Something Sweet and Savory to Nibble On - Nectarine and Serrano Ham Crostini

If you are a fan of crunchy nectarine, also love something sweet and savory all together, this crostini might be shouting out your name.

Nectarine and Serrano ham crostini - 

Ingredients (about 8 servings)?

• 1 nectarine
• 1 medium ball mozzarella cheese (burrata even better)
• 1 pack Serrano or prosciutto ham
• 1 medium baguette
• 1 small bundle sweet basil
• Some honey
• Some extra virgin olive oil

How?

Slice the baguette. You might find this being the most strenuous work to put together a fancy crostini plate.

Drizzle one side of the baguette slices with some extra virgin olive oil, simple olive oil is fine too. Use a pan or a skillet and switch to medium heat. Transfer baguette slices over with oiled side down.

Sear till the edges appear a bit charred. It's up to you if you would like to toast the other side too, but by just heating up the oiled side already gives a good crunch to the bread. Once done, remove from heat.

Core and slice the nectarine to wedges, preferably 8 wedges for our recipe. There is no need to remove the skin. Wrap each wedge with one or half slice of the ham.

Transfer ham-wrapped nectarines to the pan and use medium heat to sear. Cook till the bottom turns golden brown, flip and sear the other side till the same. Once ready, remove from heat too.

I prefer browned side up for the baguette slices. Break the cheese and lay on top of the bread, then lay down the ham-wrapped nectarine, one to each baguette slice. Drizzle some honey then garnish with chopped sweet basil.

You can use mint leaves too, but I do like that distinct gentle kick from the basil.

Personally I also love to drizzle a bit more honey in order to satisfy my sweet cravings. By the way, if you are looking for an extra punch, use hot honey instead. A little spicy note can further enhance the sweetness of the fruit. 

Other crostini recipes:

• Smoked sardines and stracciatella cheese crostini
• Crostini with Serrano burrata and hot honey

Easy and Slightly Impressive Make Ahead Dessert - Lemon Posset

Ingredient and process-wise, it's hard to be simpler than lemon posset for dessert. I mean, besides the extra berries on top, you only need three ingredients for this recipe. You can even make it a bit fancier by using the actual lemon as container. Make ahead is not a problem too, which can be a time saver on the day of whatever party or event going on. Take a look and you'll see what I'm talking about.

Lemon posset - 

Ingredients (about 8 servings using lemon cups plus 2 with small ramekins)?

• 5 yellow lemons
• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• Some fresh berries (optional)

How?

Halve 4 lemons lengthwise and scoop out the inside. Don't scoop too deep if possible, since the inner lemon skin can have a tiny wee bit bitter taste to it. However, some like it especially when eating together with quite sweet custard though.

Don't discard the pulp and flesh just yet. Squeeze that and collect the juice to a cup. We will use some for the cream, and you can save the remaining for other use later on.

Pour 2 cups of heavy whipping cream to a medium pot. Switch to medium heat and wait till warm but not boiling at all. Add 2/3 cup of sugar and whisk till dissolved.

Remove the pot from heat and add 5 tablespoons of lemon juice. You'll notice the cream starts to coagulate after introducing the lemon juice. Whisk again, then take the remaining one lemon and zest it. Add the zest of that one lemon to the pot too. 

Whisk till evenly blended one last time. Set the pot aside to cool down for about 15 minutes. After that, carefully pour the thickened cream mixture to hollowed lemon cups, you can use ramekins too.

Transfer these filled cups to the fridge and wait for at least 4 hours. You can definitely store them overnight, but in that case, better cover with a lid or something to secure the aroma from other stuff in the fridge.

When ready to serve, garnish the top with some fresh berries if desired. 

I would love to use both blueberries and raspberries for a brighter color pop, but raspberry is a super hard-find in Taiwan. In fact, come to think of it, I haven't even seen raspberries in high-end supermarkets for a long time.

Extended reading:

• No alcohol no heavy cream tiramisu (quality eggs will do)

Chopped Kale and Chickpea Salad with Roasted Chicken in Red Wine Vinaigrette Dressing

Was it a trend or something? Have you noticed that our "regular" salad has become much more vibrant and packed with nutrients, colors, and actual portion these few years. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining here. Instead, I'm embracing the change. 

Have a big full serving of healthy but also delicious salad as a normal meal is now something I do once a while. So after trying many versions of nutritious salads at the restaurants, I've taken some inspirations here and there and came up with this recipe.

Chopped kale and chickpea salad with roasted chicken in red wine vinaigrette dressing - 

Ingredients (about two big servings)?

• 1/2 can or 120 grams chickpeas
• 1 chicken breast
• 80 grams kale (about one small bundle)
• 1 small chunk red cabbage
• 1/2 medium small broccoli
• 1/2 yellow bell pepper
• 1/3 cup or 28 grams dried cranberries 
• 1/4 teaspoon mixed dried Italian herbs
• 1 avocado
• Some extra virgin olive oil
• Some salt
• Some black pepper

Dressing:

• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 teaspoon mustard
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

How?  

Line a baking sheet with foil and preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsious/390 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Destem and remove the pith and seeds from the yellow bell pepper. Cut to medium thickness strips. We will need about half of the yellow bell pepper for the salad. Transfer the strips to one side of the baking sheet. Sprinkle some salt and drizzle some extra virgin olive oil. Toss till blended.

To the other half of the baking sheet, transfer the chicken breast over. Season both sides with some salt and black pepper. Also rub with 1/4 teaspoon of dried Italian herbs. 

Transfer baking sheet to the oven and bake for 30 minutes. You'll know it's ready when the edge of the yellow bell pepper strips start to turn slightly charred.

Once done baking, remove the sheet from the oven and let cool. After the temperature drops and able to handle by hand, slice the chicken breast to big bite size pieces.

As for the broccoli, trim-off the tougher outside layer for the stem then cut the whole thing to medium pieces. We will only need about half of the broccoli here. 

Bring a pot of water to a boil and add in one small pinch of salt. Transfer the broccoli chunks over and cook for 2 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Use the leafy part for the kale only, chop to smaller pieces. Slice the red cabbage to thin strips.

Bring out a big container, add in the yellow bell pepper, kale, broccoli, red cabbage, drained chickpeas, and dried cranberries.

Also have a big cup ready, in there we're going to mix together 1/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil, 1/4 cup of red wine vinegar, 2 tablespoons of honey, 1 teaspoon of mustard, 1 teaspoon of alt, and 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper. Taste and adjust if needed.

Pour most of that dressing to the big container with veggies. Toss till evenly blended.

Arrange the vegetables to serving plate. Halve the avocado and remove the seed. Slice then lay on top of the salad. Also lay the roasted chicken on top too. Drizzle the remaining red wine vinaigrette dressing all over.

I only used half of the avocado here for the picture. Later on I simply mixed in the other half of the avocado. Leftover red cabbage or yellow bell pepper are easy to utilize, but better just finish the entire avocado right away.

It's a shame that I didn't find silvered almonds anywhere, otherwise sprinkle some on top of the salad sounds like a really healthy and delicious idea. Should look even better too.

Extended reading:

• White bean and tuna salad (insalata di tonno e fagioli)
• Japanese katsuo tataki salad with miso and ponzu dressing
• Persimmon salad with mozzarella and Jamón Ibérico

Pan-Fried White Fish Fillets Served With Green Olive and Parsley Salsa

It was truly a relief when I found out Mister actually loved this fish recipe. The reason why I worried so much is because he wasn't a big fan of green olives and red wine vinegar, which happened to be two of the main flavor sources for the dressing.

Surprise surprise, I guess it's either the cooking done right or I got lucky with the flavor combination. In the end, he really enjoyed the fish. Not just ok or a simple praise, but truly loved. He specifically said it was so good. I guess I deserve a few pats on the shoulder for that.

Pan-fried white fish fillets served with green olive and parsley salsa - 

Ingredients (for two medium fillets)?

• 2 medium white fish fillets
• Some flour
• Some salt
• Some black pepper
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• Some lemon wedges

Salsa:

• 8 green olives
• 1 small bundle flat leaf parsley
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 3 garlic cloves
• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard or yellow mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

How?

Have some flour with the amount enough to coat both sides of the fish fillets. Ready the flour on a big plate and mix in some salt and black pepper. I used about 2 pinches of salt here.

Coat the fish fillets with the flour mixture on both sides. I got skin-on rockfish fillets here but no bones. 

To make the salsa, remove the pits from the olives then chop the flesh. Mainly use the leafy part for the flat leaf parsley, give it a rough chop too. Peel and chop the garlic cloves. Zest 1 lemon then slice to six wedges.

Mix together the prepped olives, parsley, lemon zest, garlic together with 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar, 2 teaspoons of mustard, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Set aside till the end.

Drizzle about 4 tablespoons of olive oil to the skillet and switch to medium heat. Once hot, add in the fish fillet skin side down first. Don't move it around too early, wait till the bottom seemed golden or slightly browned then flip and continue to sear the other side.

A side note, during the searing process, the fish will start to "puffed" up when in contact with heat. You can use a weight to keep the fillets pressed down. Or I simply use my spatula to press it down when searing.

Once the bottom is almost golden brown, add 3 lemon wedges. Slightly press on the lemon to help releasing some juice. We'll continue to sear the fish and both sides of the lemon wedges towards the end. Remember to flip the lemon once the bottom side turn slightly browned. 

Make sure the fish has been fully cooked through. Transfer both the fillets and seared lemon wedges to serving plate. 

Don't get too bothered if the seared coating doesn't look too pretty. We will cover it with salsa, so no one will notice (wink*). That said, let's spread the salsa all over the top of the fillets and serve with the remaining 3 lemon wedges.

You can make this fish like an entrée and served with a side of salad, perhaps some sort of potato too. However, I actually paired it with quinoa basmati rice, a bit western and eastern fused together, but they really did work in harmony.

Also for the green olive and parsley salsa, on top of using it on grilled or pan-fried fish, I think it'll also taste good with grilled chicken. Give it a try will you?  

Extended reading:

• Fish fillet packed with kicking spices - blackened fish

One Way to Utilize Leftover Lady Fingers - Coffee and Chocolate Ice Cream Cake

I made some tiramisu a while back, the non-alcoholic version. So I got a pack of lady fingers but ended up with more than half of the portion unused. That's why this ice cream cake recipe was born, just a simply way to use up all the leftover lady fingers that's been sitting in the shelf for weeks.

Coffee and chocolate ice cream cake using lady fingers - 

Ingredients?

• 18 to 22 lady fingers
• 2/3 cup coffee (black or milky kind)
• 400ml cookie and cream ice cream (just pick something you like)
• 400ml milk ice cream (just pick something you like)
• Some dark chocolate shavings
• Some cocoa powder

How? 

Brew the coffee of your liking, let it be black coffee or the milky kind, both work find. We need about 2/3 cup. Once done, pour over to a dish with some depth, a dish wide enough to soak in the entire lady finger. Set aside and let cool.

Line a meatloaf pan with cling foil. It doesn't have to be pretty, just helps pulling out the cake in the end.

Remove one of the ice cream from the freezer and wait till soften enough to scoop and reshape, but not too watery or soggy.

When ready to assemble, dip the lady finger to the coffee both sides, then arrange one single layer on the bottom of the pan.

Scoop the softened ice cream all over and try to smooth out the surface. I used cookie and cream ice cream to begin with, but my optimal choice was coconut milk, no luck finding that.

Shave some dark chocolate all over the surface.

Loosely cover the pan with cling foil and into the freezer till set. At least semi-set, that'll be a minimum of 30 minutes just to be safe. Meanwhile, remove the second ice cream choice from the freezer and wait to be softened.

Once ready, take out the pan, uncover, and add another layer of coffee-dipped lady fingers. Scoop the second ice cream flavor all over and smooth out the surface.

Loosely cover with cling foil again and into the freezer till fully set this time. I waited 2 hours, but preferably overnight.

When ready to serve, remove the pan from the freezer and invert to a cutting board. Take out the cling coil. Dust some cocoa powder all over the top. Slice and serve right away.

I took too long setting up the plate and table, so by the time I'm ready to take some pictures, the bottom ice cream nearly all melted.

Also I guess the consistency of the milk flavored ice cream I chose had something to do with it too. It was a bit softer than the cookie and cream one, making it harder to hold up the shape once removed from the fridge. 

Oh well, still not too bad in the end especially I didn't get to use my top choice coconut milk ice cream. What would you use instead? I suppose a bit exotic matcha flavored ice cream should tastes pretty good too.

Extended reading:

• No alcohol no heavy cream tiramisu (quality eggs will do)

Tuna and Olive Linguine for Two

Usually I would just cook big portions of food, like finishing the entire pasta package at once. So there must be a reason why I only made linguine for two here. Well, it's because the price for sashimi grade tuna is $$$$.

You know, unlike back in the states, I think it's how people used to cook their fish here in Taiwan, so it's a bit hard for me to simply find tuna "steak" at the supermarket. The only whole chunky tuna that I can find is sashimi grade tuna. And it'll come in either sliced version or sometimes they'll have a box or two uncut pieces on the side.

That's why instead of making tuna pasta for six plates, I think this time a lovely meal for two will do.

Tuna and olive linguine - 

Ingredients (for two servings)?

• 220 grams sashimi grade tuna or tuna steak
• 2 servings linguine pasta
• Some extra virgin olive oil
• 4 green olives
• 2 anchovies in oil
• Small bundle of parsley
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 bundle shallots (about 2 tablespoons peeled and chopped)
• Some salt
• 1/3 cup dry white wine
• 1/3 cup pasta water 

 

How?

Prepare a pot of water and season with few pinches of salt. Bring to a boil and toss in enough pasta for two servings. Cook till almost al dente. Save some pasta water first then drain the rest.

Meanwhile, cube the tuna. Depit the green olives then give it a rough chop. Peel and chop the shallots. Peel and chop the garlic cloves. Finely chop the parsley.

Have a pan ready and drizzle 2 tablespoons of olive oil. I simply used extra virgin olive oil throughout. Use medium heat and add in chopped shallots and garlic. Sear till aromatic but not burnt. Add in anchovies, sear and break the anchovies apart with a spatula.

Add in olives and continue to cook for about 30 seconds.

Add in cubed tuna. Stir-fry till about half cooked through.

Pour in 1/3 cup of dry white wine and bring to a boil. Let it boil for a little bit longer than pour in 1/3 cup of pasta water we saved earlier. Bring to a boil again and add in drained pasta. 

Let the pasta cook in the liquid for about a minute while stirring the ingredients in order to mix in some air. Still bubbling too.

Taste and season with salt. I used 1 teaspoon of salt myself. When all checked and set, drizzle some more extra virgin olive oil over. Toss then plate. Garnish with chopped parsley.

If you prefer a stronger savory taste, use more anchovies in the beginning. Perhaps up to 4 slices instead. It's like umami packed in these little fish fillets and will highly enhance the flavor of the final pasta. 

Other recipes using sashimi grade tuna:

• Sashimi grade tuna otsumami served with nori sheet
• Paccheri with tuna in red bell pepper sauce (portion for two)
• Tuna tataki coated with double roasted white sesame seeds

Pesto Orzo with Chicken and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Do you know that orzo is not rice, but a type of pasta shaped like bigger and plump rice grains? As much as I love risotto, but the skills and price involved have swapped me from cooking orzo instead of risotto. 

I know I know you can't really compare these two just because they share similar appearance, but it is actually what's happening in my kitchen. So this time I'm making a pesto-themed orzo meal, supposedly the flavors and seasonings both work with risotto too. But like what's being said, let's stick with orzo this time.

Pesto orzo with chicken and sun-dried tomatoes - 

Ingredients (about 5 to 6 portions)?

• 500 grams orzo
• 375 grams chicken (I used chicken tenders)
• 1 bundle/about 250 grams spinach
• 3/4 cup peas
• 135 grams pesto sauce
• 2 garlic cloves
• 5 cups vegetable stock
• 2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil
• Some salt
• Some black pepper
• 1 teaspoon mixed dried Italian herbs
• Some sun-dried tomatoes and oil

How?

Cut the chicken to medium bite size pieces. Destem and section the spinach to shorter length. Peek and chop the garlic cloves.

Drizzle 2 to 3 tablespoons of olive oil to the pan, I used a Dutch oven. Switch to medium heat and add in chopped garlic. Sear till aromatic but not burnt.

Add in orzo and give it a quick mix, making sure every grain has been coated with the oil. Add 1 teaspoon of mixed dried Italian herbs. Continue to stir and cook for 10 seconds.

Pour in 5 cups of vegetable stock. Cook the orzo till half way done, about 6 minutes.

Add in chicken and mix a little, cook for couple more minutes. Add in spinach and peas, mix and cook for about a minute. Spoon in the pesto sauce. Mix and cook till orzo reaches desired texture. 

Taste and adjust with salt if needed. I added 1/2 teaspoon of salt here. However, the amount of salt used depends, especially we might be using different vegetable stock and pesto sauce here.

Once all checked, plate and dot the orzo with some sun-dried tomatoes. Perhaps drizzle some of the oil from the sun-dried tomatoes for a gentle flavor boost. Crack some black pepper on top then ready to go.

You don't have to use such big pieces of sun-dried tomatoes like I did here. Use smaller ones or give the sun-dried tomatoes a few chops all work great.

Other orzo recipes:

• Dairy-free chorizo and colorful bell pepper orzo
• Big big servings of chicken orzo soup

No Alcohol No Heavy Cream Tiramisu (Quality Eggs Will Do)

Two things worth celebrating. First, I can finally make a tiramisu without alcohol nor heavy whipping cream. The result was still creamy and luscious. Second thing that makes me happy is there's no leftover mascarpone.

Most of the time when I'm working with recipe using mascarpone, I always ended with some unused portion. However, this time I was able to find just the right package and a perfect recipe calling for the exact amount, so I get to used every last bits of mascarpone. No more leftover mascarpone.

No alcohol no heavy cream tiramisu - 

Ingredients?

• 4 medium or 3 large eggs
• 500 grams mascarpone
• 16 to 20 lady fingers
• 1 cup strong coffee
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Some cocoa powder

How?

Remove the eggs and mascarpone from the fridge and rest under room temperature for 5 to 10 minutes before using them. 

Brew the coffee first then pour into a wider surfaced container, at least wide enough that you can dip in the whole lady finger.

Separate the egg yolk and the egg white. For the yolks, also add in 500 grams of mascarpone and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Mix till blended.

As for the egg white, beat till frothy. I used stand mixer with medium high speed, took about 4 minutes to achieve that consistency.

Gradually add in the sugar while mixing/beating the egg white at the same time. Once all the sugar has been added, keep mixing/beating till the egg white can keep a soft peak form, should take few more minutes.

Introduce the yolk mixture to the white. Gently fold them together till evenly blended.

Have your tiramisu container ready. I used glass container just so I can see the layers from the side, kind of amusing and satisfying doing so. 

Dip the lady fingers in coffee till semi-soaked, it'll happen really quickly, shouldn't need to soak more than three seconds on each side. You'll know when the lady fingers turn all soggy and start to fall apart. Lay down one single layer of coffee dipped lady fingers on the bottom of the chosen container.

Spread half of the mascarpone mixture on top, also slightly even it out.

Do another layer of coffee-dipped lady fingers on top of the mascarpone then spread the remaining mascarpone all over. Even out and cover with lid or foil. Into the fridge for few hours, preferably overnight.

Just right before serving, sift some cocoa powder on top, then the no alcohol no heavy cream tiramisu will be ready to serve. 

I'm never a fan of tiramisu with coffee liqueur in it, so this no alcohol recipe just fits my need. And the no heavy cream part kind of make the whole process easier too. 

And look at that creamy layer! Even without heavy whipping cream, this tiramisu still turned out quite nice.

By the way, it's normal if you see some liquid on the bottom of the remaining tiramisu. I simply treated it as extra sauce when enjoying the tiramisu, still luscious and satisfying.

Extra recipe using mascarpone:

• Whipped brie with mascarpone, honey, and pink peppercorn