Polenta Cakes with Mozzarella and Mediterranean Spices

If you like polenta, you are almost certain to love my polenta cakes with mozzarella and Mediterranean spices. With their Mediterranean flavour, perfect crust, heavenly dried tomatoes, and melted parmesan, they are quite amazing.

I shaped my polenta cakes in my silicone baking mold. It worked great. Each mold has a hole in the middle, which is perfect for stuffing it with the filling made of chopped dried tomatoes, olives, and mozzarella cheese. If you don’t have a baking mold like that and would like to try this recipe, don’t worry. Instead of pouring polenta into cake molds, you can pour your mixture into a square pan, smooth the surface and let cool, and place it in the fridge for a few hours. Place the cooled polenta on a flat surface and cut it into equal squares or triangles. Place the polenta pieces in an oiled baking pan and top them with the olive, dried tomato, and mozzarella mixture.

Polenta Cakes with Mozzarella and Mediterranean Spices

Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

40 mins

Total time

1 hour

Serves: 6

Ingredients

2 cups (1/2 liter) water
⅘ cup (about 125 g) polenta
1 organic bouillon cube
Thyme
Oregano
2,5 oz (about 70 g) mozzarella cheese
1 oz (about 30 g) parmesan cheese
0,7 oz (about 20 g) chopped olives
0,7 oz (about 20 g) dried tomatoes

Instructions

Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add a bouillon cube, oregano and thyme. Gradually whisk in the polenta. Reduce the heat to low and cook until the mixture thickens and the polenta is tender. Stir constantly. If you use instant polenta, it will be cooked in about 4 minutes, while regular polenta will need about 15 minutes. Remove from heat.
Pour the polenta into silicone cake molds and let cool completely. Place a flat board on top of the mold, then turn it upside down and remove the mold.
Place polenta cakes on the baking sheet and top them with chopped dried tomatoes, olives, and parmesan cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 to 20 minutes.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 86 Fat: 4 g Carbohydrates: 6 g Fiber: 1 g Protein: 6 g

Polenta Cakes with Mozzarella and Mediterranean Spices

Raw Mango Pistachio Cake with Saffron

I’m a complete failure when it comes to raw desserts. I have decent skills in the kitchen, and I usually don’t have any problems with cooking and baking anything. I rarely make an inedible disaster, but with raw cakes, I tend to mess up big time. I tried it many times, and no matter how precisely I followed the recipe, the cake just didn’t come out right. I mean the desserts usually tasted all right, but the consistency was not very cake-like. It was more like something you would eat with a spoon from a bowl. Somehow, I have always managed to make a filling that wasn’t thick enough. My last attempt looked like one giant bowl of thick smoothie. Usually all the raw cake recipes say to presoak nuts and dried fruit in water, but that has never, ever worked out for me. I’m not trying to say that all the raw cake recipes are wrong – just that I have had no success with them.

Then, the other day, I finally got it right! And the trick was that I used dry nuts. I didn’t soak them in the water at all, instead I just blended them dry. So, raw pistachio mango cake with saffron is my first raw cake that I can actually call a cake. And it was fantastic, which is why I think it’s really worth sharing this recipe. Mango pairs perfectly with pistachios and saffron, giving it a fantastic color and a hint of an exotic taste. Feel free to substitute mango for any other fruit you like.

4.0 from 1 reviews

Raw Mango Pistachio Cake

Prep time

40 mins

Total time

40 mins

Author: Dasha

Recipe type: Raw Cake

Cuisine: Vegan

Serves: 16

Ingredients

For the crust
½ cup (about 75 g) cashew nuts
1 cup (about 100 g) pistachios
⅝ cup (about 110 g) dates, pitted
½ cup (about 50 g) finely ground coconut flour
For the filling
2 mangos, pitted and diced
1 teaspoon saffron (optional)
3 cups (about 450 g) cashew nuts
5 tbsp honey
½ cup (about 50 g) coconut flour
1 cup (about 210 g) coconut butter

Instructions

Place cashews and pistachios in the food processor or in a powerful blender and process until finely ground. Transfer the pistachio-cashew flour into a big bowl. Add coconut flour and mix well.
Place dates in the blender or food processor and blend until the mixture has the consistency of paste.
Mix the date paste with the ground pistachios and the ground coconut flour. Mix well, until the mixture is smooth and holds together.
Press mixture evenly into the bottom of a 9" (22 cm) springform pan.
For the filling, blend mangos, honey, and saffron together until a thick smoothie consistency is achieved. Transfer into a bowl.
Grind cashews in the blender or food processor. Add finely ground coconut flour.
Mix the cashew-coconut flour with the mango-saffron mixture. Combine well. You can do this in a blender or in a bowl using a spatula. Taste and adjust the sweetness by adding more honey as needed.
Pour the filling into the crust. Smooth with a spoon.
Keep in the refrigerator overnight or put in the freezer for a couple hours before serving.
Decorate with crushed pistachios and saffron.

Nutrition Information

Serving size: 1 piece Calories: 422 Fat: 30 Carbohydrates: 32 Fiber: 5 Protein: 9

Grilled Zucchini Rolls with Feta and Mint

Do you need an idea for an appetizer that is easily thrown together, but still delicious and attractive? I think I can help. You really must try these fantastic grilled zucchini rolls with feta and mint. They look kind of fancy, but they are really not hard to make. Plus they are healthy! Zucchini provides some great health benefits due to being an excellent source of manganese and a very good source of vitamin C and antioxidants.

If you intend to make them for a party, make sure you make plenty. There is a good chance of them being a hit and running out quickly.
The filling is a mixture of feta, nuts, seeds, and fresh mint. I used pine nuts and sunflower seeds. Pine nuts are a little on the expensive side, and if you don’t want to spend too much money, you can use just sunflower seeds and skip the pine nuts completely. Fresh mint gives this filling its very unique fresh and delightful flavor. If you don’t like the taste of mint, you can replace it with fresh basil. If you can’t find fresh herbs right now or you just want to make the process even easier, here is an alternative way to make a filling. Simply place feta cheese in the food processor with store-bought pesto and process until fully combined. If you would like a vegan version, you can substitute the feta with more sunflower seeds and pine nuts.

Grilled Zucchini Rolls with Feta and Mint

Prep time

40 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

1 hour

Ingredients

3 zucchini
1 tbsp olive oil
2⅕ oz (about 70 grams) feta cheese
⅕ cup (about 30 grams) sunflower seeds
⅕ cup (about 30 grams) pine nuts
1 clove garlic
2 tbsp freshly chopped mint

Instructions

Slice the zucchini lengthwise using a mandolin. Drizzle each zucchini strip with olive oil on both sides.
Place on a preheated grill for about 2-4 minutes each side or until tender. You can use a grill pan, if you don't have an access to a grill. Remove the zucchini from the grill and let them cool completely.
Meanwhile, place pine nuts, sunflower seeds, and feta cheese in the food processor and process until fully incorporated and smooth.
Spread about one teaspoon of the mixture across each strip of zucchini and roll it up.

Grilled Zucchini Rolls with Feta and Mint

Healthy Banana Coconut Ice Cream

It’s autumn, and it’s almost freezing outside, but I still crave ice cream on a regular basis. As the ice cream junkie I am, I always want ice cream no matter the season. It’s one of my favorite things. However, since I try to avoid trans-fats and refined sugar (which, to my regret, abound in store-bought ice cream), I am always on the lookout for new ideas to make awesome healthy alternatives for delicious sweet treats. I often make healthy ice cream in my blender.

I have tried many different combinations, but my latest experiment really came out great, so I thought it would be worthwhile sharing.

If you regularly hunt for healthy recipes, there’s a good chance you already tried a one-ingredient banana ice cream. If you haven’t already you simply must make it. I make it regularly and I always play with different toppings and flavors. I love it, because it’s creamy. The consistency is just like real ice cream, but without all the unwanted sugars and trans-fats. And for me, one of the winners is without a doubt this healthy banana coconut ice cream with a combination of chocolate and hazelnuts.

Healthy Banana Coconut Ice Cream

Prep time

10 mins

Total time

10 mins

Recipe type: Dessert

Serves: 3

Ingredients

3 ripe and sweet bananas
¼ cup finely ground coconut flour
30 g dark chocolate
2 tbsp chopped hazelnuts

Instructions

Peel the bananas and cut them into small pieces.
Put bananas into freezer for at least 2 hours.
Place the frozen bananas into food processor or a high speed blender. It’s easier to make it in a powerful blender, but if you don’t have it, using a food processor is a good alternative.
Add a finely ground coconut flour and blend, until coconut flour and banana ice cream are combined completely and you get a creamy ice cream texture.
Serve with melted dark chocolate and chopped hazelnuts.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 224 Fat: 8 Carbohydrates: 37 Fiber: 7 Protein: 4

Quinoa Stuffed Dolmas

Dolma is a common dish in the Middle East and some other regions including the Balkans, Central Asia and Russia. It is made of grape or cabbage leaves that are rolled around a filling. The filling is usually made of rice and vegetables, or minced meat. Dolmas can be served both warm and cold.
A few times a year, I make dolmas with grape leaves. They are really something special and amazing, but a little more time consuming to make (although not very complicated).
Of course, you will need some grape leaves to make this dish. You can buy them in a jar or use them fresh, but don’t be too worried about preparing fresh leaves for dolmas. It’s quite easy; the only thing you have to do is to blanch them, which will take you just a few minutes.

Wash them and trim the stems. Then bring water to boil, place leaves in the pot and cook them for a few minutes. Drain them and then leave them to cool. If you decide to make dolmas with fresh leaves, make sure that you pick them from an unsprayed vineyard. In addition, you must only pick young leaves otherwise they will be a bit chewy.
Traditionally, dolmas are made with rice, but I wanted to add a little twist so I used quinoa instead.
My version is vegetarian – actually vegan – but fill free to add meat if you wish. You can play with almost any vegetable, rice or meat you like to make a filling – it’s almost impossible to make it wrong. The only thing you have to be careful with is ensuring that you don’t overstuff the leaves with too much filling. To help facilitate the process, here is a little photo collage on how to roll them together.

Quinoa Stuffed Dolmas

Prep time

30 mins

Cook time

1 hour

Total time

1 hour 30 mins

Author: Dasha

Serves: 4

Ingredients

20 blanched vine leaves
1 onion
1 cup of shredded cabbage
1 tbs of chopped fresh mint
1.4 teaspoon allspice
1.2 teaspoon of cinnamon
Juice of one lemon
1 cup of quinoa
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt to taste
2 cups of water

Instructions

In a saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add onions. When translucent add shredded cabbage. Cook until tender than add mint, allspice, cinnamon, salt and quinoa. Mix well and cook for 5 minutes. Cool down
Take one grape leaf and place it on the clean and flat surface. Place a teaspoon of filling in the bottom of the leaf. Fold the sides inwards and then roll the leaf.
Repeat until you run out of the mixture and leafs.
Spread dolmas tightly side by side in pot. Place a plate on top to prevent them from moving while cooking.
Cover with water and juice of one lemon and bring to boil.
Cook on the light heat for about 45 to 60 minutes until water is absorbed. Be careful not to burn them.
Place on the serving dish and eat hot or cooled.

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