Yes that’s it… Egg in a bag’hole! Haha

 
My drunk self decided to snack on a bagel last night, and I’ve managed to leave the head and eat the butt! Let’s face it, if I had done it with a butt, it wouldn’t have looked as pretty!

I’ve seperated the egg yolk from the white (I have a surprise recipe for later that involves egg whites, so don’t waste yours!) – I buttered the bagel, and fried it in a pan along with the black pudding. Put the egg yolk on the bagel hole. And let everything fry away..

For the sauce, I used some mayo, English mustard, olive oil to liquify it a bit (is that even an expression?) and some salt and pepper to taste.

I guess this will be done until your egg yolk is done… I prefer mine runny to be honest, I need that to dip the bagel in!

All I can say now is that my place is empty! LOVE IT!
Ana x

Last night’s dinner

Yesterday, I was a bit homesick and all I wanted was salt and pepper ribs with Chinese sausage and rice.

This is what it looks like (thanks google for the images)

Because I’m a bad half-Asian, I barely have any Chinese condiments to make these yummy stuff.. So I’ve decided to make my own westernized version.

Sticky spicy ribs with European rice (got borlotti beans and French sausage so we’ll stick to European!)

The ribs were baked with a tomatoes, agave, soya sauce, Worcester sauce, chili powder, salt snd pepper.

For the rice, I used wholegrain, a whole onion, French cured sausage and black olives. I cooked the rice in knorr beef stock pot.

I’m a terrible teacher, I don’t use measurements, I cook everything by eye so I couldn’t tell exact quantities! I’ll try to do better next!

Ana x