Red Lentil Soup

This classical Turkish soup recipe is the easiest one I find. And it works perfectly every time. Follow my rations and you will end up with a thick, filling, delicious, savoury soup. Perfect for winter evenings or when you are ill; it can make your dinner on its own, with a few croutons. All you need is a deep pot and a hand blender. Oh, and only 25 minutes!

Ingredients:
Serves 4 - 5

1 cup of red lentils
5 cups of water or chicken or vegetable stock
1 big onion
4-5 cloves of garlic
1 table spoon of tomato paste
1 heap teaspoon of cumin
1 teaspoon of black pepper
1 teaspoon of (not so hot) chilli pepper
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of dry mint
1 or 2 table spoons of butter
1 teaspoon of olive oil (for the bowls when you are serving)
1 or 1/2 a lemon's juice
Croutons

How to:

1. Using your cup to measure (for example I always use a plain glass), pour one cup pf lentils with five cups of water or vegetable or chicken stock (I rarely use stock and still the soup tastes amazing, so don't worry about it; of course if you make it with real / organic chicken stock it is always the best.)

2. Cut the onion into four big chunks and add into the soup along with the garlics unchopped. Then add the spices, cumin, salt, pepper, mint and some chilli pepper. Leave to cook until it boils.

3. Boil for five minutes, then put in low heat. Put the tomato paste in a glass and fill with hot water. Stir until it looks like a sauce and add it into the soup. Leave to simmer for another 15-20 minutes, until everything looks cooked and soft.

4. Turn the heat off, take your hand blender and blend the soup until it is smooth and incorporated. Add a knob of butter and some lemon juice before you serve.

5. When you take the soup into serving dishes/bowls, splash some olive oil for decoration. Eat and enjoy!

Colourful Veggies Bread Pizza

  Making pizza out of stale bread is a very common technique. Sometimes we forget to do it but actually, it is one of the best comfort food you can prepare. It is easy and practical, also very flexible, you can put any type of ingredients you like. In my stale bread pizza, I went for the vegetable love again. I made some bacon to go with it. Chicken would also be a very good alternative. I wouldn't mind having this pizza all by itself, as it has loads of cheese. Just go inside your fridge, take out the bits and pieces of vegetables, add some chorizo, sausages, ham, prosciutto, chicken or anything you think will be fit for a pizza. No dealing with a dough, no rolling, no flouring... Only one important tip: Use a deep baking dish, not a flat tray. In order to turn the bread into a soft and gooey pizza dough, we are going to add some milk, an egg and olive oil. Let's start!

Ingredients:
Depending on the size of your baking dish

10 thin slices of stale white bread
4 table spoons of tomato puree and pepper puree (you can put 3 tomatoes and one big red pepper into a blender and mix until it makes a sauce) 
100 gr mushrooms
1 red pepper
1 green pepper 
1 small onion 
2 cups of milk
1 egg
A small bunch of spirng onions (to sprinkle over the top)
A small bunch of parsley (to sprinkle over the top)
Olive oil
Thyme
Black pepper
200 gr melting cheese (cheddar, mozarella, gruyere, any type of cheese you like on your pizza)

How to:
1. Thinly slice the bread. I had a whole bread, which made 10-12 slices. Line the bottom of your dish with the bread. My dish was a square sized one, so I could get four big slices that are enough for one person each.

2. In a separate medium size bowl, mix the milk, egg and two table spoons of olive oil, then pour a little bit more than half of it over the bread to soak.

3. Grate a thin layer of cheese on top and add another layer of bread and pour the rest of the milk mixture. If you think that two layers of bread will make the bottom of the pizza too thick, don't worry. Slice your bread very thinly, so when they come on top of each other, with the cheese in the middle, it will be just thick enough and very delicious. That is the whole point of this pizza. It is not a crispy flat bread, on the contrary, it is loaded vegetables on top of a soft cushion of bread. =)  One last thing, if you find the milk mixture is not enough, add some more milk and olive oil. If you have a big dish, use 2 eggs.

4. The rest is the easiest part. Spread the tomato and pepper puree generously on top of the bread. You can also use tomato paste instead.

5. Slice the red pepper, green pepper, onion, mushrooms and layer one by one. Cover the breads with vegetables so that the bread should not show. Then, top everything with grated cheese. Cook in a 200 degrees oven for 30-35 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the bread looks golden.

6. For extra indulgence, add some more cheese after you take the pizza out of the oven. Sprinkle some chopped spring onions or chives and parsley. Share, eat and enjoy!

First the red peppers and tomatoes...

 Then the whiteness of the mushrooms and cheese...

 Some freshness with spring onions and parsley; here goes our colourful pizza!

Dinner Rolls

 
Bread making is an art, an activity that gives me peace, calmness and takes away all my stress. Kneading, putting your fingers through the soft and gooey dough, pressing and pulling stimulates your nerves and relaxes you. I think. At least for me, this is so. It is about patience and care. Since I bought some books about bread-making, I stopped going to the bakery. I am making a different type of fresh bread every week now. Plus, I always thought I needed special equipment, oven, a big multipurpose kitchen. However, you can make almost all types of bread at home. These bread rolls are perfect to start your meal, with a tiny bit of butter and jam; or they can make a great snack for whenever you feel like during the day. They are easy to make, and pretty quick. This is a practical but cool recipe to impress your friends.

Ingredients:
150 ml milk
60 gr butter (3 tablespoons give or take) 
2 table spoons of sugar
3 teaspoons of dry yeast
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
2 teaspoons of salt 
550 gr flour
Poppy seeds to decorate 

How to:

1. Heat the milk in a sauce pan. Once it starts boiling, turn off the heat and add butter and sugar. Mix well and wait for it to reach a warm temperature.

2. In a small bowl, melt the dry yeast inside 3 or 4 table spoons of milk. The milk has to be warm, not cold and the yeast should melt completely. Just stir once and let it sit for a short while. 

3. Meanwhile, whisk the eggs. Add the milk and sugar mixture and the yeast mixture. Add the flour and bring everything together to form a soft dough.

4. When everything is combined and you have a dough, knead for 5-7 minutes. When I say knead, do it like the bakers do. Pull the dough outwards and then bring into itself, like folding and making a ball and do it again. That is the basic tip for kneading bread. 

5. Make a ball of dough and put in a bowl, cover with cling film, then wait for 1 or 1 and a half hour to rest. In this time, the dough will rise to double.

6. After the dough has risen, take on a clean counter dusted with flour. Then cut into two pieces.

7. Take one of the pieces, make into a cylinder shape and cut into 8 equal pieces. Do the same with the other big piece. Before you start shaping the dough, turn the oven on for 220 degrees Celsius.  

8. From this step on, it is up to you to decide the shape. You can make long strips and roll them like a snail shell. Or by holding each end and rolling them towards the middle, you can create another shape. You can make an 8 shape also. You can bake some of them like small balls if you can't be bothered to shape each and every piece. 

9. You can take your bread rolls onto the baking sheet or tray. Leave 3 centimeter distance between one and another as the rolls tend to rise in the oven. Brush them with egg yolk and generously sprinkle with poppy seeds. That's it! You will have nice, sweetish bread rolls to start your meal and impress your friends. Eat and enjoy!