Quinoa “Pizza” Crust

Healthy and easy – comfort food at its best

Summer time and blogging just do not seem to go together. I hardly seem to be home at the moment and when I do cook for myself, I just throw together something super quick.  But then last week I really needed one evening just vegging out on my couch with a movie. And what goes better with lounging around for an evening than pizza?!

But as I spent most my other nights that week at restaurants or dinner parties I really wanted to eat something healthy. A regular pizza can hardly be called a healthy. This pizza, on the other hand, is fabulously healthy: think bowl of quinoa with some veg and an (optional) sprinkle of cheese. I have experimented with quite  a few different bases, and this one is among my favourites.

And if this has not convinced you: this pizza is easier to get right and comes together much quicker than a regular pizza dough. Basically you whiz some pre-soaked quinoa in a food processor  voila your super-healthy pizza base is ready to be baked. Within no time you can sit on the couch, put your feet up and enjoy the comfort of a guilt-free pizza.

 

Ingredients
(Found on the blog ‘Deliciously Ella‘)
1 pizza

2/3 cup of quinoa (soaked for at least 8 hours)
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
2 tsp dried herbs (for example rosemary, basil, oregano)
optional: chili flakes
salt, pepper
oil

Recipe

1. Soak the quinoa in plenty of water for at least 8 hours or over night.
2. Pre-heat the oven to 200C (390F).
3. Drain the quinoa.
4. Place quinoa into the food processor adding the vinegar, herbs, chili (if using) and salt and pepper.
5. Whiz the quinoa, scraping down the sides a few time until the mixture is smooth.
6. Wipe a pizza dish with a little oil (do not skip this step).
7. Pour the mix in the pizza dish and spread out evenly.
8. Bake about 10 minutes.
9. Add toppings of your choice and bake for about 10 minutes until hot.

Tips & Variations

Consider some of the following toppings

• Tomato sauce, cherry tomatoes, onion rings, tuna, (light) mozzarella cheese and a hanful of rocket once the pizza is cooked.
• Tomato sauce cherry tomatoes, artisjoke, olives and a hanful of rocket once the pizza is cooked.

Serve with

• Use this easy recipe for your pizza tomato sauce

Similar recipes

• Rice “pizza” crust
• Bean crust butternut “pizza’  

Pancakes with Pear Buckwheat and Rye

Rich flavours and deeply satisfying

What a crazy week! You know the type:
starts with a small operation and then ends with a 12 hour work day. And then ( ’cause you have made it through all that) you kind of go out for dinner and cocktails… a few times

….but then Sunday morning arrives, all quiet and calm….

That is when you realize you are in need of pancakes;  warm, fragrant, comforting pancakes ….piled up high!

So I went straight for my newest favourite. These pancakes are not the white,  fluffy, unsubstantial sort. Instead they have density, flavour and body.  Rye- and buckwheat flour for depth and pear for sweetness.

The trick is to not fry them too fast; allow them the time to cook through. This is a little harder than with you regular whit- flour pancakes so my tip would be to add frozen blueberries for your first batches until you get the hang of it.

A plus: you can make the batter a day ahead – just make a double, add baking-powder and blueberries the next day and cook up a second lot.

 

Ingredients
(a variation on the recipe found on the blog post from ‘Alena Kogotkova‘)
Serves 2

100g  rye flour
100g buckwheat
1 tbsp stevia (or sugar)
5g baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1egg
200 – 270ml almond milk (or regular milk)
3-4 pears, ripe but firm
a few tbsp of frozen blueberries (optional)

 

Recipe

1. Combine the dry ingredients: the rye- and buckwheat flour, stevia, baking powder and salt.
2. In a separate bowl lightly whisk the egg and add milk. (Start with only some of the milk. How much you need will depend on how juicy you pears are).
3. Grate the pears (you can leave the skin on). Make sure you catch all the juices.
4. Mix the grated pear into the egg mixture and then stir into the dry ingredients. You are looking for a relatively thick batter that will hold its shape when you make small pancakes; add milk if necessary.
5. Fold in the frozen blueberries.
6. Heat frying pan and fry small pancakes. Do not turn the heat to high; these will cook through slower than pancakes made of white flour.

 Tips & Variations

• the original recipe adds 1.5 tbsp melted butter to the batter
• You can replace either flour with whole wheat flour, but then my suggestion would be to add theblueberries as the pancakes turn out denser
• if you halve the recipe, still use one egg, just reduce amount of milk

Serve with

• Maple syrup
• Some heated (frozen) blueberries

Salmon and Roe Appetizer

 

Pure and simple

One day a year the Netherlands turn into an Orange on steroids, we call it Queensday. That is until today we called it that: this will be the last Queensday for at least a few decades with a new king taking the throne.

Queensday is not so much a celebration of the queen as an excuse for a great party: when I was a kid it was all about selling old junk on your doorstep. Then it became about joining the thousands of people on the streets of Amsterdam drinking way too many luke warm cans of beer. Nowadays the perfect Queensday is sitting at a friend’s window looking out on the mayhem, enjoying  a lovely glass of wine.

The food that I associate with Queensday has also changed over the years: First I remember eating half of the cake I was trying to sell by slice. Then there were years of greasy shawarmas, French fries and burgers. And now I am nibbling on a few delicacies that have nothing more in common with Queensday than that they are ….orange.

These salmon bites take no effort to put together and make a great appetizer for any celebration.

Small tip: as only part of the salmon filet is thick enough to cut it into beautiful even cubes, have another recipe handy for the remaining salmon. Have some Salmon Burgers for lunch, for example.

 

Ingredients
a piece of thick sashimi quality salmon
Fish roe ( I used orange for the occasion, but black roe gives a very sticking effect as well)
Spring Onions

 

Recipe

1. Cut the salmon into even cubes.
2. Place salmon onto serving dishes.
3. Top each piece with a dollop of roe.
4. Cut the green parts of the spring onion into oval slices.
5. Top each cube with a few onion slices.

 

Tips & Variations

You could prepare the fish in a soy sauce marinade for an Asian twist

Serve with

• Bubbles

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

Ethiopian Kale (Gomen)

Mild and gentle Gomen (kale) to balance out the zing of the Beg Wot (Lamb Stew)

As a last post in my series of Ethiopian dishes I am sharing a simple recipe for a humble side of kale.

Although the Injera sets the stage for almost every Ethiopian meal and the meat stews are the stars, an Ethiopian feast is not complete without the supporting rolls of the many pulse and vegetable dishes. This mild kale dish contrasts beautifully with those spicy meat stews.

It might seem a bit odd that I am using kale from a glass jar – I have tried fresh and even frozen kale, but it simply does not taste like the Gomen I grew up with….so now I just continue our family tradition and pop open a jar.

 

Ingredients

2 onions
3 tbsp oil
1 large jar of kale (720g) (NL: boerenkool, DE: Gruenkohl)
2 cm piece ginger
salt
green jalapeno pepper (large chili pepper)

 

Recipe

1. Chop the onion very fine (in a food processor).
2. Heat 3 tbsp of oil in a medium size pot. Gently fry the onions until they are translucent. Should they start sticking and burning add a little hot water.
3. Squeeze in ginger in through a garlic press.
4. Drain the kale and squeeze it dry.
5. Add to the onion and cook whilst stirring until quite dry.
6. Cover with a lid.
7. Cook about 20 min, stirring once in a while to prevent it from burning.
8. Season with salt.
9. Remove seeds from the jalapeno and cut it into thin slices or strips. Stir most of the jalapeno into the stew and decorate it with the remainder.

 

Tips & Variations

• Make a triple amount of the onions sauce. Use one third for the kale, a third for yellow split peas and a third  lentils.

Serve with

• Injera (Sour Pancakes)
• Beg Wot (Lamb Stew)
• Doro Wot (Chicken Stew)
• Alitscha (Mild vegetables)
• Kik Alitcha (Yellow Split Peas)
• Kitfo (Mince meat)
• Aib (Cottage cheese)