Summer Fruit Parfait with Homemade Granola Topping

“When you wake up in the morning, Pooh," said Piglet at last, "what's the first thing you say to yourself?"

"What's for breakfast?" said Pooh. "What do you say, Piglet?"

"I say, I wonder what's going to happen exciting today?" said Piglet.

Pooh nodded thoughtfully. "It's the same thing," he said.”
Winnie the Pooh and Piglet.

I love to get up early and have some minutes for myself before everybody else wakes up.
I know, I know of course not just  the morning after going out and coming home late.
The after party mornings are those, when all I have for breakfast "is coffe and Plan B."
But normally it's just the quiet moments before the smell of coffee fills the house, I enjoy most.
As we lived in various countries, we got the chance to learn how life style and breakfast varies in many delicious ways.

Breakfast when we used to live in Italy with the best Capuccino ever.

So even time is always short, we try to celebrate breakfast, taking a little extra time before the day starts.

Our breakfast in Peru with glorious fresh Mangos.

Breakfast is what fuels our bodies, it's like a first impression of the day and we all know that we can't make a second first impression.
So today I decided to prepare my own homemade Granola and use it as crunchy topping for a delicious summer fruit parfait.

This is what you need.
 For the Granola:
1 Spoonful dried shredded coconut
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 spoonful wheat germ
2 spoonful coarsely chopped almonds
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/2 spoonful honey
1 spoonful unsalted butter, melted
1 spoonful raisins, coarsely chopped

 Method:
-Toast the coconut in a  pan at medium heat (watch constantly it tends to burn soon!) until golden brown

Set aside.
-In a large bowl mix the wheat germ, chopped almonds, sesame seeds, cinnamon and chopped raisins.

Add the toasted coconut.

-Melt butter in a pan, stir in the honey and add to the mixture.

-Toss well to coat.

-Spread evenly on a rimmed baking sheet.

-Bake at 150° C for about 30 minutes.
-Let cool completely on sheet and store in an air tight container.

For the summer fruit parfait
You need:
11/4 cup coarsely chopped summer fruits like strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, peaches etc.
4 spoonful of strawberry or any other fruit jam
1 1/4 cup Greek yogurt

Method:
Mix fruits with the jam until coated.

In a glass or a bowl put 1 layer of the fruit mixture
Add a layer of yogurt , top with 1 spoonful of Granola
Repeat the layers and decorate wit a fresh mint.
You can chill the parfait in the fridge or eat right away.

Serves 1 Portion.
Enjoy!
See you next week. 

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Gratinated scallops a la Parmesana (Conchitas a la parmesana)

I adore seafood and right now I'm living in the perfect country for seafood lovers.
Cause of the cold Humboldt current that  flows along the Peruvian coastline, fish and seafood is of excellent quality. The current is supporting an extraordinary abundance of marine life and is rich in biodiversity.
There are many restaurants specialized in "Pescados y mariscos " from the most humble and basic to the most sophisticated with internationally renowned Chefs who create wonderful new Fusion dishes.
It is always inspiring to visit this places and try to recreate some of the dishes that we enjoyed and give them a new twist or a different presentation.
Today I felt like preparing one of the classics of Peruvian cuisine "conchitas a la parmesana" or
" Parmesan gratinated scallops "
It's  delicious, very uncomplicated and  once finished it looks like you would have spent hours in the kitchen. Compliments for the chef are granted :)
This recipe is great as an entrance or appetizer, and the only difficulty is that it tends to disappear so fast that you better prepare always more than originally planned.

This is what you need:
 12 large scallops on the half shell
1 1/2 cup freshly grated, mild Parmesan cheese
3 tsp. butter
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Lime and some fresh Parsley for decoration
*Optional: 1 Spoonful Peruvian Pisco ( can be replaced with Grappa or Whisky)

Method:
With the help of a spoon remove the scallops from the half shell. Remove the red side muscle ( it has a lot of cholesterol!) and the black vein.
Clean the scallops carefully under rinsing water
Place them again on the half shell

 or on an oven proofed porcelain spoon.

Season very slightly with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

 

Put a small piece of butter on each scallop.

Cover each scallop with a generous amount of Parmesan cheese.

If desired sprinkle with some drops of Pisco.

 
Bake under the broiler for about 4 minutes or until cheese is melted and golden brown.

Serve with fresh limes and some parsley.

Serve immediately.

 
Serves 12 portions.
Enjoy!

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See you next week.

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Italy meets China: Wan Tan Raviolis With Ricotta And Spinach

I do  agree completely with a comment my blogger friend Tricia wrote :
"So many wonderful dishes- so little time!"
This is why this weeks recipe is a delicious treat but very easy to do and not time consuming at all.
You will have great tasting (nearly) home made ravioli with a light and fluffy "pasta" and a great filling- all done in just a few minutes.

Ingredients:

1 packet ( about 16 pieces) of Wantan wrap
500g    fresh Spinach
1 garlic  clove, finely chopped
2 scallions, finely chopped
3 spoonful of good quality Olive oil
250g ricotta
1 egg yolk
1 egg white
30 g freshly ground Parmesan cheese
salt, pepper and nutmeg

Preparation:

Wash the spinach and in the meantime boil water in a large pot. Cook the spinach for only 1 minute.Once done,drain the water and press out excess liquid from the spinach, chop roughly.

Heat olive oil in a large pan and sauté scallions and chopped garlic until glazed.

 

Mix the spinach with ricotta ,scallions, Parmesan and egg yolk. Add salt,pepper and nutmeg.

place a Wantan wrap and

  


cut the dough into circles with a round cookie cutter or a ring mold

Wet your finger with a bit of egg white and rub it along the inside edge of the dough so the edges will stick together.
Place the filling in the center.

·   

Carefully fold over the circle with the filling into a semi circle 

Crimp down the edges with a fork.

Put 1 spoonful of oil in the water.
Drop the raviolis in abundant boiling, slightly salted water until the float on the surface ( it will not take long, about 1 to 2 minutes).

Drain well and dip into a warmed large serving dish.

Top with sage butter. ( melt butter until foaming and fry some sage leaves in the butter, add salt and pepper) The sage butter adds great flavor to this dish. You can as well sprinkle grated Parmesan over the raviolis. I personally prefer to use  only sage butter for its delicate flavor will not overwhelm the taste of the ravioli. 

 Decorate with fresh tomatoes and Basil leaves.

Serves 4.

Enjoy!

See you next week.

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Fresh And Delicious:Tomato Mousse With Basil Sauce

As summer is approaching everybody is looking  for fresh, more vegetable based dishes.
This Mousse is a  recipe  generously shared with me by my friend Isabelle, and is one of my favorites for summer parties.
You can prepare it 1 day in advance, so it's ideal for a relaxed party organization.
It's easy but a bit messy  (at least when I prepare it, maybe you my friends, are more organized :) ) but it's worth it because it literally melts in your mouth  and I bet your guests will love it.

This is what you need:

For the tomato mousse:
250 g ripe, red tomatoes
4 leaves of gelatin
1/2 cup of heavy cream
4 spoonful of tomato ketchup
Salt and pepper
For the Basil sauce:
1 1/2 cup of fresh Basil leaves
1 cup of fresh  flat parsley leaves
3/4 cup of green onion (only the green parts)
2 teaspoon of fresh pressed lemon juice
1 cup of light cream
1/2 cup od sour cream
1/2 teaspoon of sugar
Salt and pepper
Put all  ingredients in the blender and puree them until obtaining a creamy sauce.

Method:
-Clean tomatoes and put them for about 1 minute in boiling water, this will help to peel them easily.

After peeling halve them and remove the seeds,

than quarter them and take out the remaining seeds.

Uff, a lot of seeds have been removed! :)

-Put the tomatoes in a blender and puree them.
-Strain the mixture through a colander. Set aside.

-Soak the gelatin leaves in cold water until soft.

-Warm 1/2 cup of the tomato puree, remove gelatin leaves from water and squeeze out well.
Dissolve them in the warm tomato puree and strain the mixture through a colander  ( to avoid gelatin crumbs)then stir the gelatin tomato mixture well into the tomato puree.

Add ketchup, stir well. Set aside.
Beat heavy cream to soft peaks and add delicately to the tomato mixture.

Add salt and pepper.
Grease 2 3/8 "id (for about 2.75 fluid ounces) ramekin molds with olive oil and fill them with the tomato mixture. If you don't have ramekin molds at hand, see presentation proposal at the second picture below.
-Refrigerate for at least 8 hours.
-Remove from molds and garnish with Basil sauce.

Or serve the mousse  in a Martini glass and top with the Basil sauce

Basil sauce:
1 1/2 cups of fresh Basil leaves
1 cup of fresh flat parsley leaves
3/4 cup of green onion (only the green parts)
1 cup of light cream
1/2 cup of sour cream
2 teaspoon of fresh pressed lemon juice
1 teaspoon of sugar
Salt and pepper
Put all  ingredients in the blender and puree them until obtaining a creamy sauce.
Serves 4,  Enjoy!

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