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Cream of Carrot Soup

I’ve finally found a recipe for cream of carrot soup that doesn’t taste like baby food. It is made from roasted carrots and fennel, two vegetables that go so well together. I must confess that I picked my carrots from my garden this morning, on a warm summer rain. It sounds enchanting, doesn’t it? So, I chopped the vegetables, I drizzled some olive oil and I roasted them in the oven, just to enhance their flavor. After they were nice and brown, I simmered them in vegetable soup, with red onion, wine and thyme. At the end I flavored the soup with some fragrant roasted garlic. The result was a delicious and hearty soup. The funny thing is that only long after I enjoyed this divine soup I realized that it was in fact vegan. My family never suspected! Continue reading Cream of Carrot Soup

Cherry Tart

Bread crumbs & cherries

Tart slice

I love June and its wonderful cherries with their firm texture and addictive sweetness. They are my favorite fruits. They are perfect served as dessert, added in salads or in sweet treats, but eaten right from the tree are even better. They taste like chidhood!

With an acute childhood nostalgia, an intense sweet craving and a dangerously low blood sugar level I decided this morning that it’s the perfect moment to bake a cherry tart. Even though it’s a sweet tart, the crust is sugarless. It is a pâte à foncer, a dough made from flour, sugar, egg and salt. I love how the salty crust enhances the flavor of the filling. This tart has 3 components: the flaky crust, the coffee glazed cherries and the delicate custard. I can honestly say that this is the best tart I’ve ever had! Continue reading Cherry Tart

Asparagus and Strawberry Salad with Poppy Seed-Lemon Dressing

I absolutely love strawberries. I find them delicious both in desserts and in savory dishes. They go so well with a lot of other salad ingredients, from arugula, baby spinach and asparagus to green beans and cauliflower. Strawberries not only add an elegant touch to any dish, but they also add nutrients and flavor. During May and June, when strawberries are fresh and mouth-watering, I include them almost daily in a salad.

For this particular salad I sliced a few strawberries and I placed them on top of some blanched asparagus. I added pea sprouts, avocado and feta cheese and I dressed them with a fresh and flavorful poppy seed-lemon dressing. Very simple and so delicious! Continue reading Asparagus and Strawberry Salad with Poppy Seed-Lemon Dressing

Duck Breast with Wine-Cherry Sauce

I’ve always loved duck roast for its unmistakable flavor, its reach and exquisite taste and its mouth-watering crispy skin. But I’ve always felt discouraged to try to cook it. It seemed too technical and challenging to get the perfect seared duck breast. Last year I finally gave it a try and was the best decision ever. Little by little I managed to understand the meat, its physics and its chemistry. And it’s not difficult at all. If you pay attention to a couple of things, your seared duck will always turn out perfect.

I like my seared duck medium to well done, with a divine crunchy skin and a juicy, pinkish, flavorful meat. In order to get this finish I brown the breast in a cast iron skillet in its own fat, and I finish it in the oven for 6 minutes. After duck has rested for 5 minutes, I slice it and I serve it with a sweet and sour wine and cherry sauce. It is a wonderful combination! Continue reading Duck Breast with Wine-Cherry Sauce

Spring Pea Soup with Flour Dumplings

Spring pea soup is my favorite soup. Even though I’m not a soup person, I felt deeply in love with this spring pea soup. It has a special place in my heart not only because it’s delicious, but because this was my grandmother’s signature dish. During May, while spring pea is the star of the month, I prepare this soup almost daily. Honestly, this is the only dish I could eat every single day without getting bored.

It is a lovely soup, very tasty and satisfying, even though it is made from five or six ingredients, all fresh and springy. The soup part is extremely easy to prepare. You just have to saute some veggies in olive oil, you cover them with water and you let them cook. The flour dumplings are quite easy to make, too. The first and the second dumpling is trickier, but from the third on, their preparation becomes a child’s play. I might be subjective, but from my point of view, this is the perfect soup for spring! Continue reading Spring Pea Soup with Flour Dumplings

Spring Pea Pâté with Caramelized Onions

Pea pâté made from frozen peas is a delicious appetizer but when made from fresh spring peas it’s absolutely exquisite. Spring peas are blanched and then mixed with ricotta, parmesan, spring onion and fresh mint and it miraculously transforms into a dense and flavorful cream, with an almost surreal green color. Almost.

I ran out of bread and I decided it’s about time to bake a focaccia (I used exactly this recipe), since I haven’t made bread for so long (for 3 days, to be more accurate). So, while the dough was rising, I prepared a minty ricotta-spring pea pâté. Since I finished the pâté extremely quickly, I decide to caramelize some God knows how old old white onions. I cooked them very slowly, at low temperature without the additional sugar until they turned a rich brown. I assembled the focaccia, spring pea pâté and caramelized onions and I got a cute and heavenly tasty appetizer. Continue reading Spring Pea Pâté with Caramelized Onions

Dutch Baby with Strawberries and Mascarpone Cheese

Every time I crave pancakes and I’m not in the mood for staring at them while they cook, I bake a Dutch Baby. Dutch Baby is a huge and puffy German pancake served generally for breakfast. The batter made from eggs, milk, flour and sugar is baked in a buttered cast iron skillet and after baking, this lovely pancake is served with butter, lemon juice and powdered sugar. This is certainly the easiest dessert I’ve ever made. You blend a few ingredients and you pour the batter in a skillet. It’s that simple!

Being an egg-based baked dessert you’d certainly expect a fluffy, soufflé-like final product. Trust me, the volume and the shape of this pancake is quite stunning. Regarding the fact that you pour about 2 cups of batter in a hot skillet, you’d expect to get an adorable little pancake and not a baby hippo. Let me tell you something, this is a dramatic dessert with a unique kind of beauty. Continue reading Dutch Baby with Strawberries and Mascarpone Cheese

Strawberry-Banana Muffins with Honey-Vanilla Frosting (Dairy-Free)

Today I present you strawberry-banana muffins with honey-vanilla frosting, the best muffins I’ve ever tasted. They are simply addictive. If they sound complicated, I tell you that they are possibly the simplest dessert you’ll ever make. If they sound exquisite, you’re perfectly right. They are so tender and fragrant and they are perfect for breakfast or brunch. In case you want to dress them up a little bit, I strongly suggest you to frost them with this decadent yet healthy honey and vanilla cream.

Since I caught your attention I’ll proceed further and I’ll confess that this is a dairy-free dessert. Both the muffin and the frosting are dairy-free. The muffins contain flour, Demerara sugar, eggs, bananas, strawberries and olive oil, while the frosting is made from coconut oil, honey and vanilla extract. As simple as that. Continue reading Strawberry-Banana Muffins with Honey-Vanilla Frosting (Dairy-Free)

Herbed Ricotta and Asparagus Wraps

This morning I had a craving for tortilla and ricotta, so I made a homemade asparagus and herbed ricotta wrap. I quickly prepared the dough and while it was resting, I prepared a creamy dill and ricotta spread and some garlicky sautéed asparagus, since it’s its season. Long story short, in about 40 minutes I had 9 gorgeous tortillas (they should have been 8 but math isn’t my strong point, apparently). Continue reading Herbed Ricotta and Asparagus Wraps

Pasta Salad With Cherry Tomatoes and Snow Peas

Veggie pasta salad is a wonderful dish. It is a satisfying salad, as well as delicious and it tastes even better the next day. Regarding the ingredients, sky is the limit; you can add in your salad all kinds of veggies, herbs, dairy products or even fruit.

I tried to make my recipe healthier but I still wanted that rich taste, so I made a few changes. I used whole wheat fusilli, juicy cherry tomatoes and fresh snow peas and for the creamy dressing I used Greek yogurt, fresh mint and only 2 tablespoons of homemade mayo. The result was mouth-watering! Continue reading Pasta Salad With Cherry Tomatoes and Snow Peas