Garlic shrimp with broccoli and Brussels sprouts

 

   I'm used to eating shrimp in stir fries or pastas, but I never tried it on its own so I decided to try another recipe from Anna's table. She recommends eating it with sauteed spinach and garlic bread, but I felt it needed a side so I added broccoli and Brussel sprouts. I guess that's pretty similar to a stir fry but oh well, at least it's not all mixed. I'm REALLY happy with how this dish turned out! I would not put garlic bread AND broccoli and Brussels sprouts as it's too much in the end (choose the bread or the veggies) but other than that, spot on! Now you go try it!

Ingredients for 3 servings:

- 500g shrimp, peeled and deveined

- 60g spinach (I used frozen but you can also use fresh if you want)

- 60g unsalted butter

- 3 Tbsp oil

- 6 garlic cloves

- 1/2 cup dry white wine

- 2 Tbsp fish sauce

- 1 tsp each: ground coriander, ground cumin, cayenne pepper, black pepper, smoked paprika

- 2 Tbsp lemon juice

SIDE:

- garlic bread OR your choice of veggies (I used broccoli and Brussels sprouts)

Steps:

1. Grate the garlic into a bowl. 

2. Add the shrimp, 1 tbsp oil, fish sauce, coriander, cumin, cayenne pepper, smoked paprika and black pepper. Toss and set aside for 10 minutes. Note! It’s important to prepare everything fast and cook over a high heat.

3. Heat the remaining 2 Tbsp oil in a large skillet. Place the shrimps in a single layer, sear for 1 minute. Flip and sear the other side, 1 minute. 

4. Pour white wine, cook for 1 minute. 

5. Add butter, stir until melted. 

6. Then add spinach and toss until wilted, 30 seconds to 1 minute max. 

7. Sprinkle with lemon juice. 

OPTIONAL:

8. Prepare the garlic bread OR Steam the broccoli + Stir fry the Brussels sprouts with some salt and orange juice. 

Bon appetit!

Chickpeas and lentils stew with bacon

    I found this recipe on Anna's table Instagram account and I fell in love with it from the first sight! Anything that has bacon in it is a big YES! but I also really like chickpeas so I had to try it! It's a mouthful of wonderful tastes, you HAVE to try it! Healthy and delicious! What are you waiting for? :D

Ingredients for 4 servings:

 - 100g bacon - diced 

- 1 can chickpeas, drained

- 1 can lentils, drained

- aprox. 50g spinach (fresh, if you can, I only found frozen one)

- 1 big carrot, cut into cubes

- 4 garlic cloves, minced

- 1 big onion, finely chopped

- 3 Tbsp oil

- 2 Tbsp tomato paste (I used tomato juice)

- 1 tsp each ground cumin, smoked paprika, black pepper

- 1 bay leaf

- 1 Tbsp lemon juice

- 1,5l chicken broth

SIDE:

- 4 slices of bread

- 4 slices of gouda or the cheese you have at home

- a bit of butter and 2 Tbsp oil

- black pepper

Steps:

1. Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add bacon, cook until golden brown and crispy. Stir occasionally. Remove from pot.

2. If the pot looks dry, add 2 tbsp oil. Add garlic and onion, sauté over low heat until fragrant, about 2 minutes. 

3. Stir in cumin, smoked paprika and black pepper. 

4. Add carrots, cook for 2 minutes. 

5. Pour the broth and bring to a boil. Add the bay leaf. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes over low heat.

6. Add the chickpeas, lentils and tomato paste and simmer for 5 minutes more. 

7. Add spinach and lemon juice, stir and turn off the heat. Put back the bacon in the pot.

8. For making the side toast: Heat a skillet over medium-low heat, add butter and olive oil. Place bread and toast until golden brown and crispy, about 5 minutes. Flip, top with cheese and continue to toast until cheese is melted, about 5 minutes more.

9. To serve: Divide stew among bowls. Place cheesy toast on top. Bon appetit!

Garlic Butter Roasted Corn with Feta

 

   I loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooove, love love love LOOOOOVE corn! Ok, I think I made my point understood. I'd put corn in everything!!! Naturally, I also love boiled corn in the summer! When I found this recipe on my favorite blog (Serving Dumplings), a recipe that also has garlic and feta, I was sold!!! You can boil your corn beforehand or just roast it like I did. It's just a new way of having your corn in the summer :D

Ingredients:

- 2 corn cobs (one per person or if you love corn, more than one :D)

- 50g (1/2 cup) butter, melted

- 2 garlic cloves, grated

- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika

- salt + black pepper

- 50g feta, crumbled

- chilies

Steps:

1. Preheat the oven to 230°C.

2. Line the corn cobs on a baking sheet, pour the melted butter, add garlic and sprinkle with smoked paprika, salt and pepper. Roast for 20-25 minutes, turning halfway through.

3. Remove from the oven, top with crumbled feta and chilies. Sprinkle with extra salt and pepper. Bon appetit! :)

OMG Quattro Formaggi Pizza

 

   If you like cheese as much as I do, you'll always go for Quattro Formaggi everything be it pasta, pizza or scrambled eggs in the morning :))) I tried various brands of pizza that produced Quattro Formaggi and I had a favourite but I felt I also had to try my own, so, for the first time, I did! I chose 4 cheeses that I thought would work together and I'm happy to say the experiment paid off! :D Now, let's talk business, meaning, how to get this drooling pizza above:

Ingredients for a pizza (6 slices):

*a person will definitely be satiated with 2 slices, so don't bake too many pizzas ;)

- store bought pizza dough or make your own

~ 300g Panzani 4 Formaggi pasta sauce

- 150g gruyere

- 150g gorgonzola

- 120g smoked cheese

- 120g mozarella

- fresh basil

The sauce I used

Steps:

1. Thaw the dough. Take it out of the freezer about 1 hour before preparation.

2. Once the dough is thawed out, preheat the oven at 220C.

3. Put some baking paper on a pizza tray, then place the dough in the tray.

4. Add the sauce.

5. Slice the 4 cheeses and layer them playfully.

6. Add basil leaves on top.

Before

7. Put the pizza in the oven for about 12-15 min until the cheeses start browning. Bon appetit! :)

After

The Dana Salad

 

   Before you say anything, yes, I do have a salad with my name on it. That's because when Oli and I were first dating I thought of making a new salad that he would like so I took elements of a Greek salad and I added my own twist. He liked it so much that ever since then he calls it The Dana Salad so that we know exactly what to put in it :) It's become a staple in our household and I'm surprised that I haven't posted it sooner. Wanna know what's in it? Follow the recipe below!

Ingredients for 3-4 servings: 

*We always have leftovers, but we never mind because it's so healthy we can eat it later or the next day if we put it in a sift in the fridge

- 3 boneless chicken thighs 

- lemon pepper seasoning

- 2 medium tomatoes, diced

- 2 medium cucumbers, diced

- 1 red pepper, diced

- 1 big carrot, grated

- 1 medium red onion, roughly chopped

*1 green onion (optional), chopped

- corn

- 250g telemea or Feta, shredded 

- sunflower or olive oil

- salt 

Steps:

1. Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces, pan sear it on both sides and season it with lemon pepper as you cook it. Make sure it's evenly coated.

2. Put the cut veggies in a bowl, then add the cooked chicken and the shredded telemea. 

3. Season with salt and generously coat in oil. Thoroughly mix everything. Bon appetit! :)

Easy Tuna Deviled Eggs

 

   At my brother's recommendation, for the first time in my life, today I made deviled eggs stuffed with tuna instead of paté. OMG!!! Why haven't I done this sooner??? What have I been waiting for? I think the easiest explanation is that once you're born a Romanian you will associate deviled eggs with paté all your life and you would end up losing so many flavours! This absolutely exceptional, super duper easy recipe made me want to reinvent Romanian dishes by switching one or two key ingredients and just give them a refresh! I feel so inspired! 

So let me tell you how to make this dish yourself:

Ingredients for 6 deviled eggs (2 people):

- 3 medium eggs

- a can of good quality tuna, sifted - without the brine or oil 

- 7 Tbsp mayo mixed with greek yogurt (Choose to make your own mayo, it's always better!)

- spices: paprika, chili

Steps:

1. Boil the eggs for 8 minutes.

2. Half the eggs and take the yolks out.

3. Blend the tuna with the egg yolks and a tablespoon of mayo and yogurt mix.

4. Stuff the egg halves with the tuna mix using a teaspoon then turn them upside down.

5. Pour a tablespoon of mayo on every deviled egg.

6. Sprinkle some paprika and chili for extra zing. Bon appetit! :D

Summery fish tacos with homemade tortillas

   Who doesn't love a good taco? Tacos are perfect for quick summer dinners and they punch a lot of flavour! This time I also made my own tortillas for the first time in my life with a recipe from here and I'll show you how to make it yourself. It's easy peasy, believe me! :D The taco recipe was taken from "Yum and yummer" recipe book written by Greta Podleski. 

Tortilla recipe (tweaked the size of it and I also used half of the original recipe):
Ingredients for 8 tortillas of 11 cm:

- 1,5 cups all-purpose flour

- 1/2 tsp salt

- 1/2 tsp baking powder

- 40 ml extra virgin olive oil or sunflower oil 

- 1/2 cup warm water

Steps:

1. Combine flour, salt and baking powder in the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the dough hook, mix dry ingredients until well combined.

2. Add oil and water with mixer running at a medium speed. After about 1 minute, or when mixture comes together and begins to form a ball, decrease mixing speed to low. Continue to mix for 1 minute or until dough is smooth.

3. Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface. Divide into 8 equal portions. Turn each piece to coat with flour. Form each piece into a ball and flatten with the palm of your hand. 

4. Cover flattened balls of dough with a clean kitchen towel and allow to rest for at least 15 minutes (or as much as 2 hours) before proceeding. We left them for 1 hour.

5. After the rest period, heat a large pan over medium heat. Roll each dough piece into a rough circle, about 11 cm diameter, keep work surface and rolling pin lightly floured. Don’t stack uncooked tortillas on top of each other or they will stick together.

6. When the pan is hot, place one dough circle into the pan and allow to cook about 1 minute or until the bottom surface has a few pale brown spots and the uncooked surface is bubbly. If browning too fast, reduce the heat a bit. If it’s taking longer than a minute to see a few pale golden brown spots on the underside of tortillas, increase the heat a bit. Flip to other side and cook for 15-20 seconds. The tortillas should be nice and soft but have a few small brown spots on the surface. 

7. Remove from pan with tongs and stack in a covered container or zippered bag to keep the tortillas soft. 

And now, let's fill them with delicious stuff! :D

Ingredients for 8 tacos:

Mango salsa:

- 1 diced mango (make sure it's ripe)

- 1 avocado, diced

- 1/2 red pepper

- 1 diced red onion

- 2 Tbsp minced jalapeno peppers

- 1 Tbsp minced fresh cilantro

- 1 Tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice

- a pinch of salt

Lime mayo sauce:

- 1/3 cup light mayo

- 1 Tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice

- 1/2 tsp grated lime zest

- 1/8 each chili powder and ground cumin

Fish:

- 700g white fish fillets (we used carp because we couldn't find cod or tilapia that the book recommends)

- 2 tsp olive oil

- salt and freshly ground black pepper

- 1 Tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice

Steps:

1. Combine all salsa ingredients in a medium bowl and mix well. 

2. Pat the fish dry with paper towels and sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Add the fish and cook for 2-3 min or until the edges start to look brown. Carefully flip the fish and cook about 2 more minutes. Transfer the fish to a plate and squeeze some lime juice over top.

3. To assemble tacos, flake the fish or cut it into small pieces. Place it over the bottom of warmed tortillas, top with salsa and drizzle the lime mayo on top. Bon appetit! :)