If you're a fan of the bright green flavor of zucchini, here's a comforting soup that really makes it shine without many other ingredients to hinder it.
Flavored with thyme, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil to serve and topped with croutons, this soup warms the spirit :).
Extremely simple and extremely delicious.
Recipe source: Adi Hadean.
Note: if you want more creaminess and don't care about keeping it vegan, you can replace the potato with liquid cream.
Last year: Chocolate banana bread with white chocolate chips.
The ideal thing to do when you have some left-over grilled chicken on your hands. Pair it with broccoli, a bit of Gruyere cheese (which we had left from baking a glorious Gruyere, rosemary and potato bread, by the way) and breadcrumbs and there you have it: a lovely casserole dinner with just 15 minutes of baking time. Not to mention that the actual pairing of tastes and textures is truly wonderful.
Enjoy :)
Last year: Potato, cheese and mushroom gratin.
Belgian brownies baked in muffin papers. A soft, gooey and intensely chocolate-flavored composition, with very little flour but with lots of sugar. A traditional Belgian recipe which collapses after being taken out of the oven creating this unique and recognizable appearance. And of course, don't even think about not making these with Belgian chocolate :)
Recipe source: Smitten kitchen.
Last year: Polish buttermilk drink (Kwasne Mleko Ze Szczypiorkiem).
Grill-able cheese (Halloumi) is a really interesting and delicious specialty from Cyprus. Often accompanied by grilled veggies, rubbed with garlic oil and served on bulgur pilaf. And that's exactly how we had it here as well. Easy to make at home on a grill pan, it quickly became a go-to dish in the Western world, as happens to most delicious local specialties. Taste it (in case you haven't already) and you'll understand why :)
Last year: Scottish cardamom griddle scones with butter and honey.
If you happen to get your hands on a good piece of deer meat of at least 500 g (like we happily discovered it in one of our local markets), you really must try to make this delicious goulash in the manner they do it in in Northern Croatia. It doesn't use any heavy sauces like cream of any type and the meat is really lean so it's very light but it makes such a delicious and comforting dinner. You feel as if you've been invited to a ostentatious medieval royal banquet.
It's also perfect for the current deep autumn mood and temperatures. Enjoy :)
Recipe source here.
Last year: Scottish cardamom griddle scones with butter and honey.
If you like sun-dried tomatoes this is another way to allow them to enhance your meals: in a comfy potato salad, creamy with yogurt and mayo and greatly infused with lemon juice, chives and dill. Very easy to make and a nice comfort food.
Recipe slightly adapted from here.
Last year: Scottish cardamom griddle scones with butter and honey.
Everyone loves molten chocolate cakes, right? Well, we sure do. And while we're big fans of chocolate, especially in its cakey-melted form, I always couldn't help wonder how it would be like to create a caramel version of the famous cake. Thus, what you see here was born.
We had some cajeta (goat milk caramel) on hand and made these lovely squares. Of course, the cake is perfectly good to make with regular dulce de leche as well. Anyway you'll have it, it will surely be a special treat :).
Recipe inspired from here.
Last year: Scottish cardamom griddle scones with butter and honey.
Is it just me, or does autumn seem like the perfect time for the smell of freshly baked bread to hit you when you enter the house after a long walk through the cold?
This is one of my favorite breads, especially while it's still warm and freshly torn to pieces. It makes a lovely snack or starter and it really doesn't need anything else besides its glorious self.
You can have it with small sips of white wine and it makes the ideal picnic fare. Really, if you showed up at my door with this and a picnic blanket I would not think twice to accept the invitation :)
It doesn't take too long to make, it uses a scone dough so there's no waiting for any yeast process and it's pure cheese&carbs goodness.
Enjoy.
Recipe source: many sources since it's a classic, a good example here.
Last year: Tagliatelle with Gorgonzola and spinach sauce.
One of the simplest Romanian salads, especially enjoyed in spring and throughout the cold season instead of otherwise unavailable other fresh ingredients.
It used to be my favorite salad when I was little (up to the end of my teenage-hood), in combination with simple French fries with a topping of melted cheese. It's what I would eat everyday :). As you may have realized, it's one of those salads meant to be enjoyed not one its own, but next to a main course.
It tastes fresh and crunchy and sour-ish and it's delicious :).
Last year: Simple strawberry, cream and rice crispies treat.
There are several versions of Mexican rice, all as traditional as they can get, this is just one of them. It's not as spicy as you would expect from the Mexican cuisine, but it's rather flavored with all the right herbs the recipe calls for. Easy to make and very suitable for when you have to feed a lot of people, as the quantities are easily doubled (or tripled... and so on :D ).
It can be served as a main course on its own, but also goes great as a side. We, for example had this next to Lemon-pepper grilled chicken, but you can serve it anyway you prefer.
Enjoy. :)
Last year: Sweet potato and prosciutto starters.
Chicken breast pieces rubbed with a spicy-zesty mixture of pepper, lemon zest and juice and some lemongrass, then grilled fast on a fiery cast iron grill pan. The final result is a delicious main with a strong up-kick flavor that will make your day a bit sunnier.
Super easy, fast, and light :).
We had this with a side of Mexican rice.
Enjoy.
Last year: Fritata with bell peppers and Tirolean sausages.
I can't even begin to describe this. A short buttery crust that melts in your mouth. A creamy explosion of mascarpone, agave syrup and fresh rosemary, topped with baked fresh fig slices, both flavorful and wonderfully textured.
I love it when the fresh fig season starts. Because then we can make this.
I only have one advice about this recipe: double or triple the batch :D.
Idea adapted from here. I used my own crust and replaced the honey with agave syrup; we're trying to stay away from thermally exposed honey when it's not really a must.
Last year: Spicy Guinness mustard.
