Blogu’ lu’ ALEX – Cakes and others, from Balkans!

INGREDIENTS :

  – 1 Lucius fish (more than 1 kg);

  – onion 0.3 kg ;

  – carrot 0.2 kg ;

  – potatoes (better taste have Bio-potatoes) 1 kg ;

  – other white roots of vegetable 0.3 kg ;

  – parsley ;

  – lemons 2 ;

  – white wine (dry or half-dry, ie Chardonnay) 0.2 liter ;

  – flour ;

  – brocolli 0.5 kg ;

  – eggs 2 pc ;

  – garlic 0.05 kg ;

   – olive oil 0.2 liter ;

INGREDIENTS :

- eggs 4 ;

- onion 2 pieces ;

- red or green pepper 1 ;

- carrots 2 medium ;

- potatoes 200g ;

- garlic ;

- spices, salt, pepper;

- sunflower oil ;

HOW  TO  DO :

 - Chop the onion and fry in a pan with the oil. After 10 minutes add the sliced red or green pepper, the sliced carrot, the potatoes chopped in small cubes and fry at low temperature another 15 minutes. In a separate large bowl mix the 4 eggs with salt and spices and minced garlic. After the vegetables from the pan are fried, add them over the mixed eggs and stir slowly until the composition is homogenous. Then fry the whole composition in the same pan (to look as a round cake, see pictures) 10 minutes on one side then another 5 on the other side. Use a plate to help turning the tortilla on the other side.

   Now it is ready to be served !  ENJOY !

 

INGREDIENTS:

- eggs 5 ;

- vanilla sugar 20g ;

- flour 100 g ;

- baking powder 2g ;

- lemons 2 ;

- honey 600g ;

- white half-sweet wine 700 ml ;

- cinnamon 2g ;

- sugar 80g ;

- whipped cream 1 liter;

- pears 1kg ;

- vanilla pudding 2 ;

- milk 600 ml ;

- butter 200g ;

 

HOW TO DO :

  The Fluffy Sponge Cake  :

     Beat the egg whites until the get thick. Add 5 spoons of sugar and some lemon juice. Beat for another 3 minutes. Separately mix the flour and the baking powder and add spoon by spoon to the whipped egg whites, stirring continously. After it becomes homogenous put in the baking pan and bake for 25 minutes at 180C. You need to preheat the oven than to put the cake inside.

   After it is baked, take it out from the pan and let it cool down. After you can slice it in 3 or 4. Leave it in the fridge for 1 hour to cool down.

   Now the fluffy cake is ready to be used for designing our cake!

 The Marinated Pears :

Peel 6 pears. Add 400g honey, the cinnamon and the wine in a tall pot. Add over the pears. Be aware that the pears should be fully immersed in the sauce. Boil together for 5 minutes. Then leave covered until next day!  Now the pears are marinated. The white wine can be replaced by red half-dry wine.

 The Filling :

 Boil together 600ml of milk, 10og of hoy and add two bags of vanilla pudding . Usually you need two bags of pudding for 1 liter of milk, but in this case it will be used just 600 ml of milk. After 2 minutes remove the pot and leave it to cool down (until 40C), stirring once per minute to maintain the creamy state. After the pudding has 40C add the butter and stirr slowly until the composition is homogenous. Add lemon juice to cut the greasy taste of the butter.

 Now the filling is ready to be used!

The Lemon Peel-Honey Sirup:

  Chop the peel of one lemon in small cubes or long slices and boil for 10 minutes in 100 ml honey. Cook slowly at low temperature. 

  Now the honey-lemon sirup is ready to be used for designing the cake! 

The Designing of the Cake :

 Take a oval plate (or rectangular) and make a honey-lemon sirup rectangle on it (see the pictures). Then put alternatively slices of cake and cream. At the end put some cream on the outer surface of the cake and leave it in the fridge to cool down.

 Use the marinated pears and whipped cream to design the cake, as you like it. One suggestion can be seen in the pictures : Dragon-like design !

ENJOY !

Suggestion :  Because this cake is very sweet it is recommended to be served sweet wine, i.e. Porto Wine!

INGREDIENTS:

- chicken 200 g;

- corn  2 x 340g cans;

- onion 150 g;

- garlic 20 g;

- cheese 100 g;

- milk 300 ml;

- butter 50 g;

- salt and pepper;

 

HOW TO DO !

  Chop the onion and the garlic and fry it in a pan, in butter. After 10 minutes add chopped chicken meat and fry it together for 30 minutes, at low temperature. Add 1 smashed and 1 non-smashed corn cans, the milk, the rasped cheese and 0.5 liter of water. Add salt and pepper and boil together for 30 minutes.

ENJOY !

 

INGREDIENTS:

- whole eggs 8;

- rasped walnuts 600 g ;

- flour 0.8 kg ;

- butter 250 g ;

- yogurt 150 ml ;

- milk 300 ml;

- fresh yeast 10 g ;

- sugar 400 g ;

- resins 200 g ;

- cocoa 40 g ;

- rum flavor 0.5 ml ;

- vanilla sugar 25 g ;

- salt 5 g ;

- rasped lemon peel

 

The technological process comprises of 3 phases:

1. Preparation of the filling

 2. Preparation of the dough

 3. Designing the cakes in the baking pan

 

1. PREPARATION OF THE FILLING:

 Whip up the 8 whites in a large bowl adding 200g sugar and one spoon of lemon juice. When it has vigouros consistency add cocoa, rasped walnuts, resins, 10 grams vanilla sugar and rum flavor. Mix it with a fork until it become homogenous.

2. PREPARATION OF THE DOUGH

 Put in a cup the yeast and mix with 2 teaspoons of suggar and a teaspoon of milk until liquifies. Let it rest for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, put  7 yolks in a bowl and add 200g of sugar. Mix it with a spoon for 5 minutes. Thenput in another large bowl the flour. Make a hole in the middle adding yoghurt, milk, yolk-sugar mix, rasped lemon peel, the grown yeast-sugar-milk mix and 15 grams vanilla sugar and salt. Mix it with a fork for 2 minutes. Then, adding gradually the butter, knead throughly until the dough become elastic. Leave it to rest for 40 minutes in a warm place(max.40C).

3. DESIGNING THE CAKE IN THE BAKING PAN

Split the dough in 2 equal parts. Each of them will be used for backing one cake. Afterwards, split the halfs in 3 equal parts. Take one sixth of the dough and roll it in a rectangular shape. Put 1/6 of the filling on the whole surface and roll it up. Do the same with another 2 sixths. You can knitt 3 sixths and then to put in the baking pan. The baking pan has to be greased with some butter. You can also use baking paper, so you do not need to grease the pan. The top part of  the cake should be painted with a 1yolk-10ml oil mixture, using a brush for kitchen.

  Do the same for the second cake. Leave the 2 cakes to rest for 30 minutes, and then put the to bake for 1 hour at 190 C. The top part of the cake will become dark-brown. It happens becase the yolk changes the colour due to baking process.

  After they are baked, take them out from the oven and let them cool down for 20 minutes. Then take them out of the baking pan and let them cool completely, prefferable on a wodden plate. When they are cold you can cut slices as preffered.

  TIP : This cake is very good at the brakfast with cold fat sheep milk.

ENJOY !!

  

INGREDIENTS:

- cauliflower 1 kg ;

- kohlrabi 2 pcs ;

- garlic 20 g ;

- carrot 100 g ;

- red pepper 0.5 pcs ;

- potato 1 medium ;

- onion 2 medium ;

- olive oil 100 ml;

- butter 50 g;

- salt 3 g;

- pepper 0.5 g ;

- oregano 1 g;

First chop onion, pepper, garlic, potato and carrot and fry them at low temperature in a 3 liter pan using  olive oil. When they color light maroon add 0.5 liter of water and half of the chopped cauliflower. Boil together for 1/2 hour and then mash it using a vertical mixer until all vegetables became a homogeneous paste. Then add 1 liter of water, salt, pepper and the butter and live it on the fire for another 5 minutes. When it boils add the rest of cauliflower and the kohlrabi. Boil it for another 15 minutes.

Now it is ready to be served!

ENJOY !!!!

INGREDIENTS:

For pancakes:

- flour  0.3 kg;

- whole eggs 4;

- salt  2 g;

- milk 1 l;

- vanilla sugar 10g;

For filling:

- cottage cheese 1 kg;

- whole eggs 3;

- resins 100 g;

- rasped lemon 1/2 teaspoon;

- sugar 150 g;

- salt 3 g;

For topping:

- sour cream 300 g;

- 1 vanilla stick;

- sugar 100 g;

- milk 200 ml;

- yolks 2;

Additionally it is needed butter for frying and 100 g sugar to caramelize the baking pan.

HOW TO DO !

In a large bowl mix the ingredient for pancakes until the consistency is uniform, using a mixer. Then, fry the pancakes in the frying pan using little butter for each.

In a 2 liter bowl mix the ingredients for the filling until the filling became uniform.

In a small bowl mix for 1 min the ingredients for the topping using a mixer.

Separately in the baking pan prepare the caramel sugar and then gratin the pan with it.  Let the pan to  cool down for 10 minutes  and then grease the bottom and the laterals with butter. Then fill up the pancakes with the filling and arrange them into the baking pan. At the end add the topping sauce and bake it at 200C for 30 minutes. Now it is ready to be served!

INGREDIENTS:

- radicchio and Belgian endive (salads) 200gr

-corn-salad 100g

- tomatoes 150gr

- zucchini 1 small piece, sliced and fried in pan

- green olives 100gr

- corn from can 100g

- sliced boiled eggs 2

- sheep salted cheese 100gr

- tuna 200g can

- yogurt-garlic dressing

In a large bowl alternate one layer of each ingredient. It is better to start with the salads and to end-up with dressing. The final design depends on your imagination! There is no need to add salt or pepper. The ingredients and the quantities can vary, depends on what you can find in your fridge.

ENJOY!!

INGREDIENTS:

For Veal in tomato sauce:

- veal 0.5 kg;

- peeled tomatoes from can 0.25 kg;

- olive oil 50 ml;

- garlic 100g or 1 big onion;

- salt 2 g;

- pepper 1 g;

For Cheese gratinated vegetables:

- frozen mixed vegetables 0.5 kg;

- butter 50g;

- cheese 100g;

- salt 1g;

For Polenta (“mamaliguta”):

- cornmeal 150g;

- water 500 ml;

For Red beet – horseradish salad:

- red beet sour salad 400 g;

- rasped horseradish 30 g;

Fry the veal chopped in small cubes in the olive oil at low temperature. When it is almost fried add garlic and peeled tomatoes. Boil slowly for another half an hour. At the end add salt and pepper. The Veal with tomatoes sauce is ready to be served. Keep it in a warm place until served.

In another pan put the butter and wait to melt at high temperature. When it is melted add the vegetables and salt and cover the pan with a lid. They should be ready in 20 minutes. Stir if necessary! When they are ready turn off the heat and add the rasped cheese. Stir until the composition gets homogeneous. Keep in a warm place until served!

For polenta put water and salt in a pan and wait to boil. When is boiling add cornmeal (as indicated on the package). Stir continuously for 2-3 minutes. Then it is ready to be served!

The beet-horseradish salad is ready by mixing the red beet salad from can with horseradish from a jar in the proportions you would like to have. Usually the horseradish is added in a quantity of 1 spoon for 0.5kg of red beet salad.

A suggestion on how to be served on plate is given in one of the photos.

ENJOY!!

INGREDIENTS:

- salt 3g;

- backing powder 1 little packet (2g);

- flour 8-10 full spoons;

- honey 4 spoons;

- whole eggs 3 ;

- cottage cheese 0.4 kg;

- rasped lemon peel from ½ lemon;

- vanilla sugar 20g;

- raisins 100g;

- rasped parmeggiano 100g;

- sunflower oil or butter for frying.

Put all the ingredients in a bowl of two liters and mix them until has uniform consistency. It should be consistent enough to be able to model it into round-plate form (as in pictures). The diameter can be about 7cm and the height about 1cm or more.

The oil or butter for frying should be warmed in advance (for 2 minutes) at middle temperature. A pan with high margins should be used. The quantity of oil or melted butter should exceed the height of the cakes. The temperature of the oil should be bellow middle (to fry slowly but deeper) rather than above middle (and not to have time to fry the inner part of the cake because the outside part is already brown). In average they should be fried 5 minutes the first side plus 3 minutes the second side. The color should be brown or dark-brown like in the last picture.

After they are fried they should be laid on a kitchen paper-towel to absorb the extra grease and then they should be put on a plate. On top should be put powder of vanilla-sugar and fig jam. It is also possible to put sour cream and plums marmalade (or other type of marmalade).

Enjoy and don’t forget that they should be served warm, not cold!

The wine can accompany the cakes. The best choice is sweet or half-sweet wine. The recommended brands are, in:

- Romania: Muscat Otonel – MURFATLAR;

- Slovenia: Pinot Gris 2003 – CURIN, Ljutomer-Ormoz;

- Italy: Moscato Passito di Terracina- Sant’Andrea LAZIO.