Ricotta Spinach and Semolina Gnocchi with Butter-Sage Sauce

This is what we had for dinner last night. Sometimes is difficult to come up with a meatless menu, but sometimes material presents itself; I saw this beautiful fresh spinach at my green grocer and decided to use it with ricotta from my fridge. Sage is from my garden, eggs my hens', so dinner was as fresh as it can get.

Ingredients:
Gnocchi-
1 bunch spinach (150 gr cooked)
1 cup Parmesan, grated
3 eggs
200 gr Ricotta cheese
1/2 tsp salt
white pepper (optional)
1 cup semolina (fine preferably)
1/2 cup flour (+ for shaping)
Sauce-
100-120 gr butter
8-10 sage leaves, thorn
Extra Parmesan for sprinkling
Method:
Cook or steam spinach; cool then squeeze all the moisture. Put spinach and ricotta in a food processor, pulls it until incorporated then add  other ingredients. Process it until smooth.
Dust working surface with flour. Turn dough onto it and shape 2 logs. Cut them into fingers and with dusted hands shape each gnocchi.
bring a pot with salted water to boil. Place 10-15 pieces of gnocchi into it. When gnocchi come up to surface cook a minute more then take out with a slotted spoon. Do the same with the rest of shaped dough.
Heat butter and sage and let it boil until sage slightly browned and release aroma. Pour over the gnocchi, mix well and grate extra parmesan on top. Serve immediately.



 Rikota, Špinat i Griz Njoke sa Sosom od Maslaca i Žalfije

Ove divne njoke smo imali za obrok prosle veceri. Ponekad  nije lako smisliti sta napraviti bez mesa, a ponekad se materijal i ideje sami nametnu. Vidjela sam divan svjez spinat kod moga piljara i odmah sam odlucila koristiti ga sa rikotom koju vec imam u frizideru. Zalfija je iz baste, jaja od mojuh koka, tako da je vecera bila izuzetno 'frishka'.

Potrebno:
Njoki-
1 veza spinata (150 gr kuhanog)
1 solja parmezana
3 jaja
200 gr ricote
1/2 kasicice soli
bijeli biber (po zelji)
1 solja griza / krupice (finije ako je moguce)
1/2 solje brasna (+ za oblikovanje)
Sos-
100-120 gr maslaca
8-10 listova zalfije / kadulje, iskidane
Jos parmezana za posuti 
Nacin:
Skuhajte spinat, ocijedite i prohladite.
Ubacite ga u elektricnu sjeckalicu zajedno sa rikotom. Isjeckajte, zatim dodajte ostale sastojke. Sjeckajte dok masa ne postane jednolicna i kasasta. 
Pospite brasnom rdanu povrsinu, pa na nju istresite masu. Podijelite na  2 dijela i formirajte valjke. Isijecite valjke na 'prste'. Svaki dio oblikujte nabrasnjenim rukama.
Pristavite lonac sa zasoljenom vodom da kuha. Ubacujte 10-15 njoka; kada isplivaju na povrsinu kuhajte jos minutu, zatim ih izvadite u posudu za sluzenje. Ponovite sa ostalim njokama.
U manjoj posudi kuhajte maslac sa zalfijom dok ne postane zlacano i dok zalfija ne pusti aromu. Prelijte ovime njoke, dobro promijesajte, pa pospite parmezanom. Sluzite odmah!

Classical Baked Cheese Cake (Donna Hay recipe)

Donna Hay is Australian 'Martha Stewart'. All her recipes are proven and always give great results. So is this  baked cheese cake, one of my favourites. Have a good weekend!

Ingredients:
Base-
1/3 cup ground almonds (almond meal)
¾ cup plain flour
¼ cup caster sugar
90g chilled butter, chopped
Filling-
330g cream cheese, softened
500g fresh ricotta
4 eggs
1 1/3 cups caster sugar
1 tablespoon grated lemon rind
¼ cup lemon juice
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1½ tablespoons cornflour
1½ tablespoons water

Method:
Preheat oven to 150°C.
Base- place the ground almonds, flour, sugar and butter into a bowl. Rub mixture with your fingertips until it forms coarse crumbs, or use food processor for this.
Line the base of a 20-22 cm spring form tin with non-stick baking paper. Place the base mixture in the tin and press gently with  a spoon, until surface is smooth. Bake for 15 minutes, set aside.
Filling -  place the cream cheese, ricotta, eggs, sugar, lemon rind, juice and vanilla in a food processor. Combine the cornflour and water until smooth and add to the cheese mixture. Process the mixture until smooth.
Pour the filling over the base. Tap lightly to remove any air bubbles. Bake for 1 hour. Turn the oven off and stand the cake in the oven for 1 hour, leaving the door closed. Take out and cool, then refrigerate until cold and serve.

Klasični pečeni kolač od sira (Donna Hay recept)

Donna Hay je Australijska Marta Stjuart. Svi njeni recepti su provjereni, testirani i uvijek daju odlicne rezultate. Takav je i ovaj peceni 'cheesecake', jedan od mojih licnih favorita. Dobar vikend zelim!

Potrebno:
Baza-
13/ solje mljevenih badema
3/4 solje brasna
1/4 solje sitnog secera
90 gr rashladjenog maslaca, isjeckanog
Fil-330 gr krem sira, omeksalog
500 gr rikote sira
4 jaja
1 1/3 solje secera
1 kasika ribane limunove korice
1/4 solje limunovog soka
1/2 male kasike vanile
1 1/2 kasika 'gustina' (ili slicnog skrobnog brasna)
1 1/2 kasika vode
Nacin:
Zagrijte rernu na 150*C.
Baza- smjestite sve suhe sastojke u posudu, utrljajte maslac (ili koristite elektricnu sjeckalicu).
Postavite papir za pecenje u obruc od 20-22cm. Smjestite baznu smjesu na dno, pritisnite kasikom. Pecite 15 minuta, ostavite na stranu.
Fil- stavite sireve, jaja, secer, limunov sok ikoricu i vanilu u 'sjeckalicu'. Pomijesajte skrobno brasno i vodu, pa i to ubacite. Izmiksajte dok ne postane glatko.
Prebacite ovu smjesu preko baze; lakano lupnite po radnoj povrsin i kako bi mjehurici zrake izasli. Pecite 1 sat, iskljucite rernu i ostavite 'cake' unutra jos 1 sat (zatvorena rerna - ovo ce omoguciti ravnomjerno zagrijavanje/hladjenje, tj kolac nece popucati po povrsini). Izvadite, dodatno prohladite, pa smjestite u frizider, dok ses sasvim ne ohladi. Sluzite i uzivajte!

Lotus root

For last few weeks I feel totally uninspired for writing. I still cook a lot, but have no desire to take photos and write about it. I hope it won't last, as I rely like bloging, and it helps me in developing my English language and keeping my Bosnian in memory. Keeping with technology is another positive thing about bloging. For now I'm going to use  my (Korean) friend's recipe for preparing lotus root.

Ingredients:
300g lotus, cleaned, peeled and sliced 
1 tbs white vinegar
1/2 cup water
4 tbs soy sauce
2 tbs corn syrup
2 tbs caster sugar
1 tsp sesame seeds

a few drops of sesame oil

Method:

Put lotus root slices in a saucepan with water to cover add  vinegar and cook for 20 minutes to avoid bitterness. Drain in a colander.

Mix water, soy sauce, corn syrup and sugar. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes until sugar  dissolved, then add the cooked lotus roots. Keep mixing until no liquid is left, it will take about 15 minutes. Turn off the heat. Add the sesame seeds and oil, mix one more time then serve.

naoyafujii / Food Photos / CC BY-NC

Korijen Lotusa (lopoča) na Korejski nacin

U posljednje vrijeme sam bezvoljna za pisanje postova, a vidim da je zatisje nastupilo i na mnogim drugim blogovima koje pratim. Sve manje se pise i  komentira. Nadam se da ce ovaj neinspirativni period ipak proci, jer bloganje ima svoje cari. Meni licno pomaze u 'odrzavanju' mog' maternjeg jezika i 'vjezbanju' Engleskog. A tu je naravno i druzenje sa ljudima koje vole iste stvari, drzanje koraka sa tehnologijom...Za sada evo jednog recepta (moje Korejske prijateljice) za pripremu Lotusovog korijena.

Potrebno:

300 gr korijena lotusa, ociscen, oguljen i izrezan

1 K bijelog sirceta

1/2 solje vode

4 K sojinog sosa

2 K kukuruznog sirupa (ili secerni sirup)

2 K secera

1 k sezamovog sjemena 

par kapi sezamovog ulja

Nacin:

Smjestite reznjeve lotusa u serpu, pokrijte vodom dodajte sirce i kuhajte 20 minuta (ovo ce odstraniti gorcinu). Ocijedite u kolanderu.

Pomijesajte vodu, soja sos, kukuruzni sirup i secer. Kuhajte na srednjoj vatri oko 5 minuta, zatim ubacite lotus korijen. Mijesajte dok vecina tecnosti ne ispari, oko 15 minuta. Iskljucite i umijesajte sezamovo sjeme i ulje. Posluzite!

Zanzibari Orange and Clove Polenta Cake

 After watching a new cooking  program  on SBS (The spice trip), I had to try this Zanzibari cake with oranges and cloves.  
To me personally, cloves were overpowering.  Luckily, there is  someone in my family that like strong flavours and aromas, so whole cake was eaten  over the weekend. 
Next time, I will half the amount of cloves.

Ingredients: (adapted from original recipe)
Cake-
2 organic oranges, diced (whole)
125 g butter, softened
150 g sugar
3 large eggs
2 tsp ground cloves
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tbs flour
140 g polenta
120 g ground almonds
2 peeled and sliced oranges , extra 
(to lay on the bottom of cake tin)
Syrup-
130 g sugar
1 orange , juice only
1 tsp cloves  
Method:
Switch oven to 180*C, prepare a cake tin, line with baking paper. Place slices of 2 oranges on bottom. 
Cook diced oranges in a little water. Take out and cool, then process or chop finely.
Meanwhile, cream butter and sugar; add eggs one by one. Mix in oranges (puree) and  all other ingredients. Pour cake batter over the sliced oranges. Place in oven and bake for 1 hour. 
Cook 130 g sugar with juice of 1 orange, until syrupy, add cloves. When cake is baked, turn over on a serving dish and pour syrup over it. Cool, then slice and enjoy!

Zanzibarski Palenta Kolač od Narandži i Karanfilića

Na jednom od Australijskih televizijskih programa (SBS), pocela je nova emisija o zacinima i kuhanju koja se zove 'Put zacina'. Nakon gledanja emisije o Zanzibaru i karanfilicima koji se tamo uzgajaju, morala sam isprobati ovaj kolac. Meni licno je bio previse aromatican, ali na srecu u mojoj kuci postoji neko ko voli jake arome,  tako da je cijeli kolac ipak bio pojeden za vikend. Sljedecu put cu sigurno umanjiti kolicinu karanfilica za pola!

Potrebno:
Kolac-
2 neprskane narandze, isjecene (cijele)
125 gr maslac, omeksalog
150 gr secera
3 veca jaja
2 k praha kakranfilica
2 k praska za pecivo
1 1/2 K brasna
140 gr palente
120 gr mljevenih badema
2 oguljene i izrezane narandze, dodatno 
(za postaviti na dno obruca)
Sirup-
130 gr secera
1 narandza, iscijedjen sok samo
1 k praha karanfilica
Nacin:
Ukljucite rernu na 180*c, pripremite obruc za kolace i prekrijte ga papirom za pecenje. Izrezite 2 oguljene narandze i postavite na dno obruca.
Skuhajte cijele (izrezane) narandze u malo vode; izvadite i prohladite. Isjeckajte u sjeckalici ili rucno (veoma fino).
Izmiksajte maslac sa secerom, dodajte jedno po jedno jaje, pire od narandzi i ostale sastojke. Uspite preko postavljenih narandzi i stavite peci oko 1 sat.
Skuhajte preostali secer sa sokom jedne narandze; treba da se malo zgusne. Kada je kolac pecen, okrenite ga na posluzavnik i prelijte ovim sirupom. Prohladite, onda rezite i uzivajte.

Cous-cous Salad

Cous-cous is so easy to prepare! I always have a box of cous-cous in my pantry, and whenever I don't know what to serve as a side dish, I make cous-cous.
Fresh vegetables and herbs are perfect  companions in a salad.

Ingredients:
1 cup of cous-cous (1 cup of boiling water for it, salt, pepper)
salad vegetables (tomatoes, cucumber, capsicums...), diced
2 green onions, sliced
1/2 bunch of parsley leaves, chopped
2-3 tbs olive oil
1-2 tbs lemon juice
1 clove garlic, crushed (optional)
Method:
Pour boiling water over cous-cous, cover and let it stand for 5-10 minutes, then fluff it up with fork, seasoning to your taste.
Dice and slice all vegetables and herbs. Mix it with cous-cous and dress with olive oil and lemon juice.
Perfect with grilled meat.

Kuskus salata

Kuskus je tako zahvalan za imati u kuhinji. Kad god ne znam sta da napravim za prilog, ja posegnem za kuskusom. Brzo i lako, odlicno za iskoristiti povce i zacinsko bilje iz frizidera.

Potrebno:

1 solja kuskusa (prelivena sa 1 soljom kljucajuce vode, so, biber)

salatno povrce (paradajz, krastavci, paprike...)sjeckano na kockice
2 mlada luka, sjeckana
1/2 sveznja persunovog lisca, sjeckana
2-3 K maslinovog ulja
1-2 K soka limuna
1 ceno bijelog luka, protisnuto (po zelji)
Nacin: 
Prelijte kljucalu vodu preko kuskusa; pokrijte i ostavite 5-10 minuta. Viljuskom 'grebite' dok ne odvojite zrnca; zacinite po ukusu.
Isjeskajte sve ostale sastojke, pomijesajte sa kuskusom i prelijte maslinovim uljem i sokom limuna.
Najbolje sluziti sa pecenim (grilovanim) mesom.