summer Archives - Page 2 of 5

Refreshing Cucumber and Peach Salad

June 23, 2020

This refreshing Cucumber and peach salad is the perfect intro to Summer! With some prosciutto, feta cheese, and spicy basil dressing it’s a winner!

Yay! It’s officially Summer and that’s my favorite season for salads (and cocktails).

Eating fresh veggies and fruits topped with a bunch of goodies and a delicious dressing is my Summer jam. If it’s your too, keep reading!

The other day I had some cucumbers left from a photoshoot and then my husband brought some very ripe nectarines and I got the idea of putting those together since I love fruits in salads. So I tried this salad and it was so good. Okay, I called it a peach salad and that’s because I actually love peaches just a tad more than nectarines, but the fruits in the photos are nectarines. You can use both, of course 🙂

Peaches, cucumbers, prosciutto, feta cheese, fresh basil, and spicy basil dressing. I call this a perfect Summer salad. Fresh crunchy cucumbers go so well with soft and sweet peach and I loved it so much I even made a recipe video for the very first time! I’ll be sharing it soon…

I was hoping June would be a little better this in terms of weather, but I was so wrong. Yesterday was the first day of June when we could actually be in shorts the entire day. But otherwise, we had so much rain and wind it almost felt like Autumn. Not very Summery at all. So weird!

Anyway, I’m pretty sure this cucumber and peach salad will scare the bad weather away. And I also can’t wait for fresh tomatoes to grow in our garden, so I can make my spicy goat cheese pesto pizza.

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Refreshing Cucumber And Peach Salad

Course Salad

Keyword cucumber salad, peach salad,

Prep Time 10 minutes

Servings 2 servings (as a side)

Author Anja Burgar

Ingredients

1 cucumber
1 peach
1/4 cup feta cheese crumbled
2-3 slices prosciutto
1 bunch of basil
1/3 cup oilve oil
juice of 1 lime
½ tsp chili flakes
pinch of salt

Instructions

Spicy Basil Dressing

Set a few basil leaves aside and chop the rest.
To make the dressing mx olive oil, lime juice, salt, chili flakes and chopped basil

Cucumber And Peach Salad

Cut cucumbers and peaches into ½cm (1/4 inch) slices. Place them into a salad bowl.
Add crumbled feta cheese, prosciutto torn into smaller slices and the basil leaves that you set aside.
Drizzle with the dressing.

Virgin Blackberry Rosewater Smash

May 7, 2020

The best refreshing drink, featuring blackberries, lime, and rosewater, is called virgin blackberry rosewater smash.

I know Spring is in its full blow but I’m already dreaming about refreshing Summer drink.

So I’m getting ready for Summer with one of the best Summer staple fruits – blackberries.

When they are in season, I freeze them, so I can use them for baking or for drinks throughout the year. If you have access to some delicious frozen blackberries or they happen to be in season, you need to make this mocktail. It’s made with smashed blackberries, some sugar, rosewater, and lime juice and topped with either water or sparkling water – whatever you prefer.

Of course, if you’re making a party and you wanna add some booze, that’s totally fine. A splash of gin or vodka would also make a great drink.

But these days, mocktails are my jam! Especially drinks with flowers. Luckily I still have some elderflower cordial from last year, although elderflowers are starting to bloom again so soon I’ll be making a fresh one 🙂

So this blackberry rosewater smash is a really easy drink to make.

After making some simple rose water syrup, just mix it with some smashed blackberries, lime juice, and water or sparkling water and you’ve got yourself the most delicious refreshing treat!

How to make simple syrup?

It’s actually very easy. All you need to do is combine the same amounts of water and sugar and cook until the sugar just dissolves. You don’t need to cook past that, it’s done. After the syrup has cooled down, add the rose water. I like to add it after the syrup has cooled so all the essential oils (and flavors!!) stay intact.

What if you don’t have rose water?

So you have no rose water, I get it it’s not something everyone has in their kitchen. That’s not a problem at all. I like rosewater because it adds such a nice flowery flavor.

So if you happen to have some elderflower or lilac syrup, you can use those too!

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Virgin Blackberry Rosewater Smash

Course Drinks

Keyword blackberry smash, elderflower mocktail, rosewater, summer drink, virgin cocktail

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes

Total Time 15 minutes

Servings 4 serving

Author Anja Burgar

Ingredients

Rose water simple syrup (can be replaced by 1/2 cup lilac or elderflower syrup)

⅓ cup unrefined cane sugar
⅓ cup water
4 tsp rosewater

Other ingredients

2 cups blackberries fresh or thawed frozen
2 tsp lime juice
1½ cups water or sparkling water

Instructions

In a small saucepan combine water and sugar. Cook over medium heat until sugar dissolves.
Let cool to room temperature, then add rose water and stir well.
Divide blackberries, lime juice, and rose water simple syrup into four glasses and use a muddler to pureé the blackberries.
Add some ice to the glass and pour over water or sparkling water.
Serve immediately.

Juicy & Smoky Plant-Based Cheeseburger

March 5, 2020

This Juicy & Smoky Plant-Based Cheeseburger recipe is all about smoky flavors and freshness. These vegan burgers include the most delicious vegan mushroom bacon and quick homemade pickled radishes.

Here we go with another burger recipe!

I love my beef burgers but today I have a special plant-based recipe for you.

When Nataša from The Amaze burgers wrote to me and asked if I wanna try their pea-protein burger patties I felt really excited to try them out. And I was excited to make an entirely plant-based burger.

My first thought was it needs to have a smoky taste and something that resembles bacon. So after a bit of testing, I decided on making my own mushroom bacon. And it tastes delicious. Why haven’t I tried this before? I’m pretty sure this is going to be my favorite topping form now on.

And to add some tang, I made quick-pickled radishes. Super easy and so so delicious. It adds some nice freshness and crunch to the burger.

As far as the patty goes I used the Amaze patty but you can use any patty you like such as bean or chickpea patty.

So what’s in this delicious plant-based cheeseburger?

Nothing but the best 😀 And it’s all about color, smoky flavor and freshness. Just like I love my burgers. So here’s what’s in these burgers:

a delicious soft burger bun,
some baby spinach or arugula,
plant-based burger patty,
vegan cheese,
vegan mushroom bacon,
homemade pickled radishes,
and smoky BBQ sauce.

Okay, I know you’re probably hungry by now, so let’s just head to the recipe.

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Juicy & Smoky Plant-Based Cheeseburger

Course Main Course

Keyword mushroom bacon, plant-based burger, vegan burger

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Cooling time 30 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Servings 4 burgers

Author Anja Burgar

Ingredients

Mushroom Bacon

250 g mushrooms (button mushrooms, shitake…)
2 ½ TBSP olive oil
2 TBSP soy sauce
½ TBSP maple syrup
½ TBSP smoky BBQ sauce
½ TBSP smoked paprika (or additional BBQ sauce)

Quick home-pickled radishes

100 g radishes
½ cup apple cider vinegar
¼ cup water
3 TBSP unrefined cane sugar
1/2 tsp salt

Other ingredients

4 burger buns
4 plant-based burger patties
8 vegan cheese slices
½ cup smoky BBQ sauce
a bunch of fresh baby spinach

Instructions

Mushroom Bacon

Preheat the oven to 170°C and line a baking sheet with baking paper.
To prepare the marinade, place all mushroom bacon ingredients except mushrooms in a small bowl and mix until well combined.
Clean mushrooms with a brush and remove stems. Cut mushroom tops into thin slices, about 3-4 mm.
Place mushroom slices in the marinade and gently toss to cover all mushrooms from both sides.
Transfer mushroom slices to the lined baking sheet making sure there's not too much excess marinade on the mushrooms.
Roast in the preheated oven for ten minutes then flip the mushrooms and bake for another 10-15 minutes. The mushrooms should be a bit crunchy on the edges and they will firm more after they cool. If you see mushrooms burning, lower the heat and bake for a longer time.

Quick home-pickled radishes

Wash radishes and remove the greens.
Place all ingredients in a small saucepan, stir well and bring to a boil. Cook for 2-3 more minutes over medium heat, then let cool to room temperature.

Making the burgers

Cook your vegan burger patty as per instructions, adding two slices of vegan cheese two minutes before finishing, covering the skillet to help melt the cheese if necessary.
To assemble the burgers, cut burger buns in half. Spread a tablespoon of BBQ sauce on each half of the buns.
Place some spinach leaves on the bottom bun. Place burger patty with melted cheese on top. Add mushroom bacon, pickled radishes, and some more spinach. Top with the other half of the bun and serve immediately.

Spiced Almond Butter Chocolate Babka

December 19, 2019

This delicious almond butter chocolate babka is made of rich sweet dough and creamy filling. It’s so cozy and homey. A perfect Christmas treat that everyone will love.

With just a few days left until Christmas, we’re still deciding who’s going to host this year’s Christmas dinner. It’s usually us or my parents, but we haven’t decided yet this year. In any case, I’m making my favorite holiday dessert.

When it comes to Christmas desserts I’m all about sweet bread. My favorites include Italian panettone, walnut chocolate star bread, our traditional walnut roll called ‘potica’ and this year I found a new one – almond butter chocolate babka. Do you see a pattern here? Sweet dough, nuts, and chocolate.

And I’m sharing the recipe with you today.

This almond butter chocolate bread is a product of another amazing collab with my friend Tereza from Tereza’s Choice. We had so much fun during our day together creating this babka and taking photos. Although I erased all of the images in the middle of the shoot, I managed to get them all back with the help of my brother. Cheers to him! I think I need to bake him a babka just to say thanks 😀

Back to the recipe!

We used the same dough recipe as in my walnut chocolate star bread recipe. I honestly think this is the best egg-free sweet dough I have ever made.

For the filling, we used Tereza’s almond butter with cinnamon and vanilla. Yes, she has her own line of products and I love them. But don’t worry, you can use regular almond butter and add spices yourself in case you don’t have access to her spiced almond butter. It’s all in the recipe.

The filling is actually pretty simple. Melted chocolate (mix of semi-sweet and milk), almond butter and spices. That’s all. And I can honestly say, using nut butters as a filling for sweet breads is one of the best things there is.

We made a version with chopped almonds on top and dried cranberries inside and a plain one without the almonds and cranberries and they both turned out super delicious!

5 from 1 vote

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Spiced Almond Butter Chocolate Babka

Course Dessert

Keyword babka, Christmas bread, sweet bread

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Rising time 1 hour 40 minutes

Total Time 2 hours 35 minutes

Author Anja Burgar & Tereza Poljanič

Ingredients

Sweet Dough

2 ½ cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup + 2 TBSP milk
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp dry yeast
1 tsp vanilla seeds or vanilla extract
1 tsp ground cardamom
2 TBSP unsalted butter melted

Almond Butter Chocolate filling

50 g milk chocolate
50 g semi-sweet chocolate
1/2 cup almond butter
1 tsp vanilla seeds
1 tsp ground cinnamon
OPTIONAL: dried cranberries (soaked in water for 15 minutes and drained)

Other

chopped almonds for topping
1 TBSP milk or butter or 1 egg whisked with 1 teaspoon water (for egg wash)

Instructions

Sweet Dough

In a small bowl mix 2 TBSP sugar, half of the milk and yeast. Cover and wait for it to activate and start foaming.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, combine the flour, vanilla seeds (or extract), ground cardamom and sugar at low speed to combine all the ingredients. Add the rest of the milk and melted butter and mix until the dough comes together. Lastly, add activated yeast. Continue mixing until a soft smooth dough forms. You can do this by hand, as well. Transfer the dough to a greased bowl, cover, and let it rise at room temperature for 60 minutes or until double the size.

Almond Butter Chocolate filling

Melt both milk and semi-sweet chocolate in a bowl over a pot of simmering water.
Add almond butter, vanilla, and cinnamon and mix well.

Making Babka

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).
Roll out the dough to about 20x50cm (4x10inch) or 2-3 mm thick.
Spread over the filling. Sprinkle cranberries on top if you wish. Roll along the ling edge and cut in half to get two rolls of the same length.
Cut each roll in half lengthwise and swirl one half over the other (see photos above).
Place the two babkas into two bread tins lined with baking paper and lightly brush with milk (or butter or egg wash). Bake in the preheated oven until deeply golden and puffy, about 20 to 25 minutes.

Chocolate Hazelnut Bundt Cake

December 13, 2019

This simple but super rich chocolate hazelnut bundt cake recipe is guaranteed to impress at your Christmas dinner.

Omg guys, I can’t believe Christmas is less than two weeks away! I’ve already made a ton of cookies. Most of them are already gone, so there’s more baking ahead. One more thing I love to do at Christmas is a bundt cake. This year I’m making this chocolate hazelnut bundt cake again for sure.

It’s a super-rich dark chocolate cake as you can see from the dark almost black color 🙂 And I also added one of my favorite nuts – hazelnuts. You can use any other nuts, but let’s face it. Chocolate and hazelnuts are a classic for a reason.

This cake is very easy to prepare. I feel like I say this for every recipe I post, but I really love sharing easy recipes, what can I say. This bundt cake is guaranteed to impress. I especially love it with a cup of tea now that it’s so cold.

Yesterday, it was snowing for the first time this season. Yay for that! It’s been a strange year and I was almost sure we wouldn’t get to see the snow for a while. So today we go sleigh-riding! I’m keeping my son at home all throughout December and while I still work a bit, I decided to take it easy and make more time for my family, enjoying the stress-free time. I feel like holidays often put us in a lot of stress even though it should be the most wonderful time of the year.

So like I promised last week, I made some edible Christmas gifts yesterday and still have more to make. I made some flavored sugars inspired by the recipe from Linda Lomelino.

And right now it’s snowing again so I’m going to put my winter gear on and go out with the kiddo. And I’ll leave you with the recipe…

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Chocolate Hazelnut Bundt Cake

Course Dessert

Keyword bundt cake, cake, chocolate cake, Christmas

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients

2 1/2 cup all-purpose flour (300g)
1 1/2 cup ground hazelnuts (125g)
3 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (120g)
2 2/3 cups sugar (500g)
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 cup milk
1 cup melted butter
4 eggs
extra butter and cocoa (or flour) for the pan

Instructions

Preheat oven to 175°C (350°F).
Grease and dust a bundt cake pan with cocoa powder or flour.
Combine melted butter, milk and cocoa powder until smooth.
Beat eggs and sugar together until light and fluffy. About 2-3 minutes.
Add the cocoa mixture to eggs and beat until thoroughly combined.
In a separate bowl combine all dry ingredients. Add them to the chocolate mixture in thirds combining well before adding more. Use a low speed or mix by hand.
Pour the batter into the bundt cake mold and bake in a preheated oven for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. If the bundt cake starts to get too black at the top, cover with some aluminum foil, to prevent burning the top.
Wait until the cake cools down completely before removing from the pan.

Chewy Almond Butter Cookies

December 5, 2019

These most delicious vegan chewy almond butter cookies are made with no refined sugar and almond butter. A yummy cookie that is super soft!

Hey hey!

Have you started your Christmas baking yet?

I did some Christmas baking already and I have some more planned in the next couple of weeks. I made some classic vanilla cookies, honey gingerbread cookies, and these delicious chewy almond butter cookies in collab with Rok’s Nut Butter.

I started with a recipe that I usually use to make peanut butter cookies and I need to share that one with you too, hopefully soon 🙂 I changed a few ingredients and made them with dates, unrefined cane sugar a little bit of flour, baking soda, almond butter, and a flax egg.

It’s a recipe that you can whip up in 5 minutes. All you need to do beforehand is make a flax egg and soak dates for 15 minutes.

You mix it all up, make small balls and squash them with a fork to get a beautiful texture on top.

So are you excited about December and the upcoming holidays?

I decided to do a more relaxed Christmas this year, because I don’t want to be stressing about Christmas gifts and shopping. I prefer to spend that time with family and friends, spent more time with my son and hopefully go to a cottage with my family. Let’s just hope there’ll be some snow. It doesn’t look very promising, but hey, at least we’ll be together, right?

So for Christmas gifts, I decided to make something homemade. Something small and with love, maybe some homemade hot chocolate mix! Tell me, are you into homemade gifts?

One more thing… there’s a giveaway going on on Instagram. See the latest photo in my feed to find out how to enter 🙂

Good luck!

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Chewy Almond Butter Cookies

Course Dessert

Keyword almond butter, almond butter cookies, Christmas cookies

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 6 minutes

Wait time 15 minutes

Total Time 26 minutes

Servings 25 cookies

Author Anja Burgar

Ingredients

1 cup almond butter
6 TBSP all-purpose or wholewheat flower
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup unrefined cane sugar
4 Medjool dates (pits removed, cut in quarters and soaked for 15 minutes)
1 flax egg (1 TBSP crushed flax seeds + 2 1/2 TBSP hot water, leave to soak for at least 15 minutes or until sticky)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and line a baking tray with baking paper.
Use a food processor to mix soaked dates and flax egg until almost smooth. It doesn't need to be silky.
In a big bowl mix flour and baking soda. Add all other ingredients and mix with a spoon until you get a uniform batter.
Use approximately 1 TBSP of batter for one cookie. Use the palms of your hands to form balls and place them on a baking tray at least 10cm (4 inches) apart.
Use a fork to smash them twice in a 90° angle, so you get a grid pattern on top.
Bake in a preheated oven for 6-7 minutes. They look unbaked and very soft when you take them out, but they harden as they cool.

Hibiscus Poached Pears with Vanilla and Pink Peppercorns

November 15, 2019

An easy but really fancy dessert like this hibiscus poached pears is guaranteed to amaze at any party!

An easy but really fancy dessert like this hibiscus poached pears with vanilla and pink peppercorns is guaranteed to amaze at any party!

Hey you! Do you know what’s today?

It’s our anniversary! YEP, Me and my blog celebrate our 4th anniversary 🎉 Even though we spend a year and a half apart we got together last year and now we’re besties again!

I’ve got some cool stuff to share for this special occasion. First, we have this amazing fancy-schmancy recipe, but we’ll get to that in a minute.

And now to the news, I couldn’t wait to share it with you!!! I’ve been asked so many times lately if I teach 1-on-1? So no I officially opened 1-on-1 online coaching sessions for everyone who wants to learn food photography and food styling with me. Besides online coaching, I also offer in-person workshops for everyone close to Slovenia or willing to travel. So if you’re interested in any of these topics hop on to my workshops page.

Okay, now that we’ve got this out of the way let’s focus on these hibiscus poached pears. Who’s with me? 🙋

You know me, I love simple desserts. Okay, I love the complicated ones too, but I’m over the moon when a dessert (or any dish for that matter) is AMAZING but it takes like no effort at all. Well, this is this dessert. Sounds real posh, but trust me no skills are needed at all!

Lots of poached pears recipes require poaching in wine and that’s delicious too, but hey, nothing wrong with choosing a different path every once in a while. Especially if you’ve got kids!

What you’ll need for these hibiscus poached pears is:

firm pears
dried hibiscus (loose or in a teabag)
a vanilla pod
some pink peppercorns, and
honey

I served them on vanilla yogurt (you can have vegan too), but if you feel like making some homemade vanilla custard, that’s awesome too.

I’m not going to keep you from the recipes much longer, just a few quick tips and we’re on.

Tips to cook amazing poached pears

If possible use pears that are firm and not too ripe. If they are too ripe, they might fall apart and not look as pretty. They’ll still be good, though.

Turn the pear halves around every once in a while so they have an even color and they cook more evenly.

That’s it! So so simple!

Let’s cook!

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Hibiscus Poached Pears with Vanilla and Pink Peppercorns

Course Dessert

Keyword poached pears

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings 8 servings

Author Anja Burgar

Ingredients

4 firm pears
4 cups water
4 hibiscus teabags (equals 4 teaspoons loose hibiscus flowers)
2 TBSP honey
1 vanilla pod
8 pink peppercorns
4 cups vanilla yogurt
chopped nuts for topping

Instructions

Place all ingredients but pears in a pot large enough to fit 8 pear halves and bring it to a boil. Let simmer for 5 minutes, while you prepare the pears.
Halve pears and remove skins and pits.
Add pears to the pot cover and cook for 20-25 minutes turning them around every 5 minutes so they get cooked evenly.
Remove the pears from the pan and cook the liquid for another 10-15 minutes, to reduce it to a desired consistency.
Serve with vanilla yogurt, reduced sauce (or vegan vanilla yogurt) and some chopped nuts.

Iced Beetroot Chai Latte (+ Warm Verison)

October 10, 2019

Treat yourself with an iced beetroot chai latte – a perfectly refreshing and fragrant autumn drink!

Even though it’s getting quite cold here, I still love me some cold drinks. Let me tell you a little secret. This drink is actually delicious warm as well as cold. I can’t decide which one is better but I decided to go with the iced version for this post since I just love seeing some ice cubes in a drink. They are so photogenic 🙂

So what is it?

This iced beetroot chai latte is a perfect mixture of earthiness from beetroot juice, herbal flavor from rooibos tea, spiciness from chai spices, sweetness from honey, and creaminess from milk. I don’t drink a lot of milk, it doesn’t do me well, but I make exceptions once in a while. Or I use any nut milk, which works beautifully in this recipe.

I realized I don’t drink enough beetroot juice, although I love it. So I was messing around a while ago, mixing it with some spices and teas that I love in this cold cold weather and this came out. I’m a huge fan of rooibos tea. I didn’t know it went so well with beetroot, but it’s truly a brilliant combination.

I love using beetroot in both savory and sweet dishes in the cold months. I love it grated and fried with onions as a side dish and I also love the chocolate beetroot cupcakes. I can’t get enough of them! I wanna know what you love to make with beetroot? Let me know in the comments!

On a different note, I realized that it’s been a month since I posted a recipe. I have something special coming up and hopefully, I can reveal it to all ya in a week or two! If you don’t wanna miss the big new regarding food photography be sure to subscribe to my photography mailing list and you’ll get the info right in your mailbox.

5 from 1 vote

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Iced Beetroot Chai Latte

Warm version in the notes.

Course Drinks

Keyword beet iced latte, cold drink, iced latte

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 15 minutes

Servings 4 servings

Author Anja Burgar

Ingredients

3 cups beetroot juice
1 cup water
2 rooibos tea bags
1 cinnamon stick
5 cloves
5 peppercorns
5 ginger slices
2-3 TBSP honey
1 cup milk (or nut milk for vegan version)

Instructions

Boil the water. Remove from the heat and place two rooibos tea bags, cinnamon stick, cloves, peppercorns and ginger slices in the boiling water. Cover and let steep for 10 minutes. Strain the liquid, add honey and let cool.
Once the infusion is cooled, add it to the beetroot juice and mix well.
Pour into 4 glasses and add milk and ice cubes.

Notes

If you want to make a warm beetroot chai latte, cook the infusion as in the instructions above. Once you’ve strained the liquid add it to beetroot juice and cook just until it starts to simmer. Add honey, pour into cups and add milk.

Goat Cheese & Pear Chutney Burgers

September 12, 2019

The recipe for these goat cheese and pear chutney burgers are the true fall delights that are going to make every fall grill party a success!

I’m so happy to post this recipe. We’ve been making a ton of burgers this summer. We bought a badass extra mini grill that we can use on our tiny balcony and it doesn’t smoke. So we do lotsa grilling these days 🙂

I’m slowly accepting that the fall is actually here and it’s not going anywhere for a while. Hello, sweater weather! So with that in mind, our burgers have gone from summery fresh to delicious mouthwatering warming delights. Too poetic? Sorry ’bout that. I just love these so much!

One more thing! I’ve created this recipe in collaboration with Trauth Design Gastrowear. They provided me with the most beautiful apron, that you can see in the photos. I just love the sense of detail that they put into their aprons.

Anyhoo, wanna know what these burgers are all about?

If there are burgers that screams fall they’re these pear chutney burgers, for sure!

I mean homemade pear chutney and goat cheese? Paired with super simple avocado cream, pancetta, and arugula? Is there anything better?

And the good thing is that it’s a mixture of indulgence and healthy stuff. I don’t like burgers that are too heavy and overly greasy and just plain too much everything. So I’d like to think it’s well balanced and still super delicious. You should have seen our little guy nibbling on one of them 🙂

Do I need to make my own pear chutney?

Of course not! If you can get one somewhere, go for it. Nothing like that here, so I have to make my own. The recipe makes more than you need for four burgers, but you can easily store it for a week in a refrigerator or freeze it for later.

I won’t keep you away from the recipe for much longer. Let’s start cooking!

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Burger

Course Main Course

Keyword beef burger, burger, pear chutney

Servings 4 burgers

Author Anja Burgar

Ingredients

Brugers

4 burger buns
4 beef burger patties
1/2 cup goat cheese
4 pancetta slices
a handful arugula

Pear Chutney (makes more than needed for 4 burgers)

3 cups finely chopped pears (400g)
1/2 cup brown sugar (80g)
1 cup apple cider vinegar (200ml)
2 small onions finely chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
1/2 tsp crushed chipotle
1 tsp salt

Avocado Cream

2 avocados
3 TBSP lime juice
1-2 TBSP water
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Pear Chutney

Place all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for 40-50 minutes stirring every now and then.
Let the chutney cool for a few hours before use.

Avocado Cream

Make avocado cream right before cooking the patties.
Place all ingredients in a food processor and mix until smooth and creamy.

Burgers

Cut buns in half and place them in a grill pan and cook until char marks appear.
Place the bacon slices into the same grill pan and cook on medium heat for a few minutes, until they get golden. Turn around halfway through.
Use the same pan to cook burgers. Increase the heat and cook the burgers to your desired doneness. Cooking them 3-4 minutes a side will give medium-rare burgers.
Cover the bottom halves of the buns with avocado cream. Add some arugula. Place the burger patty on and top with crumbled goat cheese, pear chutney, pancetta, and some more arugula. Cover the top halves of the buns with avocado cream and place on top of the burgers. Serve immediately.

No-bake Blackberry-Plum Pie (Two Ways)

September 1, 2019

Two variations of one delicious Blackberry-Plum Pie that doesn’t require any baking and had the most delicious no-bake oreo cookie crust.

Happy Sunday everyone! It’s very unusual for me to post on Sundays but today’s a special occasion. I’m sharing a recipe that was made in collaboration with my two fellow bloggers Kristina and Mateja from Story On A Plate blog. The recipe is by the talented Mateja, Kristina took care of this amazing styling and I was happily hiding behind the camera.

We shot the whole thing at Kristina’s house. She’s got a beautiful garden and the most amazing little studio in the basement. Check the photo below. Isn’t it cute 🙂 And the light is absolutely stunning. I’m secretly jealous of that place.

We started our day with coffee (tea for me) and delicious breakfast that Kristina prepared one her tiny balcony. And then we spent hours in the studio. It’s so much fun working with other creative people, especially since I don’t do it often. Kristina and Mateja are the nicest, so creative and talented. We’re planning on making more collaborations in the future and I’m super excited about that!

We’re enjoying our last days of Summer…

The heat is supposed to end tomorrow and then we’ll be ready for Autumn. I can’t wait for long Autumn forest walks and all the colors of that season. I probably said it too many times, but early Autumn is the favorite time of year. Still, I’m enjoying the last day of Summery heat and I can’t think of a better way to celebrate that than with this delicious blackberry-plum pie.

Two ways to make this blackberry-plum pie

The procedure of making it is basically the same. The only difference is how you make the purée. The two ways are:

Making purée with fresh fruits
Cooking the fruits and then making the purée

So what’s the difference?

Cooked purée has a deeper flavor while the non-cooked one is more light and fresh. There’s also a difference in color. Cooked purée gives a more reddish color while the non-cooked gives a more purple color.

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No-bake Blackberry-Plum Pie (Two Ways)

Course Dessert

Keyword blackberry pie, no-bake pie, plum pie

Prep Time 20 minutes

Resting Time 4 hours

Total Time 4 hours 20 minutes

Servings 8 slices

Author Mateja Delakorda

Ingredients

Oreo crust

250 g oreo cookies
70 g unsalted butter

Fruit Purée

200 g blackberries
200 g plums
80 g icing sugar
juice of ½ lemon (only use if you're making the cooked version of the purée)

Other ingredients

100 g cream cheese
100 g heavy cream
10-15 ml rose water
10 g gelatine

Instructions

Oreo Crust

Melt the butter.
Use a food processor to very finely grind the oreo cookies. Add butter and pulse a few times. Transfer the crust to a pie tin with removable bottom. Press the crust evenly to cover the bottom and the sides. A glass with a straight bottom is very helpful for forming even and straight bottom of the crust. Chill before filling.

Pie Filling (First Option)

Cook blackberries, sliced plums, lemon juice, and icing sugar until soft. Purée them in a bender. Pour the purée into a sieve and use a rubber spatula to press the purée through the sieve. Discard the solids that remained in the sieve.
Prepare the gelatine as per instructions.
Use a stand mixer to quickly (about 30s) whip cream cheese and heavy cream. Add 200g of fruit purée. Continue mixing with medium speed while adding prepared gelatine.
Pour onto the chilled crust and leave in the fridge to set overnight.

Pie Filling (Second Option)

Purée blackberries, plums, and icing sugar in a blender. Pour the purée into a sieve and use a rubber spatula to press the purée through the sieve. Discard the solids that remained in the sieve.
Prepare the gelatine as per instructions.
Use a stand mixer to quickly (about 30s) whip cream cheese and heavy cream. Add 200g of fruit purée. Continue mixing with medium speed while adding prepared gelatine.
Pour onto the chilled crust and leave in the fridge to set overnight.

Decorating

When the pie is chilled top with some more blackberries and plums.

Notes

Why do we add gelatine while mixing? It is to avoid chunks of gelatine in the mixture. If we added galetine in cold puree without mixing we would get chunks that would look and taste unappetizing.
For a more purple color use a higher blackberry to plum ratio and the non-cooke version of the purée.
You can use amaretto instead of rose water. Amaretto and plums are a very classical combination

Summer Harvest Cream Cheese Tart

August 21, 2019

Celebrate the late Summer produce with this delicious summer harvest cream cheese tart.

Can you believe it that it’s almost the end of August? Before the Summer begins I always have lots of plans and prep for all the activities like it’s going to last for a year. And then it goes by so so quickly. I don’t usually mind because I love Autumn, but this year the Summer was super short here. I would love for it to last for at least a couple more months.

Anyway, tomatoes are here. And peppers! I found these perfect colorful tomatoes at a local farm before we had our own. Well, we had a few and I mixed those in. Aren’t they pretty? I mean the color is amazing but they taste even better.

They are getting more abundant now so I’m planning on making this summer harvest cream cheese tart again sometime soon along with the roasted tomato galette that I’ve been making for years.

After finding these beautiful tomatoes and peppers I really felt like making something similar to pizza but with less work. I love how easy it is to make it. A puff pastry crust, a garlicky cream cheese spread and fresh summer harvest veggies like tomatoes, peppers, and onions. It’s a perfect late Summer dish! You can add other veggies that you find in the garden right now.

How to make a perfect puff pastry crust?

This crust doesn’t need any pre-baking, but I do have a few tips that make this crust beautiful and delicious.

Score a cm (1/2 inch) edge around the crust. This is going to separate the edge from the middle where the filling will be.
Make some holes with a fork in the center part of the crust where the filling will go. This will prevent the crust from puffing up and give a nice crunchy crust.

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Sumer Harvest Cream Cheese Tart

Course Appetizer, Main Course, Side Dish, Snack

Cuisine Mediterranean

Keyword puff pastry tart, summer tart, tomato tart

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Servings 4 people

Author Anja Burgar

Ingredients

1 sheet of puff pastry
4-5 big tomatoes
1 bell pepper or any other pepper

Cream cheese Spread

1/2 cup cream cheese (100g)
1 TBSP honey
1/2 tsp salt
1 garlic clove
a few basil leaves

Garnish

basil
pine nuts
sesame seeds
1 egg for egg wash

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 200°C/390°F.

Cream cheese spread

Finely chop basil and garlic.
Add garlic, basil, salt, and honey to cream cheese and mix with a spoon to get a silky consistency.

Tart

Place the puff pastry onto a sheet pan lined with baking paper. You can make a rectangular tart or make them any other shape.
Score a 1cm (1/2 inch) edge around the puff pastry like shown in the images above.
Using a fork make holes in the center part of the pastry.
Spread the cream cheese filling onto the center of the tart.
Cut onions, tomatoes, and peppers into thin slices and place them on top of the tart.
Using a fork, whisk one egg and spread a thin layer over the edge of the tart. Sprinkle with some sesame seeds.
Bake in a preheated oven for about 25 minutes or until the puff pastry is golden and crunchy.
Serve warm or cold. Garnish with fresh basil and pine nuts.

Blackberry Almond Sponge Cake

August 15, 2019

This luscious blackberry almond sponge cake is easy to make for any family occasion. Very easy delicious almond sponge and fresh summer blackberries are a winner combo!

Are you enjoying the Summer berries? It feels like each week a new sort of berries is ripe and ready to be eaten or turned into delicious dishes and desserts. Right now, we’re drowning in blackberries.

The forests are full of those tiny sweet and tart berries. I love using blackberries in desserts because they add some tartness and therefore make the dessert taste fresh and not too sweet.

I realize I’ve never posted a berry sponge cake like this here yet, but I actually make this kind of cake all the time, probably more than any other. Why? Mostly because they are so easy and quick. If there are friends coming over and I have to bake in the last minute it’s either something like this or some brownies. And the simple desserts usually end up being the ones that people like the most.

So don’t get scared because there’s cake in the name of this recipe. It’s foolproof, I promise!

I just remembered I haven’t talked about what’s happening in my life for a while. Lots of photography work and some vacations in between 🙂 I had my first wedding photography gig this past Saturday and I really enjoyed it, especially because everyone was amazing and so nice. I found myself forgetting that I’m actually working sometimes.

And now I have 3000 photos to go through and find the best of the best. The worst part of being a photographer, in my opinion, is culling… omg, I hate it, but it needs to be done.

If you have any berries growing right now, not only blackberries, you can use them in this sponge cake. Please let me know if you do!

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Blackberry Almond Sponge Cake

Course Dessert

Keyword blackberries, cake, sponge cake, summer berry cake

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Servings 8 slices

Author Anja Burgar

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup almond flour
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup yogurt
1/2 cup sunflower oil
zest of one orange
3 tsp baking powder
150 g blackberries (about 1 1/2 cup)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 175°C (350°F).
Mix all-purpose flour, almond flour and baking powder in a bowl.
Whip the eggs and sugar in a stand mixer on high speed for about 1 minute, then add yogurt and mix until well incorporated.
Add oil and orange zest and continue mixing until the oil is well incorporated.
Set the mixer to medium speed and add the flour mixture one tablespoon at a time until you have a uniform smooth batter.
Line a 23cm (9 inch) cake tin with baking paper or alternatively brush the inside of the tin with softened butter.
Pour the batter in the tin and top with blackberries.
Bake in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes or until the toothpick comes out clean.
Leave to cool in the tin before taking the cake out.

No-bake Frozen Coconut Cakes

August 2, 2019

These no-bake frozen coconut cakes with sweet creamed coconut and Greek yogurt on top of a no-bake almond crust are the perfect summer desserts. Add some whipped cream and seasonal berries and you’re in it for a win!

Hi guys! We’re back from our summer vacations and I’m ready to go back to work. We went to the seaside, tried camping with our son for the first time, we went to a spa, hiking, biking and lots more. So pretty active as we like it. I must admit I missed cooking and shooting food a little bit, so I’m excited to start new projects next week.

But today, I’ll be sharing a recipe for these delicious mini no-bake frozen coconut cakes which many of you liked on Instagram. It wasn’t intended for the blog, but for the Eat Capture Share Summer challenge that was organized by Kimberly from The Little Plantation.

Lots of people have been asking me if I’ll share the recipe and it’s finally time. These really ended up not only beautiful but also very delicious and refreshing.

First, I wanted to use coconut yogurt, just try it out. I’ve never tried coconut yogurt, so I have no idea how it tastes. If I ever test it with this recipe, I’ll let you know and add that version if I find it tasty. All I had at home was Greek yogurt which I love and always have some in my fridge. I mixed it with some creamed coconut and icing sugar and… omg the taste! If you love coconut, you’re gonna love it.

I added some whipped cream and red currants on top, but you can add any seasonal fruits or something more exotic like mango or honey-roasted bananas.

What is creamed coconut?

Have you ever made anything with creamed coconut? It’s the solid version of ground-up coconut flesh. You’ve probably heard of coconut milk and coconut cream. Both of them are made using creamed coconut mixed with some amount of water. Coconut cream has lower water content than coconut milk. If you ever want to make something with coconut, but don’t want the liquid then creamed coconut is what you need.

It’s actually very simple to make at home as well. All you need is a good food processor or a coffee grinder and some desiccated coconut. By grinding the desiccated coconut as finely as possible, you’ll get a thick paste called creamed coconut. I assume that the bought version is somehow additionally dried or stripped of fat. I’m not sure. I assume since it’s harder and drier than the homemade version.

Both are delicious and both can be used in this recipe.

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No-bake Frozen Coconut Cakes

These no-bake frozen coconut cakes with sweet creamed coconut and greek yogurt on top of a no-bake almond crust are a perfect summer dessert. Add some whipped cream and seasonal berries and you're in it for a win!

Course Dessert, Snack

Keyword bundt cake, coconut cake, frozen cake, no-bake cake, yogurt cake

Prep Time 10 minutes

Freezing time 3 hours

Total Time 3 hours 10 minutes

Servings 6 mini cakes

Author Anja Burgar

Ingredients

No-bake Crust

60 g Medjool dates pitted (2-3 dates)
2 TBSP desiccated coconut
2 TBSP almond butter
1 TBSP coconut butter

Coconut Cream

2 cups Greek yogurt (about 400g)
1/4 cup creamed coconut
1/2 cup icing sugar

Toppings

1/2 cup whipping cream
seasonal berries for topping

Instructions

No-bake Crust

Add all ingredients to a food processor and mix until just sticking together.
Divide the mixture into 6 silicone muffin moulds and press down with your fingers to cover the bottom.

Coconut Cream

Add all ingredients to a food processor and mix until smooth.
Top the no-bake crust with the cream.
Place the cakes in the freezer for 2-3 hours or until frozen enough to take from the moulds. If you save them for later, take them from the freezer 30 minutes before serving.

Decoration

Right before serving whip the whipping cream until stiff and top the cakes. Decorate with seasonal berries.

Roasted Peach Coconut Slushie

July 25, 2019

This roasted peach coconut slushie is so fresh and easy! This icy blend of sweet peaches and coconut cream is perfect summer treat.

Oh, I love this Summer so much! It’s not as hot as last year but warm enough for it to feel like Summer. We’re chilling in the garden most a lot and we’re so lucky to have a lot of kids in the neighborhood so they all play together and all us parents have time to chat and refresh with cocktails and ice cream.

Today I’ll be sharing a recipe that’s sort of like a mix of a mocktail and ice cream. At least I think so 🙂

It’s a delicious roasted peach coconut slushie. A frozen drink is what it is! And if you’ve been reading my blog for some time, you know I love roasting fruit because roasting adds such a nice flavor and it caramelizes the sugar, therefore, it gets even sweeter. With this one I wanted to add a bit of creaminess and coconut cream seemed like the perfect food to complement sweet peaches.

Roasted peaches are seriously one of the best things there is. If you’ve ever tried my Roasted Peach And Strawberry Fizz you know what I’m talking about. This is the most popular recipe from my blog and I say it’s definitely amazingly delicious because the fruit is roasted.

So the recipe…

It’s very simple. All it takes is for you to roast some peach wedges, peel them and freeze them. Add some coconut milk, cane sugar, bee pollen and lastly some ice cubes to make it really icy.

Then you simply blend these and you get the most refreshing creamy summer slushie.

If you love slushies and you wanna try another really great one, here’s my Watermelon Slushie Recipe.

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Roasted Peach Coconut Slushie

Course Dessert

Keyword ice cream, slushie

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Servings 3 servings

Author Anja Burgar

Ingredients

3 peaches
1 cup coconut milk chilled
3 TBSP cane sugar
2 TBSP bee pollen optional
1/2 cup ice cubes

Instructions

Remove the pits from the peaches and cut them into eight wedges each.
Place on a baking tray lined with baking paper and bake in a preheated oven at 175°C (350°F) for 25 minutes.
Leave the peaches to cool for 10 minutes before peeling the skins off. Freeze the peaches without their skins overnight.
In a blender, mix frozen peaches, coconut milk, sugar, and ice cubes until you break the ice into very small grains.
Serve immediately.

Mediterranean Garlic Ricotta Shrimp Pasta

July 12, 2019

This quick and rich garlic ricotta shrimp pasta is incredibly creamy and luxurious and has a lovely sour and salty flavor from lemon and glasswort (sea asparagus).

Even on the busiest and most stressful days, I want to eat a real meal. Something delicious and creamy with a character. It’s pasta I usually crave on these days. What do you crave in the busiest of days? Let me know in the comments below. Sometimes I make pasta salad and nibble on it during the day. Pssst… don’t tell anyone!

But for reals, the amount of pasta we eat. And it’s not only because we’re busy. It’s mostly because we love pasta. If you’re a pasta lover like me, then this is the recipe for you.

The flavors here are mild but so indulging and balanced. The lemony ricotta sauce with peas and shrimp is to die for on its own, but then you add some garlic and glasswort and you’ve got a treat that you can make in seconds.

Have you ever tried glasswort?

It is apparently also called sea asparagus and grows in salt marshes. It is edible both raw and cooked and delicious either way!

I tried it for the first time last weekend when I randomly saw it in the store and I just had to try it.

What does it taste like? It’s like eating the sea and I mean that in a good way. It is very salty so you should be careful with how much you put in a dish. I especially love the crunch. It kinda reminds me of the exploding candy that I ate as a child. Remember, the ones that feel like there are bubbles popping in your mouth.

Not to worry. If you can’t get your hands on sea asparagus, you can still make a super delicious garlic ricotta shrimp pasta. You can add some pickled capers for the salty Mediterranean flavor. Works just as nicely.

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Mediteranean Garlic Ricotta Shrimp Pasta

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Keyword shrimp pasta

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Servings 4 people

Author Anja Burgar

Ingredients

250 g dried pasta
1/2 cup ricotta (100g)
1 cup fresh or frozen peas (100g)
300 g shrimps peeled and deveined
15 g glasswort (sea asparagus) or alternatively, 2 TBSP pickled salted capers
2 TBSP butter
3 cloves garlic
a few springs of thyme
zest of 1 small organic lemon
juice of 1 small lemon
salt to taste
black pepper to taste
grated parmesan cheese for topping

Instructions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta as long as stated on the packaging stirring every two minutes. Once cooked, drain the pasta, but leave some pasta water to use for the sauce.
While your pasta is cooking prepare the sauce. Place a large skillet on medium heat. Add butter and garlic and fry for a few minutes stirring occasionally. When the garlic turns lightly golden, add the shrimps, peas, glasswort, and thyme. If you are using capers instead of glasswort add them midway through cooking (when you turn the shrimps). Season with salt and black pepper. Cook for 4-5 minutes and turn the shrimps midway through. Shrimps are done when they turn pink. Remove the shrimp, peas, and glasswort (or capers) from the skillet.
Add ricotta, lemon juice, lemon zest and a little pasta water to the skillet and whisk to make it creamy. Add just enough pasta water for the sauce to be creamy but not runny. Remove from the stove. Season with salt and black pepper.
Save a few shrimp, peas and glasswort (or capers) for decoration. Return the rest of the to the skillet and mix.
Add the cooked and drained pasta to the sauce and mix to coat the pasta with the sauce.
Serve warm and top with the remaining shrimp, peas and glasswort and some grated parmesan cheese.

Tag Archive for: summer

Refreshing Cucumber And Peach Salad

Ingredients

Instructions

Spicy Basil Dressing

Cucumber And Peach Salad

How to make simple syrup?

What if you don’t have rose water?

Virgin Blackberry Rosewater Smash

Ingredients

Rose water simple syrup (can be replaced by 1/2 cup lilac or elderflower syrup)

Other ingredients

Instructions

So what’s in this delicious plant-based cheeseburger?

Juicy & Smoky Plant-Based Cheeseburger

Ingredients

Mushroom Bacon

Quick home-pickled radishes

Other ingredients

Instructions

Mushroom Bacon

Quick home-pickled radishes

Making the burgers

Spiced Almond Butter Chocolate Babka

Ingredients

Sweet Dough

Almond Butter Chocolate filling

Other

Instructions

Sweet Dough

Almond Butter Chocolate filling

Making Babka

Chocolate Hazelnut Bundt Cake

Ingredients

Instructions

Chewy Almond Butter Cookies

Ingredients

Instructions

Tips to cook amazing poached pears

Hibiscus Poached Pears with Vanilla and Pink Peppercorns

Ingredients

Instructions

So what is it?

Iced Beetroot Chai Latte

Ingredients

Instructions

Notes

Anyhoo, wanna know what these burgers are all about?

Do I need to make my own pear chutney?

Burger

Ingredients

Brugers

Pear Chutney (makes more than needed for 4 burgers)

Avocado Cream

Instructions

Pear Chutney

Avocado Cream

Burgers

We’re enjoying our last days of Summer…

Two ways to make this blackberry-plum pie

No-bake Blackberry-Plum Pie (Two Ways)

Ingredients

Oreo crust

Fruit Purée

Other ingredients

Instructions

Oreo Crust

Pie Filling (First Option)

Pie Filling (Second Option)

Decorating

Notes

How to make a perfect puff pastry crust?

Sumer Harvest Cream Cheese Tart

Ingredients

Cream cheese Spread

Garnish

Instructions

Cream cheese spread

Tart

Blackberry Almond Sponge Cake