Amaranth & Smoked Salmon Bowl

This recipe came to life one morning. On this particular morning, I was woken up with a hunger of a big black hole, or so it seemed. This prompted me to make a breakfast worthy of a lunch, and this is exactly when you can make this bowl: on a morning that allows you a little more preparation time (since the amaranth requires 20 minutes to cook), or for a light but filling lunch full of nutrients.

The ingredients in this bowl are designed to A) get rid of really bad hunger, B) leave you felling full for some time and C) be the envy of all those around you. Just kidding! ;) The recipe yields one really filling bowl, so scale it up accordingly!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup amaranth

1/2 avocado

2 handfuls of salad greens

3 slices of smoked salmon

1 egg

fresh parsley

salt, sweet paprika

EVOO, vinegar or fresh lemon juice

Instructions:

1. Wash the amaranth and cook it in a pot with salted water in the ratio 1:2.5. While it is cooking, stir occasionally. If you notice that the amaranth has soaked in all the water and is threatening to become as dry as the Sahara, add a little bit more hot water and stir. Cook for around 20 minutes, but start checking it a few minutes before that mark so it doesn't overcook.

2. In the meantime, wash the salad greens and finely chop the parsley. Slice the avocado.

3. When the amaranth has cooked through, you can add more salt if necessary. Add the parsley and mix.

4. Season the salads with salt, olive oil and I recommend adding a bit of acidity with a vinegar of your choice or some fresh lemon or lime juice.

5. The last step is to poach an egg. Crack an egg into a small cup. In a pot heat up the water. Use a spoon to create a little whirlpool and gently slide the egg from the cup into the slowly spinning water.

6. While the egg is poaching, prepare the bowl for serving. Add the salad, avocado and amaranth. Add the smoked salmon slices. Once the egg is done poaching, serve it on top of the salad and season with salt. If you want, you can sprinkle some sweet paprika on top as well.

7. Serve immediately. Bon Appetit!

Coconut Matcha Pancakes

Have you jumped on the matcha train? I don't know what took me so long but hey, I am finally here, ready to ride to Greenville. I made my first matcha latte with dairy free milk (I used homemade hemp milk) and I loved it. Sure, I am still trying to get around the taste of non-dairy milk but even my cow-milk-loving self loved it because matcha gave me a big green hug.

So, after the latte I was inclined to start experimenting with matcha in other recipes. I made these gluten free coconut matcha pancakes for breakfast and loved them. These pancakes are also dairy free since I use coconut milk. I didn't add any sugar in the dough, only drizzled them with a little bit of maple syrup while serving. Feel free to adjust the sweetener to your taste. Also, I only added one teaspoon of matcha into the dough and this gave me a pale green colour. If you want your pancakes to be a more vibrant green, and you prefer a more intense matcha taste, add a few more teaspoons of the matcha powder.

Ingredients:

1 egg

200 gr coconut milk

70 gr oat flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp matcha powder

dark chocolate

maple syrup

Instructions:

1. In a bowl and one egg. If you want to use sweeteners, add them now and mix well.

2. Stir in the coconut milk and then mix in the oat flour.

3. Add the baking powder and matcha. If you want a more intense matcha flavor and a more vibrant green color, add a teaspoon to two more matcha than stated in the recipe. If you want your pancakes to have chocolate chunks in them, stir them into the dough now.

4. Heat up a pancake pan and slightly oil it with some coconut oil. Cook the pancakes until both sides are golden.

5. Melt some dark chocolate. You can choose to just top the still hot pancakes with a piece of chocolate and it will melt, or you can melt it with some coconut oil and pour over the pancakes.

6. Make a pancake tower. Pour over the chocolate and maple syrup. Serve immediately. Bon Appetit!

The Best Spiced Lamb Meatballs Recipe

Do you enjoy lamb dishes? If you do, you will love these spiced lamb meatballs. These have been an absolute hit in our household and I wanted to share with you the recipe that has brought us so many tasty moments.

These have been some of the juiciest, most tender meatballs I’ve ever tasted. It was the first time I’ve made meatballs from scratch – and by this I mean that I’ve ground up the meat myself. We have this old meat grinder that requires some elbow grease and burns a few calories, but the efforts have been well worth it. I loved being so involved in the preparation, and one of the big advantages of grinding the meat yourself is that you get to choose how much fat you put in. I made sure to grind a nice chunk of lamb fat into the mix without over-doing it. I am sure this was an important factor in the meatballs being so tender and juicy.

If you don’t want to grind the meat yourself, you can ask your butcher to grind it for you. For this recipe I used leg of lamb. In Croatia I haven’t seen ground meat available at the supermarkets so this is why I recommend a butcher.

I’ve decided to make spiced meatballs, and I’ve made two versions. In one, I used all the spices listed below except for Ras el Hanout. Ras el Hanout is a North African spice mix, used Moroccan, Algerian and Tunisian cuisines. Now, the interesting thing is that there is no set mix. This means that every shop or producer has their own unique blend of spices that they use. The one I have and have used for this recipe has the following ingredients in it: turmeric, coriander, chili, fennel, salt, garlic, cumin, fenugreek, pepper, and ginger. In the second version, I used Ras el Hanout in addition to the other spices. This added another dimension of flavor, but if you can’t get it, don’t worry. Just use the ones I’ve listed below and you’ll get a delicious result as well. Alternatively, you can make your own spice mix and make a unique blend that will make your meatballs perfect for you!

Ingredients:

600 gr ground lamb meat (leg of lamb)

1 red onion

5 cloves garlic

1 fennel (Stalks and fronds only)

Handful of parsley

3 pieces roasted red pepper in brine

1 egg

2 tbsp rice flour

2 tsp oregano

1 tsp cumin

¼ tsp cinnamon

1 ½ tsp sweet red paprika

Salt and pepper

optional: 1 tsp Ras el Hanout

Instructions:

1. If you aren’t able to find ground lamb meat, you can do it at home with a meat grinder. Grind 600 grams of lamb meat – for this recipe I used leg of lamb.

2. Transfer the ground meat to a bowl.

3. Finely chop one middle sized red onion and five cloves of garlic. Add to the meat.

4. Take one fresh fennel bulb and slice of the stalks and fronds (little fluffy leafy parts that stick out of the fennel bulb) and a handful of parsley. Chop them finely and add to the bowl.

5. Take three pieces of roasted red peppers in brine and mince them until they start resembling a paste. Before adding the peppers to the meat, squeeze them in your hands to take out the excess brine/moisture.

6. Add the seasonings: oregano, cumin, cinnamon, sweet red paprika, salt and pepper, and an egg. If you want a very aromatic, spiced version add a bit of Ras el Hanout as well. Mix everything well.

7. Finally, add two tablespoons of rice flour and incorporate it into the mixture with a spatula.

8. Use your hands to form the meatballs, making sure they are evenly sized and not too big.

9. Let the meatballs rest for half an hour. They will release excess moisture if there is any from the vegetables we’ve added.

10. In a large pan, heat up 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil and a tablespoon of ghee. Let it heat on medium low heat.

11. If the meatballs have released moisture, dab the bottom ends of the meatballs on a paper towel before placing them in the pan. This will ensure that the oil doesn’t start attacking everybody in its vicinity.

12. Cook the meatballs on medium low heat for a total of 10-12 minutes. Let them cook through on one side and get a nice caramelized surface before carefully flipping them on the other side and letting them do the same on the other side.

13. Serve immediately, and top with some more chopped parsley. Bon appetit!