Recipe: Butternut bread puffs

Here is an other vegetarian treat for you, and an other easy and yummi way to cook butternut. The idea came from a mexican corn puff my father used to make when I was a child. It was soooo easy and so tasty, as a child I loved it, and still, when I make a party at home it frequently comes up as a treat for my guests.

Again, the recipe is very easy. The fried dough is somewhere between a doughnut and fresh bread, it`s very easy to eat it without stopping it`s so delicious! You can also serve it with several dips, I found that some fresh greek yoghurt with dill and shallots are the perfect companions. Or you can try some pesto dip, or pretty much whatever you like! Ps…serve it with some crunchy fresh vegetables!

Ingredients

(As a starter or a snack for 5-6 people)

• Half of a butternut, skin off, chopped i medium cubes
• 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
• salt, pepper,sumac,curry
• 1kg of flour
• 2 packs of dried yeast
• 3 eggs

yoghurt dressing

• 1 cup greek, thick yoghurt
• 2 red shallots, finely chopped
• handful of chopped fresh dill
• 1 spoon white vine vinegar
• salt, white pepper

 

First roast the butternut with the garlic, some olive oil and the spices in the oven, for about 20 minutes (or untill soft and easy to mash) on 180C.

Meanwhile mix the flour, egg, and the yeast. Set it aside and wait for the butternut to be ready. When soft, mash it and mix it together with the dough. If it’s too soft add some more flour. Set aside for about 30 minutes or until it starts to rise.

Chop some red shallots, fresh dill and mix with the yoghurt and the vinegar. Season. Keep in fridge.

When dough is ready, for small balls with your hands. About half a size of a golf ball. Deep fry. Make sure your oil isn`t too hot, as the dough rises for the double while frying, and the middle might end up raw.

Serve with the yoghurt and some fresh vegetables!

Enjoy!

 

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Recipe: Spicy butternut Arancini balls!

Well, if there`s one thing I really like, is fried food. It`s a bad habit and I should eat much MUCH less from it, as a hungarian it regularly comes back into my “diet”. For a while I thought we are the only nation who obsessed with it. And I mean seriously, we deep fry anything! Cheese, chicken, cauliflower, pumpkin, anything, and sometimes it seems to me this it the only food we really sell in food court`s or in take aways. Other thing I really like is italian food, dunno why I always did enjoy my pasta and fresh vegetables, and antipasto buffets. When I realised italians also love dipping their food into hot oil. Such like arancini, or the other name suppli.

Arancini, are very easy to make, and they are very filling. We are talking about a bit al dante risotto base mixed with some egg, mozzarella cheese, and butter, rolled into balls, batter, and deep fried. One can be a snack between meals, or 3 of them with some salad can make a complete lunch, as they are very filling.  Also, they are a good way to reycle some leftover risotto from last nights dinner, into a snack which the whole family enjoys. And as much as you can make risotto from pretty much anything, so you can make arancini balls from about anything.

We are coming close to butternut season, and now the kitchen I`m currently working in, has it`s hands on a very big delivery of butternut, so we are trying to put various things on the menu that people might still and enjoy, and can be a bit of change after butternut soup for example. So came the idea of butternut arancini!

Ingredients (for about 10 medium sized balls)

2 cups of cooked risotto rise, dry, not overcooked, not seasoned

1 half of a medium butternut, no skin, no seeds

spices sumac, white pepper, kurkuma, cajun pepper, salt

3 cloves of garlic chopped

olive oil

1 big mozzarella-chopped

1 egg

3 spoons of butter

flour, egg wash, and breadcrumbs for the batter

Cut medium big cubes out of the butternut, season it with the spices, add some olive oil and the garlic, put it on a baking tray, and roast it for about 25 minutes on 180C in the oven. It might take longer time, It`s ready when you can easily mash the butternut with a fork.

Cook the risotto rise, on some butter, gradually adding the stock, and reducing the liquid. It`s ready when the rice is only a littlebit hard in the middle. Take it off the heat but don`t cool!

To the medium warm risotto base add the butter-it has to melt inside, the egg- make sure you whisk it very fast, or you going to end up with scrambled eggs in your rise, and the mashed butternut, and the chopped mozzarella. The mozzarella also has to melt in your mix. If doesn`t put it back on the heat, make sure it doesn`t burn!

Form medium sized balls… well, the size is somewhere between a tennis ball and a table tennis ball. It`s a good handful. Start battering, as dipping it first to the flour, and egg, and breadcrumbs. Now here the egg and breadcrumb part you need to do twice, so the batter will hold, and won`t fall off during frying.  Fry in hot oil..make sure you have enough oil to cover the balls completely!

Enjoy! As it is really!:)

 

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Pasta made easy 1: Tortelli with Butternut Squash

It`s September, and we know it not only because the school starts, but the markets and supermarket shelves are getting full with pumpkins and squash. I have to tell you it is one of my favourite vegetables. It`s so tasty and good almost in and with anything. Soup,dip, lasagna, pie you name it, this orange treat its versatile, easy to use, and with the right seasoning we can reach to new culinary heights.

Of course it is also perfect with pasta. Pasta is good, pasta is a heavenly invention, which almost everybody likes and can be eaten with anything. What I love about it the most is, when the fridge is empty an there’s nothing at home, some pasta with some oil and herbs can even save a day or a hangover.

ingredients

Half of a butternut squash

3 cloves of garlic

olive oil

salt

1 pack of tortelli or any pasta really

a bit of butter

100ml of creme

Slice the squash into wedges, put it in a baking dish, with the garlic, salt and oil, and put it in the oven for 180C for about 30-40 minutes or until soft.

Cook the tortelli

When The squash is ready mash it in a saucepan with the butter and creme and fold in the tortelli. Now, you can use any seasoning you like sage, thyme, sumac and nutmeg are good friends with the squash. You can add some extra salt and maybe some white pepper. Perfect with white wine. Enjoy!

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