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

Salted Pistachio Brownies

Hello petals. 

Sorry I haven’t been so active. It’s been a bit rough. Feeling under the weather and have lost someone that was very dear to me unexpectedly. 

J was one of the best people I have ever met. 

This recipe is for you, you never liked sweet things but you liked me. 

  
Ingridients: 

• 145g salted butter
• 250g white caster sugar
• 65g cocoa powder 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 70g plain flour
• 100ml condensed milk
• 75g crushed salted pistachios 

Firstly, preheat your oven on gas mark 6. 

Start of my lining your baking tray with greaseproof paper. You will want to do this as it will make it so much easier to remove it once it’s cooled down. 

As I am a bit lazy, instead melting the butter over a saucepan, I do it in the microwave for about 45seconds. In a bowl add the butter, sugar and cocoa powder. You don’t want the mixture to be too hot from the butter, as this might cook the eggs. 

Stir in vanilla with a spatula and then add the eggs, one at a time, stirring hard after each one.

When the batter looks thick, shiny and well blended, add the flour and stir until fully incorporated. Spread evenly in lined tray. 

Scatter half of the crushed nuts on top and evenly pour the condensed milk on top of the chocolate and nut mixture. Sprinkle the rest of the pistachios on top and pat down gently with the spatula. 

Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until the toothpick comes out clean when you insert it in the center of the tray. You will need to keep an eye on it from time to time and you might have to bake it for longer. 

Once it’s done and it has cooled down, parts of the condensed milk will have turned into caramel. 

I hope you enjoy it. 

Ana 

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 

 

 

Kale and Cauliflower Cheese

Good evening!

Hope you have had a good start to your month of March. 

I have had some ups and downs already.. But nothing will stop me from doing what  I love the most.. Cooking! 

  
Ingridients: 

• 1/2 head medium cauliflower
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 75g frozen kale 
• 1.5 tablespoon plain flour
• 200ml milk
• 150g grated cheddar cheese
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
• 2 tablespoons breadcrumb
• 2 tablespoons butter
• Salt and Pepper

First, steam or boil the cauliflower and kale together. Once their cooked, set aside and drain any excess liquid. 

In a sauce pan, melt the butter and once this is melted add in the flour and stir. Add the milk bit by bit and keep stirring until you get a lump free rue (sauce) and season it with salt and pepper. 

Add in the grated cheddar cheese to the sauce and keep it on a low hit until the cheese has melted. Put the kale and cauliflower into a oven proof dish and pour the cheese sauce over it. 

Sprinkle the the breadcrumb and Parmesan on top and bake it for 25minutes or untilthe top it’s golden brown. 

You can serve this with your Sunday roast! Or serve it on toast! Yum! 
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

White Bread with Truffle Oil

Happy Sunday!

I’ve got the easiest bread recipe, and you can make it a bit more luxurious by adding truffle ok instead of olive oil.

You will need:

• 250g white plain flour
•  1 sachet of instant yeast
• 1/2 teaspoon of caster sugar
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 150ml luke warm water
• 1 and 1/2 tablespoons of white truffle oil

 

Combine the flour, yeast, salt and sugar in a large bowl. Once combined make a well in the centre and pour in your water and your oil. Gradually mix the flour in until it forms a dough.

Transfer the dough to the work top and start to knead. Your dough will be wetter than a pizza dough. It should be sticky. Carry on kneading the dough for about 10 minutes. Place your dough into a lightly oiled, bowl and leave to prove covered for an hour. Whilst proving preheat the oven to 220C

Once your hour prove is done, knead the dough for another 10 minutes, then divide the dough into two parts. Put the dough in two identical bowls to create the round shape and place them in a baking tray. Form these sections into small rounds and place on covered baking trays for another hour.

Now cook your rolls in the oven for 15-20 minutes. Check the rolls at 15 min to see if they are done by tapping the bottom of the rolls to check that they sound hollow. When they are ready put them in a cooling rack covering them with a clean tea towel so that it absorbs the steam coming out from the rolls.

 

Letme know what you think!

Ana

Penne with Pesto and Black Olives

Happy new year by beautiful people! Sorry I haven’t been very active with my posting, you have to understand that I have been in multiple food and alcohol comas during the holiday season! 

My other excuse is that I can’t take good pictures of the food due to the stupid winter and not having natural sunlight! However I have solved that problem by buying a mini studio set up with lights. 

  
I’ve decided to post quite an easy, healthy and quick meal for you today (also I haven’t done food shopping yet and I was dying to test out the studio set and lights. 

I’ve chosen to use penne, but you can use any pasta you have – if you have fresh pasta that’s even better! 

Ingredients you will need for this recipe:

• 1 cup of pasta
• 1 tablespoon of pesto
•  8 black olives (chopped) 
• 1 fresh chilli (chopped) 
• salt and pepper

Cook the pasta to your liking, I like mine al dente, about 10-11min on boiled water in medium high heat. 

While your pasta is cooking, start prepping your sauce. Cut the fresh chilli in half and remove the seeds by scrapping it with the back of your knife – I love spicy food but I think this pasta benefits with just a bit of heat. Chop up the black olives, or if you want you can mince it, it’s to your preference. 

Once your pasta is cooked, make sure you drain it well and add all the ingredients. Salt and pepper is to your preference, I like to let the pesto speak for itself so I barely add any salt. 

I will be posting  my recipe for the pesto soon, I think everyone should try and make their own pesto st least once! 

Enjoy! 

Ana 

Blueberry Muffins

 I am not the biggest fan of sweets, so it will take a lot for me to actually make something something sweet. I am more inclined to bake during the cold weather because who doesn’t like a nice warm muffin?

I was having a look in my fridge the other day,  and saw that I had frozen blueberries. The first thing I thought I could make, was blueberry muffins.

What you’ll need to succeed:

• 110g plain flour
• 110g butter
• 85g caster sugar
• 2 eggs
•  1½ teaspoons of baking powder
• 125 frozen blueberries

Cream the butter and sugar together then slowly add the eggs. Add the flour, baking powder and stir to combine. This is the hardest part: refrigerate the mixture overnight.

Place a spoonful of muffin mixture into each muffin case, filling each to just over half way.

Bake in an oven set at 200C/400F/Gas 6 for 20 minutes, or until golden on top.

Best served  warm out of the oven! You do not want to have these cold.. It won’t taste the same!
Ana xx

Mamamia Pan Grill Pizza

 
We all love a good pizza take away! But I like my pizza crispy thin, like a cracker! So no take away pizza will ever satisfy me. This recipe is quick and too easy!

I’ve cheated on the dough and used pizza base mix from sainsbury’s, I can make two thin crust pizzas with one pack. You will need 100ml of water to add to the mix, combine it well and leave it to rest for a bit. While your dough is resting you start on your tomato sauce. For mine I used tomato purée, olive oil, water, 1 shallot and 2 cloves of onion, some salt and pepper. Blitz it in your blender or food processor, I don’t like the the sauce too smooth, so I leave small chunks of the shallot and garlic.

For the filling, I used smoked mozzarella and chili luganica sausage meat, but it’s your pizza so you can use whatever tickles your fancy.

I roll out half of the dough thinly, and fold the “corners in”, spread the tomato sauce, add the grated cheese and then the meat… Then the cheese again! In a frying pan (big enough to fit your pizza), heat some olive oil and transfer the pizza to the pan once the oil is hot. Yes, we are “frying” the pizza base first.

 
Once the base gets dark, take the pan off the stove and put it under the grill. Make sure you keep an eye out on the pizza, as you don’t wanna burn it.

The cheese will start to bubble and you’re pretty much done once the meat and the crust gets a bit of colour!

If you can get your hands on some rocket, I would definitely suggest adding at the end to give this crisp freshness to your pizza.

Not to blow my own trumpet, but I make a good damn pizza!

I hope you enjoy!