It’s the middle of the winter here down-under and what better way to warm up than with a hot soup.  Our all time favourite is this veggie soup with semolina dumplings.  Very popular throughout Europe, semolina dumplings (Griessnockerln, Griesskloesschen, griz knedle) can be added to any clear broth soup.  I’ve got this recipe while living in Germany.

Semolina dumplings recipe

Semolina dumplings are easy to make.  Use coarse semolina for this recipe, as dumplings made from finely ground semolina tend to be dense and cook slower.  Make the mixture when the soup is almost ready.

• 50 g butter at room temperature
• 1 egg
• 100 g coarse semolina
• salt and white pepper to taste
• a pinch of ground nutmeg
• flat leaf parsley or chives, finely chopped (optional)

Method

1. Beat the butter until pale and fluffy
2. Add egg, mix with butter
3. Pour in semolina, season, add herbs if using and mix until all comes together
4. Dip a spoon into a hot soup or broth then take some of the mixture and slide it into a simmering soup.
5. Repeat until all the mixture is used.
6. Cook for about 10 minutes, then turn the heat off and let it stand covered for further 5-10 minutes.

If I’m in a hurry, I make larger dumplings, as on the photo above.  For smaller semolina dumplings use a teaspoon or make little balls out of the mixture.

Bon Appétit!

At the market last weekend, fennel bulbs and pumpkins were everywhere.  That means cold weather is upon us.  June 1st is the official start of winter in Melbourne, although the temperature is still in the pleasant range.

Pumpkins are so versatile: you can boil them, roast them, make sweet or savoury dishes.  They keep well for a long time.  Not only do they taste good, they are packed with goodness of alpha and beta carotene, potassium, magnesium, zinc, vitamins A and E and other nutrients with only 15 cal per 100 grams raw.  And if that is not enough, pumpkin seeds are nature’s wonder food.  Read more about the seeds.

What do I make from pumpkin?  Pumpkin soup, pumpkin gnocchi, pumpkin scones, roasted pumpkins, the list is long.   One of my favourite pumpkin recipes is pumpkin and fennel salad.  There are several version of it, but I like this one with the sesame flavour.  If sesame isn’t the flavour of your choice, omit sesame seeds and oil and add roasted pumpkin seeds.  This healthy vegetarian salad can be eaten warm or cold.  Serve as a side or a light main meal with some freshly baked bread.

Pumpkin and Fennel Salad Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 medium butternut pumpkin or small Kent pumpkin
• 1 fennel bulb
• Salad leaves of your choice
• 2 tablespoons roasted sesame seeds or pumpkin seeds

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• A drizzle of sesame oil (omit if using pumpkin seeds)
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
• 1 teaspoon honey
• Salt and white pepper to taste

To make salad:

1. Cut and peel pumpkin into chunky cubes or slices.  Reserve the seeds (see here for roasting instructions)
2. Roast pumpkin in the oven or cook in a heavy skillet
3. Remove outside layers of fennel bulb and slice thinly on a mandolin (white part only)
4. Mix olive oil, apple cider vinegar, orange juice, honey, salt and pepper.  Heat if serving salad warm
5. Arrange salad leaves (I’ve used young rocket, green salad and beetroot leaves)
6. Top with cooked pumpkin and sliced fennel
7. Sprinkle sesame or pumpkin seeds
8. Drizzle with dressing

Bon Appétit!

In my previous post on butter, Butter vs. Margarine, I wrote about why butter is a better option.  As I mentioned at the end, there is one thing about butter that isn’t so handy: it’s solid and hard to spread directly out of the fridge!

Types of butter

Butter is mostly made form cows’ milk.  In the past, cream was collected from the raw milk and then churned.  This was and still is the best butter, also known as raw cultured butter.

Cultured butter in the shops isn’t made the old-fashioned way.  It’s rather made with pasteurised cream and cultures are added to finished butter.

Unsalted (also called continental) butter is made as above without bacterial cultures added.  Salted butter as the name says, has salt added.

Organic butter is made with organic cream without any additives.

The best choice would be homemade organic raw cultured butter. However, unless you have your own cows or access to organic raw milk, it’s hard to get it in the shops.

How to make your own butter

As said above, to make butter from scratch you need raw milk (lots of it!).  Alternatively, you can by cream and make your own.

Use cream with the highest fat percentage, 35% plus.  Pour it into a deep bowl and using a mixer beat until stiff.  Continue beating until some liquid starts to separate and cream turns yellow.   It will take some time.  When butter forms, press it together to expel liquid, put in a container and refrigerate.

In my opinion, this method isn’t worth the time and money.  When you calculate the cost of cream + time, butter is cheaper.  Though it is good to know the method in an emergency:  you need butter for a cake let’s say, the shop is closed or too far to drive but you have some cream in the fridge!

Soft Butter Spread Recipe

I’ve seen in the shops some butter spreads claiming to be spreadable.  They have oils added or water content increased.  So I decided to try it at home hoping that butter and oil won’t separate– it worked!  Butter naturally contains lecithin.  Lecithin is emulsifier – a substance that binds water and oil.   The first time I made soft butter spread was about 2 years ago.  Since then I’ve played with different oils and ingredients.

For the basic recipe you need a quantity of softened butter and oil of your choice (try to use good quality cold pressed extra virgin oil).  Also, I like to add water – it makes the spread a bit brittle, but there are fewer calories.

• 250g softened butter (or 2 sticks of butter for our US readers, that equals to 227g)
• ¼ cup oil
• ¼ cup water

Put all ingredients in a bowl and mix using a handheld stick blender, mixer, food processor or a whisker until all the ingredients are blended together.  The spread will be shiny but turn dull when refrigerated.   This recipe yields about 370g butter spread.

One of my experiments was to mix yoghurt instead of oil – to make a sort of soft cultured butter spread.  The result was interesting: instead of combining together, it started to separate a bit and to form little pockets of liquids, as when you make butter from cream!  Nevertheless, the taste was really good.

Note:

• You can omit water and add ½ cup oil only
• On the photo, it looks like 1 cup of liquids added, but the level increased when butter was added
• Water doesn’t only produce the best result, but it’s possible to make it as well
• Use this recipe as a guide only: increase or decrease the liquids to have firmer or softer spread
• While butter spread is still soft you can add herbs, garlic or other flavourings.

Nutritional Values of butter and butter spread

Here are nutritional values of each, butter and butter spread compared, per 100g using macadamia oil and above quantities:

You can see the change in decreased energy and saturated fat fields.

I predominantly make soft butter spread to have a spreadable butter in the morning, rather than out of worry about the saturated fat or calorie counting.  Long before we found about nutritional panels and kilojoules, people knew that  foods rich in calories shouldn’t be eaten by kilos.

My favourite soft butter spread is the one made with extra virgin olive oil and with yoghurt.  Our kids like milder tasting oils like macadamia.

Please share with us your thoughts about soft butter spread!

Summer school holiday is over.  The school started on Monday and  kinder is back to full hours next week.  For me it means back to lunchboxes, school -kinder-home triangle, but also back to writing in peace and quiet .

Sandwiches are on the menu again.  But, what to put on the bread: butter or margarine?

The butter vs. margarine debate is always a hot one.  For our family it is butter that’s winning.  Having said that, we don’t consume a lot of it and butter is not automatically in every sandwich and on the table every day.  Instead it might be avocado, tahini (ground sesame paste), sour cream or just a lot of veggies as a base.  I cook with butter, too.

Why butter is a healthier option

Butter has earned a lot of negative press due to being high in saturated fat.  The same happened to coconut oil.  In fact, coconut oil has anti-viral and many other healing properties.  And butter?  Well, it seems we have gone full circle and began to realize some positive facts about butter.  Here are just some of them:

• Butter is completely natural
• Butter is rich in natural vitamin A, also good source of vitamins D, E, K
• Also contains mineral selenium, an anti-oxidant, iodine and lecithin
• Linoleic, lauric and butyric acids play important roles in our body and butter contains them all
• And yes, it contains cholesterol – a very important ingredient for brain development, cell elasticity and healthy intestines.   Children especially need it in the diet!

Here are just some of the health benefits of eating butter.  If you aren’t convinced so far, please do some research on the topic.

Why margarine should be avoid

What is margarine and what is in it?  Margarine spread is oil in the base, mostly processed, fully or partly hydrogenised (chemical process) to solidify it into the spreadable form.  It contains not so healthy polyunsaturated fat and bad trans-fatty acids, the latter formed during the process.

In addition, most margarine spreads contain preservatives, usually preservative 220, artificial colours and flavours.  Before you eat it again, read the ingredients!

In the past decades, as the consumption of butter and other saturated fat decreased in favour of low fat diet, margarine and highly processed oils consumption – cholesterol, cancer and heart problems increased.

Danger of Polyunsaturated Highly Processed Oils

Vegetable oils are healthier option?  Well, vegetable oils aren’t all made equal.  On the healthy side there are cold pressed extra virgin oils, on the other highly processed oils containing high percentage of polyunsaturated oils.  Polyunsaturated oils are very unstable when exposed to heat, oxygen and moisture and become rancid.  Rancid oils contain free radicals that cause damage to cells, DNA, etc.

About 30% of calories in the modern age diet come from polyunsaturated oils.  Instead it should be only a few percents.  So watch for the amount of polyunsaturated fats, especially in processed and fast foods.  Processed oils are cheaper and widely used in the food industry. For frying, coconut oil, butter and animal fats are better option.

One Unpractical Thing about butter

There is only one thing about butter that isn’t handy:  it’s too hard to spread directly from the fridge.  But there is a way to overcome that: soft butter spread.  Stay tuned, the recipe is coming in the next post, as well as types of butter available and how to make your own butter.

Pumpkin seeds are truly nature’s wonder food.  They are full of vitamins and minerals including zinc, iron, magnesium, copper and potassium.  Half a cup pumpkin seeds provides us with our daily requirements of magnesium.  The health benefits of eating pumpkin seeds are well known.  High content of zinc makes them beneficial for prostate.  They are also good in fight against the parasites in the intestines, have anti-inflammatory properties and can help lower blood cholesterol too.

Many people buy them and include them in the diet, mostly already peeled, green in colour known as pepitas.  However, when cutting pumpkins, the seeds are very often thrown away.  In terms of nutrition, it is a waste of real gold.  So, how to use and eat them?

How to Roast Pumpkin Seeds

This kent pumpkin in the picture above was cut up and roasted for the warm pumpkin and fennel salad.  Whether your pumpkin is destined for pumpkin soup, pie or Halloween, pumpkin seed are usually not needed in the recipe.  But don’t throw them away!  Roast them and turn the byproduct into a healthy snack.  Here is how:

1. Separate pumpkin seeds from pulp and remove strings
2. This step is optional: place seeds in colander, rinse and pat dry.  I don’t wash them, they are more flavoursome with traces of pulp on them.
3. Spread seeds on baking tray.  No need to add any oil or salt (see note at the end).
4. Bake at 190 C (375 F) for 20 min or until golden and crunchy.
5. Cool before eating.  Delicious!

How to eat roasted pumpkin seeds

Up to this part things are straight forward.  But, how to eat roasted pumpkin seeds?  You could eat the whole thing with the shell if you like.  But pumpkin shells might be a bit tough, preferably it is best to remove them.  Doing it by hand takes some time and it’s quite fiddly.  The best way to do it is to crack the shell with the teeth (see pictures below).  It might sound quite an effort, but it makes perfect sense: while being much more flavoursome than already shelled pepitas, it also slows down the snacking.  There’s no way of eating a bowl of toasted pumpkin seeds in the first 15 minutes of the movie !

Speaking of snacks I should mention that roasted pumpkin seeds were our family’s favourite winter time snack.  My grandparents have always grown big pumpkins to feed the pigs during the winter, so there was a good supply of seeds, indeed.

Here is the technique that works well with a bit of practice:

Hold a seed like in the picture below.

Gently crack the shell up to the half:

The shell will open and reveal the seed.  Just pull it with your teeth or fingers.

It might be frustrating at first, but practice makes perfect .

Note:

• If you prefer salted pumpkin seeds, sprinkle some salt on damp seeds in the tray just before baking.
• For the spicy pumpkin seeds season them with cayenne pepper, curry or the spice of your choice the same way as above
• To roast the seeds later, rinse, dry and keep in a container till you collect more seeds or have the oven to bake other things
• Larger quantity can be baked at once.  Allow longer baking time and mix occasionally.
• Save a few rinsed and dried pumpkin seeds, keep them in the fridge and plant them in spring.

I’m very excited to see the first strawberry flowers in our container garden:  the berry season in upon us!  We will have just enough of our strawberries to taste, but usually go to the berry farms to pick larger quantities.  The best way to enjoy berries is to eat them fresh on their own or in fruit salads.  Also, we make a lot of berry ice cream, freeze some (raspberries freeze well) and of course, make one of my favourite summer desserts: berry pudding.

Berry pudding (also called summer pudding) is packed with goodness and bursting with flavour.  It is a perfect dessert for a hot Australian Christmas that falls in the middle of the berry season and by far healthier and more refreshing than a traditional Christmas pudding.  Its crimson red colour and green garnish match perfectly the traditional Christmas theme.

The summer berry pudding recipe

The berry pudding is really easy to prepare.  There are only three ingredients needed plus cream to serve:

• 10 slices of day old white bread, 1cm (1/2in) thick
• 1 kg (2.2 lb) mixed berries (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, redcurrants or other)
• 60 g (2.1 oz) sugar
• cream to serve, fresh berries, mint or similar for decoration

Serves 6-8

For the above quantity you’ll need a 1.5 l (6 cups) capacity bowl.   For smaller or individual puddings, here is the ratio I use to adjust the ingredients:

For every 250g or fruit use 10g of sugar and 1 cup (250ml) capacity dish.  Simply remember

250g – 10g – 250ml

The quantity for bread is a bit trickier to give as it depends on the type of bread and the slice thickness.  However, if you make individual puddings, you’ll need more bread.

The Method

1. Slice the bread and remove the crusts.  Place the first slice at the base of the bowl and then the rest around, overlapping slightly



2. Put the berries and the sugar in the saucepan and bring to boil.  Simmer for about 5 minutes or till juices start to run.  Spoon slightly cooled fruit mixture into the bread lined bowl.  If there is plenty of juice, leave some for serving.
3. Cover the top with the remaining bread slices (fold over side slices first).
4. Put a plate on the bowl and weigh it down with whatever is in the fridge: milk cartons, jars of jam or bottles of sauces.  Refrigerate for at least 6-8 hours or even better overnight (great dessert to prepare ahead for a busy day).  To catch any juices oozing over the brim, put a plate underneath the bowl.
5. To serve, remove the plate, loosen the sides of the pudding with a spatula or a knife, place the serving plate on the top and invert the pudding onto the plate.  Pour the reserved juice if any left, decorate with fresh berries, mint leaves or to your liking.  I’ve used pineapple sage leaves to decorate my summer berry pudding on the picture above.  Serve with whipped cream.

The pudding on the picture I made in January this year and is slightly smaller (4 cup capacity).  Besides being easy to make, healthy and really yummy, the pudding is a great way to use some dried out bread.  For more idea on how to use the old bread read the post 12 ways to use up old bread.

Few more tips:

Bread: A homemade white loaf or one from the baker works better than a pre-sliced sandwich or toast bread (too soft to hold the shape), wholemeal, seeded, some sourdough or breads with large holes like ciabbata.  Make sure not to press or flatten the slices when arranging in the bowl or they won’t soak up the juice.  This especially applies to shop bought white toast bread.

Sweet breads like brioche are also suitable for the summer berry pudding.

Fruit: Frozen berries can be used too.  Prepare it the same way as fresh berries.

You can substitute 1/3 to 1/2 of the berry quantity needed with some other type of fruit like peaches or plums if berries are too pricey or you’re short of the amount needed.

Bowl: glass or ceramic (china) bowl works well, but you can use any provided it’s not too big or too deep so you don’t end up with a pudding that is difficult to serve or collapses.  No need to line the bowl with the cling wrap or to oil it.

Freezing: Berry pudding freezes well, but allow the time in the fridge first to let the bread to soak up juices before freezing.

Food intolerance: Served without cream this dessert is dairy free.  Substitute coconut cream for whipped cream if desired.  If you use gluten free bread, summer berry pudding becomes an healthy and easy gluten free dessert.

Enjoy!

Vanilla is my all time favourite spice!  There’s something luxurious, exotic and warm in the vanilla scent.  This might be why: vanilla plant belongs to the orchid family growing in tropical regions and is the second most expensive spice (saffron is first).

I used to by a single vanilla bean only when cooking for a special occasion.  At $6 plus a pod, it is really expensive for everyday use.  But NOT any more! I turned to the Internet in search for more affordable vanilla beans and wish I did it earlier.  If you use more than 2 vanilla beans per year, you would be nuts to buy it in shops: for the price of two you can have at least 10 or more online!

I found eBay to be a really good place to buy vanilla beans. While searching for vanilla I came across the recipe for homemade vanilla extract on one of the vanilla bean eStore.  Now that I buy in bulk and have plenty of fragrant plump beans on hand I make my own vanilla essence.  For our Australian readers, I would recommend to buy at Australian eBay (as I do) to avoid possible customs issues (food import).

Homemade Vanilla Extract Recipe

There are only two ingredients you need:

1. Vanilla beans and
2. Alcohol, eg. vodka, rum, brandy or spirit of your choice provided it’s at least 40% alcohol and the aroma doesn’t overpower vanillin

The ratio is 3 vanilla beans per one cup of spirits.

I prefer to use rum or vodka. Rum complements vanilla flavour perfectly.  It’s best in cakes or muffins. Vodka on the other hand doesn’t have as strong aroma as rum and won’t compete with the vanilla flavour.   Vodka based vanilla extract is good for cream and cheese based deserts.

The Method

• Prepare a clean glass jar or bottle.
• Split vanilla beans lengthwise and then in half
• Put vanilla halves into the bottle and pour the alcohol
• Close the lid or bottle top and leave in a dark place like a cupboard for at least 1-2 months
• Shake occasionally

With the time, colourless spirits like vodka will develop lovely brown colour.  Rum colour will deepen further and become cloudy and less transparent.  So will the flavour: the longer it stands the stronger and more aromatic your homemade vanilla extract will become.  The picture below is rum based vanilla extract on the day I made it:

The first time I made vanilla extract I couldn’t wait longer than one month!  Once you’ve used half of the homemade vanilla extract, simply top up the alcohol or add vanilla beans halves that you’ve scraped the seeds out or cooked with (just wash it thoroughly). Topping up can be done indefinitely.  If the aroma becomes too strong or the jar too crowded, simply divide the vanilla extract and beans into two bottles and pour more alcohol.  The second bottle would make a lovely present!

The homemade vanilla extract and the shop bought are worlds apart.  The latter one can contain sweeteners such as sugar or corn syrup, thickeners, artificial colours, caramel, stabilisers etc.  Especially bad is imitation vanilla essence that contains artificial vanillin made from wood-pulp by-products – give it a miss.

So get in action and make your own lovely vanilla extract.  It will take you only 5 minutes and you’ll know exactly what is in it!  Did I mention that I make my own vanilla sugar, vanilla ice cream and vanilla scented body deodorant too?

Orange cake is a special treat, especially in winter when cakes with apples and pears dominate.  Many recipes involve boiling the orange for an hour or so – the length of the process always puts me off.

This flourless orange cake recipe is simple and the cake is all done and ready to eat in less than 1 hour. In addition it’s gluten free and dairy free – great for people with Celiac disease and lactose intolerance.

Ingredients

• 3 eggs
• 170g (¾ cup, 6 oz) sugar
• 2 tablespoon vanilla sugar, bought or homemade.
• Juice and rind form 1 large organic orange,
• 300g (2¾-3 cup, 10 oz) ground almonds (almond meal)

Glaze (optional)

• 200g (7 oz) orange marmalade
• Juice and rind form 1 organic orange

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 C (350 F)
2. Separate the eggs and beat the eggwhite until soft peaks form.
3. Add yolks, beat for a few more minutes.  Beating the eggwhites first on its own speeds up the process.
4. With the mixer on, gradually add sugar and vanilla sugar until the mixture is pale and all the sugar has been dissolved.
5. Add juice and orange rind, mix briefly.
6. Fold the almond meal carefully trough the batter.
7. Pour the mixture into a 25 cm (10 in) round cake springform tin, lined with baking paper or greased and sprinkled with ground almonds – save some baking paper (see photo below).  For a higher cake, choose a smaller tin.  I used 28 cm (11 in) as I like thinner slices and the cake bakes quicker.



8. Bake for 20 minutes.  A tin smaller than 28 cm might need additional time.
9. Run a knife around the edges and loosen the springform ring.  Let the cake cool down slightly then transfer carefully onto the cooling rack or serving plate. Because there is no flour in the cake, it won’t be springy but rather soft and crumbly.

While the cake is baking, prepare the glaze:

1. Warm the orange marmalade slightly.
2. Add the orange juice and rind and incorporate well.
3. Spread onto the  slightly cooled cake.

The orange cake looks more attractive with the glaze, but I often skip it as it is bursting with flavour on its own.

Enjoy!

Bread is a staple food in our home: we eat a lot of it, especially when it’s freshly baked. Bread making is passion of mine. Nothing compares to the aroma of a loaf just out of the oven!  But when fresh bread is on the table, what to do with the old one?  Don’t throw old bread in the bin!

12 ways to use the old bread

As a child I was constantly being reminded by my family that wasting food is such a bad thing, bread in particular.  My grandma would tell me it’s a sin toss a piece of bread in the rubbish.  That stuck into my mind.  Over the years I’ve made some delicious meals out of old, stale bread and always look for new recipes.  Here are my favourites:

1.      French toast

French toast was the favourite way for my mum to use the old bread.  My sister and I loved it, now our kids love it too.  We didn’t call it French bread, just fried bread, and it always was the savoury version, as on the picture above.

White bread is the best choice for it:  simply beat the 2 eggs, add 1 cup milk and pinch of salt.  Dip the old bread slices into the mixture and fry in little hot oil in a pan.

For the widely known sweet version of French bread, use dried out sultana loaf, brioche, or any other sweet yeasted bread.  The method is same as above, you can however substitute butter for oil.  I don’t add any sugar to the egg and milk mixture as it burns more, but rather sprinkle some icing sugar before serving.

2. Homemade bread crumbs

It’s so easy to make homemade bread crumbs:  cut the stale bread into thin slices, spread it onto oven rack in a single layer, turn the oven on low and dry unit the slice snaps.  Cool and put into food processor.  Process until desired coarseness.

All types of bread are suitable for bread crumbs (except maybe sultana bread).  There is no need to remove crust.

3. Bread and butter pudding

This is a very popular dish and great to use up sweet loafs.  Basically, the bread is cut into thick slices, buttered (I often skip this step, still tastes great) and arranged into a baking dish.  Eggs are mixed with milk or cream if one prefers, and poured onto bread.  It’s best to let the slices soak up the mixture before baking.  I like to add some chocolate, grated orange rind or cinnamon too.

4. Summer berry pudding

This is one of my favourite deserts!  It’s so easy to prepare, bursting with flavour and very refreshing: just the right kind of pudding for a hot Australian Christmas.  Here is the recipe.

5. Pancanella – Tuscan bread salad

I make this salad fairly often during the summer; somehow I don’t have any photo.  The main ingredients are old bread torn into pieces (or cut into cubes), ripe tomatoes, basil, cucumber, anchovies, seasoning, olive oil and vinegar mixed together.  It’s a meal on itself.  I love it!

6. Porridge form old bread (popara)

It is a meal made from old white bread cooked in just enough milk for five minutes to make a porridge consistency.  I like to add garlic and sour cream on top.  It’s usually savoury but can be made as a sweet meal too.

7. Toast it, freeze it

These are obvious, but let’s mention them:

Pop a day (or two) old bread into the toaster – it tastes great again.  I especially like toasted sourdough.

Freeze the bread you won’t eat immediately.  It’s great to discover a few slices in the freezer just when I think I have to go out and buy some.

The above recipes using old bread are the ones I make most often.  Dry bread can be also used to make:

8. Meatballs
9. Croutons

Homemade croutons are easy to make and great addition to soups and salads. Cube stale bread slices and bake them on a tray in the oven or in a pan on the stove until golden, mixing occasionally. Optionally, season the cubes with herbs, spices and little olive oil before baking.

10. As a substitute for pastry for mini quiches, as on the photo below:

11. Stuffing
12. Servietten Knödel (German bread dumplings).

Please note:  If the bread gets mouldy, it’s not edible anymore.  This happens if the bread is stored in a plastic bag for a longer period or in very humid conditions.  If you have a compost bin, toss it in there (break it up into small chunks!) rather in the rubbish bin.

Sataraš (pronounced sah-tah-rush) is a quick and simple vegetarian recipe very popular in South-Eastern Europe.  It is easy to make and usually prepared during the summer and early autumn days when there are plenty of capsicums (peppers) and ripe tomatoes in the garden.

Sataraš has four main ingredients: brown onions, capsicum (pepper), tomatoes and garlic.  Optional ingredients are eggplant (aubergine), parsley or eggs, but I prefer it in its simplest version.

The best capsicums for sataraš are pale yellow capsicums, also known as Hungarian (on the picture below).  They are very fragrant, have mild taste, thin skin and cook quickly.  If you can’t find them, use yellow or red capsicums.

I’ve recently prepared sataraš from the last batch of autumn crop and can’t wait till the next season.  I don’t like to make it during the winter though when the ingredients are out of season.  Somehow it doesn’t taste right.

The recipe:

For this easy and healthy vegetarian dish you need:

• 2 large brown onions, sliced into wedges
• 10-12 yellow Hungarian, or 4-6 large red capsicums, sliced,
• 3 medium size ripe tomatoes, cut into slices, peeled and deseeded if preferred, but not necessary
• 4-5 cloves of garlic, sliced thinly
• 2-3 tbsp oil
• Salt and pepper to taste.

Instructions:

1.      Put the oil into a large pan over medium heat and add the onions.

2.      Cook the onions until translucent (but not brown) mixing occasionally

3.      Add sliced capsicum, turn the heat up and stir-fry until the capsicum softens, about 3-4 minutes.  Here I added one green capsicum as well.

4.      Add sliced tomatoes, fry for a minute, then cover and lover the heat.  Simmer for further 5 minutes.

5.      Put the sliced garlic into the pan, season with salt and pepper, cover, and give it a couple of minutes for the garlic to cook and to infuse the flavour.

There you are:  simple and healthy vegetarian dish ready in less than 30 minutes!

Serve sataraš with a fresh crusty bread or with rice.  It’s suitable for freezing.