Homemade hazelnut spread

I got this recipe from David Lebovitz's living the sweet life in Paris blog. It kind of worked perfectly with my intent to try and make at home most or all of my favorite foods that I usually get from the store. I hope some of you also pick up on this because you will see how much better everything tastes after you have made it in your kitchen and from scratch. And not just better but also more real, more aromatic, more intense... try making it and you'll understand what I am talking about.

David's recipes have that urban and classy note that I like, and at the same time they are very down-to-earth and within everyone's reach. I am very inspired by the things he does, by his philosophy that anyone can (I add, should) cook, and hope to continue to be inspired and to share the things that inspire me with you.

I am happy that my cold is gone, and that again I can go back to doing the things I love. After I was done with this recipe, I had one large jar of spread that I planned for us, and two smaller jars I want to give away as presents to my friends. I've also made some cute labels but they were not ready for this photo session - you'll have a chance to see them soon.


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Ovaj sam recept preuzela i prilagodila sa bloga Davida Lebovitza living the sweet life in Paris. Savršeno se uklapa u moju odluku (tj. pokušaj) da napravim kod kuće sve ono što volim jesti a što sam navikla kupovati u prodavnici. Nadam se da ću ovim inspirisati i neke od vas, jer sve što sam do sada napravila u svojoj kuhinji i od osnovnih sastojaka bilo je daleko ukusnije od bilo čega što sam mogla kupiti. I ne samo više ukusno, već i na neki način više konkretno, aromatično, intenzivno... Samo pokušajte pa će vam biti jasno o čemu govorim.

Davidovi recepti imaju taj urbani i profinjeni šarm koji mi se inače dopada, a u isto vrijeme su vrlo realistični i pristupačni za sve. Njegov rad me inspiriše, kao i njegova filozofija da svi možemo (ja dodajem, i trebamo) kuhati. Nadam se da ću ostati na ovom nivou inspiracije kako bih mogla dijeliti s vama mnoge lijepe, ukusne i nove recepte i fotografije.

Sretna sam da sam napokon ozdravila, i da ponovno mogu da radim sve ono što volim. Nakon što sam napravila ovaj namaz, dobila sam jednu veliku teglu koju planiram ostaviti za nas, i dvije manje teglice koje će biti slatki pokloni za moje najbliže. Čak sam napravila i simpatične naljepnice za teglice, ali nisam stigla da ih spremim za ovu fazu fotografisanja. Nadam se da ću vam ih uskoro pokazati.

I discovered this recipe a while ago but was inspired to make it into a post recently, after seeing a photo my friend posted on her Facebook timeline. It featured her less than a year old baby girl E., sitting on the kitchen floor and eating out of a Nutella jar that was as big as she is (she had Nutella all over her adorable rosy, plump cheeks). It reminded me how much everyone I know loves Nutella (and other varieties of this chocolate and hazelnut spread), and how much this particular treat (that we could eat as part of an 'official' breakfast, yay!) made a happy part of our childhoods.


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U suštini, ja sam ovaj recept otkrila prije izvjesnog vremena, ali sam odlučila da napišem post nedavno, nakon što sam zadivljeno gledala u fotografiju koju je moja prijateljica stavila na njen Facebook timeline. Na fotografiji je njena kćerkica E. Ona sjedi na kuhinjskom podu i jede iz tegle Nutelle koja je gotovo velika koliko i ona sama (E. ima skoro jednu godinu). Možete zamisliti - Nutella je razmazana po njenim divnim ružičastim, okruglim obrazima, i izgleda kao lopov kojeg su uhvatili u krađi. Sve to me podsjetilo koliko svi koje poznajem vole ovaj namaz, i u kojoj je mjeri on obilježio naša djetinjstva (eurokrem se 'pikao' kao 'zvaničan' dio doručka - jupi!).

Homemade hazelnut spread

Ingredients (makes about two cup-size jars)

40 g almond meal
160 g hazelnuts
400 g whole milk
60 g powdered milk
210 g dark chocolate
40 g mild-flavored honey
pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 180 C. Spread hazelnuts on a baking sheet and toast them 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until browned. Be careful not to burn them or they will be bitter. Remove from the oven and taste one or two. This is when you begin to recognize the aroma of your hazelnut spread. The next step involves removing the skins. You can do this in two ways. One is to transfer the nuts onto a clean tea towel, wrap them tightly and rub vigorously between your hands. Since this can get a tad messy, the other option is to place them in a paper bag and then rub, as the bag will not absorb the oils and skin bits as readily. I usually rub them for a few minutes, then unwrap and remove those that are ready. Then I wrap the remainder and continue rubbing. You do not need to remove all the skins, just as much as you can at the moment.

Once hazelnuts are ready, boil the milk just until it starts to simmer and remove from heat. Add powdered milk and honey, and stir until completely mixed. Set aside.

Using a food processor, grind hazelnuts and almond meal. I don't own a food processor, so I did this using a manual grinder. Since it does not make the nuts as fine as they should be, after grinding them I transferred them to an old coffee grinder, and continued to grind until they were fine enough. It might seem like a lot of work, but keep in mind you only have 200 g (hazelnuts + almond meal that I also ground in the coffee grinder).

In a clean, dry bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, melt the chocolate until smooth. David used 170 g of dark and 140 g milk chocolate. Personally, I find dark chocolate to have a much deeper aroma, so I used dark chocolate only. You can adjust to your preferences. Add melted chocolate to the nuts and combine. Do this in the food processor if you own one. I pureed it with a mixer. Finally, add warm milk and mix together until smooth. Pour in clean jars and refrigerate. the mixture will be quite runny which will make it easier to transfer to the jars. But do not worry though, after a few hours in the fridge, it will have that smooth texture, perfect for spreading on fresh bread.


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Domaći lješnikov namaz

Sastojci (za dvije teglice veličine jedne čaše)

40 g bademovog brašna (možete ga kupiti u Butiku Badem - oni će također samljeti za vas šta god želite)
160 g lješnika
400 g mlijeka
60 g mlijeka u prahu
210 g tamne čokolade (za kuhanje ili čak neke sa viših postotkom kakaa)
40 g blagog meda (npr. livadski)
1/8 kašičice soli

Zagrijte rernu na 180 C. Raširite lješnike na lim za pečenje, i pržite ih 10-15 minuta, dok ne postanu zlatni i dok ne osjetite fantastičnu lješnikovu aromu koja se širi kuhinjom. Povremeno ih promiještajte kako bi se ravnomjerno zagrijali i kako ne bi izgorjeli (ako izgore bit će gorki i neupotrebljivi za ovaj recept). Izvadite ih iz rerne i probajte jedan ili dva. Već sada ćete moći osjetiti aromu lješnikovog namaza u pripremi.

Sljedeći korak podrazumijeva uklanjanje ljuske. To možete uraditi na dva načina. Jedan je da prebacite tople lješnike na čistu kuhinjsku, platnenu krpu, zamotate ih u nju i trljate snažno između ruku. Neki preferiraju da ih stave u papirnu vrećicu i ponove isto, jer će se krpa isprljati. Ja ih obično trljam par minuta, pa onda rastvorim krpu i odvojim one koji su već oguljeni, i ponovim proceduru. Nije potrebno ukloniti svaki milimetar ljuspica, već samo onoliko koliko u trenutku možete.

Kad su lješnjaci spremni, prokuhajte mlijeko do momenta kad počne da vri i sklonite sa vatre. Dodajte mlijeko u prahu i med, i miješajte sve dok se prah i med u potpunosti ne otope. Ostavite postrani.

Koristeći električnu sjeckalicu za hranu, ili blender, sameljite lješnjake i bademovo brašno. Ja nemam ovu električnu sjeckalicu, pa sam sve to uradila ručnom mašinicom za mljevenje orašastih plodova. Kako nakon toga lješnjaci i dalje nisu dovoljno sitni, dodatno sam ih usitnila u električnom mlinu za kafu. Isto sam uradila i sa bademovim brašnom jer ni ono nije dovoljno sitno. Možda se čini kao puno posla, ali ne zaboravite da imate samo 200 g lješnika i badema za samljeti. U svakom slučaju, vrlo je vjerovatno da će poneki komadić da vam pobjegne - i to je sasvim u redu.

Otopite čokoladu na pari, tako što ćete staviti suhu zdjelu sa čokoladom iznad šerpe sa jedva kipućom vodom. David je koristio 170 g tamne i 140 g mliječne čokolade. Lično smatram da tamna čokolada ima daleko puniju aromu od mliječne, tako da sam ja koristila samo tamnu - vi možete uraditi onako kako više volite. Nakon što otopite čokoladu, dodajte je mljevenim lješnicima i bademu i pomiješajte. Ako imate sjeckalicu za hranu, sve ovo možete uraditi u njoj. Ja sam koristila štap mikser i bilo je sasvim zadovoljavajuće. Na kraju dodajte toplo mlijeko i miješajte dok se sastojci potpuno ne sjedine. Uspite u čiste teglice i držite u frižideru 2-3 sata. U početku će smjesa biti jako žitka, što je dobro jer se onda lakše uspe u tegle. Ne brinite, nakon nekoliko sati u frižideru imat će savršenu teksturu.

In addition to using dark chocolate only, I also used chestnut honey - not very mild you'll say. That was the only kind of honey I had at home, and this led me to think that every time I make this spread, I can vary the type of honey, and certainly each honey will add its own undertone to the overall aroma. These kinds of things are very exciting to me.

And that is yet another thing you get when you make things on your own. They turn out differently almost every time, and this can be very interesting and adventurous.


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Pored toga što sam, za razliku od Davida, koristila samo tamnu čokoladu, također sam upotrijebila i kestenov med. Ne baš blag med, reći ćete. Da, ali to je jedini koji sam imala, i sve to me navelo na pomisao da svaki put kad budem pripremala ovaj namaz, mogu koristiti drugu vrstu meda. Svaka vrsta će, zauzvrat, dati svoju posebnu notu cjelokupnom ukusu namaza. Ovakve stvari su za mene veoma uzbudljive.

I to je još jedna stvar koju dobijete kad sami kuhate. Svako jelo gotovo svaki naredni put bude za nijansu drugačije, što daje puno prostora eksperimentisanju i može biti veoma interesantno.

Two Soups

I told Layla I was sick, and she said that if she were here, she would make some soup for me. How sweet, I thought. But then (in the next ten seconds or so) she completely forgot about it all and went on talking about her new toy or something.

Kids.

I made these soups in the past days, as part of my quest to finally beat this cold. I'm kind of losing the battle here though - I am beginning to think that the cold will go away when it feels like it and not a moment sooner. But I guess a bowlful of vitamins cannot hurt. One soup has a butternut squash base, and the other a potato base. It was really a lot of fun figuring out ways to serve them. By far, I think these sweet potato chips are a winner. They have a perfect crunch to go with the creamy texture of the soup. 

I also want to take a moment and thank my wonderful husband for doing a lot of painting around the house for me (and this blog). For example, this new white surface in the photos is completely his handiwork (instructions are mine). We have also made two new blue ones - cannot wait to photograph them. As always, there's more to come!

Potato and Celery Root Cream Soup with Sweet Potato Chips

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 medium celery root, peeled and diced
5 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp red pepper
1 L chicken or vegetable stock
1/4 cup coconut milk
2 long sweet potatoes, thinly sliced
more olive oil for frying
 

In a medium size pot, lightly fry the garlic and onion in the olive oil for about 2 minutes. Add the diced celery root and potato, salt and pepper, and sauté for another minute. Add the stock (enough to cover) and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and cook for about 20 minutes until the vegetables have softened. Remove from stove and puree the soup. Add the coconut milk and more salt or red pepper if necessary.

In the meantime, slice the purple potato with a mandolin or a really sharp knife. Heat the olive oil and fry the sliced potatoes for about 30 seconds to a minute (until they crisp up). Drain them on paper towels and season with sea salt. Use as garnish or serve on the side.

Butternut Squash, Carrot and Celeriac Cream Soup

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

3 small carrots, peeled and diced

1 celery stalk

1 medium celeriac, peeled and diced

half a small butternut squash, peeled and diced (seeds removed)

1 medium potato, peeled and diced

1 tsp freshly ground coriander

1 L vegetable broth

salt and pepper

In a medium size pot, lightly warm olive oil. Add garlic, carrots and celery, and sauté until soft and tender (about 5 minutes). Add celeriac, squash, potato and sprinkle coriander. Cook for 5 more minutes. Stir occasionally. Add the vegetable broth. Bring the soup to a boil, cover the pot and reduce the heat to medium. Cook for another 15-20 minutes, or until vegetables are tender. 

Remove the pot from the stove and puree the soup. Season with salt and pepper (you may add more warm water if the soup is not thin enough).  

I will add just one more photo (forgot about it the first time), so you can see better how the potato cream soup looked like. I've also made a kid-size serving in a funny bowl with furry cats drawn on the side, Layla would love it.

PASSIONate

I am escaping this cold that has been bugging me for a week by indulging recipes from the warmer climates. Today's journey took me Down Under, for a creamy and refreshing coconut and passion fruit recipe.

Ever cooked with passion fruit? Chances are many of you will say 'no', and that's to be expected - passion fruit is hard to come by in our part of the world. If you get at all excited about trying new things, then I recommend you get some the next time you go shopping. It is delicious on its own and can be mixed with other tropical fruit in exotic smoothies that will make your loved ones (and your palate) very happy.

I've used it in smoothies but never in cakes, so it's my first time too. This cake is easy and straightforward to prepare; it looks interesting and the taste itself will probably be new to you. 

I've also made three different smoothies: mango, orange, and lime combo; banana, vanilla, and passion fruit; and a mixed berry lassi (lassi is a yoghurt-based drink that originated in Asia, often served with Indian and Pakistani food - very refreshing). I guess what I am making here is not the original lassi drink - think of it as its western cousin. However, I cannot wait to feature the real lassi with some of my favorite Asian cooking, coming soon.

Mixed Berry Lassi

Ingredients

2 cups mixed berries (can use frozen ones, thaw for 15 minutes to half an hour)
2 tsp honey
2 cups plain yoghurt

Mix berries and honey together. Add yoghurt and blend all ingredients until smooth. Add ice to make the smoothie thinner, if preferred. Serve cold.

Mango, Orange and Lime Smoothie

Ingredients

1 large mango, peeled and cubed (here is how)
Juice and zest of one orange

A squeeze of fresh lime juice + zest to decorate (I made tiny rolls with it)

Mix the ingredients together and blend until smooth. Add ice to make the smoothie thinner, if preferred. Serve cold. 

This particular smoothie is also great as breakfast addition - when mixing ingredients, do not blend them completely (leave mango a bit chunky). Top with granola and/or sliced bananas, and serve. I've had a similar combo at Chicago's Jamba Juice and loved it. Homemade version is that much better.

 
Passion Fruit, Banana, and Vanilla Yoghurt Smoothie

Ingredients

2 large, ripe bananas, peeled and chopped

1 cup natural yoghurt (use vanilla yoghurt for a sweeter version)

3/4 cup milk

seeds of half of a vanilla bean (split the bean lengthwise and scrape the beans; when shopping look for beans that are easily bent - it is and indication of freshness)

1 passion fruit, halved and pulp removed, to decorate

Combine the ingredients (save for passion fruit) and blend them until smooth. Pour in serving glasses, decorate with passion fruit on top, and serve (passion fruit may also be mixed with the other ingredients). To dilute, add 2 ice cubes, crushed. Can add honey and/or two scoops of vanilla ice-cream for a sweeter drink.

Coconut and Passion Fruit Slice (adapted from Bill Granger)


Ingredients

Pastry:
125 g butter (room temperature)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
half vanilla bean (seeds scraped)
1 1/2 cup plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt

Filling:
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup coconut flakes
1/3 cup plain flour
1 1/2 cup cream
160 ml coconut milk
juice and zest of 1/2 lemon
1/2 cup passion fruit pulp

Preheat the oven to 180 C.

Place butter and sugar in a bowl and beat until light and creamy. Add egg and vanilla seeds, and beat well. Add flour, baking powder and salt and mix until a sticky dough forms. Press the dough into lightly oiled 23 x 23 cm tin. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes.

To make filling, place eggs and sugar in a bowl and mix until blended. Add coconut, flour, cream, coconut milk, lemon juice, zest and passion fruit pulp, and stir to combine. Pour the filling over pastry base in the tin. Bake for 40 minutes or until set and golden brown on top. Let cool and slice into squares.

Turkish gozleme with an Italian twist

When I finished with the previous post, I was pretty sure I knew what the next one would be about: pizza. These days I am completely in the mood for as much color on the plate as possible. I have planned out everything in my head but then I remembered - I don't really like pizza, and neither does M. (and that's about the only thing we agree on when it comes to food). Oddly enough, his favorite cuisine is Italian, but what he really dislikes about pizza is ketchup. 

I was back to square one, so I kept on researching and bumped into this gozleme recipe I discovered ages ago. That's it, I thought. I'll play around, and make the best out of the pizza ingredients I already bought.

The scientist in me likes to make a bit of an experiment out of (nearly) every meal, so I thought to put to the test this tomato sauce recipe I saw on the television the other night. Why not make something we do every day anyway just a bit more fun?

The final product was a real hit. Gozlemes are crispy on the outside and warm and aromatic on the inside. The filling combination I used worked really well for our taste, but you can use anything you have lying around - ricotta, peppers, eggplant, chicken breast if you prefer the meat version - the possibilities are many.


What really made the difference was the tomato sauce + Italian spice mix.

It is also great that I did not need to use any added salt (there is some sea salt in the Italian spice mix - the same one should be easy to find for most of you in nearly every supermarket).

Gozleme

Ingredients (makes 8)

3 cups plain flour

2 tsp salt

7 g dry yeast

1 tsp sugar

1 1/4 cups warm (not hot!) water

1. Combine flour and salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, warm up the water and add to it yeast and sugar. Stir to combine and let sit for 8-10 minutes until bubbly. Make a well in the flour mixture with your hands and add the yeast mixture. Form a mixture into dough - you can knead but I prefer to do all this in a mixer bowl using dough hooks (that way I have more free time on my hands). If using a stand mixer, once dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl take it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead with your hands for a few moments to shape it into an elastic and smooth ball.

2. Divide dough into eight equal balls (divide it in half, then divide each half in halves, and then divide each ball one more time in two halves - that way you get even pieces). Line a tray with non-stick paper, and place the dough balls on it. Cover it with a clean kitchen towel and let sit in a warm place for around 15 minutes or until doubled in size.

3. Preheat oven to 120 degrees Celsius. Prepare the ingredients for the filling while the dough rises.

4. Roll out a dough portion to approx. 25 by 20 cm rectangle, similar to this image. Spread the filling on one half, leaving free around 5 cm of dough on three of the sides (you are putting the filling on one half only; the other one will fold over to close the dough pocket, which is why there is no filling on it).

5. Fold over to enclose filling, pressing edges to seal tightly. First fold over the shorter sides and then cover with the longest side. Make sure the ends are pressed tightly so no filling can escape. You are going for the rectangular shape.

6. Heat a large non-stick grill pan over medium heat. When ready, brush olive oil on one side of the gozleme and turn it out on the grill pan (no need to oil the grill pan). Immediately brush the other side as well, cook for 2-3 minutes on one side until golden brown, and turn. Repeat this with each gozleme. Put the finished ones in the oven to keep them warm until all are ready.

Filling

Ingredients

Tomato sauce (see the recipe below, you can also use ketchup if you prefer)

Chopped spinach leaves

Button mushrooms (cleaned, sliced and baked in the oven for around 15 minutes with a pinch of salt and 1 tablespoon of olive oil)

Grated mozzarella

Italian spice mix

Olive oil

Layer the filling components one over the other in the order above.

Tomato sauce

Ingredients

10-12 cherry tomatoes

1 tbsp aceto balsamico

2 tbsp tomato paste

2 tbsp brown sugar

basil

Italian spice mix

Wash and halve the tomatoes. Add aceto balsamico, tomato paste, basil and brown sugar, and combine. Process everything together in a food processor or in a blender until it resembles a reddish-orange liquid. Drizzle a bit of olive oil, and add about 1/8 - 1/4 tsp of the spices (or chopped basil, if available). Cook everything in a saucepan for 5-10 minutes or until the water has reduced. Strain the mixture to remove excess water, and set aside.

I am very satisfied with how this recipe turned out and I will be making gozlemes for my guests pretty soon. Buon appetito and afiyet olsun!

Winter wonderland

We are having some really funny weather in Sarajevo. It has been snowing nearly non-stop and the city is almost completely paralyzed. Of course, the people are loving it - many were out today (literally) playing in the snow. Traffic has stopped, the air is cleaner, and everything is more quiet and peaceful.

I really love that about snow, the absence of sounds outside while it falls down - as if the time itself stops.

Sadly, I have not been cooking at all in the past week due to a cold I have been battling. This morning I gathered the strength to go in and prepare a hearty breakfast for us: yummy vanilla pancakes served with bananas and corn syrup; veggie sandwiches with American cheese, cherry tomatoes, arugula, pepper, cream cheese, and red onion, squeezed inside a halved baguette; oatmeal, my way: Greek yoghurt + Bosnian yoghurt, cinnamon, raisins, raw sunflower seeds, cranberries, and plain oatmeal; and finally, a vitamin C rich fruit salad with red and white grapefruit, kumquat, lime, oranges, and pomegranate.

Plus milk and/or hot summer savory tea.

I love these types of rich and colorful breakfasts, replete with different aromas and tastes. They are fun to prepare, to serve and to eat - different smells and colors are truly pleasing to the senses.

And I think it all goes really well with the all-white weather outside.

With this cold it is very likely that I won't be able to enjoy the snow like most of the people, but with little to do around the house I hope I will spend more time in the kitchen and with my camera.

I missed it.

If you're in Sarajevo, Bosnia, or if it simply snows where you live, enjoy it, stay warm, eat well, and, if you see someone cleaning snow off their roadway - help them :)