What's Cooking Ella
  • Blog
  • About Me-What's New
  • Recipes 2013-2023
  • Breakfast
    • Acai Bowl
    • All Day Breakfast
    • Asparagus Milanese
    • Bacon and Egg Bread Cups
    • Bacon and Egg Roll
    • Bacon and Spinach Omelette
    • Best Ever Berry Pikelets
    • Blueberry Pancakes
    • Buttermilk Pancakes
    • Buttermilk Scones
    • Chicken Livers with Onions
    • Croissant Monsieur
    • Egg Breakfast Cups
    • Eggs in Purgatory-Hangover Eggs
    • French Toast
    • Lemon Souffle Pancakes
    • Mushroom and Cheese Omelette
    • Nutella Buns with Mascarpone Frosting
    • Perfect Scrambled Eggs
    • Salami and Potato Frittata
    • Scrambled Eggs with Asparagus
    • Scrambled Eggs with Chorizo
    • Shakshuka
    • Spinach and Cheese Spirals
    • To Die For Cinnamon Buns
    • Waffles with Berries, Ice Cream and Maple Syrup
  • Lunch
    • Bacon, Egg and Tomato Pie
    • Baked Lemon Pepper Chicken Drumsticks
    • Broccolini and Bacon Tart
    • Cabbage and Prawn Salad
    • Caprese Pasta Salad
    • Caprese Salad
    • Cheats Pizzette
    • Chicken and Avocado Quesadillas
    • Chicken Caesar Salad
    • Chicken Liver, Frisee and Speck Salad
    • Chicken, Mushroom and Bacon Pies
    • Chilli Chicken with BLAT Salad
    • Creamy Chicken and Corn Burritos
    • Crumbed Eggplant with Tomato Basil Sauce
    • Egg, Bacon and Cheese Frittata
    • Five Spice Pork with an Asian Green Bean Salad
    • Goats Cheese Stuffed Zucchini Flowers
    • Italian Chicken Pasta Salad
    • Mince and Feta Gozleme
    • Mini Egg Muffins
    • Mum's Octopus Salad
    • Nicoise Salad
    • Octopus and Potato Salad
    • Okonomiyaki (Japanese Pancakes)
    • Omelette with Stir Fried Shitake Mushrooms and Rice
    • Piadina Romagnola Italian Flatbread
    • Prawn and Avocado Salad
    • Quesadillas
    • Quiche Lorraine
    • Salad of Figs, Prosciutto, Leaves and Toasted Bread
    • Salmon and Avocado Ceviche
    • Sandwich Press Chicken Quesadillas
    • Sandwiches and Wraps
    • Smoked Trout, Potato and Cherry Tomato Salad
    • Spinach and Cheese Gozleme
    • Sticky Pork Belly Banh Mi
    • Sunday Roast Salad
    • Thai Beef Salad
    • Thai Beef Salad
    • Thai Duck Salad
    • Thai Grilled Chicken Burger
    • Thai Pork Salad
    • Tomato Bacon Pasta
    • Tomato, Bocconcini and ​Rocket Pesto Bruschetta
    • Turkey Potato Wedges
    • Vietnamese Chicken Salad
    • Zucchini and Beef Sfougato
    • Zucchini Fritters
    • Zucchini Slice
  • Dinner
    • Beef and Veal >
      • Beef and Bean Burritos
      • Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry
      • Beef and Mushroom Pies
      • Beef with Cashew Nam Jim and Asian Greens
      • Bibimbap
      • Burger Night at Our House
      • Cevapi
      • Chinese Beef and Snow Pea Stir Fry
      • Chorizo, Potato and Herb Frittata
      • Coconut Beef Curry
      • Easy Steak Fajitas
      • Egyptian Kofta Rolls
      • French Style Cottage Pie
      • Indonesian Satay with Peanut Sauce
      • Korean Beef Short Ribs
      • Layered Beef Enchilada Bake
      • Mongolian Beef and Snow Pea Stir Fry
      • Musaka
      • Penang Curry with Coconut Rice
      • Simple Steak Sandwich
      • Steak Slice with Lemon and Thyme
      • Steak with a Green Peppercorn Sauce
      • Tagliata For Two
      • Veal Saltimbocca
      • Veal with Creamy Mushroom Sauce
    • Bread >
      • Bazlama Turkish Flat Bread
      • Cheese and Bacon Rolls
      • Cinnamon Raisin Bread
      • Croatian Easter Bread
      • Croatian Easter Bread Dolls
      • Croatian Flatbread Lepinje
      • Easy Crusty No Knead Bread
      • Easy Garlic Butter Breadsticks
      • Focaccia
      • Focaccia with Potatoes
      • Garlic Bread
      • Jock's Focaccia
      • Medimurski Langusi
      • My Friday Bread
      • Naan Bread
      • No Knead Bread
      • No Knead Bread Rolls
      • No Knead Soft Crust Bread
      • Peci Paje
      • Pide Bread
      • Pita Bread
      • Pizza Scima
      • Pogaca
      • Rosemary Garlic Focaccia
      • Salt and Pepper Breadsticks
      • Soft Bread Rolls
      • Tomato Focaccia
      • Turkish Pide Bread
    • Chicken and Duck >
      • Braised Chicken Marylands with Wine and Tomatoes
      • Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry
      • Chicken and Eggplant Parmigiana
      • Chicken and Oyster Sauce Noodle Stir Fry
      • Chicken Bastardo
      • Chicken Cordon Bleu Roll with an Italian Twist
      • Chicken, Eggplant and Green Bean Korma
      • Chicken Fajita Drumsticks with Three Salsas
      • Chicken Kiev
      • Chicken Saltimbocca
      • Chicken Schnitzel Burger with Baconnaise
      • Chicken with Creamy Mushroom Sauce
      • Chicken with Garlic Potatoes and Rosemary
      • Chicken with Tomatoes
      • Chinese Style Roast Duck
      • Croatian Chicken in Tomato and Wine Sauce
      • Croatian Roast Duck with Mlinci
      • Crispy Skin Duck with Pink Grapefruit and Avocado Salad
      • Duck Breasts with Red Wine Sauce, Mashed Potatoes and Green Beans
      • Easy Chicken Fajitas
      • Greek Chicken Gyros with Tzatziki
      • Greek Lemon Chicken Gyros with Tzatziki
      • Green Chicken Curry
      • Guatemalan Chicken and Tomatillo Stew
      • Honey Mustard Chicken, Bacon and Avocado Salad
      • Jerk Chicken
      • Mediterranean Chicken
      • Nasi Goreng
      • Peri Peri Chicken Burger
      • Piri Piri Chicken
      • Poached Duck and Cashew Salad with Duck Crackling
      • Portuguese Style Chicken Drumsticks
      • Roast Chicken in Tomatoes
      • Roast Chicken Marylands with Potatoes
      • Roast Chicken Salad and Chive Mayonnaise
      • Roast Duck Marylands and Potatoes
      • Roast Lemon Chicken
      • Salvadoran Chicken in White Wine
      • Salvadoran Chicken Stew with Red Capsicums
      • Spatchcock with Spicy Corn Salad
      • Tequila and Lime Chicken
      • Teriyaki Chicken
      • Thai Style Chicken and Ginger Stir Fry
      • Thai Style Chicken Burger
      • Woodman's Chicken Pollo alla Boscaiola
    • Lamb and Goat >
      • Garlic and Sage Lamb Racks
      • Indian Goat Curry
      • Lamb Racks with Breadcrumbs, Parsley and Lemon
      • Lamb Shank Stew
      • Leg of Lamb with Garlic and Rosemary
      • Marinated BBQ Lamb Chops
      • Middle Eastern Lamb Pilaf
      • Ottoman Lamb Shank Stew with Pilaf
      • Slow Cooked Curry Crusted Lamb
      • Slow Cooked Lamb Shank and Bean Ragu
      • Slow Cooked Lamb Shoulder
      • Turkish Spiced Cabbage and Minced Lamb Stew with Tomatoes
    • Pasta and Risotto >
      • Baba Kata's Pasta Sauce
      • Bacon and Mushroom Pasta Bake
      • Baked Bechamel Pasta
      • Basil Pesto with Pasta
      • Brudet Risotto
      • Calabrian Lasagna
      • Cannelloni
      • Chicken Bolognese Pasta Bake
      • Chicken Pasta Bake
      • Chilli Prawn and Tomato Spaghetti
      • Corteccia or Cavatelli
      • Creamy Bacon and Mushroom Fettuccine
      • Creamy Bacon Fettuccine
      • ​Creamy Farfalle with Chicken and Zucchini
      • Creamy Mushroom Linguine
      • Creamy Tomato Chicken and Chorizo Pasta
      • Creamy Zucchini Spaghetti
      • Cuttlefish Risotto
      • Duck Ragu with Pappardelle
      • Ella's Creamy Chicken Pasta
      • Fettuccine Alla Carbonara
      • Fettuccine with Chicken and Mushroom Sauce
      • Fettuccine with Mud Crab, Garlic, Chilli, Lemon and Parsley
      • Fish Risotto
      • Fregola with Mussels, Vongole and Prawns
      • Fregola with Clams
      • Fresh Egg Pasta
      • Fresh Tomato Pasta
      • Gnocchi Mac 'n' Cheese
      • Gnocchi with Rich Porcini Mushroom Sauce
      • Grated Pasta Dough for Soup
      • Istarski Fuzi
      • Kale, Chilli and Parmesan Pasta
      • Krpice sa Zeljem
      • Lasagne
      • Lasagne with Crepes
      • Macaroni Eggplant Cake
      • Macaroni Milano
      • Mushroom Risotto
      • Orecchiette with Broccoli and Anchovy
      • Oven Baked Meatballs in Cheesy Tomato Sauce
      • Pappardelle Carbonara
      • Pasta alla Norma
      • Pasta all'amatriciana
      • Pastitsio
      • Pearl Barley Risotto with Wild Mushrooms
      • Penne alla Vodka
      • Penne with Pork Ragu
      • Penne with Spicy Tomato Sauce
      • Potato and Caramelised Onion Vareniki
      • Potato Gnocchi
      • Potato Gnocchi with Cheese
      • Prawn and Scallop Linguine with Burst Cherry Tomatoes
      • Savoury Crepes-Ham and Cheese or Spinach and Ricotta
      • Seafood Paella
      • Semolina Gnocchi Alla Romana
      • Short Rib Ragu
      • Silverbeet and Ricotta Gnudi
      • Simple Neapolitan Sauce
      • Slow Cooked Beef Ragu
      • Smoky Mac 'N' Cheese
      • Spaetzle
      • Spaghetti Alla Carbonara
      • Spaghetti Bolognese
      • Spaghetti Marinara
      • Spaghetti Pizzaiola
      • Spaghetti Puttanesca
      • Spaghetti with Clams
      • Spaghetti with Clams
      • Spaghetti with Crab
      • Spaghetti with Fresh Tomato and Basil
      • Spaghetti with Garlic, Olive Oil and Chilli
      • Spicy Garlic Butter Linguine
      • Spinach and Ricotta Cannelloni Crepes
      • Spinach and Ricotta Shells
      • Sporki Macaroni
      • Super Quick Fresh Pasta
      • Tagliatelle Alla Bolognese
      • Tomato Prawn Risotto
      • Vegetable Lasagna
    • Pork >
      • Bajan Roast Pork
      • Baked Meatballs in Tomatoes
      • Bolognese Pie
      • Chinese Roast Pork Neck
      • Ella's Pork Neck in Tomato Sauce with Polenta
      • Meatzza
      • Mince and Potato Burek
      • Mince and Potato Pita
      • Mince Stuffed Capsicums-Punjene Paprike
      • My Favourite Pulled Pork
      • Nachos
      • Paprika and Lime Pork Enchiladas
      • Perfect Baked Pork Belly
      • Perfect Roasted Pork Fillet with Apples
      • Polpete
      • Pork Campagnola
      • Pork Schnitzels with Lemon and Parsley
      • Roast Pork Belly with Sauerkraut
      • Roast Pork with Crackling
      • Roast Pork with Garlic and Rosemary
      • Salt and Pepper Pork
      • Samoborski Kotleti
      • Sarma-Cabbage Rolls
      • Slow Roasted American Ribs
      • Spicy Pulled Pork and Black Bean Tacos
      • Sung Choi Bao
    • Seafood >
      • Bake Marija's Baked Squid and Potatoes
      • Baked Fish with Lemon Cream Sauce
      • Baked Snapper with Parsley, Chilli and Oregano
      • Brudet-Croatian Fish Stew
      • Chilli Crab
      • Chinese Style Fish with Coconut Rice
      • Confit Salmon
      • Croatian Octopus Peka
      • Cuttlefish Stew
      • Fish and Chips
      • Fish Burger
      • Fish Cakes
      • Fish Tacos
      • Fish with Lemon Butter Sauce
      • Fried Calamari
      • Garlic Squid with Parmesan
      • Korean Fish Stir Fry
      • Mexican Fish Tacos with Guacamole
      • Mussel Buzara
      • Pan Fried White Fish with Roasted Vegetables
      • Popara
      • Prawn Buzara
      • Prawn, Coleslaw and Pico de Gallo Tacos
      • Prawn, Ginger and Snow Pea Stir Fry
      • Stir Fry Crab
      • Tempura Fish
      • Thai Prawn Curry
      • Whole Baked Fish with Lemon Salt and Aioli
      • Whole Baked Ocean Trout with Fennel and Pomegranate
    • Sides, Salads and Accompaniments >
      • Asian Cabbage, Bean and Carrot Salad
      • Baka Marija's Trganci
      • Baked Beans and Frankfurt Bake
      • Beetroot and Feta with Herb and Pistachio Dressing
      • Bok Choy with Garlic, Honey and Soy
      • Broccoli and Cauliflower
      • Broccoli Salad
      • Charred Broccoli with Onions
      • Cheesy Potato Gratin Stacks
      • Chef's Salad
      • Chinese Broccoli with Oyster Sauce
      • Chinese Chicken Salad with Crispy Wonton Skins
      • Chinese Cucumber Salad
      • Coleslaw with a Mayonnaise Dressing
      • Coleslaw with a Vinegar Dressing
      • Crazy Corn
      • Crunchy Potato Balls
      • Dandelion Leaves, Potato, Egg and Bacon Salad
      • Easter Salad
      • Four Bean Salad
      • Fried Rice
      • Greek Salad
      • Green Beans in Tomato Sauce
      • Green Salad
      • Grenadir Mars
      • Grilled Vegetables
      • Homemade Sauerkraut
      • Infused Chilli Oil
      • Italian Roasted Sugar Snap Peas
      • Josip's Spinach
      • Lastovsko Zelje-Cabbage and Potato Salad
      • Luxurious Mashed Potato Bake
      • Macaroni and Bean Salad
      • Marinated Garlic
      • Mashed Potatoes Baked with Bacon
      • Mexican Tomato Salsa
      • Microwave Chilli Jam
      • Miso Roasted Eggplant
      • Muffin Pan Potato Gratins
      • Pan Fried Potatoes
      • Perfect Roast Potatoes
      • Polenta
      • Pommes Anna
      • Potato Beetroot Salad
      • Potato Gratin
      • Potato Stacks with Fresh Thyme
      • Roast Chilli Potatoes
      • Spinach and Pear Salad
      • Super Green Kale Salad
      • Swiss Chard and Potatoes-Blitva
      • Tartiflette
      • Tian Provencal
      • Tuscan Fries
      • Tzatziki
    • Soups >
      • Ajngemahtec s Griz Knedlama
      • Bacon, Lentil and Cabbage Soup
      • Baka Marija's Cuz Pajz-Cabbage Soup
      • Baka Marija's Zelje-Cabbage Soup 2
      • Beef and Bean Goulash Soup
      • Beef, Barley and Cavolo Nero Soup
      • Cabbage and Bacon Soup
      • Cauliflower, Leek and Bacon Soup
      • Cauliflower Soup
      • ​Chicken Egg Drop Noodle Soup
      • Chicken Laksa Lemak
      • Chicken Soup with Mini Meatballs
      • Chicken Soup with Semolina Dumplings
      • Chicken Wonton Soup
      • Corn Chowder
      • ​Croatian Bean and Barley Soup with Baked Pork with Baked Pork
      • Cream of Asparagus Soup
      • Egyptian Lentil Soup
      • Erdutski Kotlic s Noklicama
      • Falsa Juha - False Soup
      • Fish Soup
      • Goulash Soup
      • Ham Hock and Cabbage Soup
      • Hearty Chicken Soup
      • Jota-Sauerkraut Soup
      • Kaq'ik
      • Leftover Lamb Soup
      • Lemon Chicken Soup
      • Lentil Soup
      • Mushroom Soup
      • Pasta and Chickpeas with Tuscan Cabbage
      • Pea and Ham Soup
      • Pea and Ham Soup 2
      • Pho Ga
      • Potato and Leek Soup
      • Prawn Bisque
      • Pumpkin Soup
      • Pumpkin Soup 2
      • Pumpkin Soup 3
      • Quick Beef Pho
      • Seafood Laksa Lemak
      • Slow Roasted Tomato and Turmeric Soup
      • Smoked Ham, Tomato and Butter Bean Soup
      • Smoked Rib and Bean Soup-Pasta Fazol
      • Tomato Egg Drop Soup
      • Tom Yum Goong
      • Tomato Soup with Pasta and Basil
      • Vietnamese Pho
      • Zuppa di Pesce
    • Stews >
      • Ali Nazik - Lamb Stew
      • Baka Marija's Goulash
      • Beef Cheek Ragu
      • Beef, Barley and Mushroom Stew
      • Beef Goulash
      • Bigos Polish Hunters Stew
      • Braised Beef Short Ribs in Red Wine Sauce
      • Chicken Cacciatore
      • Chicken, Chorizo and Bean Cassoulet
      • Chicken Paprikas with Pljukanci
      • Chilli Con Carne with Corn Dumplings
      • Cobanac
      • Chorizo with Lentil and Roasted Red Capsicum
      • Croatian Tripe Stew
      • Easy Baked Goulash
      • Goat and Vegetable Stew
      • Green Chilli Stew
      • Hilachas
      • Mexican Beef Stew
      • Osso Buco
      • Short Rib Bourguignon
      • Slow Cooked Beef Cheeks
      • Stracotto
      • Swiss Beef and Mushroom Stew
      • Turkish Vegetable and Beef Stew with Pasta
      • Vinski Gulas
  • Desserts
    • Biscuits >
      • Almond Bread
      • ANZAC biscuits
      • Choc Chip and M&M Cookies
      • Chocolate Chip Cookies
      • Chocolate Chip Cookies 2
      • Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies
      • Chocolate Hazelnut Flowers
      • Chocolate Salami
      • Christmas Sandwich Cookies
      • Christmas Star Tree
      • Citrus and Coconut Nut Bread
      • Cookie Dough
      • Gingerbread Men
      • Hazelnut Scrolls
      • Lemon Macaroons
      • Melting Moments
      • Mira's Jam Biscuits
      • Mixed Nut Biscotti
      • Monte Carlos
      • Nutella or Jam Pillows
      • Peruvian Alfajores
      • Polka Dot Cookies
      • Vanilla Crescent Biscuits
      • White Chocolate and Macadamia Cookies
    • Bite Sized Treats >
      • Cheesecake Balls
      • Chocolate Crackles
      • Chocolate Marshmallow Brown Sugar Fudge
      • Chocolate Rum Truffles
      • Chocolate Strawberries
      • Coconut Truffles
      • Crunchy Chocolate Truffles
      • Mini Christmas Puddings
      • Rocky Road
      • Tim Tam and Milo Fudge
    • Cakes and Tortes >
      • Apple and Cinnamon Pie Cake
      • Apple and Strawberry Crumble Cake
      • Apple Cake
      • Banana and Raspberry Bread
      • Banana Bread
      • Banana Bread Bundt Cake
      • Banana Bread 2
      • Banana Bread 3
      • Banana Cake
      • Blackberry and Plum Streusel Cake
      • Blueberry Banana Bread
      • Cannoli Cake
      • Carrot Cake with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
      • Choc Banana Bread
      • Chocolate Babka
      • Chocolate Banana Bread
      • Chocolate Crunch Cake
      • Chocolate Olive Oil Cake
      • Christmas Fruit Cake
      • Ciambella
      • Coconut Lime Syrup Cake
      • Dairy and Egg Free Chocolate Cake
      • Easy Apple Bundt Cake
      • Easy Apple Cake
      • Five Layer Chocolate Espresso Cake
      • Flourless, Chocolate, Pecan and Raspberry Torte
      • Irish Apple Crumble Cake
      • Italian Breakfast Banana Bread
      • Italian Lemon Ricotta Cake
      • Lemon Cake with Mascarpone Frosting
      • Lemon Tea Cake
      • Lemon Yoghurt Cake
      • Nutella Banana Bread
      • Orange Tea Cake
      • Pear and Vanilla Cake
      • Red Velvet Cake
      • Ricotta Crumble Cake
      • Six Layer Chocolate Cake
      • Sticky Date Pudding
      • Sticky Date Pudding 2
      • Strawberry Banana Bread
      • Strawberry Cake
      • Strawberry Cloud Cake
      • Tiramisu Torte
      • Torta Tenerina
      • Tres Leches Cake
      • Tres Leches Cake 2
      • Ultimate One-Bowl Chocolate Cake
      • Upside Down Blood Orange Cake
    • Cheesecakes >
      • Baka Marija's Gibanica
      • Baked Ricotta Cheesecake
      • Cafe Latte Cheesecakes
      • Chocolate Cheesecake
      • Cookies and Cream Cheesecake
      • Margarita Cheesecake
      • New York Cheesecake
      • Nutella Cheesecake
      • Passionfruit Cheesecake
      • Passionfruit Cheesecake Slice
      • Pineapple Jelly Cheesecakes
      • Strawberry Cheesecake
      • Sunny Lemon Cheesecake
    • Crepes and Pancakes >
      • Banana and Hazelnut Cream Crepes
      • Chocolate Crepe Cake with Hazelnut Cream
      • Crepe Cake with Citrus Cream and a Berry Salad
      • Crepes
      • Lemon Curd and Poppy Seed Crepe Cake
      • Lemon Curd Crepe Cake
      • Ricotta filled Crepes
      • Strawberry and Hazelnut Cream Crepes
      • Strawberry and Nutella Crepes
    • Crumbles >
      • Apple and Berry Crumble
      • Apple and Passionfruit Crumble
      • Apple Crumble
      • Apple Crumble
      • Apple, Berry and Rhubarb Crumble
      • Plum Crumbles
    • Cupcakes and Muffins >
      • Apple Crumble Muffins
      • Banana Crumb Muffins
      • Blueberry Muffins
      • Chocolate Brownie Muffins
      • Chocolate Chip Muffins
      • Chocolate Cupcakes with a Chocolate Ganache
      • Chocolate Cupcakes with a White Chocolate Ganache
    • Doughnuts >
      • Appelbeignets
      • Apple Fritole
      • Chocolate Churros
      • Churros
      • Cinnamon Doughnut Puffs
      • Doughnut S'Mores
      • Fritule
      • Hot Cross Bun Doughnuts
      • Mini Baked Chocolate Doughnuts
      • Nutella, Jam or Custard Filled Doughnuts
    • Ice Creams, Sorbets and Granitas >
      • Berry Salad
      • Blood Orange Granita
      • Blueberry and Pink Lemonade Ice Pops
      • Blueberry Ice Cream
      • Chocolate Coffee Fudge Ice Cream Cake
      • Hot Chocolate Ice Pops
      • Lemon Cheesecake Ice Cream
      • Lime Cheesecake Ice Cream
      • Limoncello Bombe Alaska
      • Mango and Banana Yoghurt Gelato
      • Mango and Strawberry Ice Pops
      • Mixed Berry Ice Cream
      • Morenitas
      • Orange Creamsicle Ice Cream
      • Orange Granita
      • Orange Sorbet
      • Raspberry Cream Pie
      • Raspberry Lemonade Ice Blocks
      • Rocky Road Ice Cream Slice
      • Splice Ice Pops
      • Strawberry Banana Ice Pops
      • Strawberry Ice Cream
      • Strawberry Ice Pops
      • Summer Berry Lime Compote
      • Tequila and Orange Granita
      • Tropical Jelly Pops
      • Watermelon Granita
    • It's all about the Fruit >
      • Caramel Poached Peaches with Blueberries
      • Fresh Fruit Salad with a Vanilla Lime Syrup
      • Peach Melba
      • Poached Pears with Chocolate Sauce
      • Vanilla Poached Apricots
      • Vanilla Poached Pears
    • Jams, Custards, Puddings and Curds >
      • Berry and Custard Jelly Pots
      • Chocolate Creme Brulee
      • Chocolate Mousse
      • Chocolate Self Saucing Puddings
      • Coffee Creams
      • Crema Catalana
      • Creme Brulee
      • Fresh Orange Jelly
      • Halloween Chocolate Mousse
      • Jelly Custard Cups
      • Leche Poleada or Salvadoran Vanilla Custard
      • Lemon Bavarois
      • Lemon Curd
      • Lemon Pudding Cake with Berries
      • Orange and Almond Self Saucing Pudding
      • Peach Melba Buttermilk Puddings
      • Raspberry Bavarois
      • Strawberry and Vanilla Panna Cotta Fruit Cups
      • Strawberry Jelly Mousse
      • Strawberry Mousse Jelly Delights
      • Strawberry Pannacotta
      • Triple Chocolate Panna Cotta Mousse
      • Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta
      • Vanilla Pannacotta with a Berry Compote
      • Vanilla Pannacotta with Strawberry Champagne Jelly
      • Yoghurt and Vanilla Panna Cotta with Raspberry and Pomegranate Jelly
    • Mud Cakes >
      • Caramel Mud Cake
      • Chocolate Guinness Cake
      • Chocolate Mud Cake
      • Double Decker Mud Cake
      • Mochaccino Marbled Mud Cake
      • Triple Choc Marble Mud Cake
      • White Chocolate Mud Cake
    • Pavlova >
      • Australia Day Pavlova
      • Chocolate Berry Pavlova
      • Forgotten Pudding
      • Meringue Christmas Tree
      • Pavlova
      • Pavlova Roll
      • Pavlova Wreath
      • Raspberry Mousse Torte
      • Strawberry and Watermelon Cake
    • Pies and Tarts >
      • Apple and Cream Cheese Strudel
      • Apple Crumble Pie
      • Apple Danishes
      • Apple Pie
      • Apple Roses
      • Berry and Apple Crumble Slice
      • Blueberry Cream Cheese Pastries
      • Blueberry Crostata
      • Blueberry Crumble Pie
      • Blueberry Custard Pie
      • Bougatsa Parcels
      • Cherry Pie
      • Chocolate Custard Pie
      • Chocolate Ganache Tart with a Pecan Crust
      • Chocolate Ganache Tart with an Oreo Crust
      • Chocolate Hazelnut Croissants
      • Chocolate Portuguese Custard Tarts
      • Cindy Crawford's Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
      • Jalousie
      • Jam Macaroon Tart
      • Lemon Meringue Pie
      • Lemon Tart
      • Lemon Tart with Blueberry Compote
      • Lime Tart
      • Mini Lemon Meringue Tarts
      • Nectarine Shortcake
      • Nutella Christmas Tree
      • Nutella Pastry Sun
      • Peach Pie
      • Pear and Apple Pandowdy
      • Pear and Chocolate Galettes
      • Pear and Raspberry Pandowdy
      • Pita od Jabuka- Croatian Apple Slice
      • Polish Szarlotka
      • Portuguese Custard Tarts
      • Quick and Easy Plum Tart
      • Quick Apple Strudel
      • Quick Apple Tarts
      • Raspberry Cream Cheese Pinwheels
      • Strawberry Cream Cheese Pastries
      • Strawberry Cream Cheese Tart
      • Strawberry Rhubarb and Apple Crumble Pie
      • Summer Berry Tart
    • Slices >
      • Apple Slice
      • Baklava
      • Banoffee Slice
      • Berry and Apple Slice
      • Berry Custard Slice
      • Blueberry Crumb Bars
      • Cheesecake Brownies
      • Cherry Ripe Brownie Bar
      • Choc-Hazelnut Meringue Slice
      • Choc-Vanilla Slice
      • Chocolate Brownies
      • Chocolate Brownies 2
      • Chocolate Brownies...Without Butter
      • Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
      • Chocolate Coconut Brownies
      • Chocolate Fudge Brownies-Gluten Free
      • Chocolate Mousse Squares
      • Chocolate Oatmeal Slice
      • Galaktoboureko
      • Hello Dolly Bars
      • Kit Kat and Tim Tam Brownies
      • Krempita
      • Lemon and Coconut Brownies
      • Lemon Delicious Slice
      • Lemon Meringue Slice
      • Madarica
      • Mallow Roll
      • Milo Slice
      • Peach Crumble Bars
      • Salted Chocolate Caramel Slice
      • Salted Chocolate Cashew Caramel Slice
      • Strawberry Crumb Bars
      • Vanilla Slice
      • Wagon Wheel Slice
    • Trifles >
      • Ambrosia
      • Christmas Trifle
      • Citrus Meringue Trifle
      • Creamy Two Fruits Trifle
      • Latin Style Trifle
      • Mocha Tiramisu
      • Tiramisu with Frangelico
      • Two Layered Jellies
  • Entertaining
    • Artichoke Spinach Dip
    • Avocado and Tomato Salsa
    • BBQ Chicken Wings
    • Beef and Pea Hand Pies
    • Bocconcini, Basil and Prosciutto Balls
    • Bread and Butter Pickles
    • Buffalo Wings
    • Buffalo Wings 2
    • Buttermilk Fried Chicken
    • Cheese and Zucchini Pita
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  • Cookbook Corner

Croatian Tripe Stew

31/1/2023

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po Kate Gricine
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Vrsi, Zadar, Croatia, my favourite place on this planet. In my heart that is home. 

I've named this recipe Croatian Tripe Stew po Kate Gricine, because this my mum's recipe, one that she learnt how to make from her mother growing up in Vrsi. Why Kate Gricine, well my mum's name is Kata and to identify whose family she belongs to, they have family nicknames in Vrsi and she belongs to the Gricine family, she would be Kata Gricinka.

There is something amazing to me about this village. You walk the streets and think about how your mum used to play in these streets, how she would walk to school, go to church, play, hang out with friends. Growing up with cousins, all living a few minutes walk away. You visit the cemetery and you are related to most of the people buried there. You walk up the street and your mum's childhood best friend wants to meet you even though she hasn't seen my mum since she left Croatia in 1968, and she invites you over and she shares fond memories of your mother and her as kids, it's special. The older women in the village who all knew your mother say dobro jutro, as you walk to the shops to buy your kids freshly baked Croatian doughnuts, they all know you as Kate Gricine's daughter, you're name doesn't matter, what matters is who you belong to.

Back to the recipe, it always amazes me how older people knew how to cook amazing dishes. There was no cookbooks or google searches back them. It was all recipes passed down for generations, with everyone modifying or improving them as they cooked it. For instance my mum remembers her mum making this dish, so she now makes it from memory, but if we have newer ingredients for example carrots now that she didn't have growing up, she adds it, so the recipe evolves, but the recipe is still true to it's origin. My grandmother my mum recalls was an amazing cook, I never got to try her food, but my mum always describes how her home made bread was amazing, how she loved eating her homemade pastas, lazanje or tarce. For some of my cousins who did visit Vrsi while my grandparents were alive they got to eat her peci paje, fried bread. So now I spend time asking my mother what did my grandfather love to eat, what did my grandmother cook and I'm cooking them and writing down these family recipes. My daughter to has recently taken an interest in writing my mum's and my mother in laws recipes down. She is watching them cook and taking notes. Then cooking their recipes.
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My daughter making my mother in laws strudel dough.
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My kids at my grandparents house. We love it there.
​Now tripe, this is not something you would eat weekly or monthly. This is a dish I would make once every two years, because it's nostalgic then, it's part of my childhood, it's something I love. It's like my mum's bakalar and potato salad. It is one of my absolute favourite things to eat, but we only have it on Good Friday and Christmas Eve. I love it on those two days, because it's special then. Just like this recipe by having it sometimes, it will remain special to me.

What I truly love about this dish is now my kids are eating this dish, something that has been in the family for generations. That's special and it connects us all to this village in Croatia, even though we weren't born there.

Now tripe when cooked properly is soft and delicious, so many people say it's chewy, it really isn't when cooked properly. My daughter is the only one that doesn't love it, but she loves the sauce, so while the rest of us enjoy the whole dish, she will happily eat the sauce with bread.

What is tripe, it is the lining of a cows stomach. I know it doesn't sound great, but made this way, it is delicious to me. It's something I grew up on, it is something I love to eat.
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​​If you don’t have lemons at home you can add ¼ cup white wine vinegar instead when cooking the tripe.
​

My mum uses her homemade pasta sauce. But if you don’t have it in your freezer like I do, use tomato passata, or tinned tomatoes or a plain tomato pasta sauce.

This is a family recipe, it's treasured in my house, I hope when you cook it to, you love it like we do.

Recipe

​For the tripe:
4.5kg honeycomb tripe
½ lemon sliced, thinly sliced
2 fresh bay leaves or 1 dried bay leaf
½ onion
1 stick celery

 For the sauce:
3 tablespoons olive oil
1½ large brown onions, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely diced
1 stalk celery, trimmed, finely diced
1 medium sized red capsicum, deseeded, membrane removed, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 small red chilli, finely chopped, optional
80g finely diced speck, optional
2/3 cup dry white wine
400g bottle tomato passata
1 tablespoon vegeta
4 large potatoes, peeled, cut into bite sized cubes
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Salt and pepper, to taste



Thoroughly wash the tripe.

Place the tripe in a large pot, add the lemon slices, bay leaf, onion and celery stick. Top up with water to cover, season with salt. Place over a high heat, bring to the boil, simmer for 45 minutes. Once cooked, remove tripe from water, discard water, allow tripe to cool.

Cut the tripe into 2cm wide bite sized strips. Set aside until needed.

For the sauce:
In a large pot add the oil, place over a medium heat. Add in the onion, carrot, celery and capsicum, sauté 5-6 minutes. Add in the garlic, chilli and speck, sauté 3-4 minutes, until your vegetables have softened.
​

Add in the white wine, passata and vegeta, cook, stirring about 5 minutes, season with salt and pepper. Add in the tripe, potatoes and parsley, add water to just cover all the tripe in the pot, stir, bring to a simmer, cook, partially covered, about 1½-2 hours. The tripe is ready when it has softened and isn’t chewy. You also want the sauce to cook long and slow and thickens, my mum always says a sauce is not done until the oil rises to the surface.
Enjoy!
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To save the recipe to your favourites go to www.whatscookingella.com/croatian-tripe-stew.html 
Pin it: www.pinterest.com.au/pin/399413060715928188/
​​​​​​​​​If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment below or take a photo and tag me on Instagram or Twitter with #whatscookingella
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Zuppa di Pesce

30/1/2023

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​My youngest always brings up Zuppa di Pesce, if I make a chicken soup, he will call it zuppa di pesce, if I make a pea and ham soup, he will call it, you guessed it, zuppa di pesce. He does it to get a reaction from me. 

So one day, seeing he always brings it up, I decided I would make him zuppa di pesce. 

This is fabulous, absolutely fabulous. My family love this.

This is simple, clean, fresh cooking, and it's extremely easy to make.

Now for this soup you will need five different types of seafood, I used three small- medium sized scorpion fish, you could use one large one instead, whatever is fresh and available, ling fillets, mussels, prawns and vongole. You can also use scallops, pipis, calamari etc With the fish, you want a fish that is firm and won't fall apart when cooked.

It helps if you have people on hand that love seafood around to help you with this dish. For instance my husband and father when I removed the prawn heads, ate what they could from them, they said it was deliciously spicy. And they enjoyed cleaning and eating the scorpion fish, as both of them eat a whole fish and they thoroughly enjoy eating a fish head.

One important ingredient in this soup is oven toasted italian ciabatta bread, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil. This is placed in the bottom of your bowl, then you ladle over your seafood and your soup. When you get to the bread at the bottom, it has soaked up the soup, it is fabulous, I can't describe how much I love this. (My husband for his birthday also wanted zuppa di pesce, but he wanted it with tagliatelle, and all that had it with the tagliatelle, loved it, but I'm a bread at the bottom of the bowl kind of a girl). Make extra bread, you'll need it, but it has to be toasted in the oven.

Here is a simple yet absolutely delicious soup you need to make.

Recipe

​Recipe adapted from twogreedyitalians.com/ 

Serves 8

about 2 kg mixed fresh fish and shellfish
I used:
3 small-medium sized scorpion fish
about a 15cm skinless ling fillet, a thick fillet, cut into bite sized pieces
12 prawns, peeled, deveined, reserve the heads
500g mussels, scrubbed, remove beards
250g vongole, soaked to purge sand
160ml extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped, plus an extra clove for rubbing
1 long red chilli, finely chopped
3/4 cup white wine​
2 x 400 g tins of diced tomatoes
3 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
​1 teaspoon vegeta
salt and freshly ground black pepper
extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
extra parsley leaves, for sprinkling
8-10 slices Italian ciabatta bread, toasted


If your fishmonger hasn’t already done so, clean and prepare your chosen fish and shellfish.

Preheat oven to 180C/160C fan forced.

Put the oil, onion and the prawn heads into a large pan, sauté 3 minutes, add in the garlic and chilli, saute a further 2 minutes. Remove prawns head (you can leave them in to add even more flavour to the sauce, I find this is enough, but sometimes I leave them in).

​Pour in your wine, then add your tomatoes and 500ml water. Add in the parsley, vegeta, season with a little salt and pepper. Add in your scorpion fish. Cover with a lid and cook for about 15-20 minutes. As the fish does not get completely submerged in the liquid. I like to carefully turn it over half way through cooking.

Take the fish out carefully (and prawn heads if you decided to leave them in, I don't discard them though, I just put them on a plate on the side for my husband), and remove the flesh, I remove most of the skin, but some of it can stay on, set aside, you will add that back in later. Discard head and bones. While you are cleaning the meat from the bones the soup is simmering gently uncovered. Taste your soup for seasoning now, but remember the seafood will add more salt to the dish.

In the meantime, lay 1 and 1/2cm thick slices of your bread on an oven tray. Bake in a preheated  oven for about 10 minutes. You can if you like rub a little garlic on the bread now, I don't. Drizzle with some extra virgin olive oil.

This is cross between a soup and a stew, once you have the consistency that you like, you can add in the seafood.

Now the seafood will go in one after the other really but there is an order. Add in your fish fillets first as they take the longest to cook, after about 30 seconds, add the mussels and pipis, do not add any liquid that they released. After a minute, add in your peeled prawns and return the scorpion fish meat to the sauce. This all cooks in about 5 minutes once your fillets go in, just make sure all of your seafood is submerged in the sauce. Taste for seasoning.

​Serve immediately.

Place your toasted bread in the bottom of your serving bowl. Ladle over the seafood and the sauce. Drizzle with a little more extra virgin olive, sprinkle over some more parsley.
Enjoy!
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To save the recipe to your favourites go to www.whatscookingella.com/zuppa-di-pesce.html 
Pin it: www.pinterest.com.au/pin/399413060715924808/
​​​​​​​​If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment below or take a photo and tag me on Instagram or Twitter with #whatscookingella
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Baba Kata's Pasta Sauce

30/1/2023

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My mum's pasta sauce, what can I say about it, all I can say is everybody loves it.

My mum is a great cook, I just don't recall ever eating anything that wasn't great growing up. With no cookbooks or internet back then, coming from a small village in Croatia, I have no idea where she learnt to cook the way she did. She is a woman that could do anything. Honestly the woman doesn't know the words 'I can't' her motto for everything was always 'if it has to be done, just get it done'. Growing up she always cooked dinner, take out was a treat, and was a sometimes thing. She worked, but she planned ahead, whoever came home first (either my dad or her, and later on me), started dinner and once she came home she took over. The woman was never tired, or at least she never showed it. Remember, she could do anything. Even now at 74, she still does big holidays, she just tells us to come a little later as she's a little slower, and I'm in the kitchen with her these days, but she gets it done, no complaints.

Back to the recipe, this is one of those recipes my mum makes when tomatoes are cheap. She loves to use roughly 70% roma tomatoes, her favourite tomato, and 30% cherry tomatoes, she says it makes the sauce taste better. But she will use all roma tomatoes if cherry tomatoes aren't on sale. Now this is a labour of love, although it is not a hard recipe, it takes time to chop up all the vegetables, it takes time to cook the sauce low and slow. So this is a project for those days when you have time. When we make it at my house, my mum comes over and we spend the day together making this.

With the tomatoes, make sure they are ripe. They ripen by just leaving them on your kitchen bench for a few days.

I can't tell you when this sauce entered our lives, one day it just appeared, with my mum probably making it to use up tomatoes she had at home, and as we loved it, she hasn't stopped making it. 

Recently my daughter has taken an interest in family recipes, so the other day mum made this with my daughter and my sons girlfriend (who also loves the sauce) watching and taking notes.

Sometimes my mum adds chicken wing tips into her sauce. My parents never buy cut up chicken wings, as they cost more, so dad's job is to cut up the wings, and wing tips always get frozen to either make a soup or she adds them to her sauces. She would add the wing tips in when she adds the garlic to the other vegetables. Remove wing tips, before blitzing Her sauces are never the same. Recipes are guides for her. You will see below, I have given three sets of ingredients, as every time she makes this, she makes it similar, but there's differences, but she writes them down for me. So I will give you all three versions, one is using 2kg tomatoes, the beginners version, one is when you have 5kg of tomatoes, I want some for the freezer version and then we have the 7kg of tomatoes version, which is the tomatoes were really cheap and if I'm spending the day cooking, I'm making it worthwhile. You will notice sometimes she adds parsley and bay leaves, sometimes she doesn't, it all depends on what she has available. If you don't have fresh bay leaves, use 1/2 the quantity of dried bay leaves.

This is how you will find the pasta sauce in my house. My mum packs them in these snap lock bags and she freezes them. Then when I don't feel like cooking dinner, or the kids have friends over and they are hungry, and I don't feel like cooking or when I forget to buy bread for school lunches....I just pop one of these bags out of the freezer, put it (out of the bag) to defrost in a saucepan over a low heat, put on water to boil for pasta and by the time the pasta has cooked the sauce has defrosted and my family is fed.
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​So if you grow your own tomatoes or if tomatoes are really cheap, here's something you might like to try that my family loves.

Recipe

​Tomato Sauce using 2kg tomatoes:
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 medium sized onions, finely chopped
1 red capsicum, diced
5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/4 bunch parsley leaves, chopped, to taste
1.3kg ripe roma tomatoes, peeled
500g ripe cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 bunch basil leaves, leaves torn, to taste
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, extra
1 fresh bay leaf
1 teaspoon vegeta
Salt and pepper, to taste

Tomato Sauce using 5.5kg tomatoes:
300ml extra virgin olive oil
5 x 200g onions, finely chopped
2 red capsicums, diced
1 whole head garlic, finely chopped
4.5kg roma tomatoes, peeled
1.2kg cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cup basil leaves, firmly packed, to taste
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, extra
2 teaspoons vegeta
Salt and pepper, to taste

Tomato Sauce using 7kg tomatoes:
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
8 medium sized onions, finely chopped
3 red capsicums, diced
2 carrots, peeled, finely diced​
3 sticks celery, finely diced
1 garlic head, finely chopped
1/2 bunch parsley leaves, chopped, to taste
7kg roma tomatoes, peeled
1/2 bunch basil leaves, leaves torn, to taste
1 cup extra virgin olive oil, extra
3 fresh bay leaf
1 heaped tablespoon vegeta
Salt and pepper, to taste
​
Now although the ingredient lists differ, slightly, the method is pretty much the same. Depending which ingredient list you choose, some things you will need in the method, some you won't. Ignore the ingredients you are not using.

Peel roma tomatoes: Put a large pot of water over high heat, bring to the boil. 
Score a small cross into the top of the tomato.  Once your water comes to the boil, turn off the heat. Place tomatoes, in batches, in the boiling water, allow to sit for 30 seconds to a minute, then remove from the water and peel away the skin. It should come off easily. Remove the bit where the stem was connected, my mum always does, but it is optional.

In a large bowl, that will fit all of your tomatoes, use your hands to crush the tomatoes, this will break up your tomatoes and remove the liquid. Do not throw out the liquid. Place the crushed tomatoes into this bowl after they are crushed.

You do not need to peel cherry tomatoes.

​Add oil to a large saucepan, it needs to cover the base of your pot. Place over a medium heat. Add onion, capsicum, carrot and celery, sauté for 5 minutes, stirring regularly. Add garlic and parsley, continue to sauté until the vegetables have softened, about a further 4-5 minutes.

When the vegetables have softened, add in the crushed tomatoes, but not the liquid, at this stage, the cherry tomatoes and the basil. Stir through to combine.​ Add in the extra oil, stir through. Simmer about 10 minutes, stirring regularly.

Add in the reserved tomato juices now, the bay leaf and vegeta, season with salt and pepper, to taste. Stir to combine. Cover with a lid, bring to a simmer and simmer for 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. After this time, remove the lid and continue to cook for a further 1 to 1 1/2 hours until the sauce is cooked to your liking. My mum says a sauce is not done until the oil appears on the surface.

Remove all the bay leaves. Using a stick blender, blitz until thickened to your liking. If your sauce seems too watery, just continue to cook it uncovered, stirring, until it has thickened to your liking.
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Serve immediately over cooked pasta. Leftover sauce, ​we freeze, I place the quantities I need in snap lock bags and freeze them until I need them.
Enjoy!
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To save the recipe to your favourites go to www.whatscookingella.com/baba-katas-pasta-sauce.html 
Pin it: www.pinterest.com.au/pin/399413060715917127/
​​​​​​​​If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment below or take a photo and tag me on Instagram or Twitter with #whatscookingella
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Polish Szarlotka

28/1/2023

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​We are in Poland for Our Eating Around the World Adventure and today I made this Polish Szalotka-Apple Pie.

This is fabulous. This is so easy to make and tastes so good. I will call this my favourite Apple Pie. I love my other apple pies, but this one, this one is special.

The dough is the best, it's is easy to make, no rolling pin needed. If you don't have a pastry cutter, I say get one, but if you don't want to, you can mix the ingredients with your fingers, it's that easy, pastry cutter is just cleaner. The flavour of the dough is just delicious. It crisps up beautifully to.

The apple filling is just sliced apples with cinnamon, can't get easier than that.

This adventure we are on where we randomly pick a country and cook food from that country is the best thing we have done. We have found recipes and flavours that we would never have tried if it wasn't for this.

With the apples you will need about 1kg which is 5-6 apples. I used 5 1/2, as that is all I could fit in the pastry nicely. If by chance you get to your 5th apple and you can't fit any more apples into your pie crust, level. keep piling the apples but stay away from the sides, the apples can go on to form a dome shape on the top. 

This a new cook or experienced cooks dream, an easy pie recipe that comes together quickly and easily. It looks and tastes amazing.

Recipe

​Recipe adapted from polishhousewife.com/ 

Serves 8

Pie crust:
250g plain flour
200g caster sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
125g unsalted butter
1 egg
2 egg yolks

Filling:
about 1kg Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and sliced
1/2-1 teaspoon cinnamon, to taste
​
Preheat oven to 180 C/160C fan forced.

Combine the flour, sugar, and baking powder in a large bowl. Ad the butter. Cut in the butter (with a pastry cutter or rub into flour with fingers) until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs.
Work in the egg and the egg yolks, the dough will be crumbly, cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Line the base of a 22cm springform tin. Spray the sides with cooking oil spray.

Reserve 1/3 of the crust, set aside. Press the remaining 2/3 of the crust into a 22cm springform pan, covering the bottom and the sides. You need to come up the sides by about 3-4cm.

I tend to work with one apple at a time. Peel, core and thinly slice your apple, add to the pan, piling them up kind of neatly, so more can fit into your pie, sprinkling each layer with a little cinnamon. I don't measure the cinnamon, it's to taste, a light sprinkle on each layer. Keep peeling, coring and slicing your apples and layering until no more can fit into your pie crust. 

Crumble the remaining 1/3 of the crust and sprinkle over the apples. It won't cover it completely.

Bake for about 50 minutes, until crust is lightly brown and the apples are tender, if it seems to be getting brown before the apples are tender, loosely tent with aluminium foil.
Enjoy!
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To save the recipe to your favourites go to www.whatscookingella.com/polish-szarlotka.html 
Pin it: www.pinterest.com.au/pin/399413060715899570/
​​​​​​​If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment below or take a photo and tag me on Instagram or Twitter with #whatscookingella
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Blueberry Custard Pie

28/1/2023

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​Our Eating Around the World Adventure has taken us to Finland. Today I made this Mustikkapiirakka-Blueberry Custard Pie and it was delicious.

This is possibly the easiest pie I have ever made, it comes together in minutes. You have this crazy easy crust to make, that is unlike any other pie crust I have ever made, and the custard filling is made with sour cream and is scented with lemon and packed with blueberries, it's so good.

This food adventure we are on is the best thing we could have done, we are now on our 19th country and have tried so many things which we would never have tried had we not started this. Ideally I would love to travel to these countries, but for now, this is the next best thing, and we are loving it.

Now a few notes. The original recipe used only one cup flour, when I did this, my mixture was too wet. If it's too wet, there is no chance I am going to be able to make it go up the sides of my baking dish. So I add in another 1/3 cup flour, and now when I pressed the dough into my pie dish, it stayed where I put it. Also after I press the crust into the pie dish, I refrigerate it for about 10 minutes, just to let it harden, a little, then I press it again, and it is perfect and ready to be filled.

Also from the original recipe, it stated one cup sour cream. As our sour cream comes in 300ml containers, I just added the whole lot and it worked perfectly. But if you have some sour cream in the refrigerator that you used a small amount for something else, you can use 250ml of sour cream instead of the 300ml.

I don't really measure the blueberries, I add in roughly 1/2 cup into the filling, then to the base of the pie, I add enough to cover the base, with a few more extra to add a second layer.

Mine needed to bake for 35 minutes to make sure the pie crust cooks through, but as every oven is different, check it at 30 minutes.

Allowing the pie to cool on your bench, before refrigerating, will help it not crack. But if it cracks, a little, don't stress, it will taste great anyway.


Now the pie is made with blueberries, but I do something similar in a slice form. My Berry Custard Slice, is delicious and I make it with mixed berries and it works perfectly. So I might even try this pie with other berries, if I have them in the refrigerator and I feel like this pie.

This an easy and delicious blueberry pie recipe, something that you really need to try.

Recipe

​Recipe adapted from foreignfork.com/

Serves 6-8

Pie Crust:
113g butter, melted
⅔ cup sugar
1 egg
1 ⅓ cup plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Filling:
1 ½-2 cup blueberries
300ml sour cream
¼ cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Zest of one lemon
​
Preheat your oven to 190C/170C fan forced.

Use a whisk to combine the butter and the sugar in a bowl.

Add the egg and whisk again.

Using a wooden spoon, mix in one cup of the flour, baking powder, and vanilla. Now if the dough is thick enough that when you put it in the pie dish, it will stay up the sides of the dish and not slide down, don't add any more flour, if it feels too wet, add in the remaining 1/3 cup flour.

Spray a 22cm (base measurement) glass pie dish with cooking spray. Use a spatula (or your hands) to spread the pie crust over the bottom of the pan and up the sides, it needs to be quite thin, as it won't bake properly if it is thick, especially on the base. Make sure the pie crust goes up the side of the pie dish so that it can hold the custard. Make a nice even top edge to the pastry. Refrigerate for 10 minutes, while you make the filling.

For the filling, add the sour cream, sugar, egg, vanilla extract and lemon zest into a mixing bowl. Whisk until combined Then, use a spoon to mix in approximately ½ cup of blueberries into the filling.

Take your pie crust out of the refrigerator, it should have hardened a little, if you have any uneven, lumpy bits, press them down now, it will be easier. Sprinkle the remaining approximately one cup of blueberries over the crust. Pour the filling mixture over the blueberries.

Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the crust is brown and cooked through and the custard is mostly set, remember it will firm up as it cools. 

Leave the pie on the counter to cool, this will help it stop cracking. You can eat it at room temperature, but as I like custard cold, once it cools, I place it in the refrigerator for 2 hours then enjoy it cold.
Enjoy!
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To save the recipe to your favourites go to www.whatscookingella.com/blueberry-custard-pie.html 
Pin it: www.pinterest.com.au/pin/399413060715898340/
​​​​​​If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment below or take a photo and tag me on Instagram or Twitter with #whatscookingella
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Tiramisu with Frangelico

21/1/2023

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​We all know by now that Tiramisu translates as 'pick me up'. It's a classic dessert, it's simple to make, it looks amazing, and it's delicious.

I recently tried this version of the tiramisu at my Goddaughters house, she made it and we all loved the flavour. Now Gino uses Amaretto (I don't like amaretto, at all), so when my goddaughter used frangelico instead (which I love), I thought this would be great. Well one bite in and I loved it.

So for New Years Day this year, I thought I'd give it a go myself. Now I will say, the flavour was delicious, but it was not perfect, it was a little wet, a little soggy, a bit too creamy. What went wrong, reason number one, I didn't really follow the recipe properly, I didn't beat the double cream. I thought it was thick enough, but it wasn't, so the mascarpone mixture didn't set properly. Second reason, which I have found out recently, mascarpone brands matter. Normally I have never bought the Woolworths (or Coles) or any other generic brand of mascarpone, but have you ever tried to find mascarpone cheese around Christmas time, it is impossible to find, it's always sold out. So when I finally found the Woolworths brand I grabbed it. Well I have since found out these generic brands of mascarpone are too thin and won't set, and that's why my cream layer was too thin and didn't set. So as I loved the flavour, I needed to make it again.
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My first attempt, you can see the liquid in the base, the flavour was great, but it just wasn't perfect.
Now one more thing I found with my first attempt is there is a lot of cream here to biscuit ratio. So I either needed to make it in a bigger dish, or I needed to go up a layer. I chose to go up an extra layer of biscuits. So if you like, you can make two layers of the tiramisu, I would just choose a larger dish, or you need a deep dish that will allow for three layers.

Now my second attempt was perfect, the cream mixture set, I had a better cream to biscuit ratio and the flavour was amazing. I could actually get a nice slice out of the tiramisu, not that it matters, as I usually serve it like a trifle where you just dollop it on your plate with a spoon, but if you wanted to slice it, you could. But, although the tiramisu was perfect, the two photos I took of the tiramisu, were blurry.

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​So today I am making my third attempt at this tiramisu, fingers crossed, all goes well with it.

Now lets talk liqueurs, I love Frangelico, it’s a hazelnut flavoured liquor. I also love Kahlua or Baileys, which are coffee flavoured. Other options: which I haven't tried but could work is Croatian Rum (it's fabulous in desserts, brandy or Marsala. Use what you love. You could even make it alcohol free and use hot chocolate, or vanilla extract to flavour the coffee.

Tip: The tiramisu needs to be covered and refrigerated for a few hours. In my baking dish this tiramisu goes all the way to the top, if I covered it directly, when I took off the cling film, it would take off some of my cream. So what I do is, I break two chops sticks in half (I always save the chop sticks I get with sushi, as I use my hands normally at home or we use our own 'fancy' chopsticks I bought) and poke them in near the corners of the tiramisu. Then I cover the tiramisu over those sticks and my cream is untouched. I'd rather have four small holes, than my whole cream ruined. You can see the holes in one of the photos below.

This is a great dessert to serve at parties, because you can make it in advance, it's quick to make, it feeds many and it's delicious. It's time you give this a try.

Recipe

​Recipe adapted from Gino D'Acampo's cookbook 'Gino's Italian Coastal Escape'

Serves 8-10

350ml cold strong black coffee, preferably
espresso
150ml frangelico (hazelnut liqueur)
200ml double cream
5 medium eggs, separated
6 tablespoons caster sugar
500g mascarpone cheese
50 Savoiardi sponge fingers (ladyfingers)
Cocoa powder for dusting


Put the coffee in a medium bowl and stir in 4 tablespoons of the frangelico. Set aside.

Pour the cream into a medium bowl and whip until thick enough to just hold its shape and form soft peaks. Set aside.

Place the egg yolks and sugar in a large bowl and whisk using a balloon whisk (or electric hand held mixer) for about 5 minutes until thick and pale. Add the mascarpone and beat thoroughly. Gently fold in the whipped cream and remaining frangelico.

Put the egg whites in a separate bowl and with clean beaters, whisk with an electric hand whisk on full speed until they form stiff peaks. Using a metal spoon, gently fold one third of the egg whites into the mascarpone mixture until well blended. Fold in the remaining egg whites in 2 stages. Set aside.

Dip one of the biscuits in the coffee for 2 seconds (no longer) and place it in the bottom of a 20 x 30 x 7cm ceramic dish, with the sugar-side facing upwards. Repeat until the bottom of the dish is covered with half the biscuits.

Spread a third of the mascarpone mixture over the biscuits,  then cover with another layer of the biscuits dipped in coffee. Spread with half of the remaining mascarpone mixture, then cover with another layer of the  biscuits dipped in coffee. Spread the remaining mascarpone mixture on top and smooth the surface using a palette knife.

Cover with cling film and refrigerate for 3 hours.

Just before serving, remove the cling film and dust with cocoa powder.
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​Now either slice and serve the tiramisu or you can get a spoon and dollop out your serves, like you would with a trifle.
Enjoy!
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To save the recipe to your favourites go to www.whatscookingella.com/tiramisu-with-frangelico.html 
Pin it: www.pinterest.com.au/pin/399413060715835663/
​​​​​If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment below or take a photo and tag me on Instagram or Twitter with #whatscookingella
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Tomato Egg Drop Soup

14/1/2023

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​I love when you find a recipe, by chance, and it turns out far greater than you ever expected. The ones that you find just because you need to use up an ingredient in the house. In this instance that ingredient was the tomato.

I had four tomatoes that were not at their peak, slightly over ripe, you could still eat them, but I felt they were now better to use cooked than eaten fresh. I wanted to make a soup, I wanted it to be an Asian style soup, as following the soup would be a stir fry. I wanted it to be easy to make.

I came across this one, saw the ingredients list and questioned if we'd like it. But after looking at a few more recipes, I came back to this one because it was quick, it was easy to make, I had all the ingredients at home and most importantly, it was an egg drop soup.

Was I completely blown away by this soup, I was, it was delicious. My current favourite thing are egg drop soups, I absolutely love them. The eggs strips formed when you slowly drizzle egg into a hot soup, which replace noodles, I think is fabulous.

Now I love it with the shallots and coriander in it, while some of my family preferred it without, so that is up to you whether you add it or not.

If you are looking for a quick, easy and tasty soup idea for dinner, look no further.

Recipe

Recipe adapted from thewoksoflife.com/

Serves 4-5

2 tablespoons oil
4 medium tomatoes, about 560g, roughly chopped
2 cups chicken stock
4 cups water
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
½ teaspoon white pepper
Salt, to taste
2-3 eggs, beaten
3 teaspoons cornflour
2 shallots, finely sliced, optional
4 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh coriander, optional



Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the tomato chunks and stir-fry for 5 minutes until the tomatoes are softened and start to fall apart.

Add in the chicken stock, water, light soy sauce, sesame oil, ground white pepper and salt to taste. Bring to a boil, and then lower the heat so that the soup is simmering with the lid on. Simmer for 30 minutes.

Now you don’t have to, but I blitzed the soup with a stick blender, because my son wanted me to.

Now quickly beat the egg in a small bowl and in another bowl, whisk together the cornflour and water.

Use a spoon slowly swirl the soup in a whirlpool motion. Keep swirling as you pour in the cornflour mixture, until well incorporated. 

Now pour a thin stream of egg into the middle of the whirlpool as you slowly swirl the egg into the soup. This is how you get that pretty egg drop effect.
​

Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with chopped scallions and cilantro, if using. Serve hot.
Enjoy!
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To save the recipe to your favourites go to www.whatscookingella.com/tomato-egg-drop-soup.html 
Pin it: www.pinterest.com.au/pin/399413060715774621/
​​​​If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment below or take a photo and tag me on Instagram or Twitter with #whatscookingella
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    I am simply someone who loves to cook, and loves seeing my family and friends enjoy my food.

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