Thursday, September 12, 2013

Green smoothie recipe

SeptembriRetsept13 _04

Recipe by Pille @ Nami-Nami. Above photo by Juta Kübarsepp for the September 2013 issue of Kodu ja Aed ("Home and Garden", an Estonian monthly magazine. I've been their food writer since October 2012)

Here's a recipe for a healthy and delicious pick-me-up smoothie for those days that kids have been driving you crazy, the to-do-list doesn't seem to get any shorter however hard you try, and you simply have no time to cook anything decent for yourself. It's the matter of peeling three fruits and throwing them into the blender (and rinsing the blender afterwards). I'll find time for that any day :)

The green smoothie - if the name didn't give it away already - is the one third from the left on the above photo. Feel free to guess what the other three are ;)

Green smoothie
(Roheline smuuti)
Serves 2

2 kiwis
1 banana
1 avocado
200 ml orange juice*

Peel the banana, kiwis and avocado. Place the flesh into your blender. Add the orange juice and process till smooth. Serve at once.

If you want your smoothie thinner, then add more orange juice, ice or ice-cold water.

* Ideally freshly squeezed, but any good-quality bottled juice will work as well.

Monday, September 02, 2013

Recipe for Beef Stroganoff with Chantarelle Mushrooms

Kukeseentega böfstrooganov. Boeuf Stroganoff with chanterelle mushrooms.
Recipe by Nami-Nami. Above photo by Juta Kübarsepp for the September 2013 issue of Kodu ja Aed ("Home and Garden", an Estonian monthly magazine. I've been their food writer since October 2012)

Boeuf Stroganoff, a popular family classic, gets an seasonal-autumnal touch here from fresh chanterelle mushrooms. As I've mentioned in another post, stroganoff doesn't usually include mushrooms over here. Yet I can see why mushrooms are often paired with beef in this classic Russian dish. While cultivated mushrooms are all right during the winter season, it'd be silly to use the pale and rather bland-tasting white button (or even small brown cremini) mushrooms when the local forests are full of wonderful wild mushrooms. Hence the use of chanterelle mushrooms here instead.

Small chantarelles / Väikesed kukeseened

Beef Stroganoff with Chanterelle Mushrooms
(Kukeseentega böfstrooganov)
Serves 4

vegetable oil for frying
300 g beef sirloin or tenderloin or "stroganoff" or stir-fry strips
salt and black pepper
1 Tbsp mild paprika powder
1 onion, finely chopped
300 g fresh chanterelle mushrooms
3 Tbsp concentrated tomato purée
200 ml fresh cream*
fresh parsley, finely chopped

If you're using sirloin or tenderloin, then cut the meat into thin stirps about 1 cm wide and 5 cm long (1/2 inch wide by 2 inch long). Clean the mushrooms thoroughly, cut into smaller pieces, if necessary.

Heat oil in a large skillet on medium-high heat. Add the beef strips and brown quickly on all sides (in batches, if necessary). Transfer the meat onto a plate, sprinkle with salt, pepper and paprika pwider.

Add a little more oil to the pan, reduce the heat to medium. Add the onion and fry gently until softened.

Increase the heat to medium-high again, add the chanterelle mushrooms and fry for 4-5 minutes, until mushrooms are cooked.

Add the tomato concentrate, cook for a minute. Return the seasoned beef strips to the pan, alongside any liquid that's dripped into the plate. Add the cream and cook gently until heated through, the sauce has thickened and the meat is tender.

Taste for seasoning, add more salt and/or pepper, if necessary. Sprinkle with parsley and serve immediately.

We like to eat our stroganoff with mashed potatoes, but buttered wide egg noodles would also work well.

* You can use single cream, double cream, pouring cream, whipping cream, even half-and-half. Any of those would work well, giving you a lighter or richer stroganoff.

More Stroganoff recipes:
Kurzeme stroganoff aka Latvian pork stroganoff with pickles @ Nami-Nami
Oven-baked pork stroganoff with mayonnaise @ Nami-Nami
Mushroom stroganoff (vegetarian recipe) @ Nami-Nami
Classic beef stroganoff @ The Cook Who Knew Nothing
Mushroom stroganoff (vegetarian recipe) @ Cook Sister
Skinny mushroom stroganoff (vegetarian recipe) @ Skinny Taste
Ribeye and mushroom stroganoff @ Farmhouse Delivery Blog
Beef stroganoff @ Simply Recipes
Beef strogranoff @ My Baking Addiction
Beef stroganoff with gnocchi @ Eat, Live, Run
Chicken stroganoff @ Kayotic Kitchen
Venison stroganoff @ Hunter. Angler. Gardener. Cook
Maria's Russian beef stroganoff @ Natasha's Kitchen
Stroganoff (recipe in Finnish) @ Pastanjauhantaa
Savumakkara-stroganoff (recipe in Finnish) @ Hellapoliisi
Böfstrooganov (recipe in Estonian) @ Da Vahtra Residence
Böfstrooganov (recipe in Estonian) @ Ise tehtud, hästi tehtud
Böfstrooganov sinepi ja kartulipüreega (recipe in Estonian) @ Puhas rõõm

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Quick ricotta and courgette lasagne

Courgette lasagne / Suvikõrvitsalasanje

We are still eating lots of courgettes in our house, and still no end of the courgette/zucchini season in sight. Not that we're complaining, however, as it's one lovely and versatile vegetable, as long as you don't let it grow into a full-size huge marrow. Here's another one of my favourite courgette/zucchini dishes - a simple and quick and creamy courgette lasagne. You'll need a 400 g jar of good tomato sauce - either home-made marinara-type sauce (say, this or this), or a decent ready-made one.

Creamy ricotta and courgette lasagne
(Suvikõrvitsalasanje)
Serves three to four
Adapted from BBC Olive (Quick courgette lasagne)

2 Tbsp olive oil
750 g courgette/zucchini (about 2 medium-sized fruits), coarsely grated
2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
0.5 tsp (Aleppo) chilli flakes
250 g ricotta
a large handful of fresh basil leaves, finely chopped
3 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese + more for sprinkling
400 g good-quality ready-made tomato sauce
6 lasagne sheets
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oven to 200 C/400 F.

Heat a tablespoonful of oil in a large frying pan. Add the grated courgette, chopped garlic and chilli flakes. Season with a little salt. Sauté over medium heat until soft, stirring every now and then. Remove from the heat, fold in the ricotta cheese, chopped basil and 3 Tbsp of Parmesan cheese.

Take a small oven dish (mine is 25x35 cm). Spread about a third of the ricotta-courgette mixture at the bottom, then spoon a quarter of the tomato sauce on top. Cover with three lasagne sheets. Then half of the remaining ricotta-courgette mixture, a third of the remaining tomato sauce, lasagne sheets. Top with the remaining ricotta-courgette mixture and then the rest of the tomato sauce. Sprinkle generously with Parmesan cheese.

Bake in a pre-heated 200 C/400 F oven for about 20-25 minutes, until the lasagne is cooked and the topping "bubbles".

Remove from the oven and let it rest for about 15 minutes before serving.

More favourite courgette/zucchini recipes:
Courgette and Parmesan tart @ Nami-Nami
Courgette salad with poppyseeds @ Nami-Nami
Courgette cake with lemon frosting (Lemon and Zucchini Cake) @ Nami-Nami
Oven-baked zucchini and tomatoes with feta @ Nami-Nami
Estonian courgette and cheese soup (Zucchini and Cheese Soup) @ Nami-Nami
Greek Zucchini Pie (Kourkouto) @ Nami-Nami
Roasted marrow with garlic and herbs @ Nami-Nami

Courgette/Zucchini lasagne recipes:
Creamy courgette lasagne @ The English Kitchen
Angela's Zucchini lasagna @ The Italian Dish
Carrot, Courgette, Ricotta lasagne @ Apple and Spice
Ricotta, courgette and spinach lasagne @ Chilli Marmalade
Vegetable lasagna @ Inspired Taste
Kale, zucchini lasagna @ $5 Dinners
Spinach and courgette lasagne @ My French Kitchen