Tag: hazelnut

Kwarezimal… again and perfect!

A few months ago I made Kwarezimal and posted the recipe. Kwarezimal are these Maltese vegan treats usually for easter that we had in Valetta last year when visiting. My first attempt at recreating these delicious sweets was tasty but I wasn’t quite happy. The recipe posted reflected the slight modifications needed to improve it but I haven’t tested it fully: a little overcooked and not enough moist from the honey. Also a slightly too strong taste of almond compared to what I wanted and the other ingredients. As these treats are rather rich and nourishing they are perfect in winter with a hot tea after working outside in the cold in the garden or after playing tennis, or both. So I decided to prepare them when the thermometer hit the 5degrees in the house in the morning. What best than working in the kitchen near the oven while the house warms up. I used the recipe posted earlier this year with a few modifications in the process, the shaping (made a smaller double bite size, faster cooking) and the topping: honey dip + hazelnut + pistachio. And made one slight change in the ingredients amount: double tap of cocoa powder. So here is the new recipe. To be honest it was perfectly delicious. Hard to stop eating them!!!

Kwarezimal (makes 18 double-bite size pieces)

  • 150g of almond powder (or hazelnut powder)
  • 100g of flour
  • 60g of brown sugar
  • 1tsp of orange blossom flower
  • 2tsp of cocoa powder
  • 1tsp of cinnamon
  • 1tsp of clove
  • 1/2tsp of cardamom
  • the zest of half an orange or any other citrus fruit (I used yuzu this time)
  • a bit of water

For the topping:

  • a small handful of pistachios
  • a small handful of hazelnuts
  • 3tbp of fragrant honey

Pre-heat the oven to 180 while mixing all the ingredients (but those for the topping) together. Add a bit of water and knead until you obtain a dense but not sticky dough.

Roll the dough to a 5-7mm thick and cut the double-bite size with a shape or with a knife. Other option is to take small balls and shape them the way you want. A flat surface is better for the topping. Set on cooking paper in the oven for 15minutes.

In the meantime, crush the pistachios and hazelnuts of the topping, and set in the plate. In another plate a bit deep, put the honey. As soon as the Kwarezimal are baked and out of the oven, flip a few of them in the plate with the honey, and leave for a couple of minutes. Then dip the sticky side in the pistachio-hazelnut mix and flip on a dish or back on the cooking paper, repeat with the others and let cool down before enjoying!!

Kumquat and mackerel pasta

This recipe is inspired by my Sicilian cookbook and I wanted to make it auite sometime ago but I couldn’t find the proper fresh fish. Not the right season. But I finally got it!!! The recipe works with anchovies, sardines or little mackerels (what I got). I used fish prepared for sashimi so it’s very easy to make. The original recipe used some chapelure (dry bread crumbs, or panko) but instead I used hazelnut powder. The spinach and pasta are my addition too. 

Kumquat and makerel rolls: 

– 5 to 10 anchovies, sardines or little mackerels (鯵-アジ)  depending on the size

– 10 wooden toothpicks  

– 4 tbs of hazelnut powder

– olive oil for the cooking

Wash the kumquats and cut the stem and bottom. Wash and prepare the fish in filets. Roll the filets around the kumquats and fix with a toothpick. Depending on the size of the filets you may need 1 or 2 to wrap the whole fruit. Put the hazelnut powder in a small dish and roll the fish in. In a heated and olive oil greased frypan cook until almost golden. Serve like this, or as I did with pasta, spinach…

Green, green, green

Spring is really here and with it all the delicious greens. This week-end I packed up in fresh greens and couldn’t wait too cook them!  

Horse beans and two kinds of snap peas
Horse beans and two kinds of snap peas

Days are getting warmer but nights are still cool, so with the horse beans I decided to make a little soup with roasted hazelnuts. The snap peas I just steamed them. And I served that with a cheese and oat bran muffins.

Oat bran muffins, snap peas and horse bean soup with grilled hazelnuts
Oat bran muffins, snap peas and horse bean soup with grilled hazelnuts

For the soup (vegan) it’s a little of work because first you need to shell the horse beans, boil them a few minutes, then remove the thick and hard skin. The benefit for doing that is quite simple: you obtain a very creamy soup that doesn’t need to go through the blender. After that I added just a little of salt snd pepper and finished with a little of corn starch. I opted for no consommé or what so ever to keep the subtle taste if the beans. Served topped with some chopped and riasted hazelnuts.

For the oat bran muffins (vegetarian), it really simple, I mixed together some flour, oat bran, baking powder, salt, an egg and prepared in individual paper cups. I added the cheese in between two layers of dought to obtain a melting heart, and baked until golden.

Hazelnut cake for weekday's breakfast

Cakes are great for weekday’s breakfast because they last 2 or 3 days, are much more delicious than industrial breads and you can make any variation that pleases you depending on ingredients and season!
I bake a hazelnut simple cake this week. It’s a simple recipe base on yogurt cake but without yogurt. I use almond milk instead.
I mixed some flour, a little brown caster sugar, baking powder, salt, hazelnut powder, 2 eggs, a little of almond milk and a little of oil (sunflower).I mix the whole thing and put in a cake pan for 30minutes at 160deg in the oven. Can’t wait for tomorrow morning!!!

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