Poke bowl

When I moved to the Netherlands 2 years ago I was pleasantly surprised to see that Dutch people eat A LOT of raw fish. All around you could find various sushi restaurants, dozens of options of eating out or ordering, and what I think surprised me the most was the fact that you could buy relatively cheap and good quality sushi from the supermarket.

After a while the trend emerged to the so called "Poke Bowl" which I have first heard of when I saw a restaurant delivering it. What is a Poke Bowl? Basically, "Poke" represents a traditional Hawaiian dish which consists of raw fish cubes mixed with oils and spices and served as an appetizer or main course. This dish later evolved into modern version, known as "Poke Bowl", which is a mix of raw fish, rice and vegetables. It makes you think of it as a deconstructed sushi roll. Take the fish, rice, seaweed and whatever else you add to your sushi roll and put it in a bowl with some dressing, like you would do to a regular salad, and taa-daa, here you have it.

What I personally love about this dish is the freshness of the ingredients and that I feeds you without being too heavy. Below I propose my favorite healthy, classic version which takes no more than 15 minutes to prepare.

Ingredients (for 2 portions):

• 200 g smoked salmon;
• 1 medium carrot;
• 100 g seaweed salad;
• 1 ripe avocado;
• 1 spring onion;
• 1/2 English cucumber;
• 200 g steamed rice;
• 150 g soy beans; 
• soy sauce;

TIP for those of you living in the Netherlands!

You can easily find all these ingredients at Albert Heijn, that's where I bought mine from. They always have fresh soy beans, smoked salmon cubes which go right into your dish and one tasty seaweed salad. Moreover, for this recipe I used Basmati Rice form Tilda, which already comes steamed, you don't have to cook it anymore. Getting all your all ingredients from one place and ready to be served it's really convenient and it saves you a lot of time.

 I started by preparing the vegetables. I finely chopped the spring onion, removed the cucumber's seeds and sliced it in small cubes, sliced the avocado and peeled thin strips of carrot. *If you are not getting your rice already steamed, prepare it according to the packaging instructions. Then I added all of them in bowl together with the rest of the ingredients, sprinkled some soy sauce and that's it. Super fresh, healthy, quick and delicious meal.

 

 Enjoy!

Risotto alb cu Pesto

Daca Risotto nu va inspira nimic, ganditi-va la pilaf . Unul mai cremos, unul cu alte origini si cu o tehnica de preparare total diferita. Si evident, nu putem uita de vin, care sta la baza acestui preparat divin si extrem de versatil care a luat nastere in nordul Italiei. Retata de azi consta intr-o baza pe care o puteti folosi in nenumarate feluri dand nastere unor arome fantastice. Si pentru a pastra aerul italian, un pesto ca la mama lui.

Ingrediente:

• 700 ml fond de legume
• 1 ceapa medie
• 1 catel usturoi
• 200 g orez alb
• 1 pahar vin alb sec
• 40 g unt
• 60 g parmezan ras

Pentru Pesto:

• o mana seminte de pin
• 1 catel de usturoi
• o mana parmezan ras
• 1 mana busuioc proaspat
• ulei de masline

Timp de preparare: cca. 45 minute

    Incepem prin a incalzi fondul de legume. Reteta o gasiti aici. Intr-o oala seperata am calit ceapa si usturoiul intr-o lingura de ulei de masline la foc mic cca. 8-10 minute , pana s-au inmuiat. Acesta se numeste "Soffritto" si sta la baza unui Risotto reusit. Am marit flacara, am adaugat orezul si am continuat sa amestec timp de 1 minut pana acesta a inceput sa devina transparent, apoi am adaugat vinul, lasandu-l sa scada, alcoolul evaporandu-se altfel. Nu uitati sa asezonati cu sare si piper.

    Urmatorul pas este esential deoarece face diferenta, asa ca inarmati-va cu rabdare. Micsorati flacara si adaugati un polonic de supa si amestecati pana cand orezul trage tot lichidul. Continuati sa adaugati polonic cu polonic si sa repetati procesul pana cand orezul este fiert. Dupa ce ati terminat luati orezul de pe foc, adaugati parmezanul si untul, amestecati, puneti capacul si lasati Rissotto-ul sa stea 5 minute.

    Urmeaza prepararea sosului Pesto. Puteti folosi la alegere blenderul pentru comoditate, insa eu am ales sa prepar totul in mojar. Am rumenit usor semintele de pin intr-o tigaie, apoi am adaugat in mojar busuiocul, usturioul, parmezanul si 3/4 din cantitatea de seminte, adaugand treptat ulei de masline pana cand am obtinut o pasta cremoasa. Puteti adauga ulei de masline pana obtineti consistenta dorita. Am asezonat cu sare si piper si am servit Risotto-ul cu sosul Pesto si cu semintele de pin ramase.

            Pofta buna!

Pui indian cu orez parfumat

Mancarea indiana este intotdeauna o alegere indrazneata datorita multitudinii de condimente pe care le folosim. Picanta si parfumata stimuleaza papilele gustative. Astazi am pregatit un pui deosebit cu o garnitura usoara.

Ingrediente:

• 250 g piept de pui
• 200 g rosii (proaspete sau din conserva)
• 1 ceapa medie
• 2 catei usturoi
• 1/4 radacina ghimbir
• 1/2 chili
• 1 lg pasta de tomate
• 1 lg piper rosu macinat
• 1 lg turmenic macinat
• 1 Lg zahar brun
• 1 lg pudra de curry
• 2-3 Lg iaurt

Pentru orez:

• 125 g orez Basmati
• 300 ml apa
• 1 anason stelat

    Am inceput prin a cali in 2 Lg de ulei de masline ceapa tocata marunt timp de cateva minute, apoi am adaugat ardeiul chili, ghimbirul si usturoiul tocate si le-am lasat la foc mic 2-3 minute. Am adaugat zaharul, piperul, turmenicul si pudra de curry, amestecand incontinuu timp de un minut, apoi am adaugat rosiile si pasta de tomate si am lasat sosul sa fiarba la foc mic cateva minute. Nu uitati sa asezonati cu sare si piper dupa gust. Pentru un sos cremos puteti sa il puneti in blender, insa eu prefer sa il las la stadiul acesta pentru a simti textura ingredientelor.

   Intr-o alta tigaie am prajit puiul intr-o lingura de ulei de masline pana s-a rumenit pe toate partile. Am turnat apoi sosul peste pui si l-am lasat sa fiarba la foc mic 10 minute. La final am adaugat iaurtul.

    Intr-o oala am pus orezul, apa si anasonul si le-am lasat sa fiarba cca. 15 minute, apoi am lasat orezul sa traga inca 5 minute cu capacul pus.

            Pofta buna!