Breakfast bread bowls

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I do love Spring,you know?All its beautifuly vivid colours and fresh flavours.Everything around is waking up,ready to bloom,and so am I.Finally.The days lenghten only by a couple of hours and I no longer drag myself out of bed.Instead,I spring out with the first signs of sun rays bashfully peeking through the curtains.It feels soooo great!Slow and longer mornings,exactly how I like them.Although it’s still too cold to sit outside early in the morning,I wrap myself in a blanket I enjoy my first cup of tea on the patio with bare feet,listening to the silence and waiting for my breakfast to cook in the oven.
I’ve realized everything has changed around me.Everyday seems the same but when I look back everything is different.I wish some things stayed the same but I think I’ve learn to accept that life is constantly in motion, and changes are its inevitable part.What it would be like if my world always looked the same?I can’t even imagine it.Can you?Or if I wasn’t able to change my mind or my opinion.That would be terribly traumatic…After all,every change brings a new learning lesson and make us who we are.

Somwhere deep down I only hope that one thing will never be different-the way I celebrate my mornings.Those little things like a warm cup of tea,a kind smile of someone we care about and breakfast shared together are the big things really.

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I’d come across bread bowl’s recipe few times when I was flicking through Pinterest,and I’d always wanted to make them,but It wasn’t until I saw them on Marianna’s blog when I thought it’s time for my own ‘customized’ breakfast bread roll.
I chose mushroom,garlic and rosemary filling with a slice of mozzarella for this recipe but you could use any of your favourite ingredients.Parma ham and sun dried tomatoes?Spinach,lemon and ricotta maybe?
Whatever your choice it’s a recipe you will go back to.

Enjoy and have a lovely day xxx

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RECIPE:

for 6

INGREDIENTS:

6 wholegrain bread rolls(*scroll down for the recipe)
4 tablespoons butter,melted
150g chestnut mushrooms,sliced
1-2 garlic cloves,rushed or chopped
1-2 springs of fresh rosemary,chopped
1 medium buffalo mozzarella,thinly sliced
6 eggs
3 cherry tomatoes,sliced
sea salt
black pepper

Additionally:
few rosemary springs for garnish

PREPARATION:

Preheat oven to 190C. Slice the top off from each bread roll and gently hollow it,leaving the edges quite thin but  unbroken. Arrange on a baking tray.

Place 1 tablespoon of melted butter onto a frying pan with mushrooms,garlic and rosemary.Season with salt and pepper.Fry until mushrooms are cooked.Remove any remaining water.

Brush the inside of the bread rolls with melted butter,place the mushrooms at the bottom of each roll,following with a thin slice of mozzarella.Crack an egg into each roll,top with couple of tomato slices.Season with salt and pepper,and add a small spring of rosemary if you wish.

Bake for around 30 minutes.

Serve warm with some salad.
Notes:You can dry remaining bread(flesh and tops) for breadcrumbs or feed the birds 🙂

BREAD ROLLS:

for 6

INGREDIENTS:
18g fresh yeast
1 tablespoon honey
200g white bread flour
140g wholemeal spelt flour
200ml tepid water
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon Provençal herbs
2 tablespoons virgin olive oil

Additionally:
1 egg – beaten
2 handfuls of different seeds

Preparation:

Crumble fresh yeast in a small dish,add honey,around 60 ml tepid water and couple tablespoons of white flour.Mix well,cover with cotton tea towel and let it work for around 10-15 minutes.When the mixtures raises and get foamy it’s ready.Sift the flours and salt in a bowl, add olive oil,yeast mixture and the rest of lukewarm water.Mix with a wooden spoon, when the mixture comes together start kneading it using your hands.Add some more flour if the dough is too sticky.Knead for around 5-10 minutes until the dough is very soft.(trust me you will feel the difference). Cover the bowl with a cotton tea towel and place it to rise somewhere warm, but NOT hot, until dough has doubled in size – it takes around 1-2 hour.(remember that the dough doesn’t like draughts!)When the dough doubled in size, put it on a lightly floured surface and knead for another 2-3 minutes,tear it into 6 pieces of around 120g each.Roll them into small balls and place on a baking tray lined with baking paper.Remember to leave spaces between them as they will raise.Cover with tea towel again for 30 minutes.Preheat the oven to 190 C.Brush each roll with beaten egg and sprinkle generously with seeds
Bake for around 25-30 minutes.

 

 

Vegetarian lasagne

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It’s been sooooo long since the last time I’ve been here.Way too long….I know.
I could moan that the time has never been generous to me,I could also find billions of excuses why I abandoned my beloved space for over a month.I could blame several things:the attention this very long post needed(I’ve assembled the longest gif ever!),my latest addiction to Instagram(wow!all this talents!),super exciting news about my course on Engage Live in September(can’t wait!),celebrating the fact that my photo has been short listed in Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year(yeah!),and also my latest visit to Poland.I could…The truth,why I haven’t been here for such a while is that……..there has been a lot going on……in my head.

I’ve been trying to harness my crazy minds.There have been a lot of thoughts lying there dormant for a while and suddenly they’ve all just gone wild.

Today’s world is the ideal place for the artists to thrive,isn’t it?It’s never in the history been so easy to show the work we create.The power of the internet and social media is huuuuge,you ”sell” yourself with one click of the button,while sitting in your PJs,sipping still steaming cuppa.Whatever you need is there.Is here.Within your hand’s reach.All this super talented people from different corners of the world you can talk to,the amazing inspirations wherever you look,informations you are curious about,articles you want to read,possibilities you dream of.
It’s so easy….convenient…..exciting…..and so overwhelming.

I’ve thrown myself into the race to compete with my worst enemy-the time.There is so many things I want to learn,so many people I want to spend time with,so many blogs I want to read,movies I want to watch,recipes I want to make,places I want to go to…..There was only one thing I haven’t got to do it all…….enough time.And as you can imagine it’s kind of a problem.I’ve been up to my ears with ‘to do’ lists:”urgent”, “today”, “tomorrow”, “soon”,”this month”,they’ve been  getting longer and longer.I cross one thing out,adding three more to the list at the same time.

I become overinspired,my mind was overflowing with ideas and informations,RED LIGHT,WARNING and a piercing sound of fire siren:I’m OVERLOADED!

It felt like I’ve been pushed into a washing machine,trying to keep my balance while whirling like crazy.I don’t like this pace.I don’t want to whiz through my life,I want to live every minute of it.I need a change.I need to slow down.That’s the plan.

This changes will only influence this space for the better.There might not be a new post every week but there will be more time to create mouth-watering recipes,more time to share some inspiring photos,more talks about simple things that really matter.
I really hope you’ll spend all this slow,beautiful moments with me xxx

Ps.Give artist some support!Vote for your favourite photo in Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year!You can find my image in food blogger category(eggy one).I’ll be chuffed with your vote!

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Let me tell you a little about the recipe.It’s been inspired by my latest visit to Jamie’s Italian.The idea for this amazing lasagna packed with fresh veggies was born while I was slowly savouring the amazing pasta dish with a fancy name too difficult to remember(hang on!just checked it on google-it was vegetable rotolo al forno).I could see it,fresh layers of pasta,mashed squash,tomatoes,ricotta….As it turned out couple of hours later after purchasing Jamie’s latest book that he had the same vision…..few years ago. 🙂 I’ll forgive him to ‘steal’ my recipe before I even thought about it for one simple reason:he is an amazing guy!

This recipe is much different to Jamie’s though.I used whole eggs for the pasta instead of just yolks,added some sweet potatoes,celeriac,leaving out dry mushrooms,aubergine,vino and heavy white sauce.I also added some lemon to ricotta layer to make the dish fresher and decided to sprinkle parmesan only on the top layer.It’s comforting but light.
It’s the best vegetarian lasagna you can imagine.

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RECIPE:

Ingredients:

pasta sheets(scroll down for the recipe)

squash layer:
1 small squash(800g)
250g sweet potatoes
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
olive oil
sea salt

Red sauce:
4 medium onions
3 garlic cloves
3 carrots(270g)
piece of celery root(120g)
160 tomato puree
300 ml water
sea salt
fresh black pepper
olive oil

Spinach:
400 g spinach
salt
few springs of fresh oregano

White ‘sauce’:
500 g ricotta cheese
fresh juice from 1/2 lemon

Additionally:

50g Parmesan cheese

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5.Halve the squash lengthways and deseed it.You don’t have to peel it although I always do 🙂 Slice it into 2cm pieces.Peel the potatoes and cut them into 2cm pieces too.Sprinkle with olive oil,chilli powder,salt and pepper.Roast in the over for 50 minutes.Remove after that time and mash really well,seasoning more if needed.

For the red sauce,peel the onion,garlic,carrots and celery root,then finely chopped them all.Pour some olive oil into a big pan and add chopped veg and cook for around 15 minutes until softened.Mix water with tomato puree and pour over the veg.Season with salt and pepper and cook it until completely soft,stirring occasionally.

Put a pan on a high heat with a splash of olive oil and oregano leaves.Cook it for around a minute and add spinach(I tend to chop mine before) and cook for around 15 minutes.Remove excess of water if needed.

Mix ricotta cheese with lemon juice.

FUN TIME-let’s make lasagna!

Cover the bottom of the dish with some olive oil.Cover the base with pasta sheet.Spread 1/4 of the red sauce,top with 1/3 squash,1/3 ricotta and 1/3 spinach bombs.Repeat two more times,spreading only a layer of red sauce at the top layer of pasta.You can cover it with grated parmesan cheese now or about 15 minutes before the cooking time ends.Bake in the oven for 45-50 minutes.

Let’s do some PASTA!

Ingredients:

150g ”00” pasta flour
50g semolina
2 eggs
1 tsp virgin olive oil
couple of tablespoons of water(if needed)

Preparation:

1.Pile the flour and semolina in a bowl,make a well  and crack the eggs in the middle.Add olive oil,then using a fork whip up the eggs with the flour.When it becomes too hard to mix,knead it with your hands into a ball of dough for around 3-5 minutes.When you find it to hard to knead,add some water(about 1-2 tablespoons).The dough should be quite elastic but not too wet or too dry.

2.Place the dough in a bowl and cover with clean cotton tea towel.Rest for 30 minutes.

3.Roll it out on a lightly flour surface into long sheets of pasta(fitting your dish).I always divide the dough into two bowls and roll out two long sheets,each sheets will cover two layers.
Does it make sense? 🙂 So it’s 4 layers of pasta all together 🙂

Note:

I often make a bigger batch of pasta,keep it in the fridge and use it the next day for dinner or freeze it 🙂