September 2014 – Bea's cookbook

I love pies.Have I mentioned it before?

Pies are not a Polish thing,maybe it has changed now, but they never used to be. I ate my first one after moving to England. It was a fish and leek pie served by my English friend when she invited me for a dinner to her house. When I got it on my plate, I didn’t have a clue what it was or what to expect but I appreciated that someone had cooked for me.I tried the first mouthful….the second……and third…..I’d never known that taste before.That creaminess, herbs, warmth. I got hooked!

After that night I started discovering English food, not the one sold in takeaways, the REAL English food, food with traditions.It turns out that England has more to boast about than fish and chips and mushy peas(eyyykkk). England is one, big PIE KINGDOM.

I really like this particular pie.It bring back some nice momories and it’s soooo creamy, it really makes those cold evenings more bearable beautiful 🙂

RECIPE:

YOU NEED:

1kg potatoes, peeled

90g butter

2 leeks (around 250g), chopped

600 ml milk(of your choice)
30g flour
500g fish, diced (I used fresh scottish loch trout and fresh cod)

two pinches of freshly chopped rosemary
salt, pepper, freshly grounded

1. Boil or steam the potatoes.

2.Preheat the oven to 190C/170 fan/Gas 5

3.Melt 40g of butter at low heat, add chopped leeks and cook until soft.

4.In a seperate pan, heat 450ml milk, remaining 150ml mix well with flour. When the milk in a pan starts to simmer pour over the one mixed with flour. Keep stirring as it will thicken.Bring it to boil.

5.Add fish(raw), cooked leeks and rosemary to the creamy sauce. Season with salt and pepper.

6. Mash the potatoes with remaining 50g butter, season with a little salt.

7.Now the magic starts 🙂 Pour the creamy sauce into a oven dish, cover with mash potatoes and cook in the oven for 45 minutes.

Enjoy,
xxx

Good granola is the one you eat with a spoon few minutes after it comes out the oven and by the time you realize it is nearly gone. It’s not too sweet but sweet enough, crunchy but not too hard, nourishing but not too heavy. This chocolate granola is just perfect.

I serve it with fresh almond milk which I’ve been making a lot recently.Why do I make my own?The answer is simple, it’s super tasty and super easy!Plus it hasn’t got all the additives they pack in the cartons sold in the shops. Honestly all these thickeners, and weird ingredients just freak me out. All you need is almonds and water.Ohhh and a blender!

This recipe has been adapted from GOURMANDE IN THE KITCHEN, very inspirational web, full of gorgeous recipes. I’ve changed a couple of ingredients and chosen a different method of preparation.

What I love about it, is that it contains all my favourite stuff: almonds, pecans, coconut, coconut butter, flaxseeds,cocoa, honey and dark chocolate. If we really are what we eat I am all of this ingredients, I’m this chocolate granola 🙂

RECIPE FOR GRANOLA:

INGREDIENTS:

220g of your favourite nuts/here almonds and pecans(half and half)
3 tablespoons of coconut butter
3-4 tablespoons of raw honey
1 tablespoon of cocoa powder
40g shredded coconut
2 tablespoons of ground flaxseeds
40g dark chocolate, chopped

METHOD:

1. Preheat the oven to 160C.

2. Pulse the nuts in a blender until just coarsely chopped.

3. Gently melt the butter in a pan, over a small heat.Take it off the stove and add honey and cocoa powder.Mix well.

4. Pour the mixture over the nuts and shredded coconut and ground flaxseeds. Combine together and try not to eat it all 🙂

5. Transfer the mixture on a baking tray and spread it evenly. Bake for 30-35 minutes.

6. Cool and stir in the dark chocolate.

RECIPE FOR ALMOND MILK

INGREDIENTS:

200g raw almonds
700-750ml water

METHOD:

1.Soak the almonds overnight(or at least 6 hours) in a bowl of water.

2. Drain the almonds and add to the blender with water.Blend for a minute or two.

3.Place a mesh cloth(like cheesecloth) on the top of a bowl or a jug and pour the milk through it. Once the bag is partially drained, squeeze the rest of the liquid out with your hands.

Milking almonds 🙂

Month: September 2014

FISH AND LEEK PIE

CHOCOLATE GRANOLA(gluten-free, grain-free,paleo) and ALMOND MILK