Basil paste

I came across this recipe while looking for an alternative breakfast recipes. This paste sounded really perfect to me - something new, quick and easy to make. And - believe me, it tastes really, really good - some of you may know flavoured butters (smaksełko? ;) ) - they were extremely popular some time ago and very tasty, though I can't find it in any shop, can you? This is not a butter, as it is made of cottage cheese. Though I'm sure it would be same delicious as a butter! It is perfect for example with: fresh, hot bread/rolls, with cold meats, tomatoes, for brushetta, ciabatta bread... :)

Recipe, slightly changed, comes from this website.

Ingredients:

• 250g of cottage cheese (low-, semi- or full-fat)
• a bunch of fresh basil
• 1/2-1 clove of garlic
• 8 tablespoons of oil 
• 1 teaspoon of black ground pepper
• a pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon of sichuan pepper

Preparation:

1. Put the cheese in a bowl, add spices (black pepper, salt, sichuan pepper). 
2. Take a blender and its bowl (or any bowl suitable for blending), put basil, garlic and oil inside, blend till smooth (or almost smooth). 
3. Mix basil paste with cottage cheese, blend till smooth.
4. Store closed in the fridge.
5. Bon Appetit! :)

Spicy pasta with chicken

This is my old idea of making a delicious dinner out of simple ingredients! And, what is more important, with that dish, everyone will find something suitable for themselves, for example: 

For children - there is pasta, which, if they are faddy - might be served only with chicken or with butter+sugar. 

For vegetarians: just take away the chicken.

For those on a diet - no mushroom sauce and no cheese.

Perfect!

The recipe is mostly mine, I took the recipe for the sauce from this website.

Ingredients:

• 500g of chicken breasts, chopped
• 1 packaging of wholemeal Fusilli pasta
• 100-200 g of cheese, grated (or some slices to put on the top)
• 1 onion, chopped
• pepper, salt, cayenne pepper (be careful with cayenne, it is spicy)
• parsley - leaves, to sprinkle the top

Mushroom sauce:

• around 1/2 kg of mushrooms (penny buns)
• 1 small onion
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 50 g of butter
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 125 ml of 30-36% cream 
• pepper, salt
• 2-3 tablespoons of fresh, chopped parsley

Optional sauce ingredients:

• 5 tablespoons of beer or white wine

Preparation:

Pasta:

1. Take a bigger, clean pot, pour water and a pinch of salt inside. Put on a stove, boil on a middle heat. When it reaches 100C, add pasta, stir, change the heat into low. Boil  for 7-12 minutes. Stir from time to time*.
2. When it's done, put the pasta on a colander and pour cold water on the pasta.**

*It is important, because pasta tends to stick to the bottom of the pot and burn as well as it tends to boil over.

** This is a good way to avoid sticky pasta.

Meat:

1. Chop into pieces, season with salt and pepper and cayenne.
2. Take a very big frying pan, grease it a little bit with oil. Turn the heat on.
3. Put the chopped chicken on the frying pan and fry for 10-15 minutes.

Mushroom sauce:

1. Clean the penny buns very precisely using a knife or a brush. If necessary - clean them quickly under cold water. Dry on a paper towel. Chop.
2. Chop the onion and garlic.
3. Take a frying pan, put 30g of butter and 1 tablespoon of oil on it. Add chopped onion and fry for 5 minutes on a middle heat. Add garlic and fry for another 1-2 minutes on a low heat. It needs to be gold, not burnt.
4. Add optional ingredients. Boil till water evaporates and a thick substance appears.
5. Add the rest of the buter and the oil. When it starts frying, add penny buns and fry on a high heat for around 6 minutes, stiring from time to time. 
6. Take the cream, add 2-3 tablespoons of sauce from the frying pan, stir. Pour everything on the frying pan and boil on midle heat. Season with salt (1-2 pinch(es)). Stir. Boil for around 2 minutes so that the sauce has a chance to get thicker. At the end, add parsley and season with pepper. Stir, turn the heat off.

1. Take the sauce and pour it on the frying pan with meat. Add pasta, boil for few minutes, stiring. Turn the heat off.
2. Bon Appetit! :)

Dill Pickles

Why to buy some artificial ones in markets, while you can make your own, tasty dill pickles, without all those chemicals? Here is the recipe, coming from my mum.

Ingredients:

• 3kg of fresh cucumbers
• 5 cloves of garlic
• 3 pieces of fresh horseradish
• 6 bunches of dill
• water and salt*

* for 1 litre of water - 1 tablespoon of salt, if the jug is smaller, then automatically 500 ml of water + 1/2 tablespoon of salt.

Preparation:

1. Wash the cucumbers.
2. Take a big jar. Put 1 kg of cucumbers inside, so that 1/3 of the jar is full. 
3. Add 2 cloves of garlic, 1 piece of horseradish and 2 bunches of dill. Add another 1 kg of cucumbers, and another 2 cloves of garlic, 1 piece of horseradish and another 2 bunches of dill. Put the rest of cucumbers, the last clove of garlic, the last piece of horseradish and the rest of the dill on the top.
4. Take measure jug, put 1 litre of water inside, add 1 tablespoon of salt, stir, pour to the jar. Fill the entire jar with salted water.
5. Close the jar, shake.
6. Put aside, for at least 3 days.
7. Bon Appetit!

Hungarian Sausages

The air smells of holidays, at last the barbecue season is officially open, because the weather is so pleasant and warm during late afternoons and evening. But after many BBQs there are always some leftovers and there is a doubt - what to do with them? Well, if you don't enjoy reheating them, this is a mouth-watering solution.

Obviously, this is not only an idea for BBQ's leftovers. ;)

Recipe comes from my friend's mum. Enormous thanks for her for the recipe!

Ingredients:

• 2-3 tablespoons of oil
• 1/2-1 chopped onion
• 2 cloves of garlic cut info slices
• sausages cut into slices
• tomato puree
• (sweet&)spicy sauce
• ketchup
• 1 pepper - cut into stripes or small parts

Optional ingredients:

• courgette - cut into slices
• sweetcorn
• red (kidney) beans
• tomato wedges

Preparation:

1. Put the oil on the frying pan. Put garlic, onion and sausages, fry (on an average heat) till their colour get light gold. Turn the heat off.
2. Take a tumbler. Put 5 tablespoons of tomato puree inside. Add 2 tablespoons of water. Stir. Pour it on the frying pan. 
3. Starting from 3 tablespoons of each - add the sauce and ketchup. Stir. Turn on the heat, on the lowest power.
4. Add optional ingredients and the pepper. Stir.
5. Taste it and decide which flavour of the 3 ingredients (tomato puree, ketchup, sauce) you want to predominate. Of course it might be one of them, two or all of them. Add one tablespoon after another, trying it by taking a clean spoon every time you try it. While adding more tomato puree - it is essential to stir it with some water first.
6. This meal might be eaten on its own or, for instance, with bread.
7. Bon Appetit!