Quail eggs, dyed with beetroot

Another item I served at this year's Easter brunch. Same idea, but this time I used quail eggs and "pickled" them simply in grated boiled beetroot. They were adorable :)

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Wild garlic pesto aka ramson pesto recipe

Wild garlic has arrived! Wild garlic, also known as ramson or bear's garlic (Allium ursinum, 'karulauk' in Estonian), is a very close relative to the wild leek aka ramp (Allium tricoccum, 'grislilauk' in Estonian). I've been eagerly waiting for this spring green, as I love both the flavour and the versatily of it, and it's a good health-booster at this time of the year. Well, if it's good enough for big brown bears, it's good enough for us :D

Although I've been happily making a wild garlic pesto with pinenuts for a few years now, this one is a new favourite. There's more flavour, and somehow it's much more gutsier than the 'regular' wild garlic pesto. The idea to use almonds instead of pinenuts in a wild garlic pesto is from a German food magazine. I've upped the amount of almonds and cheese, and used regular almonds instead of blanched.

Let me tell you - this was a huge hit at my recent birthday brunch, where the guests were spreading it on thin slices of ciabatta. I'm heading to my secret wild garlic field later today, just so I could make this one again :)

You could definitely try this with ramps or even with garlic scapes. If you love garlic, you'll love this, I promise!

Other recipes using wild garlic/ramson @ Nami-Nami:
Wild garlic tzatziki
Wild garlic and potato mash
Wild garlic butter
Wild garlic pesto (with pinenuts)
Stuffed tomatoes with wild garlic salad

Wild garlic pesto / Ramson pesto
(Karulaugupesto mandlitega)
Makes about 200 ml



a good bunch of wild garlic (about 125 g), rinsed and drained
50 g Parmesan cheese, roughly chopped
50 g whole almonds
75 ml (5 Tbsp) extra virgin olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Place almonds and cheese into a food processor and blitz into fine crumbs. Add wild garlic, process again until you've got a coarse pesto. Now add the oil little by little, with the machine still running.
Season with salt and pepper.

If you want to keep your pesto for a few weeks, then place into cool sterilised jars and pour a layer of olive oil on top. Keep in the fridge.

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Beetroot and feta tart recipe

Cooksister's Jeanne is hosting this month's Monthly Mingle, and she chose topless tarts as the theme. She's one cheeky foodblogger, you know :) As my little family has been growing, I've been very bad in taking part various foodblogging events, but this theme really speaks to me and hence this post. I'm contributing this lovely beet and feta tart for the occasion. I know, I know - it wasn't so long ago that I blogged about beetroot tart. But March's beetroot tart was this lovely quiche with blue cheese and pickled beets. This time it's all about feta cheese and roasted beets!

I realise it's a risky choice for this month's mingle, as the hostess isn't so fond of beets. Hopefully she'll still accept my entry and give it the consideration it deserves :D

Here's a reminder from last summer - beets from our own garden:



Aren't they cute? I think they are ;)

Beetroot and feta tart
(Peedi-fetapirukas)
Inspired by Molly @ Orangette
Serves 6



Pastry:
180 g all purpose flour (300 ml)
0.5 tsp salt
0.5 tsp caster sugar
100 g cold butter, cut into cubes
cold water

Topping:
300 g boiled or roasted beets
200 g feta cheese
2 eggs
150 ml milk or single cream
fresh or dried oregano or dill
freshly ground black pepper

Make the pastry first. Combine flour, salt, sugar in a bowl of your food processor, then add the cold butter and process until you've got coarse crumbs. Now add a tablespoonful or two of cold water, until the dough comes together.
Flatten the dough into a disc and wrap in clingfilm. Place into the fridge for at least 30 minutes, preferably an hour.
Roll the pastry on a lightly floured surface into a circle large enough to fill a 24 cm springform tin. Transfer the dough into the tin, pressing it gently to the edge and up along the sides. Blind bake in a 200 C oven for about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven.
Great the beetroot coarsely, spread over the partly baked base.
Crumble the feta cheese over the beetroot.
Whisk the eggs with milk or cream, season with salt and dill or oregano. Pour over the tart.
Bake in a 180 C oven for about 35-40 minutes, until the egg is set.

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Birthday cake 2011

I went for a fancy cake this year. A week or so ago I spotted this Limoncello, coconut and white chocolate mousse cake* at the Swedish Allt om Mat website, and fell for it. Making it required several steps and couple of hours waiting now and then, but it wasn't actually too complicated. And our guests today (22 adults + 15 kids!) LOVED it :P

Recipe in Estonian here.

Previous birthday cakes:
2010
2006

* I used marzipan eggs for decoration, as Easter Sunday and my birthday coincided.

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Nami-Nami Easter Brunch 2011

(The post is actually written in January 2013, I just wanted to archive the menu for the traditional event)

This year the Easter Brunch coincided with my birthday, so I had a hard task of designing a menu that would celebrate Easter, spring and my birthday :) Here's what I served - something light, something green and something yellow - to go with my typical Easter menu.

Snow crab (surimi) salad:


Quail eggs dyed with beetroot:


Home-made wild garlic cheese and home-made caraway cheese (sõir)
 

Smoked salmon (ordered from MEKK restaurant), served with creamy horseradish cream


Wild garlic pesto with almonds:


Crostini with white cheese and onion marmalade


Puff pastry rolls with feta


Cannellini beans with tomatoes and onions:


Limoncello, coconut and white chocolate tart:


Paskha (sorry, no photo for some reason)

The guests brought along some Estonian rye bread, fresh strawberries (imported, of course) and the drinks (Prosecco, white wine, sea-buckthorn juice, freshly squeezed orange juice, water).

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Easter lamb for one. Or two. A recipe for grilled marinated lamb

Lamb's a popular choice for Easter, especially a slow-roast leg of lamb. However, unless you're cooking a big Easter feast, buying and cooking a whole leg for a small family isn't really sensible or economical. Here's a dish that can be successfully cooked for one, or two (or more, if you wish so). It's from Nigel Slater's excellent book Real Food. Nigel suggests a potato gratin (esp. his stove-top Dauphinoise with Pancellta and Rocket) as an accompaniment. I have always loved the combination of lamb and cabbage, and as I had bought a new season's cabbage, I served the lamb with simple sauteéd cabbage. A wonderfully satisfying and light spring-time meal.

Grilled marinated lamb
(Marineeritud ja grillitud tallefilee)
Serves 2 to 4

2-4 lamb fillets, depending on size and the number of eaters
4 large garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
2 Tbsp lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp dried Herbes de Provence seasoning
freshly ground black pepper

Cut _almost_ through each lamb fillet horizontally, then open it up as a book. Place on a cutting board, hit with a knife a few more times here and there to flatten the meat and to allow the marinade to soak through. Put onto a deep plate or a bowl.

Put the garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, herbs and pepper into a small jar, cover and shake until well combined. Pour over the lamb fillets, giving the meat a good massage :) Cover the plate with a clingfilm and leave in a cool place to marinade for at least an hour, preferably 24 hours.

To cook the lamb, heat a ridged grill pan until smoking hot. Place the lamb on the pan, press down with a back of a spoon and leave for a couple of minutes until the lamb fillet is golden and crusted underneath. Flip around and cook from the other side as well. The lamb should remain nicely pink inside.

Leave to rest for a few minutes, then cut into thin slices and serve.

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Easter paskha for chocolate lovers

Chocolate paskha, 2011, decorated with dried apricots

It's Easter Sunday this weekend and many a festive table will have a paskha (also spelled as 'pascha') as a centerpiece. We will, for sure.

Paskha is a sweet and rich curd cheese dessert that's traditionally served during Easter. I've shared two favourite recipes with you before - my traditional uncooked paskha with pistachio nuts and craisins and creamy cooked paskha with egg yolks. Here's another delicious paskha, especially for those of you who love chocolate!

Chocolate paskha
(Šokolaadisõbra kohupiimapasha)
Serves 8


Chocolate paskha, 2009, decorated with candied kumquats

500 g curd cheese (kohupiim/tvorog) or ricotta
100 ml whipping cream
100 g dark chocolate, chopped
75 g butter, cut into cubes
50 g caster sugar
handful of dried apricots
handful of dried seedless raisins

Place raisins and apricots into a colander, pour over boiling water and drain thoroughly. Put aside.

Place cream, chocolate and butter into a small heavy saucepan and heat gently, stirring with a wooden spoon, until chocolate and butter are melted and you've got a luscious brown sauce. Remove the pot from the heat and immediately fold in the curd cheese, sugar, apricots and raisins. Mix until combined.

Line a special paskha-dish or a fine sieve with a double layer of cotton muslin that you've rinsed under cold water and wrung dry. Pour the curd cheese mixture into the dish, place a small plate on top. Place the filled paskha-dish over a bowl to collect any whey liquid that will drip out of the paskha.

To serve, turn the paskha onto a plate, remove the muslin and paskha dish or sieve.

 Decorate as you please - I love the contrast of chocolate-coloured paskha and something orange (apricots, candied kumquats etc).

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