Aubergine Stack with mixed herbs and a trio of cheeses

I love Aubergines and think they are very much under-used in English kitchens. It is a staple in many other countries and I have been craving them lately, hence this little recipe. The preparation is the longest part, once all is assembled you'll be done in 20 minutes.

Ingredients make 2 portions:

1½ Aubergines

200gr feta cheese

125gr fresh Mozzarella

20gr grated parmesan

Olive oil to fry

3 tbs Mixed herbs

3 garlic cloves

Salt and Pepper to taste

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Start with cutting the Aubergines into about 1 cm thick rounds. Then lay out on a baking tray and sprinkle with salt. Let it rest for 20 minutes. Then dab off the water with a kitchen roll to get rid of the bitter juices. Turn around and repeat the same process, this time you only have to wait 10 minutes. It is just to be sure we get rid of as much moisture as possible. It will also minimise the mess around the hob when frying.

It is difficult to gage how much oil you need as Aubergines are notorious for soaking up oil. I poor some into a bowl, add mixed herbs, Salt and pepper. Heat up a pan on high; put each slice through the oil before you put it in the pan then fry. Turn frequently as they are easy to burn the thinner they are cut.

When they are browned on each side, put them on antoher tray lines with kitchen foil to soak up the excess fat. This is what tales the longest and I cook with all windows open as the oil will start smoking.

To assemble the stack I use 2 rings. I think they are egg rings or so but I have multiple uses for them. I take some backing paper and line the inside as well as a layer for the bottom. That way you can stack higher and it will be easier to get it all out again once it is ready.

Pre-heat the oven on 200 C.

Crumble the feta into a bowl, chop the mozzarella in small bits, add the mixed herbs and mix it all up. Now layer the aubergines and cheese until you have no more Aubergines. The last layer should be an Aubergine. Divide the grated parmesan between your stacks and its ready to go into the oven.

Leave in the oven for about 15 minutes so all cheese melts. When you take it out let is rest for about 5 minutes. There might be some oil escaping at the bottom, from the cheese, this is good as otherwise it be all too greasy.

The recipe will make main meal portions and so I only served it with a small tomato salad. 

Enjoy!

Homemade Burgers & Garlic herb butter for a great BBQ

Last week I hosted a BBQ, what better time to show off my burger making skills, aside from other goodies you need to make it great. I bought this awesome burger press, to make actual burgers and easily freeze any for a later date. The press was really inexpensive (£4.49) and super simple, but the results are great. If you like burgers, I can only recommend you get one yourself.

One guest didn’t like hot food, well so he said before anyway. I made mild/medium hot burgers and he devoured them like there is no tomorrow. Anyways, the recipe is flavoursome without too much heat so I hope you like it.

I also made garlic and herb butter to go with it. It's great on the buns. The coleslaw is from a previous post, find it here.

Ingredients:

For about 13 burgers:

750gr minced beef

2 small red onions

3 fresh chilies

6 garlic cloves

2 tsp ginger puree

2 tbs paprika

½ tsp chili powder

Salt and pepper to taste

Garlic & Herb butter:

6 tbsp butter

4 cloves of garlic

Handful fresh parsley

1 tsp dried mixed herbs

Salt and pepper to taste

First of all prepare the base for the burgers, take hand held mixer or food processor. Mix up ginger, chili, onions and garlic. Whizz it up until it is a smooth paste. It will smell strong and possibly make you eyes water.

Then put the mince into a bowl, add the base together with paprika, chili powder and season with salt and pepper. Knead it all into the meat and make sure all ingredients are properly distributed. Set aside in the fridge for 30 minutes to infuse. One more thing to mention is that you will lose some size of the burger; this depends on the fat percentage of the meat used. Go as low fat as possible or best thing is to use a mincer and make your own steak mince. This will ensure you keep the size when cooking.

In the meantime we can get a start on the butters. I make one with just garlic and one with herbs. You can also mix it up all together, just some people aren’t the biggest fan’s of garlic, so to be on the save side, I separate them. I personally like garlic butter and if everyone has some, then there is no problem and garlic is so good for you too.

Make sure your butter is soft enough and divide it between 2 little bowls; I use the garlic press and just add garlic to one bowl, then finely chop the parsley and dried herbs and add to the other. Add salt and pepper to both of them and mix the ingredients in each bowl to a smooth consistency. That’s done. Depending on how hot it is and how long until the BBQ is ready, put them back into the fridge. It should still be easily spreadable. The worst thing is, when the butter is too firm and your bun tears when trying to spread it.

Take the meat out and now we come to my new favourite kitchen toy. The press comes with little wax paper sheets, so the burgers are easy to handle, store and freeze. I have added cheese to a few to try but left them out on purpose in the ingredients above. If you want to add cheese then cut a few fine slices, otherwise the burger will be too big to press properly.

Add a wax sheet, a couple spoons of meat, another waxsheet and press. This is the whole magic! So simple. If you want to add cheese, then you will have to add one spoon, flatten it a bit, cheese in and more meat on top before you press the burger.

 

The only thing that takes time is making your way through a whole lot of meat.

One tip is to lay out the wax sheets before you start with the meat and pressing. They are so thin and might stick together, plus you don’t want to contaminate all sheets with raw meat.

Once you have all burgers done, put them in the fridge until the BBQ is ready, a man job that I don’t involved in.

I use brioche burger buns as I think they bring out a better flavour but you can use whatever you like.

I have loads of condiments and sauces for every occasion, they all go on the table, buns, cold drinks and the BBQ is off to a good start.

I hope your BBQ will be a successful as mine was. Bon appétit.

How Food became my passion,...

As a kid I was a bit of a tricky eater. I would eat things separate but not together, didn’t eat Lasagne until I was in my late teens and was horrified of chicken on the bone, to date it is still the least favourite thing to do, together with gutting fish.

We used to go to my Granma’s house every weekend and she would make an amazing pork roast for us, a classic Austrian dish. She had a wood fired Aga and this made for the most amazing taste, which is just unbeatable.  I was always fascinated by her cooking and she would show and teach me a lot of things and recipes.

Greece was our holiday destination for years, we would drive with our boat from Vienna to a tiny place, barely on the map, island hop every day and in the evenings eat at the little restaurant next to the rooms we rented for the summer. I fell totally in love with lamb souvlaki and I also tried other things but only started to really appreciate them later on.

In my teens I was like most teenagers, still fuzzy over everything and a puritan, so never mixing my foods. When my Granma or Mum cooked my favourite dish, Wiener schnitzel with parsley potatoes and cucumber salad, I would eat it in stages, saving the most favourite, the potatoes, until the end.

I was born in June, the month of potatoes and strawberries and to this day absolutely love both of them. My mum, at some points thought, I would never eat anything else apart from those two things. Up until then I wasn’t cooking too much and when I did, the kitchen turned into one big mess, looking like a battle field.

Later on I turned vegetarian for years, at some point I just didn’t like the consistency of any kind of meat, not because of any other reasons. As a kid I ate pheasant, boar and all sorts of other game and enjoyed it but from one day to the other I couldn’t. I still have those days sometimes, if I think too much about it.

In my late teens, I worked as a waitress with a very good friend, in a high class Turkish restaurant in the center on Vienna. They had dishes I never seen or heard of and when starting my shift in the mornings the chef let me try a few things. I came to know and love Vitello Tonato, an amazing dish I will soon try again and post. He also asked if I want to try cow’s brain and tongue, which I politely declined and until today have not tried. I know it is a specialty but not my cup of tea. They also made lobster there and when I asked about the welfare of the lobster when cooked in hot water, he said to put it in head first is the best, most humane way. I only later learned that it is air escaping that makes this strange noise.

I didn’t stay there for very long but something has started to inspire me. My friend Parvin and I were later cooking for friends and it turned out brilliant every time, even once when the ice cream melted and we ‘transformed’ the dish into vanilla cream. No one ever knew any better and it was fantastic.

Parvin is Austrian with Iranian descent, although I have had some Iranian food before, she introduced me to a bunch of new and heavenly dishes. She has recently published her first cook book and is now working on a second one. Check out her page here.

Naschmarkt in Vienna

Around that time, I worked in a café on the Viennese Naschmarkt, which was owned by Turks and I was also surrounded by market stalls. I was a brilliant place to work and the café itself is famous for its, exotic salad. A marinated chicken salad, with a secret recipe dressing, avocado and Austrian pumpkin seed oil. Of course they also had other dishes that contributed to my passion for food. In the mornings we used to sit on crates and had pastrami omelettes or just feta, olives and other bits for breakfast before work started. There I learned the few phrases I can say in Turkish.

Soon after that I left Austria to explore the world and first stop was France, Paris to be exact. Well it goes without saying that my culinary world experience just broadened. Being a vegetarian for years before, my thought was that I didn’t want to restrict myself from any foods and miss out on divine flavours.

I had this lovely bistro just next door from the place I used to live and I would go there and eat things that I didn’t know, nor in some cases was able to pronounce. I spoke no French at all apart from what I heard in songs and that wasn’t appropriate to say the least. It went all well and I enjoyed everything but one, the dreaded Andouillette AAAAA. It is considered a delicacy and in short is a coarse-grained sausage made with pork (or occasionally veal), intestines or chitterlings, pepper, wine, onions, and seasonings. As soon as I cut into it I knew that there was no way I could eat it. This is the only meal I ever sent back in France and come to think about it, ever.

On the other hand, I got introduced to wonderful things, I tried everything. Escargots, Chevre chaud a miel, foi gras, beef carpaccio are on my top 10 list. I have also been to a small Portuguese fish restaurant that had people waiting in line outside for a table. The restaurant didn’t have a menu, you would just tell them how big your group was and they dished up everything, literally everything. It was amazing.

Crawfish boil in New Orleans

After France I went to the US and apart from the shock of portion size and the waste of it all I also found lovely stuff there. Green bean casserole with crispy fried onions is a dish they have for thanksgiving; I could eat it much more often than that. I was fortunate enough to move about quite a bit but the Cajun cuisine of New Orleans really left an impression. Crawfish boil, boiled peanuts, blackened alligator, alligator sausages, the endless varieties of hot sauces, dirty rice, deep fried oysters, Po’boys and all kinds of fish are just a few. 

Me in the middle of Bourbon Street, New Orleans

I absolutely love turtles, even have a tatoo of one. They have turtle soup with sherry in New Orleans and I never thought that it would taste so delicious. While I ate it, I felt like in the episode of the Simpsons when Homer brought up his lobster, then accidentally killed it in a ‘nice hot bath’ and ate it. It was a mix of sorrow paired with the absolute gorgeousness of the soup. It was odd but fantastic at the same time. 

Hot Sauce Galore

I started cooking for people and totally enjoyed them enjoying my food, if that makes sense. My confidence and passion started to grow above liking and cooking recipes to wanting to share amazing dishes with others.

Coxinhas

I also got to travel and stay in Brasil for some time, amazing food there too. Fish dishes from the north, the classic feijoada, arroz e feijao, the various fruit juices you have never heard about in Europe, coxinhas, churrascarias restaurants, the list is long. The three things that stood out for me were suco de caju (cashew nut juice), suco de acai (Acai juice) and coxinhas (Chicken croquettes) with hot sauce. If there was no other food in the world, I could live on those alone.

Eventually I found my way to the UK and although English food can be perceived as bland, it is comfort food and not all that bad. Yes, fish and chips are the staple, which the country is most known for but there are also lovely stews, pies and all sorts of pickles.

My parents in law are originally from Birmingham, the capital of curry in the UK, and it is a staple in their diet. Now living in the sunny Weymouth, everytime we go there I can be sure that a lovely Madras with all the trimmings is nicely bubbling away. 

I continued my tradition of dinner parties, even applied to be on “come dine with me”, a show with 4 contestants competing for the best dinner party and a narrator that took the piss out of everyone. They called me back after submitting my application, asking all kinds of questions. I didn’t make it, which in hindsight is a good thing. I guess I just wasn’t scandalous enough, the show took a turn at this point with contestants hating each other on the first night, plus again the narrator making fun of everyone.

Now the passion is in full force and after a few years of watching “Masterchef” and working on the courage, I am close to applying. I mean I learned techniques, a vast array of dishes and one of the finalist is following me on twitter.  So it is something on my bucket list.

In the mean time I thought that a blog is a good way to share my passion and perhaps also work up the courage to develop a cookbook, like my friend Parvin has done in Austria. I do sometimes think that it is funny how we both got super involved in cooking but being in different countries.

I hope you enjoyed reading about my culinary journey and stay tuned for more great things to come. 

Full permission has been given for use of pictures that are not my own. Thank you all for helping to bring this article to life.

Nashmarkt - https://ticketandtravelblog.com/ 
crawfish boil - https://cabinetofprettythings.com/
Hot sauces - https://www.facebook.com/Rocklands-Barbeque-and-Grilling-Company
Coxinha - http://www.receitadevovo.com.br/

Good ol' Chicken & Bacon Stew

Very lazy one-dish Mexican chicken

I was very lazy yesterday and with my partner not knowing when he will be home, I decided to make a dish that represented my super lazyness. 

It is a one-dish recipe that isn’t necessarily looking like a posh dish, but it takes no effort and is delish and flavourful. You will want seconds, trust me.

The ingredients are straight from the pantry and it turned out popular with the kids too. I only had baked beans but originally I made this dish with kidney beans. Totally up to you, or let’s say your pantry

Ingredients make 4:

4 chicken breasts

1 tin baked beans

1 tin chopped tomatoes

1 tin corn

3 tbsp dried onions

1 ½ tbsp cumin

1 tbsp smoked paprika

½ tbsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp chili flakes

1 cup basmati rice

5 small garlic cloves, chopped

2 spring onions

1 tsp Cajun spice mix

1 lime

50 gr grated cheddar

1 tbsp olive oil

50 ml water

Sour cream to serve

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Pre heat the oven to 200C. I use my lasagne dish and literally just add all the ingredients in that dish, start with olive oil, rice and the tinned stuff, then spices. Make sure everything is mixed up good, then place the chicken breasts into the mix, submerge a bit but not totally. Add the water and cover the whole thing with tin foil. This ensures that the rice is cooking and will be lovely and soft without turning crunchy. 

Bake for about 45 minutes and then add the grated cheese over each of the chicken fillets. Bake a further 15-20 minutes so the cheese can melt. Once you take it out let it rest for about 5 minutes and then it is all ready to be dished up.

I added spring onions and sour cream as side, you can also add a small salad and nachos if you have them, I didn’t.

Enjoy this easy recipe and also that there is almost no washing up to think about.

The best lunch time cup-a-soup ever!

That's pretty much all you need.

The fastest lunch idea ever is the good old cup-a-soup. Due to the simplicity of this dish, it totally qualified to be on my quick and simple lunch idea list you can find in “Never buy lunch again, make ityourself with these great ideas”.

I bought some Tupperware containers resembling a cup size, but also sometimes take it in my porridge container for a more filling lunch or when I want more noodles and perhaps some added veggies. I prepare a couple ahead and keep them in the fridge at work.

Ingredients make 1:

1 tsp Miso paste

½ packet Dashi soup mix

1 spring onion

1 fresh or dried Birdseye chili

80 gr tofu, smoked or regular

Vermicelli rice noodles

½ tsp dried seaweed

1 dash fish sauce

1tbs coriander, chopped

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So the only thing that might be unusual in this is the Dashi, which is just a Japanese version of soup stock powder. Mine is bonito fish flavoured. It is not fishy at all but adds flavour to your cup-a-soup.

Best place to find them is in a Japanese food shop, same goes for the dried seaweed. You can also cut a sushi algae sheet, which is available in high street supermarkets, if you have troubles finding it.

Firstly you will need to break the vermicelli into small pieces so they fit in your cup and are easy to eat. It is all about simplicity, so my assumption is to eat with a spoon. I would suggest putting the desired amount in a Ziploc bag, take a rolling pin and bash them, but make sure there is an open gap, so the air can escape. I, of course didn’t think about it and bashed them in their thin packaging, causing a little explosion with little noodle bits everywhere.  If you take them out and try to break them up, they might go all over. Well it is called trial and error for a reason.

All you have to do after is cube the tofu, finely chop the spring onion and chili. I stack the cup with noodles, then Miso and then the rest. Once you made it by the recipe, you might want to adjust flavour or experiment a bit youself to adjust it to your preferred taste. 

If I make a bigger container I add some of the stir fry veggie pack to give a bit more oomph. The veggies will soften a bit but still leave a crunch, always buy the stir fry veggie pack, to get a nice variety.

Now all you have to do is add boiling water, cover and let it stand for about 5 minutes. Since you can keep it for a couple days in the fridge without a problem it is the optimal lunch and I hope you enjoy!

Sweetpotato salad with feta cheese and spring onions

This is the easiest salad ever and a good option as work lunch. I made it in the morning, when I had nothing in the house apart from these 3 ingredients and then took it with me, because it is that quick to make. Needless to say better, much cheaper and more filling than any salad available from the canteen. This little number will get you out of the rut. I enjoy the combination of sweet, smoky and the salty, slight sharp taste of the feta.

This easy recipe is also mentioned in my article “Never buy lunch again, make it yourselfwith these great ideas” so have a look for more delicious ideas to put the dreaded work lunch back on the map, leave people in your office jealous and wondering how you can put it all together. We have a few nosy people in my office that always have a look at others lunches, it feels quite good when the envy your lunch over their own same old boring sandwich.

Ingredients make 1:

1 large sweet potato

40gr feta cheese

1-2 spring onions

Smoked paprika

Salt & pepper to taste

1 tsp olive oil

3-5 tbs water

For the dressing:

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1 tsp olive oil

2 tsp apple cider vinegar

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Cut the sweet potato into small blocks of about ½ cm and chop the spring onion. Heat the oil in a medium sized pan and add the sweet potato. Get the sweet potato browning in the pan; add smoked paprika, salt and pepper. After a few minutes the sides should be nicely coloured but the sweet potato isn’t totally cooked yet.

Turn the heat up high and add the water straight into the pan, cover and then return to a medium heat.  Turning it up high will just ensure that the water comes to a boil right away; we have no time to waste in the morning before work. This will steam the remainder of the potato through and through. Give the pan with cover on a shake a couple times while waiting so no potato gets burned. Sweet potatoes usually soften faster than normal potatoes, but they also contain more sugar so shaking them up is essential.

Prep your Tupper ware dish and mix all the ingredients for the dressing in a glass and mix it all up. I use an old mustard glass, close and shake them all together, saves a bit more time. Taste and adjust the dressing if necessary.

Make sure all water has evaporated from the pan, add the sweet potato to your container, sprinkle the spring onions and crumble the feta on top. A pinch more pepper and you are done, ready to take to work.

Grilled polenta with spicy tomato sauce

This tasty vegetarian meal is done in no time, is gluten free and makes a lovely starter or even main. You can buy the readymade polenta in your high street supermarket for close to nothing. It is also great to keep a couple packets as spares, for the days where you want a quick meal. In Austria, polenta is a common ingredient, used either creamed or as block, since in the UK I haven’t had it as much, mainly because it doesn’t seem to be as popular or perhaps not as known. I stumbled across it one day and since then use it much more frequently. 

The ingredients are something everyone, most likely, has in their home. It is perfect for adding a twist to common ingredients.  I use Austrian pumpkin seed oil to drizzle over it, it is possible to get it around the world but it might be tricky to find. Health food stores might stock it but you can also order it online. It is cold pressed oil that it is great on salads and has an amazing flavour. Yes, I am totally bias on this one. If you haven't got this to hand, some olive oil will work nicely too.

Ingredients to make 4:

1 packet of readymade polenta

1 tin of chopped tomatoes

1 tsp chili flakes

2-3 dashes of Worcester sauce

2 tsp sugar

1 dash balsamic vinegar

1 red onion

1 tbs butter

5-6 cherry tomatoes halved or quartered

3 tbs Olive oil

1 tsp mixed herbs

1 tsp smoked paprika

1-2 spring onions

Fresh basil leaves

Salt and pepper to taste

1 tbs pumpkin seed oil

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Let’s start with the spicy tomato sauce. You will need a pan and keep it on a low heat. Chop the red onion finely, add butter to the pan and once melted, add the red onions. Turn up the heat, add sugar and let the onions caramelise for a few minutes. Keep an eye on it as we don’t want them to burn.

Add the chili flakes and give it a stir, leave for another minute then add the tin of chopped tomatoes and also about half a tin of water. Keep the pan uncovered on a medium heat. Add Worcester sauce, balsamic, smoked paprika and the cherry tomatoes. The sauce should now have a deep red colour. Turn the heat on low and let the excess water evaporate. It should usually take about 10-15 minutes, give it a stir every so often.

The marinade is super simple. Add olive oil, mixed herbs, salt and pepper in a bowl and mix. Cut the block of polenta into 8 slices and evenly coat each slice in the marinade.

Heat up a skillet pan and make sure it is very hot before placing the polenta on it. This will ensure you get the lovely charred lines on it. You won’t need any oil as the marinated slices already have all the oil you need.  

Give each slice about 5 minutes before checking. Moving it too much about won’t give them the lovely charring we are looking for. It also depends on the thickness you have cut it but 5-7 minutes on each side should be sufficient when cut thinly.

When the tomato sauce has evaporated most of its water and is a thick sauce it is time to dish up.

The picture has 2 portions on it, because it looked nicer, but 2 per person should be sufficient as starter and you can add more if you have it as a main.

Garnish with basil and spring onions, bon appétit.

Spicy Mexican cheese stuffed meatballs with homemade coleslaw

The cheese is lovely and oozy

Today’s recipe originated at my soon-to-be parents in law and their lovely outdoor kitchen in sunny Weymouth.  My other half built this kitchen for his parents who love a good BBQ, so once it was all finished I was really eager to give it a go. 

I had to think about something a bit upscale from the normal burger, so I came up with this and it was good that everybody loves spicy food. 

Ingredients for 6 balls:

750gr minced beef

ca. 240gr of spicy Mexican cheese (jalapeno, or normal if you like)
Salt and pepper to taste

Absolutely fab, right?

Coleslaw:
½ head of cabbage, shredded

1 carrot, shredded

1 small red onion

Mayonnaise (make up to your pref’s)

Salt, pepper, chili flakes, cayenne pepper, to taste

1 tsp paprika

dash Worcester sauce

dash of vinegar

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Take a big bowl, put the meat in and start to knead it.  This makes the meat compacter and the cheese wont leak out of the ball. You also don’t have to add egg and help bind it.

Do this until it is a good mass and then add spices to your liking. Salt and pepper should be a must, but depending on how much spice you want in the burger, is up to you. If you can’t find any spicy cheese, you can make the burger spicier, it will balance out the normal cheese, but still give it a kick. Make sure all spices are evenly distributed.

Cut the cheese into 6 blocks and work the blocks of cheese into the meat to form square-ish meatballs. I do this to make turning easier and get it nicely cooked all over. The meat will contract a bit anyway and they will look more “ballsy” when done.

They also added a seating area

Take another big bowl to combine coleslaw, carrots, red onion and add mayonnaise to your liking until it reaches the preferred consistency. I like mine just about covered. Add paprika, salt, pepper, Worcester sauce and vinegar, mix everything evenly together and the job is done!

On the BBQ I used a griddle plate so the excess fat can drain off, there is enough left in the cheese and it won’t end up dry. Serve with the homemade coleslaw and sauce of your choice. In the picture I used sour cream with sprinkles of Sriracha sauce and also added a mixed salad and French fries.

I hope you enjoy!

Goat's cheese filo parcels on tomato carpaccio and honey mustard dressing

I have often had this dish and it's varieties when living in France and fell in love with the mix of goat’s cheese and honey.  So when I cooked for 8 of my family and friends in June, I needed something that is easy to prepare and gives me time to spend with the guests in the mean time. This was the perfect solution.

It is a simple dish that through its sheer simplicity, makes a great dinner party starter.

Originally I used different colour tomatoes but then I forgot to take a picture. The picture here is from the evening meal and as I liked my own dish that much I had the same again next day for lunch (top picture).

We bought the tomatoes at a farmers market so the taste was outstanding, the tomatoes were just right and slightly sweet. This dish is at its best when the tomatoes compliment the filo parcels, so try to get ripe tomatoes, otherwise they might have a bit of sharpness that doesn’t bring out the best side of it. 

I also use my rainbow pepper grinder to season the dish. Black pepper is ok but the mixed ones just add a level of sophistication to this simple dish.

Ingredients make 4:

1 roll of goat’s cheese

1 packet filo pastry

4 Different colour ripe tomatoes

1 packet of rocket

1 shallot to sprinkle the dish

For the dressing:

6 tbs olive oil

6 tbs white wine vinegar

3 tbs whole grain mustard

2-3 tbs of runny honey (to taste)

2 tbs water

Salt and mixed peppercorns for seasoning

So lets start with the filo parcels. Cut the cheese into 8 slices.  Then lay out one layer of filo pastry, place the goats cheese in the middle and wrap it up, the way you do it is up to you. 

On the pictures I decided to go for the simple and easy way. If you have some butchers string you can also use 2 filo sheets per cheese slice and then wrap them up in a “purse shape”. Whatever tickles your fancy.

When you are done with the parcels, sprinkle them with a tiny amount of water, then cover with cling film. Filo pastry dries out super quick and will break during baking, so it is important to keep the pastry moist. In france they have a bit thicker pastry which is slightly easier to handle but with this trick they will turn out good too.

Next heat the oven to 200C and whilst this is heating up we can turn to dressing the plate with super thin slices of tomatoes in different colours and also a bit of rocket, task done. I know some people say to cut tomatoes with a serrated blade but I disagree. I would suggest cutting them with a big, normal knife, which is either super sharp or has been sharpened before attempting to cut the tomatoes. The weight and sharpness of the knife will then just glide through the tomato, without any effort whatsoever. If you get ripe tomatoes this is essential otherwise they will look butchered and not as nice.

For the dressing take an empty jar, add and mix all ingredients, then close and give it a shake. You perhaps will have to adjust the taste, so make sure you try it. If too sharp add a bit more honey, we want the dressing to be sweet but not overpowering, so if too sweet add a bit of vinegar and salt. Once you played around with it, you will get the hang of it quickly. Also add a couple tbs of water, shake again and we can move on to the filo parcels.

Once the oven is warm place the parcels in the middle of the oven and bake for about 10-15 minutes depending on the oven, if you are unsure have a look. The filo pastry should be golden brown but not burnt. If you decided to go for the “purse shape” it might be trickier with the bits on top, filo is burning notoriously quick, once the “golden brown” stage has been reached, so make sure you keep an eye on it.

While you are waiting, add the dressing to the salad, not too early as it will cause the salad to wilt. 

When the parcels are ready place them in the middle of the plate, drizzle with a bit of honey and voila, start wowing your guests!

Glutenfree Asian inspired chicken noodle soup

I am totally into soups, doesn’t matter if it is carrot soup, Vietnamese Pho or Miso soup. This recipe is a bit of a mash up that turned out to be delicious, so I hope you will like it too. Other takes on soups I love, are to follow. The ingredients are gluten free so it is a great dish to enjoy if you have problems with gluten. 
Check the label when you buy Miso paste, some brands can contain gluten. Mine is gluten free from soya but Miso can also be made from grains containing gluten so be aware when you shop.

Ingredients make 4:

Vermicelli rice noodles, I get mine in a big pack from my Asian supermarket, much cheaper than any high street grocery store (they charge you the same price for a small packet, ludicrous)

3 tbs Miso paste, again buy it at an Asian or Japanese store, Sainsbury sell some but it is not Miso and quite frankly disgusting and overpriced. You can keep it in the fridge for ages and use it in many dishes as a base, so a definite essential to have to have in your fridge

½ packet of stir fry Veggies, I get the prepared one as you have a bit of everything in it and it just makes the dish even easier

1 tbs of ground nut oil

1½ tbs of fish sauce

2 chicken breasts

1 chili or more if you like it hot

2 spring onions

1 handful of coriander

3 garlic cloves

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Let’s start with the noodles by placing them in a large Tupperware container, if you bought the big packet you will find that the noodles are in batches, take one batch as it should yield enough for 4. Cover it with boiling water and put the lid on, let it stand for 5-8 minutes, then drain and set aside. If you have still some left in the end you can keep them in the fridge for a couple days without any problems, use them in a stir fry perhaps.

Next dice the chicken into small cubes and also set aside. Chop the garlic, spring onions and chili and roughly chop the coriander.

Take a big pot for the soup; add the ground nut oil and about 1.5 liter of water. I heat mine up in the kettle to reduce cooking time. Add the chicken and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat so it just about bubbles away nicely. Now we can add the garlic, fish sauce, Miso paste and chili, if you opt for a hotter version, keep the seeds in. Let this cook for about 15 minutes. The chicken will give the broth extra flavor.

Once the time is up, add the stir fry veggies and simmer for another 5 minutes to soften them up a bit, but not boil the hell out of them.

This is it, ready to plate up. I take a shallow soup bowl and add the noodles, chicken and broth.

Finally top it with spring onions, coriander and chili slices. You have a divine soup, ready to enjoy!