Author: The Urban Apron

Healthy plan for 2016

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It is the first post of the year! Yes, I’ve been late to log in here and share some food recipes but getting back from holidays, resuming work and getting rid of a flu was quite time consuming. Looking at the bright side, I can say that I started the year with a healthy food plan and I surely intend having it as routine. I am cutting down on all the sinful dishes that usually contains refined sugars, avoiding processed foods, and making sure to balance  my meal plan to: 4 days grains, 2 days fish, 1 day poultry or meat. Here are some basics that needs to be considered for “clean eating”: Start by eating wholesome fruits and vegetables, especially the seasonal ones. Check out this seasonality calendar for easy reference. Choose whole grains and whole-grain products over the refined ones: white rice, pasta, bread and products like candy, regular soda, syrups, table sugar, cakes, cookies, pies, sweet rolls, pastries, fruit drinks and dairy desserts. Picking a “cheat day” will limit  for one day the saturated fats, sodium and added sugars in your cooking and …

Homemade Gnocchi

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This Festive season requires deluxe comfort food. I am having an Orange Duck Confit as I main dish and I am not keen on having plain potatoes or pasta on the side. So why not mixing both (in a way..)? Gnocchi would do it perfectly so I can I am having gnocchi as a side dish so I am making them ahead of time and putting them uncooked in the freezer until the D day! Check out this simple recipe for a yummy homemade dish from scratch: Ingredients: 6 serving 700g Potatoes 500g Flour 1 Garlic clove 1 Egg pinch of Salt 1 tsp Nutmeg 1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the potato in boiled water with garlic and thyme for 30 minutes until tender but still firm. 2. Drain the potatoes then peel them and mash them with a potato masher. 3. whisk the egg with a pinch of salt and nutmeg before combining with mashed potato, 4. Add the flour in 3 batches. Knead until dough forms a ball. Shape …

Chocolate Fondant

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My heart skipped a beat! Who doesn’t like chocolate and more specifically  a gooey, decadent dessert with a molten middle? It is so irresistible that I started a diet for just the thought of having it. This dessert is perfect for the festive season, as it can be made way ahead of time. They will sit happily in the fridge overnight, or in the freezer for up to a month. Ingredients: Serving: 10 pieces 400g Dark chocolate 180g Butter 160g Flour 200g Sugar 8 Egg yolks 10 Eggs 1 tsp Vanilla powder 1. Preheat the oven at 200°C 2. Melt the chocolate and butter together and stir until smooth. Leave to cool for 10 minutes. 3. Put the eggs and yolks with the vanilla together in a robot and whisk them until they form a mousse. 4. Pour the melted chocolate into the egg mixture and beat well 5. Sift the flour and sugar into the mixture until the mixture is completely combined to a loose cake batter 6. Cut baking sheet and put them inside the ring molds …

Basil Pesto

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Tonight is Basil night with my homemade pesto! Doing the pesto at home has a really different taste than buying bottled ones. It’s beautiful over pasta or gnocchi topped with pine nuts and even better drizzled over some steamed veggies for a healthy mid week dinner. Ingredients: 1 cup basil leaves 1 garlic clove 2 tsp toasted pine nuts 1 tsp coarse salt ½ tsp pepper 2 tbs parmesan ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil 1. Strip the basil leaves from their stems, wash them and put them in the freezer for about 1 hour. >> This is a trick for to get a vibrant green pesto. 2. Put in the food processor the garlic, salt, pepper, and half the basil then pulse a few times to chop it coarsely; then add the remainder. 3. With the motor running, add olive oil in a thin stream until the garlic and basil come together to make a rough paste. 4. Then add the toasted pine nuts and the Parmesan until it forms a smooth paste with an even texture. …

How to peel the Beets

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I always watched my mom boiling beetroots then rinsing them in cold water and peeling them with a knife. It looked complicated especially that everything turned magenta red in the kitchen. Beetroot is an underestimated vegetable in my humble opinion, none cooks it because of its complicated peeling and transferring color. But here is the 4 steps solution to make peace with the beets: 1. Clean the beetroots: wash and cut stem and greenery from both side. 2. Cut them in halves and put them on wax paper in a tray. 3. Roast the beetroot in a preheated oven at 350°C for about 40 minutes (depending on their size). Beets are done when the skins are puckered and a toothpick is inserted easily till the center. 4. When beets have cooled a little bit just peel off the skin, I usually wear gloves to avoid the color transfer. >> You can store them in a container in the fridge up to 3 days or in the feezer up to 1 month. Hope it helps! The Urban Apron

Vegetarian Pizza Dough

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This time, I wanted to try to “bake” a vegetarian dough and it worked from the first attempt. I was so happy to have an entirely vegetarian option instead of carbs and cheese! The process is simple but step 4 is a bit messy (having food in a towel). Ingredients: 1 cleaned Cauliflower, without leaves 1 Egg 100g Parmesan Salt Pepper Toppings: 60g Tomato sauce 1 Grilled eggplant 2 Grilled zucchinis Sliced Mushrooms 200g Mozzarella cheese 1. Preheat oven to 200°C. 2. Put the cauliflower in a food processor until finely chopped. You will get a texture similar to almond meal (powder) 3. Transfer the cauliflower mixture to a bowl and cook it in the microwave for 5 minutes, until tender. 4. Put cauliflower mixture in a towel and let it cool for 10 minutes in the fridge then squeeze out the excess water until it is completely dry. 5. Mix the egg with the cauliflower, add parmesan, salt and pepper until well-combined. 6. Spread the cauliflower dough on a baking sheet simply like a pizza and bake for 40 minutes until gold. 7. …

The Moudardara Salad

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The story of a Lebanese dish turned into a salad. Moudardara stands for Lebanese lentils mixed with rice, topped with a lot of caramelized onions and flavored with cumin spice. Could be eaten both hot and chilled. I had never tried it in my life even though my mom used to make it [I think I have a problem with the Lebanese lentils because I do not mind the French ones: Puy Lentils]. My husband loves lentils in general, so I decided to try cooking the Moudardara for him… and the funny part is that I ended up eating it. The Moudardara is easy and fast to prepare; but I find it to be dull in the plate and I would certainly not categorize it as a main dish. To make peace with it I decided to transform it into a SALAD!! I tossed some grilled and raw vegetables on the Moudardara plate, some feta cheese and lemon-oil dressing: it turned out fulfilling, refreshing and delicious for dinner or a quick lunch at work! First, let me introduce you to my Moudardara recipe and then how …

The secret of Halawa

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Halawa, Haleweh, Halva.. different names to the same middle eastern confectionery. Its preparation is based on traditional recipes that include long hours and meticulous steps of creating a meringue, which makes it difficult to re-create at home. You should know first that this sweetmeat is one of the most nutritious whole foods sweets you can have. Plus the fact that it indulges the sweet toothed! It’s delicious and can come in different flavors: chocolate, coffee, vanilla, rosewater or orange oil. You can add a crunchy flavor to it using pistachios, almonds or hazelnuts. It is usually served with bananas and honey, in a bread. In my opinion it can be used as a great topping to a chocolate tart. It feels like a good mix of French and Lebanese culture in a dish… Super Tasty! Ingredients: 250g Powdered Milk 200g Icing sugar 250g Tahini (sesame paste) 30g Cocoa powder (optional for chocolate flavor) 2 tsp Vanilla flavor (optional) 1. Mix the tahini (sesame paste) with the cocoa powder or vanilla flavor in a robot (make sure to sift the cocoa powder). 2. In a bowl, sift the …

Almond Butter – Breakfast Edition

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They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day! I say it’s the most delicious one specially when drinking coffee 🙂 Okay… I might sound like a coffee addict, but I only drink it twice a day: A cappuccino lactose-free milk in the morning (my new habit) and a double espresso in the afternoon to keep me going! You might have noticed that I recently posted the Almond Butter Spread recipe which I am using for my morning dishes & snacks. I am also experimenting on different spread flavors depending on my mood. Here are some quick breaky recipes to fuel your day: 1. Granola & Fruits with Almond Butter Cut your favorite fruits, squeeze half an orange to add more taste. Spread the almond butter and add some granola and pomegranate seeds. 2. Toast & Fruits with Almond Butter Toast your bread then spread the almond butter. Add some banana slices and sprinkle with chia seeds, agave syrup and pomegranate seeds. Enjoy your morning. The Urban Apron

Pizza Dough

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It is Pizza day! Sometimes we need carbs and cheese to get through the day. Pizza has it all! And the veggies will make us feel less guilty! Here is the dough recipe for 2 medium sized pizzas: Ingredients 3 cups Flour (keep a bit more for dusting) 1 cup Water (lukewarm) 1 tbs Instant dry yeast 2 tsp Salt 1 tsp Sugar 2 tbs Olive oil 1. Mix the yeast with water and leave for 5 minutes (till it has some sort of mousse on top). 2. Combine all dry ingredients in the robot. 3. Add the oil and the yeast mix. >> Mix until the dough comes together in a solid ball. If the dough is sticky add flour; if it is too dry add water. 4. Put the dough in a bowl and cover with a plastic wrap. Keep in a warm area for about 1 hour. The tip: you can do the dough overnight and keep it in the fridge until the next day! Bon Appetite, The Urban Apron