Baked Maronen (Chestnuts)

A healthy snack which contains less fat and calories.  During the week, I saw huge chestnuts on sale in the supermarket near me and I just could not resist myself from buying them.  They are imported directly from France.  I love Maronen and it is cheaper to bake them myself rather than paying 3€ for 10 small pieces in town.

Ingredient (serves 2):
500 g fresh Maronen (chestnut)

Method:
Make a slit by slightly cutting through the shell on the rounded side of the chestnut as shown below. Be careful not to hurt your fingers!  Repeat procedure.  Arrange chestnuts on a baking tray.

Bake in a preheated fan oven at a temperature of 200° C for 10 minutes.  Then, lower heat to a temperature of 150° C and continue baking for another 20 minutes.  Once done, remove baking tray from oven and leave aside to cool down completely.

Peel shells off before serving.  Can be eaten warm or cold!

Bon Appetit!

Baked Salami & Capsicum Bread Snack

If you are short of time and in a hurry to prepare something quick for your kids, try this simple snack. Just halve the bread rolls and spread cream cheese (herbs flavour).  Then, sprinkle some diced salami and red bell pepper.  Season with salt and pepper before sprinkling some grated Emmental cheese and then, bake in a moderate hot oven for about 15 minutes.  The taste is delicious and our son thought that I baked the frozen Bistro Mini Baguette from Dr. Oetker!

Ingredients (serves 2):
4 bread rolls, to be halved
any cream cheese spread (herbs flavour)
8 slices of turkey or chicken salami, to be diced
1 red capsicum (bell pepper), to be washed, deseeded & diced
salt & ground black pepper to taste
grated Emmental cheese

Method:
Spread cream cheese on bread rolls halves.  Sprinkle some diced salami and red bell pepper on top. Then, season with salt and pepper before sprinkling some grated Emmental cheese.

Bake in a preheated fan oven at a temperature of 180° C for about 15 minutes.

Serve immediately.

Bon Appetit!

Pizza Margherita (2nd recipe)

Earlier this year, I posted a Pizza Margherita recipe.  Here is another recipe which was kindly given to me by my dear sis-in-law.  The pizza is perfect and tastes awesome.  Do give it a try!

Dough Ingredients (makes 4 medium-size pizzas):
600 g flour (type 550) or plain flour (type 405)
2 tsp salt
40 g sunflower cooking oil
250 ml warm water (straight from the tap)
1 cube à 42 g fresh yeast

Tomato Sauce Ingredients:
1 medium-size onion, to be sliced
1 pip garlic, to be sliced
1 tsp italian spices
1/2 tsp Aglio Olio Peperoncino (optional)
1 tbsp instant vegetable stock
500 ml tomato passata (passierte Tomaten)

4-5 fresh tomatoes, to be sliced
4 pkts mozarella, to be sliced
fresh basil leaves, to be plucked (for garnishing)
4 medium-size pizza pans, to be greased with butter

Method:
Add all sauce ingredients into a blender and blend together until smooth.  Leave aside.

Crumble yeast in 250 ml water until dissolved.  In a mixing bowl, add flour, salt, oil and yeast mixture.  Knead dough until it leaves the sides of bowl.  Cover bowl with a damp cloth and leave aside to let dough rise to double its volume.  Divide dough into 4 portions and roll out each portion onto a pizza pan.

Spread tomato sauce on top and arrange tomato & mozarella slices as shown.  Add some small cubes of butter on top.

Bake in a preheated fan oven at a temperature of 220° C for about 15 minutes or until done.  Serve hot sprinkled with basil leaves!

Bon Appetit!

Left-over Bread Snack

A simple recipe which was taught to me by my dear sister-in-law on how to use up left-over bread instead of throwing them away.  One just need to slice the bread and "roast" them in the pan together with olive oil and an italian spice.  The recipe has no exact measurements.  One just have to estimate depending on the amount of left-over bread.

Ingredients:
left-over bread, to be sliced thinly & cut into pieces
2 tbsp olive oil
1-2 tsp "Aglio Olio Peperoncino"

Method:
In a large pan, heat olive oil over medium heat.  Then, add bread slices and "roast" until they are browned all over, not burnt.  Lastly, add "Aglio Olio Peperoncino". There is no need to add salt and pepper.

Bon Appetit!

Onion-Bacon-Pizza

A simple dinner on a windy and lazy Sunday evening.  This is another one of my quick pizza dough recipe topped with onion slices, turkey bacon and creamy sauce. A pleasant change from the normal pizza and it is definitely a hit with the kids.

Ingredients (serves 2 - 4 persons):
1/2 cube (21 g) fresh yeast
250 ml warm water from tap
400 g plain flour
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
3 tbsp cooking oil

80 g turkey bacon, to be cut into cubes
500 g onions, to be peeled and thinly sliced into rings
1 tbsp cooking oil

200 g Schmand (sour cream) - one may use crème fraîche instead
2 medium-size eggs
salt & ground pepper to taste

Method:
In a big pan, add 1 tbsp cooking oil and add bacon cubes.  Stir-fry until almost crispy. Remove to a plate and set aside.  Add onion slices to pan and cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes, keep stirring.  Then, return bacon cubes to pan and mix well.  Remove from heat and cool down completely.

In a mixing bowl, add flour, salt, sugar and cooking oil.  In a small jug, crumble fresh yeast into warm water.  Then, pour into flour mixture.  By using the kneading hook, knead until the dough leaves the sides of bowl.  Cover bowl and leave aside for 30 minutes.

Remove dough from bowl and knead on a floured worktop.  Roll out dough to a rectangular size of 35 x 30 cm on a large baking paper.  Place paper on baking tray and leave to rise for about 20 minutes.

In a bowl, mix Schmand (sour cream) and eggs together by using a hand whisk. Season with salt and ground pepper to taste.

Spread onion mixture on top of dough.  Then, add cream mixture on top by the spoonful.  Bake in a preheated oven (fan:  175° C/conventional:  200° C) for 20 minutes.  Then, increase oven temperature to fan:  195° C/conventional:  210° C and bake for another 10 minutes.

Bon Appetit!

Pizza Margherita

A classic & simple pizza of all pizzas which consists of three simple ingredients i.e. tomatoes, mozarella and basil.  According to history, this pizza was named after Queen Margherita in the nineteenth centuries in Naples.  The following dough recipe yields two thick pizzas of 30 cm in diameter or 3 thin pizzas of 26 cm in diameter.

Ingredients:
400 g plain flour
7 g dried yeast
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil
about 200 ml warm water

5 tbsp tomato puree
1 tsp dried oregano
4 - 5 tbsp water
salt and ground black pepper to taste

2 large tomatoes, to be washed, dried and sliced
2 pkts mozarella cheese (à 125 g), to be drained and sliced
a bunch of fresh basil, to be plucked (note:  I omitted this as our son hates it)

2 tsp olive oil

Method:
In a mixing bowl, add flour, yeast and salt.  Mix together and then, add olive oil and warm water. Knead until the dough leave the sides of bowl.  Cover with a cloth and leave aside to rise.  It will take about 45 minutes to an hour.

In a small bowl, mix tomato puree, dried oregano, water, salt & pepper to taste. Leave aside.

Knead dough for a minute or two and then divide into two portions.  Roll out each portion to a diameter of 30 cm.

Spread half of tomato puree mixture onto dough.  Arrange tomato and cheese slices on top.  Sprinkle 1 tsp olive oil all over.

Bake in a preheated oven at 225° C (fan oven:  215° C) for about 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.  Once done, sprinkle with basil leaves before serving.

Bon Appetit!

Mini Salmon Pies

These are great to serve during a buffet party and I am sure your guests will love them.  They are quick to prepare and taste delicious.  One can also serve them with green salad as a simple light lunch.

Ingredients (yields 12 pcs):
200 g fresh or frozen salmon, to be cut into cubes
2 tbsp lemon juice
salt & ground white pepper to taste
200 ml fresh cream
2 eggs
a tsp chopped fresh dill or 1/2 tsp dried dill
a roll of fresh puff pastry or 6 pcs of frozen puff pastry, to be thawed
muffin tray, to be greased with butter

Method:
Sprinkle lemon juice over salmon cubes and season lightly with salt and pepper. Leave aside.  Preheat oven to 200° C (conventional) or 180°C (fan).

In a bowl, mix fresh cream, eggs and dill together.  Season lightly with salt and pepper.

Cut out 10 cm diameter circles on puff pastry and place them in the muffin tray.  Poke the base with a fork a few times.  Add 3 or 4 salmon cubes into each mould followed by the cream mixture as shown.

Bake for about 30 minutes or until golden brown.  Once done, remove from oven and leave them for about 5 minutes before removing from muffins tray.  Serve with green salad.

Bon Appetit!

Sausage in Toast Rolls

Normally I prepare this dish with sardines as filling but today, I used turkey sausages with cheese filling.  Of course, one can use any kind of sausages according to one's preference. Best eaten with chilli sauce & salad and I am sure that the kids will love this dish!

Ingredients (serves 4):
8 pieces toast bread
1 tbsp mayonaise
4 sausages, to be cut into half
1 egg, to be beaten
salt to taste
breadcrumbs
cooking oil

Method:
This is the turkey sausage with cheese filling which I used for this recipe.

Remove bread crusts.  Roll each toast on both sides until thin as shown.  Spread a bit of mayonaise on toast.  You may use butter if you prefer.  Place half of sausage on one end and roll as shown:

Add some salt to beaten eggs to taste.  Then, dip rolls in beaten egg and coat with breadcrumbs as shown:

Heat 1 cup of cooking oil in a pan over medium heat.  Then, add rolls and fry until golden brown.

Serve hot with any kind of salad and chilli sauce.

Bon Appetit!