Easy Tempura Meatballs Recipe

I am not a big expert in meatballs and practically only did it a couple of times. It has to do mostly with the aesthethical part of the process, when mysteriously, my almost perfectly rolled balls are breaking into small little pieces while in the boiling oil. If they are bigger, they end up looking like hamburgers with no clear resemblance with the ping pong little balls that are, according to my experienced friends, so easy to shape. It might be a matter of ingredients, experience and patience, and I am well aware that I have significant minuses.

Last week, I had a craving for homemade meatballs and as my cravings were bigger than my reluctance, they won over. But, as usual, although I followed a classical recipe, I added some special unique ingredients hoping that, if they don't look good at least they taste good.

The experience was not bad, in both in terms of taste and looks some improvements were made. The choice of ingredients was inspired and my table guests appreciated not only the effort, but also the final result. The choice of tempura flour instead of normal flour or crumbs was a neutral one, as it did not affected at all the taste and it succedeed to bind together all the ingredients as a smooth glue.

Therefore, I am happy to share the recipe and the inspiration.

Ingredients

400 gr. minced chicken meat

1 tablespoon salt - as usual, kosher salt is always recommended

1 tablespoon za'atar

1/4 onion, minced

1 cup tempura flour

3 small eggs, beaten

1 cup cooking oil -for cooking

Directions

In a pan, heat the oil at 250C, at least 15 minutes before starting the cooking.

In a bowl, mix all the ingredients, for a couple of minutes until you have an homogenous paste.

Start rollingsmall balls and let them to rest for a little while.

Add them in the boiling oil - not all of them at a time. It depends how wide is your pan, but I preferred to do only 4-5 at once. It leave more space for frying.

When ready, let the meatballs on a kitchen paper for draining the oil.

That's all!

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Serves: 25 medium-sized meatballs

Bon Appétit!

My Asian Noodles Bowl

I wish I can call this bowl of noodles more specifically - like Japanese, or Chinese, or Singapore or Korean...- but unfortunatelly, I've built up everything with my European mind, by using a variety of ingredients that probably covers the entire Asian continent - while adding some flavors suited for the Western Europe palate as well.

As a big lover of Asian food, I always dreamed to build up my own bowl of noodles, using a variety of ingredients and creating that umami effect that calls you back over and over again. 

In setting up this bowl, I've used for the first time in my life lotus roots. I bought mine as frozen and sliced and therefore, boiled it before serving. Rich in nutrients and assigned health benefits such as reducing stress and improving blood circulation, it can be consumed either boiled - although a bit tasteless - deep or stir fried. Right now, I am trying it in various variants thus wait for a coming post fully dedicated to this versatile Asian food that can be so smoothly integrated into local recipes.

Ingredients

2 big slices of lotus roots halved

1 small egg boiled at 5 minutes

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon black sesame

3 shiitake mushrooms

1 portion of dried potato noodles

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon black sesame

1 tablespoon soy sauce

Directions

Boil the egg for 5 minutes and halve it. 

In a pan warmed at 250C, add the sesame oil, 1 tablespoon black sesame and the shiitake mushrooms. Fry them on all sides for around 10 minutes.

Add around 250 ml. hot water on the noodles and, if the case, add the seasoning.

Add to the bowl the lotus roots, the egg, the sesame seeds, the soy sauce and the shiitake. Mix it a couple of times.

Serve it warm.

Serves: 1

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 15 minutes

Bon Appétit!

Baked Eggplant with Cheddar Cheese

My and eggplant...we have a very complicated story between us, but I keep doing it as much as I can, especially when my hungry imagination is ready to add some spices that may challenge my first (bad) impression about it. 

This time, I wanted to test my new Zwilling, a present from a dear friend, and decided that, among other things that I am planning to prepare, eggplant is the easiest, affordable one. Especially when some spices, courtesy of Spice Kitchen UK, part of their Brand Ambassador Program are added. The result was surprisingly tasty, rich in flavors and made it into a good side dish for a milky-/cheese-based meal. I will only add some fresh cucumber and tomato salad, for a touch of freshness and call it a good meal! 

Ingredients

- 1 medium-sized eggplant
- 3 cloves garlic, finelly minced
- 1 pinch salt
- 1/2 teaspoon Fenugreek
- 1/2 teaspoon Berbere which are a combination of many spices, such as red chilli, garlic, black peppercorns, cardamom, onion. It also has fenugreek, but I personally wanted a stronger presence of this spice, therefore I added it as a separate ingredient too.
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 2 slices of Cheddar Cheese - you can also use Edamer Cheese and any other hard cheese variant.

Directions

Roast the eggplant on the stove at 250C, turning it on all sides at least for 45 minutes. Peel it well, careful to clean all the black parts. Slice it and put it into the baking pan. Warm the oven at 250C, at least 10 minutes before starting the baking. Add the lemon zest, the salt, the spices, the garlic. Be sure that you turn the eggplant on both sides to smear the ingredients properly. Add the cheese on the top.

Bake it for around 45 minutes. 

Serve it warm. The spices and the lemon zest add a complex, sweet-sour taste and consistency to the eggplant. 

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: Roasting: 45 minutes. Baking: 45 minutes

Serves: 2

Bon Appétit!

Corn on the Cob with Ras El-Hanout, Salt and Butter

Many autumns ago, corn used to be my main meal for the final weeks of August and mid-September. Mostly eaten as corn on the cob, it only involved salt, and a lot of time spent in the boiling temperature of the kitchen while boiling corn after corn. It was all what I was eating for lunch and dinner and the natural sweetness of the corn was what I needed for that part of the year. 

Meanwhile I grew up and my tastes become more complex. Many years I just avoided corn on the cob, because too proletarian for my newly acquired preferences. Also, it was not so easy to find that countryside corn sold in the farmer's markets in the old country. A new world was opening to me and it was no place for that past any more.

However, once I settled up and diversified my life and food experiences, the old recipes and life stories were just another opportunity to share an unique story. My story.

Therefore, why not using them as a basic for just another spicy experience?

Ingredients

- 2 normal size corn
- 1 tablespoon salt for boiling the corn and another tablespoon for smear it on all sides of each corn
- 1 liter cold water
- 2 tablespoons butter, one for each corn

- 1 tablespoon Ras El-Hanout

Directions

Preheat the water at 250C. When almost boiling, add the corn and let it boil for at least 45 minutes. If the corn is too ripe, you can wait as long as one hour. When ready, take them out of the water and smear the butter all over each of the corns. Add salt and the Ras El-Hanout, spreading it all over the surface. You can use a cooking easel if you want an almost perfect coverage.

Serve it warm or at the room temperature. Reheat, if necessary, in the microwave.

A typical spice for the North African cuisine, usually mixed with couscous, this spice-mix of Ras El-Hanout has at least 25 different ingredients, among which: turmeric, paprika, salt, nutmeg, ginger, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, black pepper, cardamom, sugar, all spice, clalli powder, star anise, cloves, rose petals. Only the mention of each and every one of those ingredients stirs tasty memories therefore you can imagine how does it taste the full combination added on the corn. The butter creates a special fluidity adding a milky note.

You can also use this corn mixture as a main ingredient of a salad, eventually together with tomatoes, onion, avocado and some olive oil. 

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 45 minutes-1 hour, depending on how ripe the corn is.

Serves: 2

Bon Appétit!

Disclaimer: The Ras El-Hanout spices were offered by Spice Kitchen UK part of their Brand Ambassador Program, but the opinions are, as usual, my own. Their Ras El-Hanout was a 2-star great taste award winner in 2017.

Non-alcoholic Spicy Tomatoes and Aleppo Pepper Cocktail

Since I tried for the first time Aleppo Pepper, a spice I've heard so many good things about and which did not disappoint me at all, I was thinking how I can use this versatile pepper in a new combination. And it seems that my mind needed at least two months until I finally took a decision. What about a cold tomatoes spicy summer cocktail, now when the weather finally looks much friendlier than a couple of weeks ago?

The results were more than satisfying and with a very special spicy result. By adding Aleppo Pepper to your tomatoes you can create an unique juice, healthy and energizing with an unique taste. The preparation takes minutes and unless you want your drink a bit more cold, you can drink it immediately. Accompanied by a meal or just as a refreshment, this non-alcoholic cocktail brings exotic tastes and impressions into your life. For yourself, a party or for a tasty date.

Ingredients

25 small heart-shaped small tomatoes, halved

1/4 teaspoon Aleppo Pepper from Spice Kitchen UK

1 pinch black pepper

1 full teaspoon brown sugar

300 ml. cold water

Directions

Add all the ingredients, one by one, into the blender and mix them at medium speed for 2 minutes. You can pour the juice into a straw first if you want to have a completely clean drink, but I personally preferred to keep the tomatoes skin as well. 

You can drink it within minutes after preparation or wait for at least half an hour with the drink kept in the fridge. Both variants are fine.

Before taking the first sip, be ready for an unique experience: elegant taste with unique spice traces, a beautiful colour and a genuine sweetness (the reason I wanted to avoid the white sugar and use the brown one; honey can also work).

Serves: 3
Preparation time: 10 minutes

Disclaimer: Spices offered by Spice Kitchen UK as their Brand Ambassador for review, but the opinions are, as usual, my own

Experiencing with Eggplant

Eggplant is one of those vegetables which are prepared in my house every couple of months but no more than once the year. It is my way to say that, in fact, I don't like eggplant as much and if not for some books which make everything simple and tasty, I would not want to deal with it at all. In fact, not long ago, there were years since I was tasting any bit of eggplant. Trying new recipes and putting my tastebuds on trial is an interesting experience anyway, therefore after a couple of weeks of thinking I decided to finally use that eggplant languishing in my fridge.

For one hour, I tried to combine one moderately sized eggplant with different tastes and ingredients. The results were satisfactory, but it was more burned smell than necessary. Not sure if I would try anything soon - maybe, finally some Babaganoush one day - as for now, I am just gathering various experiences about this mysterious and not always easy going vegetable.

Here is my short cooking story:

I started by washing the eggplant and cutting the head. Next, I've sliced it into thin rounds, allowing a fast and efficient frying. I heated 3 tablespoons olive oil in the pan at 250 for 5 minutes prior to the frying. 

I tried to use different ingredients for each batch of eggplants. I fried 3 of them at once, allowing enough space to absorb the oil. In one case, I only added a pinch of sea salt. In another I added some Osem soup seasoning. In another I added some small slice on yellow cheese on the top. Black or Cayenne pepper are also good solutions. 

From the pan, I set the eggplant slices to rest on some absorbing paper to take the oil excess out. 

As side dips, my choice was relatively simple: some plain fresh yogourt and a very spicey soy sauce. 

Despite the smoke smell, it was a relatively easy dish, with a variety of tastes. I had them in a simple way, without anything else but fresh cherry tomatoes and some avocado. 

A great meal for a lazy evening at home after a full day of work, whose creation requests a bit of imagination and taste creativity.

Milk Banana and Tehina Smoothie

Long time no smoothie! I went through a smoothie' block, combined to an impressive amount of time and coconut milk canes spent experiencing with sachlav (the recipe was updated accordingly, so worth to have a look at it), because winter season is always sachlav season.

As I had some extra tehina spread in the kitchen (for a recipe to be revealed soon), I wanted to use it extensively for various sweet and savory recipes. Why not combine milk with bananas and some tehina plus plus plus...?

I didn't need too much encouragement to proceed to the next step of what turned to be a very successful smoothie - and baby D. loved it too!

It is easy to prepare, nourishing, with a pleasant taste and goes well with any daily meal, including as a meal in itself.

Ingredients

3 very ripe medium-sized bananas, each cut into 4 medium-sized pieces

2 1/2 cup of cold milk

16 gr. Vanilla sugar

1 full tablespoon tehina spread (I purchased mine from a BIO Company store)

1 tablespoon acacia honey

100 gr. pistachio for decoration

Directions

Add in the blender the bananas, the milk, the vanilla sugar, the tehina and acacia honey. Wait a minute or two for the ingredients to get together. Mix them at medium speed for 2 minutes. Pour it in glasses and decorate with pistachio. 

To be served cold.

Serves: 4 big glasses

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Bon Appétit!

Coconut milk with veggies and salmon

I am using excessively coconut milk, in many sweet and sour combinations, particularly when I am trying to avoid dairy products for the sake of the kosher restriction of mixing meat and milk. 

The coconut milk with veggies is a meal that I am doing once in a while and always using a different combination of seasonal products. To add more consistency, I decided to mix also with salmon, that I fried in a pan with olive oil for about 15 minutes before adding to the mixture and boiling it for another 10 minutes.

Ingredients:

400 ml. Thai coconut milk

2 big carrots, cut into rounds

7 cherry tomatoes, cut into rounds

1/2 big onion, sliced

1 yellow paprika, sliced

100 gr. brown champignons, cut into small cubes

1 pinch of normal salt

around 10 leaves of parsley. coriander is even better as it have a different taste and texture

1/2 big zucchini, cut into rounds

250 gr. wild salmon

2 tablespoon olive oil

Directions:

Warm the milk in a pan at 250 gr. Mix it slowly for about 5 minutes.

Add the rest of the ingredients, starting with the carrots - which need more time to boil. Stir it slowly.

Meanwhile, fry the salmon for about 15 minutes. When it is well fried, cut it into cubes and add to the coconut milk mixture. Mix slowly with the rest of the ingredients.

Preparation time:

15 minutes

Cooking time:

30 minutes

Serves 3

Bon Appétit!

Having upma for breakfast

After patra, I continued my Indian food experience with what seems to be a favorite Bengali breakfast dish: upma. As in the previous case, I completely trusted the recommendation of my friend, plus the attactive picture on the box. This Southern Indian breakfast dish is 100% vegetarian, and contains gluten and mustard. It was provided as a bag with all the ingredients: semolina, lime juice powder, green chilli, ginger powder, among others. I personally added 100 gr. green peas and 2 tablespoon flowerseed oil. 

The preparation process is very simple: pour the ready made content into 600 ml. warm water, add the peas, and keep mixing well at 250C for the next 5-7 minutes, or until a compact puree is formed. 

I love the consistency, but once I've tasted, I also fell in love with the spicey taste. At first, it has a very neutral semolina taste but soon it becoming more and more spicier, as the ingredients need a contact with the palate to further develop. For more fresh, green taste, adding a couple of leaves of coriander could be a good move. 

If you have the semolina, you can prepare it by yourself. It serves 4 and the preparation time is less than 30 minutes.

What surprised me was how such a consistent meal can be served at breakfast, but actually, it is a very good idea when you need a lot of energy for the rest of the day. We, the Europeans, we are used to have our bread and cereals, but it seems that in Souther India, a simple bowl of upma can be more than enough. 

My Indian food tour will continue in the next days, now that Pesach and all its high restrictions is over.

Keep in touch with more foodie news!

Easy recipes: Stuffed mushrooms

The last year, because pregnant and very busy and with limited resources of any kind in general, I had a crush on stuffed mushrooms. For many reasons: easy to prepare, delicious especially when eaten cold, very cheap ingredients.

In a couple of minutes, everything is ready and you can even invite some friends to share with. You can eat them in the morning - if you and your work colleagues do not mind garlic or if you eliminate my favourite ingredient completely - but also for lunch or in the evening. 

The list of ingredients:

250 gr. of brown mushrooms - white mushrooms are also good

one bunch of fresh dill

250 gr. fresh yogourt or cottage cheese

100 gr. za'atar or dried oregano

one pinch of salt, on taste

5 garlic cloves, finelly chopped - this is again, de gustibus, given the concerns previously mentioned.

The directions:

Clean and emtpy the mushrooms

Fill it with the cheese or yogourt

Add the salt and garlic and zaatar

Adorn the entire composition with some dill

Put in the oven - 250C - for 5 minutes, in order to allow all the ingredients to get together well.

Let to rest and serve it, eventually accompanied by a tomatoes salad.

Dates and apricots fruit salad

Definitely, today I am in the mood for sharing as many recipes as possible. This time, I am happy to tell a little foodie story for a very special combination I did find myself. 

Last year, I got a very special assignement, to prepare the catering for a small wedding here, in Berlin. The budget was tight and the time was also limited. Plus, I just got a new job, and was pregnant in the last trimestre and, well, all together it was a lot to do and cope with.

Somehow, I accepted the challenge of the catering, not only because I needed the money, but for the sake of the challenge as such. Me, who less than ten years ago was hardly able to differentiate between different tastes and foods, was now cooking for other - 50 - people too. 

Anyway, I took the assignment and started to do various testing for some fast and summer fit recipes. The clients were not sophisticated, but it was their unique wedding moment and thus, it was my duty to make it taste uniquely. 

Besides the special cake - which was millefeuilles, a nightmare for experienced cooks as well, but this is another story - they wanted some little finger foods, including tasty fruit salads. 

After many trials, my final choice was to mix fresh apricots with dates. No sugar needed, as the dates do have enough sweetness. The only condition was to keep them a couple of hours together in order to have a certain interaction between the two tastes. The ratio I used was of around 5 small apricots for 7 dates - the Mejoul ones are perfectly sweet. It is easy to prepare, convenient and healthy too. To be consumed either as an individual dessert or as a snake between meals, accompanied by a glass of champagne.