Sweet Potato Pancakes

By Julie

     The weekend is almost here and it deserves a long breakfast with something special - like pancakes. I prefer the French version, the crêpe (sprinkled with sugar and Grand Marnier), whereas my husband indulges his sweet tooth with the thicker American type. And our daughters, well, as long as it has a chocolate covering, they don’t really care about the base. Last week, our eldest daughter and I decided to make sweet potato pancakes to vary a little and here we would like to share this treat with you.

© Diana Chaccour

Turkey and Couscous Burgers with Tzatziki

by Diana

One of my dearest Venezuelan friends comes from a Syrian origin family as I do. When we were at high school one of our hobbies was to make arabic food together, not only to celebrate our family's common culture, which brought us closer of course, but also to exchange recipes from my grandmother's notebook and  from her mum's memory, and sometimes, one of our main motivations, to  try to sell them to her neighbours so we could gather some money to go out! 

The following recipe is one of those that I learnt from her and her mother. It is what I consider a modern version of kibbe or kibbeh -an arabic dish- but in shape of burgers. I had to modify it for many reasons: the original recipe uses wheat instead of couscous, but I only had couscous and it works just fine for this one. I also prefered to use turkey mince because is less greasy than meat mince -in this country-. And I added some extras like mint leaves and sesame seeds, just because I had the creative mood on and couldn't stop. However, it is the same principle that I learnt years ago with my friend, and most importantly, equally delicious! 

I hope you try it at home!

Enjoy!

© Diana Chaccour

Pear and Roquefort Bruschettas

by Diana

Last week, as part of the weekly French class I attend, we watched a video about the process of making Roquefort cheese -or blue cheese, as you Anglo-Saxon people call it-. It is expected of course, that after watching that video at eight in the evening I would end up in the supermarket across the street, buying a good piece of "value" Roquefort -shame on me-. I shared my intentions with one of my classmates, a lovely trustworthy vegetarian young woman, who suggested to prepare my cheese with pears and bake it in the oven. Her expression seemed so pleasurable and gratifying whilst she described me that combination of flavours that I just had to do what she said. So I obeyed her blindly and tried at home this bruschettas that I am now posting here. And if you accompany them with a glass of good red wine -not the "value" one please- you'll have a fully delicious -and almost French- experience. I hope you like it! 

Bon appétit!

© Diana Chaccour

Baked Mascarpone Cheesecake with Passion fruit Syrup

By Diana

From many days now, the idea of making a cheesecake has been settling down in the back of my head. However, I was reluctant to make an ordinary cheesecake covered with the typical raspberry and strawberry coulis, so often found attached to the packages of the ingredients and on those free magazines forgotten in the seats of the underground. I was trying to find a flavour that would surprise my husband -and you guys of course-. So I remembered a few months ago I bought some mascarpone cheese to prepare a recipe, but even though it was strategically hidden in the fridge, a couple of days later I found out that half of it was gone. When I asked my other half about the other half of the cheese he guiltily enough confessed that he enjoyed it one afternoon for snack, accompanied with crackers -strangely adorable-. So I thought, since he loved it so much, why not trying out this cheesecake with mascarpone instead of conventional cream cheese and then cover it with something fantastic.. like.. lets say.. passion fruit! 

Very rustic yet delicious outcome!

Here it is:

© Diana Chaccour

Coriander, Potato and Thyme Soup

By Diana

Yes, I am aware that it has been over a month or so since our last post here at The Teaspoon. The truth is -and my excuse- that December was a very busy period, full of non-cooking-related work and lack of hours for recipe writing, food photography and just general absence of sunlight. We cooked delicious turkeys for Christmas day though, both in London and Pamplona respectively, and we promise to give away those recipes in advance for next Christmas. I know Julie made a 8 kg pork leg for the 1st of January and I shamelessly copied a Nigel Slater Salmon Wellington that left everyone with enough energy to start the new year.  

So here we are back, trying to warm up again with no less than a soup, which hopefully will keep you entertained now that it became too cold to stop leaning at the heater. It is a rewarding coriander, potato and thyme creamy soup, with a touch of lime flavours and garnished with pieces of feta cheese, olive oil and lots of fresh ground pepper.

Hope you enjoy!

© Diana Chaccour

Apple Streusel

by Diana

During many years Venezuela welcomed a significant number of immigrants that contributed to the extensive variety of colours and flavours that can be found today in our country, enhancing its beauty. In the late XIX century a colony of German immigrants, founded a small town in the mountains, called La Colonia Tovar. Nowadays its traditions are still preserved and if you go there, you could find not only the typical German houses but also -and even more important- traditional German food. There are many cafes and restaurants that serve from sausages, spaetzle and pork hock to exquisite cakes and puddings. Furthermore, its location in the mountains favours this tropical German town with a weather cold enough that allows the visitors to enjoy the smell of the smoke in the fireplaces, enriching even more the experience of traveling abroad inside the same country. My husband's favourite form of entertainment while visiting La Colonia Tovar was to go to Cafe Muhstall and to order Apple Streusel. In my ignorance I always thought that apple streusel was the equivalent to apple crumble, which I have made and he has accepted through the years -with inquisitive appraisals-. Only recently I have found out that although similar, the streusel is a different dish, which I adventured myself to make this week. This time he loved it!


I am risking everything here, trying out a german recipe without asking Julie's permision -my very German sister-in-law- I hope she'll be proud! 

© Diana Chaccour

Pan de Jamon

by Diana

One does not realise how important traditions are until the end of the year gets close.  Now that Christmas is looming, I must confess how hard and extremely weird for me it is to witness British getting exited about mince pies, mulled wine and fruity puddings, and it is equally surprising to go to a bakery and find anything but sausage rolls and everyday pastries, and nothing similar to what I traditionally enjoyed buying back home during the festive season. This is why I wanted to share with you today one of our most beloved Venezuelans Christmas dishes: Pan de Jamon. 

Pan de jamon or ham bread, is a soft bread dough stuffed with ham, olives, raisins and sometimes -the best times- bacon and cream cheese. The only thing is that the process of making the dough is a long and exhaustive one and somehow it clashes with the fast rhythm of life of the big city -and by big city I am definitely not referring to Caracas but to agitated London-. Therefore I chose to make Pan de Jamon with puff pastry instead -the most expensive option in Venezuela's market and contrastingly, the cheapest one in London-. It takes about an hour to make and bake and just seconds to enjoy! 

I would like to add here a recent anecdote: I gave a portion of Pan de Jamon to a Scottish young lady I know and although she didn't question its deliciousness, she just couldn't understand the reason for the raisins and she confessed -to my regret- that she left them on the side! Feel free not to include them in your recipe, but please just be adventurous -and a little bit exotic- and give it a try!  

© Diana Chaccour

Peach and Pomegranate Couscous

By Diana

Last week I came back home with a pomegranate in my bag and I started wondering what will be the best way to use it, since I do not have much experience with that fruit, except for my childhood memories. 

My granny used to have a pomegranate tree in her back yard (or probably an overhanging branch from the neighbour's tree with all the fruit). My mum and aunty used to call me excitedly whenever ripe pomegranates were ready to be eaten: "Diaaaaanaaaa, come running". I used to respond quickly to their calls with stunning enthusiasm for many reasons. Firstly, the garden was my adventure playground, my fantasyland and the perfect place to explore and hide. I would often be found riding my tricycle around the patio while pretending to be in one of my adventures. Hearing their calls instantly represented an invitation to include the adults in my playing fantasy. Secondly, for me it was almost a miracle that all those bright blood coloured pearls could be found inside that fruit globe that was hanging unreachably high above my head. This gave me a big sense of achievement!. Back then we didn't make any recipes with the fruits, we just shared the seeds in the garden, being careful of course, not to stain our skirts!

This time I chose to make a couscous with the pomegranate, incorporating peach and some herbs. A very easy and tasteful recipe that I am sure you will enjoy!

© Diana Chaccour

Sesame Cupcakes

By Julie

One of the problems of being a recipe writer is that you use anything resembling note paper to jot down a recipe while you are cooking and baking, thinking “you will have more time to type it in the computer later...”. That can be an empty egg carton or a supermarket receipt. It only becomes a problem, though, if your husband, in the incredibly sweet attempt to help clean the kitchen afterwards, collects everything closely resembling trash and takes it outside before you know what is happening. Not a bad deal though: I get to make them again and my wonderful husband gets paid for his kitchen duty with cupcakes.

Enjoy our sesame cupcakes of the week!

© Diana Chaccour

Marmalade and Mustard Chicken with Creamy Mashed Potato

By Diana

When I was a school girl, I remember we had a carefully designed yet repetitive lunch menu, every week from Monday to Friday. Although I cried out for a change during those years of routine, we had little choice but to stick to what the old man planned; steaks on Mondays; Venezuelan's national dish on Wednesdays - beef skirt, black beans, plantain and rice; fish on Thursdays (which ruined my entire day) and home-made burgers on Fridays. My favourite routine lunch days though were Tuesdays, since this was the only time of the week that we had chicken (and you all know how much I love chicken) especially as it was no ordinary chicken, but my mum's sweet recipe!! Although I would have preferred spontaneity in the lunch menu, the certainty that I was always going to have my mum's chicken on a Tuesday, made it the best day of the entire week for me!! ♥

Now this original recipe calls for guava marmalade. Don't panic! This is the Venezuelan equivalent of British strawberry jam that can be found on offer at every supermarket. However, feel free to use any flavour of your choice. As a side dish I am suggesting a creamy mashed potato with grated cheese. Some people might find the combination of ingredients quite weird! "Marmalade and mustard with chicken? She is probably mistaking her English again" I hear you say, but no; Trust me and just give it a try, as it is fantastic!

© Diana Chaccour

Saffron, Orange Blossom and Caramel Ice-Cream

by Diana

This nuts allergy of mine has become a little bit of an annoying obstacle. Every time I gain courage to buy ice-cream in the supermarket I have to pathetically read the contents and allergy advise, just to discover with disappointment that 90% of the flavours that are object of my affection, contain nuts and traces of nuts. Moreover, to push the limits of my frustration, I have to witness my husband -whose blessed body tolerates everything produced in nature- returning sadly to the shop's freezer, his carefully selective choice, in exchange for the classic chocolate or vanilla that we end up buying with regret.

This is why, I decided to try out making our own distinctive and personalised ice cream, capable of pleasing us both. I searched in the Leiths Techniques Bible for a vanilla ice-cream recipe, just to obtain an Ice-cream base and then incorporated the flavours that I had in mind. To replace the crunchiness of the nuts, I made caramel and broke it into pieces, which I later combined with a choice of orange blossom water, honey and saffron. An exotic delight that I hope you will enjoy!

© Diana Chaccour

Fusilli Beef Stroganoff

By Diana

One of my favourite dishes when I was a child was Stroganoff -yes, I had a strong appetite for a little girl- and the reason why I knew then what Stroganoff was is because my Syrian grandma used to make the delicious Russian dish from time to time on Sundays, when we visited her. Although her Spanish was impeccable and I cannot question her Arabic, she never got right the name of the Siberian dish! When we arrived to the front door and asked her what was for lunch she replied proudly Astrogoal!!! an answer always followed by a loud collective laugh that for me -and I am sure that for all of us- it constituted the best moment of the day! 

As all her recipes, her version of Stroganoff was exquisite but unfortunately she did not leave it in writing. The only thing I am sure about is that she used to mix the Stroganoff with fusilli - short pasta that in Venezuela we call little screws, in reference to its shape-. So after a week or so of research, and of digging into the reminiscences of my grandma's dish tastiness, I came up with an integration of recipes for Stroganoff that I am sharing here with you today! I can happily say that the recipe matches in 98% with the flavours of my childhood, and for me, that's all it takes! Enjoy! 

© Diana Chaccour