Mezze - Daring Cooks

Believe it or not, but I have just put the first pita into the oven right before I started to type! I have never been so late with a challenge like now! I must confess, I was afraid of it. Why? Well, because of the chickpeas. I have tasted them only once in my life and I hated it. Okay, those came out of a can, and ever since then, I didn't bother to try them again. It was definitely a mistake! Thanks to this challenge, I bought them again, of course dried ones this time, and cooked this afternoon. I was absolutely curious about them, so as soon as they were cooked I tried one. Surprsingly, it tasted like chestnut and that strange taste of the canned ones was completly missing! So now I am thrilled about chickpea and can hardly wait to cook all those recipes, I set aside because of them! The 2010 February Daring COOKs challenge was hosted by Michele of Veggie Num Nums. Michele chose to challenge everyone to make mezze based on various recipes from Claudia Roden, Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Dugid. Unfortunatly, you can not even call my completed challenge a mezze, after all it is only the hummus and the pita but both tasted amazing! Thanks for this great challenge!

Pork Satay - Daring Cooks

Time for the first Daring Cooks' Challenge of 2010! We just had it for dinner, but I must say it wasn't my cup of tea. The meat was kind of delicious, but the sauce...well it wasn't mine. Though I do like peanut sauce and I prepare it once in a while according to that pretty old recipe I posted almost 2 years ago. Anyway I am looking forward to the next challenge!


The January 2010 DC challenge was hosted by Cuppy of Cuppylicious and she chose a delicious Thai-inspired recipe for Pork Satay from the book 1000 Recipes by Martha Day.

Salmon en Croûte

The 2009 Daring Cooks challenge was hosted by Simone of Junglefrog Cooking. Simone chose Salmon en Croute (or alternative recipes for Beef Wellington or Vegetable en Croute) from Good Food Online.


I guess I haven't ever prepared a challenge so late like now! Therefore I was quite under pressure and I messed it up a bit, but anyway it was delicious. In fact we just had it for lunch among a white wine sauce with dill. Thanks Simone for the challenge!

Sushi - Daring Cooks

The November 2009 Daring Cooks challenge was brought to you by Audax of Audax Artifex and Rose of The Bite Me Kitchen. They chose sushi as the challenge. I am absolutely not a vegeterian, but because I am against overfishing and (the tuna used for sushi is a big a part of the problem) I decided to go for vegetables.

Vietnamese Chicken Pho - Daring Cooks

This month's challenge was hosted by Jaden of Steamy Kitchen and she picked a recipe for Vietnamese chicken pho and sweet wontons from her new cookbook. We had complete freedom for the filling of the wontons. I decided for a coconut ice cream with chilli among a chocolate sauce flavoured with tamarinde and some caramelised limequats.



For the pho part I decided to go vegeterian. Thanks for this great challenge Jaden!

Indian Dosas - Daring Cooks

This month's challenge was hosted by Debyi of The Healthy Vegan Kitchen and she picked a recipe for Indian Dosas by Ruth Tal. The only requirement was that the dish must be free of animal products and it is 99% oil free. Luckily, we were allowed to use a filling of our choice. As I dislike chickpea I prepared a simple artichoke filling flavoured with fresh basil and some lemon drops. This recipe is definitely a keeper, both for the dosas and the curry sauce.


Dosa Pancakes
1 cup (120g) spelt flour (or all-purpose, gluten free flour)
½ tsp (2½ g) salt
½ tsp (2½ g) baking powder
½ tsp (2½ g) curry powder
½ cup (125ml/4oz) almond milk (or soy, or rice, etc.)
¾ cup (175ml/6oz) water
cooking spray, if needed

Dosa Pancakes
Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl, slowly adding the almond milk and water, whisking until smooth. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Spray your pan with a thin layer of cooking spray, if needed. Ladle 2 tablespoons of batter into the center of your pan in a circular motion until it is a thin, round pancake. When bubbles appear on the surface and it no longer looks wet, flip it over and cook for a few seconds. Remove from heat and repeat with remaining batter. Makes 8 pancakes.

Coconut Curry Sauce
1 onion, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic
½ tsp cumin, ground
¾ tsp sea salt (coarse)
3 TBSP curry powder
3 TBSP spelt flour (or all-purpose GF flour)
3 cups (750ml/24oz) vegetable broth
2 cups (500ml/24oz) coconut milk
3 large tomatoes, diced

Heat a saucepan over medium heat, add the onion and garlic, cooking for 5 minutes, or until soft. Add the spices, cooking for 1 minutes more. Add the flour and cook for 1 additional minute. Gradually stir in the vegetable broth to prevent lumps. Once the flour has been incorporated, add the coconut milk and tomatoes, stirring occasionally.Let it simmer for half an hour.

Chinese potstickers - Daring Cooks

Here it comes! The second Daring Cooks' Challenge by Jen from use real butter. Is there anyone out there who could possibly resist potstickers? I prepared them using Jen's pork filling and the whole bunch was gone in half an hour!


Chinese dumplings/potstickers

pork filling:
1 lb (450g) ground pork
4 large napa cabbage leaves, minced
3 stalks green onions, minced
7 shitake mushrooms, minced
1/2 cup (75g) bamboo shoots, minced
1/4 (55g) cup ginger root, minced
3 tbsp (40g) soy sauce
2 tbsp (28g) sesame oil
2 tbsp (16g) corn starch

dough: (double this for the amount of filling, but easier to make it in 2 batches - or just halve the filling recipe)
2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (113g) warm water
flour for worksurface


In a large bowl mix flour with 1/4 cup of water and stir until water is absorbed. Continue adding water one teaspoon at a time and mixing thoroughly until dough pulls away from sides of bowl. We want a firm dough that is barely sticky to the touch.


Knead the dough about twenty strokes then cover with a damp towel for 15 minutes. Take the dough and form a flattened dome. Cut into strips about 1 1/2 to 2 inches wide. Shape the strips into rounded long cylinders. On a floured surface, cut the strips into 3/4 inch pieces. Press palm down on each piece to form a flat circle (you can shape the corners in with your fingers). With a rolling pin, roll out a circular wrapper from each flat disc. Take care not to roll out too thin or the dumplings will break during cooking - about 1/16th inch. Leave the centers slightly thicker than the edges. Place a tablespoon of filling in the center of each wrapper and fold the dough in half, pleating the edges along one side. Keep all unused dough under damp cloth.


To pan fry (potstickers): Place dumplings in a frying pan with 2-3 tbsp of vegetable oil. Heat on high and fry for a few minutes until bottoms are golden. Add 1/2 cup water and cover. Cook until the water has boiled away and then uncover and reduce heat to medium or medium low. Let the dumplings cook for another 2 minutes then remove from heat and serve.

Zuni Ricotta Gnocchi - Daring Cooks

Drum roll for the first Daring Cooks challenge by Lis and Ivonne! I couldn't help my sweet tooth and served the ricotta gnocchi with lemon sabayon. Unfortunately I had no opportunity to also prepare a savoury bunch, but the recipe is definetly a keeper!