Appetizer Vegetarian · Do-ahead · Gluten Free · Vegetable sides

Yoghurt beet dip

March 12, 2019September 7, 2022 Belinda

This fuchsia-colored dip is so visually beautiful and even better eaten smeared on bread or endive leaves. The tang from the vinegar and yoghurt balances perfectly with the earthy sweetness of the beets.

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Serves 6

1 medium beet, cooked and peeled
1 cup Greek yoghurt
3 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/4 tsp Kosher salt, or to taste
1 tsp dried mint
1 tsp finely chopped fresh tarragon
Olive oil for drizzling

Into a medium bowl, grate the cooked beet on the large holes of a box grater.
Add the rest of the ingredients except the olive oil and mix well to combine.
Taste to make it delicious, keeping in mind that the flavors will deepen as the dip rests.
Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour for the flavors to develop.
Stir, drizzle with olive oil before serving.

Do ahead
You can prepare this up to 3 days in advance in an airtight container.
If the yoghurt “weeps” just stir in together again and drizzle with a little olive oil before serving.

Dessert · Do-ahead

Easy, heavenly lemon cheesecake on a ginger crust

February 28, 2019September 7, 2022 Belinda

Mary Berry of “The Great British Bake-off” fame, is one of those incredible foolproof recipe writers. This is a really quick, easy and scrumptious recipe that will be in your repertoire over and over and it only takes 10 minutes to make!!

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3 ½ oz ginger cookies, crushed
1 ¾ oz butter, melted
2 x 8oz tubs mascarpone
12oz jar good quality lemon curd
Juice of 1 small lemon
Fresh raspberries and blueberries, to decorate
Icing sugar, to dust

1 x 8in round loose-bottomed cake tin, greased and base-lined with baking parchment

Serves: 8

Mix the cookies with the butter in a bowl, then press into the base of the tin (but not up the sides)

Put the mascarpone, lemon curd, and lemon juice in a bowl and beat with a spatula until smooth

Spoon on to the cookie base and level the top. Chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours to firm up

To serve, remove the cheesecake form the tin, peel off the baking parchment, and arrange on a platter.
Decorate with the fruit and dust with icing sugar.

GREAT FOR A CROWD
You can make up to three cheesecakes in one go (but take care not to over-beat the mixture at step 2). If you’re making more cheesecakes than that, prepare them in separate batches.

PREPARE AHEAD
The cheesecake can be made up to the end of step 3 up to 1 day ahead. Not suitable for freezing.

Asian flavors · Do-ahead · Meat

Red wine and soy-braised short ribs

February 25, 2019September 7, 2022 Belinda

These richly flavored ribs are a wonderful fusion dish. Red wine is an unorthodox addition to the soy-and-mirin braising liquid, but it really works a treat. All you need is plain steamed rice to serve with it.

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Serves 4

4 lb. 2″-thick boneless beef short ribs or 5 lb. 2″-thick crosscut bone-in short ribs (flanken style), cut into 2 x 2″ pieces
Kosher salt
2 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. grapeseed or extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
8 garlic cloves, crushed
1 2″ piece ginger, peeled, sliced ⅛” thick
2 cups dry red wine
½ cup mirin (sweet Japanese rice wine)
⅓ cup soy sauce
¼ cup (packed) light brown sugar
¼ mu radish or daikon (about 8 oz.) peeled, cut into 1″ pieces
1 large egg, beaten to blend
Shilgochu or gochugaru (coarse Korean hot pepper flakes), sliced scallions, and cooked rice (for serving)

Season the short ribs all over with salt.
Heat 2 Tbsp. oil in a small pot over medium-high. Working in 2 batches, cook ribs, turning occasionally and reducing heat if needed to prevent scorching, until browned all over, 10–12 minutes per batch. Transfer to a plate.

Add the onion, garlic, and ginger to same pot and cook, stirring often, until softened and lightly browned, 6–8 minutes. Add wine; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the liquid is reduced by half, 8–10 minutes.
Add the mirin, soy sauce, brown sugar, and 2 cups water.
Return the ribs to the pot and bring the liquid to a simmer.
Partially cover the pot and cook, reducing the heat to maintain a very gentle simmer and adding splashes of water and skimming as needed, until the ribs are very tender (they should shred easily) and the stew is saucy, 3–3½ hours.
Add the radish about 1 hour before ribs are done. Remove from heat.

Heat the remaining 1 tsp. oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium. Add egg, tilting pan to create a very thin 6–8″ circle. Cook just until set, about 1 minute, then roll up egg into a cylinder; transfer to a cutting board. Thinly slice into ribbons.

Top ribs with the egg, shilgochu, and scallions. Serve with rice alongside.

Do Ahead: Short ribs can be made 3 days ahead. Let cool; cover and chill.

Do-ahead · Meat · Pasta

Best Bolognese sauce out there

February 24, 2019September 7, 2022 Belinda2 Comments

From Bon Appetite magazine
It doesn’t take a lot of ingredients (or a lot of money) to make a classic Bolognese recipe. What it does take, though, is patience for the sauce to achieve the ideal authentic texture. You’re going to go low and slow—it’ll take around 3 hours, but most of that cook time is hands-off.

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1 medium onion, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 small carrot, peeled, chopped
3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 lb ground beef (20% fat), patted dry
Kosher salt
3 oz. thinly sliced pancetta, finely chopped
1 cup dry white wine
⅓ cup tomato paste
1 bay leaf
Pinch of finely grated nutmeg
2 cups (or more)chicken broth
1 cup whole milk
1 lb. fresh tagliatelle, pappardelle, or dry rigatoni
3 oz. finely grated Parmesan (about ½ cup), plus more for serving

Pulse the onion, celery, and carrot in a food processor until very finely chopped. Transfer to a small bowl.

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium.
Break the beef into small clumps (about 1½”) and add to pot; season lightly with salt. Cook, stirring occasionally but not breaking meat apart, until beef is lightly browned but not crisp, 6–8 minutes. It may be gray in spots (that’s okay!) and still a little pink in the center. Using a slotted spoon, transfer beef to a medium bowl.

Wipe out the pot. Cook the pancetta in pot over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until pancetta has released some of its fat and is crisp, 6–8 minutes. Add onion mixture to pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are very soft and beginning to stick to surface, 6–8 minutes.

Return the beef to pot and pour in the wine. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, smashing down on beef with a wooden spoon, until wine is evaporated, surface of pot is almost dry, and meat is finely ground, 12–15 minutes. (The meat should be reduced to what looks like little bits. It takes a bit of effort, but you can take breaks.) Add the tomato paste, bay leaf, and nutmeg and cook, stirring occasionally, still pressing down on meat, until the tomato paste is slightly darkened, about 5 minutes.

Pour the stock and milk into the pot; add a pinch of salt. Reduce the heat to the lowest setting and cook, uncovered and stirring occasionally, until the meat is very, very tender, 2–2½ hours.
There shouldn’t be any rapid bubbles at this stage. Instead, the sauce should release the occasional small bubble or two. When finished, the sauce should have the texture of and look like a sloppy joe mixture. If the liquid reduces before the meat is completely tender, add an extra ½ cup stock and continue cooking. Discard bay leaf. Taste sauce and adjust seasoning with salt; keep warm.

Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water. If using fresh pasta, cook about 3 minutes. If using dry, cook until very al dente, about 2 minutes less than package directions.

Using tongs, transfer the pasta to the pot with the sauce. Add 1 cup pasta cooking liquid and ½ cup Parmesan. Increase the heat to medium, bring to a simmer, and cook, tossing constantly, until pasta is al dente and liquid is slightly thickened, about 2 minutes.

Transfer the pasta to a platter and top with more Parmesan.

Do Ahead: The sauce can be made 4 days ahead. Cover and chill.

Appetizer Vegetarian · Dairy-free · Do-ahead · Gluten Free · Vegan

Green pea hummus

February 24, 2019September 7, 2022 Belinda

This is delicious and oh soooo easy, using frozen peas!

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Makes about 2 cups

1lb frozen baby peas or petit pois, thawed
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
salt and freshly cracked black pepper

Set aside 1/4 cup peas for garnish. Place remaining peas, olive oil, garlic, and lemon juice in bowl of food processor and process until smooth puree is formed, scraping down sides as necessary, about 30 seconds total.

Transfer hummus to serving bowl, sprinkle with remaining whole peas, drizzle with additional extra-virgin olive oil, and serve with crostini or pita bread.

** For Green Pea Hummus with Mint and Feta:
Follow directions for Green Pea Hummus adding 1/2 cup of chopped fresh mint leaves and 2 ounces crumbled feta cheese along with other ingredients to food processor in step 1. Serve garnished with additional chopped mint and crumbled feta.

Do-ahead · Gluten Free · Meat · Sauces

Mushroom, sherry and grain mustard sauce

February 24, 2019September 7, 2022 Belinda

If you want to take your steak up a notch, try Gordon Ramsey’s superb sauce.

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3 tbsp olive oil
4oz button mushroom, quartered
1 garlic clove, lightly crushed
1 sprig thyme
5 fl oz of dry sherry
1 tbsp sherry or balsamic vinegar
5 fl oz beef stock or brown chicken stock (could be made with a good bouillon powder)
2 tbsp crème fraîche
1 tbsp grain mustard
2 tbsp chopped flatleaf parsley

Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the mushrooms with the garlic and thyme, stirring until softened.

Pour in 3 fl oz sherry and cook until reduced to a glaze, about 3 mins. Add the vinegar and cook for a few secs more. Mix in the remaining sherry and the stock, bring to the boil and simmer for 3 mins.

Remove the garlic and thyme, then mix in the crème fraîche and mustard. Pour in any juices from the steak, then add the parsley.

Appetizers · Do-ahead · Meat

Nigella’s beef and eggplant fatteh

February 23, 2019September 7, 2022 Belinda

Nigella Lawson’s beef and eggplant fatteh recipe is a subtly textured, richly flavored arrangement of toasted pieces of flatbread topped with meaty aubergine and beef, a garlicky tahini-yogurt sauce, red pepper flakes, pomegranate seeds, toasted pine nuts and fresh shredded mint. Sort of like a Middle Eastern nachos.

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FOR THE BASE:
4 pita breads (split open and cut into nacho-sized triangles)

FOR THE TOPPING:
2 cups Greek yoghurt
5 heaped tbsp tahini (at room temperature)
1 – 2 lemons (to give 3 tbsp of juice)
2 cloves garlic (peeled and minced)
1 – 2 tsp
Kosher salt (to taste)

FOR THE AUBERGINE-BEEF LAYER:
3 heaped tbap regular olive oil
1 small onion (peeled and finely chopped)
1 medium-large eggplant (cut into small cubes)
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp Aleppo pepper or paprika (plus more for sprinkling)
1 – 2 tsp Kosher salt (to taste)
1lb ground beef

TO SPRINKLE OVER:
¾ cup pomegranate seeds
⅓ cup toasted pinenuts
1 tbsp fresh mint (finely shredded leaves)

Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Spread the pitta triangles out onto a large baking sheet and toast for 10–15 minutes, or until they are crisp. You don’t need them to color, but if they do just a little here and there, that’s not a bad thing. Set the pitta triangles aside for the moment.

Beat the yogurt, tahini, lemon juice, garlic and 1 tsp of kosher salt together in a heatproof bowl that will later sit over a saucepan. Taste to see if you want any more salt.
Put to one side while you cook the eggplant-beef layer.

Warm the oil in a wide, though not deep, heavy-based saucepan or casserole and cook the onion, stirring occasionally, over a medium-low heat for 5 minutes, then turn the heat down to low and carry on cooking it, still stirring occasionally, until soft and a pale caramel color. This will take another 4 minutes or so.
Turn the heat up to medium, tumble in the eggplant cubes and stir well to mix with the onion. Stay by the hob as you will need to stir frequently, and cook them for about 10 minutes. Turn the heat down if they look as if they’re catching.

Stir in the cumin, coriander and a tsp each of Aleppo pepper and kosher salt and, now over a high heat, add the ground beef and use a fork to break it up a little and turn in the pan until it’s lost its red color.
Turn the heat back down to medium and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the meat is cooked through. Taste to see if you want to add more salt, then take off the heat while you return to the tahini-yogurt sauce.

Pour some just-boiled water into a fresh pan, enough to come about 1¼ inches up the sides, and put over a low heat. Sit the bowl with the tahini-yogurt mixture on top, making sure the bowl does not touch the water. Beat well until the yogurt is slightly above room temperature and has the consistency of lightly whipped cream.

Now for the grand assembly: arrange the crisp pitta triangles on a large round plate (I use one of about 12 inches diameter).
Top with the eggplant-beef mixture, followed by the yogurt-tahini sauce. Sprinkle with the Aleppo pepper (or paprika, if you’re using that) to give a light dusting.
Scatter over the pomegranate seeds and toasted pine nuts and, finally, strew with the finely shredded mint leaves.
Eat with your fingers, nacho-style.

Chocolate · Do-ahead · Grains

No-bake chocolate oatmeal bars

February 21, 2019September 7, 2022 Belinda

Everyone needs an easy, no-cook dessert in their lives.

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1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
3 cups rolled oats
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 cup milk chocolate chips
3/4 cup smooth peanut butter

Line an 8 x 8″ baking dish with parchment paper.
Combine the butter, brown sugar, and vanilla extract in a medium saucepan and heat over medium-low heat until the butter is completely melted, stirring to combine. Add the oats, ground cinnamon, and salt.
Cook and stir for about 5 minutes.
Pour 1/2 of the mixture into the prepared baking pan.
Spread and pack down.
Melt the chocolate chips and peanut butter in a liquid measuring cup in the microwave in 30 second increments, until fully melted.
Pour the chocolate mixture into the pan (reserving some) and top with the remaining oat mixture, packing down once again.
Drizzle the reserved chocolate mixture over the entire pan.
chill for at least four hours before serving.

Baking · Do-ahead

Paula Deen’s Ooey Gooey Butter cake

February 21, 2019September 7, 2022 Belinda

Sometimes you just have to post a Paula Deen recipe and this one is pretty darn good! Literally soft, creamy, ooey-gooey cake great served with ice cream.

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The cake
1 box yellow cake mix
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup butter, melted

The filling
1 (8 oz.) package full fat cream cheese, softened
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp heavy cream
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, melted
4 cups confectioners sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Spray a 9-inch by 3-inch round cake pan with baking spray or line bottom with parchment paper.
Combine the cake mix, eggs, vanilla and melted butter in a bowl until fully incorporated.
Press the cake mixture into bottom of prepared pan and get it as flat as possible.
Filling
In a stand mixer beat cream cheese, heavy cream, eggs, vanilla, salt and melted butter on medium speed until creamed.
Stir in the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time.
Pour the cream cheese mixture over cake mixture.
Bake for 35-45 minutes. Allow to cool before serving.

ENJOY!