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. 

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 

No Fuss Hummus

Hi fellow food lovers. 

Today I’m sharing with you my easy no fuss hummus. 

Let’s face it, should you want to make proper hummus you will need to buy tahini, you probably use half of the jar and leave it in the back of your fridge for a year before you notice you have it. 

We will replace tahini for another ingredient that we all adore and is so good for your health: coconut oil. 

  
Ingredients:

• 400g of chickpeas
• 4 tablespoons of chickpea water
• 2 teaspoons coconut oil
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil (plus extra for drizzling)
• 1½ tablespoon squeezed lemon juice
• Paprika

In a food processor, add the chickpeas, coconut oil, garlic, salt, lemon juice and the chickpea water. 

Turn on the food processor and slowly pour in the olive oil while it blends

When the mixture is fully combined and smooth, pour it into a serving bowl. Drizzle with some more extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle some paprika. 

  

Delicious and easy dip that will definitely impress your friends. 

Ana x

Braised Duck Legs with Butter Bean, Asparagus and Courgette

Hello my fellow foodies! I hope you are all well – I have to say that this past month has been quite a good month for me and that I have been inspired to cook and pursue my passion. Everything becomes quite easy when you have people that believe in you.

This recipe is the bomb and you should definitely try it. 

  
Ingredients:

• 2 duck legs
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 400ml chicken stock
• 100ml red wine
• 2 cans of butter bean
• 2 small courgette chopped in batons
• 1 bunch of asparagus tips
• dried rosemary
• salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to gas mark 4 and season duck legs with salt and pepper.

In a large oven proof pan heat the coconut oil and fry the legs, skin sides down, over moderately high heat 10 to 15 minutes, or until skin is crips.Turn legs over and cook until browned on the other side, about 2 minutes. Add the onions, garlic, red wine and chicken stock.

Put the pan in the oven and let it braise for 1 hour  (total cooking time is 2 hours). Once they have cooked for 1 hour add the two cans of butter bean and let it cook in the oven for half an hour. Finally add the courgette, asparagus and the rosemary- you might have to remove some of the liquid/stock out, just leaving enough to cover the beans.

After another half  an hour of cooking, the duck legs should be extremely tender. Serve duck legs with some of the sauce, butter beans and vegetables.

Let me know what you think!
Ana x 

 

 

Blood Orange and Beetroot Salmon Gravlax

My housemate Jenny is this incredible Svenska that has refined my tastes in life – not only in life but in the way of living. 

This one goes to you Jenny! 

  
What you’ll need: 

• Whole side of salmon
• 6 tablespoons salt
• 2 tablespoons soft brown sugar
• 2 whole grated beetroots 
• zest and juice of 1 blood orange
• Handful of chopped dill 
• 3 tablespoons gin

Place the salmon skin side down in a large shallow roasting tray.

Rub the grated beetroot and orange rest on to the flesh. In a food processor combine salt, brown sugar, gin and orange juice and dill until it forms into a paste and place the mixture on top of the previous rub. 

Cover the tray with plastic wrap and  weight it down with another tray or any canned you have in the cupboard. Leave in the fridge to cure for at least 48hours. Once it’s ready remove the tray from the salmon and wipe off all the curing ingredients. Pat the salmon with kitchen towels to ensure its completely dry. When you’re ready to serve make sure you cut the salmon off the skin with a very sharp knife. 

  
I’ve served this with homemade anadama bread, avocado and a drizzle of Greek yoghurt with paprika. 

Enjoy! 
Ana 

Portuguese Chorizo Bread

Happy Sunday guys!

I have so many recipes that I have to post but I have been slacking big time! 

Let’s start with this easy Portuguese chorizo bread recipe. 

  
For the bread recipe please see my White Bread Recipe – however instead of using white truffle oil, use extra virgin olive oil. 

Use half of a chorizo ring and cut the chorizo into thin slices. 

Once you’ve proved your dough, divide it into 3 portions and roll out each portion into rectangles. Layer the sliced chouriço on the dough, about 3 slices per row. Roll the dough up, and pinch the seams to close – it doesn’t have to be perfect – we want them to look rustic. 

With a knife make 4 diagonal cuts to the top of the bread. Set the rolls on a greaseproof baking sheet and let them rise for about another 30 minutes, then dust the tops of the rolls with some flour.

Bake in a preheated oven at 220C for about 25-30 minutes until the bread is done.

These are great fresh out of the oven or the next day! 

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

Crepe Blue-Suzette

Hello petals! 

So two days ago, was pancake day in England – I have no clue if the rest of the world celebrates this day too, I’ve personally never heard of it before until I moved to London. 

I had in my mind that I wanted to make crepe suzette, but because my mind was on another planet, I forgot to buy the main ingridients to make crepe suzette – oranges and orange liqueur. 

I had almost given up on making crepes at all, but then I’ve decided to look in my freezer… And I found frozen blueberries and a small of Captain Morgan dark rum –  I thought to myself… What’s the worse it can happen? 

  
Ingridients for the crepes:

• 100g plain flour
• 1 tablespoon of white caster sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil 
• 300ml milk

Put the flour and sugar  in a large bowl, make a well and add the eggs and oil in, and beat together with a whisk until combined. You can now slowly start to pour in a little milk, whisking the mixture as you pour, to keep the batter smooth. 

I like to put my mixture in a measuring jug once it’s mixed because it’s easier to pour in the pan. 

Make sure you have a GOOD non stick frying pan – trust me – my housemates have managed to destroy my pan by burning food and using a metal scrounger   – after trying to flip over a paper thin crepe from a sticky plan for over 10minutrd, I’ve immediately bought 2 new frying pans from Robert Dyas. 

When the pan is hot, pour in your batter mixture into it. When the crepe is golden underneath turn and cook for a another 30 seconds, until there’s a few brown spots. 

Ingridients to made the sauce:

• 100g butter
• 130g white caster sugar
• 100ml water 
• 100g fresh or frozen blueberries
• 50ml dark rum 

To make the sauce,  heat the butter and sugar in a pan over a low heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar begins to dissolve. Once it’s dissolve, turn up the heat until the mixture just starts to go brown and caramelise, stirring only towards the end. 

Pour in the water and the blueberries, stirring and mashing the berries with a fork. Let the mixture bubble for the sauce to thicken. Add in the dark rum and let the sauce

Ideally to serve this dish you will need to cook the crepes in the sauce – I haven’t done it in this occasion because I thought they would look prettier for the photo if they weren’t smothered in dark purple sauce. 

Let me know what you think of my Blue Suzettes! 

Ana x

Chinese Steamed Scallops with Vermicelli

Hello guys! 
So my mom was over on holiday and that is why I haven’t posted recently, I was busy being the great daughter that I am! haha

While she was here, we went to Billingsgate Market – my first time as well! – and I completely fell in love with the place! If I could, I would have bought the whole place.
My recipe for you today is Chinese Steamed Scallops with Vermicelli – This recipe is amazing however it takes time if you are buying fresh scallops, which I would definitely recommend for the visual effect of course.

  
 
Ingredients: 

• 6 half-shelled fresh scallops
• 30g of rice vermicelli 
• 1 tablespoon cooking oil 
• 8 middle size garlic cloves
• 1 handful coriander
• 2 spring onions
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil 
• Salt

In a large bowl, soak your vermicelli in boiling water. While the noodle softens, remove the scallop meat from its shell, with a spoon or a small knife and wash the meat under cold water to remove  sand or any dirty bits. You will also want to wash the shells to remove all dirt, as you will be using this to present/eat the dish.  

Place some water in wok and set up the steamer – You can place the shells directly into the steamer or you can put them on a plate, which is what I prefer. If you are not using a plate, you will need to place the vermicelli evenly in each shell under the scallop. Alternatively, place the bunch of vermicelli on the plate and drizzle with the sesame oil making sure that they are all coated – If you don’t do this, it might get stuck to the plate and you will curse at yourself when you try to wash that plate. 

Depending on the size of your steamer/wok, you might have to cook the scallops in 2 batches. 

Put the garlic in a blender or food processor, add the cooking oil, coriander, spring onions and salt to taste. Blitz the ingredients until it becomes a thick paste and scoop the mixture into each of the shells next to the scallop meat. 

Bring the water up to boiling and then continue to cook for 8-10 minutes.

This recipe takes a bit of time for preparation, but it is well worth the work. Serve the scallops with the vermicelli 

Enjoy! 

Ana x