Zizi's Adventures - Real Food, Real Stories

Roasted Corn Salsa And A Picnic on Margaret Island In Budapest

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Margaret Island (Margit-sziget) is a 2.5 km (1.6 mi) long island in the middle of the Danube in central Budapest, Hungary. The island is mostly covered by landscape parks, and is a popular recreational area for bikers, runners and swimmers (in the Alfréd Hajós sports pool the European Aquatics Championships 1958, 2006 and 2010 took place). It’s also a favorite place for couples to have a romantic night out in Budapest or have a perfect picnic. Its medieval ruins are reminders of its importance in the Middle Ages as a religious centre.

The island spans the area between the Margaret Bridge (south) and the Árpád Bridge (north). Its landmarks are a small Japanese garden, a rose garden, a tiny zoo, an open-air theatre, a music well and a music fountain and an octagonal water tower (the music fountain and the water tower are protected UNESCO sites). Two hotels provide accommodations with thermal spas and various medical services.

All in all, Margaret Island is the Hungarians’ Central Park. 🙂

Sweet crispy corn kernels lightly roasted are heavenly. I adapted the recipe from Nicole. I also made tomato salsa (tomato, red onion, coriander, salt, pepper, lime juice and chili) and corn tortillas. I cooked brown rice  and we added avocado slices and a touch of sour cream to fill up our tacos. You can make it a handful of different ways using cheese, beef, chicken, seafood or other vegetables. Get creative and enjoy your Mexican picnic!

Roasted Corn Salsa

Ingredients (serves 4)

– 4 corn cobs
– 1 small bunch of coriander, chopped
– 1 small red onion, peeled and chopped
– juice of 2 limes
– sea salt, black pepper
– extra virgin olive oil

Method

Remove the husks from the corns. Heat a non-stick pan over high heat and roast the corns for about 8 minutes (continuously turn the corns to char). Turn off the heat to medium, add 100-200 ml water, cover the pan with a lid and cook the corns for 10-15 minutes. Let them cool. Stand each cob upright on its base and use a sharp knife to shave off the kernels (here is a video on how to take corn kernels off the cob easily).

In a bowl mix together the corn, coriander, red onion, juice of limes, add 1-2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve and enjoy!

¡Voilá!

Beautiful flower garden on Margaret Island…

Green Asparagus And Pea Ricotta Pesto Spagetthi

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I love summer because the markets (and of course nature) is colourful, bright and fragrant. Every Saturday I get up early to go to Budapest’s biggest organic farmers market. The vegetables and fruits are grown with care by the farmers I got to know in the last few years.

Since we have owned a small parcel in a community garden I appreciate the farmers hard work even more that’s why I like supporting them. As much as possible I always use fresh stuff, so the food I prepare is full of healthy ingredients that are straight from the plant or that are made with as little processing and as few added flavorings as possible, keeping nutrients and original flavors intact.

This is how this simply pasta dish was born. Green vegetables and herbs (bought at the market) lightened with creamy, white ricotta and a touch of lemon juice.

Enjoy!

Green Asparagus and Pea Ricotta Pesto Spagetthi

Ingredients (serves 2)

– 200 g spagetthi
– 150 g ricotta
– 140 g fresh green shelled peas
– 180 g green asparagus, discard the wooden parts
– 1 clove garlic
– 125 ml extra virgin olive oil
– juice of 1/2 lemon
– 6 pieces of basil leaves
– 3 pieces of mint leaves
– sea salt and black pepper

Method

In a medium sized pan bring water to a boil. Put the peas and asparagus into the water and blanch them for 1 minute, then drain and pass them under cold water for a few seconds to keep the nice bright green colour.

Add salt into the boiling water and cook the spagetthi al dente. Drain and set aside.

In a food processor blend peas, chopped asparagus with all the remaining ingredients (ricotta, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, basil and mint leaves). Season with salt and pepper.

Pour the creamy pesto sauce over the cooked spagetthi and stir well. Serve the creamy spagetthi onto plates, top with fresh peas and black pepper.

Moroccan Mushroom with Couscous

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I always smile when I think about our Moroccan trip. It has made our journey very exciting from the very  start: two backpacks, two flight tickets, a Lonely Planet guide book and some money – that was all we took. And – of course – the road plan in our head about what we would like to see.

No accommodation bookings, no pre-paid train tickets, nothing.

We had so many adventures during those 12 days. Climbing the Jebel Toubkal (1,5 km vertical distance in 7 hours and 11 km long hiking trip until the refugee house and 11 km back to the village Imlil, the next day) is an experience that will remain with us forever. This was my very first hiking trip and a very difficult one. I brought home two small pebbles from the Atlas mountains, which are still sitting on my computer desk at home and they constantly remind me that if I endured the climbing and hiking I’m able to accomplish everything in life.

I’ve brought you a Moroccan recipe for today that I found on BBC’s GoodFood Healthy Recipes for the iPhone (a very useful app for a food blogger :)).

Moroccan Mushroom with Couscous

Ingredients (serves 4)

– 300 g button mushroom, quartered
– 400 g (1 can) chickpeas, rinsed and drained
– 400 g (1 can) chopped tomatoes, drained but keep the tomato juice
– 1 red onion, chopped
– 1 teaspoon cumin
– 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
– 1 teaspoon honey
– 180 g couscous
– 50 g soft dried apricots, diced
– small handful of parsley, roughly chopped
– salt, pepper
– olive oil

Method

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a pan and fry the onin for a couple of minutes until softened. Add cinnamon and cumin and cook for 1 minute, stirring. Add the mushrooms, cook for 2 minutes, then stir in the tomatoes, half of the juice of the can tomatoes, chickpeas and honey. Season with salt and pepper, simmer for 7-8 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a pan mix the couscous with the dried apricots, some salt and pepper. Pour over 250 ml boiling water, then cover. Leave to stand for 8-10 minutes or until softened. To serve, fluff up with a fork, stir in the parsley and top with the mushroom mixture. We can pour over the dish with the remaining tomato juice.

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