Dried boletus and beetroot soup

This soup is definitely one of the favourite soups for any Lithuanian. Just this time I tried to make it more suitable for Turkish eaters by blending some of the ingredients.

What we need:

1 big beetroot, boiled, peeled and grated
2 medium size potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes
30 gr dried mushrooms ( I used dried boletus)
1 carrot, peeled and grated
1 onion, peeled and chopped
2 tbsp of tomato sauce
oregano
salt and pepper
1 bay leaf
2 l of water or stock
2 tbsp of olive oil
3 tbsp of white vinegar
parsley

What we have to do:

1. Pour the dried mushrooms with boiling water and boil them for 15 minutes.
2. Pour oil into the pot and add onions and fry until they get soft, then add carrots and potatoes, salt and pepper, oregano and bay leaf.
3. Pour the water and boil for 15 minutes until vegetables are cooked. Then blend with a blender.
4. Add boiled and cut into smaller pieces mushrooms and the boiling liquid into the soup, add vinegar and grated beetroot. Bring it to boil and add tomato sauce and chopped parsley. Bring it to boil again and remove from heat.
5. When serving, add a bit of cream if you want. Enjoy!

Apple and cranberry pie

I still had some cranberries in my freezer and was waiting for an opportunity to use them. So when I was waiting for some guests, I made this absolutely delicious pie and it was definitely a winner!

What we need:

for the crust:200gr of unsalted butter

400ml of flour

1 tbsp of sugar

1 teaspoon of salt

3 tbsp of water

1 beaten egg for brushing + sugar to sprinkle over the top

for the filling:5-6 Granny Smith apples, peeled and cut into slices

200 gr of frozen cranberries

5 tbsp of sugar

1 tbsp cinnamon

3 ground cloves

2 tbps of corn starch

1 tbsp of butter

What we have to do:

1. Mix butter with salt, sugar and flour with hands until it's crumbled. Add water and make the dough. Divide into one bigger and one smaller ball, put into plastic bag and leave in a fridge for 1 hour.

2. Peel and cut apples, mix in cranberries, add sugar and spices, starch and mix again. Leave for 20 min.

3. Roll the bigger ball of dough and cover the baking bowl, make some holes with a fork, add the filling with all the juices, then add 1 tbsp of butter and cover with another sheet of dough. Carefully stick the sides. Brush the dough with an egg and sprinkle some sugar on the top. Cut the pie in several places to let the steam out.

4. Pre-heat the oven until 200C and bake the pie for about 20 min, then reduce the heat until 170C and bake 30 more minutes. Enjoy!!!

Carrot and orange soup with a touch of rosemary

Last weekend was the first time I saw lemon and orange trees next to me and even was able to pick some of them. Now there's a big bag of oranges and lemons in my kitchen and I'm looking different ways to use them. The idea of this soup originally came from my classmate Deimante but the recipe comes from Jamie Oliver's Christmas episodes where he was making roasted vegetables. So when it was carrots turn, he made them with salt, pepper, olive oil, orange juice and rosemary. I tried that recipe during Christmas myself, but time for the soup came only this week!

What we need:

4 big carrots
1 medium potato
1 small onion
4 big orange juice
2 l of vegetable or chicken stock or water
salt and pepper
1 branch of fresh rosemary
2 tbsp olive oil


What we have to do:

1. Cut onion and potatoes into small pieces and fry in olive oil for 3-4 minutes.
2. Add sliced carrots, rosemary and pour over the stock, season with salt and pepper. Cook for 10-13 minutes until vegetables are soft.
3. Blend the vegetables until smooth.
4. Add orange juice and bring the soup to boil. Remove from the heat and serve. If you like biting something while eating soup, add some pan fried or roasted carrots and parsnips. Enjoy!

Eggplant and chickpeas in tomato sauce - a fast dinner idea

Last weekend my husband and I were visiting Hatay region ( sout-east of Turkey), so came home tired and loaded our fridge with fresh vegetables, Antakya cheese, olives and olive oil. We were thinking of ordering something from a nearby restaurant but then decided that it would be very silly to order when there are so many vegetables at home. That is why I made a simple dinner and it was really lovely and has all flavours and ingredients of Hatay. Well, most probably they would add a big piece of grilled beef ( those people just love meat!). :)

What we need:

2 eggplants
200 gr of boiled chickpeas
1 onion
1 red pepper
3 cloves of garlic
fresh oregano
fresh mint
2 tomatoes
1 tablespoon
salt and pepper
250 ml of chicken or vegetable stock
2 tbsp of olive oil
1 lemon juice

boiled rice to serve

What we have to do:

1. Chop onion and garlic. Fry them for 3 minutes in olive oil. Then add deseeded and cut into pieces red pepper, later add eggplant cut into big slices. Fry for 2 minutes and add chicken stock. Season with salt and pepper, oregano. Cook for 5 minutes.
2. Add boiled chickpeas, grated tomatoes and tomato paste. Mix it well and simmer for 5 minutes. Then add chopped mint and lemon juice.
3. Serve with boiled rice. Enjoy!

Lithuanian Independence day and Pancake day - Could that be better?!

This is a joyful day for all Lithuanians as we celebrate the Independence Day. It's also a pancake day! If there's a festival to celebrate at the same day as Independence day, it's definitely the Shrove Tuesday/ Pancake day as it has such old and interesting traditions and pancakes is the dish that can definitely called one of the most popular ones. So here's my first recipe for today!

What we need:

5 gr of dry yeast
2 glasses of flour ( 1 glass - 220ml)
1 glass of milk
a pinch of salt
2 tbsp of sugar
1 apple
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 egg
1 tbsp of melted butter
oil for frying
yogurt or jam for serving

What we have to do:

1. Mix the yeast with salt and sugar, add 3-4 tbsp of warm water and let it sit for 10 minutes.
2. In a bowl put flour, cinnamon, one beaten egg, melted butter and the yeast mix. Stir it and then whisk carefully until everything is combined.
3. Peel the apple and cut into small cubes. Add them into a batter. Mix it well.
4. Preheat the pan and add some oil. Pour some batter and fry until the sides brown a bit, then turn it. Finish all the batter.
5. Serve with yogurt or jam. Enjoy!!

Please have a look at some amazing sights of Lithuania in this blog.

Prawn cocktail with home-made mayonnaise

This recipe comes from Gordon Ramsay 'Cookalong Live: The Series' and once again I was really enjoying his simple but still impressive recipes which can be done in almost no time. However, it was also my first time to make mayonnaise at home. It came really from mare lazyness to go to the supermarket and I must say it took far less time! For the mayonnaise recipe I used bits from Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver recipes ( Yes, they are really my favourite chefs if the world, at least for now!)

So let's make mayonnaise first:

What we need:

1 egg yolk ( use the freshest organic eggs as possible as the mayonnaise will not be cooked)
1 teaspoon of mustard ( choose the ones you really like!)
400 ml of oil ( I used granola oil, but feel free to use your favourite. It's better to use oil with no flavour)
salt
1 lemon juice

What we have to do:

1. Beat the egg yolk and mustard until it turns light yellow and then add a few drops of oil and keep beating. You shouldn't beat it too hard, if you use food processor, make it medium.
2. When oil is combined, then slowly add the rest of the oil and keep beating.
3. Then start beating faster, add lemon juice and salt. Total beating time is about 5 minutes. You will see the mayonnaise texture.
4. Season to your taste.

To make prawn coctail you need:

( 4 servings)

1 ripe avocado
1 lemon
200 gr cooked small peeled prawns
Lemon wedges, to garnish

For the Marie Rose Sauce:

200g fresh mayonnaise
2-3 tbsp tomato ketchup
Pinch cayenne pepper
Dash Tabasco, to taste
Dash Worcestershire sauce, to taste
Splash of brandy, to taste ( Thanks to my friend Ruta for bringing some Lithuanian Brandy!!!)
½ iceberg lettuce

What we have to do:

1. Cut the avocado in half, remove the stone and carefully score each half using a small knife to create a criss-cross pattern. Squeeze each half generously with lemon juice to prevent it from dis-colouring.
2. To make the Marie Rose sauce mix the mayonnaise, ketchup, cayenne pepper, and a squeeze of lemon juice together in a large bowl. Season to taste with Tabasco, Worcestershire sauce, and a splash of brandy. Stir to combine.
3. Place a spoonful of Marie Rose sauce into the bottom of 4 serving glasses. Shred the lettuce and divide equally among the glasses. Scrape out the flesh from the avocado using a spoon and scatter over the lettuce. Spoon another layer of sauce on top.
4. Arrange the prawns on top and finish with a final spoonful of sauce. Sprinkle with a touch of cayenne pepper and garnish with a lemon wedge in each glass to serve. Enjoy!!!

Walnut crusted chicken cutlets with beetroot and pickled onion salad

If you asked an average Lithuanian what his/her favourite vegetables were, I'm almost sure that the answer would be potato and beetroot. I grew up eating beetroot and potatoes and Lithuanian cuisine is full of dishes with these amazing vegetables. Today for dinner I made simple chicken cutlets crusted with bread crumbs and ground walnut, fried in a pan and finished up in the oven. On the side I decided to make tasty beetroot salad. It's still winter, so is there a better time for this vegetable if not winter?!

What we need:

2 chicken breasts
2 tbsp of bread crumbs
2 tbsp of ground walnut ( use a food processor)
1 teaspoon of oregano
1 egg
2 tbsp of flouır
salt and pepper
olive oil
1 lemon

for beetroot salad:
2 medium beetroots, boiled or oven-roasted
1 onion
2 tbsp of white vinegar
½teaspoon of sugar
½ teaspoon of salt
black pepper
1 bay leaf
olive oil
a handful of parsley

What we have to do:

1. Cut each chicken breast lengthwise to make cutlets. Beat them to make thinner and season with salt and pepper.
2. Mix breadcrumbs with wallnut, oregano, some more pepper. Beat 1 egg. Roll the chicken in flour, then in the egg and then the walnut/bread crumbs. Fry in a pan with some oil for 1 minute on each side, just until the crumbs get the colour. Then transfer on a baking sheet and finish them in the oven (175C) for 10-15 minutes.
3. For salad, slice the onion and pour it over with 1 glass of boiling water, add vinegar, sugar, salt, black pepper, bay leaf. Let it marinate for at least 15 minutes. Then cut the beetroots into stripes, mix with chopped parsley and pickled onion. Season with salt and pepper and some olive oil.
4. Serve chicken cutlets with beetroot salad. Add some lemon ( it goes so well with the walnut crust). Enjoy!!!

Spaghetti with tomatoes, olives & capers

Last few days I spend watching some series of Gordon Ramsay's 'F-Word' and really got inspiration to make some dishes that would be fast, tasty and healthy. This particular dish could be made literally in 10 minutes plus I managed to make a cup of coffee too. So if you like olives, anchovies and capers, this dish is for you! The original recipe can be found in Gordon Ramsay book 'Fast Food: recipes from the F-word kitchen'.

What we need:

300 gr of spaghetti
salt and pepper
2 tbsp of olive oil
2 cloves of garlic
1 red onion
1 red chilli
6-8 anchovies in oil
200 gr of pitted olives
3 tbsp of capers
250 gr of cherry tomatoes
a handful of basil leaves
some parsley
½ lemon juice

What we have to do:

1. Add the pasta to a pot of boiling salted water and cook for 9 minutes.
2. Heat the olive oil in a pan and fry chopped garlic, onion, chilli and anchovies for 1-2 minutes. Add the olives, capers and tomatoes, and stir over a high heat for a few minutes until the onions are soft.
3. Drain the pasta and toss with the sauce and shredded basil. Adjust the seasoning.
4. Divide among warm bowls and drizzle over a little more olive oil if you wish. Enjoy!

Riccota and spinach lasagne

My pasta making machine was having a holiday for quite a while so today I decided to stop that and make lasagne. Many Lithuanian friends of mine will once again say that it could be made a bit 'more serious' by adding some meat to it, but I know that meatless dishes can be serious on their own and taste really good. The only drawback with the dish was that kitchen gets a little messy. Actually it took less time to actually prepare the lasagne than to do all the clean up. But once in a while... why not!

What we need:

for the lasagne sheets:

300 gr of flour
a pinch of salt
3 eggs

for the besamel sauce:

1 tbsp of butter
4 tbsp of flour
500 ml of milk
salt and pepper
a good pinch of nutmeg
1 bay leaf
a handful of grated cheese

for the filling

200 gr riccota cheese
200 gr of boiled and chopped spinach
3 cloves of garlic
60 gr of grated cheese ( mozzarela would be perfect)

What we have to do:

1. Make pasta dough by mixing all the ingredients and rolling out the sheets. Cut into the squares to match your baking dish. Boil them into salted water for 3 minutes and set them aside.
2. Make besamel sauce by melting butter, then add mixed milk and flour, add the spices and mix until it starts boilng and gets thicker. Then add a handful of cheese. In this case permesan would be the best option.
3. Start assembling lasagne by puting some besamel sauce into the baking dish, then add one sheet of lasagne, then spread some riccota, spinach and some crushed garlic, then add some besamel sauce, repeat until you finish the ingredients or the dish is full. To finish, put the last lasagne sheet, pour some besamel sauce and add some grated cheese. Bake in 180C oven for 35-40 minutes until the top gets golden and crispy. Enjoy!

Feta Saganaki

Feta Saganaki is a Greek appetizer which refers to feta cheese fried in oil. I first tried this dish when I was staying in Germany for several months. I loved crunchy outside and warm soft inside. So feta, tomatoes and olives on the side can really brighten my day!

What we need:

250 gr feta cheese
1 egg
1 tsp oregano
4 tbsp flour
4 tbsp of bread crumbs
4 tablespoons olive oil
freshly ground black pepper
1-2 tomatoes
some olives
a handful of rocket salad ( optional)
1 lemon, cut into wedges

What we have to do:

1. Slice feta into squares. In a small bowl, beat the egg, in another bowl mix flour with the oregano, and in the third bowl put the bread crumbs. Coat each slice of feta in flour, dip each slice in egg, shake off excess, and coat in bread crumbs.
2. Heat olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Quickly cook cheese in olive oil until golden, turning once. Pat dry with paper towels.
3. Arrange rocket salad and feta on a plate with thick tomato slices, season with black pepper, and garnish with lemon wedges. Enjoy!

Chicken meatballs with spaghetti

Today I understood that I can't really remember when I had some meatballs last. So it was definitely time to make some soft and juicy chicken meatballs with some sweet and sour tomato sauce and spaghetti.

What we need:

For the meatballs:
500g minced chicken
1 onion, peeled and very finely chopped
1 garlic clove, peeled and finely chopped
50g white breadcrumbs
30 ml of milk
2 tbsp soya sauce
2 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
salt and black pepper
1 large egg
2 tbsp olive oil
a pinch of oregano


For the tomato sauce:
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, peeled and very finely chopped
1 garlic clove, peeled and finely chopped
2 tins chopped tomatoes
100ml water
1–2 tsp caster sugar
salt and pepper
1 teaspoon of chopped basil or parsley

500 gr of spaghetti

What we have to do:

1. Mix ground chicken with chopped onion, garlic, parsley, salt and pepper, soy sauce, 1 egg, oregano. Mix bread crumbs with milk, let it sit for 5 minutes and then mix them into the meat. Shape the meatballs. I made 35 meatballs.
2. Preheat the pan with some olive oil and fry the meatballs on each side for 3-4 minutes on each side.
3. For the sauce, fry chopped garlic and onion, fry with some olive oil, season with salt and pepper, when they are soft, add tins of chopped tomatoes, water and sugar, basil or oregano. Let it simmer for 10 minutes, then add the meatballs and finish cooking.
4. Serve with cooked spaghetti. Enjoy!

Spiced seabass with citrus vinaigrette

Originally the recipe was called 'Spiced monkfish tail with citrus vinaigrette' and it was first shown last year on Gordon Ramsay show 'F-word'. I really liked the idea of spiced fish and citrus flavour, so decided to use what I have at home and it did taste great!

What we need:

4 fish fillets, skinned ( I used small seabass)
1 tsp five-spice
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper


For the vinaigrette:
1 banana shallot, finely diced
1 Granny Smith apple, finely diced
1 lemon, segmented and chopped
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
3 tbsp fresh tarragon leaves, finely sliced ( I used just dill, which added very different flavour but still was great)

What we have to do:

1. Mix the five-spice powder, paprika and seasoning together on a plate. Roll the fish fillets in the spice mixture to coat evenly all over.
2. Heat 2 – 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a heavy-based frying pan and sear the fish fillets, in batches if necessary for 4 - 5 minutes on each side until golden brown all over. Baste as you cook to keep the fish moist. When the fish is just cooked through, remove to a cold plate and leave to rest for 5 minutes.
3. For the vinaigrette, combine the lemon, apples and shallot, with the olive oil and vinegar. Season to taste with a little salt and pepper and finally add the tarragon. Mix thoroughly. Serve the fish with some potatoes and the vinaigrette. Enjoy!

Cornish Cowboy Pasties

The recipe comes from Jamie's America and made an enjoyable dinner for me and my hubby. Jamie Oliver got the idea for the recipe while chatting to Marcy Tatarka, a cook that he met in Wyoming. He says that people in that part of America are really into their pasties. It was really tasty and we loved it so much. Actually the filling on its own could make a lovely dinner without stuffing yourself with the butter that the pastry has.

What we need:

for the pastry:
250 gr butter
300 ml hot water
500 gr flour
1 tbsp salt
1 egg
a hanful of cornmeal

for the filling:
1 red onion
olive oil
4 skinless, boneless chicken thighs cut into chunks
1 carrot
½ butternut squash ( I actually used baby zuchini)
1 potato
fresh sage or thyme
nutmeg
salt and pepper
300 ml chicken stock
2 tbsp of Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp flour

What we have to do:

1. Bring butter and water to boil, remove from the heat and mix in the flour and salt. Knead until you get soft ball. Then wrap into a cling film and put in a fridge for 30 min.
2. Get a large pan and add some olive oil, put chopped onion and fry until it is softened. Then add diced chicken and fry for 5 minutes until brown, then add the rest of vegetables. Fry another 5 minutes and add nutmeg, season wel with salt and pepper, then pour in the chicken stock and Worcestershire sauce. Stir in the flour and simmer for 15 minutes.
3. Then take out the pastry, dust the surface with flour. Divide the pastry dough into balls and roll out them and cut out round circles. It should make 8 circles. Add some filling and fold the circle and press the sides. Brush the pastries with beaten egg and sprinkle with some cornmeal.
4. Put some baking paper on baking trays, scatter some more cornmeal and place the pastries. Bake in a 180C oven for 30-35 minutes until they get golden brown. Serve with some vegetable salad. Enjoy!

Pan-fried sea bass with tomato relish

A simple and very fast dinner idea plus a healthy one.

What we need:

2 pieces of sea bass fillet or any other white fish
salt and black pepper
olive oil
200 gr of cherry tomatoes
1 spring onion
a pinch of sugar
2 tbsp of lemon juice
a pinch of thyme
a handful of parsley

What we have to do:

1. Clean the fish, remove the bones. Preheat the pan, add some olive oil and place the fish skin side down. Fry until the skin is colden brown and then turn upside down and fry or 2 more minutes and remove from the pan.
2. In a pan add some more olive oil, then put tomatoes and spring onion. Cook for a minute and add sugar and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper, thyme. Cook for one more minute. Then add chopped parsley and remove from the heat.
3. Serve tomato relish with fried fish. Enjoy!!!