Cherry gazpacho - a perfect summer treat! (vegetarian, gluten-free, kosher)

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Cherries bring an unexpected twist to tapas classic gazpacho. Cherry gazpacho is a quick, easy and refreshing treat - perfect for lazy summer days!

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Cherries have arrived at the shops and I. Can't. Get. Enough. Of.  Them. 

Another thing I can't help is my thoughts drifting back to last summer and to the day, when I'd just schlepped back home. Armed with the first cherries of the summer I started to put together a photo which quickly became one of my all time favourites. 

And boy, am I glad it did, as that very photo turned out to be the first photo of first my book (yes, still only available in Finnish...) 

Full of excitement (and nerves) I sat down and tapped away a blog post in which I shared my big news with you all. 

Luckily there was more excitement than there were nerves as in case I had at this point had any idea just how much work would lie ahead, I would have probably paralyzed on the floor, stuffing my panic-stricken face with every single one of those cherries. 

Good job I didn't, as that day resulted in two cherry recipes for the book: this cherry gazpacho and a cherry and red wine compote I served with my no-churn, no-fuss cream cheese ice cream.

It was no mean feat for the test audience either. Their ungrateful job was to decide, which of my gazpachos would end up in the book: watermelon gazpacho or this cherry gazpacho.

In the end Cat Blogger's vote turned out to be the winning one.

"Cherry gazpacho - without a doubt. They're both delish, but this is just the right amount of... well, weird!"

My cherry gazpacho is inspired by the tapas bar streets of Malaga, where Dani Garcia's, one of the region's most renowed chefs' version has garnered a veritable cult following. 

So, in case you find yourself lost and hungry in Malaga, make sure to head over to his restaurant KGB!

As a tapas this serves 4, as a shot up to 12

Gazpacho de cerezas – cherry gazpacho:

500 g pitted cherries (appr. 700 g unpitted ones)

1 tomato

½ red bell pepper

½ red onion

½ jalapeño

1 dl olive oil

1 tbsp red wine vinegar (or sherry vinegar)

1 tsp salt

To serve: crispy, roasted Serrano ham crisps and/or crumbled Feta cheese

Halve the tomato and remove the hard core.Do the same with the pepper. 

Measure the ingredients into a blender/ food processor and whizz until smooth. For the silkiest, smoothest finish, run the gazpacho through a sieve.

Chill for at least a couple of hours before serving (as this will also let the flavours develop).

Check the taste, add more salt and/ or vinegar if needed and serve. Ahhhhh.

And now over to you! What are your favourite gazpachos? 

The traditional take? Ajo Blanco; the white gazpacho? Cooling cucumber version? My fruity watermelon variety? 

Or hey - would you like to share your own recipe (please do!)

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SHARING IS CARING!

Berenjenas Fritas, deep-fried Andalusian aubergines - a quick and easy tapas treat (vegan, gluten-free, kosher)

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Berenjenas Fritas, deep-fried aubergines, are a quick and easy treat that will instantly bring Andalusian tapas bars to your own kitchen!

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As the weather in Finland has varied between rain and hale to sleet and sunshine. And it's June. 

Weather this unpredictable transports my thought back to Andalusia, where, without a doubt, a several airplanes will transport many of you, too. And why wouldn't they?

Just imagine it. 

Continuous sunshine, leisurely strolls along the beach side promenades thick with scent of the salty sea and retiring for long lunches in the sheltered alleyways, with their endless tapas bars.

The smell of meat and shellfish being barbecued filling the air, waiters skipping through the packed terraces and plates and plates of delicious treats being flown into your tiny tables. 

One more gesture pointing at your empty glasses and once more it's beig topped u with chilled wine. 

The warmth of the sun keeps your skin glowing well into the night and it's as if some of that glow makes your insides radiate, too. 

That's just what the dark, Northern soul needs!

You'd think that in a heat like that dee-fryng would be the last thing on anyone's mind, but you'd be wrong. So wrong.

Deep-frying is something Andalusians, especially in the Malaga region, are absolutely loco about. 

One of the most peculiar tapas classics in the area are Berenjenas Fritas, deep-fried aubergine fritters. You cut them in discs or, as in this recipe of mine, into chip-like batons. 

Aubergines, by the way, are one of the many delicacies that we have the Arab conquerors to thanks for - they were the ones wh introduced Iberian peninsula to this glorious veggie. 

Rice flour lends the aubergines extra crispness (and helps keep them gluten-free!), but you could just as well use regular flour.

Serves four as tapas

Berenjenas Fritas - deep-fried Andalusian aubergine fritters

1 large aubergine (400 g)

salt

Better:

2 ¾ dl rice flour

2 ½ dl cold water

For deep-frying:

oil

To serve:

miel de caña -cane sugar honey, dark honey or syrup

Cut the aubergine legntwise into 1 cm-strips and them to similar sized batons, reminiscent of French fries. Scatter with salt, place in a colander and leave to weep for about half an hour. 

Pat them dry. The easiest way to do this is by placing them on a tea towel, covering them with another tea towel and pressing gently.

Combine the ingredients for a thck batter and heat oil in a heavy-based pot until 180ºc. 

Dunk the aubergines in the batter, make sure they're coated all over shake off the excess batter and drop them into the hot oil.

Fry in batches until crunchy and golden. Mix the batter thoroughly before dipping a new batch of aubergines into it. 

Drain the aubergine fritters briefly on kitchen towel, drizzle with honey or syrup and serve. 

Any of you familiar with Berenjas Fritas - deep-fried Andalusian aubergine fritters? Have you guys tried making them at home, too?

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Cheat's treat: Thai chicken, mushroom, coconut and noodle soup (kosher, gluten-free)

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Some of my secrets to weeknight dinners are noodles and rotisserie chicken. Together they make this quick, easy and delicious Thai chicken, mushroom, coconut and noodle soup. 

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Recently I was interviewed for the biggest paper in the country in the search for tips for speeding up cooking those weeknight meals. Seeing how I was (again) in a company so much better than myself (the other person they interviewed is a Michelin-starred chef...) I didn't dare to say everything I was thinking of. 

But we're all friends, right? So I don't mind sharing my #1 secret - you know, just between the two of us. 

You guys ready?

Here it comes. 

Order in. 

That's it: have someone else do the cooking and  order in instead!

Especially this spring my head's been working overtime just trying to stay on top of my body (let alone on top of all the things she's supposed to stay on top of) that it's actually rather disgraceful, how often I've happily outsourced the catering to a variety of home delivery services. And how often my dinner has been a delivery from Pizza Hut (BBQ, Italian crust) is downright shameful. What kind of a food blogger am I?!

But yes, I do cook, too. And I do cook using those tips I was giving out in that interview. One of my favourite shortcuts is using rotisserie chicken (or parts of it). 

That makes a robust salad in no time (such as my recipe for St. Tropez chicken and pasta salad), a spread to make a sandwich or to be served with a jacket potato (my favourite is this chicken and avocado salad) adds body to soups (you've got to try this Mediterranean chicken and roasted pepper soup!). 

Chicken cooked on the bone just has so much more flavour and juiciness than those vacuum-packen, anemic bra-fillers.

Good noodles are another shortcut I'm a big fan of - they only take fraction of the time cooking pasta would. 


This thai chicken, mushroom, coconut and noodle soup combines both of this hacks. Oh, and coconut, which I favour over cream any time. As it comes in a tin, its shelf life is so much more convenient than that of cream. Which is why I always have some at home.

serves 4

Thai chicken, mushroom, coconut & noodle soup:

2 chicken breasts on the bone (or two ready grilled ones from the shop)

1,5 tbsp finely chopped ginger

1,5 tbsp finely chopped garlic

2 red chillis, finely chopped

200 g shiitake mushrooms, sliced 

7,5 dl chicken stock

1 can (400 ml) coconut milk

50 g noodles (for gluten-free soup use mung bean vermicelli or rice noodles)

2 spring onions, finely sliced

1 tbsp fish sauce (or soy sauce) 

(½ - 1 tbsp brown sugar) 

½ bunch coriander, leaves chopped

½ bunch (Thai) basil, leaves chopped

to serve: lime wedges

rest of the herbs

toasted peanuts (optional)

In case using raw chicken breasts, roast them at 180°c for 45 minutes until cooked through. Baste with the liquid in the bottom of the pan every now and then. Let cool and in the meanwhile prepare the stock.

Measure ginger, garlic and chilli into the pot along with the chicken stock. Bring to boil and let simmer for about 10 minutes. Then add mushrooms and continue cooking for another 10 minutes. 

Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, separate the meat from the bone and shred the meat into desired chunks. Add into the stock with spring onion and coconut milk. 

Bring to boil and add the noodles. Cook for a couple of minutes until the noodles are done. Add the herbs.

Season with fish sauce. Check the taste and adjust to your liking by adding fish sauce and/ or sugar.

Divide into serving bowls, scatter remaining herbs (and peanuts, if using) on top. Serve with a drizzle of lime juice. 

How about you guys - would you fancy a bowl of my Thai chicken, mushroom, coconut and noodle soup?

And hey - don't forget to share your own tips for surviving the mad weekend dinner rush? What are your secret short-cuts?

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ANYONE FOR SECONDS?

    

             

SHARING IS CARING!

Churros con chocolate - fool-proof churros with chocolate and orange sauce (vegan, kosher)

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Sunday is no fun day without churros. With my fool-proof recipe you, too, will turn your kitchen into a churreria in less than half an hour!

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Sunday in Andalusia is not Sunday without freshly fried churros, dipped in thick and oh, so divinely rich chocolate. 

That seems to be the case in our household, too - these days people keep flocking over for weekend sleepovers just to gather around the steaming pile of churros which magically appears on the kitchen table every Sunday. 

Ok, magic might have less to do it that yours truly, but with this fool-proof recipe of mine you don't even need magic. In less than half an hour you, too, can turn your kitchen into a churreria!

While the process is easier than you would ever believe, you do need one of those professional, lined piping bags.

Usually churrerias only sell churros  in the morning and again in the afternoon, but luckily at home you can go crazy over them any time of the day. 

So, go on - spoil someone you love already this weekend!

For more flavour you can also add 1/2 tsp of cardamom, 1 tsp of finely grated lemon (or orange) zest or 1/4 tsp of cinnamon into the churro dough. 

In case you like your chocolate with an extra dose of pasión, you can infuse the milk with a half a red chilli instead of orange.  

¡ Aye caramba!

Depending on the size the recipe yields 10-14 churros

Churros con chocolate:

3,5 dl water

3 tbsp vegetable oil

250 g all purpose flour

1 tsp bicarb

1 tsp baking powder

2 tbsp sugar

½ tsp salt

For frying: ½ l neutral vegetable oil

For serving (optional): cinnamon sugar (0.75 dl sugar combined with 1 tbsp cinnamon)

Orange and chocolate sauce:

2 dl full-fat milk (or vegan substitute)

the peel of an orange, preferably in one strip

200 g chocolate (around 43% cocoa is good), vegan substitute if needed

Measure oil and water into a pot and bring to boil. Combine dry ingredients. 

Once the water boils, remove it from the heat and stir in the dry ingredients until you're left with a smooth dough. Leave to cool, covered for half an hour. In the meanwhile prepare the chocolate sauce. 

Pour milk into a small pot with the orange peel. Bring to boil and remove from the stove. Cover and leave to infuse for about w5 minutes. Then remove the orange peel and bring milk to boil. Add roughly chopped chocolate, stir until smooth and leave to cool. 

Spoon the churro dough into a sturdy piping bag equipped with 12-mm closed star piping tip. Pipe the dough into churros of desired length onto a lightly oiled parchment (this makes them easier to dip into the hot oil and also enables you to fold them into any shapes you want such as hearts or letters prior to frying).

The ideal thickness is about that of a finger as anything thicker than that tends to easily remain raw in the middle. 

Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed pot (180°) and fry the churros in batches until golden and crunchy. Drain quickly on kitchen towels and, if desired, toss in a cimmanon sugar.

Serve with chocolate sauce and enjoy.

¡ Buenas dias mundo!

Have you ever made churros yourselves? What are your weekend breakfast treats?

___________________

ANYONE FOR SECONDS?

         

SHARING IS CARING!

Creamy orange and curry chicken (gluten-free, kosher)

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Creamy orange and curry chicken is delicious, quick and easy treat - perfect weekday dinner!

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The days since my book launch last week have gone by in a bit of haze.

A protracted bronchitis has played a part in that, too, but even bigger reason is all the wonderful feedback I've been getting for the book (for more of those, just check out the book's Facebook page) which has made sure my feet have barely touched the ground.

But reality my friend, it inevitably does kick in at some point. Always. 

I can tell you that after catering the book launch cooking was the last thing on my mind for a while, but we all need to eat - even us cook book authors. 

So, it was time to dive into my trusty reserve of quick and easy recipes - those unsung heros of weekday dinner dilemmas. 

This creamy orange and curry chicken is one of those. The sauce gets ready while the rice boils and the whole feast is at the table in less than half an hour.

And me, I just love curry. 

While I refuse to admit my relationship with that particular spice blend might be a bit on the unhealthily co-dependent side, I will tell you this: as a kid I used to sprinkle it even on ice cream... yep - looooove curry.

And would you just look at those colours! And light!

Spring is finally here! (which means I can at last cook, shoot and eat well into the afternoon! Oh, joy!)

Rice gets more colour and flavour when, after cooking, you fold in a chopped bunch of coriander. Instead of coriander you can also use rucola. 

serves 3-4

Creamy orange and curry chicken:

400 g chicken
salt, pepper

For frying: oil

Creamy curry and orange sauce:

½ l chicken stock

2,5 dl freshy squeezed orange juice (2 large oranges

1 tsp finely grated orange zest 

½ red chilli, finely chopped

(pinch of saffron)

2 tsp soy sauce

½ tsp black pepper

1 tsp sugar

½ tsp curry powder

2 dl cream (or coconut milk/ vegan substitute)

2 tbsp corn starch

2  tbsp cold water

To serve: boiled rice

Cut the chicken into desired sized strips and sear in a couple of tbsp oil. Season with salt and pepper.

Measure the ingredients (apart from cream, corn starch and water) into a pot. Bring to boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Then add cream and corn starch mixed with cold water. Stir well and let boil for 5 minutes, stirring every now and then.

Pour the sauce over chicken and continue cooking, covered and over medium heat, until chicken is thorouhy cooked - depending on the size 5-7 minutes. 

Check the taste and season as needed.

Serve with boiled rice.

PS. For more recipes under 30 minutes, just click yourself into the archives below!

What are your weekday dinner rush saviours? Do you savour soups or prefer pasta? Do you make do with mince or rough it up on ready-made meals?

___________________

ANYONE FOR SECONDS?

         

SHARING IS CARING!