Give chicken (not pigeon) a chance!

Chicken  is a relatively cheap meat, especially chicken wings. However it seems that it lost popularity in Czech and people are eating less chicken. With this post today I am going to show you some great way to prepare chicken by following the vietnamese cuisine, which will make you change your mind (especially if you are czech).

 

For this recipe you need a hand mixer, small piece of ginger (cca 2 cm), one onion, one clove of garlic, soy sauce, cane sugar and chicken wings (500 g). Of course you can use different part of the chicken, but I personally prefer chicken wings, because it has less meat and you enjoy more the taste of the skin.

Cut the onion, the garlic and the ginger into smaller pieces. Put them to the mixer. Add 3 spoons of  cane sugar and mix all until you obtain a creamy sauce. Add one shot (cca 0,05 l)  of soy sauce and the marinating sauce is ready! Leave the chicken wings to marinate for few hour or over night.

Before baking put a small piece of butter on the meat. Bake slowly at 180°C for about one hour depending on the chicken size. If you want a crispier crust regularly pour the  the liquified butter over the chicken.

Serve with nuts and fresh herbs. I recommend pistachios and mint or parsley and shallot.

Attention! Backing this chicken generates a very tempting smell which requires a strong will not to eat it raw!

Elderflower syrup

Finally, it's time! Elderflower (European elder(berry)) smells wonderful and now it is the best time to make a delicious syrup out of it.

What do we need?  Pick about 25 large elderflowers per liter of syrup. Keep in mind that of course you are free to add more if you prefer a more intense flavor. Remember to pick only  blooming flowers without beatles or insects.

Boil water for few minutes and then let it cool. When water reaches room temperature, add citric acid (approx. one tablespoons per liter of water) and add the elderflowers. Let it rest  for 24 hours.

Sieve the liquid through a strainer with a gauze or cloth in it and add sugar (1 kg sugar per 1 liter of juice).  Squeeze a bit of lemon if you prefer a more acidolous taste. Warm it up to 30-40 ° C.  As a final step, pour the liquid into the prepared sterile jars and close them. 

Elderflower syrup in  is especially healthy and people drink it to alleviate cold's symptoms. As an additional suggestion, you can even add it to tea as it helps if you suffer urological problems. It is also recommended for drinking to breastfeeding women.

Note: The syrup can be done without citric acid, only with lemon, but it lasts in the fridge for a shorter period of time. With acid it can be stored for a year.

Meat ball again and better!

This year I became a gardener and I began to grow my own vegetables. I have so many seedlings of aubergine, zucchini and tomatoes that if the harvest will be good, I will have so many that my belly will explode :)

Today for lunch I wanted to make meatballs and I picked aubergine and tomatoes from the fridge. I decided to modify a bit the standard recipe to improve the meatballs by using my vegetables.

How I did it? The recipe for meatballs is same until the moment when we put the balls in the fridge. Meanwhile, we cut slices of aubergine and put some salt on them and leave them to rest until part of the water goes out. Once they are ready we cut them together with  the tomatoes into smaller cubes. After it, we can prepare all ingredients (red wine or water, vinegar, oregano, cinnamon, black olives) and then we can start.

We fry all the meatballs on both sides on a larger pan or pot. When it is light brown, remove it for a while to second pot. Add aubergine and tomatoes, some oregano, a tablespoon of vinegar and wine (or water). In the end add some salt and bring to boil. Then add the balls, reduce the flame and sprinkle with cinnamon. Let them cook slowly for about 45 minutes until the sauce thicken.

P.S. My mum was totaly crazy about them. How do you like them?

P.P.S In the end I have to show future star on my blog – seedlings of aubergine. Yes I have to show off! J

Piadina Romagnola

As a huge lover of "flat" breads (Mexican tortilla, Arabian pita bread or Indian chapati bread, etc.) I immediately fell in love with the Italian piadina. Moreover, it is a type of food that you can easily prepare and is healthy and creative. You can enjoy it with almost everything.

Italians traditionally prepare it with stracchino cheese and some (dried) prosciutto crudo. Personally, I prefer it with prosciutto di Parma, parmesan and arugula. I also really like piadina with caprese salad (mozzarella di Bufala, juicy tomatoes, basil, quality extra virgin olive oil and sea salt).

You can buy piadina in shops which sell Italian products (for example in Gran Moravia), in some better supermarkets or during the "Italian week" in Lidl. Naturally, I decided to make piadina at home, because it is everytime better!

In order to make four pieces (25 cm) you need: 500 g of flour (preferably Italian, type 00), 75 g of lard, 200 ml of milk or water, 6 grams of salt and 2 g of baking soda.

Mix the dough and let it rest for about 30 minutes. Then divide the dough into portions. Work every piece up and make a flat "pancake". Cook them on a pan, preferably  a nonstick or pancake one and you're done!

Make a round shape or you will have a funny piadina as I did :D

If you serve piadina as a side dish, I recommend pouring on it a bit of quality extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle it with sea salt.

If you keep piadina for later, I recommend before serving to cook it on a pan, preferably grilling.