Meatless Monday: grilled eggplant/aubergine with feta, golden raisins and mint

Time for another Meatless Monday dish. Aubergine/eggplant is one of my favourite vegetables and while I'm looking forward to our own aubergine crop soon, at the moment I must have do with imported aubergines. Luckily there are nice ones around just now (I dislike those huge sponge-like bulbous ones that you get during winter and early spring), so I cook something with aubergines/eggplants every week or two.


Aubergines/Eggplants from Nami-Nami garden, September 2010

This lovely vegetarian dish is good as it is, but it could also be served as a side dish to some grilled chicken, fish or meat.

Other aubergine/eggplant recipes @ Nami-Nami:
Nasu dengaku or miso-glazed aubergine
Ottolenghi's roasted aubergine with saffron yoghurt
A lovely aubergine curry with tomatoes, coriander and nigella seeds
Armenian Aubergine Stew
Brinjal Masala (deep-fried aubergines)
Hob-to-table moussaka

Grilled aubergine with feta, golden raisins and mint
(Meatless Monday)
Adapted from a recipe on Swedish Arla-site
Serves 4

2 medium-sized aubergines/eggplants (not too bulbous)
3-4 Tbsp oil
salt and black pepper
small bunch of mint
4 Tbsp golden raisins
4 Tbsp roasted pinenuts
150-200 g Greek feta cheese, crumbled or cubed

Rinse the eggplants and cut into 5 mm (that's half a centimetre or about 1/4th of an inch). Sprinkle some salt and place in a colander to drain (contrary to a widespread misconception, this is NOT done to get rid of any bitterness - modern eggplant varieties simply are not bitter. However, by draining some of the eggplant juices off beforehand, they immerse less oil when frying later). Put aside for about 20-30 minutes.
Pat the aubergine slices dry, then brush with oil on both sides.
Heat a heavy frying pan until very hot, then reduce heat to medium-high and fry eggplant/aubergine slices until golden brown on both sides (about 2-3 minutes per side). Season with salt and pepper and place on a serving tray.
Sprinkle with crumbled feta, chopped mint leaves, golden raisins and roasted pinenuts.
Serve.

Crisp stuffed courgette flowers aka zucchini blossoms

From all the vegetables we're growing in our garden, zucchini/courgette thrives best (closely followed by Jerusalem artichokes). And whereas the fruit might need another few days to be ready, zucchini blossoms are perfect already. Previously I've made zucchini blossom fritters and zucchini blossom frittata, this year I tried to stuff them. I came across two more or less identical recipes - one by Lucas Hollweg in the UK Sunday Times, the other by Jamie Oliver. A bit of tweaking here and there (who uses self-rising flour!?!?), and I came up with this version that we all LOVED.

You can use both male and female zucchini blossoms for this dish, as I did. (How can you tell them apart? The female blossoms have a tiny zucchini attached to them; the male blossoms just have the stem). I usually just use the male blossoms, as the female are the ones providing us with tasty courgettes later on. The male blossoms look like this:


Male courgette flower/zucchini blossom

However, if you don't need so many proper zucchinis, you can pick the female blossoms as well - it'll give you a more substantial dish.


Courgette flowers @ Lyon Market, France, August 2009. Female blossoms are at the front, male blossoms at the back.

What's your favourite way to stuff courgette flowers/zucchini blossoms?

Deep-fried stuffed courgette flowers
(Frititud täidetud suvikõrvitsaõied)



12 large and fresh zucchini blossoms/courgette flowers
vegetable oil, for frying

Filling:
250 g ricotta cheese
25 g freshly grated Parmesan cheese
finely grated zest of half a lemon
a small handful of fresh mint, finely chopped
a generous pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
salt anf freshly ground black pepper

Batter:
120 g all-purpose/plain flour (about 200 ml)
0.5 tsp baking powder
a pinch of salt
250 ml (a cup) of sparkling water/mineral water

To serve:
sea salt flakes and lemon wedges

Make the filling. Mix ricotta, Parmesan, lemon zest and mind leaves. Season generously with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Form the mixture into 12 small balls.
Prepare the zucchini blossoms - I avoid rinsing, if at all possible, and neither do I remove the
filaments from the female flowers. (You're welcome to do so, if you prefer). Make sure there are no little critters hiding inside the blossoms! Using your fingers, gently open each blossom and place one small stuffing ball inside. Gently close the blossom around the filling - either just folding the petals over the stuffing, twisting the petals or using a chive to tie the petals tightly together.
Mix the ingredients for the batter - it should have the consistency of a thin crepe batter.
Heat 4-5 cm (about 2 inches) of oil in a small saucepan. The temperature is about right when a little peeled potato cube or bread cube begins to sizzle and turns into nice golden brown when you drop it into the oil.
Now, working with couple of zucchini blossoms at the time, dip them into the batter, then lower them into hot oil. Fry for about 2-3 minutes, then gently turn them over and let them brown on the other side as well.
Using a slotted spoon, transfer them into a double layer of kitchen paper to drain off the excess oil.
Fry the rest of the stuffed zucchini blossoms in a similar fashion.

Serve hot, sprinkled with some Maldon sea salt and lemon wedges on the side.

Here's another close-up:

Crostini with Västerbotten cheese

Another little recipe using the wonderful Swedish Västerbotten cheese. The recipe is Swedish as well, from a relatively new food magazine Lantliv Mat & Vin that K. brings me back from Sweden every now and then. You should use whitefish roe or löjrom ideally. Unfortunately it's difficult to track down in Estonia, so I had to settle for dyed herring roe instead.

Crostini with Västerbotten cheese cream and whitefish roe
(Krõbesaiad Västerbotteni juustukreemi ja siiamarjaga)
Source: Lantliv Mat & Vin 4/2010
Makes 12

12 thin slices of baguette
1 Tbsp butter
100 cream
100 ml grated Västerbotten cheese
100 g fish roe (preferably whitefish roe or löjrom)
freshly ground black pepper
fresh chives

Heat the butter on a frying pan, fry baguette slices lightly on both sides until golden. Cool.
Mix grated Västerbotten and cream cheese, spread on toasted bread slices.
Spoon the caviar on top, grind some black pepper over the cheese and garnish with chopped chives.

Gardener's revenge: ground-elder and cottage cheese pie

Originally posted here.

A well-known (and much-hated) garden pest, ground-elder (Aegopodium podagraria, also known as bishop's weed and goutweed in English, naat in Estonian) has a long history of being used for medicinal purposes. However, it was also cultivated as a food crop in the Middle Ages, especially in Russia (and in Siberia in particular - the Russian Saint Seraphim of Sarov is said to have survived three years on eating mainly ground-elder while on self-exposed exile in a deep forest), Scandinavia, in Central Europe. Old Finno-Ugric peoples were keen consumers of ground-elder, too. According to some sources, old traders wrapped their vegetables into ground-elder leaves to keep them fresh looking and smelling - the leaves are high in essential oils and helped to keep the other produce fresh and aromatic, too. Young and tender ground-elder leaves can be added to soups, omelettes and stews. Blanched leaves can be mixed with cottage cheese and curd cheese. The leaves are high on Vitamin E, as well as vitamin C, they're rich in antioxidants, minerals, flavonoids and fibre. Dishes containing ground-elder are easily digestible, and have cleansing properties - so they're good for that spring-time detoxing :)



Make sure to use only very young ground-elder/goutweed leaves (like those on the photo above) - the big ones tend to be too bitter and rough. Pamela Michael, a well-known "herbal cook" and author of Edible wild plants and herbs, writes that "those of us who suffer from the weed in our gardens, should rejoice in the knowledge that we can eat the pest" :)

Intrigued? You can also use young ground-elder leaves to make delicious spring-time vanilla-scented muffins.

Ground-elder and cottage cheese pie
(Kevadine naadipirukas)
Serves 8 to 10



Pastry:
200 g butter
200 g sour cream
350 g all-purpose flour
a pinch of salt

Filling:
100 to 200 g young ground-elder leaves
1 Tbsp oil
one large onion (about 100 g)
300 to 400 g cottage cheese, drained
1 egg
1 tsp dried oregano
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Make the pastry: melt butter over moderate heat. Take the saucepan off the heat, stir in sour cream, flour and salt. Stir until well combined, then place into the fridge for about 30 minutes to rest.

Make the filling: wash the goutweed leaves carefully, drain lightly. Place onto a dry hot skillet and heat until wilted. Then rinse quickly under cold running water to stop the leaves from cooking further. Press to dry the leaves thoroughly, then chop roughly.
Heat oil on a heavy frying pan, add onion and sauté gently for about 10 minutes, until the onion softens. Add the chopped ground-elder leaves, cottage cheese, oregano, salt and pepper. Give it a stir, then add most of the egg and stir again.

Take the pastry out of the fridge, divide into two. On a flour-dusted table, roll out one of the pastry pieces into a large circle (approximately 40 cm in diameter or whatever the size that fits your oven sheet). Transfer onto a lined oven sheet, spoon the filling on top. Roll out the other pastry and cover. Press the edges tightly together, prick the top with a fork here and there.

Brush with an eggwash. Bake in a preheated 200 C oven for about 25-30 minutes, until the pie is lovely golden brown on top.

Västerbottenspaj aka Swedish Västerbotten Cheese Tart

Västerbotten is an excellent hard cow's milk cheese from Sweden that reminds me (and many others) of a good youngish Parmiggiano Reggiano, but it's somewhat sweeter. Sadly it's not available in Estonia, but we've got good friends in Sweden who bring us a chunk every time they're popping over to Estonia. It is produced in the far North of Sweden, and the recipe and process has remained pretty much the same for the last 150 years or so. The Swedes love it, and it's considered the Emperor of Swedish cheeses (hence the crown on the packaging? See below ;))

You can read more about this cheese here (includes a link to the US supplier), here (Anne's Food), here and here (Wiki).

Although it's an excellent cheese for the cheese board, it's also a great cooking cheese. So far I've tried honeyed Västerbotten cheese spread, which was unusual but delicious (sweet and creamy). I got another half-a-kilo chunk of Västerbotten for my birthday (thank you, Annika & Markus!!!), and wanted to try the classic Västerbotten cheese tart. It's so simple - a plain shortcrust base, topped with a mixture of eggs, cream/milk and cheese. There are hundreds of similar recipes in the Internet, here's the way I made it.

You can serve it either hot or cold, accompanied with a nice sauce or perhaps a green salad. When cold, the tart can be cut into very thin and elegant slices that would be great as an appetizer.

Västerbottenspaj or Västerbotten cheese tart
(Västerbotteni juustu pirukas)
Serves 6



Pastry:
200 g plain flour
pinch of salt
100 g cold butter, cubed
1 egg

Cheese filling:
3 eggs
200 ml fresh cream (single, whipping, double or even half-and-half)
200 g Västerbottens cheese, coarsely grated
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Make the pastry first. Combine flour and salt in a bowl of your food processor, then add the cold butter and process until you've got coarse crumbs. Now add the egg and process again, until the dough comes together.
Flatten the dough into a disc and wrap in clingfilm. Place into the fridge for at least 30 minutes, preferably an hour.
Roll the pastry on a lightly floured surface into a circle large enough to fill a 26 cm springform or tart tin. Transfer the dough into the tin, pressing it gently to the edge and up along the sides. Blind bake in a 200 C oven for about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven.
For the filling, whisk the eggs and cream until combined, then season with salt and pepper. Fold in the grated cheese. Pour over the partially baked pastry base.
Return into the oven and bake for another 25-30 minutes, until the filling is set and the tart is golden (do not brown).

Herbed Ricotta Bruschette

One of my newest cookbooks is How Easy Is That? by Ina Garten. It's the first Ina Garten's book in my extensive cookbook library and I love it (I noted that there are quite a few negative reviews on Amazon, but then I cannot compare this book to her five earlier ones). I've bookmarked probably every other recipe from it, and can vouch that her Roasted Shrimp Salad with Orange Mayonnaise is wonderful, and her tip to set the table with empty bowls and platters with post-it notes has already been tested twice and that indeed made the last minute preparations a lot less stressful.

These herbed ricotta bruschette(or bruschettas, if you want to Americanize the plural spelling) were at our table last night for a light Sunday evening snack. I was thrilled to use the chives from my own garden already! It's a slightly adapted version, using different amounts of herbs, and both ricotta and cottage cheese instead of just ricotta, but the idea is Ina's. It's a lovely option for a spring or summer snack.

Herbed Ricotta Bruschette
(Krõbesaiad ürdise ricottaseguga)
Makes 12

12 thick slices of ciabatta or some sourdough bread
1 whole garlic clove, cut in half
extra-virgin olive oil

Herbed ricotta:
250 g ricotta
200 g cottage cheese/farmer's cheese
2 Tbsp finely chopped scallions/spring onions
2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh dill
2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh chives
0.5 tsp sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

Combine the ricotta, scallions, herbs, salt and pepper. Set aside.
Heat a charcoal grill or a toaster or a gas grill.
When the grill is hot, drizzle the bread slices with olive oil and grill each side for about a minute or two, until lightly browned. Remove from the grill and rub each slice of bread with the cut side of the garlic clove.
Spoon some herbed ricotta mixture on top. Serve immediately.

Beetroot and feta tart recipe

Cooksister's Jeanne is hosting this month's Monthly Mingle, and she chose topless tarts as the theme. She's one cheeky foodblogger, you know :) As my little family has been growing, I've been very bad in taking part various foodblogging events, but this theme really speaks to me and hence this post. I'm contributing this lovely beet and feta tart for the occasion. I know, I know - it wasn't so long ago that I blogged about beetroot tart. But March's beetroot tart was this lovely quiche with blue cheese and pickled beets. This time it's all about feta cheese and roasted beets!

I realise it's a risky choice for this month's mingle, as the hostess isn't so fond of beets. Hopefully she'll still accept my entry and give it the consideration it deserves :D

Here's a reminder from last summer - beets from our own garden:



Aren't they cute? I think they are ;)

Beetroot and feta tart
(Peedi-fetapirukas)
Inspired by Molly @ Orangette
Serves 6



Pastry:
180 g all purpose flour (300 ml)
0.5 tsp salt
0.5 tsp caster sugar
100 g cold butter, cut into cubes
cold water

Topping:
300 g boiled or roasted beets
200 g feta cheese
2 eggs
150 ml milk or single cream
fresh or dried oregano or dill
freshly ground black pepper

Make the pastry first. Combine flour, salt, sugar in a bowl of your food processor, then add the cold butter and process until you've got coarse crumbs. Now add a tablespoonful or two of cold water, until the dough comes together.
Flatten the dough into a disc and wrap in clingfilm. Place into the fridge for at least 30 minutes, preferably an hour.
Roll the pastry on a lightly floured surface into a circle large enough to fill a 24 cm springform tin. Transfer the dough into the tin, pressing it gently to the edge and up along the sides. Blind bake in a 200 C oven for about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven.
Great the beetroot coarsely, spread over the partly baked base.
Crumble the feta cheese over the beetroot.
Whisk the eggs with milk or cream, season with salt and dill or oregano. Pour over the tart.
Bake in a 180 C oven for about 35-40 minutes, until the egg is set.

Taleggio cheese and onion tart

Are you familiar with the Italian Taleggio cheese? Originally made in and named for Val Taleggio near the Swiss-Italian border, this soft cow's milk cheese has been described as

'a  mild stinky cheese, with a whiff of steamed broccoli, almonds and humid cellars' :D

There's a detailed blog post about Taleggio written by David Clark here. It's a beautifully melting cheese that's especially wonderful in various pies and tarts and quiches. I've used it quite often in my cooking, though never blogged about it before (however, there's a recipe for wild mushroom and Taleggio pie in my first cookbook). There are quite a few foodbloggers who have written about it, so you should not have any troubles finding recipes if you're interested (do try Anne's risotto with Taleggio, it's delicious!)

The recipe below is inspired by the British author Nigel Slater, but I've modified the quantities.

Taleggio and onion tart
(Sibulapirukas Taleggio juustuga)
Serves six

6 medium sized onions (or 2 huge salad onions)
50 g butter
500 g (yeasted) puff pastry
200 g Taleggion cheese
handful of fresh thyme

Peel the onions and cut into thin slices. Melt butter in a heavy saucepan, add onions and sauté over low heat for about half an hour, until onions are soft and silky and sticky.
Roll out the puff pastry to fit a small deep baking sheet (mine was 25x34 cm). Using a sharp knife, make an insertion about 2 cm from the edge of the pastry.
Spread the soft and sticky onions over the pastry, leaving the edges clean. Use the onion-flavour pan liquid to brush the pastry edges.
Cut the cheese into slices, dot over the onion filling. Sprinkle some thyme leaves on top.
Bake in a pre-heated 220 C oven for 15-20 minutes, until the pastry is risen and golden, and the onions are nicely golden brown.

Estonian zucchini and cheese soup

Being one of the very few English-language blogs that focus on Estonian food (among other things), I tend to get quite a few emails with Estonian recipe requests or more general enquiries about Estonian food. Usually they are from people who have visited Estonia and tasted something they liked (KAMA!!!), and are now looking to recreate the dish at home. There are also quite a few expat Estonians writing to ask about dishes their grandmother used to make them in the US/Australia/etc when they were younger. Or people whose fiancée, husband, wife, adopted child, neighbour or best friend is of Estonian heritage and they'd love to make them something from Estonian culinary repertoire to surprise the given fiancée, husband, wife, adopted child, neighbour or best friend. I love those letters!

Here's an email I got last August:

Hi,

I was just searching for Estonian Cheese Soup after hearing it mentioned in this story on NPR. Surprisingly, I couldn't find anything about it, but it brought me to your website and I just spent an hour going through it's great pictures and recipes. Great site!

Do you have any idea on what soup that may be? I'd love to whip one up.

Keep up the great work and thanks in advance for any help or leads you have for me.

Gavin G.

Estonian cheese soup? I was baffled. I wasn't entirely sure there is such a thing. Sure, we make various soups with addition of cheese. I've blogged about a simple goat cheese and beet soup and creamy fish soup that both have some cheese in it. However, there's nothing particularly Estonian about these two soups. So I asked around and it turns out that I'm a lousy pub-goer. You see, many Estonian pubs serve something called cheese soup (juustusupp), apparently. And as I'm more of a café-chick than a pub-girl, I had no idea.

Basically, these are simple soups that have been enriched with either cheese spread (sulatatud juust) or smoked cheese (suitsujuust). Back in August, when I was trying to come up with a soup recipe for Gavin, I made this courgette/zucchini soup with smoked cheese (the type of smoked cheese we use in Estonia looks like this:
 
It weighs 280 g and contains 18% milk fats) and is nowadays produced by Tere AS.

I hope you'll enjoy this, Gavin!

Courgette and Smoked Cheese Soup, Estonian style
(Suvikõrvitsa-suitsujuustusupp)
Serves four



a dash of olive oil
1 onion
1 large potato
1 medium green zucchini/courgette
1 litre hot vegetable or chicken stock
280 g smoked cheese (preferably Estonian)
salt and freshly ground black pepper
parsley and croutons, to serve

Peel the onion and potato, chop finely and sauté in some oil for a few minutes. When the potato is slightly golden, then add chopped-up zucchini/courgette (no need to peel). Heat for a few minutes, stirring every now and then.
Add the hot stock. Bring to the boil, then reduce to the simmer and let it bubble until the vegetables are soft.
Blend until smooth, adding the chunks of smoked cheese to the soup while doing this.
Re-heat gently, season to taste.
Garnish with crispy bread croutons and a parsley leaf.

Pickled beets and blue cheese quiche

Have you got a glass of pickled beets lurking in the back of your fridge? If yes, then you could use them for making this colourful and lovely quiche. The otherwise sweet beets have quite a piquant flavour when pickled, and that works well with the saltiness of the blue cheese. I used Valio AURA, one of my favourite blue cheese (made in Finland), but it will work with any other crumbly blue cheese, too..

Beetroot quiche with blue cheese
(Pirukas marineeritud peedi ja sinihallitusjuustuga)
Serves six to eight
Adapted from Valio, Finland



Pie crust:
100 g butter, at room temperature
150 g all-purpose flour (one cup)
a pinch of salt
2 Tbsp cold water

Filling:
250 g pickled beets, drained and sliced
200 ml single cream
2 eggs
0.25 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp dried basil or 1 Tbsp fresh basil, chopped
150 g blue cheese (Valio Aura)

Mix butter, salt and flour, then add the water and mix until a dough ball forms. Press onto a 24 cm pie dish, and place into the fridge to rest. (If you wish, blind bake for 10 minutes at 200 c/400 F).
Mix all the filling ingredients, pour onto the (pre-baked) pie shell.
Bake at 200 C/400 F for about 30 minutes, until the filling is set and the top is golden.

Savoury cream cheese balls with spiced sprats

Wait, I know what you're thinking! Those kama and mascarpone truffles again? Nope. I know they look similar, but today I'm blogging about little savoury delights I've adapted from an Estonian foodblogger Elis. Last Thursday the Republic of Estonia celebrated its 93rd anniversary and some of my girlfriends came over to celebrate the occasion - and also say hello to our little baby boy. When trying to think of Estonian nibbles to serve, I came across Elis' recipe for sprat and cream cheese balls and was sold at once. It's a play on a popular rye bread and sprat canapé, and I knew that my guests would love them. I was right - these went down a storm. I used slightly more cream cheese than in the original recipe.

I must warn you - unless you live in Estonia and have easy access to rye bread and spicy sprats ('vürtsikilu'), you won't be able to make it (though you can follow this recipe and make the spiced sprats yourself). But this might inspire you to try making something similar with anchovies or similar product that's more readily available in your part of the world.

Savory cream cheese balls with spiced sprats
(Kilupallid)

Makes about 20

100 g spiced sprats filets, finely chopped
150 g cream cheese, at room temperature
1 egg, hard-boiled, peeled and finely chopped
3 Tbsp scallions/green onions, finely chopped
grated rye bread

Mix all ingredients (except rye bread) until combined (I used a wooden spoon, but food processor would work as well). Cover the mixture with a clingfilm and place into the fridge for 30 minutes.
Take small amounts of the cream cheese mixture and roll into small balls between your palms.
Roll in grated rye bread and place onto a serving platter.

Delicious cheese popovers

Here's an easy and delightful popover recipe that I adapted from the September 2009 issue of The Gourmet - Mini Provolone popovers. These reminded me of gougerés, but the batter is even easier - not a choux pastry, but more like a Yorkshire pudding pastry. (Not that gougerés are difficult to do, but these were super-easy to throw together). Recommended! They're delightful as they are, but I can also imagine serving these alongside a simple soup instead of 'regular' bread rolls, and although these are best served hot, they'd disappear from a picnic basket or lunch box just as quickly.

I used a 24-cup mini-muffin pan, but you can also use a regular muffin pan, if you haven't got a mini one.

Mini cheese popovers
(Väikesed juustukohrud)
Makes 24 popovers

250 ml (1 cup) full-fat milk
2 large eggs
150 g plain flour (1 cup/250 ml)
1 Tbsp butter, melted
0.5 tsp salt
a pinch of black pepper
5 Tbsp coarsely grated strong cheese (I used Gouda)
2 Tbsp finely grated Parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp finely chopped dill or chives

Whisk together milk, eggs, flour, melted butter, salt, and pepper until smooth, then stir in cheeses and herbs. Chill 1 hour to allow batter to rest. (NB! You can make the batter 1 day ahead and keep chilled).
Preheat oven to 220°C/425°F with rack in upper third.
Butter muffin pan with some extra butter, then heat in oven until butter sizzles, about 2 minutes.
Gently stir batter, then divide among muffin cups (they will be about two-thirds full).
Bake until puffed and golden-brown, 18 to 20 minutes. Serve immediately.

Dulce de Membrillo, 2010

I made a large batch of the quince paste, Dulce de Membrillo, last week. I used the same same old recipe that I've used previously and really liked the result. Rather conveniently, one local speciality store had a 9-month old Manchego cheese on offer last week, so we got to sample plenty of Membrillo the way you're supposed to - a slice of salty and crumbly Manchego cheese with a slice of sweet and sticky Membrillo paste (aka Manchego con Membrillo).

Highly recommended.



Eestikeelne küdooniamarmelaadi retsept on siin. Küdooniad ehk aivad on müügil suurematel turgudel (nt Tallinna Keskturg).

Beetroot & blue cheese risotto

(This recipe was originally posted on January 30, 2007. I've updated the recipe considerably; the photo above is from October 2010).

I first served this kind of risotto at a dinner party in January 2007, right after the smoked salmon and dill tartlets. The inspiration for this dish back then came from Anne's beet risotto with garlic, fava beans and goat cheese and Angelika's beetroot risotto with orange and Gorgonzola (blog no longer available). As I had realised during a beetroot and cheese experiment, I knew I wanted to use a blue cheese in my beetroot risotto instead of goat's cheese. Furthermore, I was looking for a vegetarian risotto, so adding crispy bacon or other meaty garnish was out of the questions. I also wanted the recipe to have a slightly Nordic twist, however defined, so I ended up using a fabulous Finnish blue cheese, Aura.

As far as I can recall, the beetroot and blue cheese risotto was a hit with my guests back in 1997, and it has appeared on our table on several occasions since then. Here's how I've been making it recently. I LOVE how the piquancy of the blue cheese balances out the sweet earthiness of the beetroot. A truly excellent pairing indeed!

Beetroot & blue cheese risotto
(Peedi- ja sinihallitusjuusturisoto)
Serves 6

150 g raw uncooked beetroot
2 Tbsp butter
1 small onion or 2 shallots

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
300 g risoto rice (I used carnaroli)

100 ml dry white wine
1 litre hot vegetable stock
100 g blue cheese
salt and freshly ground black pepper
fresh chopped parsley to garnish

Grate the beetroot coarsely.
Heat the vegetable stock in one saucepan, keep it simmering under a lid while you start making risotto.
Heat the butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Add onion and sauté gently for 5-6 minutes, until onion starts to turn translucent. Add the garlic and fry for another minute or to. Make sure not to burn the onions!

Add the rice, stir until rice is glossy with butter. Add the grated beets, sauté for a minute.

Add the wine and stir over moderate heat until reduced by half.

Now start adding the vegetable stock, a ladleful or a few at a time. Keep stirring the rice gently to avoid sticking, or even worse, burning. Only add more stock when most of the previously added stock has been sucked up by the rice.
Risotto is ready, when the rice is cooked, but still al dente - this should take about 20 minutes.
Now stir in crumbled blue cheese, which flavours the risotto and makes it beautifully creamy. Season with salt and pepper, sprinkle with plenty of fresh parsley and serve.

UPDATE 14.2.2007: Check out these gorgeous beetroot risotto recipes over at Fiordizucca's blog (with feta cheese) and Bea's blog (with parmesan cheese).

Macaroni & Cheese a la Nancy Reagan

I cannot remember where exactly I got this recipe from (the Internet is a wide, wide world), but apparently that's the way Nancy Reagan would make mac'n'cheese for her hubby. Please, please don't read any politics into this choice of recipe :) - it appealed to me because of its simplicity. It's a good mac'n'cheese recipe for those moments when you're craving something simple and comforting, but haven't got many eggs in your fridge nor bacon nor cream.

As you can see from the picture below, then I've combined it with some Georgian creamy & herby mushrooms. They worked together like a dream.

What's your favourite macaroni & cheese recipe and do you eat it as it is or as a side dish?

Nancy Reagan's Macaroni & Cheese
(Reaganite makaroni-juustuvorm)



250 g small pasta (f.ex. elbow pasta)
water & salt, for boiling pasta
1 tsp butter
1 large egg
250 ml (one cup) of milk
1 tsp mustard powder/dry mustard
1 tsp finely ground sea salt
200-250 g grated cheese

Cook pasta al dente, drain (keep a spoonful of the cooking water for later). Stir in the butter and whisked egg, then transfer into a buttered round gratin dish.
Mix mustard powder, salt and a spoonful of hot pasta-cooking water, then stir in the milk and about 3/4 of the grated cheese. Pour over the pasta in the gratin dish. Toss a little, then sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top.
Bake in a pre-heated 170 C/350 F oven for about 45 minutes, until the custard is set and cheese lovely golden.

Oven-baked zucchini and tomatoes with herbed feta cream

We've had a really good crop of courgettes/zucchini and tomatoes this year (our first year of backyard gardening, remember), and I'm trying and adapting different recipes. Here's a really simple dish showcasing both the zucchini and tomatoes, complemented by a herbed feta cream, giving it a Greek touch. Lovely as a vegetarian main dish, or as a side dish for some simple grilled meat (lamb, perhaps).

Oven-baked zucchini and tomatoes with herbed feta cream
(Suvikõrvitsa-tomativorm fetakreemiga)
Serves 4

2 green or yellow courgettes/zucchini
8 small ripe tomatoes
4-6 large garlic cloves
250 g feta cheese (softer feta-style cheese is fine here)
4 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil + more for drizzling
2 Tbsp chopped fresh basil
1 tsp dried oregano
freshly ground black pepper
sea salt

Cut the zucchini into 1 cm (just under 1/2 inch) slices. Cut tomatoes into quarters. Peel the garlic cloves.
Take a large baking dish, oil it slightly. Layer zucchini slices and tomato quarters into the baking try, push garlic cloves between the vegetables.
Place feta cheese, olive oil, chopped basil and dried oregano into a medium-sized bowl and mash using a fork. Season with black pepper. Scatter the mixture over the vegetables.
Season with some more black pepper, drizzle with olive oil.
Bake in a preheated 200 C oven for about 45-60 minutes, until vegetables are cooked and cheese golden brown.

Watermelon, feta and lime salad

Yet another watermelon salad that's perfect as a light meal on those hot summer days. I made this first about a year ago, when I spotted the recipe in Rachel Allen's lovely book "Rachel's Favourite Food for Friends". I love the fresh note that lime adds to the sweet watermelon.

Watermelon, feta and lime salad
(Arbuusi-fetasalat laimiga)

Serves 4

500 g watermelon (cleaned weight)
200 g barrel-aged feta cheese
1 lime
1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh mint

toasted pita bread, to serve

Peel the watermelon, remove the seeds. Cut the fruit into thin slices, about 4-5 cm (2 inches) wide. Place into the serving bowl.
Crumble the feta cheese on top, season with finely grated lime zest and freshly squeezed lime juice, sprinkle chopped mint on top.
Give it a gentle stir and serve. The salad tastes best within half an hour of preparing.

Watermelon and feta salad with olives

When I first went to Greece in July 2002, I was shocked about the temperatures. I spent a week on Santorini, and it felt that the temperatures never dropped below 40 C during the day and 30 C during the night. I could hardly move, and spent my days hiding inside the conference centre (yep, I was there attending a 5-day sociology conference :)) or trying to cool down in the sea.

It's not as hot here in Estonia, of course, even if it feels like that. The daytime temperatures stay just over 30C and it "drops" to 20 C during the night (20 C, actually, is my preferred temperature for the whole summer, including day time). I pretty much haven't cooked anything during the last few days that requires me to touch the oven or the hob, and have been browsing through my recipe archives for various cold dishes to serve. Here's a cool and refreshing watermelon salad that I originally made a year ago. It tasted good then - and it was a much cooler summer. It would taste even more delicious in today's heat..

Greek watermelon and feta salad with olives
(Kreeka feta-arbuusisalat oliividega)
Serves four as a meal when accompanied with some crusty white bread.

1 kg watermelon
200 g barrel-aged feta cheese
freshly ground black pepper
about a handful or two of Kalamata olives
2 Tbsp fresh mint, leaves chopped
3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice

Peel the watermelon, remove the seeds and cut the flesh into bite-sized chunks. Place into a serving bowl.
Crumble the feta cheese on top, season with black pepper (straight from the pepper mill, preferably!)
Pit the olives, scatter on top of the salad alongside the chopped mint.
Drizzle with olive oil and lime juice and serve.

Georgian recipes: fried Suluguni cheese

This recipe is mostly for my readers in countries where you can easily buy the Georgian Suluguni cheese. That pretty much means former USSR, as well as countries with sizeable number of Georgian or Russian migrants (look for "Russian shops" then). Although there are other cheeses that can be fried like this, they wouldn't taste the same, so I'm not even going to suggest any other alternatives.

If you are based in Tallinn, then please look for the cheese at Tallinn Central Market, where several vendors sell white cheese rounds, weighing about 1 kg/2 pounds each, at the main market hall. There are two main makers - the Kehra cheese being slightly saltier and the Vaida cheese slightly milder in flavour. It's recommended you buy the whole round - use half of it for for this recipe and the rest for making khatchapuri, the Georgian cheese bread.

Fried Suluguni cheese
(Praetud Suluguni juust)
Serves six to eight as nibble

500 g Suluguni cheese
2 Tbsp plain flour
butter, for frying
finely chopped fresh mint or tarragon

Cut the cheese into thick slices, dust with flour.
Heat butter on a heavy frying pan over a moderate heat. Fry the cheese slices on both sides, until golden brown.
Sprinkle with fresh herbs and serve at once.

For a gluten-free alternative: omit the flour (you won't get as nice and crispy finish, but it'll taste as gorgeous).

Avocado and Blue Cheese Dip Recipe

A super-quick last-minute dip idea that I make quite often. I love this one especially with nachos, though it also works well spread over crostini, especially those bite-sized onesd. However, I would only make it at the very last moment, as despite the addition of lime juice, this dip tends to turn from lovely green to not-so-lovely brown rather quickly.

Avocado and Blue Cheese Dip

(Avokaado-sinihallitusjuustudipp)
Serves 4-6

75 grams blue cheese (I like Valio Aura)
4 Tbsp sour cream/creme fraiche/yogurt
2 ripe avocados
3 Tbsp finely chopped fresh (flat-leaf) parsley
2 Tbsp lime juice
freshly ground black pepper
sea salt

Smash the blue cheese with a fork, mix with sour cream until combined.
Halve the avocados, remove the stones. Scoop out the avocado flesh and smash with a fork. Stir into the blue cheese mixture.
Add the chopped parsley, season with salt, pepper and lime juice.
Serve at once.