Tag: Dinner

Aubergines baked with Gorgonzola

When you see a good move, look for a better one.

– Emanuel Lasker

Ingredients (2 servings):
– 2 aubergines;
– 150 g Gorgonzola;
– 4-6 cherry tomatoes;
– 4-6 garlic clothes;
– olive oil;
– parsley;
– salt/pepper
– baguette for serving.

Method:
1 Preheat the oven to 180 C.
2 Cut aubergines into stripes 0.5 cm length and transfer on the baking paper.
3 Sprinkle aubergines with olive oil and salt. Transfer the baking tray in the oven for 20-30 minutes until slightly golden.
4 Grate garlic, cut Gorgonzola into cubes, cut cherry tomatoes into rounds.
5 Transfer garlic, then tomatoes’ rounds, then Gorgonzola cubes on the aubergines’ stripes.
6 Bake for another 10 minutes, sprinkle with black pepper and parsley. Serve with fresh baguette.

Hungarian Paprika-Potato Pancakes with garlic sauce !

I had for breakfast more paprika, and a sort of porridge of maize flour which they said was “mamaliga”, and egg-plant stuffed with forcemeat, a very excellent dish, which they call “impletata”.

Bram Stoker, Dracula

Pancakes ingredients (15-16 pancakes):
– 500g boiled potatoes (weight boiled)
– 1 red onion
– 2 eggs
– 3 tbsp flour
– 2 tsp paprika powder
– 1/2 tsp salt
– 100g breadcrumbs
– sunflower oil for frying

Garlic sauce ingredients:
– 200g sour cream
– 3 tsp mayonnaise
– 3 garlic cloves
– parsley

Method:
1 Boil potatoes
2 Potatoes-batter: combine boiled potatoes, chopped onion, eggs, flour, paprika powder and salt – mix well until smooth
3 Preheat the skillet with some sunflower oil
4 For each pancake drop 1 tsp of potatoes-batter in bread crumbs and fry for 2-3 minutes each side, medium heat until golden
5 Garlic sauce: mix sour cream, grated garlic, mayonnaise and chopped parsley
5 Serve pancakes hot with garlic sauce and chopped parsley !

Feta and Cottage Cheese Dumplings: simple and delicious lunch !

Bez opatrnosti aj šikovnosť je márna   

Slovak proverb
Feta and Cottage Cheese Dumpling

Dough ingredients (2 servings):
– 6-8 tbsp flour
– 150g feta cheese
– 100g cottage cheese
– 1 egg

Serving ingredients:
– 250g sour cream
– 1 small red onion
– 1tbsp butter

Method:
1 Combine flour, grated feta cheese, cottage cheese and egg: knead the dough
2 Separate the dough into 4 equal parts
3 Form a 1.5cm diameter sausage from each part of dough
4 Cut out each sausage into 1cm width dumplings and set them aside
5 Pre-heat butter in the skillet and fry chopped red onion until golden
6 Transfer the dumplings into the boiling water and cook for 4 minutes at medium heat
7 Transfer the dumplings to the skillet with fried red onion: mix and cook for another 2-3 minutes
7 Serve the dumplings with sour cream !

Simple Tarte Flambée Feta-Olive !

Are the days of winter sunshine just as sad for you, too? When it is misty, in the evenings, and I am out walking by myself, it seems to me that the rain is falling through my heart and causing it to crumble into ruins.

Gustave Flaubert, November

Dough:
– 220g wheat flour
– 1 egg yolk
– 2 tbsp olive oil
– 100ml warm water
– 1 pinch salt

Filling:
– 200g sour cream
– 2 small red onions
– 150g Feta cheese
– 15 green olives without stone

Directions:
1 Dough
1.1 Preheat the oven to 220C
1.2 Mix dough ingredients and knead the dough for 5 min
1.3 Roll out the dough into a 3mm height oval
1.4 Transfer the dough on the baking paper: bake (without filling) at 220C for 8 min
2 Filling and Tarte Flambee
2.1 Chop red onions, feta cheese and olives
2.2 Spread the sour cream over the baked dough; sprinkle with onion, feta cheese and olives: bake for another 10 min at 220C
3 Serve and enjoy with a cup of coffee or a glass of Pinot Noir

Potato Dumplings “Kopytka” with Ham and Onion !

But I think happiness springs from another source, a far deeper one that doesn’t depend on will because it comes from love.

Henryk Sienkiewicz, Quo Vadis
Polish Dumplings Kopytka

Dumplings ingredients (4 portions):
– 2 cups (1 cup=250ml) boiled mashed potatoes
– 1 cup wheat flour
– 1 egg
– 1 teaspoon salt
– 1-2 tablespoons olive oil for frying

Serving ingredients (4 portions):
– 2 small onions
– 100g ham
– 2 garlic cloves
– 1 bunch chives

Method:
1 Combine boiled (no extra water!) mashed potatoes+egg+flour+salt and mix well to a dough
2 Separate dough into 6 equal piece: form a 1.5cm diameter sausage from each piece
3 Cut the sausages into 1cm width dumplings taking a ~60 degrees angle with respect to the sausage 🙂
4 Boil dumplings for 4 minutes in salted water, then transfer them to a plate
5 Chop ham, onion and garlic
6 Pre-heat a non-sticking skillet: fry the dumplings & onion at medium heat until golden
7 Add ham and chopped garlic to the dumplings: fry for 2 minutes at medium heat
8 Serve the dumplings hot with chopped chives and … enjoy!!

Notes: Kopytka means “little hooves” in Polish and refer to the appearance of these potato dumplings, which are formed in the shape of hooves:-)

Chicken in Hungarian Style with Potato Pancakes !

Úgy szép az élet, ha zajlik.

Hungarian proverb
Chicken in Hungarian Style

Chicken with vegetables ingredients (4 servings):
– 300g chicken breast
– 500g tomatoes 🍅
– 1 red bell pepper
– 1 green bell pepper
– 1 onion
– 2 teaspoons paprika
– 1 teaspoon salt
– 3 garlic 🧄 cloves
– olive oil for frying

Potato pancakes ingredients (2 servings):
– 9 medium potatoes
– 1 tablespoon potato starch
– 1 teaspoon salt
– 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
– olive oil for frying

Directions:
1 Start cooking chicken stew (2) and potato pancakes (3) simultaneously to serve them hot 🙂
2 Chicken stew:
2.1 Cut chicken breasts into 1cm cubes, combine with salt and put aside in a bowl
2.2 Cut bell peppers, onion and tomatoes 🍅 into 1cm pieces
2.3 Fry chicken cubes for 10 minutes with olive oil until golden at medium heat
2.4 Add cut vegetables and 2 teaspoons paprika to chicken: stew for another 15 minutes
2.5 Add grated garlic and mix well: done!
3 Potato pancakes:
3.1 Wash and peel potatoes
3.2 Grate one half of potatoes and mash in a blender another half
3.3 Combine grated and mashed potatoes: drain extra liquid through a strainer or cloth
3.4 Combine potatoes with salt, pepper and starch
3.5 Preheat a non-sticking frying pan with some olive oil
3.6 Put 1 tablespoon of potato batter on the frying pan for each pancake-to-be: make it flat and round with a tablespoon
3.7 Fry pancakes at a medium heat until golden approximately 3-4 minutes each side
3.8 Transfer the pancakes on paper towels to absorb extra oil for a couple of minutes
4 Serve potato pancakes & chicken hot. Decorate with chopped fresh green onions!