Tag Archive for: appetizer

Festive Prosciutto Rolls

This easy and quick festive prosciutto rolls recipe is what you’ll be making year after year for New Year’s Eve dinner.

This easy and quick festive prosciutto rolls recipe is what you'll be making year after year for New Year's Eve dinner.

We’re nearing the end of the year, and it’s always nice to have some easy finger food recipes on hand. Ever since I remember, my family has served prosciutto in one form or another for New Year’s Eve dinner. So let me know in the comments what is your family’s traditional food!

This recipe for the festive prosciutto rolls is super easy. I made these with my homemade phyllo dough, but if you’re in a hurry or don’t feel like making your own, a store-bought one works just as well. But I promise it is easier than it seems to make and always a fun activity for the kids and the entire family.

What is inside these festive prosciutto rolls?

Well, I don’t think I need to mention it, bis a layer of thinly sliced prosciutto accompanied by thinly sliced zucchinis, which add a lovely freshness to the rolls, and a generous amount of cheese. I’m using brie, but any other cheese that melts nicely is great too!

This easy and quick festive prosciutto rolls recipe is what you'll be making year after year for New Year's Eve dinner.
This easy and quick festive prosciutto rolls recipe is what you'll be making year after year for New Year's Eve dinner.
This easy and quick festive prosciutto rolls recipe is what you'll be making year after year for New Year's Eve dinner.
This easy and quick festive prosciutto rolls recipe is what you'll be making year after year for New Year's Eve dinner.
This easy and quick festive prosciutto rolls recipe is what you'll be making year after year for New Year's Eve dinner.
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Festive Prosciutto Rolls

Course Appetizer, brunch, Side Dish
Keyword Christmas, easy appetizer, new year’s eve
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings 20 rolls
Author Anja Burgar

Ingredients

  • 5 phyllo dough sheets (Recipe for homemade phyllo dough in recipe notes below.)
  • 20 slices prosciutto thinly sliced
  • 300 g brie cut into small chunks
  • 2 small zuchinnis thinly sliced lenghtwise
  • 20 g parmesan cheese
  • vegetable oil for brushing

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).

  2. Start with 5 phyllo dough sheets of a rough size of 30×40 cm.

  3. Cut each phyllo dough sheet into four equal rectangles.

  4. Place one slice of prosciutto, two halfs of zuchinni slices and a chunk of brie..

  5. Fold sides of the dough over the filling then fold one of the other two sides of the phyllo dough over the filling and roll into a roll.

  6. Place the rolls onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper and grate over parmesan cheese.

  7. Bake in a preheated oven for 15 to 20 monutes until golden.

Notes

Find the recipe for phyllo dough here. (The same amount as you need for this recipe!)

Looking for other festive dishes?

I like to pair these rolls with salads. Fruity Winter Salad with Mustard Dressing or Persimmon Salad With Orange Dressing are perfect for that!

This easy and quick festive prosciutto rolls recipe is what you'll be making year after year for New Year's Eve dinner.

Fall Harvest Cheese Plate

How to make a fall harvest cheese plate using seasonal ingredients that you can find at the local food market or local farms.

How to make a fall harvest cheese plate using seasonal ingredients that you can find at the local food market or local farms.

We don’t often put up a fancy cheese plate. At least not with that much detail, but with fall already here I feel like it’s time to invite some friends over and serve them a nice harvest cheese plate with some wine.

Fall harvest is perfect for that, because of all the sweet fruits that pair so nicely with the cheeses and meats (which you can, of course, omit if you’re making a veggetarian cheese plate).

Often times you’ll fins dried fuits on a cheeseplate, but I honestly think that with so many fresh fruits around this time of the year, you can just skip that!

How to make a fall harvest cheese plate using seasonal ingredients that you can find at the local food market or local farms.
How to make a fall harvest cheese plate using seasonal ingredients that you can find at the local food market or local farms.
How to make a fall harvest cheese plate using seasonal ingredients that you can find at the local food market or local farms.

So how do you prepare a fall harvest cheese plate?

All you need to make a stunning cheese plate is a few good kinds of cheese, some delicious meats, and a few extra nibbles, like nuts, seeds, preserves, spreads… the sky is the limit.

The trick in making a beautiful cheese plate is to lay everything out nicely. For the fall theme I like to include a wooden plate for that natural cozy feel.

I start with cheeses, spread them around the plate, so they are not all bundled in a pile. Then I add cured meat. Or in this case, I wrapped prosciutto around the grissini. Then add some small bowls with different little treats like preserves (such as artichokes, gherkins, olives…), nuts, seeds, spreads, and so on. You can add bread, grissini, crackers, or something else for the crunch and for spreading any kind of spreads.

At the end choose some autumn fruits like grapes, figs, pears or apples for the sweetness and freshness.

For extra fancy schmansy feel sprinkle some fresh herbs around the plate.

Add a bottle of wine or grape juice and you’re good to go!

How to make a fall harvest cheese plate using seasonal ingredients that you can find at the local food market or local farms.
How to make a fall harvest cheese plate using seasonal ingredients that you can find at the local food market or local farms.

Tag #useyournoodles so I can see your beautiful UYN creations. Also, stay in touch on Facebook and Instagram or subscribe to get the recipes directly to your mailbox ♥

How to make a fall harvest cheese plate using seasonal ingredients that you can find at the local food market or local farms.
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Fall Harvest Cheese Plate

Course Appetizer, brunch
Keyword cheese board, cheese plate
Prep Time 15 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 wedge soft cheese (Brie or Camembert)
  • 1 wedge cheddar cheese
  • 1 wedge aged goat cheese
  • 1 wedge gorgonzola or blue cheese
  • 1 dried sausage
  • prosciutto
  • grapes
  • figs
  • pear slices
  • pomegranate wedges
  • preserved artichokes
  • crackers
  • grissini
  • almonds or other nuts

Instructions

  1. Lay out your cheeses and meats on your plate.

  2. Fill tiny bowls with remaining ingredients (except fruits) and spread them around the plate.

  3. Add fresh fruits all around the plate.

  4. Add fresh herbs.

Recipe in Slovene available here.

How to make a fall harvest cheese plate using seasonal ingredients that you can find at the local food market or local farms.

Orange & Pecorino Ravioli with Rosemary Brown Butter

These humble but exciting pecorino ravioli with orange zest and brown butter flavored with rosemary will bring any dinner to a new level!

These humble but exciting pecorino ravioli with orange zest and brown butter flavored with rosemary will bring any dinner to a new level!

It’s so exciting making your own pasta. And it’s not even that difficult. Actually I’d say it’s one of the easiest doughs for a beginner. Some may not agree, but I’ve tried many different types of dough and pasta is the only one that was successful every time. Even if it wasn’t perfect, it was managable. Don’t get me wrong, there’s a whole science behind a perfect pasta dough, which I should probably cover in another post, but if you follow some basic rules, there shouldn’t be many problems.

These humble but exciting pecorino ravioli with orange zest and brown butter flavored with rosemary will bring any dinner to a new level!

Basic rules:

  • 1 egg per 100 g flour. Works every time.
  • The dough should rest at least 30 minutes. This makes the gluten form and the dough becomes elastic and easier to handle. You will notice a huuuge difference in dough before and after resting just by touch.
  • Lightly flour the dough before rolling it out, especially if you are using a pasta machine, otherwise it will start sticking and tearing when you get to a thinner setting.

Oh, and one more thing! When you start bringing the dough together it might look a little dry but after a couple of kneads it will hold together much nicely and after 10 minutes of kneading it will start forming tiny bubbles under the surface, which means it’s done. Wrap it up and wait. You’ve got the best pasta dough in th world ready and waiting!

These humble but exciting pecorino ravioli with orange zest and brown butter flavored with rosemary will bring any dinner to a new level!

So, we’re making ravioli. It’s a type of filled pasta that comes in many shapes and sizes. The filling can be whatever you like it to be. But since it’s almost New Year’s Eve I’m all about fancy shmancy 😀 So I used pecorino as the main focus of the dish, mixing it with some fresh ricotta cheese and freshly grated orange zest. The zest will give it a kind of richness and freshness. And to make it even more psh we’re adding brown butter with rosemary on top.

These humble but exciting pecorino ravioli with orange zest and brown butter flavored with rosemary will bring any dinner to a new level!

The pecorino ravioli are perfectly savory and flavorful on their own, so they shouldn’t be drowned in a strong flavored sauce. Brown butter is just delicate enugh to enhance the flavores but not overpower them.

I’ve never made brown butter before, but once I tried it on these pecorino ravioli, I’m sure it’ll become a regular at our house. The nutty taste of the brown butter is so delicious and very different from plain old melted butter. Plus, you can make it in advance and keep it in the fridge for when the opportunity comes.

These humble but exciting pecorino ravioli with orange zest and brown butter flavored with rosemary will bring any dinner to a new level!
These humble but exciting pecorino ravioli with orange zest and brown butter flavored with rosemary will bring any dinner to a new level!

Great, so we’ve got everything covered. Let’s get preparing for the New Year’s Eve party and making some delicious orange pecorino ravioli. Have a great party, folks!

Tag #useyournoodles so I can see your beautiful UYN creations. Also, stay in touch on Facebook and Instagram or subscribe to get the recipes directly to your mailbox ♥

These humble but exciting pecorino ravioli with orange zest and brown butter flavored with rosemary will bring any dinner to a new level!
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ORANGE & PECORINO RAVIOLI WITH ROSEMARY BROWN BUTTER

Course Appetizer, Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Keyword brown butter
Prep Time 35 minutes
Cook Time 2 minutes
Resting time 30 minutes
Total Time 37 minutes
Servings 4

Ingredients

PASTA DOUGH

  • 4 eggs
  • 400 g all-purpose flour

FILLING

  • 250 g pecorino grated
  • 250 g ricotta
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • zest of 1 orange

BROWN BUTTER SAUCE

  • 120 g butter cubed
  • 3 stems of rosemary

GARNISH

  • grated pecorino
  • orange zest
  • rosemary

Instructions

Pasta

  1. Sift flour into a bowl or onto the countertop, make a well in the middle and add in the eggs. start mixing the eggs adding in flour little by little, until the dough comes together. For this first step you can alternatively use a food processor. Knead the dough by hands for about 10 minutes, until you see tiny bubbles form under the surface. Wrap the dough in plastic foil and let it rest for at least half an hour. The dough will become much softer and strechier with resting, so don’t skip it!

Filling

  1. Mix pecorino, ricotta, nutmeg, black pepper and orange zest in a bowl.

Brown butter sauce

  1. Heat a sauce pan over medium heat and add butter and rosemary. As the butter melts it will start bubbling and changing color from light yellow to golden and lastly brown. The mik solids will start to separate from the fat and will form a dark brown sediment. When this happens and the butter is brown with a nutty smell, pour the butter to a cold bowl. If you prefer to remove the sediment pour the butter in the bowl slowly, leaving the sediment in the sauce pan. Remove the rosemary.

  2. You can prepare the brown butter sauce while waiting for pasta dough to rest and reheat it over low to medium heat before serving.

Rolling pasta

  1. Cut pasta into 8 pieces and roll each one out as thinly as possible using a little flour to prevent sticking. You can use a rollin pin (the more labor intense method) or use a pasta machine (the easier method) and roll the dough starting at the thickest setting, continuing to the thinnest setting that the dough can still handle. If it starts tearing you should stop one setting thicker. I suggest running a test with a tiny portion of the dough before going full scale.

  2. When the dough is rolled out spread it over a flat lightly flouered surface and cover with a tea towel.

Filling pasta

  1. There are many shapes of raviol. The easiest is a simple square or rectangle. Spread a heap teaspoon of filling 4 cm apprart over the lenght of a rolled out pasta. Using a brush or a finger lightly wet one long edge of the dough and the part between the filling. Fold over one half of the dough lenghtwise and press around the filling to get all the air out. Using a pasta cutter or a sharp knife cut rigth in the middle between the filled parts and use a fork to press around each ravioli, so the dough really sticks together and doesn't open during cooking.

Cooking pasta

  1. Boil water and add salt like for any other pasta, then add the ravioli and cook for about two minutes.

  2. Meanwhile heat up the butter.
  3. Drain and serve onto plates adding brown butter on top and garnishing with some more pecorino, orange zest and rosemary.
  4. Serve immediately.

These humble but exciting pecorino ravioli with orange zest and brown butter flavored with rosemary will bring any dinner to a new level!

These humble but exciting pecorino ravioli with orange zest and brown butter flavored with rosemary will bring any dinner to a new level! Click to find the whole recipe or pin and save for later!

Creamy Beet Dip with Herbed Buckwheat Flatbread

Unsurprisingly, the hero of this luscious creamy beet dip is beetroot, but there’s a little something else in that makes it even sweeter and tastier. And above all a very simple buckwheat fladbread with herbs.

Unsurprisingly, the hero of this luscious creamy beet dip is beetroot, but there's a little something else in that makes it even sweeter and tastier. And above all a very simple buckwheat fladbread with herbs.

Happy 1st December 😀

You guys, I made the best beet dip in the world! A bold statement, I know…

It’s a dip we’ve been making for a while now. The idea was actually my husband’s. He ate a beet and corn spread in a sandwich once, so we thought to make our own version. Yes, there’s corn 🙂 and honey. Ok, you’re thinking it’s sweet, but no… It’s spicy, savory and of course sweet as well.

Unsurprisingly, the hero of this luscious creamy beet dip is beetroot, but there's a little something else in that makes it even sweeter and tastier. And above all a very simple buckwheat fladbread with herbs.

I’m like obsessed with beetroot lately. How can I not be, because I have like tons of it. My grandpa grows it every year, but can’t really eat all of it, so we get the rest.

Not complaining!

I’ve been using it in soooo many ways, some recipes are about to come. Can’t wait to share them with you 🙂

Unsurprisingly, the hero of this luscious creamy beet dip is beetroot, but there's a little something else in that makes it even sweeter and tastier. And above all a very simple buckwheat fladbread with herbs.

We all know it’s nice to have something awesome to dip into a creamy dip like this, so I made some herbed flatbreads, but since I LOVE buckwheat, I made them with buckwheat flour mixed with all-purpose flour.

It’s actually an awesome recipe for summer too, when there are many many fresh herbs in the garden. Now, we only have rosemary, oregano and thyme, but basil would also be nice. You can pick whatever you like or have at hand. I love recipes like these!

Unsurprisingly, the hero of this luscious creamy beet dip is beetroot, but there's a little something else in that makes it even sweeter and tastier. And above all a very simple buckwheat fladbread with herbs.

Let’s just dip into it!

Tag #useyournoodles so I can see your beautiful UYN creations. Also, stay in touch on Facebook and Instagram or subscribe to get the recipes directly to your mailbox ♥

Unsurprisingly, the hero of this luscious creamy beet dip is beetroot, but there's a little something else in that makes it even sweeter and tastier. And above all a very simple buckwheat fladbread with herbs.
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CREAMY BEET DIP WITH HERBED BUCKWHEAT FLATBREAD

Course Appetizer, Breakfast
Keyword dip, flatbread, yeasted bread
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings 3

Ingredients

CREAMY BEET DIP

  • 150 g cooked beets cut into chunks
  • 115 g cooked corn or tinned corn
  • 1/4 cup mayonnaise
  • 1 tsp honey
  • black pepper
  • cayenne pepper
  • salt

HERBED BUCKWHEAT FLATBREAD

  • 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup buckwheat flour
  • 1 cup natural yoghurt
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 cup chopped herbes rosemary, oregano, thyme, basil or any other
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • pinch of pepper

Instructions

Creamy Beet Dip

  1. Place all ingredients in a food processor and mix untill smooth. Add more seasoning if necessary.

Herbed Buckwheat Flatbread

  1. Mix all ingredients by hand or in a food processor until it comes together. The dough should be soft, but not sticky. Add more flour if necessary.

  2. Divide the dough into 6 balls and roll them out to about 2-3 mm thick.

  3. Heat a grill pan until it is very hot. No need for oiling it. Grill each rolled fladbread for about 1-2 minute on each side. You should see g bubbles form. If one big bubble over the entire flatbread forms, press it down to release air.

  4. Serve hot or cold.

Unsurprisingly, the hero of this luscious creamy beet dip is beetroot, but there's a little something else in that makes it even sweeter and tastier. And above all a very simple buckwheat fladbread with herbs.

Bacon Wrapped Prunes With Herbed Feta Dip

Indulgent finger food  for the best party you’ll ever throw, but not without these crispy bacon wrapped prunes and a decadent herbed feta dip!

Indulgent finger food for the best party you'll ever throw, but not without these crispy bacon wrapped prunes and a decadent herbed feta dip!

Yay, finally sharing this recipe with you!

I’ve been making it for a while now, but never got around photographing and posting it. But with the holiday season slowly arriving, I felt like, I owe you this recipe, because – yes, I’m gonna say it – it’s amazing. It’s dried fruit wrapped in bacon. Who wouldn’t love that?! 🙂

Indulgent finger food for the best party you'll ever throw, but not without these crispy bacon wrapped prunes and a decadent herbed feta dip!

There’s a little story about how I got to this deliciousness. It happened on our honeymoon a little over two years ago.  I know many people decide to go to some perfect tropical beach for their honeymoon, but we decided to make a road trip through Europe. We made over 2500 km in 16 days and saw soooo many things and sights. One of them was the lovely town of Kaunas in Lithuania. It gave out the vibe of still being stuck in the old time with all the old communist monuments and decaying facades, but that actually gave the town a really special character. 

Anyway, convinced that the nightlife would be pretty much non existant we headed to the center of town. Well, we were dead wrong. It was vibrant and lively with all the people siting in the restaurants and pubs, drinking, eating and having a blast. Looked so fun that we had to join. For the first time ever we tried mulled beer. Delicious, btw! We also tried some finger food. Among other we had tiny packets of prunes wrapped in bacon that were filled with some kind of nuts. That was such a clever and incredibly delicious appetizer! Soft and chewy, but crispy on the outside and in the middle. Clever, I’m saying. I’ve been making my own version ever since.

Indulgent finger food for the best party you'll ever throw, but not without these crispy bacon wrapped prunes and a decadent herbed feta dip!

I’m in love with this presentation, with the tree springs, holding together the bacon wrapped prunes. There’s another story behind that. 

I usually spend New Year’s Eve with friends in a cabin somewhere in the wild (sometimes not so wild). One year we decided to throw a fancy dress-yo’self-very-pretty kind of New Year’s Eve party. These pretty bacon wrapped prunes were a must! Of course, we were not at home and we didn’t have toothpicks that would hold the whole thing together so we headed to the garden and cut some tree springs and solved the problem. Easy 😀 They looked so much better than with good old toothpicks. Don’t you think they look festive?

In case you are like me – always in need of some dip, here’s a recipe for a simple feta dip with fresh herbs. I used parsley and chives, because that’s what still growing in the garden, but you can add whatever you’ve got on hand. 

Indulgent finger food for the best party you'll ever throw, but not without these crispy bacon wrapped prunes and a decadent herbed feta dip!

Tag #useyournoodles so I can see your beautiful UYN creations. Also, stay in touch on Facebook and Instagram or subscribe to get the recipes directly to your mailbox ♥

Go ahead, try them out on the side of some mulled mandarin juice! I sure will 🙂

Indulgent finger food for the best party you'll ever throw, but not without these crispy bacon wrapped prunes and a decadent herbed feta dip!
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BACON WRAPPED PRUNES WITH HERBED FETA DIP

Course Appetizer
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 30

Ingredients

BACON WRAPPED PRUNES

  • 30 prunes pitted
  • 15 thin bacon slices
  • 25 g almonds chopped finely
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 2 tsp ground sweet red pepper

HERBED FETA DIP

  • 100 g Feta Cheese
  • 60 g Greek-style yogurt
  • a bunch of herbs I used parsley and chives, chopped
  • pinch of pepper

Instructions

BACON WRAPPED PRUNES

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
  2. Heat a pan over medium-high heat, then add chopped almonds. Roast for a minute, until they start smelling sweet. Remove from heat and add olive oil and ground sweet red pepper. Toss around to coat the nuts and set aside too cool a little.
  3. Cut bacon in half.
  4. Fill the prunes with nuts and wrap them in bacon, securing ends with toothpicks.
  5. Place them onto a baking paper-lined baking tray and bake for 12-15 minutes or until the bacon gets golden and crispy.
  6. Best served hot.

HERBED FETA DIP

  1. Combine all ingredients in a food processor, to get a smooth dip. Keep in the fridge before serving.
Indulgent finger food for the best party you'll ever throw, but not without these crispy bacon wrapped prunes and a decadent herbed feta dip!

Lemony Tomato Gazpacho

This easy lemony tomato gazpacho recipe will save the hot days, when you don’t feel like cooking.

Use Your Noodles - Lemony Tomato Gazpacho

I love watching my tomatoes grow. It’s an obsession.

Some people go for a morning walk in the forest, I take a stroll in the garden to check what’s grown overnight.

So now I’m anxiously waiting for my tomatoes to ripen and then I can eat them like apples. That’s my favorite way!

I even have a photo from when I was little, sitting in the garden and eating a whole tomato. Good times 🙂

This easy lemony tomato gazpacho recipe will save the hot days, when you don't feel like cooking.

A while ago I attended an awesome workshop organized by the culinary & lifestyle magazine Radegunda and guess what… all the dishes we were making were based on tomatoes. 

Which means I was in heaven 🙂

We were making all kinds of stuff… and eating them, which was the best part, for sure!

Use Your Noodles - Lemony Tomato Gazpacho

Inspired by the workshop and the anticipation of homegrown tomatoes I created this simple 5-minute tomato gazpacho.

Head on to the fridge or the garden, whatever’s closer, and get some fresh vegetables. Chop them up, blend for a minute or two and you’ll get the most refreshing lunch you’ll have this summer.

Best part of this recipe is the lemon zest. It makes all the difference. Don’t skip on it, but be sure to buy organic lemons.

Use Your Noodles - Lemony Tomato Gazpacho

Tag #useyournoodles so I can see your beautiful UYN creations. Also, stay in touch on Facebook and Instagram or subscribe to get the recipes directly to your mailbox ♥

Hungry yet?

This easy lemony tomato gazpacho recipe will save the hot days, when you don't feel like cooking.
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LEMONY TOMATO GAZPACHO

Course Appetizer, Soup
Keyword fresh soup, gazpacho, tomato gazpacho
Total Time 5 minutes
Servings 8

Ingredients

  • 8 tomatoes
  • 1 cucumber peel if you are looking for nice red color
  • 1 red or yellow pepper seeds and stem removed
  • 1 medium-sized onion peeled
  • 3 cloves garlic peeled
  • 1 TBSP olive oil
  • 1 TBSP lemon juice
  • zest of 1 lemon
  • black pepper
  • salt

Instructions

  1. Chop the vegetables into chunks.
  2. In a blender, mix together all ingredients, until you get a smooth soup.
  3. Pour into cups or bowl and serve cold.

Notes

Keep the vegetables in the fridge for a couple of hours before making the soup.

Also try this refreshing summer treats:

Minty Watermelon Slushie Drink

Roasted Peach and Strawberry Fizz

Peach and Celery Ice Lolly

Use Your Noodles - Lemony Tomato Gazpacho