Greens & Feta open face borek

Sheet of puff pastry or other pastry marked into 12 portions as appetizer, 4 portions as main course

(I like it as 12, even if I end up eating 3 of them)

Topping

1 large onion, finely diced - gently fry 8-10 mins, then add

2 cloves garlic finely sliced, then add

200g spinach.  Leave to cool

Beat 2 large eggs in a large bowl and use some to egg wash edges of pastry slices and sprinkle with black and white sesame seeds

Add onion greens mix to rest of beaten egg along with

25g fresh flat leaf parsley

2 tsp dried mint

1 tsp pul biber (Turkish red pepper flakes)

Sea salt and coarse black pepper

200g feta / white cheese crumbled into tiny pieces

Spoon into the pastry bases

Bake 20 minutes 200°C 

Drizzle with runny honey mixed with pul biber

Inspiration https://www.instagram.com/reel/DHWYjjyMaaS/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Cinnamon Cheesecake

This is a mashup of 3 different recipes :). The base was inspired by https://littlecook.io/recipe/Honey-Yogurt-Cheesecake, the filling by  https://mydinner.co.uk/german-cheesecake/#recipe, and the flavourings by https://cooktopcove.com/2024/08/24/as-soon-as-i-saw-this-recipe-i-knew-i-needed-to-make-it-it-was-a-real-treat/

Ingredients - to make about 10 portions in my 17 cm diameter, deep, loose bottomed tin

For the base

7 gingersnap biscuits

60g crushed walnuts

60g butter

For the filling

3-4 medium eggs at room temperature

140 g whipping cream 

500g Quark

125g cream cheese 

125g Greek yoghurt 

(You can use all quark or no quark and just 50% cream cheese and 50% yoghurt.  I did it this way because I had a 500g pot of quark)

140 g granulated sugar

30 g corn flour / corn starch

1.5 tsp vanilla extract

Zest of one orange

Flavouring and topping: 

1/2 cup panela mixed with 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Honey

1/2 cup powdered sugar + 1 tablespoon milk

Method

Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Mix the biscuits and nuts in mini-processor then add melted butter.  Press into the bottom of the tin and bake for 10 mins until crisp.  Let cool.

Grease the sides of the tin with butter and dust with flour, this will make it easier to remove the cake from the form later. 

To 

make the filling

Beat the eggs in a big bowl, and whip the cream in a small bowl.

To the big bowl add all the other ingredients and mix together, then fold thru the cream.

Pour half the mixture into the tin, then sprinkle on top half the cinnamon sugar + 1tbs honey, then put the other half of the mixture into the tin + top with same.

Bake 30 mins at 160C, then remove from the oven and with a sharp knife make a round incision about 1 cm from the edge. This will prevent your cake from cracking in the middle.

Bake for another 30 minutes or so, until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.  Leave to cool in the switched off oven, rack pulled out, door ajar.

When the cake has cooled, pour over the topping and put in the fridge to set.

Mattar Paneer

These recipes are from Bags of Taste and do not use any salt.  

Bags of Taste is a fantastic organisation founded by fabulous cook and wonderful person Alicia. I am really grateful that Bags of Taste allows me to mentor groups in London from my home in Spain. 

The original recipe serves 2, but as I like this dish so much, I make double quantity. 

First of all, wash the rice and leave it to soak. 

Now take 2 tbs oil and 400g onion, chopped 

And put in frying pan, not wok Gently fry 20 mins. 

Add 

4 cloves garlic, crushed 

4 tsp ginger, grated 

1 tsp turmeric 

2 tsp coriander powder 

4 tsp dried fenugreek leaf 

(optional) 1/2 or less tsp cayenne or chilli powder 

1 tin tomatoes, chopped 

Continue frying till turns into a brown paste and sticks to pan. 

Add about 3/4 cup/less than 200 ml water + 2 tsp lemon juice 

Add 250g cubed paneer + 200g frozen peas. 

Mix well to coat in sauce, cover and leave 5 mins to heat thru. 

Now put rice on to cook. Bring to the boil and when water level and rice level are about the same, and you see holes in the rice, cover, turn heat to low and wait 7 minutes. Then turn off heat and wait 5 minutes more. 

Garnish with fresh coriander leaves if you have any.

Pudin de Ensaimada Deluxe

This recipe was inspired by some friends of ours who live in Muro and are such keen and fabulous cooks that they have not one, not even two, but three kitchens!!  Just like most of us, they have an "ordinary" kitchen in their house, but then in their yard they have a professional outdoor covered kitchen, and also a wooden shed with a massive stainless steel bread oven.  Going to their house for lunch is like Christmas, whatever time of year it is.

One of their signature dishes is a sublime creme caramel made with dulce de leche and coconut milk, baked for 5 hours at 50°C.  This was the inspiration for my Pudin de Ensaimada Deluxe.

Many countries have their own version of pudin - a recipe to turn stale bread into something delicious.  In England we have bread pudding or bread and butter pudding.  In Spain, we have pudin, and whilst it can be made with stale bread, the luxury version uses day-old ensaimada.  And my deluxe version turns it up another notch :)

 

Ingredients

NOTE: As with most of my recipes, this is a forgiving and flexible dish.  Both the ingredients and quantities listed here are indicative only, if you have more or less of anything, it will still turn out great!

120g day-old (or older!) ensaimada - any kind of ensaimada you like, I usually have ensaimada de crema quemada

A drizzle of caramel sauce or dulce de leche - home made or store bought - I prefer the buttery toffee colour rather than the dark treacle colour

60g Raisins, sultanas, cranberries - whatever dried fruit you fancy.  I imagine you could also use fresh or frozen fruit if you like - raspberries, blueberries.  And/or chunks of chocolate

Rum or whatever liquor you like to plump up the dried fruit.  It's optional, leave it out if you don't want to use it, or use some warm apple juice, or just warm water

60g walnut pieces - I usually crush them a bit in a pestle and mortar

Coconut milk and/or regular milk - I usually use a tin of coconut milk and add some regular milk.  Use any kind of milk you like.

140g Sugar

Zest of one lemon, zest of one orange, one cinnamon stick

4 Eggs  (use 3 or 4 eggs per half litre of milk)

Vanilla essence

Method

Soak sultanas/raisins/cranberry in rum, microwave 30 secs

Peel the zest from one orange and one lemon, add to saucepan with coconut milk, milk, sugar and a cinnamon stick.  Bring nearly to the boil, then cover, take off heat and leave to infuse.

At this point you can take a break for as long as you like

Put a drizzle caramel sauce / dulce de leche in bottom of tin.  I don't put much at all.

Top with torn up bits of ensaimada walnut pieces and rum-soaked fruit, then more ensaimada.

You can also take a break at this point if you like. 

Whisk up the eggs, then add them to the milk mixture.  I remove the orange/lemon peel and cinnamon stick before adding the eggs but it doesn't really matter, because we are going to strain the mixture anyway.

Add the vanilla essence, if you remember.  I often forget :)

Pour the egg and milk mixture through a sieve over the ensaimada/fruit/nut mix in the tin.  If you can't be bothered to strain the mixture through a sieve, I'm sure it wouldn't matter, but I like the smoother texture it gives.

Bake in a bain marie in the oven at 140ºC/180ºC for about 40 minutes to an hour - until the custard sets.  I'm not sure how essential the bain marie is - I've never tried without it.

Cooked, in the bain marie, in the oven

 

Leave to cool, and then refrigerate.  To serve, turn out upside down onto a serving platter.  You can add whipped cream, but I really don't think it's necessary.

Keeps well, for a couple of days in the fridge.

It doesn't look particularly pretty, but it is delicious - this is what was left after dinner one day, I forgot to take a picture of it whole!!

 

Homemade Rolo Puddings

I have a good friend here in Mallorca whose grown-up kids live in Scotland, and he was always raving about the caramel sauce they put on puddings in Scotland..... so for his birthday, I decided to try to make a bottle for him.  It was a big success, he loved it :)  I used this recipe, but this one also looks interesting.....  

My favourite cakes have lots of fruit in them, like my apple cake, my pear frangipane, but this friend likes "just plain chocolate cake" so another time he and his wife invited us to dinner, I made this one - really easy, and also a big hit :)

Which got me thinking.... if he loves caramel, and chocolate - surely he would love Rolo puddings!

 

I love Rolo puddings!  But it's one of the few things from the UK that I like, that I haven't been able to find here in Mallorca.  So I decided to try and make a homemade version.  Now whenever I ask him what he wants for dessert, this is what he asks for!  It's really delicious, looks impressive, but is super quick and easy to make :)

 

Ingredients (serves 6 - it's very rich, so I make them in tiny little glasses)

For the toffee layer

2 cups / 450 ml milk

1/4 cup (or less) cornflour

1/2 cup sugar (white or brown, whichever you have/prefer - I tried it once with panela but I think golden granulated sugar works better)

1/4 cup / 60 g butter

1/2 tsp vanilla essence

A sprinkling of salt

1) Have all your ingredients ready prepared/measured out and to hand, and your little glasses ready to fill.  

2) Mix together the milk and cornflour, and set aside.  

3) Put the sugar in a small saucepan and moisten with a little (about a dessertspoon) water.  Stir and heat slowly to dissolve the sugar, and when it starts to boil and bubble, stop stirring and just watch it carefully...... when it turns a nice dark brown colour (probably a bit browner than you think it should be) and smells nicely caramel-like, add the butter and then the milk/cornflour mix and stir and heat until the butter dissolves and the mixture thickens to the texture of double cream.  You will see that it is much paler now - that's why you need to make the caramel really brown.  Add the vanilla essence and stir through.

4) Immediately pour into your little glasses and sprinkle with a tiny bit of salt

Now you can wash up your little saucepan, and prepare your ingredients ready to make the chocolate layer.

For the chocolate layer

25g / 1/4 cup cocoa

25g dark (70%) chocolate

Less than 1 tbsp cornflour

50g / 1/4 cup white sugar (sugar is twice as heavy as cocoa)

15g butter

1 cup milk

5) Put all ingredients into a small saucepan, stir and heat gently until it thickens to the texture of double cream.  

6) Immediately pour on top of the toffee layer.

7) When it's cooled a little bit, pop in the fridge until you want to serve.

Torta di Mele

 

 

 

My neighbour Gloria is not a big fan of cakes, but she loves this one!  It's packed full of apples, and not too sweet.  It's really quick and easy to make by hand and very forgiving - you don't worry too much about exact quantities.

 

 

 

The first time I made it, I used this recipe https://scrummylane.com/easy-apple-cake-torta-di-mele/ and over time I have adapted it so it is the perfect size for my fabulous Czech Oven https://www.amazon.co.uk/Total-Chef-Czech-Cooker/dp/B01MSAF43Q which I use to bake nearly all my cakes

Ingredients to make an 8" / 20cm round cake

175 g self-raising flour (or plain flour + baking powder)
175 g butter - melted
140 g sugar
4 eggs - beaten
5 or 6 apples
1 large lemon
1 tsp cinnamon
Some pinenuts and icing sugar to sprinkle on top

 

Instructions

Line the tin with baking paper and if you need to, pre-heat the oven to 355F / 180C.  (If like me, you are using a Czech oven, no need to preheat.  I cook my cakes at between setting number 3 and 4)

Put the flour, sugar and cinnamon into a big bowl, along with the zest of your lemon.  Mix to combine.
Juice the lemon into another bowl, big enough to hold your apple slices.  Peel, core and slice your apples and put the slices straight into the bowl with the  lemon juice, so they don't oxidise too much.
Add the beaten eggs and melted butter to the flour, sugar, cinnamon and lemon zest, then mix in 2/3 of the apple slices. It will seem like you have a lot of fruit and very little batter.  Don't worry - with this cake, the more fruit, the better!

 
Spoon/tip the batter into the cake pan and smooth the top, then arrange the rest of the sliced apples on the top.  Sprinkle over a few pine nuts and bake for about 1 hour, or until a skewer pushed into the centre of the cake comes out clean.  Note:  the higher the ratio of fruit to batter in the mixture, the quicker it will cook

 

Cake ready for baking

Leave to cool, and dust with icing sugar before serving. 

 

Practice makes perfect

Last Tuesday I woke up ready for another day of juice and broth and started well with my lemon water and Green Machine.

But mid-morning my husband told me that the chef of the restaurant next door was cooking us lobster paella for lunch, in the evening we were invited to a dinner of BBQ rabbit with friends, and on the following day we were going away with those same friends to our house in the mountains for a couple of days.  There's no electricity in our mountain house, so no juicer.

So, I gave it some thought and decided that I was happy enough to have achieved my personal objective of consuming just juices and broth for a period of 24 hours.  Now was not the right time to continue. I had successfully completed my one day juice cleanse, and I would do it again.  And one day maybe I will complete the full 3 day juice fast/5 day reset.

Many years ago, I successfully achieved 30 days no sugar and no alcohol.  But not on my first attempt, oh no - it took a lot of "practices" - some of those practices lasted a week or longer, some of them lasted less than a day!  But I kept "practicing" and when the time was right, when I'd practiced enough, finally I achieved it.  And it was easy!  At the outset, I gave myself leeway... I looked at my calendar, and saw that in the middle of the 30 days I had a christening to attend, and said to myself, "On that day, maybe I will have a slice of christening cake and a glass of champagne.  And if I do, it will be ok"  And actually, when that day came, I didn't succumb to either cake or champagne, and it was easy!  So easy that I continued way beyond the 30 days.  It was another rest and reset experience.

So for now, I continue practicing..... for the last week I have continued drinking hardly any alcohol, I continue drinking at least one green, red or orange juice every day, I continue being mindful of what and when I eat, and I continue planning my next one day juice cleanse and thinking about when I might go for 2 or 3 days.....

I've thought about upgrading my little Philips juicer to a cold-press one, so I can make batches of juices in advance, thinking that might make the longer cleanse easier.  But I love this little machine because it's so easy to use and so easy to clean, so I've decided to stick with it for now.

So when is my next juice day?  I've decided to once again take the advice of Milica Vladova - to harness the power of the moon, and fast on the Ekadasi day - because it's easier - and I'm all about making it easier :)

Ekadasi is a Sanskrit word, which means 'the eleventh' - the eleventh day of a fortnight belonging to a lunar month - so generally, there are two Ekadasi days in each month. Apparently, because atmospheric pressure is lowest on Ekadasi days, this is the best/easiest time to fast.

Here in Spain, the next Ekadashi day begins just before 7pm today, Wednesday 15 July and ends just after 8 pm tomorrow, Thursday 16 July.  So these will be my fasting hours.  Which means my next task today is to prepare my veg broth.

In conclusion, here are my top tips for a successful juice cleanse

1) Choose your days carefully

2) Communicate to those around you what you plan to do and why (eg it's for primarily for health reasons, to boost immunity - really important with all this virus madness around us now)

3) PREPARE - make sure you have your juice ingredients and most important of all, make sure your broth is ready.  The veg broth is what really gets you through this :)

4) Enjoy it!  Celebrate your successes, and keep practicing :)