Pumpkin tart

This is an aromatic and autumn dish – delicious tart. I was charmed by its incredible orange colour! You can’t deny the fact – pumpkin is the queen of this season!


Ingredients
22 oz (600 g) peeled and seedless pumpkin
3,5 oz (100 g) blue cheese
7 oz (200 g) wheat flour
3,5 oz (100 g) butter
3 eggs (2+1)
1 red onion
½ teaspoon dried thymes
2 tbsp sour cream 12%
olive oil
salt, pepper, nutmeg

Method
Dice the pumpkin, season with salt, pepper and thymes, add onion, cover with oil, bake in preheated oven to 360 F (180 oC) for 25 min.

Knead the dough with flour, 1 egg, pinch of salt and pinch of nutmeg. Form the ball, keep it in a fridge for about 1-2 hours. After this time roll the dough out and put in a tart pan, evenly pat onto the bottom and up the sides of the tart pan. Lightly prick bottom of pastry crust with the tines of a fork. Bake in preheated oven to 400 F (200 oC) for 15 min.

On a pastry place the pieces of pumpkin, the rest of eggs whisk with sour cream, salt, pepper and nutmeg and pour over the pumpkin, crumble the cheese, bake for another 15 min, until golden and cheese melts.

Turkey escalopes

Turkey prepared in such a way, was beyond my expectations. I didn’t expect such a delicate meat, creamy sauce and incredible aroma! For me – revelation!


Ingredients
8 thin turkey breast schnitzels
½ cup wheat flour
salt, pepper (white)
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp oil
Béchamel sauce:
18 fl oz (500 ml) milk
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp wheat flour
2 tbsp double cream
nutmeg
additions to sauce:
orange zest of 1 orange
orange juice of 1 orange
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 tbsp pure alcohol (vodka)
sprig thymes

Method
Mix flour with salt and pepper – cover escallops with this mixture. Fry both sides on a medium heat, in a pan with oil and butter for about 4-5 min. Place in a greased baking dish.
Slightly fry: orange zest and brown sugar. Pour in the orange juice, alcohol, thymes, bring to boil.

Make béchamel sauce melt butter, add flour, add milk – whisking bring to boil. Add salt, pepper, nutmeg. Pour in the sauce from the pan and cream. Whisk. Pour in over escallops. Bake for about 10 min in a quite warm oven.

Chicken stuffed with blue cheese and pears

Intense flavour of spicy cheese broke with the sweetness of the pear, the whole is an excellent composition!

Ingredients
2 boneless chicken breasts
1 big pear (can be canned one)
7 oz (200 g) blue cheese
4 tbsp cranberry jam
pepper
4 tbsp chopped parsley
2 tbsp flour
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp oil

Method
Wash chicken breasts, dry. Cut breasts in regular fillets. Cut each fillet in half, so you will get 2 thin slices. Put the chicken breasts in a plastic bag, beat with a meat mallet until as thin as it can be. Season the meat with pepper.

Slice the pear, place them on a meat, sprinkle with crumbled cheese. Roll the chicken roulade from one end to form a cylinder, securing the seam with a couple of toothpicks. Coat with flour.

Heat the oil in a pan. Quickly fry the roulades, until golden. Place them in a baking pan, put a piece of butter on top of each. Bake in preheated oven to 240 F (170 oC), for about 15 min. Serve with cranberry jam.

Greek moussaka

I must admit that I have a great sentiment to Greek dishes, and to Greece itself. That’s why my choice of this casserole. Simple to make and heavenly delicious.


Ingredients
35 oz (1000 g) medium size eggplants
22 oz (600 g) minced lamb meat or beef meat
18 oz (500 )g potatoes (boiled in skins and peeled)
2 big onions
2-3 garlic cloves
5-6 ripe tomatoes
1-2 tbsp tomato puree
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon basil
½ cup oil
salt, pepper
Béchamel sauce:
4 tbsp butter
4 tbsp flour
3 cups milk
3 tbsp grated hard cheese

Method
Wash eggplants, slice – if bitter: salt each slice and put in a strainer for a 30 min. After 30 min rinse and dry with paper towel. If the eggplants aren’t bitter you can start frying. Heat up the oil in a pan and fry eggplant slices each side until golden, ready dry with a paper towel, put aside on a plate.

Immerse the tomatoes in boiling water for about 30 seconds, peel. Cut in small pieces, remove seeds – put the flesh in a bowl.

Peel and dice onion. Chop the garlic and fry with onion in the same pan as used for frying eggplants. When the onion is golden add meat, continue frying stirring to prevent the meat from forming lumps. Add tomatoes, tomato puree and salt. Stew on a low heat for about 20 min. 5 min. before taking from the heat add (fresh) herbs and pepper. Cook the potatoes in skins, when cooled slice them.

Sauce:

In a pot melt butter, gently pour in flour, after 1 min. of frying take the pot off the heat. Slowly, in parts pour in the milk, all the time energetically whisk. Put the pot on a low heat and boil until the sauce gets thick. Add half of grated cheese, salt, pepper, mix and put aside to cool.
Preheat oven to 380 F (190 oC). In a greased oblong dish arrange the eggplants in a bottom spread the meat evenly on top of the eggplant, than potato slices, meat and the peeled and chopped tomatoes. Pour the béchamel and the grated cheese. After 40 min. of baking, when golden brown the moussaka is ready. Wait about 10 minutes before eating (let it cool a bit).

Orange muffins

A good meal has to finish with a delicious dessert!
Orange muffins. I love (as in all the muffins) their simplicity and full flavour. I extra added some vanilla essence and slightly more sugar, I think dessert must be sweet.

Ingredients (make 12 muffins)
9 oz (250 g) flour
1 oz (25 g) ground almonds
½ teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoon baking powder
3,5 oz (100 g) sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla sugar
orange zest from 1 orange
3,5 fl oz (100 ml) fresh orange juice (1,5-2 oranges)
3,5 fl oz (100 ml) milk
2,5 oz (75 g) butter (melted, cooled)
pinch of salt
1 egg


Method
In a big bowl combine all dry ingredients (from the first part of the ingredient list). In another bowl combine wet ingredients. Add wet ones to the dry, gently stir to combine all ingredients. Spoon the batter into the muffin pan up to ¾ high, bake for 20 min, at 400 F (200 oC).