Beetroot borani recipe (borani chogondar)

Any regular reader of Nami-Nami has noticed the respectable number of beetroot recipes on this blog. My friend Alanna of A Veggie Venture blog even calls me "Beet Princess" (she reserved the title of Beet Queen to herself, and indeed, her list of beetroot recipes is pretty impressive, too :)

Here's my latest discovery among beetroot recipes. I was browsing Sam and Sam Clark's latest book, MORO EAST, and this Persian dish caught my eye. Borani is a general term for yogurt-based vegetable "salads" and dips in Persian cuisine. We really enjoyed this, eating it with simple oven-baked potato wedges on our sunny patio. It'd work well on a meze/mezze board with some toasted flatbread, or alongside some grilled or fried fish, oven-roasted lamb or even grilled chicken. It's extremely versatile, as you can imagine.

I will surely be making this borani chogondar again over the summer (I loved the colour!!!), perhaps alongside the spinach version (borani esfanaaj) and the aubergine/eggplant version (borani bademjan).

Make it at least a few hours in advance, so the flavours can develop.

If you're a fellow beet lover, you may want to check out the Beautiful Beet Recipes Pinterest board, where you'll find 100+ great pins leading you to some wonderful foodbloggers' recipes. If you'd love to contribute to that board, then just leave your Pinterest handle in the comments and I'll send you an invite!

Beet Borani
(Peedi-borani)
Serves 6 to 8 
Based on Sam & Sam Clark's recipe, with some modifications



500 g young beets
400 g thick/strained Greek/Turkish/Persian yoghurt
1 large garlic clove (crush to a paste with a generous pinch of salt)
a pinch of sugar
a small bunch of fresh dill, finely chopped
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
a splash of wine vinegar or lemon juice, to taste

To garnish:
100 g feta cheese, crumbled
a small handful of walnuts, chopped
a sprinkling of nigella seeds (also known as black Kalonji onion seeds)
a few dill fronds

Scrub the beets, but don't peel them. Place into a boiling water and simmer for 1-1,5 hours, until cooked. Drain and cool and peel, then cut into chunks and place into a food processor.
(Note that you can also roast the beets, or, in a hurry, use boiled un-vinegared beets).
Process the beets, then add the yogurt, crushed garlic and a pinch of sugar, process again until smooth.
Add  the chopped dill, then season to taste with salt, pepper and vinegar/lemon juice.
Transfer onto a serving bowl, cover with clingfilm and put into the fridge for a few hours so the flavours can mingle.
When ready to serve, garnish with crumbled feta, chopped walnuts and some dill fronds. Sprinkle black nigella seeds on top.

 

See other beetroot borani recipes: 
Smoke and Umami
Café Leilee
The Salty Pear
Liz Z  (Liz uses mint to flavour her borani)
Chef Yusuf

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Reading Chest Review

We were recently asked to sign up to a 3 month trial for Reading Chest. Reading Chest is "The book rental service specialising in reading scheme books for children aged 4 to 9 years".

The diagram below illustrates the process of how Reading Chest works. It really is simple. Signing up takes only a few minutes, there is no minimum time that you can sign up for either.

I have signed up and have used both Callum and Nathan's details. There are three packages to choose from but we decided on the unlimited package so that the boys could get the most out of the trial. Below you can see the packages available and the prices of them.

The best bit about Reading Chest is that there are no due dates, no late fees and no hassle. You can choose the types of book that your child is sent, they are "from top reading schemes used in UK schools such as Oxford Reading Tree, Project X, Collins Big Cat, Rigby Star, Alphakids, Treetops, Pocket Reads and Yellow Door, including both fiction and non-fiction".

Our next part of this review will show you the books that we received in the post.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Crispy rye bread canapés with cream cheese and smoked salmon

I did a bit of catering on Saturday for a group of friends*, and this smoked salmon and cream cheese paté/spread on crispy rye bread buttons was one of the dishes I brought along. It disappeared very quickly and I wish I had made a double batch - it's an excellent nibble indeed - savoury (smoked salmon), creamy (cream  cheese), crispy (rye bread buttons), fresh (cucumber slices). I also think the contrasting colours look very pretty.

Although I love this spread on crispy rye bread buttons, it works also beautifully with sliced (and toasted) ciabatta or baguette, of course. Here's a photo from last June:


Cream cheese and smoked salmon paté
(Toorjuustu-suitsulõhepasteet)
Makes about a cup

100 g good-quality cold smoked salmon
150 g cream cheese, at room temperature
a small bunch of dill
lemon juice, to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

To garnish:
cucumber or lemon slices
fresh dill or chives
finely grated lemon zest

Chop the smoked salmon into small chunks, place into the food processor together with the cream cheese. Add some lemon juice for seasoning and the dill. Process until smooth.
Taste for seasoning - add more lemon juice and season with pepper.

If you're serving this with crispy rye bread buttons, then you need some sliced rye bread (I like a very dark bread here and used "Fazeri must leib"). Cut out small squares or circles and toast them in a preheated 200 C/400 F oven for about 6-7 minutes, until crispy. Cool, then spoon the cream cheese and smoked salmon paté on top and garnish before serving.

You can make the paté up to a day in advance, but don't spread it on toasted rye bread until up to an hour before serving, or you lose the crispiness.

* The other two dishes were tiny spicy chorizo profiteroles and an Estonian crumb cake, cut into tiny slices.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Easy entertaining: whole hot-smoked trout or salmon with caviar dressing

Want something super-delicious, rather elegant and extremely simple for your next festive spread? Here's an excellent idea I got from my friend Annika. Annika is Estonian, but she works and lives in Sweden. She introduced me to this very popular Swedish and Finnish "sauce" that's traditionally served alongside smoked or grilled trout or salmon at a party she hosted at her Tallinn holiday flat at the end of last year.

Since then I've served this on several occasions and always to a great success. You need a good-quality smoked trout or salmon to start with - I've used a whole hot-smoked trout*, that we "carve" at the table, but you can also serve it alongside portion-sized pieces of smoked fish. Although salted trout or salmon roe is nowhere as prohibitively expensive as "proper" caviar, it's still very festive and elegant and makes people feel that they're really being pampered :)

If you're based in Tallinn or nearby, then I whole-heartedly recommend the whole hot-smoked trout from Pepe Kala OÜ. You'll find their stall at Tammsaare tee 89 during the week, or come and meet them at Viimsi Taluturg (Viimsi farmers' market) on Saturday mornings from 10 am till 2 pm. They also have excellent lightly salted trout roe.  




Creamy caviar dressing
(Kalamarjakaste)
Serves 6

200-250 g thick sour cream or creme fraiche
1 Tbsp finely chopped onion (shallot is fine)
150 g lightly salted trout or salmon roe (or slightly less, depending on your budget and taste)
2-3 Tbsp finely chopped fresh dill
freshly ground white or black pepper, to taste

Mix all ingredients together, spoon into a nice bowl and serve alongside the whole smoked fish. 
Ok, how easy and effortless was that? :)

Here's another excellent Swedish dressing recipe that goes well with smoked salmon: Dill and Mustard Sauce

What's your super-easy and quick entertainment dish? Feel free to leave a link to the recipe in the comments!

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Schleich Dinosaurs Review

We were recently asked to review some Schleich dinosaur toys. The boys were sent 3 dinosaurs to review. They were sent a Triceratops, an Allosaurus and a Parasaurolophus.

When I first looked at the dinosaurs I was extremely impressed with their quality. They are solid and definitely wont break easily. On closer inspection you can see every bit of detail on the toys. From their scales and teeth to their eyes and claws. I believe this adds to the quality of play that a child receives from a toy too. If a toy looks realistic then they are more likely to play with them more. Because the detail is so great on the toys they would make a lovely collection to be put on display in a child's bedroom once they've stopped playing with them.

The dinosaurs are aimed at children aged 3+ but James loves them and has been playing with them more than his brothers - this is because he wont let them play with them and not that they don't want to play with them. He is a little obsessed at the minute with monsters and dinosaurs so all he says is "ROAR" and these 3 have made lots of noise over the last week or so in our house, courtesy of James and his imagination whilst playing with them. 

You can buy these dinosaurs and other ones online or from most good toy stores. They range in price from £3.99 to £12.00 depending on the size of the toy. Schleich also sell other role play toys such as people and farm animals. We will certainly buy Scleich toys in the future.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Rhubarb and sour cream tart

Rhubarb season, which seems to have last for a few weeks now in England and in parts of the US, has just began in Estonia (remember, my homeland is at about 58.5 latitude, so quite far up north). During the last week or two, I've already baked two batches of my very favourite rhubarb muffins, cooked a batch of rhubarb kissel (kind of fruit soup), and devoured this spiced rhubarb sheet cake with my family. You'll find all Nami-Nami's rhubarb recipes in this post. Next up? Probably this rhubarb curd from my friend Alanna, and then perhaps Rachel's rhubarb and plum crisp from David's blog? We'll see.

If you do have a good rhubarb recipe suggestion, please share it in the comments!

Today's cake recipe has been another rhubarb favourite for years, and it's also much loved by the readers of my Estonian Nami-Nami site - about 48 people have commented the cake recipe, most of them saying how much they love it :)

Remember - as long as you're using nice and young rhubarb stalks (preferably red-skinned!), there's no need to peel the rhubarb first.  

The idea is from a Finnish Ruokala site (Antin raparperipiiras), but over the years I've modified it considerably to suit my taste, so am happily claiming this as Nami-Nami's rhubarb cake recipe :)

Delicious rhubarb cake with sour cream topping 
(Hõrk rabarbrikook hapukoorega)
Serves eight

Pastry:
100 g butter, at room temperature
85 g caster sugar (100 ml)
50 g sour cream
1 egg
180 g all-purpose flour (300 ml)
1 tsp baking powder

Filling:
250 g sour cream (20% dairy fat)
4 Tbsp caster sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla sugar or extract

Topping:
4 to 5 rhubarb stalks, cut into 5-8 mm slices
demerara sugar, for sprinkling

Preheat the oven to 200 C/400 F. 

Cream the butter with sugar. Stir in the sour cream and egg, then fold in the flour that's been mixed with baking powder. Stir until combined - the pastry should be soft, but not watery. Using your hands, spread the pastry onto the base and sides of a 24 cm (9-to-10-inch) loose-bottomed springform tin.
For the filling, combine all the ingredients. Pour onto the pastry base.
Scatter rhubarb on top, sprinkle with some demerara sugar.
Bake in the middle of a preheated oven for about 30 minutes, until the pastry is golden and the filling is set.Cool in the tin, then carefully remove the tin and transfer the cake onto a serving plate. 

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Beer, mustard and cheese bread recipe, inspired by Welsh Rarebit

Are you familiar with the British pub classic, Welsh Rarebit? It's a slice of toasted bread topped with a melted cheese, mustard and beer concoction. Excellent, if rich, comfort food. Those three flavourings are all present in this soft yeast bread that's been a favourite for years - I even included a recipe in my first cookbook. It's soft and tender, with plenty of gutsy flavours going on. It's obviously not a bread that you'd toast and slather with jam, but with some extra cheese or a slice of good country ham - oh yes!

See also Felicity Cloake's post How to cook perfect Welsh rarebit in the Guardian to give you some insights into the dish that inspired this bread. 


Beer, mustard and cheese bread
(Õlle-juustuleib)
Makes 2 loaves



500 ml dark beer (ale, porter, stout - all work; 2 cups)
50 g fresh yeast or 2 envelopes fast-action instant yeast
3-4 Tbsp light syrup (golden syrup or corn syrup is fine; about 80 g)
2 tsp fine salt
150 g hard cheese, coarsely grated (Cheddar's good, or any Estonian cheese :))
600-650 g all-purpose flour*
1-2 tsp English mustard powder (I use Colmans)
100 ml vegetable oil or 75 g butter, melted and cooled

Use a large mixing bowl.  If using fresh yeast, then crumble it into lukewarm (37C) beer and stir until dissolved. Add the syrup, then fold in the grated cheese and about half of the flour. Add the salt, mustard powder and knead in the rest of the flour. Finally add the oil/melted butter. 
(If you're using the fast-action instant yeast, then simply mix all the dry ingredients, then add the beer, syrup, cheese and mix, finally adding the oil/butter). 

* A note on the amount of flour. I've successfully made this with 600 g flour, which is about 1 litres or about 4 heaped cups.  You may need a little more - you're aiming for a soft, dropping consistency.

Cover the dough with a clean kitchen towel, place the mixing bowl into a warm and draught-free location and let the dough raise until doubled in size. This will take about an hour.
Transfer the dough onto a lightly floured worktop. Lightly knead the dough and divide into two equal parts. Form into oblong loaves and transfer into buttered or lined baking tins. (I've used 22 cm/2 litre bread tins to make high loaves and 30 cm/3 litre bread tins to make smaller loaves).
Bake in the middle of a pre-heated 175 C/350 F oven for about 45 minutes, until well risen and golden brown on top.



Alternatively, you can free-form the loaves and bake them on a baking sheet, as above.

More unusual takes on Welsh Rarebit:
Welsh rarebit lamb nachos @ Endless Simmer
Cheddar, beer and mustard pull-apart bread @ Smitten Kitchen (an idea not so dissimilar to this)
Welsh rarebit souffle @ Amuse Bouche

reade more... Résuméabuiyad