Garlic Hummus

 

Garlic Hummus

100g dried chickpeas*
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
juice of 1 small lemon
1 tsp sunflower oil
1 tbsp tahini paste**
1/2 tsp salt
water, as needed
sunflower oil, to serve
smoked paprika, to serve

*Soak chickpeas overnight and cook in a pot for 1 hour. 

**To make tahini paste, place sesame seeds in a small saucepan and roast, stirring constantly, until golden and fragrant. Don't let them brown too much. Grind them in a coffee grinder or a small food processor until turns into paste. It will take time to get a smooth paste so add a splash of water or oil to add some moisture.

1) In a small saucepan, heat a teaspoon of oil. Add minced garlic and cook, stirring occasionally,  until golden brown and fragrant.

2) Add cooked chickpeas, garlic, lemon juice, sunflower oil, tahini paste and salt into your food processor and pulse to make a smooth paste. Add as much water as you want to achieve a preferred consistency (start with 1 tablespoon).

3) Transfer to a bowl, sprinkle some smoked paprika on top and drizzle with sunflower oil. Serve with pita, flatbread or veggies.

Recipe by collecting memories

White Onion Garlic Pizza

White Onion Garlic Pizza 

Crust
125g / 1 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp instant yeast
80ml / 1/3 cup warm water
oil, to coat

Topping
2 tbsp oil
8 cloves garlic, minced
2 medium onions (150g / 5.2oz) , thinly sliced
pinch salt

5 slices your favorite cheese (100g / 3.5oz)
pinch of smoked paprika
pinch of dried oregano

1) In a medium bowl, combine together flour, salt,baking powder and instant yeast. Add water and mix with a spoon. Start kneading the dough. Knead until very smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Form the dough into the ball and place in an oiled bowl. Make sure the whole dough is coated with oil. Cover with a plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and let rise in a warm place while you prepare the topping.

2) Preheat oven to 200C / 400F (grill function) and line a baking tray with parchment paper.

3) In a saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons of oil. Add onions, garlic ans salt and fry until softened and golden brown.

4) Transfer the pizza dough to a surface and shape the dough into a disk, pressing down with your fingertips. If it sticks to the surface, sprinkle some flour to prevent it from sticking, however, I did not need to do that.

5) Transfer the dough onto the baking tray. Arrange cheese and onion mixture on top of it. You may first put cheese or onions. I've tried both options and both worked really well. If you put cheese on top, it browns nicely and onions remain soft covered with cheese. If you choose to put onions over the cheese, they may become slightly crunchy. Dust with smoked paprika and dried oregano.

6) Bake until nicely brown on top. Baking time is up to you. If you like a softer dough, it will only take a few minutes.

Recipe by collecting memories

Cranberry Walnut Grain Medley

Cranberry Walnut Grain Medley

1 T oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cl garlic, minced
100g / 3.5 oz dried cranberries
100g / 3.5 oz pearl barley
100g / 3.5 oz brown rice
60g / 2 oz walnuts, chopped
a pinch of pepper
a pinch of mustard powder
a pinch of thyme
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon

1) Cook rice and pearl barley separately and let cool.

2) In a small saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon of oil. Add onion and garlic and cook until softened and golden brown. Let cool.

3) In a large bowl, combine together onion/garlic mixture, dried cranberries, barley, rice and walnuts. Season with salt, pepper, mustard, thyme and cinnamon. Mix everything until combined.

Makes 2-4 servings.

Recipe by collecting memories

Stir-Fried Vegetables

Stir-frying has always been my favorite method of preparing food. You can experiment while you're cooking which is not possible when you fry or bake something. It's ridiculously easy and quick too, right? 
And, yeah, vegetables again! I'm a real veggie person so I always have a variety of vegetables in my fridge. It's something that I could not live without. I simply need vegetables. Every day. 
So this is another idea of a quick dinner which is ammmazingly delicious and filling. At the end of cooking, I added some teriyaki sauce and I loved it. It's good without it as well cause dried basil, oregano and thyme gives a nice flavor so you can try them without the sauce first. This makes enough for 2 people. Enjoy!

Stir-Fried Vegetables

2 tbsp oil (use olive or I sometimes like using sunflower oil)
1 medium onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
400g cauliflower, chopped into florets
400g zucchini, diced
2 small carrots (110g), thinly diced
1-2 tbsp thinly sliced chili pepper (optional)
1/2 tsp each: dried oregano, basil and thyme
Pinch black pepper
Pinch salt
1-2 tbsp teriyaki sauce (optional) (I love using this one)

1) Heat oil in a heavy saucepan. Add onion and saute until softened, browned and fragrant. Add garlic and saute for another minute or two.

2) Add the rest of the ingredients (except for teriyaki sauce), cover the pan and let simmer over medium heat until carrots are cooked throughly, stirring occasionally. The cooking time is up to you. (The whole process including sauteeing onions took about 30 minutes for me). You can cook them less but I like my veggies very soft. When they're cooked throughly, add 1-2 tablespoons of teriyaki sauce. Serve immediately.

Recipe by collecting memories

Avocado Egg Salad (Mayo-free)

I was thinking what to write in this post and couldn't think of anything smart. I guess I'm not very productive after the exams session. But I'm already writing something, so it's not that bad, right?? Actually, I'll better say something about avocado. I love avocado. I especially fell in love with it after making Avocado Brownies last week. Well, let's discuss this avocado egg salad now. It's amazing. Why? Because there's no mayo in it, which means, it's skinny and healthy, and still tastes wonderful! I believe this would be perfect wrapped in tortilla or simply used as spread on a slice of bread. Or who said you can't eat it straight from the bowl?

Avocado Egg Salad (Mayo-free)

1 large ripe avocado (300g)
2 large eggs, hard boiled
1-2 cloves garlic
~20g Greek yogurt (1-2 tbsp)
salt & black pepper

1) Cut avocado into small/medium cubes and mash some of it. Cut egg into small cubes and mix with avocado. Mince garlic and mix together with avocado/egg.

2) Add Greek Yogurt and mix with a spoon, mashing avocado and egg a little bit. Season with salt and pepper.

Enjoy!

Recipe by collecting memories

Farro Bake

Here's another proof that healthy food can also be delicious. I like all kinds of grains but farro is among my favourites. 
This farro bake is very simple and maybe that's why I like it. The two bright flavours you basically taste is parmesan and tomato sauce. That's why I suggest using homemade tomato sauce. If it contains basil, oregano, onion, garlic - even better! If using simple tomato sauce, feel free to add herbs like dried oregano or basil. Just be sure you sprinkle enough Parmesan on top!

Farro Bake

1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
¼ tsp salt
300g/1 ½ c pearled farro
225g/1 cup tomato sauce (preferably homemade)
600ml/2 ½ c vegetable broth
60g/1 1/4 cups Parmesan cheese, divided

1) Preheat oven to 200C/400F. Prepare 20x20cm/8x8" silicone baking pan or lightly grease a metal pan.  

2) In a large saucepan, heat olive oil. Add onion, salt and garlic and bring to medium-high heat. Cook onions until they start to turn translucent. Stir occasionally. Add farro and cook for another minute. Add tomato sauce and vegetable broth. Stir to combine. Bring to a simmer and then remove from heat. Stir in 1 cup of the Parmesan cheese.

3) Transfer the mixture into the prepared baking dish and cover with foil. Cut a few slits in the foil. Bake for 45 minutes, removing the foil when it's almost done just to let the top darken. Remove from oven and sprinkle remaining cheese on top.

Recipe adapted from here.

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