the BEST EASIEST PASTA you ever ate

well, as promised and after each of you have their own dried-tomato jar just waiting to be eaten in the fridge, here a recipe for the best and easiest past you ever ate. Its low fat, and uses only stuff you already have in your fridge (one of them being dried tomatoes, which are a must).

Dried tomatoes, mushrooms and onions pasta
you will need:
a handful of  dried tomatoes
a handful of black greek olives
4 garlic cloves
1 onion
12 nice mushrooms
~20gr Brinza cheese (salty, sheep milk cheese, comes in blocks)
half a pack (250gr) short pasta

*needless to say, all the amounts are only a recommendation and you can add or subtract anything.




What you do:

1. While you boil water for the pasta (with a spoon of salt, no oil), chop the onions and the garlic. keep them separate.
2. Cut the mushrooms into thin slices, or into 1/8 if you prefer them more bulky.
3. By now, the water should have boiled. put the pasta in.
4. Heat a deep pan with some of the tomatoes olive oil. Put the garlic in first, and after 30seconds, put in the onion. Make sure the garlic doesn't burn, or it will taste bitter.
5. Take out as many dried tomatoes as you like; chop them coarsely.
6. Remove the olive pit from your olives, and cut them coarsely too.
7. When the onions are slightly golden, add the mushrooms. you can add some black pepper and nutmeg. DONT add salt.

8. Cut the Brinza. 
9. When the mushrooms turned soft, add the chopped tomatoes and olives to the pan. let it sit for a few minutes, in the mean time, take the pasta off the stove. drain the water; DON'T wash the pasta. put some olive oil on it, and stir. add the pasta to the pan, and let it sit. don't forget to stir. add the Brinza and some fresh, basil leaves. Stir some more, until the cheese starts to melt. 
10. Serve hot, or cold (: 

BE-TE-AVON!! (Hebrew for bon apetit!)

Tasty (and healthy) Cooking: sweet potatos dough with leek and mushrooms

As I've recently fallen in love with "the Gourmet Cookbook for a Healthy Life" by Rani Polak, I've decided to share my version of one of the recipes presented in this wonderful book for grater good.
enjoy!


"Crispy" Yams dough filled with leek and mushrooms

this recipe will generate one roll, enough for 4 people as a starter.

Estimated preparation time:
filling preparation: ~20 min
dough mixing, shaping: ~30min
bake: ~20min

ingredients:
dough:
5 spoons medium sized well cooked yam, mashed (about 1 medium sized yam).
115g white flour
115g whole wheat flour
1tbs baking powder
1/2 tbs salt

3 spoons Orange guice
1.5 spoons Olive oil
1.5 spoons Canola oil
1 medium sized egg, for brushing
1tbs Nigella seeds, for decoration

filling:
1 pack of fresh mushrooms
1/2 a stem of leek
1 spoon olive oil
salt, pepper

Method:

1. Start with cooking the yam until it softens (I do it in the microwave)
2. Prepare the filling: slice leek and mushrooms into thin slices. 
3. In a pan, heat up olive oil and fry the leek until golden, add the mushrooms. garlic is a good addition, also thyme. once the mushrooms had softened, correct seasoning and cool.
4. In a separate bowl, mix flowers, baking powder and salt. 
5. Add oils and orange juice and mix to form a sandy texture. 
6. Add the yams and knead only until the ingredients form a consistent dough, avoid over-kneading.
7. Heat up an oven to 180C. 
8. Flatten the dough on a flowered counter to form a rectangle about 0.5cm thick. 
9. Filter the filling from access fluids, and spread across the long side of the rectangle. 
10. Roll into a cylinder, brush with the egg and bake for 15-20 min, or until golden. 
11. Cool and slice to ~2.5cm slices.