Zizi's Adventures - Real Food, Real Stories

Sweetcorn Polenta with Tomato Aubergine Sauce

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I bought Ottolenghi’s book Plenty  couple of months ago. When I found out I would go to London, to Food Blogger Connect I knew I wanted to visit one of his restaurants. Thanks to my food lover food blogger friends they agreed to come with me.
One day before the conference we did a foodie tour around London. Our first stop was at Borough Market. It is one of the largest food markets in London, and sells a large variety of foods from all over the world. The market, which has focused historically on fruits and vegetables, has in recent years added stalls dealing with the fine food retail market. Stallholders come to trade at the market from different parts of the UK and traditional European products are also shipped over and sold. Amongst the produce on sale are fresh fruit and vegetables, cheese, meat, game and freshly baked bread and pastries. There is also a wide variety of cooked and snack food on sale for the many tourists who flock to the market. I was in heaven! I loved the market so much and I couldn’t stop taking photos!

Then we had a nice coffee at Monmouth Cafe – apparently they sell the best coffee in London which I can prove! OK, I didn’t taste all the coffees in London but Monmouth was definitely the best one I tried.

The next stop was at Neal’s Yard. It is a small alley in Covent Garden between Shorts Gardens and Monmouth Street which opens into a courtyard. It is named after the 17th century developer, Thomas Neale. It now contains several health food cafes and new age retailers such as Neal’s Yard Dairy. It is easy to find the shop because you can smell the cheese from distance. The company buys cheese from about seventy cheesemakers on farms around Britain and Ireland and they sell the cheese in their two shops in London and to shops and restaurants all over the world.

We ended the day in Nopi at Ottolenghi’s newest fancy restaurant in Soho. Seven food bloggers  (Nando, Giulia, Beth, Sarka, Mowie, Mayssam and myself) plus Bruce got together and shared the delicious but small meals. According to the menu the dishes are designed for sharing. That was what we exactly did. And we laughed. A lot.

By the way… the recipe I’m sharing with you is from the book, Plenty. 

Sweetcorn Polenta with Tomato Aubergine Sauce

Ingredients (serves 2)

For the polenta
– 3 corn cobs
– 300 ml water
– 20 g butter
– 150 g feta, crumbled
– 1/2 teaspoon salt
– pepper

For the aubergine sauce
– 1 medium aubergine, cut into 2 cm dice
– 1 canned tomatoes (peeled)
– 3 fresh tomatoes, chopped
– 30 ml dry white wine
– 50 ml water
– 1 onion, chopped
– 3 cloves garlic, chopped
– 1 tablespoon chopped oregano
– salt, pepper
– pinch of cane sugar
– olive oil

To make the polenta, remove the leaves from each corn cob, then chop off the pointed top and stalk. Stand each cob upright on its base and use a sharp knife to shave off the kernels.

Place kernels in a saucepan and cover them with water. Cook for 10-12 minutes on low simmer. With a hand blender puree the kernels with water (break as much of the kernel case as possible).

Return the corn paste pan to the stove and cook on low heat for 10 minutes. Fold in the butter, feta cheese, season with salt and pepper and set aside.

Meanwhile heat up 2 tablespoons olive oil in a saucepan and saute the onion and garlic for 3-5 minutes. Add the aubergine and 2 more tablespoons olive oil and fry on medium heat for about 5-8 minutes. Add the tomatoes (can + fresh) and stir with the aubergin. Cook for 2 minutes, then add the white wine and water. Season with salt and pepper, add the pinch of cane sugar and oregano. Cook for another 10 minutes to get a deep flavoured sauce.

Divide the polenta among bowls and spoon some warm aubergine sauce on the top.

Globe Zucchinis Stuffed with Pesto Quinoa

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After I  had posted this recipe on my Hungarian blog I noticed another globe zucchini recipe on Béa’s blog. It was funny. She also stuffed her zucchinis with grain but with millet not with quinoa. 
I also love millet but right now my favourite grain is quinoa. It’s not difficult to find out if you follow my blog. 🙂 I cooked the quinoa and seasoned with home made pesto. To make the pesto I used lemon basil. Lemon basil, known for its strong lemon scent, is very popular in a variety of cuisines, especially Thai and Italian.

It’s so easy to make this dish. It’s full of flavour.

Globe Zucchinis Filled with Pesto Quinoa

Ingredients

– 4 small globe zucchinis
– 1 cup cooked quinoa
– 2 handful of lemon basil leaves
– 4 cloves garlic
– 1 tablespoon pine nuts
– 1/2 lemon’s juice
– 50 g goat cream cheese (optional)
– 100-200 ml olive oil
– salt, pepper

Method

Wash the zucchinis then cut a small top for each one. Using a spoon, scoop out the flesh, makin sure not to puncture the outer skin. Set aside.
To make the pesto put all the ingredients: basil leaves, garlic cloves, pine nuts, olive oil, salt and pepper in a kitchen blender and mix everthing until combine (incorporated). Pour the pesto over the cooked quinoa and mix well. This time you can stir in the goat cream cheese.
Stuff the zucchinis with this pesto quinoa then top each with its hat. Place them in a baking dish, drizzle with olive oil and bake the zucchinis for 30 minutes on 170-180C (350F). Serve with green salad.


Beet Green Quiche and the Organic Farmers Market in Budapest

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I’m honest with you guys… If I have to get up to go to work during the weekdays, I’m not very inspired so it’s really difficult for me to do it. But if I have to get up at 6:30 am to go to the organic farmers market on Saturday mornings, I don’t have any problem with that. 🙂

This market means a lot to me. I get so much inspiration just walking around, relaxing and enjoying the colours, the smells. Beauty is everywhere, isn’t it? I  always recharge my batteries at the market. I also love  talking to the farmers changing ideas about recipes. So if you ever come to Budapest, do not miss to visit this market. It’s only open on Saturday mornings from 6:30 am until 1:00 pm (address: 12nd district, 1124 Budapest, Csörsz utca 18.).

These market photos were taken with my iPhone but I’m planning to take photos with my camera too and post them later on the blog.

And the recipe… I started using beet greens recently. I usually made salad from it. The leaves taste a bit bitter for me so to discard the bitterness I always mixed with tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers or sprouts and poured it with olive oil lemon juice dressing. So next time if you buy a bunch of beets, sauté, boil or steam the leafy green tops for a low-calorie nutritious side dish. Beet greens are rich in potassium, calcium, vitamin A and other minerals and vitamins. They also contain high amounts of lutein and beta-carotene; both are antioxidants that help keep eyes and skin healthy.

I found a wonderful, yummie recipe on my friend, Sari’s blog… beet green quiche. I baked it and we loved it. It’s very easy, very quick and delicious for lunch or dinner with a bowl of salad.

See, Sari, someone used one of your recipes from your blog to make a wonderful dish! Thank you, my friend! 🙂

Beet Green Quiche

Ingredients

– 2 bunches of beet greens, stems removed, coarsely chopped
– 1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
– 4 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
– 3 organic eggs
– 200 ml oat cream
– 1/2 teaspoon chili flakes
– 100 g greated cheese
– salt, pepper
– 1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
– coconut or olive oil

Method

Heat coconut oil in a pan and sauté the onion for 3-4 minutes until transparent and soft, then add garlic and cook for another 2 minutes. Stir in beet greens and cook for 5-7 minutes until the greens get soft. Remove from heat and set aside to let cool.

Preheat the oven to 175C (350F).

In a bowl whisk together the eggs, oat cream, salt, pepper, nutmeg, chili flakes and cheese. Add the beet green mixture and stir to blend. Transfer it to a lightly buttered prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes on 175-180C (350F) until the top is golden brown and the eggs are set. Serve it with fresh salad.

Moroccan Quinoa Salad

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I came home from London from Food Blogger Connect and I brought the sunshine with me. The weather actually turned out to be very hot in the last two weeks of August and it is still warm. I hope there will be indian summer in September and October especially because my lovely friends – Krista, Sarka and Giulia – will come and visit me (in different weeks). I’m already planning their foodie and sightseeing programs and I’m so looking forward to welcoming them in my country! 🙂

The recipe I made is vegan and very nutritious. I told you before I love quinoa but did you know that quinoa was of great nutritional importance in pre-Columbian Andean civilizations, secondary only to the potato, and was followed in importance by maize? In contemporary times, this crop has become highly appreciated for its nutritional value, as its protein content is very high (12%–18%). Unlike wheat or rice (which are low in lysine), and like oats, quinoa contains a balanced set of essential amino acids for humans, making it a complete protein source, unusual among plant foods. It is a good source of dietary fiber and phosphorus and is high in magnesium and iron. Quinoa is gluten-free and considered easy to digest.

At the moment only the white quinoa can be bought in Hungary. I hope one day I can buy the red and black ones too because I really would like to make different kind of  meals from them. The recipe comes from one of my favourite healthy vegetarian blogs, Green Kitchen Stories.

Moroccan Quinoa Salad
Ingredients
– 2 smaller zucchini, cut in 3 mm thick slices
– 1 eggplant, cut in 3 mm thick slices
– 2 cloves garlic, chopped
– 1 cup quinoa
– 1/2 lemon’s freshly squeezed juice
– 2 teaspoon cinnamon
– 1 small (6 pieces) bunch of coriander, leaves chopped
– 1 small (6 pieces) bunch of mint, leaves chopped
– 2 tablepsoon raisins
– 1 cup almond, divided in half (lengthwise)
– 2 avocados, pitted, peeled and cut into 2 cm squares
– 4 pieces of spring onions, chopped
– salt, pepper
– olive oil

Method
Start by roasting the eggplant and zucchini slices. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and roast the slices at 170C (350F) for 3-4 minutes on each side. Put them in a bowl and drizzle with olive oil, add garlic and salt and set aside.
Roast the almonds in a dry pan on medium heat for 8 minutes. Turn off the heat, salt the almonds and set aside.
Cook the 1 cup quinoa in 2 cups salted water. Also add the cinnamon to the water. When it’s done, drain if it’s necessary, and set aside to cool off. Add lemon juice, raisins, chopped coriander, mint and toss it around until everything is mixed. Serve the dish in bowls: quinoa with marinated vegetables, spring onions, avocado and roasted almonds. Drizzle with olive oil and more lemon juice.

Lemon Quinoa with Zucchini and Chickpeas

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The main wave of emotions after the amazing Food Blogger Connect weekend still keeps me going and makes my head spinning! I don’t even know where to start so I need to calm down first than I can write my post about the event.

Anyway… until then I have a couple of recipes to share with you. I’m a bit behind with the translations (from Hungarian to English) so this and a couple of more recipes’ (that to come) photos were taken with my old camera. Lemon quinoa with zucchini and chickpeas is an easy summer dish that can be your  delicious lunch or dinner anytime.

Lemon Quinoa with Zucchini and Chickpeas

Ingredients (serves 3-4)

– 1 cup quinoa
– 4 small zucchinis (yellow and green), sliced
– 1 can (240 g) chickpeas, drained
– 1 onion, peeled and chopped
– 3 branches fresh thyme
– 1/2 lemon’s grated zest and juice
– salt, pepper
– coconut or olive oil

Method

Bring the quinoa, water and 1 teaspoon salt to a boil in a pot. Reduce heat and simmer for about 15-20 minutes or until the quinoa opens up revealing a little spiral and is soft and pleasant to chew. Set aside.
Heat a splash of coconut oil in a pan and saute the onion. After 5 minutes add zucchini and saute for another 5-6 minutes, then add the chickpeas. Season with salt, pepper and the leaves of thyme branches. Add lemon juice and cooked quinoa and turn off the heat. When serve sprinkle with lemon zest.