dinner - Choice of Magic

Creamy Cauliflower Soup with Cannellini Beans

January 29, 2024

This creamy cauliflower and Cannellini (white) beans soup has bran on repeat in our home this winter, and I swear that it’s not just because of how easy it is to make (yes, I used canned beans, guilty as charged). I think I love it so much because beyond the delicious taste, it is also super nutritious – high in fibre and a great protein source due to the beans and high in vitamins C and K due to the cauliflower. This soup is basically the perfect comfort food for a cold winter day, or for a sunny day when you need to prepare something super quickly. I’ve iterated upon recipes I came across online until reaching this one, so without further ado – here goes.

International Dinner Food

Shaved Zucchini with Feta, Walnuts and Honey

June 7, 2021

This #homemadeMonday called for a light dish – not because of any efforts towards a summer body (all bodies are summer bodies) but because it´s Sangria season and that to me means light dishes and heavy Sangria jars. And since the farmers´ market I go to on Saturdays has been displaying an exquisite selection of zucchinis for the past few days, I thought of giving the raw zucchini a chance. Mind you, I´ve only ever tasted cooked zucchini before, but was pleasantly surprised by how the raw version tasted. I inspired myself from this recipe – changing some things like replacing the goat cheese for feta cheese, the pine nuts for walnuts, choosing amaranth microgreens for an even nutty-er flavour and coating it all with honey instead of lemon juice. Read on for my recipe, or check the one I linked.

International Dinner Food

Rainbow Salad with Mango and Blackberries

November 9, 2020

I should perhaps start this #homemadeMonday recipe with a confession: I am one of those insane people that likes pineapple on my pizza. I mean, I don´t love it, but I don´t mind it either. What I do love though, is fruit in my salad. And while I rarely post salad articles on the blog, when I made this salad, I felt I really wanted to share it with you all. A little bit of unsolicited context for when I first made this salad: I was reading Marissa Peer´s book Perfect Weight Forever, and was working on bettering my food habits by not associating heavy comfort food with feeling better when I was down. I instead decided to stick to eating well and healthy when I was feeling sad and not try to fix these moments with fast food. So I made this salad and it was so delicious that I swore never again to order a way too greasy cheeseburger to stop me from crying. Here´s the super simple recipe:

International Dinner Food

Chestnut and Chorizo Casserole

October 19, 2020

Chestnut season is here and normally that would mean running up and down Lisbon streets chasing for the cart with the perfectly roasted dozen. But we´re in a pandemic, and that means 1. I´m staying at home much more and 2. I´m cooking much more. So I got my hands on 2kg of chestnuts – one kilo fresh and one kilo frozen, and set myself to find some Pinterest inspiration. And I can´t quite believe I am saying this – but Pinterest disappointed. The horror, right? There seem to be super few chestnuts recipe besides the traditional roasted ones out there. And so I chose to experiment for myself. There´s a breakfast hash recipe @mihai.gateste keeps making and I always thought those tastes go well together. I decided to keep the egg out, not peel, nor cut the potatoes, add the chestnuts and bake it exclusively. That´s how this chestnut and chorizo casserole got born. I find it the perfect blend of flavours, it´s super easy to make – needs minimal prep – and is great for a dinner party – *wink* *wink* to the friends who are invited for my Halloween party in two weeks. So keep on reading to read more about this autumn-y #homemadeMonday.

Food Lunch

Penne with Feta and Asparagus

June 15, 2020

This #homemadeMonday brings you the recipe that made me fall in love with asparagus. I have to credit it (or a healthier version of it) to my friend Danny who first cooked it for me on a summer day in Berlin. Danny is an excellent chef and so is his brother who cooks in some of the best restaurants in Tel Aviv. Back then, Danny steamed the asparagus, and while I usually do that too, this time I decided to sautée it in butter. The blend of tastes (the assertive, slightly bitter asparagus combined with the salty, pickled feta) goes excellently with both butter and olive oil. I actually used both this time. This simple recipe literally only has 4 ingredients + salt/pepper and the optional olive oil. And even though I started eating more asparagus since, this remains my favourite use of it!

Dinner Food

Colourful Creamy Risotto with Octopus

June 8, 2020

This #homemadeMonday brings you a recipe inspired by one of my favourite Italian restaurants in town – a colourful and creamy risotto that will delight your senses and your Instagram feed. The gorgeous yellow colour is due to the saffron, and the creaminess is thanks to the cream cheese and butter. While it is a bit time consuming to make (you need to be next to the pot for pretty much the entire time you´re cooking it), it is perfect as both a main dish as well as a side dish next to a nice piece of steak or chicken breast. I chose to accompany it with octopus in the oven. Before giving you this ultra secret recipe, I just wanna say that this and my avocado risotto (recipe coming soon) are my favourite rice recipes out there and I´m super happy to share it with all of you.

Dinner Food

Spicy Vegan Tortillas

June 1, 2020

You might not know this about me, but spicy food is my guilty pleasure. Except for that one time when I cried after tasting a Carolina Reaper sauce. I wish I could tell you that I did that not knowing that the Carolina Reaper is the spiciest chilli pepper in the world, but I did in fact know it. I just didn´t quite realise how spicy it would be. Just like I always underestimate how spicy the cayenne pepper in my dishes is. And so, these #homemadeMonday vegan tortillas ended up spicier than initially planned. If you´re not on a vegan diet, however, you can always add some Greek yogurt to them and calm your taste buds like that. But regardless of your food preferences, you absolutely need to try this simple recipe. So keep reading…