Crostini with Camembert, Caramelized Onions and Fig Jam

A few weeks ago my mom brought me lots of cheese from France. I was literally forced to eat it every day because I really had so many of different cheeses and their expiration date was coming near. But it's so boring to eat cheese with baguette all the time, isn't it? So I had to think of something more fancy to make out of them. Of course, Crostini was the first dish that came to my mind and it was a completely perfect idea. Crunchy bread rubbed with garlic, topped with soft Camembert, fig jam and caramelized onions. Amazing. 

Crostini with Camembert, Caramelized Onions and Fig Jam

1 long French baguette
Olive oil
1-2 cloves garlic
~300g Camembert cheese

2 small onions, sliced
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Pinch salt
1 tsp sugar
Olive oil
Fig Jam

1) Preheat oven to 230C. Prepare two baking trays.

2) Slice baguette into 1,5-2cm pieces. Brush one side with oil and arrange on baking tray (olive oiled side down). Bake for a few minutes until golden.

3) Take out of the oven and let cool slightly. Rub garlic over the olive oiled side of crostini. 

4) In a small saucepan, heat 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil. Cook onions until translucent. Add salt, sugar and balsamic vinegar and cook, covered, for a few minutes until completely soft and fragrant. Let cool completely.

5) Top each slice of baguette with Camembert. Top half of them with onions and another half - with a teaspoon of fig jam.

Enjoy!

Recipe by collecting memories

Pumpkin Pie Bread (Low-Fat)

Recently I've been trying to incorporate pumpkin in every kind of dessert. I already made a pumpkin pie, a pumpkin bread, pumpkin cupcakes and there are still too many things to make with it. Pumpkin Bread has been in my plans for a long time. However, I didn't want it to be just an ordinary pumpkin bread. I guess many of you have already baked one and it would be boring to see another bread recipe.

How about a bread with a dense, moist pumpkin center and a golden chewy crust? The texture is somewhere between a chewy blondie and a fudge. Amazing! Want to hear another great thing? It's almost fat-free. Yes, you know how much I love turning my baked goods healthier. It only contains two egg yolks and is oil and butter free. Three amazing ingredients - applesauce, pumkin and honey keep this bread amazingly moist. One important thing: I used a homemade pumpkin puree which was made out of a boiled pumpkin. Homemade pumpkin puree has more moisture and I believe that it works better in this recipe.

Finally, there's one more thing which I loved about this bread. Ground oats. Oats and pumpkin is such a great combination!

Pumpkin Pie Bread (Low-Fat)

2 cups homemade pumpkin puree (you can probably use canned)
2 tbsp applesauce
2 tbsp honey
160g white sugar
2 eggs
125 all purpose flour
125g ground oats
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

1) Prepare a 22x10cm silicone baking pan (if using metal, line with parchment paper or lightly grease). Preheat oven to 180C.

2) In a small bowl, combine together all-purpose flour, oat flour, cinnamon, baking powder and salt.

3) In a large bowl, lightly beat the eggs. Add white sugar, honey and beat to combine. Add pumpkin puree and applesauce and beat well.

4) Fold the flour mixture into pumpkin puree mixture and mix just until incorporated. Place the mixture into baking pan.

5) Bake for 1 hour. The cake will look underbaked but this is how it has to look like. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely. Let sit at room temperature or in the fridge several hours to set and then slice. Enjoy with a cup of tea.

Recipe by collecting memories

Bread Pizza

Pizza has always been one of my favourite Italian dishes. Even though I love experimenting with topping ingredients and love the additions such as pineapple, pickles or blue cheese, I always  love to come back to the basics. Mushrooms, cheese, tomato sauce and some herbs is everything I need for the best pizza. However, the crust sometimes takes too much time to mix up, knead, roll out etc.  So I thought I could use white sandwich bread instead of making pizza dough. It took no time and helped me to use up the old bread. And you know what? It was so good. The crust was browned and crunchy and and the surface of the bread absorbed some of the pasta sauce. The topping was perfectly delicious and cheesy. What is more, I liked that this was divided into small portions. If you have no time but crave for pizza, there's nothing better than topping slices of white sandwich bread with your favourite pizza ingredients.

Bread Pizza

6 slices white bread
~1 cup of homemade tomato sauce*
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
dried oregano
dried basil
salt (optional)
180g mushrooms, sliced
80g gouda cheese, shredded

*My tomato sauce contains parsley, onions, garlic, pepper and a dash of olive oil so you may add these seasonings too. If there's no oil in your tomato sauce, I highly recommend adding some, or sprinkling the bread with about a teaspoon of oil before topping.

1) Preheat oven to 200 deg C. Prepare a tray with parchment paper.

2) Place bread slices on the baking paper. Top each of them with tomato sauce. Sprinkle with garlic, oregano, basil and a pinch of salt.Top with mushrooms and sprinkle with cheese.

3) Bake as long as you wish. This may take from 5 to 25 minutes. I like to bake them longer because I like my bread extra crispy and browned.

Recipe by collecting memories

Best Summer Recipes 2013

The summer has ended and I picked out the best recipes I've published these past three months. I thought it would be great to have seasonal favourites in one place so wait for another post like this one at the end of fall. I hope you will enjoy the collection and now let's light the candles, wrap ourselves in a chunky blanket, go to a store and buy a large, heavy orange pumpkin.

For the recipes, click on the titles.

BANANA BREAD

 

 

STRAWBERRY BANANA SPONGE CAKE

CINNAMON COFFEE CAKE MUFFINS

SPINACH & RICOTTA LASAGNA

MUSHROOM PATTIES IN PITTA

LEMON CUPCAKES

VEGETARIAN EMPANADAS

SUGAR PRETZELS

BAKED CABBAGE

Banana Bread

The most wonderful banana bread. Why it is wonderful? Well firstly because despite having only 25grams of butter it's still amazingly moist. And the moisture keeps for many days. Secondly, it has a strong banana flavour with the perfect amount of sugar. To me, this is the best not-too sweet snack whenever I want something delicious and healthy.

Banana Bread
250g flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 large eggs
3 medium bananas, very ripe (about 1 1/2 cups mashed)
150g sugar
25g butter, softened
1/2 cup sweetened applesauce*

*If using unsweetened, increase the amount of sugar up to 200 grams. But I don't recommend adding too much. The sweetness of your bread also depends on how ripe your bananas are. 

1) Preheat the oven to 180C. Prepare a silicone loaf pan (if using a metal pan, lightly grease it.)

 2) In a small bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.

3) In another bowl, beat the butter until light and fluffy. Add sugar and beat until combined. Stir in the eggs, applesauce and bananas.

4) Stir the dry ingredients into the banana mixture. Don't overmix. Pour the mixture into the loaf pan and smooth the top.

4) Bake for about 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted to the center comes out clean. Let cool completely and slice. (I suggest baking it in the evening and leaving overnight because it's much more delicious after it stands a bit.)

Recipe by collecting memories

Plain Scones

Recently I've been eating sweets for breakfast. I bought some raspberry jam and wanted to make some bread to eat it with but didn't really  want to make a sandwich bread again. First I was attracted by homemade english muffins (which I will be definitely trying) but this time I made simple scones. I couldn't think of anything easier to make. They're flaky and slightly salty what I really loved. The combination of sweet and salty is always a winner. But I'm sure these would taste fine with cheese or any other spread too.

250g/2 cups self-raising flour
pinch of salt
30g unsalted butter
125ml/1/2 cup milk
80ml/1/3 cup water
milk, extra, to glaze

1) Preheat oven to 210 deg. C. Line a baking tray with parchment paper.

2) Sift the flour and salt. Add the butter and rub in lightly using your fingertips.

3) Make a well in the centre of the flour. Add almost all of the milk and water. Mix with a flat-bladed knife to a soft dough, adding more liquid, if necessary.

4) Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead breafly until smooth. Press or roll out the dough to form a round about 1-2cm/1/2-1/3inch thick.

5) Cut the dough into 5cm/2inch rounds. Place them on your baking tray and glaze with milk. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with jam or whatever you like!

Makes 12 scones.

Irish Soda Bread

This is a basic recipe for Irish soda bread. It is a dense and soft bread, perfect for toasting! Actually I've never tasted any similar bread so this is a nice addition to my bread recipe list.
Oh, and it doesn't really look like Irish soda bread because I baked it in a loaf pan in order to have a shape suitable for toasting.


187g/1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
120g/1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
270ml/1 cup plus 2 tbsp buttermilk

1) Preheat the oven to 190°C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2) In a large bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and sugar. Add the buttermilk and mix just until a soft dough forms.

3) Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead for about 1 minute to blend the ingredients more thoroughly. Form into a ball and flatten slightly. Dust with a little bit of flour and slash an "X" in the top with the tip of a sharp knife. Allow the dough to rest for 15 minutes.

4) Bake for 40 minutes, or until golden brown and crusty. Cool slightly on wire rack.

Makes 1 loaf.