Cilbir (Poached egg in yoghurt)

A lot of people turn their nose up whenever they hear what goes into this dish. Eggs with yoghurt? Yeah I thought it sounded a bit odd at first too. Thoughts can be deceiving! So don't dismiss the idea before you've tried it.

I first heard about this dish from my granny, who used to make these back home. She said it was a scrumptious dish and it was a well known breakfast in Turkey. It sounded delicious but I was kind of scared to try it because you never know. But because I love eggs, especially for breakfast, I thought what the heck, might as well give it a go and so I did. In a really weird way the flavours really complemented each other. The yoghurt added a delicious creaminess to the eggs with the delicious butter and garlic sauce that tied the whole dish together. It was absolutely delish! I knew I would be making this for a very looong time!

There are lots of different ways you can make Cilbir but I chose to make it my way. Originally you're meant to add garlic to the yoghurt and make a chilli butter sauce, but you can adjust it to the way you would like it to taste. Either way its uh-mazing!

Cilbir (Poached eggs in yoghurt)

Serves 2

4 cups water

1/3 cup vinegar

2 free range or organic eggs

1/2 cup Jalna greek yoghurt

1 1/2 tbsp good quality butter

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tbsp of fresh mint or 1/2 tbsp dried mint

Pour the water and vinegar into a pot. Place on to a stove top and let it simmer. Do not let it boil.

Crack your eggs into a small bowl so it is easier to pour into the water. Once the water is simmering, grab a whisk and stir the water until you get a whirlpool. Once you can see the bottom of the pot quickly pour the egg into the open space and leave it. The egg will attach itself to the bottom of the pot and form a perfect poached egg. Let it cook for 3-4 mins. Repeat with the other egg.

While the egg is cooking, mix the yoghurt with 1 tbsp of water until you get a smooth creamy texture. Add the mint and mix together.

Melt the butter in a small pan. Add the garlic and cook until the butter has slightly browned.

Place the eggs in a plate and smother it with the delicious yoghurt and pour the sauce all over it. Serve immediately with a crusty piece of bread.

Notes:

You can change this recipe around and use ingredients that you prefer but it's essential that you have the poached egg and the yoghurt.

TIPS:

• Mix the garlic with the yoghurt and turn the butter into a mint burnt butter sauce.
• Add fresh chilli or powdered chilli to the sauce to give the dish a bit of a punch

Hope you enjoy!

Butternut Pumpkin Ravioli With Sage Butter sauce

Ravioli is something that I have always wanted to try and it wasn't until recently that I made my first attempt at making this delicious pasta. And with luck it was a great success. I was so proud of myself! I aced the pasta, all I needed was a delicious filling to go with it. The first time I tried it, I made it with a carrot and fennel filling ( I will provide the recipe for this below). It was delicious! It was sweet and creamy and just absolutely scrumptious. This drove me towards trying it again and trying more and different recipes for the filling.

The Italian pop-up restaurant was a great opportunity to showcase my new obsession and see what others though of it. So I decided to make a common ravioli filling and sauce. A butternut pumpkin and ricotta ravioli with a burnt butter and sage sauce. It melted in my mouth! The ravioli was al dente and had a creamy filling with a delicious buttery sauce. And with great success, was a hit with the family.

 

 

Pasta Dough

Serves 5

500g of good quality '00'/ White Wings plain flour

5 whole eggs or 10 egg yolks

1. Make a well in the flour and add all the eggs. Slowly with a fork whisk the flour into the middle with the eggs until a dough is formed.

2. Knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic. Cover and let it rest until ready for use.

Pumpkin and Ricotta filling

Serves 5

1 medium-sized butternut pumpkin

100g ricotta cheese

25g parmesan cheese

1 tsp nutmeg

2 tbsp chopped sage

Olive oil

Preheat the oven to 190C (375 F). Put the pumpkin in a roasting pan with a good glug of olive oil and lots of salt. Bake in the oven for about 30 mins or until its soft.

Put the pumpkin in a bowl and mash well. Mix in the ricotta, parmesan, nutmeg and sage. Season well.

Notes:

I like to mash the pumpkin with a fork so its not completely mushy. I like to have some pieces that you can still bite into.

I suggest adding more of the seasoning and taste as you go, so you can get the right flavours.

Sage Butter Sauce

Serves 5

250 g good quality butter

1/2 cup sage leaves

Melt the butter slowly with the sage and leave to infuse for about 5 mins. Serve immediately.

Butternut Pumpkin Ravioli With Sage Butter sauce

1 batch pasta dough

1 batch pumpkin and ricotta filling

1 batch sage butter sauce

Boil a pot of salted water.

Roll out the dough until you get a thin pasta sheet. Fill the past sheet with a small teaspoon of the pumpkin filling at about 2 cm apart. Be sure to have the filling well spaced. 

Cut out the ravioli with either a knife or use a cookie cutter to create a pretty patterned ravioli like I did.

Cook the ravioli in the salted water until al dente. Because the pasta is fresh it'll only take about 3-4 mins to cook.

Once the pasta is cooked place them in the sage butter sauce and toss them until they are smothered in the sauce.

Serve immediately with a sprinkling of parmesan cheese.

Notes:

You can either place the ravioli in the sage butter sauce like I did or you can drizzle it over the ravioli.

Hope you enjoy!

Bruschetta

Bruschetta is so easy to make and is a perfect snack when you're feeling peckish. You can add a variety of different toppings to create a delicious mouthful of goodness.

I put together three toppings to suit the Italian theme I was going for. I opted for Wild Mushroom and Thyme, Garlic Capsicum and Tomato and Basil.

The wild mushroom and thyme was warm and soft with a delicious buttery and thyme flavour that was perfect for the cold weathers.

The Garlic Capsicum had a slight smokey flavour with a hint of garlic. It was delicious! It was crunchy and soft at the same time and had a punch at the end.

The tomato and basil was much needed to freshen up the palette. The combination of tomato and basil worked so well. It was my favourite out of the three. I could not stop eating them!

I can't decide if the bruschetta's were good or evil. They were so easy and fun to eat that you could not stop at one, you just kept going. I can not express in words on how yummy they were. You're just going to have to try them yourselves.

Bruschetta

Feeds about 10 people

4 Mini Ciabatta rolls, thickly sliced

4 tbsp Olive Oil

4 cloves of garlic

Preheat your grill or oven to 200 C (about 450 F).

Slice the ciabatta rolls into thick slices and place them in the oven to slightly brown. You don't want them to get to dark because then it's harder to bite into and resembles more of a crostini then a bruschetta.

Once the ciabatta is cooked, pull them out of the oven and while they are still hot brush each one with olive oil. Rub each one with the garlic.

Serve with desired toppings.

Wild Mushroom & Thyme

1 packet of assorted mushrooms (or any mushrooms you desire)

4 sprigs of thyme

30g of good quality salted butter

Melt butter in a pan and add the mushrooms.

Add the thyme. Cook the mushrooms until they are soft but still have a bite to them.

Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately while they are still hot.

Garlic Capsicum

1 large red capsicum

1 large green capsicum

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tbsp of good quality olive oil

Preheat oven to 200 C. Place the capsicum on the top rack of the oven.

Once they have cooked, place the capsicums in a plastic bag to make skin removal easier. Once cooled, peel the skin and slice into thin slices.

Place the capsicum, olive oil and garlic in a bowl and mix.

Add salt to taste and serve.

Notes:

You can also smoke the capsicum on an oven top to give a delicious smokey flavour to the bruschetta.

Tomato and Basil (Picture shown above)

4 large ripe tomatoes

A small handful of basil leaves

2 tbsp good quality olive oil

Dice the tomato at a reasonable size. I like to chop them small so they fit on the small bruschetta.

Slice the basil leaves finely. Combine tomatoes, basil and olive oil in a bowl.

Add salt to taste. Ready to serve.

Notes:

You can add balsamic vinegar to the tomato and basil topping as it will enhance the flavour of the tomatoes. However if the tomatoes are ripe and taste delicious there is no need for it.

Hope you enjoy!

Italian Pop-Up Restaurant

The other day my mum and I hosted a 'private' pop-up restaurant at our place. We had been planning for it for a week or so and were so indecisive about the theme that we should choose that it wasn't until the last couple of days that we decided that we were going to cook up an Italian menu. We decided to create a simple but delicious meal. 

THE MENU

Starters

Wild Mushroom Bruschetta

Tomato and Basil Bruschetta

Roasted Capsicum Bruschetta

Mini Caprese stacks

Pollo alla Diavola (Devil's chicken)

Stuffed peppers

Main

Pumpkin and Ricotta Ravioli with Sage Butter Sauce

Dessert

Tiramisu

Awesome company! Delicious food! Need I say more?

I will post recipes for everything I made very soon!

What Started Out As A Chore, Became A Passion

Hey everyone,

This is my first ever blog about delicious, mouthwatering food. I hope to teach and help people cook with better and fresher produce rather than make meals out of little packets and containers.

So I hope that The Famished Foodie will feed your hunger and stimulate your taste buds. Hope you enjoy.

Much Love

XOXO

(To know a little bit about me click on the About tab or click here)