Zizi's Adventures - Real Food, Real Stories

Spring Rolls With Citrus Soy Sauce

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Spring rolls are a large variety of filled, rolled appetizers. There are fried and non-fried version available. I made non-fried savory spring rolls (these are typically bigger than the fried ones). They contain crisp, fresh veggies and are served with a perky citrus soy dipping sauce. I filled the wrapping with raw ingredients: sweet crunchy carrot and red bell peppers, spicey spring onions, cooling cucumbers and cooked rice noodles.
They are lots of fun to make with friends. Get rolling! Spring is here!
Spring Rolls with Citrus Soy Sauce
Ingredients (serves 5-6)
For the spring rolls
– 1 long cucumber (or 3 smaller ones), thinly sliced
– 2 red bell peppers, thinly sliced
– 1 bunch of sping onion, thinly sliced
– 3-4 carrots, cut into julienne
– 200 g thin noodles, pre-cooked (use rice, Chinese or bean thread noodles)
– 1 packet (20 pieces) spring roll rice paper wrappers
– coriander, basil, chopped (optional)

For the citrus soy sauce
– juice of 2 lemons
– juice of 2 clementines
– 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
– 3/4 cup soy sauce

Method

To make the sauce in a bowl whisk together all the sauce’s ingredients and set aside.

To assemble rolls, dip one piece of rice paper in warm water to soften (for about 15 seconds) and shake gently to remove excess liquid. Lay wrapper on a clean, dry surface. (Don’t forget that this paper is very thin and the more you pack in, the harder it will be too seal without it breaking.) Arrange some of the noodles in the center of the wrapper. Lay a small handful of carrots, cucumber, red bell pepper and spring onion slices on top of the noodles.

The roll up… I like to pull one side of the rice paper (that is closer to me) completely over, trapping in the ingredients. Then, fold your edges in and bring the remaining side over for a complete seal. Repeat until all ingredients are used up. (Here are two videos that help you to learn how to roll.)

Serve spring rolls sliced on the bias with dipping sauce and enjoy!

 

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.

Tabuleh

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Yes, I have been away from the blog for a while… nothing happened it is just summer and I don’t want to sit in front of the computer after work too. We usually go out, meet friends, have picnic in a park or stay at home, cook a light dinner for us, drink wine and read good books. So this is the reason I’m a bit behind on the blog. 
The good news is I have so many recipes to share with you! Here is the first one… tabuleh is one of my favourite summer dishes.  I made this to my best friend, Eva’s hen night party.  Eva is a HR specialist but in her free time she writes amazing fables and short stories. We had so much fun together at the party,  we laughed a lot, shared old stories with each other and danced through the night. Friends are the most important ingredients in this recipe of life. Let’s see the ingredients of this tabuleh…
Tabuleh

Ingredients (serves 8)
– 12 bunches of parsley, chopped
– 1 small bunch of mint, chopped
– 200 g bulgur
– 500 g tomatoes, finely diced
– 1 bunch of spring onion, chopped
– 30 ml extra virgin olive oil
– 25 ml freshly squeezed lemon juice
– salt, pepper
Method
In a small pan mix the bulgur with salted water. Bring to the boil, cover then turn the heat on very low and cook for 15 minutes. Fluff with a fork to separate the grains and set aside. In a large bowl mix everything together: parsley, mint, tomatoes, spring onion, olive oil and lemon juice. Add bulgur, taste it and season with salt and pepper. Add more olive oil or lemon juice if needed. Place the bowl in the fridge and leave it there for at least 2 hours (the best is a for a night).

Peach, tomato and basil salad & thank you, Penny De Los Santos

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I made this recipe in September 2010 but I’m doing the translation on my not-long-ago born English food blog now (May 17 2011). I found this recipe on Penny’s blog and after I had made it I sent a message saying thank you to her on Twitter. I love tomatoes, I love sweet, juicy peaches (I think the best ones are grown in Hungary! I’m not kidding! I’ve never eaten so juicy, crunchy, sweet peaches anywhere else. You should come and try it! :)) and I love basil. I was a bit surprised to put these three ingredients in one dish but I gave it a try. The taste of the salad was new for me but I loved it.

This past weekend I had the opportunity to get to know Penny, her work, vocation, passion and her enthusiasm more. Thanks to the team of CreativeLIVE – they gave thousands the opportunity to follow their dreams and watch Penny online and learn from her so much. The Food & Culture Photography Workshop with Penny De Los Santos was unbelievable, I can’t find words to describe these three days. Penny, you are an inspirational icon for me and I just want to thank you for your hard work. You put so much effort in the workshop to teach thousands around the world. I loved every minute of it. * THANK YOU! *

And here is one of the most noted excerpts of Penny from this weekend: “If you are not doing what you love, – ask yourself: why not?”

Ingredients

– 3 peaches, pitted, diced
– 2 tomatoes, diced
– 10 leaves of basil, chopped
– 1 clove of garlic, chopped
– 4 tablespoons olive oil
– 2 teaspoons apple vinegar
– half of a lemon’s juice
– salt, pepper

Method

In a salad bowl mix together the peaches, tomatoes, basil leaves. In a smaller bowl make the dressing: mix together the garlic, apple vinegar, lemon juice, olive oil, pinch of salt and pepper and pour it over the salad.


Hearty Roasted Vegetables

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I love new potatoes. My favortie way to make it is roasting them with other vegetables, good quality olive oil and lemon wedges. This is a very easy to make dish but the taste of it is sumptuous.

Hearty Roasted Vegetables

Ingredients

– 300 g new potatoes
– 1 small cabbage
– 2-3 tomatoes
– 8 cloves garlic
– 1 lemon
– 150 ml olive oil
– salt, pepper, thyme
– a piece of goat cheese
– parsley

Method

Preheat the oven to 180 C (350 F). Place the potatoes and lemon (cut in half) in an oven dish, season with salt, pepper, thyme. Sprinkle with the olive oil and bake it for about 20 minutes.

Then add the garlic cloves, the cabbage (cut in 4 pieces), the tomatoes (cut in half) and bake for another 20-25 minutes until everything gets golden brown. During the baking if necessary turn the cabbage pieces to all sides just to roast them nicely.

Serve with goat cheese, parsley on top and sprinkle with the juice of olive oil, thyme and lemon.