Monday Munchies: Mimosa cupcakes & a bonus recipe for healthier than usual cupcakes

Hello everyone! It's a new Monday, and that means either a recipe or a book recommendation, but giving my latest obsession with baking, it's once again time for Monday Munchies, and this time I'm not sharing one but two recipes! And to make the start of Monday better, both are for cupcakes!


I'm gonna start with a recipe of my own invention for Mimosa cupcakes, based on a recipe from Alma's Cupcakes I modified and using some other bits from a recipe for The Cookie Girl's book.


Mimosa cupcakes
Makes 12

Ingredients:

For the base cupcakes:
- 115 gr unsalted butter
- 220 gr granulated sugar
- 250 gr plain flour
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 70 ml skimmed milk
- 50 ml champagne
- 2 eggs

For the orange curd filling:
- 85 gr unsalted butter
- 60 ml freshly squeezed orange juice
- 2 large eggs plus two egg yolks
- 110 gr caster sugar
- grated zest of one big orange
- 1-2 tablespoons champagne

For the buttercream:
- 250 gr unsalted butter, room temperature
- 300 gr icing sugar
- 4 tablespoons champagne
- 1 teaspoon orange extract
- grated zest of 1 orange
- Orange colouring to taste

Method:

For the base cupcake:
- Preheat over 180ºC/350ºF and line a cupcake pan with paper liners.
- Beat sugar and butter together till well mixed and it starts to lighten. Add eggs, one by one, beating well till they're well integrated.
- Sift flour with baking powder together, add half of it to the butter and beat at low speed, add the milk. Then add the other half of the flour to the mixture and lastly add the champagne.
- Distribute the butter evenly between the paper cases till they're 2/3 full. Bake for about 20 to 22 minutes. Make sure they're done by inserting a toothpick, it will come out clean. Let them cool in the pan for 5 mins and then transfer to a rack to finish cooling completely.

For the orange curd filling:
- While the cupcakes are baking, heat the butter and orange juice in a pan over medium heat until the butter is melted. In a medium bowl whisk the eggs, egg yolks and sugar together, pour the butter & orange mix, whisk everything together well, and put it back into the pan.
- Continue cooking over medium heat until it reaches boiling point and it starts to thicken, it should be about 5 minutes, remember to stir often so it doesn't stick to the pan.
- Remove from the heat into the bowl and add the orange zest. Once it cools, add the champagne to taste.
- Any left overs can be kept in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Now fill the cupcakes with the curd, using an apple corer to make your holes in the cupcakes, fill them with the curd and add a little bit of the cupcake you took out to close it again.

For the champagne buttercream:
- This is the moment that I absolutely adore my KitchenAid more than I could ever think I'd love a kitchen appliance, and also the moment when I need to cover my dear Miss Marple (yes, I named her Miss Marple) with a kitchen towel to avoid the dreaded icing sugar storm!
- Sift the icing sugar and add it with the butter and the champagne to the KA bowl. Start mixing first at low speed for about 1 minute and then for 5 more minutes at high speed.
- Now you can use the food colouring. I wanted the frosting to look a bit like orange juice, but I only had an Americolor orange, and ended up with these lovely salmon cupcakes instead. I just didn't want to add more colour and end up with neon orange cupcakes!
- Decorate using Wilton's 2D pipping tip to make pretty roses and add some sprinkles to top them up. Some sugarpaste orange wedges would have looked very cute too!

And now, for today's second recipe, one that I was super happy to find at La Dulce Magdalena's blog! This recipe is for more-healthy-than-usual Red Berries Cupcakes! As soon as I saw it, I knew I had to make it for my parents (their high cholesterol leves means they can't really eat any butter-filled cupcakes) and also, it's ideal for my vegan friends to try, since they only have to find a replacement for the eggs and egg whites in the frosting! So without further ado, I give you Magda's Red Berries Cupcakes!


Red Berries Cupcakes with Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Makes 12

Ingredients:

For the cupcakes:
- 150 gr non-hydrogenated soy margarine
- 190 gr cane brown sugar (non refined)
- 1 vanilla bean
- 2 eggs (or egg replacement)
- 80 ml soy milk
- 190 gr whole wheat flour
- 2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
- A handful of frozen or fresh red berries, I added red cranberries

For the Swiss Meringue Buttercream:
- 4 pasteurized egg whites (or egg whites replacer)
- 220 gr granulated sugar (important, NOT icing sugar for this one)
- 340 gr non-hydrogenated soy margarine
- Here the recipe called for raspberry extract and pureed red berries to add, but since I had only the red cranberries for the butter and no raspberry extract, I added 1 teaspoon lemon extract.

Method:

For the cupcakes:
- Preheat the oven to 150ºC/300ºF and line the cupcake pan with paper liners.
- With a knife open the vanilla bean and scrap the seeds. Mix them with the sugar and soy margarine and cream together for 3 to 5 minutes.
- Add the eggs, one by one, beating well after each one. Next, add the soy milk beating till well incorporated.
- Sift together flour and bicarbonate of soda and add to the batter, mixing till well incorporated, don't overbeat. Now add the red berries mixing with a spatula.
- Distribute the batter evenly between the paper liners, about 3/4 full, depending on how many berries you've added, the more berries the less they'll rise in the oven.
- Bake for about 25 minutes, test with a toothpick. Leave to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack to let cool completely.

For the Swiss Meringue Buttercream:
- Heat up water in wide pan, put the egg whites and sugar in a medium bowl (that will fit our pan) and using the bain-marie method, heat up the egg whites and sugar, it should reach 60ºC, but if you don't have thermometre, leave it on medium heat and stir till all the sugar is well integrated, no grains left.
- Tranfer this to the cold KA bowl (I left it for a while in the balcony in Jan, very effective), let it cool for a bit, and beat on high speed till the meringe starts forming soft peaks, and they're cooled off (that's very important!) we start adding little by little the soy margarine in pieces. Again I'll say it, make sure when you start adding the margarine, the egg whites mix are not hot, or the margarine will melt and it'll be a disaster of epic proportions and non-salvageable.
- After adding all the margarine, add the extract and beat on high speed for about 8 to 10 minutes. Now, in the beginning it'll look all curdled and icky, but no worries, it'll get better! Keep on beating and you'll get the most light, bright and fuffly meringe buttercream ever! If you wanna add the the pureed berries, lower the speed, add it and beat till combined.
- I used Wilton 1M pipping tip to create some nice roses with it!

After making this amazing Swiss Meringue buttercream I just had to kiss my KA!

And I leave you with these two recipes and some nice & yummy looking photos. Have a great week!

Monday Munchies: Veggies & beef!

Hello everyone! Monday is here again, starting a new week, and I'm finally returning to blogging again. Last week was a busy week for me, and work was leaving me completely drained and tired.

I had plans to have shared a recipe of my own creation I was planning on working on Sunday for Mimosa cupcakes, but come Sunday I realized I had not enough butter... and not enough motivation to get in the car and drive to look for a place open to buy it. But, I'll make them sometime this week for sure, so I'll probably share it next Monday! So, for this week's Monday Munchies I have another non-cupcakes recipe!

Veggies & Beef

Serves 4

Ingredients:

- 800 gr thin beef steaks

- 1 medium size zucchini

- 2 carrots

- 2 chives

- 1 green pepper

- 2 garlic cloves

- 1 spring of parsley

- Olive oil

- Salt & pepper

Method:

- Wash and cut the ends of the zucchini. Scrape the carrots and wash them. Wash the pepper, cutting off the  seeds. Cut everything in stripes.

- Wash and clean the chives, cutting the roots and the less tender green parts, slice them but not too thin. Cut the beef into thin stripes. Reserve all the ingredients separatedly.

- In a deep frying pan or a wok, heat up enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan and sautee first the pepper for a pair of minutes on high heat, add salt and pepper to taste and remove from the pan, draining well. Saute the rest of the veggies separatedly the same way.

- Add the beef stripes to the same pan and saute till they start turning brown. Add salt & pepper to taste and the reserved cooked veggies. Stir everything together for about 1 minute and serve immediately, sprinkled with some chopped parsley.

- Enjoy!

Monday Munchies: Curry Pasta!

Monday is here again! And if for quite a number of people it can be a bit of tough Monday, going back to work after the Xmas break (here in Spain), we should always look forward to a new week that starts!

For this week's Monday Munchies I'm gonna take a break from all the cupcake recipes I've been sharing as of late, and share something a bit more healthy and more everyday like meal, which combines two of my fave things: pasta and curry! I love the smell of cooking with curry and spices, it makes me think of India and the bf!

Curry Pasta

Serves 4

Ingredients:

- 300 gr farfalle (or any other pasta you have around).

- 2 onions

- 2 apples

- 1/2 lemon

- 1 teaspoon curry (or more, as you like it)

- 1 teaspoon corn flour

- 150 ml cream or double cream, the one for cooking only

- olive oil

- salt and pepper

Method:

- Peel, core and cut the apples in bite size bits. Squeeze the half lemon and pour it over the apple so it doesn't darken. Peel the onions and slice them, so you get long but thing onion bits.

- In a deep pan, heat 4 tablespoons olive oil and saute the onion for about 8 mins until it is soft and transparent. Add the apple bits, and also add with curry and pepper. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring carefully with a wooden spoon. Disolve de corn flour in the cream and add it to the pan. Cook in low heat for about 12 minutes stirring with the wooden spoon.

- Boil the pasta in salted water, according to the packet instructions. Drain them and mix them with the onions and apples. 

- Serve hot & Enjoy!

Don't worry if you don't like onions much, I don't and I love this dish! The onions aren't the main flavour here, and if you cook them right, they won't have the crunchy taste you might dislike!

Monday Munchies: Chocolate with Fluff and Nutella Cupcakes!

Hey there! Late Monday today entry today, cause I've gone to have breakfast with my friends with uni (I took some carrot cake cupcakes with me for them) and then came home for lunch and then straight to work, so I'm just sharing my first improvisation for cupcakes that I made for my youngest nephew, Alex!

So for Monday Munchies: Chocolate with fluff & nutella cupcakes! For the base cupcakes, I used the chocolate recipe from Alma's Cupcakes (from the little booklet with recipes that she gave us during the beginners' course).

Chocolate with fluff & nutella cupcakes!

Makes 12

Ingredients:

- 115 gr butter, room temperature

- 220 gr granulated sugar

- 2 medium sized eggs

- 240 gr plain flour

- 30 gr cocoa powder (without sugar)

- 1 teaspoon baking powder

- 120 ml semi skimmed milk

- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method:

- Preheat the oven at 180ºC (350ºF). Line the cupcake pan with paper cases.

- Cream the butter with the sugar till whitens and is well mixed. Add the eggs one by one, beating well after each one till it's well combined.

- Sift together the flour, with the baking powder and cocoa. In a glass mix the milk with the vanilla extract.

- Add half the flour to the mixture and mix well, then add half the milk and beat till well combined again, then add the other half of the flour, beat well and lastly, add the rest of the milk.

- Distribute the mixture on the paper cases, till about 2/3. Bake for about 22 to 25 minutes, or till a toothpick comes out clean,

- Let cool in the cupcake pan for about 5 mins, and then place in a rack to let cool completely.

Once cooled off, with an apple corer, take a bit off each cupcake, taking care not to get to the bottom of the cupcake!

Then fill them up (not till the very top!) with Fluff! (Marshmallow cream, yum!), I used a pipping bag to fill them up.

Once they're full with Fluff, it's time to put back the chocolate bit we took out, though the Fluff might pop it out a bit! To fix that, I melted a bit of Nutella (I did it in the oven, since it was hot from baking them), and I used it to cover the cupcakes, to keep the chocolate bit in and to finish it off! I added a few snowflake sprinkles!

They looked pretty nice, and Alex absolutely loved them!!

Monday Munchies: Jamón serrano and parmesan savoury cupcakes!

Happy Monday & Boxing Day everyone!

I hope you all had a wonderful time with the family for the holidays this weekend. I had to work, but I had some good family meals, and some nice baking time too!

I made these savoury cupcakes, my first not sweet cupcakes, on the 24th morning, to take something for work on Christmas' Eve shift. These photos are also a bit special, cause after taking them my dear camera took a dive towards the floor, BUT thankfully, the only casualty was the filter I had on my lens, but the camera and lens themselves are without a scratch! *insert massive sigh of relief here* So, good advice of the day for anyone with a DSLR, do buy a protective filter for all and any of your lenses, you might be as grateful as I was one day!

I got this recipe from one of my most recent cookbooks, Hamlyn 200 Cupcakes, but I did modify it a little bit, instead of using pancetta I decided to use some jamón serrano, an awesome cured ham from Spain!

Jamón Serrano and Parmesan Savoury Cupcakes

Makes 12

Ingredients:

- 100 gr/3 1/2 oz jamón serrano thinly sliced

- 4 tablespoons olive oil

- 300 gr/10 oz self-raising flour

- 2 teaspoons baking powder

- 50 gr/2 oz Parmesan cheese, finely grated

- 200 ml/7 fl oz milk (I used skimmed milk)

- 1 egg, beaten

- 2 tablespoons grainy mustard

Method:

- Line the cupcakes with paper cases, preheat the oven at 200ºC (400ºF). Cut 9 x5 cm (2 inch) strips from the jamón serrano. Finely chop the remainder. Microwave between paper towels on full heat for about 2 minutes until crispy. Reserve the longer strips for decorating.

- Put the flour and baking powder in a bowl. Stir in the Parmesan and chopped jamón serrano until evenly mixed.

- Whisk together the oil, milk, egg and mustard with a fork in a jug and add to the bowl. Stir gently until only just combined.

- Divide the mixture between the paper cases and place one of the reserved strips of jamón serrano on top of each cupcake.

- Bake for about 15-20 mins or until risen and pale golden. Test with a toothpick that comes clean to confirm. Transfer to a wire rack. Serve warm or cold.

Monday Munchies: Carrot And Cardamom Cupcakes!!s!

Hello everyone!! *yawns* How's Monday going? I hope it's going nicely and starting the week with a bang, but in case you need a little pick me up, I have something to share for this week's Monday Munchies that is sure to help you all perk up a bit: cupcakes!


Carrot and cardamom cupcakes to be precise! This recipe can be found in thecupcakerecipes.com and I was linked by the very awesome Lisa from Birmingham Cupcakes Co. (thanks, Lis!). This recipe has become my mum's fave, and it's a little more healthy than your regular cupcakes recipe since it has oil instead of butter, and it even has some veggies in it! ;)

Also, this was my first recipe made using my Matrioska measuring cups! I just was tired of having to converting cups to grams everytime I wanted to do a recipe!


Carrot & Cardamom Cupcakes
Makes 12

Ingredients:
For the batter:

- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 2/3 cup sunflower oil
- 2 eggs
- Grated peel of 1 unwaxed orange.
- Seeds from 5 cardamom pods, crushed
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 & 1/2 cups self-raising flour
- 2 carrots, grated
- 1/2 cup walnuts or pecans, shelled, roughly chopped. I used walnuts.

For the icing:

- 2/3 cup mascarpone
- Finely grated peel of 1 unwaxed orange
- 1 & 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
- 1/3 cup confectioners sugar, sifted.

Method:

- Preheat the oven to 180ºC (350ºF) and line a cupake pan with paper liners (I used this new red foil ones I got recently).
- Break up the sugar in a bowl using the back of a fork (or if you used just regular brown sugar like me, you can skip that bit), then beat in the oil and eggs. Stir in the grated orange peel, the crushed cardamom seeds and the ginger, then sift the flour into the mixture and fold in, adding last the grated carrots and walnuts.
- Distribute the batter between the liners, do not fill more than 2/3 since they raise quite a bit in the oven. Bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Leave to cool in the pan for about 5 minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before decorating.

- For the icing, beat the mascarpone, sugar, orange peel and lemon juice together in a bowl and spread over the cupcakes. The amount is enough to decorate with a spatula, but if you want to pipe it nicely (like I did with the Wilton 1M tip) you'll need twice as much!

Monday Munchies: Kiwi Cupcakes via La Dulce Magdalena!!

Monday again! And despite my good intentions, not a blog entry since last Monday... but this time it was a damned cold that kept me running at about 50% and even though I managed not to miss work, I just didn't have the brain power for much more.

I'm thinking that I was very lucky to have managed to make these really yummy cupcakes last Friday, but I had promised cupcakes to my friend Irene for when she came over for coffee, and cupcakes she had!

I got this super yummy recipe from the blog of another amazing Spanish lady that bakes marvels, La Dulce Magdalena!

These cupcakes are amazingly moist and fluffy, I think the kiwi pieces in the batter are the cause, and the cheese & lemon frosting is absolutely delicious! So much, that my dad ate all the left over frosting in the bowl!

You can find the original recipe HERE in Spanish, but I'm gonna translate for all you English speaking ladies.

Kiwi Cupcakes

Makes about 15 regular sized cupcakes

Ingredients:

For the batter:

- 200 gr flour

- 2 teaspoons baking powder

- 170 gr unsalted butter

- 180 gr granulated sugar

- 3 eggs beaten

- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

- 2 kiwis, peeled and cubed

- More kiwi, laminated, to decor.

For the frosting:

- 225 gr cream cheese (Philadelphia type).

- 45 gr room temperature butter

- 75 gr powder sugar

- 1 teaspoon sugar extract, or if you don't have any, subtitute for 2 teaspoons lemon juice and its zest.

Method:

- Preheat the oven at 160ºC (325ºF) and prepare a cupcake pan with cupcakes cases. In a bowl, shift the flour and baking power together. In another bowl cream together butter and sugar, then add the eggs, adding the flour & baking powder and the vanilla extract. Mix well. Add half the cubed kiwis to the batter, combining well, don't overmix.

- Fill the cupcakes cases, not more than 2/3 of them. Make sure the batter is even and then spread the rest of the cubed kiwi on top. Bake for 20-30 minutes, till a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool for 5 minutes in the cupcake pan, and then cool off completely in a rack.

- Meanwhile prepare the frosting mixing the butter with the icing sugar, beating well and add the cream cheese, add the lemon and mix well (it can be done by hand, though better with an electric mixer). You can use either a piping bag or just spread it with a spoon. Add a slice of kiwi on top to finish them up.

- Eat them all!!

Monday Munchies: Lemon Muffins!

Hello everyone! Somewhat regular blogging from India! From my tablet, using my sister-in-law's wifi... while we're planning G's nephew b-day party! So in that festive mood, I leave you with a yummy recipe for Monday Munchies!

Lemon Muffins

Makes 16-18

Ingredients:

- 2 or 3 lemons

- 60 ml lemon yogurt

- 300 gr plain flour

- 2 eggs

- 180 gr sugar

- 15 gr baking powder

- 125 ml sunflower oil

Method:

- Wash and dry one lemon, you'll need the grated zest. Squeeze all lemons, to get 125 ml of lemon juice (use more lemons if need be, mine were small, so I used 5). Make sure you filter it so there won't be any seeds. Beat eggs and sugar in a bowl till they whiten and double their size. If you do it with electric mixer it'll be easier and done in a shorter time.

- Add oil, juice, grated zest and yogurt and mix well so there are no lumps. Sieve in the flour with the baking powder, and mix again till al ingredients are well mixed. Let the batter sit for about 30 minutes at room temperature. Preheat oven at 180ºC.

- Prepare the muffin pan with liners (since it yields about 16 to 18, you might need two pans or make two turns in the oven) and fill them up till 3/4. Bake for 20 minutes. Once they're done (test with a toothpick and if it comes out clean, they're done) get them in a rack to cool.

Monday Munchies: Goat's Cheese and Zucchini mini pizzas!!

Hello everyone! Monday is here, and even though I work night shift tonight and tomorrow, I'm leaving for India on Thursday! So this is gonna be a short week for me!

To start the week right I wanna share a yummy recipe with you all for this week's Monday Munchies!

Goat's Cheese & Zucchini mini pizzas

Serves 4

Ingredients:

- 400 gr flour

- 20 gr fresh yeast

- 2 small zucchini

- 2 teaspoons of dried oregano

- 3 thyme springs

- 200 gr goat's cheese (the roll variery)

- olive oil

- tomatoes & lettuce to make some side salad.

- salt

Method:

- Wash & dry thyme. Separate the leaves and put them in a bowl, add three tablespoons olive oil and let macerate.

- Put the flour in a bowl with the yeast diluted in 10 dl warm water. Add 50 ml olive oil and a pinch of salt and mix with a spatula. Knead the dough with your hands till it's elastic. Leave it to reast for 30 minutes, covered, in a warm place. Then, split it into 4 pieces, and with the help of a rolling pin make 4 discs.

- Add some tomato sauce for extra juiciness, then bake the dough in the preaheated oven at 180ºC for 5 minutes. Wash the zucchini, dry & slice them. Distribute the zucchini slices and the goat's cheese sliced over the 4 pieces. Add some salt and pour the thyme oil. Bake for 10 more minutes. Grill for a pair more minutes and serve with the tomatoes & lettuce as side salad.

- Enjoy!

Monday Munchies: Hummus, yummy hummus!

A new week is here, and while I recover from last night's shift at work, I wanna share with you a very easy & yummy recipe to feed the tummy on this Monday Munchies edition!

Hummus

Serves 4

Ingredients:

- 400 gr boiled chickpeas (a can of ready made chickpeas will work)

- 1 garlic clove

- 1 lemon

- 3 tablespoons sesame seeds

- Ground cumin

- Paprika

- Salt

- Black pepper

- Olive oil

Method:

- Drain the chickpeas & wash them to get rid of the preserving liquid in the can, drain them well again; put them in the blender. Crush the sesame seeds in a mortar till you get a paste, dilute it with a bit of water and add it to the blender too.

- Peel the garlic clove and squeeze the lemon, filter the juice. Add both to the blender with a drizzle of olive oil, a pinch of ground cumin, salt & pepper to taste. Blend everything till you get a thick paste but no lumps, you can add a bit of water if it's too thick.

- Sprinkle a bit of paprika & olive oil on top, and serve with stick of raw carrot & cucumber and some pita bread for a delicious lunch or dinner!

Monday Munchies: Macaroni with Sausages!

Hello everyone!


On a very stormy Monday, there's nothing like a yummy recipe to raise the spirits and if it's a pasta dish, it'll give you an energy kick!




Macaroni with Sausages
Serves 4

Ingredients:

- 300 gr macaroni
- 200 gr mushrooms
- 200 gr sausages (I use precooked ones but you can use fresh).
- 40 gr shredded cheese
- a whole garlic clove
- 2 sprigs of garlic

Method:

- Clean & wash the mushrooms, and cut them in fours. Wash the parsley, drain and separate the leaves.

- Cut the sausages in bit sized pieces. In a nonstick skillet, saute them for about two minutes with enough oil to cover the bottom of the skillet. Add the mushrooms, and the garlic, peeled and cut, and continue to saute, stirring often, for about three more minutes.

- Boil the macaroni with about 1 litre salted water till it's al dente (tender) and drain it. Add them to the skillet with the sausages & mushrooms, add salt & pepper to taste and saute all together to combine.

- Serve with the parsley leaves and the shredded cheese. Enjoy!

Monday Munchies: Rice with chicken and raisins!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!


Today I'm going back to Monday Munchies recipes, and though this one isn't the most exotic of recipes, it is a yummy one and it has cinnamon (supposedly aphrodisiac) so it could be a good idea for a homey Valentine's dinner!




Rice With Chicken & Raisins
Serves 4

Ingredients:

- 400 gr rice
- 1 chicken breast
- 1 big onion
- 50 gr raisins
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- olive oil
- salt & pepper

Method:

- Put a pan with salted water on the stove. When the water starts boiling, add the rice and cook for 18 minutes. Then cool it under the tap with cold water and let it drain well.

- Clean the chicken breast, wash, dry it well and cut it bite sized pieces, add salt to taste. In a non-stick pan, shallow fry the chicken with enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan. Once done, put the chicken bits on a plate covered with paper towels, so they absorb the excess oil.

- Peel the onion, cut it thinly and cook it on low heat in the same pan you used for the chicken, once the onion starts getting translucent, add the raisins and the chicken. Saute them together for a few minutes and add the ground cinnamon. Add some more salt if needed, sprinkle some ground black pepper and add the rice. Mix well on high heat for a pair of minutes so the rice mixes well with the rest.

- Serve hot and enjoy!

Monday Munchies: Stuffed Eggplant!

Hello everyone!


It's Monday once again, and after my adventure stuck in Heathrow for 5 days due to climate conditions and poor preparations from BAA, after Christmas, and after an awful morning shift today at work... I'm finally back on track on my blog!


And to celebrate, nothing like a yummy new recipe. Quick, easy & healthy for after indulging in Christmas, and enough of a comfort food for the cold days we have ahead! This one is filling enough to be a single dish dinner or served with some salad.


Stuffed Eggplant
Serves 4

Ingredients:

- 4 small eggplants
- 1 onion
- 150 gr grated cheese
- 200 gr cottage cheese
- 2 eggs
- Small branch of parsley
- Small branch of mint
- Olive oil
- Sea Salt
- Salt & Black pepper

Method:

- Blunt & cut the eggplants in half lengthwise. Spread the sea salt on them and leave them facing down for about 30 minutes in veggie drainer, so they’ll lose their bitterness. Wash & dry them up with kitchen paper.

- Preheat the oven at 180ºC (350ºF) and bake them in a baking tray for 30 or 35 minutes. While still warm hollow them with a small spoon, be careful to keep the skin intact, and reserve the pulp for later.

- Peel and chop the onion in small pieces, fry it in enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan for about 7 minutes. Then transfer it to a bowl with the grated cheese, the cottage cheese crumbled, the chopped parsley & mint, the two beaten eggs and the chopped eggplants pulp. Add salt & pepper to taste and mix till combined well.

- Stuff the eggplant halves with this mix and bake again at 180ºC for about 15 to 20 minutes. Grill for about 5 more minutes till the top starts to turn a lil brown.

- Transfer to plates, two halves per person, and serve while still pipping hot. Enjoy!