Accéder au contenu principal

IKRA - Russian eggplant caviar/Russian aubergine caviar

Someone was looking for a "soft aubergine/eggplant spread with tomatoes" and I knew exactly what they were talking about. There's a dish in Russia, our Eastern neighbour, which is called IKRA or fake caviar. I got this recipe from Russian friend Galina back in Edinburgh sometimes around 2000. Still makes a regular appearance in our kitchen.  It's lovely on a slice of toast, or as a condiment or spread on a mezze-table. Russian aubergine spread IKRA 1 large aubergine/eggplant 1 large onion 2 garlic cloves 2 tomatoes 1 Tbsp olive oil or vegetable oil 2 Tbsp white wine vinegar or lemon juice salt and freshly ground black pepper fresh parsley or dill Prick the aubergine with a fork here and there, then place into a preheated 200C/400F oven and bake for about 60 minutes, until fully cooked and slightly charred on the outside. Flip over once or twice during baking. Remove from the oven, let it cool. Then cul half lengthwise and scoop out the flesh. Place into a cutting b...

Brussels sprouts with bacon and almonds

Rooskapsas, peekon ja mandel. Brussels sprouts, almonds and bacon.

Brussels sprouts, yes or no? 

I say yes, especially now, mid-winter. Cheap, cheerful and seasonal!

Here's a dish based on the lovely Nigel Slater's recipe that I found on BBC's website (see here), though I first read about it on this Estonian blog and on this Estonian blog). I still get a fresh batch of Brussels sprouts at my local farmers market almost every weekend, and my family seems to love them. The kids, I must admit, seem to prefer them raw, so I always put a couple aside for them.

IMG_7978.jpg

Without further ado, here's the recipe. However, do check out this recipe on Nami-Nami, posted just a few months ago - sautéed Brussels sprouts with lemon - that's lovely, too!

Brussels sprouts with bacon and whole almonds
(Rooskapsad peekoni ja mandlitega)
Serves 4 to 6

 IMG_7977.jpg


1 kg Brussels sprouts
about 300 g smoked ham or bacon
2 Tbsp butter
150 g whole almonds

Trim the sprouts - cut the stem shorter, remove the ugly outer leaves. Halve the Brussels sprouts.

Cut the ham/bacon into 1 cm dice.

Melt the butter in a large heavy frying pan. Add the ham/bacon and fry over moderate heat, stirring regularly, until the meat is golden and starts to crisp. Add the prepared Brussels sprouts and sauté for 5-6 minutes more over medium high heat, until the cabbage is cooked and begins to brown on edges.

Throw in the almonds and fry for another 2 minutes, just to heat through.

Serve immediately, though I enjoyed nibbling on this dish much later as well.

IMG_7974.jpg

Brussels sprouts recipes from other foodblogs:
Pisike ja pisut segi (recipe in Estonian)
Taimetoit.ee (recipe in Estonian)
Juustukuningad (recipe in Estonian)
101 Cookbooks
Simply Recipes
Two Peas and their Pod
Smitten Kitchen

Commentaires

Posts les plus consultés de ce blog

IKRA - Russian eggplant caviar/Russian aubergine caviar

Someone was looking for a "soft aubergine/eggplant spread with tomatoes" and I knew exactly what they were talking about. There's a dish in Russia, our Eastern neighbour, which is called IKRA or fake caviar. I got this recipe from Russian friend Galina back in Edinburgh sometimes around 2000. Still makes a regular appearance in our kitchen.  It's lovely on a slice of toast, or as a condiment or spread on a mezze-table. Russian aubergine spread IKRA 1 large aubergine/eggplant 1 large onion 2 garlic cloves 2 tomatoes 1 Tbsp olive oil or vegetable oil 2 Tbsp white wine vinegar or lemon juice salt and freshly ground black pepper fresh parsley or dill Prick the aubergine with a fork here and there, then place into a preheated 200C/400F oven and bake for about 60 minutes, until fully cooked and slightly charred on the outside. Flip over once or twice during baking. Remove from the oven, let it cool. Then cul half lengthwise and scoop out the flesh. Place into a cutting b...

Lamb and Puy lentils

January 6th - or today - is the last day to wish happy new year here in Estonia , so I'm just in time - Happy New Year, dear readers of Nami-Nami near and far! Wish you all a peaceful and productive year, full of delicious and nourishing food, with occasional treats and decadent moments! We're in the middle of a very awkward winter here. While friends in the US and Canada are facing huge snowstorms, then we had a green and mild Christmas with temperatures hovering at around couple of degrees above zero (Celsius, that is). Most unusual and weird, though not unheard of. We're promised that the temperature drops towards the end of January and we'll get some snow as well, but I won't believe it until I see it. Still, hearty soups and stews are what we're cooking most at the moment - it is winter, after all - and this lamb with lentils was a great and promising start to the culinary year or 2014. Oh, and as you can see, I'm now a proud owner of a beautiful red ...

Estonian layered curd cheese cake (kihiline kohupiimakook)

The photo is from January 2008   We love our curd cheese cakes in Estonia - and you'll find at least five curd cheese cake recipes here on my blog. This particular one is one of the most common curd cheese cakes out there. It uses a shop-bough yellow cake mix ("Juubeli tordipulber" or "Jubileum cake mix"), making it super-quick to assemble, and many Estonian cooks would have a packed somewhere in the kitchen drawer, just in cake. I'm an avid baker, love baking from scratch, and I do, just in cake :) I'm posting it here, as someone was looking for the English recipe and I realised I hadn't shared it yet. It's lovely when enjoyed lukewarm, with a glass of cold milk, but it's also really nice when completely cooled and accompanied with a cup of coffee or tea or cacao. Layered curd cheese cake ( Kihiline kohupiimakook ) Feeds 6 to 8 400 g creamy curd cheese 200 g sour cream (20% fat content is perfect) 4 eggs (L) 4 Tbsp caster sugar 1 yellow cak...