White Chocolate Mousse with Caramel Sauce

By Diana

Most chocolate mousses I know of are made with dark chocolate and, of course, dark chocolate is healthier, it´s recommended by doctors and it is the only one you are suppose to eat if you are on a diet, and we all know how boring is that! This is why we would like to invite you to leave the guilt on the side -just for today- and try out a dessert that will transport you to the land of indulgence and caloric pleasure! We also thought white chocolate was not enough for this sugared extravaganza and decided to add a caramel sauce on top! To balance our recipe a little bit –and delay our potential diabetes- we complemented it with a few almond slices and lime peel. If you didn´t have a very good week this recipe will definitely cheer you up!

© Diana Chaccour

Mediterranean Bread with Iberian Flavours

By Diana

     I went to Pamplona last week to visit my brother, Julie and the girls. We were supposed to cook together and make at least a couple of posts for the blog, have a picnic, take our picture, and so on… but 4 days was not enough to do any of the things we planned. We had a great time in the 31 degrees and certainly enjoyed walking in Pamplona´s old town, visiting the farmer´s market and then the supermarket in repeated occasions. I simply love Spanish supermarkets I have to say.  They are full of hanging prosciutto -Jamón Serrano- olives of all kinds, chorizo and an impressive variety of olive oil in presentations that you never imagined. It is extraordinary! So every time I go there I come back to London with my suitcase full of Iberian treats to enjoy in the sadness of a12 degrees Spring in the UK!

        For this post we decided to honor our time together last week by making bread with some of those unique flavours. This is a type of bread from the Italian region of Tuscany and it is originally called a schiacciata. The bread is made in two layers and it has mushrooms, prosciutto, salami, olives, blue cheese and lots of olive oil everywhere. The recipe is inspired by The Great British Picnic Guide, by Mark Price. Check the note at the end for a vegetarian alternative. We hope you enjoy it!

© Diana Chaccour

Blueberry Soft Cake

By Diana

      I was getting my head around a recipe with blueberries for this week. When I consulted Julie she suggested a clafoutis, which sounded exiting and promising. So I checked more than a few french recipes, but as temperamental french are, all the recipes differed from one another and that enoyed me a little - I am a little bit temperamental myself - and therefore I decided to get creative and tried out my own version. At the end I didn't obtain a clafoutis of course... but a lovely blueberry soft cake. Fruity and sweet, firm and yet soft this cake won't be a dissapointment. Just keep in mind that it is not a cafloutis and you'll be all right! I hope you like it!

© Diana Chaccour

Passion Fruit and Lemon Ceviche with Plantain Chips

By Diana

Since passion fruit seems to be abundant in this country at this time of the year - and at a very reasonable price - I decided to embark on a tropical post this week. I have been in a melancholic mood for home flavours and colours lately and this is why I thought that a Ceviche could be the appropriate choice and plus it proposes an unconventional use of the passion fruit, which is mostly associated with sweet flavours and desserts. 

This Peruvian dish is characterized by its particular cooking method, using citric juices for the oxidation of the fish and seafood. It is unbelievably easy to make and it just requires nice chopping skills. In this recipe I combined three of my favourite tropical delights: passion fruit, mango and plantain. The plantain is optional and adventurous and its smell reminds me of after school meals back home. But I understand if you don’t really fancy plantain or if you don’t have any childhood associations with it and then I will suggest just serve the Ceviche with white rice or crackers on the side. Let us know if you enjoyed it!

© Diana Chaccour

Plum Jam with Rose Water

By Diana

    

         Ever since I discovered that I can make my own jam I stopped buying it at the supermarket. In this opportunity I decided to get rid of some plums that I had in the fridge and what a best way of doing that than with lovely jam. I checked for some recipes online and ended up mixing up and experimenting a little bit. The rose water and the spices give the jam a magnificent and almost exotic flavor that I hope you like as much as I do. If you don´t like it spicy please feel free to cut off the cayenne pepper from the recipe. Enjoy!

© Diana Chaccour

Vanilla almond chicken with parmesan polenta

by Julie

This time, I wanna share with you a recipe that I have tried in our first wedding anniversary. It is not very time-consuming (as we had a two-month old baby at the time, that was very important for me) and quite easy to do, even if you don’t have much experience in the kitchen, nevertheless it is quite a stunner. Combine it with a healthy salad or try frying some green beans with red apple (weird combo but looks and tastes delicious; two, three minutes in the pan suffice) as a side dish. My husband keeps asking for this dish, even two years after having it for the first time, so I am making it again this week. Maybe you will, too...

© Diana Chaccour