Tarte Tatin

“Eat me” and travel straight to France

There are two things I enjoy almost as much as being on holiday: the anticipation before the trip and the afterglow when you get back. One of my favourite ways to continue the adventure back at home, is to bring foodie souvenirs and  to cook typical local dishes.

And at the moment my mind is still in France: the fabulous winding roads and the beautiful villages of the Loire valley…the rilletes, pâtés, baguettes, croissants and glasses of Saumure-Champigny wine ….I could go on and on (although I don’t think I will try pig’s ear again….)

So this weekend I decided to bring a little of the Loire region into my kitchen by baking a Tarte Tatin; the well known upside-down apple cake from the Orleans region that achieved fame through the ladies Tatin.

There are many different variations for making Tarte Tatin. Some cooks just throw some caramel sauce and apples together, cover all with pastry and shove it in the oven. But I find that this just does not deliver those soft rich caramel flavoured apples that make for a spectacular Tart Tatin. So I take that little bit of extra time and cook the apples in the caramel sauce first. The secret is to keep spooning some sauce over the apples and to shuffle them around a little in the pan to ensure even cooking.
If you are in a rush you could save some time by using store-bought puff pasty. I do however prefer the crumble of a quick home-made short crust; especially when you are planning to eat the tart at room temperature.

I should warn you though: it really is very hard to resist the scent wafting out of your oven and allow the tart the time it needs to bake all the way through.

Bon appétit!

Amboise, a Loire town that makes your mouth water

Ingredients
One 25cm tart

Caramel apples
6 apples (use a firm, fresh-tasting apple like Jonagold, Cox)
60 butter
40 sugar

Crust
90g butter (room temperature)
40g sugar
1 egg
Optional: 1 vanilla pod
150g all-purpose flour
a pinch of salt
 Recipe

1. Use a mixer to beat together the butter and the sugar until creamy. Add the egg and combine until pale.
2. Quickly add the flour, salt and vanilla (if using).
3. Shape the dough into a disc, wrap in cling film and refrigerate.
4. Melt butter in a round 25cm oven-proof pan.
5. Add sugar and stir until the sugar is dissolved and the sauce has turned a light caramel colour.
6. Preheat the oven to 180C.
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7. Peel and core the apples. Cut them in half length-ways.
8. Place the apples in the pan, cut side up. Cook the apples on a medium-low heat for about 25 min or until the apples have softened and the sauce has browned a little. Spoon some caramel over the apples about every 5 minutes. If the outside apples are cooking slower than those at the center carefully shuffle them around.
9. When the apples are cooked arrange them in neat circles. Turn of the heat.
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10. On a floured surface quickly roll the pastry into a disk that is a little larger than your pan. Fold the pastry over your rolling-pin and transfer to the pan.
11. Use the blunt end of a knife handle to tuck the dough around the apples. Do not tuck the edges of the pastry in though, but allow them to curl up against the sides of the pan.
12. Bake the tart 25-30 min or until the crust is golden.
13. Allow the tart to cool at least 10 min before covering the pan with a plate and turning it out.

 

Tips & Variations

• Ready-made puff pastry can be used instead of the home-made crust
• the apples can be replaced by pears

Serve with

A dollop of ice cream, crème fraîche or vanilla yoghurt

Avocado Mango Chocolate Pudding

Avocado for dessert? Yes, please!

Don’t give me that look!
Believe me: you can turn avocado into a fabulously decadent desert!

But I’ll forgive your doubt, I was skeptical as well when I first discovered this recipe. But I knew I had to try it – immediately! Some recipes are on my to-do list for years before I test them. This one made me so curious I had to try it instantly.

I was amazed by the result: super rich, creamy, thick, chocolaty. And it is incredibly quick to make….and healthy…. What more can you ask for!

Try it and be wowed!

 

Ingredients
(Found on the blog ‘Simply Dish’)
2 servings (or 1 very generous serving)

1 ripe avocado
1 ripe mango
2 tbsp dark chocolate powder
1 tbsp maple syrup
a few drops vanilla essence
a small pinch of salt

 

Recipe

1. Peel the avocado and mango and cube.
2. Place all the ingredients into a food processor and whizz until very very smooth.
3. Preferably chill for a few hours in the fridge. Bring to room temperature for 30 minutes. (Or skip this step and dive straight in there.)

Tips & Variations

• Replace the mango with a ripe banana
• Omit the mango and only use avocado

Red Healthy Smoothie

Red fruit and veg smoothie. Full of healthy goodness, ever so tasty and really quick to make – what more can you ask for

There has been a dramatic shift in weather (the snow vanished overnight and temperatures are 10C above 0C instead of below). And no matter that it is January,  it feels  like spring. All of a sudden I am craving fresh vegetables and fruit.

I remembered the fabulous Green Smoothie that I was making  regularly before winter set in. I decided to experiment with some different ingredients. I remembered a recipe with beets that just seemed crazy enough to try. The result? A fabulous red smoothie that I just cannot get enough of. It is fresh and fruity with a deep earthy undertone.

Sound interesting? Try it, you will not be disappointed
Sound too weird to be any good? Try it, you will be surprised

 

Ingredients
Serves 2

150g (1 cup) blueberries or cherries
1 medium beet, baked or cooked until soft
1/2 medium cucumber
handful of spinach
juice of 1/2 lime
splash of vanilla essence
250ml 1 cup rice milk (or hemp or almond)*
optional: 1 tsp chia seeds
optional: 1 tsp faxseeds

Recipe

1. For a wonderfully icy drink add frozen berries to the blender. Otherwise allow the berries to defrost first.
2. Peel the beets and cut them into chunk and add.
3. Cut cucumber into chunks and add.
4. Add spinach, lime juice, vanilla and milk.
5. Optional: add chia and flax seeds.
6. Blend until smooth.

 

Tips & Variations

• Spinach can be replaced with 3-4 kale leaves
• Add a spoon full of protein powder or hemp
• Truth be told: variations are endless

No Cook Freezer Apple Sauce

Effortless Apple Sauce Straigth from the Freezer

What a discovery: No Cook Freezer Apple Sauce. This must be the simplest dish I know: you slice, bag, freeze, puree – and you have apple sauce (with as many vitamins intact as possible).

….and then I made another discovery that had me reeling: you can use apple sauce to replace butter or oil in baking!!!

With these discoveries the world is a different place: a world that has apple sauce in my freezer and guilt free muffins on my breakfast plate (try these Oat and Blueberry Muffins).

Ingredients
(found on the blog “back to her roots”)

2 tablespoons lemon juice
4-6 medium apples (about 1,5 kg)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Recipe

1. Fill a large bowl 2/3 with water, add lemon juice and mix.
2. Core the apples and cut into eights (no need to peel).
3. Add apple slices to the water and stir until all apple slices are coated in the mixture.
4. Drain apples well.
5. Place apples in a large zip-lock bag, add in cinnamon and nutmeg. Seal bag and toss to coat.
6. Place bag in freezer until apples are frozen solid ( a minimum of 4-6 hours but you can keep the apples in the freezer for a long time).
7. When you are ready to use, remove the apples from freezer and allow to defrost on kitchen counter (or in fridge).
8. When apples are soft mash in a food processor. Serve cold.

Use it to make
Oat and Blueberry Muffins
 

Quinoa Breakfast

Comfort food at its best: Healthy, tasty, easy Quinoa Breakfast Bowl

During the week I do not eat breakfast. Yes, yes I know this is not a very healthy habit, but I do my best to make up for it in the weekend. Usually I will have healthy pancakes or vegetable-loaded frittatas, but last weekend I felt like trying something new.

I had some left-over  quinoa in the fridge. I thought would try adding some of the ingredients I used for the Overnight Fridge Oatmeal that I enjoyed so much.

The result was amazing! I had Quinoa for breakfast three days running with slight variations. This also means that the below is not really a recipe, more like a menu that you can use to assemble your perfect bowl of Quinoa.

 

Ingredients & Recipe

The recipe is simple: just pick the ingredients you would like and combine them.

1. Base:
1 cup of cooked quinoa (use left-over Quinoa that was cooked in water or cook the Quinoa in almond milk…adding spices)
(or use a mix of quinoa and millet for example)

2. Creaminess:                
a splash – ¼ cup of almond milk (cold or warm – I prefer cold)
3 tbsp creamy yoghurt of quark (omit if the milk is warm)

3.Texture:
1 tsp chia seeds (allow the chia some time to plump up)
½ tsp flax seed
(try adding dried cherries or raisins)
(or add some nuts)

4. Flavour:
Vanilla Essence (cinnamon, ginger, lemon zest)

5. Sweetness:
½ tsp stevia (or maple syrup or honey)

6. Fruit:
fresh or defrosted blueberries (or raspberries)
(blueberries go well with sliced banana)

7. Topping:
a few crumbled walnuts (almonds, toasted chia seeds)