Dalia's Kitchen: berries

Peanut Butter French Toast & Berry Coulis

Image by Chris Mejorada for CPI Publishing

Honestly, this must be the best French Toast ever, if you like peanut butter that is.. It's decadent, sweet, salty, nutty and just absolutely amazing!! Might be the reason why it's on the cover of this month's issue of BBC Good Food ME ;) And if you don't like peanut buttter, just make it plain with the berry coulis, it's still yummy!

So after such popular demand and many requests for me to post the recipe on the blog, here it is.. D's Peanut Butter French Toast! Have a great weekend, D xx

Easy. Prep & Cook Time : ~20 minutes

Serves 4 - 6

6 slices Brioche bread
3 eggs
½ cup milk
¼ cup light cooking cream
6 tbsp smooth peanut butter
3 tbsp white sugar
¼ tsp cinnamon
Freshly grated nutmeg
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 cup mixed berries
1 tbsp icing sugar
Knob of butter
¼ cup crushed peanuts

In a bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, cream, half the peanut butter, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg until smooth. Then place the Brioche slices on a semi deep dish and pour the egg mixture on top, letting the bread soak for a few minutes.

In a small saucepan cook the berries with icing sugar on low heat for a few minutes, just until they release their juices then set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk the remaining peanut butter with the maple syrup and one or two tablespoons of hot water to obtain a syrupy consistency, then set aside.

Heat a knob of butter in a pan on medium heat. Fry the brioche slices for a minute or so on each side and serve on a plate. Drizzle with the coulis, peanut butter sauce, garnish with peanuts and some icing sugar. Delish!

Panna Cotta with Berries

I'm in Madrid visiting my sis and her beautiful familia.. I love being here, and am adoring Madrid more and more every time I visit.. The city is gorgeous and the food out of this world.. No wonder they say that Spain is THE culinary hotspot.. As I'm enjoying eating out at some phenomenal restaurants I will leave you with my delicious Panna Cotta recipe (even though Italian ;) which was featured in BBC Good Food last month.. A dream dessert!

Easy. Prep until ready to serve: 4 hrs 30 mins
Serves 2

½ cup of heavy crème
½ cup of milk
25g of sugar
½ a vanilla bean
1 ½ tsp of gelatin powder
3 tbsp of cold water
½ cup of mixed berries

Heat the heavy crème, milk, vanilla seeds and vanilla bean in a saucepan, but don’t let it boil. Add the sugar and let it dissolve.

In a small bowl, dilute the gelatin in cold water, and set it aside for 10 minutes. Remove the vanilla bean from the crème mixture, then add the gelatin until it completely dissolves.

Pour the Panna Cotta in serving glasses or ramekins, and let it set in the fridge for at least 4 hours. Before you serve, decorate with a few berries and a little berry puree. Beautiful!

Beef Stew in Red Wine & Berry Reduction

Yesterday we had a cozy day in with my designer friend Zeina (she has a beautiful line called Le Monde D'Ines, which I absolutely adore) and her husband Rabih.. I was in the middle of trying out my new recipe when we told them to join us for an easy lunch at home.. Since the stew took some time, we started with some nibbles and a pesto pasta, followed by this sweet and savory stew with golden potatoes.. Then, after several bottles of wine, cheese and Nutella crepes, we crashed on the sofa watching series.. Some of us even fell into a deep sleep ;) My kind of day!

Medium difficulty. Prep & Cook Time: ~3 1/2 hours.

Serves 4

750g of beef for stewing (topside or chuck), cut into chunks
1 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
2 carrots, cut into rounds
1/2 tsp dried thyme
2 bay leaves
500ml chicken stock
300ml red wine
1/3 cup mixed berry marmalade (and a handful of fresh ones if available)
2 TBL Worcester sauce
butter
nut oil
some flour
salt and cracked pepper

In a large pot (cast iron if available), heat a knob of butter and oil.. Coat the beef in a little flour before frying them on each side (do this in batches), browning them until they have a nutty color.. Remove the meat from the heat and set aside while you sauté the onions until they are soft and translucent.. Add the carrots, scraping all the brown yummy bits (which contain all the flavor) and cook for a few more minutes.. Place the beef back into the pot, add the wine, hot stock, berries and marmalade, thyme, bay leaves, Worcester sauce, salt and pepper.. Bring everything to a rapid boil, then reduce the heat, cover and simmer for about 2 1/2 - 3 hours, until the meat is nice and tender.. Remove the bay leaves, season to taste, then add the roasted rosemary potatoes (recipe is on the blog under Delicious Snacks & Sides) and enjoy ;)

Granola Cup & Berry Coulis

picture by Jovana Obradovic for ITP publishing

It has been one of the busiest weeks ever.. There just aren’t enough hours during the day to get everything done, so it’s all about the hearty breakfasts for the early birds these days..

And thank you for all the lovely messages from those who tried the blueberry pancakes.. It seems so many of you tried and loved them.. x

(As featured in Harper's Bazaar Arabia's October Issue)

Serves 2

2 cups Fromage Frais (you can use Greek yoghurt instead)
2 tbsp honey
1 cup granola (homemade see recipe, or store bought)
1 cup mixed berries
1 tbsp powdered sugar

In a saucepan heat the berries and the powdered sugar. Cook over medium heat until they soften up and release their juices. Set aside and let it cool. In a bowl, mix the fromage frais and the honey until smooth and set aside. Fill the cup 1/3 with granola, then add the yoghurt, and top with the berry coulis.

Berry Clafoutis

I used to live right next to Balthazar's in NY.. On my way home I would often pass by the bakery and grab a few of their Clafoutis.. Lovely little sweet indulgence!

For the sweet pastry:

6 TBL of butter

1/2 cup icing sugar

1 cup of flour

1 tsp of vanilla extract

1/2 tsp of salt

For the filling:

2 1/2 cups berries or cherries (I used blackberries in this one)

2 TBL Kirsch

2 TBL sugar

additional:

2 eggs

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

3 TBL sour cream

3 TBL single cream

3 TBL milk

1 TBL flour

Preheat the oven to 180C.

For the pastry, blend the butter & icing sugar until smooth, then add vanilla, salt & flour.. Knead the dough for a bit, if it's too sticky add some flour.. Roll a flat disk and lay it over your tart pan.. You can also just use a baking dish with a removable base and roll the dough on it to make it easier.. Then pre-bake it for 15 minutes..

Pour your berries in an oven safe dish, add the sugar and kirsch.. Bake it for 5-10 minutes, then drain to release the juices and set it aside (you can use the juice as a coulis if you like but don’t add it to the clafoutis)..

In a mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, sugar, vanilla, sour & single cream, milk and flour.. Then place the berries in the prebaked tart and pour the cream mixture over it.. Bake for 30-35 minutes, remove and sprinkle some icing sugar over it.. Broil it for another 5-10minutes and voila! Beautiful homemade clafoutis ☺

Older Posts

Peanut Butter French Toast & Berry Coulis

Panna Cotta with Berries

Beef Stew in Red Wine & Berry Reduction

Granola Cup & Berry Coulis

Berry Clafoutis

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