Zuchinni bread ring

From the second baking of this zuchinni bread ring I made, I took some slices to the office, to accompany my lunch. That day I almost remained hungry, as my colleagues ate all the bread. And they asked for more. And for the recipe. Here's below.
This is a very attractive bread, if I might consider a bread being attractive :-) It's sleazy, it's delicious, combines zuchinni with nut and millet in a fantastic taste-orgy. It's really irresistible.



Zuchinni bread ring

ingredients -- small / mid-size

buttermilk -- 75 ml / 100 ml *
water -- 100 ml / 130 ml
grated zuchinni -- 175 gr / 225 gr
flour BL55 -- 375 gr / 500 gr
whole meal -- 75 gr / 115 gr **
millet -- 2 coffeespoon / 2 tablespoon
chopped nut -- 3 tablespoon / 4,5 tablespoon ***
salt -- 1,5 coffeespoon / 2 coffeespoon
sugar -- 1,5 coffeespoon / 2 coffeespoon
butter -- 40 gr / 50 gr
dried yeast -- 1,5 coffeespoon / 1,5 coffeespoon

Put liquid ingredients in the form of the bread baking machine. Add the grated zuchinni. Pour the flour and whole meal, so you cover the liquids. Add the millet. Put on top of ingredients the sugar, salt, butter, in different corners of the form. Measure and put the dried yeast, in the middle, pay attention, should not graze the sugar or salt.



You might choose between three options:

1) Use bread baking machine to all steps
Select basic bread baking program, this, usually, is the first program on the bread baking machine and takes approx 2,5-3 hours, depending on machine and bread size. In case you select this, size the bread according to ingredients quantity. At machine signal add the chopped nut. After basic baking program ends, take out the form, turn the baked zuchinni-nut bread out from it, place on a grade, cover with clean kitchen cloth and put it to simmer down.

2) Use bread baking machine to do the knead and dough
When all ingredients added, place the form in the bread baking machine, select "dough" program, so the machine will do the knead and dough part of the work. After program ends, take the bread dollop on breadboard lightly covered with flour, firmly knead it. You might choose to form a regular bread or, to form a bread ring. To bake your bread in a ring form, take the dollop in three equal parts, roll-pull each part to approximately 40 cm long, put them along each other and entwine in a simple three-braid form. Spread some oil in a ring (smaller size) baking form and carefully place the bread braid in it, working together the two ends. Scatter the bread with some chopped nut, cover the baking form with a clean and dry kitchen cloth and leave in a warm place to dough (will double in size). Heat the owen to 200 C degrees, splash some warm water on top of the bread and put the form in the owen. Bake it for 40-45 minutes, but after the first 20 minutes lower the heat to 180-175 degrees. When ready, take out the form, leave the bread to rest for few minutes, than turn it out from the baking form. Place it on a grade, cover with kitchen cloth and leave it to simmer down.
Of course, any available baking form might be used, just spread the baking form with oil before placing the bread dollop in it.

3) Use the bread baking machine to do the knead only
You might choose to bake your zuchinni-nut bread this way - I did like this. In this option start the "dough" program on the bread baking machine but after the knead is over, stop the machine, take out the dollop, place it in a lighlty floured plastic pot, hint some flour on top, cover with a kitchen cloth and leave in warm place to dough while doubles in size. After this step follow the instructions as in option 2), so take the dollop on a lighlty floured breadboard, firmly knead it, form a regular bread or part the dollop in three, entwine, place it in a baking form spreaded with some oil, scatter chopped nut on top, cover with kitchen cloth and leave to dough again till doubles, splash with some warm water, put in hot owen to bake.



Whichever option you choose, in result you'll get a fantastically delicious, sleazy bread, in which the zuchinni will not taste as a separate flavor, but with the other ingredients will result a compelling home-made bread.

Bon appetit!

Tips & Tricks:
* In case you don't have buttermilk handy, it's easy to replace with yoghurt; to one small cup of yoghurt add 1-2 tablespoon sparkling mineral water and 1-2 coffeespoon lemon juice.
** Check the dough while in the bread baking machine, before gets to raise. As the flours are different, the bread dollop might be too posh, in this case add 1-2 tablespoon whole meal.
*** Nut might be replaced - partially or fully - with tich or sunflower seeds.

Sour cherry chutney

If you like to taste sweet and sourish, picant and spicy in one bite, you have to try this sour cherry chutney!

Sour cherry chutney

ingredients

2,5 kg sour cherry, without seeds
3 big onions
300 ml dry red wine - I used Villányi Blauer Portugieser, 2006
3 "heaped" spoonful balsamic vinegar
1 heaped spoonful sugar
4-6 heaped spoonful canning sugar
salt, lot of pepper
clove, allspice, savory - use dehydrated spice
nutmeg
2-3 chili - also dehydrated
2 big dash of mexican spice mix

Peel the onions, chop in half, than in slim slices. Put in a bigger pot, add the red wine and steam-boil is for 15-20 minutes, till the onion absorbs the wine and makes gravy. Add the balsamic vinegar, stir few times, than add the sugar and continuously stir with the onion for 6-8 minutes.
Add the sour cherry (after washed and pitted) and mix it well with the onion covered softly with burnt sugar. Possibly, after adding the sour cherry, to stir use a beater, so some of the sour cherry will get mixed but major part remains as full fruit. Leave it to boil.
In the meantime put all spice - except the nutmeg - in a kitchen mixer and chop it well, then add to the chutney. Grave the nutmeg - I used approx one third of a full nutmeg - and also add to it.
Stiring few times leave it to boil for 20-30 minutes, so the sour cherry juice boils out.
Add the canning sugar, mix well, boil the chutney for 5-6 minutes on big fire.
Take some from the chutney on a clean plate to taste and test the consistence. Spice or sugar might be added, if needed. After adding any new ingredient, boil the chutney for 5-6 more minutes.
When declared ready, take the prepared, clean and dry bottles and spoon by spoon fill it with the delicious sour cherry chutney. Cover the bottle with a sheet of canning foil then place the cup and pinch it as hard, as possible. Turn the filled bottle on top, place it on a tray and leave in this position for at least 6 minutes. After this the canned chutney might be hoveled.



The fresh made sour cherry chutney might be served as ready. Accompanies well chicken or sea fish for lunch or dinner, but it's also gorgeous as appetizer with a slice of brown bread, home made pesto-linseed roll or fresh green salad.



Bon appetit!

Zuchinni pesto with chili

This recipe I got from a best friend of mine, Max, who found it on Laura's blog.
The first portion I made didn't reached to the refrige, we ate it right away :-)
It's quick and easy to prepare, it may be flavoured to fit everybody's taste, keeps two weeks in refrige and it also might be frozed to have some summer taste in cold winter months.
The original recipe I modified a bit adding some chili and rosemary.

Zuchinni chili pesto

ingredients

8 tender zuchinni
6 bigger clove of garlic
180 gr parmezan - or other similar cheese
10 bigger leaves of fresh basil
1 coffee spoon of fresh rosemary
2 heaped spoonful of fresh parsley
salt, pepper, sprinkle of mexican spice mix
3 smaller chili
1 spoonful of sesame
olive oil

Wash the zuchinni, peel the garlic, chop both, also the parmezan in smaller parts, not too smalk but to make them to fit in a kitchen mixer. Put all ingredients, including the herbs and spice, but leave the olive oil, in the mixer. Mix it continuously while slowly adding the olive oil till the mixture becames flossy and creamy. Taste it and, if needed, add some more spice or herbs. The pesto is ready. If you have some pasta ready (the best al dente), put some zuchinni chili pesto on top and your lunch, dinner is served :-).
In case you don't eat it as made or there's some left, spoon the pesto in clean and dry bottle and spoon by spoon add some olive oil on top to cover it. The oil will help to keep the pesto's nice green color and also will conserve it. You can keep in refrige for two weeks, paying attention to cover with oil after each time when is used (if any remains in the bottle :-).
You may put the fresh pesto in ice cube forms, place in the freezer. When all freezed, take out the pesto cubes, drop them in freezing bags. Shortly before using, take out few cubes from the freezing bag and leave it to defrost. It might be used as the fresh pesto.



To the portion I made for my son, I added a big carrot and left out the chili and mexican spice. This pesto - zuchinni carrot - might be refriged and freezed as the one flavoured with chili.

Bon appetit!

Courgette tzatziki

Honestly, I'm not sure if the title of this post is correct. The dictionaries I looked up, tells, there's no English translation to the world "tzatziki". OK then, I leave it like this, and hope, will be understood.

Courgette tzatziki

ingredients

2 small cups yogurt (175 ml each)
1 small cup sour cream (175 ml)
6-8 tender courgette *
6-8 bigger clove of garlic
salt
pepper

* In case there's no very tender courgette at hands, it's possible to cheat a bit using bit bigger vegetable; when it's grated, the middle, seeded part, should be left out. These seeded pieces, for example, can be used later to make a courgette cream soup á la Chef Viki.

Pour the yogurt and sour cream in a very dense filter and leave it to drip for 1,5-2 hours, stir few times. The quantity will go at least half, but in result the filter will hold a really dense mixture of sour cream and yogurt.
Wash the courgettes, chop the two ends and grate it on apple-grate. When grating, try to make longer filaments. Mix it with 2-3 big pinches of salt and leave it to rest for 30-45 minutes.
Peel the garlic, breach it to the well dripped yogurt-sour cream mixture. Add freshly grounded black pepper. Take the courgette, twist is well from its salty juice and put to the creams. Mix it well with a fork, than put to rest in the refrige for at least half an hour.



Serve the courgette tzatziki with rosemary chicken leg roasted on salt.
To do this, take the chicken legs, wash down a bit than dry it with paper towel. Carefully raise the skin (don't pull of, but raise only). Scatter the meat with freshly grounded black pepper and with chopped green rosemary. Fold back the skin, turn the chicken leg and flavour the other side similarly.
Pour salt in a baking dish, approximately one finger thick. Place the chicken legs with the skinned part on the salt. Cover the baking dish with tinfoil and place the dish in hot (200 degrees) oven. Bake it for 20 minutes, than lower the temperature to 175 degrees for another 30 minutes. After the almost one hour, take out the baking dish, very carefully peel the tinfoil, turn the chicken legs, so the skinned part gets on top. Bake for another 10-15 minutes, turning the oven to grill for the last 3-5 minutes to frizzle the chicken skin.
When done, leave the meat for few minutes to rest in the baking dish.

Serve the roasted chicken with courgette tzatziki, stewed cranberry and spinach-corn muffin.



Bon appetit!

Double-Swiss roll

A friend of mine asked me, to also post in English my best recipes. Well, as a gastro-blogger, I'm obviously convinced, that all my recipes are among the best ones :-).
I think that this double-Swiss roll merites an English post.

Double-Swiss roll

ingredients - white sponge cake

5 whole eggs
5 heaped spoonful sugar
5 less heaped spoonful flour
grated lemon peel
1 coffee-spoon vanilla essence
1 coffee-spoon yeast powder
1 spoonful cocoa powder (w/o sugar)

ingredients - cocoa-chocolate sponge cake

5 whole eggs
5 heaped spoonful sugar
5 less heaped spoonful flour
1 heaped spoonful cocoa powder (w/o sugar)
50 gr bitter chocolate
1,2 coffee-spoon yeast powder

ingredients - fillings

strawberry jam - or raspberry or cherry
60-80 gr marzipan

250 gr curd
200 ml cream (to whip)

To do the white sponge cake: the whole eggs, the sugar, the grated lemon peel and vanilla essence mix with hand mixer, continuously for 20 minutes. Raise the speed of your hand mixer approx each 4th minute. Mix the yeast to the flour and sift spoon by spoon to the egg-sugar, mixing the cake well with each spoon of flour.
Turn oven heat to 200 degrees.
Put a piece of baking paper in a big baking dish, pour the cake into and smooth it.
Put the cocoa powder in a small sift and gently sift it accross the cake. With a fork work the powder in the white cake. In result the cocoa and white cake will result marbly figure.



Put the cake in the oven and bake it for 5 minutes on 200 degrees, and further 8-10 minutes on 175 degrees.
Take a clean and dry dish-cloth and lay it on a baking screen. Strew the dish-cloth with sugar.
When the sponge-cake is ready, take the baking dish from the oven, carefully pick two corners of the baking paper and turn the cake on the sugared dish-cloth. Peel the baking paper from the cake's back (if necessary, strew some cold water on the paper, so can be peeled easier). Take the dish-cloth from its longest side and roll it with the sponge cake.



Roll it out, and roll again from the other (longer) side.



Roll out again and, for the last time, roll the cake from the first direction. Leave the roll on the screen to cold.

While the white sponge cake is cooling, mix the cocoa-chocolate cake.
Do it step by step as with the white cake, that's, mix the sugar and eggs for 20 minutes, raising the speed of your hand mixer periodically. Add the cocoa powder to the flour and yeast and sift the mixture spoon by spoon to the egg-sugar, also grate the bitter chocolate in the cake.
Bake it as the white sponge cake, of course, using a new baking paper. When baked, turn on a clean and dry dish-cloth and roll it three times, just as with the white one. Leave it to cold.

Put the marzipan in the freezer, this will help to grate it later.
Whip the cream till turns hard. Mix the curd alone than add the whipped cream to it and mix it gently.

Roll out the white sponge cake, put with the sugared slide on a big enough chopping board (or on the clean kitchen desk), smear it with the strewberry jam and grate the marzipan on top.
Roll out the cocoa-chocolate sponge cake and carefully place it on top, leaving some half cm space from the longest side of the white cake. Spread the curd-whipped cream mixture on the black cake.
Take the cakes from the longest side and carefully roll it up. The cocoa-chocholate slide will shift a bit, but keep rolling. When done, chop the extra part of the dark sponge, which reaches out from the roll. This might be parted in two and put in small rolls.



Pick the double-Swiss roll carefully from the chopping board (or kitchen desk) and place it on a tray.



Bon appetit!

Savanyú káposzta leves

Nagyon szeretem a savanyú káposztát, bármilyen étel is készüljön belőle, az nálam favorit. Mivel nagyon vékonyan - lightosan :) - főzök, még a legnagyobb nyári hőségben is jólesik egy tányér bő lére eresztett székelygulyás, vagy tejföllel nyakonlocsolt kolozsvári rakott káposzta.
Most azonban valami másra vágytam, mondjuk, levesre, savanyú káposztával. Emlékeimben felderengett netes barangolásaim közben olvasott, füstölt kolbásszal, dagadóval, szalonnával főzött savanyú káposzta leves és szinte el is ment a kedvem az egésztől. Szerencsére, csak szinte.
Hazaértem, este nekiálltam, és csuklóból az alábbi levest kanyaríntottam. Hatalmas adagot, annak reményében, hogy majd esténként is jut egy tányérkával. Tévedtem. :-)



Savanyú káposzta leves

hozzávalók

2 szál murok
1 szál petrezselyem
1 kisebb fej hagyma
2 szál zöldhagyma - ez elhagyható, de olyan gyönyörűen nő a kertben, nem lett volna szívem mellőzni
4 szem közepes krumpli
4 szeletnyi karaj - súlyát nem tudom; természetesen, lehet több husival is, nekünk most ennyi volt a mélyhűtőben, a hentest meg lekéstem
2 nagy konzerv savanyú káposzta - töltőtömeg/konzerv 770 gr
1 ek vaj
2 kis doboz tejföl
só, bors, babérlevél
2 l alaplé

A savanyú káposztát egy edénybe borítom, hideg vízzel felengedem és kicsit ázni hagyom. A házilag savanyítottat ízlés szerint kell kimosni, tapasztalatom szerint, a konzervek kicsit savanyúbbak, az ideálisnál.
A zöldségeket megpucolom, majd a murkot, petrezselymet és a zöldhagymát felkarikázom, a hagymát apróra vágom, a krumplit és karajhúst felkockázom.
A vajat habzásig melegítem, rászórom a hagymákat, néhány perc alatt üvegesre aranyosítom, jöhet a murok és a petrezselyem, 3-4 percet így is pirítom. Ráteszem a húst és fehéredésig kevergetem.
Következnek a krumplikockák. Ezután felöntöm az alaplével, sózom, borsózom és beleteszek 4 nagyobb babérlevelet is.
A káposztát alaposan kicsavarom, lapítón kicsit összevágom, mert rakott káposztában szépek a gyalulástól hosszú szálak, de levesben kevésbé praktikus.
Amint a leves főni kezd, beleszórom a savanyú káposztát is, elkavarom, felöntöm még kb 2 l vízzel és kisebb lángon, fedő alatt főzöm, amíg a hús is, krumpli is megpuhul, nagyjából 30 perc.
A két kis doboz tejfölt simára keverem, apránként hozzámerek a forró levesből, ezzel is elkeverem, majd az egészet visszaborítom a levesbe és átkavarom. Ha szükséges, pótolom még vízzel, nekem kellett, nagyjából 6 liter levesem főtt. Felforrósítom, de vigyázok, hogy ne főjjön. Megkóstolom, ha kell, utánnafűszerezem.
Kinézetre és állagra viszonylag sűrű levest tálalok (a káposzta teszi sűrűvé), ami egyúttal kellemesen savanykás és könnyű, hiszen 10 dkg savanyú káposzta mindössze 7 kcal-t "ér", s ebben a levesben más alig van.
Reggel sült korpás-rozsos cipóval, de akár sajtos-töpörtyűs csigavirággal tálalva tökéletes ebéd egy hőgutás napon, utánna egy szelet túrós-cseresznyés piskótatekercs és máris szebb a világ :-)



Jó étvágyat!

PS. Olyan sikere volt, hogy Manapó és ÉApám szombaton fejenként két púpozott tányérnyit ebédelt belőle és férjemuram vasárnapra is ilyen levest kért :-)

Sauerkraut soup

ingredients

2 carrots
1 parsnip
1 smaller onion
2 spring onions
4 mid-size potatoes
4 slice of spare rib
2 big cans of sauerkraut - net weight 770 gr of each
1 tablespoon of butter
2 small packs of sour cream
2 l of stock - might be vegatable or chicken
salt, black pepper, bay leaf

Put the sauerkraut in cold water (yeap, open the can, take out the sauerkraut first :-) and leave it to soak (will be less sour).
Slice the carrots, parsnip, spring onions, also chop the potatoes, spare rib and onion, this latter in very small pieces.
Put the butter to warm, when foam, drop the onion and spring onions on it and toast till turns in golden color. Drop the carrots and parsnip on top and stir for 3-4 minutes. The chopped spare rib follows, stir till the meat gets a white coverage. Put the potatoes and pour the 2 liters of stock. Flavour with salt, freshly grounded black pepper and 4 bigger leaves of bay leaf.
Put the twisted sauerkraut on cutting board to chop its long filaments in shorter; this makes easier to eat the soup later. Drop the sauerkraut into the forming soup, pour water on it, another approx 2 liters, lid it and leave to boile till some 30 minutes.
When all ingridients are soft (as said, around 30 minutes), in a smaller separate pot mix the sour cream, than add some hot soup to it, mix again to get make it flossy, than pour all back into the soup. If necessary, add more water (I had to, in total ended with around 6 liters of soup).
Let it to warm up but don't boile. Taste it, if necessary add some more salt or pepper.

Bon appetit!