Sweet and zesty omelette with roasted quinces

This is my sweet variation of Arnold Bennet’s soufflé omelette. I really like sweet omelettes; it is a truly exquisite meal to have for breakfast, something special and easy to make at the same time. Do you agree? I know most of the people prefer savory eggs but sweet ones are considered as traditional, too, and if you never tried them yet, why not trying them now?

I used maple syrup roasted quinces from the same batch I made for risotto but you could use apples or pears instead. You could also sauté or caramelize fruits instead of roasting. If you do not wish to bother with panade (base mixture for soufflé), you could just beat egg whites with some flour, like you usually do for your normal omelette.

I didn’t add any sugar to the eggs but I didn’t hesitate to drizzle it lavishly with sauternes syrup (you could find recipe here). Or else you could use maple syrup or runny honey instead.

So here is my late morning delight.

Sweet and zesty omelette with roasted quinces

Serves 2-3

Ingredients

150 ml full fat milk
Unwaxed lemon
1 vanilla pod
3 halves of roasted quinces
30 gr unsalted butter
1 tbsp plain flour
3 eggs
30 gr young goat cheese, not very salty
Syrup to serve

Instructions

First scald the milk. Pour milk in a small sauce pan. Peel 2 wide stripes from the lemon and finely grate the rest. Split vanilla bean lengthways and scarp out the seeds. Put stripes of lemon peel, vanilla seeds and bean into milk and bring nearly to a boil (small bubbles will appear on the surface and at the edges). Take the saucepan off the heat and set aside to cool and let the flavors to infuse.
Heat the oven to 180C.
Dry fry almond flakes till slightly browned.
Take 3 halves of roasted quinces and cut it in wedges.
Melt half the butter in a small saucepan, stir in the flour and cook for one minute. Take off the heat.
Strain the milk and discard aromatics. Add strained milk gradually to the saucepan stirring until smooth after each addition. Add half of milk this way and then you can add the rest in bigger amounts. Return to a medium heat and bring to the boil, stirring all the time. Reduce the heat and cook for 2 minutes, stirring from time to time. Transfer panade to a bigger bowl and leave to cool slightly.
Separate the eggs. Beat yolks into the panade along with grated lemon zest.
Whisk the egg whites to a medium peak stage. Add one big spoonful to the panade to loosen it. Then carefully fold in the rest egg whites.
Line the 28 cm pan with baking (silicone) paper and melt the remaining butter in it (yes, you just put butter straight on the paper – it is to avoid sticking, nice trick I have learned in the cooking school). When the butter begins to foam, pour in the egg mixture arrange quince wedges and crumble in the goat cheese.
Put in the oven and bake for 15 mins or till you get a very very light golden colour.
Out of the oven, generously pour the syrup over and serve immediately!
Enjoy!

Breakfast

Prune breakfast bowl

I’m sure I’m not the only one, who believes that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Indeed! The way we feel is affected by what we eat in the morning – there certainly is a strong link between food and mood.

Breakfast has always been my favorite meal! I love this unhurried time before diving into a new day. Breakfast meal has to be filling, nutritious and boost our energy to keep us going until lunch. Besides that, it should be something that you look forward to! Would you agree?

I love breakfast bowls! You just mix all the healthy and delicious things together and voila!

The breakfast bowl I am going to share with you today has become one of my all time favourites. It is inspired by Amelia Freer recipe from her amazing book “Eat. Nourish. Glow.” Although I modified it to match my taste, the idea remains the same – it’s simply delicious and nourishing meal for the breakfast.

I’m sure you will enjoy it, too! No need to say how many vitamins and nutrients you’ll get with this wonderful breakfast bowl!

Prune breakfast bowl

Serves 2-3

Ingredients

60 gr dried prunes
60 gr almonds (blanched)
2 medjoul dates
1 tabs chia seeds
2 apples

Instructions

Soak prunes in 1 cup (250 ml) of water (don’t use tap water. Use filtered or bottled). In another bowl soak almonds (water should cover them completely). Leave overnight. Usually medjoul dates are very soft and plump but if you have very dry ones, you should soak them together with prunes.
In the morning drain prunes and almonds reserving prune liquid for the next step.
Put prunes, almonds, dates and chia seeds in a blender and add prune liquid. Blend until smooth. Pour in the bowl.
Grate an apples on a coarse grater. Leave a tablespoon for decoration and add the remaining part to the bowl with prune and almond mixture, mix well.
Drizzle a little bit of honey on the top and sprinkle with bee pollen.

Notes

Bee pollen and honey to serve.

Breakfast

Syrniki (cottage cheese pancakes)

Do you agree if I say that some of our favourite dishes come from childhood? When we cook them, we tend to bring the most precious memories and feelings from the past into our minds.

The recipe I’m going to share with you today has a special meaning to me. It’s all about nostalgia! It’s relates to the memories of my grandmother and coziness of her house, memories of lazy summer days, of eating honey straight from a big jar…

In Russia we call it syrniki. This dish exists under different names across Eastern European countries. Basically syrniki are cottage cheese pancakes. You combine cottage cheese, eggs and flour, then you fry them. Easy! But here comes a trick – the best syrniki are those, which contain as little flour as possible.

Here are a few tips for choosing and preparing the cottage cheese for cooking syrniki:

The cottage cheese should be as fresh as possible.
The cottage cheese should be drained, if it seems to be too wet. Place it in cheesecloth and hang it above a big bowl or place it under a press for 1,5-2 hours. The better it has been drained, the less flour it will require later.
The cottage cheese should be passed through a fine sieve. Put a pack of a cottage cheese into the fine sieve placed over a big bowl and rub it using a spatula or wooden spoon. It’s quite an energy-consuming task, so I would suggest you to delegate it to someone else, like a husband for example.
It’s okay to substitute the cottage cheese with ricotta but remember that it should be drained very well. Since ricotta contains more liquid than cottage cheese, it will require more flour. Therefore, it won’t come out the same as traditional syrniki but still it’s going to taste delicious.
Formaggio in fiocchi is also not the best alternative either, as it tends to melt while frying. I strongly recommend you to find Russian tvorog and use it for preparing syrniki.
Don’t choose cottage cheese that is low in fat, as the end result will lack flavour.
Before frying syrniki, place them in the fridge for half an hour. This will simplify the whole process of cooking later on. I usually prepare syrniki batter in advance. I mold mass into small patties and put them in the refrigerator overnight, covering the container tightly with plastic wrap. I should admit, this little tip makes my life much easier and helps to avoid the morning stress, especially when I need to get my kids ready for school.
Most of the time syrniki are sweet but can be savory as well. You can change the amount of sugar (or cut it out completely) – tastes differ! The most common additional ingredient for this dish is raisins. Other fruits (like dried apricots, apples and pears) are added less frequently.
In order to add a subtle floral touch to your dough, you may also want to add vanilla.
Being mostly a sweet dish syrniki should not be too sweet however because usually they are served with some sweet condiment, such as honey, condensed milk, varenye (something similar to berry jam but not exactly the same) or fruit sauce. But you should certainly try to serve it with sour crème! It’s delicious!

As with other traditional dishes, the number of syrniki variations is nearly infinite. Every housewife has her own recipe, proportions and secrets of how to prepare this dish.

If it’s your first experience, I think it’s a good idea to start from the most basic recipe. I hope you will like it!

Syrniki with cranberry sauce

To make 10-12 pancakes

Ingredients

For syrniki:

2×275 gr. packs of cottage cheese/tvorog (15% fat at least)
2 eggs
2-3 tbsp of sugar
1 vanilla bean
½ zest of a small lemon
pinch of salt
5 tbsp of flour (perhaps a little bit more)
1/4 tsp of baking powder

For cranberry sauce:

1 cup (250 ml) of frozen cranberries (choose small ones)
2 tbsp rose water
1 – 3 tbsp sugar (to taste)

Instructions

First make the sauce

In a small saucepan, mix together frozen cranberries, rose water and sugar. Bring to a simmer.
Cook, stirring from time to time till the sauce gets a little bit thicker.

Then prepare syrniki:

Pass cottage cheese/tvorog through a sieve. Beat the eggs lightly.
Make a cut down the length of the vanilla bean and scrape out the seeds from the inside. Put them in a mortar along with a tablespoon of sugar and use the pestle to incorporate them completely.
In a big bowl put together cottage cheese/tvorog, eggs, vanilla mix, the remaining part of the sugar, salt and lemon zest.
In a separate bowl mix flour and baking powder, then add them to the cottage cheese/tvorog mass. Mix everything thoroughly, but don’t overdo it. If the mass becomes too sticky, add a little bit more flour (not too much).
Mold the dough into small patties (about 6 cm in diameter). Before that moisten your hands, so the dough won’t stick to them.
Place the patties in the fridge for 30 minutes or overnight, covering the container with a plastic wrap.
Mold the patties. Coat with flour.
Heat a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat with some olive oil. When pan is hot place the first part of your syrniki and fry for about 5 minutes until golden brown. Carefully flip them over and cook for another 4-5 minutes.

Serve hot with your favourite topping! Buon appetito!